Advances in Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality for Enhanced Surgical Navigation in Thoracic Surgery

Introduction and Rationale

Advancements in lung cancer screening using computed tomography (CT) has allowed for diagnosis at earlier stages1

Significant precision is required for localizing lung tumors in relation to important structures, presenting challenges for pre-operative planning and determining surgical plans, especially in the era of lung-sparing surgery2 

Augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) and artificial intelligence (AI)-based segmentation techniques have been developed for preoperative imaging analysis and intraoperative guidance3

The scope of these technologies and safety profiles have not been well characterized in thoracic surgery