VoiceCheck: An Intelligent Assistant for Enhancing Surgical Safety Through Guided Checklist Use

Challenges such as time constraints, distractions and multi-tasking can compromise patient safety in the demanding environment of surgery. To mitigate these risks, checklists have emerged as simple yet effective tools for ensuring critical aspects of patient care, such as verifying patient identity and planned interventions. However, their consistent and accurate implementation in daily practice remains a challenge. This paper presents an intelligent assistant, VoiceCheck, designed to enhance patient safety during surgical procedures by guiding the use of checklists. Seamlessly integrated into the surgical workflow, VoiceCheck uses advanced speech recognition technology to ensure compliance with safety protocols. Combining speech-to-text and text-to-speech capabilities, the assistant facilitates interactive communication with users and accurately captures approved information. Future work will study user acceptance and usability. An open issue is linking the system to a hospital information for retrieving relevant patient data.