Artificial intelligence, three‐dimensional printing and global health

摘要

While the world watches the political ebbs and flows in the UK, these are the times when we as doctors are probably the least affected by events around us. Our patients still need us as we strive to provide them with the very best care. There continue to be concerns about future research funding and in our field of publishing, the rise of true open access 1. Amidst these many changes, excellence in publishing remains a constant and I for one have been reflecting on three exciting themes that have emerged in the BJUI. There is no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) will have a major role in healthcare, especially in imaging. This will need attention to ethical issues such as privacy of data, replication, and algorithmic bias (garbage in – garbage out). Engagement with the public, academic–industry partnerships and increase in computing power would be key elements to success. While Moorfield Eye Hospital’s retinal scanning technology has been highly successful in diabetic retinopathy, thus far cancer detection AI has not enjoyed the same success. For example, the training data caused ‘label leakage’, whereby the name ‘cancer’ appearing on one of the hospital names confused the algorithm, which performed poorly in the real world. Our Consulting Editor for AI, Andrew Hung, has published an up-to-date review of 111 papers, which contains almost everything that a urologist needs to know about AI 2. Please enjoy it during your holidays. Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of kidneys and their tumours for robot-assisted partial nephrectomy is a ‘hot topic’. Not only can the 3D structures be ‘peeled’ off to show the relationship of the tumour with the calyces and blood vessels, such technology can guide surgery beyond R.E.N.A.L. (Radius, Exophytic/Endophytic, Nearness, Anterior/Posterior, Location) and PADUA (Preoperative Aspects and Dimensions Used for an Anatomical) scores 3. In robot-assisted radical prostatectomy such 3D reconstructions can actually be 3D printed to give surgeons a sense of touch and potentially reduce positive margins 4. Finally, the BJUI remains your global journal. We present an excellent epidemiological paper on erectile dysfunction, a worldwide problem, which is a must read for every practising urologist 5. We also focus on prostate cancer in Peru, where it is an increasing problem especially in the coastal regions 6. As an international journal, we continue to engage with our wider audience for maximum impact. From the BJUI team, I wish you all Festive Greetings and infinite happiness! None declared.