Perceptions of Cardiac Surgeons Regarding the Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Cardiac Surgery.

Background: After the surge of artificial intelligence in late 2022, researchers started exploring the idea of using artificial intelligence in the medical field. Considering the endless possibilities of artificial intelligence, there is still some hesitation toward its use in the medical field. This study aims to explore the attitudes of cardiac surgeons toward involving artificial intelligence in diagnosing cardiac conditions and planning cardiac operations. Methodology: This study surveyed cardiac surgeons on AI integration in their field using a cross-sectional design and purposive sampling. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire and analyzed in IBM SPSS 29.0. Results: Our study included 33 cardiac surgeons primarily male (n =26, 78.8 %) and Saudi nationals (n =26, 78.8 %), assessed attitudes towards AI in cardiac surgery. A significant majority supported AI for pre-operative (n =17, 51.5 %), intra-operative (n =11, 33.3 %), and post-operative tasks (n =13, 39.4 %). The overall positive attitude towards AI was 54.2 % and overall positive perception towards AI was 50 %. However, perceptions of AI's integration into healthcare varied, with the highest approval for Documentation AI Assistance (n =13, 39.40 %). No significant demographic differences were found affecting attitudes towards AI (p-values ranging from 0.576 to 1.000). Conclusion: Our study reveals a positive yet cautious attitude towards AI in cardiac surgery, recognizing its potential to improve precision and efficiency but emphasizing the irreplaceable need for human judgment and expertise in managing patient-specific variables.