A Weekly Scheduling of Operating Theaters Using Multi-agent Planner

The management of the operating theater is very complex due to the multiplicity of human and material elements involved. We suggest a surgical planning approach that utilizes a multi-agent planner based on distributed artificial intelligence. This involves detailing some fundamental architectural entities of the multi-agent system that are associated with surgical planning, followed by demonstrating their application on a real case of surgery department. We presented the structure of the tool used and elucidated its interaction mechanism as well as its decision logic. The outcome was an overall schedule that met all the required constraints, thus achieving the desired objective. The aim of our work is to provide a tool for surgical planning allowing the construction of a weekly, automatic and flexible program of the operating theater. This tool will take account of the many changes and common disruptions that affect the normal progress of surgical procedures.