Anne van Dalen

218 I Chapter 8 METHODS Literature Search A systematic literary search was performed up to August 25th, 2020 using the following online databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and IEEE Xplore. The terms AI, OR, and surgery, including synonyms or equivalent terms, were used in certain combinations to obtain the relevant literature. The full search strategy can be found in the online Supplemental Appendix A (http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/ suppl/10.1177/1553350621996961). Article screening was done independently by 2 reviewers (DCB and AvD). The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) AI, (2) in surgery, and (3) in the OR. The exclusion criteria, next to duplicates and articles older than 10 years, were the following: (1) articles published in any language other than Dutch or English, (2) articles containing future applications of AI only, (3) AI used outside the OR, and (4) no full-text availability. Any study design may benefit the study, so no specific study designs were excluded beforehand. Disagreement between the two reviewers in study selection was resolved by healthy discussions concluding in consensus. The studies that were included after full-text screening were critically appraised, with the use of an Evidence-Based Medicine Critical Appraisal Checklist (see Supplemental Appendix B). Data Extraction The included articles were extracted of data on study design, publication year, country of origin, and the specific researched applications of AI. The outcomes of these studies were analyzed and described and, if possible, defined in numbers. A clear overview of the different studies, their applications of AI and their specifically used subfield of AI, and their data type/source is provided. AI, while not easily defined, is a machine’s capability to mimic intelligent human behavior. 21 AI is a broad field to be distinguished by multiple subfields. In order to better understand the analyses and outcomes of the studies, it was decided to explain some of the different subfields in AI beforehand. The subfields that are of importance to this systematic review are explained and elaborated on in Table 1.