TY - JOUR
T1 - Artificial intelligence agents in orthopaedics: Concepts, capabilities and the road ahead
AU - Oettl, Felix C
AU - Pruneski, James
AU - Zsidai, Balint
AU - Yu, Yinan
AU - Cong, Ting
AU - Feldt, Robert
AU - Winkler, Philipp W
AU - Hirschmann, Michael T
AU - Samuelsson, Kristian
AU - ESSKA Artificial Intelligence Working Group
N1 - © 2025 The Author(s). Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy.
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in orthopaedics, yet current models are often limited to narrow, isolated tasks like analysing an X-ray or predicting a single outcome. This paper introduces AI agents-a new class of AI systems designed to overcome these limitations. Unlike traditional AI, agents can autonomously manage complex, multistep processes that mirror the complete patient journey. They can coordinate tasks from initial diagnosis and surgical scheduling to postoperative monitoring and rehabilitation, acting as intelligent assistants for clinical teams. This review explains what distinguishes AI agents from conventional AI, explores their potential applications in orthopaedic practice-including perioperative workflow optimisation, research acceleration and intelligent physician support-and discusses the significant implementation and ethical challenges that must be addressed. For the orthopaedic surgeon, understanding AI agents is becoming essential, as these systems offer a transformative potential to enhance efficiency, improve patient outcomes and shape the future of clinical leadership in a technologically advancing field. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V.
AB - Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in orthopaedics, yet current models are often limited to narrow, isolated tasks like analysing an X-ray or predicting a single outcome. This paper introduces AI agents-a new class of AI systems designed to overcome these limitations. Unlike traditional AI, agents can autonomously manage complex, multistep processes that mirror the complete patient journey. They can coordinate tasks from initial diagnosis and surgical scheduling to postoperative monitoring and rehabilitation, acting as intelligent assistants for clinical teams. This review explains what distinguishes AI agents from conventional AI, explores their potential applications in orthopaedic practice-including perioperative workflow optimisation, research acceleration and intelligent physician support-and discusses the significant implementation and ethical challenges that must be addressed. For the orthopaedic surgeon, understanding AI agents is becoming essential, as these systems offer a transformative potential to enhance efficiency, improve patient outcomes and shape the future of clinical leadership in a technologically advancing field. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105021331916
U2 - 10.1002/ksa.70109
DO - 10.1002/ksa.70109
M3 - Article
C2 - 41103258
SN - 0942-2056
VL - 33
SP - 4475
EP - 4483
JO - Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (KSSTA)
JF - Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy (KSSTA)
IS - 12
ER -