Abu Dhabi deploys AI across 100 operating rooms to track surgical outcomes
Abu Dhabi's health regulator is rolling out artificial intelligence tools across roughly 100 operating rooms in the emirate's hospitals, connecting them through Johnson & Johnson's Polyphonic surgical technology platform. The Department of Health Abu Dhabi is consolidating operating room data from hospitals run by Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, PureHealth, Mediclinic, and NMC Healthcare.
Cameras and recorders will capture video and audio from procedures alongside patient data like imaging and monitor readings. Surgeons can review their own recordings, share clips with colleagues, and identify areas for improvement. Pre-operative briefings currently coordinated through WhatsApp or handwritten notes will be digitized and stored centrally.
"We are not the classic, traditional ministry of health," Dr. Noura Al Ghaithi, department undersecretary, said in an interview. The regulator is building what it describes as an AI-native healthcare system.
Real-time guidance is the long-term goal
Peter Schulam, chief scientific officer of MedTech at Johnson & Johnson, described a future system capable of real-time guidance similar to cockpit navigation for airline pilots. The system could locate anatomical structures based on a patient's file before surgery begins, reducing the risk of accidental injury. For now, the focus is getting surgeons comfortable with the basics.
Competing hospitals will share operating room data under standards set by the Department of Health, which controls how information is collected, stored, and used.
The regulator plans to use the data to shape clinical guidelines. "Certain procedures, do with approach A; certain procedures, you might need approach B," Al Ghaithi said. The department may eventually recommend the optimal time of day for certain surgeries once enough data exists to show whether timing affects outcomes.
The department has already acted on data findings. It lowered the recommended age for breast cancer screening from 50 to 40 after discovering cases in younger women than existing guidelines anticipated.
Operating room data fits into a larger system
Abu Dhabi has been consolidating patient records, genomic data, and clinical history under Malaffi - Arabic for "my file" - a single health information system connecting more than 3,000 facilities across the emirate. Operating room data will add another layer to this existing infrastructure.
The UAE spends roughly 5% of GDP on healthcare, among the highest rates in the Middle East and still growing, according to the World Bank. Gulf states face public health challenges from high obesity rates, driving conditions like heart disease and diabetes. The UAE is overhauling healthcare systems to focus on prevention, viewing AI for Healthcare and data as central to those efforts.
For operations leaders, the deployment demonstrates how AI for Operations can standardize workflows across competing institutions while maintaining data governance and regulatory oversight.
Your membership also unlocks:
