UAE hospital enlists ‘robot surgeons’ in a new AI-meets-health initiative

UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) on Sunday announced that Al Qassimi Women’s & Children’s Hospital have successfully performed three operations for uterine prolapse using the da Vinci robotic surgical system.

A first-of-its-kind achievement in the UAE, it underpins the successes of the robotic surgery programme in gynaecology, developed by the MoHAP, making it the first entity to implement and develop such a programme at the state level, as part of its efforts to promote robotic surgery in the region.

Dr. Labib Riachi, Reconstructive Surgery and Robotic Gynaecology specialist, had successfully performed three operations for uterine prolapse using the robotic arms connected to 3D laparoscopy. The painless surgery was done through a small opening in the abdomen and patients went home within 24 hours without complications and with minimal pain compared to traditional surgeries.

Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, has stressed that the ministry has always been protective in harnessing the latest robots to conduct surgeries, and is doing its utmost to redouble its achievements on the Artificial Intelligence [AI] front.

The ministry has also had significant successes in the field of robotic cardiac surgeries, the minister noted, adding that the MOHAP is successfully moving towards integrating AI into medical services, in line with the UAE strategy for Artificial Intelligence and UAE Centennial 2071.

A total of 126 robotic surgeries have been successfully carried out since 2019 and leading into this year, lauding the remarkable achievements made by the medical team of Al Qassimi Women’s & Children’s Hospital and Al Qassimi Hospital in cooperation with the Visiting Consultants Program.

[Sourced from Agencies]