HP Innovation Journal Issue 13: Winter 2019 | Page 49

MICHAEL C. KELLER
Your surgeon may not be a robot—
yet—but the operating room is
being revolutionized by advances in
virtual reality, artificial intelligence,
3D printing, and yes, robotics, which
means healthcare professionals can
provide faster, more accurate, and
better care for their patients.
It’s a decade from now, and you’re stable in the ICU after
a recent heart attack.
Your doctor harvests some of your stem cells while a 3D
printer outputs a drug-impregnated stent that has been
designed specifically for the dimensions of your heart valves.
Meanwhile, nurses prepare an injection of your cultivated
stem cells and factors that trigger tissue regeneration.
As you go gently into light sedation, the surgeon dons
augmented reality (AR) glasses that overlay your vitals and
critical imaging data in her field of view. As the procedure
unfolds, she guides a catheterization robot to your heart,
deposits the stent to open a dangerously narrowed artery,
and continues on to inject the therapy in the damaged
cardiac tissue.
Within days, your heart is almost repaired and your blood
is flowing smoothly.
This minimally invasive surgery would have been unthink-
able just a few years ago. But new technologies are already
transforming modern surgery for physicians and patients.
It’s the early stages of a revolution that will improve surgi-
cal training, procedure planning, health system efficiency
and, ultimately, patient health outcomes.
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