Description
Purpose
To evaluate the perspective of orthopaedic surgeons towards the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in orthopedic surgery and to investigate, whether the attitude towards AI in orthopedic surgery would differ based on experience, workplace setting or familiarity with digital solutions.
Methods
Orthopaedic surgeons of the AGA Society of Arthroscopy and Joint Surgery were invited to participate in an online survey. The survey was designed to gather information on participants professional background, subjective knowledge about AI, opinion on the future impact of AI on orthopaedic surgery, openness towards different applications of AI in clinical practice as well as their perceptions of advantages and disadvantages of AI. Subgroup analyses were performed to examine the results based on the participants’ work experience, workplace setting and general openness to digital solutions.
Results
A total of 360 orthopedic surgeons participated in this survey. The majority of participants indicated either average (n=157, 43.6%) or rudimentary (n=137, 38.1%) knowledge about AI in medicine. Most participants (n=195, 54.5%) expected the AI to notably influence orthopedic surgery in the next 5-10 years, most likely as an auxiliary tool in specific areas of the profession (n=328, 91.1%). Preoperative planning (n=301, 83.8%) was identified as the most likely clinical use case. A lack of consensus was observed regarding the acceptable error level of AI. Time savings in preoperative planning (n=225, 62.5%) and improved and simplified documentation in administrative tasks (n=289, 81%) were identified as the greatest advantages, while declining skills of the next generation due to dependence on AI systems (n=223; 64.5%) was rated as the most substantial drawback. There were significant differences in the subjective knowledge of AI depending on the participants experience (p=0.021) and familiarity with digital solutions(p<0.001), as well as in the acceptable level of error of AI applications depending on workplace setting (p=0.004) and prediction of a noticeable impact of AI on orthopedic surgery depending familiarity with digital solutions (p<0.001).
Conclusion
Based on the results, the majority of orthopedic surgeons have an optimistic outlook on the impact of AI in orthopedic surgery, primarily as a complementary tool. However, there seems to be a lack of consensus on the acceptable error level of AI in clinical use, and concerns about declining skills among future surgeons due to dependence on AI.
