Artificial Intelligence for Workflow Analysis in Colorectal Surgery: A Multicentric, Cross-Procedural Development and Generalization Study

2026-08-20

AI Summary

研究通过开发AI-ColoWorkflow，一个基于深度学习的模型，自动分析微创结直肠手术流程，以解决手动视频评估耗时的问题。

Abstract

Minimally invasive colorectal surgeries (MIS-CRS) are characterised by significant variability and inconsistent outcomes. ColoWorkflow, a tool for the video-based assessment (VBA) of MIS-CRS workflow, was recently validated. However, manual VBA is time-consuming, limiting implementation. This study presents AI-ColoWorkflow, a deep learning model for automated surgical workflow analysis across MIS-CRS. Operative videos of MIS-CRS were collected from 4 centres and a publicly available dataset. Phases and steps were manually annotated according to ColoWorkflow. A deep learning model combining a fine-tuned DINOv3 vision transformer for per-frame visual feature extraction with a hierarchical multi-stage temporal convolutional network was jointly optimized for phase and step recognition. The model trained on pooled multicentric data, namely AI-ColoWorkflow was compared against centre-specific and procedure-specific models on a held-out test set. The following metrics were used for evaluation: macro F1 score, balanced accuracy, precision, and recall. AI-ColoWorkflow achieved a macro F1 of 73.01% $\pm$ 10.27 (balanced accuracy 73.43%) for phase recognition and 39.82% $\pm$ 7.06 (balanced accuracy 38.65%) for step recognition. The global model outperformed centre- and procedure-specific models in most experiments except procedure-specific step recognition. In the generalization analysis, mean F1 was 48.42% for phase recognition. AI-ColoWorkflow can reliably recognize MIS-CRS phases. A single model trained on pooled, multicentric, multi-procedural data generalises at least as well as and often better than centre- or procedure-specific models for phase recognition in MIS-CRS, while procedure-specific step models retain advantages for certain procedure types, motivating hybrid training strategies for future surgical AI development.

Problem

• minimally invasive colorectal surgeries
• workflow analysis
• video-based assessment
• variability
• inconsistent outcomes

Innovation

• AI-ColoWorkflow
• DINOv3 Vision Transformer
• Hierarchical Multi-Stage Temporal Convolutional Network
• Phase and Step Recognition
• Generalization