From the artificial pancreas to AI, surgery is increasingly hi-tech

A model of an artificial pancreas, a phantom: that is, a reproduction with the characteristics of the real organ, to develop new tools and improve surgery. And then a system based on artificial intelligence to predict post-operative complications. Again: new predictive markers of the efficacy of therapies. These are three examples of the projects currently underway supported by the Humanitas Foundation for Research and carried out by researchers from the IRCCS Humanitas Clinical Institute and Humanitas University, in the field of pancreatic cancer.

An artificial pancreas to improve interventions

November 17 is dedicated to this neoplasm, one of the most difficult to treat, an opportunity to take stock of ongoing research, also in the field of surgery. But what, exactly, is a “phantom pancreas”, and what is it for? The answer comes from the laboratory for the biomechanical characterization of pancreatic tissue, born from the collaboration between Humanitas and the Milan Polytechnic and supported by the Humanitas Foundation: “Pancreas surgery is one of the most complex, both due to the site and the characteristics of the organ, whose tissues are particularly fragile and delicate,” he explains Alessandro Zerbi, head of the Pancreatic Surgery of the IRCCS of Rozzano: “Furthermore, very often the tools and materials used for pancreatic surgery are not specifically designed for the pancreas, which is responsible for the production of pancreatic juice, which is very corrosive and capable of eroding sutures after an operation, with the risk of bleeding or infection”. In short, the goal is to develop an artificial pancreas model that allows the surgeon to practice even outside the operating room and, at the same time, develop surgical tools ad hoc.

Day Hospital Hotel, the song by Cataldo Perri, doctor and patient with pancreatic cancer

by Irma D’Aria

November 16, 2022

Predict complications with artificial intelligence

The other Humanitas project, carried out thanks to 5×1000 funds, is carried out in collaboration with the data scientists of the Humanitas AI Center. In this case, the objective is to predict, for the individual patient, the probability of the appearance of complications and their severity, in order to limit them. “To do this, we apply Artificial Intelligence algorithms to clinical data and pre-surgery imaging exams, such as computed tomography,” he explains John Caprettiresearcher and general surgeon specializing in pancreatic-duodenal pathology at the institute: “The use of AI will allow in the future to optimize the path of diagnosis and treatment of the individual patient who could in some cases, for example, not foresee the intervention surgery but only radio or chemotherapy treatments”.

Fighting antibiotic resistant bacterial infections

The pioneering research also concerns the topic of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, which can worsen the prognosis of pancreatic cancer operations. In fact, before the tumor is removed, some patients are placed on biliary stents, necessary to keep the bile ducts obstructed by the tumor open and functional. However, it may happen that bacteria, mainly from the intestine, adhere to the surface of the stent and produce the so-called biofim, a protective layer that inhibits the action of antibiotics and hinders the immune system, facilitating the development of resistant infections. On this front, in the applied physics, biophysics and microfluidics laboratory of the IRCCS, the mechanisms of adhesion of bacteria to the stent and how to prevent the formation of biofilm are being studied.

Pancreatic cancer, the first guidelines for minimally invasive surgery

by Dario Rubino

September 29, 2022

For the day against pancreatic cancer, Humanitas has created a video that tells the behind-the-scenes story of its research through the words of doctors, surgeons, researchers and nurses. The video has been available on the institute’s Youtube, Instagram and Facebook since 17 November.