Application of Artificial Intelligence for Parathyroid Gland Recognition Under Endoscopic Thyroid Surgery

Objective: This video demonstrates the use of artificial intelligence model for parathyroid gland recognition (PTAIR), which is an artificial intelligence model in identifying parathyroid glands during endoscopic thyroidectomy. Methods: PTAIR is an artificial intelligence model for identifying parathyroid glands during surgery. Faster R-CNN algorithm trained this preliminary version. Results: PTAIR can recognize various parathyroid glands, such as the superior parathyroid gland and inferior parathyroid gland associated with artery, thyroid, or thymus. The recognition rate of the parathyroid gland during endoscopic thyroidectomy by PTAIR is as high as 96.9%. PTAIR can recognize the parathyroid gland 3.8 seconds earlier than the senior surgeons. PTAIR can track 62.8 seconds longer than senior surgeons. Conclusions: PTAIR can achieve earlier identification and full-time tracing under a particular hindsight training strategy. The identification rate of PTAIR is higher than that of junior surgeons and similar to that of senior surgeons. Such systems may have utility in improving surgical outcomes and also in accelerating the education of junior surgeons. Acknowledgments: We thank Dr. Gregory W. Randolph and Amr H. Abdelhamid Ahmed from Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, and Dr. William B. Inabnet, III from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine for reviewing this project and making suggestions critically. This research was supported by the China Scholarship Council; the Joint Funds for the Innovation of Science and Technology, Fujian Province (Grant Nos.: 2018Y9093, 2018Y0915, 2018Y9018); and sponsored by Fujian Provincial Health Technology Project (Grant No.: 2019-CX-16, 2018-CX-17). B.W., S.-Y.L., and J.-F.Y. contributed equally to this study and are considered cofirst authors. Disclosures: Bo Wang is a standing committee member of Parathyroid and Bone Metabolic Diseases of China Research Hospital Association (CRHA). PTAIR is a registered trademark of Fujian Medical University Union Hospital. All other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Runtime of video: 4 mins 15 secs