Computer Vision News - May 2023

36 Precision Surgery Precision and accuracy are essential factors in ensuring successful surgical outcomes for patients. Every day, surgeons rely on their naked eye to make critical decisions, such as identifying tumor margins, detecting nerves, and assessing tissue perfusion. However, what if they could go beyond human vision and gain access to objective analytical information that could help them make better decisions? The need for better imaging technology comes as surgical complication rates range from 5-20% and are anything from minor to severe. The impact on patients can be devastating. “ Anastomotic leakage is known to occur in around 15%of colorectal surgery patients in the US alone, ” Michael tells us. “ That’s 15% of 600,000 people and costs around $30bn each year. Up to a third of those patients may not survive. That’s just one indication, Michael Ebner and Tom Vercauteren are co-founders of King’s College London spin-out Hypervision Surgical. Michael is the CEO, and Tom is the Chief Scientific Officer and a Professor of Interventional Image Computing at KCL. They speak to us about its emerging technology which offers a promising solution to the limitations of human vision in surgery. HYPERVISION SURGICAL Michael Ebner Tom Vercauteren