Al tool delivers better outcomes in complex spinal surgery at TTSH

It aids pre-surgery planning, provides greater accuracy in implantation of screws and rods

- Yap Wei Qiang

Dr Wayne Yap (far left), a consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's orthopaedic surgery department, and Adjunct Associate Professor Jacob Oh, head of spine surgery and a senior consultant in the department, demonstrating how an AI tool developed by medtech company Medtronic assists the planning and execution of complex spinal surgery.

(PHOTOS: LIANHE ZAOBAO)

Complex spinal surgery at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) has been made faster, safer and more precise with the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

As Singapore's population ages rapidly, more seniors are likely to suffer from spinal conditions, including complex deformities such as degenerative scoliosis with nerve compression.

Hospitals here have been riding the wave of adopting AI in healthcare for better outcomes, such as analysing a cardiac scan for a faster diagnosis of coronary artery disease, and analysing medical lab reports with a comprehensible summary and explanation of the results.

Similarly, in TTSH, its department of orthopaedic surgery has successfully performed more than 250 AI-assisted spinal surgical operations since 2021. These were mostly complex surgical operations for elderly patients.

Complex spinal surgery used to be done with surgeons deciding on surgical details only in the operating theatre, such as the exact positions in the spine and the ideal angles to implant the screws and rods, as well as the contour of the rods.

Rods and screws are implanted to hold the spine at its corrected position and keep the spine aligned properly.

This process relied heavily on the surgeon's experience and could result in variable accuracy rates, given that the patient would be lying flat and presenting the spine differently compared with when standing straight, said Dr Wayne Yap, a consultant at TTSH's orthopaedic surgery department.