Surgical Data Science Summer School 2026: a landmark success in the 5th edition
The 5th edition of the Surgical Data Science (SDS) Summer School was successfully hosted by IHU Strasbourg and the CAMMA research lab, from 8 to 12 June 2026. Now an unmissable event on the international calendar, the summer school set out to break down barriers between computer science and medicine, in order to help shape the surgical artificial intelligence of tomorrow.
Clinicians and computer scientists: jointly envisioning tomorrow’s operating room
The founding concept of the week remains unchanged: bring together 12 clinicians and 12 computer scientists selected from around the world. Working side by side, they pooled their expertise to learn about and design technological tools that answer genuine clinical needs. This immersion outside their comfort zone introduced them to the transformational potential of surgical data science, culminating in presentations tackling a real-world clinical need.
From world-renowned expert lectures to clinical reality
Under the leadership of Prof. Nicolas Padoy (Director of Computer Science and AI Research at IHU Strasbourg), the program was built around high-level expert presentations and hands-on sessions on the institute’s experimental platform.
The scientific discussions spanned the full range of challenges in surgical AI, from the fundamentals of video analysis and deep learning to the realities of the operating room itself: surgical workflow analysis, automated quality assessment, 3D modelling, and understanding of human factors. The exchanges also addressed the complex path of clinical validation and the opportunities of MedTech entrepreneurship, a reminder that every algorithm must adapt to the demands and realities of the operating room and the patient.
To close this intensive week, Friday afternoon was dedicated to the group-project presentations. Divided into four interdisciplinary teams, participants showcased innovative prototypes developed in record time. Before a jury of experts impressed by the quality of the solutions, each group demonstrated its ability to ideate and deeply think about AI tools that concretely address real clinical problems.
A collective achievement
This anniversary edition is the fruit of the remarkable work of a dedicated organizing committee: Pietro Mascagni, Vinkle Srivastav, Lalith Sharan, Agnès Gronfier, Justine Chadefaux, Prof. Silvana Perretta, and Prof. Nicolas Padoy.
Our teams warmly thank our industry sponsors (Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Intuitive, Medtronic, Asensus Surgical, Scialytics) as well as our academic partners (CAMMA, ITI Healthtech, University of Strasbourg, Inserm, Grand Est AI Cluster ENACT, EAES, MICCAI) for their unwavering suppor
🚀 To discover the program and join future editions:
Visit the official Edu4sds website
