Digital surgery has morphed from buzzword into ubiquitous high-impact technology. In this episode, the BTK MIS team steps into the rapidly evolving ecosystem of cameras, sensors, robotics, and software that are turning surgical operations into structured, analyzable datasets. From AI segmentation to real-time telepresence, don’t miss this opportunity to catch up on what’s new and what’s next, what’s exciting and what’s terrifying, just on the horizon of your surgical career.
Hosts:
· James Jung, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Duke University
· Jacob Greenberg, MD, EdM, MIS Division Chief and Vice Chair for Education, Duke University
· Zachary Weitzner, MD, Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery Fellow, Duke University, @ZachWeitznerMD
· Joey Lew, MD, MFA, Surgical resident PGY-3, Duke University, @lew__actually
Learning Goals:
By the end of this episode, listeners will be able to:
· Define “digital surgery” and describe its core components, including video capture, instrumentation, robotics, data analytics, and system connectivity.
· Discuss current and emerging applications of digital surgery in surgical education, including video-based self-assessment, procedural segmentation, and structured feedback models.
· Describe how digital tools can be used to improve OR efficiency and resource utilization, including instrumentation usage, operative time analysis, and workflow optimization.
· Summarize current telepresence and teleproctoring technologies and their clinical use cases, including augmented reality–based collaboration across institutions and geographic boundaries.
· Identify key ethical, legal, and operational challenges in digital and tele-surgery, including credentialing, cross-state licensure, liability, and trust in remote expertise.
· Discuss how digital surgery may reshape surgical training and competency-based assessment, including implications for autonomy, deliberate practice, and feedback frequency.
· Recognize future directions of digital surgery integration, including predictive analytics, simulation using patient-specific imaging, and AI-assisted intraoperative decision support.
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