Blog

Featured Article

4 Considerations When Evaluating Surgical Intelligence Vendors

Evaluating surgical intelligence solutions There is no one-size-fits-all surgical intelligence solution that will solve all challenges for surgical departments. Intracorporeal-focused surgical intelligence solutions are focused on the surgery itself, as opposed to the room workflow, compliance, or integration of existing digital systems. That narrows down vendors to evaluate, but there are still a lot of...

Read Full Story >

Surgical Intelligence

4 Considerations When Evaluating Surgical Intelligence Vendors

Evaluating surgical intelligence solutions There is no one-size-fits-all surgical intelligence solution that will solve all challenges for surgical departments. Intracorporeal-focused surgical intelligence solutions are focused on the surgery itself, as opposed to the room workflow, compliance, or integration of existing digital systems. That narrows down vendors to evaluate, but there are still a lot of...

Read Full Story >

Operational Efficiency

Reduce physician burnout with AI-generated, video-based operative reports

From burden to burnout – the reality for surgeons today Administrative documentation is a burden for surgeons, and after performing multiple procedures a day and seeing patient after patient, detailing specifics from every case in a written operative report is nearly impossible. It’s widely known and accepted that operative reports are templatized, in fact, our...

Read Full Story >

Surgical Intelligence

Theator Takes the Gold in Critical View of Safety Challenge at MICCAI 2024

SAGES Critical View of Safety Challenge A leading organization in surgical innovation, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), challenged industry and academics alike to test their algorithms on 1,000 surgical videos from a SAGES-curated dataset. The challenge was centered around the automatic identification of a surgical best practice, Critical View of Safety...

Read Full Story >

Artificial Intelligence

Getting started with AI in surgery

AI is all the buzz across industries, and healthcare is no exception. There is so much information out there about AI in surgery, and it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Here, we break it down into a three-step process to guide any health system considering adopting a new technology through implementation. But...

Read Full Story >

Bariatric Surgery

Surgical Spotlight: Gastric Bypass

Bariatric surgery is growing, but gastric bypass procedures remain stable Bariatric surgery is growing in volume year-over-year, but the volume of Roux-en-Y gastric bypasses, or ‘gastric bypass’ for short, has remained relatively stable over the past few years. In total, gastric bypass procedures account for approximately 20% of all bariatric procedures. Sleeve gastrectomies make up...

Read Full Story >

Surgical Intelligence

From Innovation To Impact

Why value must lead in healthcare In today’s world, innovations in the healthcare space need to show value immediately. Gone are the days when health systems were willing to adopt new technology that promises value. Rightfully so, health systems today require examples of both short-term and long-term value before adopting a new technology. Surgical Intelligence...

Read Full Story >

Surgical Intelligence

Surgical Intelligence: intracorporeal, extracorporeal, ecosystem

The TL;DR on surgical intelligence solutions The introduction of AI in healthcare and specifically, AI in surgical care, has sparked a lot of interest, albeit a lot of confusion, about what value it can deliver today and also long-term. AI can be so broad, with so many different applications. Specifically in surgery, there are also...

Read Full Story >

Theator's Surgical Intelligence

Codifying Surgery with Surgical Practices

Measuring high-quality surgery, while it is occurring What makes a specific surgery “good” or “not-so-good”? This can usually be measured after the surgery itself, as understood by how the patient recovers. Intraoperatively, more subjective observations determine “good” versus “not-so-good” such as the smoothness of the procedure from step-to-step, if the surgeon encounters intraoperative bleeding, or...

Read Full Story >

Surgical Video

Cloud Storage vs. On-Premises Servers for Surgical Video

3 Critical Considerations for Storing Surgical Video Data In the digital age, hospitals increasingly rely on data to enhance patient care and streamline operations. A critical decision for hospitals, especially when dealing with sensitive surgical data, is choosing between on-premise storage and cloud storage. Each option has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, particularly...

Read Full Story >
Dissection of greater curvature in sleeve gastrectomy

Bariatric Surgery, Surgical Spotlight

Surgical Spotlight: Robotic vs. Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

Robotic vs. Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy Sleeve gastrectomy, also known as gastric sleeve surgery, is a frequently performed weight loss surgery that removes 80% of the stomach, leaving a much smaller organ that holds less food and liquid. A further advantage of this procedure is that the portion of the stomach that produces a hunger-inducing hormone...

Read Full Story >

Gynecology, Surgical Spotlight

Surgical Spotlight: Robotic vs. Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

Robotic vs. Laparoscopic Hysterectomy Gynecologists were among the second specialty of surgeons to widely adopt a robotic-assisted approach. One of the first robotic-assisted hysterectomies was performed by Dr. Advincula in 2001. Fast forward to 2020, and robotic adoption for hysterectomies has jumped to 30% for benign cases and 65% for oncologic diseases. So, is laparoscopic...

Read Full Story >

Gynecology, Surgical Spotlight

Surgical Best Practice Spotlight: Vaginal Cuff Closure in Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy

Extreme surgical variability exists in minimally invasive hysterectomies About 600,000 hysterectomies are performed annually in the US, making it one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures, but the surgical practices performed within the procedure are anything but common. For example, a previous Spotlight analysis surfaced that bilateral view of the ureter, a common surgical...

Read Full Story >

Continuous Quality Improvement, Surgical Intelligence

Same Logo Means Consistent Care, Or Does It? 

The best brands have a logo that elicits a positive, consistent response. Coca-cola? You see the fizz and your mouth begins to water. McDonalds? Those golden arches represent a burger and fries, delivered fast and tasting the exact same, whether you’re in your city or 1,000 miles away. Brands signal consistency and as consumers we...

Read Full Story >

Surgical Video

Video annotated. Value extracted

Simply capturing surgical video isn’t enough Surgical video capture is not new. It’s been around for quite some time, and as expected, many surgical camera vendors have their own capture solutions. They have varying levels of automation and widely varying technological capabilities, but they all serve a similar purpose – to help sell more cameras....

Read Full Story >

Artificial Intelligence, Surgical Intelligence, Surgical Video

Procedure Step Detection… On Steroids

Can we skip to the good part? Have you ever recorded an entire concert with your phone? Or a fireworks show? No one goes back to look at the whole thing, you want to fast-forward to the meaningful moments. Fast-forward to your favorite part or when something interesting happens. It’s the same with surgery. Surgeons...

Read Full Story >

Surgical Spotlight

Surgical Spotlight: Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumor

We analyzed 1,177 TURBTs to find out how often the ureteral orifices were visualized before and after resection of the bladder tumor. The result was less than you think....

Read Full Story >

Surgical Video

Captured automatically: robotic, laparoscopic, and endoscopic surgical video

One operating room, dozens of surgical hardware vendors Operating rooms are filled with hardware from dozens of vendors – different camera vendors, device vendors, consumable vendors, the list goes on. Take camera systems, for example. You have robotic systems (with many more coming to market), straight-stick laparoscopic towers, and flexible endoscopic towers. Sometimes, all in...

Read Full Story >

Colorectal Surgery, Spotlight Insights

Surgical Spotlight: Right Hemicolectomy

One colorectal procedure, and the postoperative complications that can happen Right hemicolectomy is a common colorectal surgical procedure to treat both benign and malignant conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer, and diverticulitis. While surgery is often a necessary step in a patient’s treatment plan, these cases don’t always go as planned. What do we...

Read Full Story >
Cholecystectomy

General Surgery, Spotlight Insights

Surgical Spotlight: Cholecystectomy

Cholecystectomy Insights Over 500,000 cholecystectomies are performed each year, making it one of the most common surgical procedures. Notably, most cholecystectomies are performed laparoscopically. The most common indication for laparoscopic cholecystectomy is cholelithiasis, but there are additional indications for the procedure in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Surgical complications occur in some patients who undergo...

Read Full Story >

Gynecology, Surgical Intelligence

Surgical Intelligence and Gynecologic Surgery

What Are The Advantages of AI in Gynecologic Surgery? As the role of AI-enabled tools in surgical care expands, clinical research continues to validate the benefits of integrating streamlined AI technologies into operating rooms. In gynecology, surgical AI integration has the potential to improve quality of care and patient outcomes. A win-win. What is Surgical...

Read Full Story >
Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

Gynecology, Spotlight Insights

Surgical Spotlight: Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

Laparoscopic Hysterectomy Insights Laparoscopic hysterectomy is performed for a variety of indications, the most common of which is symptomatic uterine fibroids. In just over two decades, hysterectomies in the US went from being performed via an open abdominal approach in 70% of cases to being performed laparoscopically 70% of the time. The laparoscopic approach to...

Read Full Story >

Continuous Quality Improvement

How AI is Transforming Surgical Quality

Quality Improvement Then and Now: How AI is Transforming Surgical Quality The concept of quality improvement in the medical field is not new. In fact, Florence Nightingale herself was an early pioneer of the practice. Of course, times have changed immeasurably in healthcare since the 19th century. Given the advanced technologies that are now widely...

Read Full Story >
Dissection of greater curvature in sleeve gastrectomy

Bariatric Surgery, Surgical Spotlight

Surgical Spotlight: Sleeve Gastrectomy

Sleeve Gastrectomy Insights Obesity is a public health crisis in the US, affecting more than one third of adults. In addition to diet and exercise, medications and surgical procedures are effective obesity treatments for eligible patients, and laparoscopic vertical sleeve gastrectomy is the most commonly performed weight loss surgery in the world. Theator’s Surgical …

...

Read Full Story >
surgeon's viewing screen in operating room

Surgical Video

De-Identification in Surgical Video: What You Need to Know

De-Identification in Surgical Video​: What You Need to Know As recording surgical procedures quickly becomes the standard of care in the field, maintaining patient and staff privacy within recordings is an issue that all institutions should carefully consider to ensure regulatory compliance and ethical practices. For video footage, maintaining privacy means de-identifying those who …

...

Read Full Story >
surgeon viewing theator surgical intelligence platform on desktop

Continuous Quality Improvement, Operational Efficiency, Theator's Surgical Intelligence

The Benefits of Fully-Managed Surgical Intelligence

Ready to Upgrade Your Operating Rooms with AI? If you’re upgrading your OR to take advantage of the many benefits of AI technology for patients, surgeons, and healthcare organizations, don’t make the mistake of only considering how and what a particular platform records. The question of what happens to all of your recordings is just...

Read Full Story >
Robot-assisted Radical Prostatectomy

Spotlight Insights, Urology

Surgical Spotlight: Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy

Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy Insights Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, with an estimated 288k new cases diagnosed in the US every year, and an estimated 34k deaths per year as a result of it. Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has been a treatment option for men with intermediate to high-risk prostate cancer...

Read Full Story >
illustration of surgeon reviewing their case on theator's surgical intelligence platform

Continuous Quality Improvement, Surgical Variability

Taking Surgical Quality Improvement to the Next Level

Surgical Intelligence Takes Quality Improvement to the Next Level There will always be some degree of variability in surgical practice. Every procedure and surgeon has unique characteristics that make this inevitable. However, there are many circumstances in which surgical variability is a red flag that there is room for improvement. If Surgeon A is taking...

Read Full Story >
surgical robot

Continuous Quality Improvement, Surgical Video

Choose the Product That Captures ALL Your Surgical Video

Theator: The Product That Captures ALL Your Surgical Video Leaders across the surgical profession are upgrading their operating rooms to incorporate innovative AI technologies that improve surgical care. If you’re among these forward-thinking leaders, you may be wondering how to choose between available technologies and which benefits one solution offers over another. Here’s what …

...

Read Full Story >

Continuous Quality Improvement, Surgical Training, Surgical Video

Three Benefits of Recording Surgical Videos

Three Benefits of Recording Surgical Videos Intraoperative video recording is quickly becoming the standard of care across surgical specialties, and with good reason. Recorded surgical videos are a valuable educational tool for trainees and experienced surgeons alike and improve the transparency and quality of care provided in the OR. Let’s take a deeper look at...

Read Full Story >

Artificial Intelligence, Continuous Quality Improvement

Do Patients Want AI in the Operating Room?

Do Patients Want AI in the Operating Room? Short answer: Yes! In fact, not only do patients place a high importance on choosing where to get surgery based on their innovative nature and adoption of technology, but half of patients believe they will receive better care if that is the case. Much of …

...

Read Full Story >

Surgical Video

Why Automation is the Key to Surgical Video Recording Success

The Key to Surgical Video Recording Success is Automation Recording intraoperative surgical video and using an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to analyze recorded content is quickly becoming standard practice in operating rooms across the country. If your hospital or healthcare organization is embarking on the quality improvement journey offered by such platforms, it’s critical to...

Read Full Story >
Woman prepping for surgery

Surgical Video

Recording Surgical Data: What You Need to Know

What Surgeons and Administrators Need to Know About Recording Surgical Recording intraoperative video is not a new concept, especially for those who perform laparoscopic or robotic procedures. However, as the practice of surgery continues to evolve by incorporating advanced technologies, such as AI, into everyday care, the role of intraoperative video recording will need to...

Read Full Story >
illustration of surgeon with theator surgical intelligence logo

Surgical Intelligence

As Lung Cancer Rates Continue to Rise in Never-Smokers, Theator Expands Surgical Solution into Thoracic Surgery

Theator Now Supports Thoracic Surgery We are excited to announce that we have expanded our Surgical Intelligence Platform into the field of thoracic surgery. Despite there being over 530,000 thoracic procedures conducted in the US each year, the surgical specialty is facing a major deficit of cardiothoracic surgeons. With lung cancer continuing to be on...

Read Full Story >
surgeons passing equipment

Surgical Intelligence

Introducing Theator Spotlight

Ever wonder if all of the hospitals within a health system are achieving surgical practices? Or how different intraoperative techniques impact patient outcomes? Or why the cost of a procedure is higher at one facility than at another? Theator Spotlight: Shining a light on surgical variability Wonder no more! Theator Spotlight offers a window into...

Read Full Story >
Doctor using theator

Artificial Intelligence, Continuous Quality Improvement

Surgical Outcome Reports Aren’t Enough

Improving The Modern Surgical Outcomes Report In recent decades as evidence-based medicine became the standard of care, physicians and hospital systems turned to outcomes reporting as a means of indirectly measuring quality of care. Such information, especially when it is publicly available, allows for the transparency necessary to assuage patient concerns about the quality and...

Read Full Story >
surgeon's viewing screen in operating room

Artificial Intelligence, Operational Efficiency

Will AI Replace Surgeons?

AI tools have become a hot topic of conversation in healthcare over the past year, and with good reason. Although patients are unlikely to have a visit with Dr. Chatbot anytime soon, AI technologies are now used on a daily basis by a variety of clinicians, including surgeons. This means it’s likely the role of...

Read Full Story >
Four surgeons standing over a patient in an operating room with large powerful lights overhead. The surgeons are wearing blue scrubs, gloves, surgical masks, and hair nets.

Artificial Intelligence

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Surgical Care

AI in Surgical Care In recent years, novel AI technologies have become increasingly available in the healthcare industry. From clinical decision support to documentation to diagnostic radiology, one thing is certain: AI in medicine is here to stay. While this may sound like a daunting assertion, the benefits that emerging AI technologies can offer to...

Read Full Story >
illustration of surgeon's hand viewing theator's surgical intelligence platform on a mobile device

Artificial Intelligence, Continuous Quality Improvement

How AI Can Improve Surgical Care

Although the ultimate role of artificial intelligence (AI) in surgical care is still evolving, one thing is clear: AI is here to stay. The potential advantages AI tools offer to process large amounts of data and generate meaningful information that can improve patient outcomes means that its integration into surgical care has myriad potential benefits....

Read Full Story >
Two gloved hands holding surgical tools over a table covered in a blue sheet.

Artificial Intelligence, Continuous Quality Improvement

The Role of AI in Quality & Safety Improvement​

The future of AI-assisted quality improvement In the matter of a few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has gone from being a topic discussed only by select innovators in the healthcare industry to one of widespread interest and endless discussion. In fact, one study found that the number of publications about AI doubled in the medical...

Read Full Story >
surgeon viewing theator surgical intelligence platform on desktop

Artificial Intelligence, Continuous Quality Improvement, Operational Efficiency

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

AI’s Role in Healthcare The release of ChatGPT’s artificial intelligence took the world by storm in 2022, leaving most casual users amazed at the type of content it could produce. Want to build a customized workout plan? Check. Want to rewrite your resume? Check. A list of topics for a dinner party or work lunch?...

Read Full Story >
An empty operating room with blue-tinted light.

Continuous Quality Improvement, Surgical Variability

Three steps for hospitals and surgical teams to start reducing surgical variability today

What can hospitals and surgical teams start doing right now to reduce surgical variability? Short answer – not a lot, at least not a lot without the help of technology. Hospitals are grappling with variability in surgical outcomes, yet the ground truth, aka surgical video, is not routinely captured. And even if it is captured,...

Read Full Story >
Torsos of two medical professionals with their arms crossed. The one on the left is wearing a white lab coat with a blue stethoscope around their neck, and the one on the right is wearing blue scrubs and holding a teal stethoscope in one hand.

Continuous Quality Improvement, Surgical Variability

Surgical Variability’s Impact on The Entire Healthcare Ecosystem

The impacts of surgical variability extends far beyond individual procedures Simply put, “surgical variability” means not all surgeons perform surgery exactly the same way. Because of the many factors contributing to variability between procedures, reducing variability is a challenge hospital administrators are painfully aware of. Some causations are obvious, like patient factors or healthcare inequity....

Read Full Story >
Two surgeons wearing blue scrubs, surgical masks, and hair nets standing in an operating room and looking at a TV screen showing footage from an operation.

Continuous Quality Improvement, Surgical Variability

The Role of Surgical Variability in Complication Prevention

The Frequency of Surgical Complications is Alarmingly High From the earliest days of trepanation to modern minimally invasive techniques, we’ve come a long way in the field of surgery. But we’re still far from perfect. In fact, of the 300 million surgical procedures performed annually, nearly 1 in 6 still involve complications, resulting in around...

Read Full Story >
Theator completion time notification visualization

Surgical Innovation, Theator's Surgical Intelligence

Surgical Intelligence: A New Frontier of Surgery

What does AI have to do with the operating room? Multiple innovations have struck the surgical world. These technologies offer an eclipse into the future of surgery, each attempting to revolutionize the way operations are performed today. In the past, surgical innovation spurred around medical devices: a better stapler, more advanced monitoring equipment, or a...

Read Full Story >
Artistic rendering of surgeon looking at monitor

Artificial Intelligence, Surgical Innovation, Theator's Surgical Intelligence

From Concept to Creation: The Path to Surgical Intelligence

Challenging the status quo of surgical care Bringing a new idea to life is all about the four ‘P’s: purpose, persistence, (the right) people, and a solid plan. At Theator, our purpose was clear — challenge the status quo of surgical care. And by applying these principles in pursuit of that goal, we developed a...

Read Full Story >

Artificial Intelligence, Continuous Quality Improvement

10 Things to Consider Before Adopting AI Technology in the OR

Before implementing any new AI technology in your hospital’s ORs, there are a few key considerations you should bear in mind. Our surgical AI and computer vision experts shared the top 10 things you should be looking for....

Read Full Story >

Artificial Intelligence, Surgical Innovation, Theator's Surgical Intelligence

The Evolution of Surgical Innovation

Learn about some of the most significant advancements in surgical technology over the past 40 years — and how AI will transform the next 40....

Read Full Story >

Surgical Variability, Theator's Surgical Intelligence

The Founding of Theator: The Surgical Intelligence Company

Where you live shouldn’t determine if you live. Learn how a personal experience with variability in surgery inspired Theator Co-Founders Dr. Tamir Wolf and Dotan Asselmann to create the Surgical Intelligence Platform....

Read Full Story >

Didn’t Find What You Were Looking For?

Get In Touch