Topic: Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Surgery

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming surgery across surgical anatomy, technology, robotic surgery, oncology, tumor biology, immunology, 3D printing and modeling, innovation, and future horizons. This Special Issue of the AIS Journal probes these domains, unveiling AI’s transformative potential.

The operating room has long been a crucible of human skill, precision, and innovation. From the first rudimentary incisions to the advent of robotic-assisted procedures, surgery has evolved through waves of technological transformation. Today, we stand at the threshold of another seismic shift - one not driven solely by steel instruments or mechanical arms, but by the invisible hand of AI. 

AI in surgical anatomy maps patient-specific structures from MRI/CT with 98% accuracy. Surgical technology and robotic surgery harness AI for 0.3-mm precision in tissue manipulation, reducing blood loss by 15%. In oncology, AI models predict recurrence with AUCs over 0.9, while AI-powered tumor biology simulations improve insights into tumor growth and drug response. In immunology, AI pinpoints immune-tumor dynamics, optimizing surgical resection timing. AI-enhanced 3D printing and modeling deliver anatomical and tumor replicas with 50-micron accuracy, reducing the need for surgical revisions by 20%.

Innovation continues to accelerate. Reinforcement learning is refining robotic surgery training on 3D phantoms, while AI-driven analytics shorten postoperative recovery by 17%. Future applications include integrating AI with natural language processing (NLP) for operative notes and real-time diagnostics, further enhancing clinical outcomes. However, challenges remain - biased datasets, sub-60-ms latency, and regulatory gaps must be addressed.

This issue offers cutting-edge research on AI in robotic oncology workflows, tumor-immune profiling, 3D-printed scaffolds, and visionary systems. As surgeons increasingly merge expertise in anatomy, robotics, and computational sciences, they evolve into techno-strategists at the forefront of medical innovation.

AI and robotics will not replace surgeons - they will empower them. This collection lays a technical foundation for these fields, driving surgery toward a future of precision, personalization, and possibility. Forward we go, blending computation with compassion will redefine surgical excellence.