Background: Machine learning and robotics technologies are increasingly being used in the healthcare domain to improve the quality and efficiency of surgeries and to address challenges such as staff shortages. Robotic scrub nurses in particular offer great potential to address staff shortages by assuming nursing tasks such as the handover of surgical instruments.
Methods: We introduce a robotic scrub nurse system designed to enhance the quality of surgeries and efficiency of surgical workflows by predicting and delivering the required surgical instruments based on real-time laparoscopic video analysis.