Researchers at Toronto’s University Health Network are using AI to build interactive 3D models of patients’ anatomy and tumours, aiming to help people understand planned procedures and surgeons prepare for them. The technology could make a difficult conversation more tangible, though it still needs clinical trials.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
Global News reports that the models, described as “digital twins”, turn medical images into an interactive 3D view of a patient’s anatomy and tumour. Staff scientist Wagner Souza told the outlet that clinicians can view the model from different angles to examine depth and the lesion’s position. The intended benefit is to help patients understand what may happen during surgery and help surgeons plan ahead.
The report says the technology is still to go through clinical trials. Researchers also describe an unresolved challenge: imaging is taken with patients lying face down, while surgery often takes place with them on their backs. The team is exploring whether the model can account for how that change in position affects tissue and tumour location.
Why it matters
Most people cannot turn a scan into a reliable mental picture of their own anatomy. An interactive model could give patients a more concrete way to discuss a procedure, while giving surgeons another aid for planning. That is a specific, potentially useful role for AI in healthcare, rather than a claim that it can predict how an individual will respond to treatment.
The evidence described so far is promising but preliminary. Clinical trials remain ahead, and the position-related modelling problem shows why a vivid 3D image is not automatically a complete or accurate surgical guide.
Our read
The patient-facing idea is compelling: help people see what a scan means before they are asked to make decisions about surgery. The next test is whether the models represent anatomy accurately enough across different positions and whether they improve planning or patient understanding in practice. In medicine, a convincing picture is a start, not the finish line.
What to watch
- Whether the technology enters clinical trials, and what outcomes those trials measure.
- How researchers handle changes in tissue position between imaging and surgery.
- Whether patients and surgeons find the models useful for understanding and planning procedures.
Discussion spark: Should patient-specific 3D models become a routine part of preparing people for surgery, or should they stay experimental until trials show they improve decisions or outcomes?
Sources and evidence
- Source update (12 October 2026, 10:00 UTC)
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