How This AI Book Is Built
A plain-language explanation of how artificial intelligence and human expertise work together to keep this textbook current.
The Core Concept
Traditional medical textbooks take years to write and are outdated by the time they're printed. This "Living Textbook" solves that problem by combining the tireless monitoring of AI with the wisdom and judgment of experienced vascular surgeons.
Think of it as having a research assistant who reads every new vascular surgery paper published worldwide, then brings the important findings to expert surgeons for review. The surgeons decide what belongs in the textbook—the AI just helps find and organize the information.
How It Works: Step by Step
AI Monitors Medical Research
Our system continuously scans PubMed—the world's largest database of medical research—for new studies relevant to vascular surgery. It looks for clinical trials, systematic reviews, and updated guidelines.
AI Proposes Updates
When the AI finds significant new evidence, it drafts a proposed update to the relevant textbook section. Each proposal includes the original text, suggested changes, and citations to the source research.
Surgeons Review Every Change
No update goes live without human approval. Our editorial board of vascular surgeons reviews each proposal. They can approve it, reject it, or request modifications. This is the critical quality control step.
Approved Changes Go Live
Once approved, the textbook updates instantly. Every change is tracked with full version history, so you can always see what changed and why.
Surgeons Can Revert Changes
If a change is later found to be problematic, our editors can instantly revert the textbook to its previous version. Every approved change can be undone with a single click, maintaining full accountability.
Human Surgeons Have the Final Say
This is not a fully automated system. AI assists with research and drafting, but every single change requires approval from qualified vascular surgeons before it becomes part of the textbook.
- AI cannot publish content on its own
- Every proposal is reviewed by expert surgeons
- All changes can be reverted at any time
- Complete audit trail of who approved what
The Editorial Board
Our editorial board consists of practicing vascular surgeons with extensive clinical experience and academic credentials. They bring decades of real-world surgical expertise to evaluating proposed updates.
The editors—Prof. Tal Hörer and Dr. David McGreevy—take full academic responsibility for the overall concept, design, and editorial supervision of this textbook.
Meet the Editorial BoardWhat AI Can and Cannot Do
AI Does
- • Monitor thousands of new papers daily
- • Identify relevant studies automatically
- • Draft proposed text updates
- • Format citations properly
- • Track version history
AI Does Not
- • Make clinical decisions
- • Publish content without approval
- • Replace surgeon judgment
- • Provide patient-specific advice
- • Override editorial decisions
Important Safety Information
This textbook is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for clinical judgment or institutional protocols. Please review our safety cautions before using this resource.
Read Safety Cautions