The Convergence

As surgical robots evolve from following a surgeon’s movements to learning surgical skills, new possibilities are emerging for what they could take on in the OR. Dr. Michael Yip joins Dr. Brian McDonough to unpack where autonomous assistance, remote collaboration, and even humanoid platforms could fit into surgery—and the ethical, safety, and regulatory questions that will shape their path into clinical practice. Dr. Yip is the Director of the Advanced Robotics and Controls Laboratory and a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California San Diego.

As AI moves from promising models to real-world clinical use, it's critical to understand how model performance translates to the complexity of patient care across diverse populations and care settings. Dr. Brian McDonough sits down with Dr. Suvrankar Datta, a radiologist and the Founder of the CRASH Lab at Ashoka University in New Delhi, to examine the limits of AI autonomy, the need for rigorous local validation, and the places where human oversight remains essential in the clinical world.

What if AI could not only generate an answer, but also show clinicians how it actually got there? In this conversation with Dr. Brian McDonough, Dr. Michael Moor examines the next generation of medical AI, exploring how agent-based systems may improve transparency, support clinical reasoning, and help healthcare professionals better evaluate AI-generated insights. Dr. Moor is an Assistant Professor of Medical AI at ETH Zurich.

What if Alzheimer's care begins years before the first symptom appears? Find out how AI-powered foundation models are helping us rethink prevention through earlier risk detection and precision medicine as Dr. Brian McDonough sits down with Dr. Adrian Noriega de la Colina and Arvid Gollwitzer. Dr. Noriega de la Colina is an MIT Novo Nordisk AI Fellow, and Mr. Gollwitzer is a researcher affiliated with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Traverso Labs at MIT, and ETH Zurich.

Clinical AI is moving beyond answering questions and into the flow of care, creating new possibilities—and responsibilities—for healthcare professionals. In this expert-led conversation, Dr. Brian McDonough sits down with Dr. Raja-Elie Abdulnour and Jean-Claude Saghbini to explore one of our biggest emerging questions: when should AI advise, and when should it act? Discover what's needed to build trust in the next generation of AI-powered care. Dr. Abdulnour is an ICU physician, Editor-in-Chief of NEJM Clinician, Chief Clinical Innovation Officer of NEJM Group, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Mr. Saghbini is the Chief Technology Officer and President of Technology Solutions at Lumeris.

Consumer health data can reshape how clinicians stay connected to patients and support them between visits—but only if we use it effectively. Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Dr. Rajiv Kumar, a physician-researcher at Apple and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Stanford Medicine, to explore how wearable and mobile-generated data can reveal meaningful trends, support earlier interventions, and enhance patient engagement without overwhelming workflows. Learn how to identify what matters, apply clinically validated insights, and translate continuous data streams into smarter, more personalized care.

The next wave of AI innovation is here, and clinicians are at the forefront. Dr. Brian McDonough sits down with Dr. Michal Nedoszytko, an interventional and general cardiologist and the creator of PreVisit.ai and PostVisit.ai, to learn how he's turning everyday clinical challenges into AI-driven solutions—and how you can do the same.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping clinical decision making, documentation, and education, but its value depends on how thoughtfully we use it. In this episode of The Convergence, Dr. Brian McDonough is joined by Dr. Raja-Elie Abdulnour, MD to discuss a practical framework for integrating AI into clinical workflows while balancing transparency and oversight. Tune in to hear how we can reduce risk while improving both patient care and clinician wellness with emerging tools. Dr. Abdulnour is the Editor-in-Chief of NEJM Clinician and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

As AI tools become more accessible, patients are increasingly using them to research symptoms, understand diagnoses, and prepare for appointments, creating new opportunities—and challenges—for care delivery. In this episode of The Convergence, Dr. Brian McDonough speaks with Kate Rouch, a breast cancer survivor and Chief Marketing Officer at OpenAI, about how patients are using AI and how clinicians can navigate this evolving dynamic.

4D ultrasound and ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM) are reshaping non-invasive imaging, allowing clinicians to visualize entire organs—down to vessels smaller than a human hair—in dynamic, real-time detail. Dr. Clément Papadacci joins Dr. Brian McDonough to share how his groundbreaking probe reveals organ-scale blood flow without radiation or traditional contrast agents. Dr. Papadacci is a researcher at Inserm and the Physics for Medicine Institute in Paris.