AI in Surgical Technology & Augmentation Research
Augmentingthe surgeon.Advancing the science.
A-STAR develops surgical AI systems for planning, intraoperative guidance, patient education, and rigorous outcomes validation across the full surgical journey.
Our mission
A-STAR develops clinically grounded surgical AI that connects data, operative expertise, and validation.
Our focus is not only building models, but understanding where intelligent systems can safely improve surgical planning, performance, education, and outcomes.
Projects
From clinical questions to validated systems.
Each A-STAR project begins with a surgical problem, then moves through data curation, model development, validation, and translational planning. The portfolio highlights focused examples of how AI can support safer surgery, better education, and more measurable outcomes.
Status · validation
MOSI
Metabolic & Obesity Staging Index
A staging algorithm and clinical audit platform for bariatric surgery, validated on 3,097 patients. MOSI scores patients across BMI, comorbidities, and severity to recommend procedures and target weight-loss tiers.
Status · development
SIRIS
Surgical-IRIS Education
SIRIS helps patients ask specialty-focused education questions, review Mayo Clinic resources, and prepare questions for their care team, bridging the information gap between booking and operation.
Status · validation
GoNoGoNet
AI-guided Go/No-Go surgical safety zone detection
Computer vision model for identifying surgical dissection safety zones and supporting intraoperative decision-making.
From the lab
A-STAR Lab Teaches Hands-On Computer Vision at the ACS Clinical Congress 2026
A-STAR Lab members joined faculty from Moonshot AI and Stanford University to lead the computer vision session of the ACS hands-on AI course for clinicians and surgeons in Washington, DC.
A-STAR Lab Members Honored at the Mayo Research Fellows' Association Awards
Dr. Abdulrahman Alomar received the Excellence in AI, Data Science, and Computational Biology Award, and the Bariatric Surgery and Aging Team received the Team Collaboration Award.
A-STAR Lab Volunteers at Mayo Clinic Surgery Family Day
Dr. Simon J. Laplante and Dr. Abdulrahman Alomar led a hands-on laparoscopic skills station at Mayo Clinic's Surgery Family Day.
Collaborating institutions
Get involved
Ready to build surgical AI with A-STAR?
Bring a clinical question, dataset, or educational idea. We help shape it into a surgical AI project, validation pathway, or collaboration.
Clinical question
Translate a surgical safety, planning, or outcomes question into a scoped AI study.
Dataset / video / imaging
Shape governed data into a model, validation plan, or multi-site collaboration.
Education or Journal Club
Bring trainees, readings, demos, and surgical AI discussion into one forum.