Held on Wednesday, the event brought together more than 100 healthcare professionals, researchers and technology specialists to examine the advances that artificial intelligence is introducing into robotic surgery and its impact on surgical precision, patient safety and improved clinical outcomes.

The conference focused on the SIRA Project, an AI-based initiative led by IRTIC that aims to assist surgeons during operations by identifying anatomical structures and potential risks in real time. The system is designed to strengthen clinical decision-making and enhance the safety of surgical procedures.

The project involves the participation of the Research Foundation of the General Hospital, which contributes the clinical expertise required to train the algorithms through the annotation of thousands of hours of surgical recordings. Meanwhile, Laberit is responsible for the technological integration and the future deployment of the system.

The scientific programme included presentations on innovation in robotic surgery developed through collaboration between the hospital and IRTIC, the challenges posed by artificial intelligence in healthcare, and the importance of public–private partnerships in accelerating the implementation of these technologies in clinical practice. The event concluded with a demonstration of robotic simulators, which provided first-hand insight into the training and technological potential of these tools.

During the conference, the experimental prototypes of robotic surgery simulators developed within the framework of the SIRA Project were formally made available to the General Hospital and the University of Valencia. These prototypes will be used for clinical validation activities, as well as research and development in robotic surgery.

The SIRA Project is being carried out within the framework of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU programme. The initiative represents a commitment to digitalisation and technological innovation in the Valencian Community.

The opening session of the conference included the participation of Rosa María Donat, vice-rector for Innovation and Knowledge Transfer at the University of Valencia; Bernardo Valdivieso, regional secretary for Planning, Information and Digital Transformation at the Valencian Ministry of Health; Carlos Errando, deputy medical director of Surgical Services at the General Hospital of Valencia; Francisco Sanz, director of Research and Teaching; David Garrido, scientific director of the Research Foundation of the General Hospital of Valencia; and Ricardo Guijarro, director of the Chair for Robotic and Advanced Surgery.