UW–Madison students launch OpScribe AI to automate surgical documentation

Surgeons spend a significant portion of their time documenting procedures after leaving the operating room. These post-operative reports are essential for medical records, billing and insurance reimbursement, but they are typically written manually and can take considerable time to complete.

Hospitals generally require operative reports to be written or dictated immediately after surgery, often before the patient is transferred out of the operating area. Where policies allow a brief initial note, a complete report is typically required within 24 hours.

OpScribe AI, a startup founded by University of Wisconsin–Madison biomedical engineering students Noah Kalthoff and Ruffin Bryant, is developing software designed to automate part of that process. The company launched in December 2025 after the founders built an initial minimum viable product as part of a classroom project.

The prototype demonstrated how artificial intelligence can analyze video footage of surgical procedures and generate a structured post-operative report that surgeons can review and finalize.

While artificial intelligence scribes have become increasingly common in healthcare, most tools currently on the market focus on capturing conversations between physicians and patients during clinic visits. Those systems typically rely on audio recordings to generate clinical notes.

OpScribe AI takes a different approach. The company’s software is designed to analyze video from surgical procedures and translate what occurs in the operating room into a written report aligned with the documentation surgeons must submit after surgery.

Accurate surgical documentation is also closely tied to hospital billing and insurance reimbursement. Clinical coding studies have found that diagnosis and procedure coding errors occur in a substantial share of medical records, creating potential revenue loss for hospitals and health systems.

By structuring operative reports directly from recorded procedures, tools like OpScribe AI aim to support more consistent documentation while reducing the time surgeons spend completing reports after surgery.

The founders are currently participating in the gBETA Applied AI accelerator at Waukesha County Technical College, a seven-week program operated by gener8tor that supports early-stage startups developing artificial intelligence technologies. The program provides mentorship, customer discovery guidance and connections to investors as founders refine their products and business strategies.

During the accelerator, Kalthoff and Bryant will continue to develop the technology and explore potential clinical use cases. The team hopes to begin pilot testing with medical providers in 2026 as they refine the system and prepare it for broader clinical use.

OpScribe AI is one of the companies that will present its progress during the gBETA at WCTC Applied AI Lab Spring 2026 Showcase, scheduled for April 29. Registration is now open for this free event.