Artificial Intelligence in Hand Surgery

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that replicates intelligent human thought, actions, or tasks through the use of a machine or digital platforms [1]. AI falls into two categories: machine learning and deep learning. Briefly, machine learning can change and learn as it is exposed to new data, while deep learning involves auto-didactic neural networks to process large volumes of data, similar to the human brain [1]. Rapidly over the past decade, AI has become a part of our daily lives. Beyond healthcare, it has found its use in creating social media content, risk assessment by finance and banking platforms, self-driving cars, and sports teams to analyze players’ performance [1]. Within orthopedic surgery, common applications of AI include image recognition, preoperative risk assessment, clinical decision making, or evaluating probabilities of certain outcomes after treatment [2]. While not as advanced as other subspecialties in orthopedic surgery, AI in hand surgery is an emerging field that will likely play a large and meaningful role in the future care of our patients. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize some of the recent developments in hand surgery and possibilities for the future.