On Wednesday, the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) inaugurated a new surgical robotics centre at the Montreal General Hospital which, according to its director, will bring surgery fully into the 21st century by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence. The Superior Centre for Surgical Performance and Robotics (SuPER) puts robotics and AI at the service of many medical disciplines, from cardiology and radiology to multiple forms of surgery. “We call this the future of surgery,” said the centre’s director and founder, Professor Amir Hooshiar. “The tools we are presenting today are futuristic; they have a higher degree of autonomy and intelligence. We really believe that the future of surgery lies in surgical robotics and artificial intelligence.” SuPER’s aim is to make medical procedures less invasive, more personalized, safer and more efficient. Professor Hooshiar added that it should also make it possible to do even more with the limited resources available to the healthcare system. If the procedure is shorter and less invasive, and the patient recovers more quickly, the time and resources saved should allow for more patients to be treated. Time will also be saved by reducing the frequency of complications and readmissions if the most difficult procedures are successfully performed from the outset, Professor Hooshiar emphasized. “There is a shortage of surgeons capable of performing the most complex operations, and at the same time the population is ageing,” he pointed out. “The next-generation surgical robots we are developing will enable surgeons to perform safer, faster and less costly procedures.” SuPER would be Canada‘s very first hospital-based surgical robotics and artificial intelligence centre capable of advancing translational research from the laboratory to the clinic. It brings together clinicians, engineers, researchers and students from all backgrounds to design, develop, test and perfect solutions that meet real clinical needs. SuPER relies on a fleet of intelligent robotic platforms, most of which have been developed within the MUHC Research Institute’s Clinical Innovation Platform. Powered by artificial intelligence and real clinical data, these platforms enhance surgeons’ skills and abilities by allowing them, for example, to refine their techniques before entering the operating room or, once there, to set a fracture more efficiently or reach areas of the body that are difficult to access. “These technologies allow surgeons to do things they are currently unable to do,” says Professor Hooshiar. “Even with the most sophisticated techniques, sometimes we have no choice but to cut and open. But if we can go through the body’s natural orifices, it’s no longer necessary.” Even more so, he added, because mastering some of these tools can be quicker than mastering manual surgery. However, Professor Hooshiar said that there is no question of one day replacing the surgeon with the medical equivalent of the Terminator. At the moment, very strict rules govern the role that robots can or cannot play, but we must nevertheless be vigilant and proactive in limiting the autonomy that we grant them, in his view. “The robot is a sophisticated and advanced tool in the hands of the surgeon,” concluded Professor Hooshiar. “It is at the surgeon’s service. It will be able to automate certain parts of the operation, but not the entire operation.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French April 30, 2025.
