Humanoid robots show early promise in clinical procedures, but technical limits remain
Editor's Note Adapting general-purpose humanoid robots already trained on large-scale industrial tasks for use in surgery could provide a solution to burnout, understaffing and other problems. This is the primary takeaway of a July 9 article from UC San Diego detailing the work of robotics expert Michael Yip, who has…
Robot performs autonomous cholecystectomy using video training, voice feedback
Editor's Note A surgical robot independently performed a lengthy phase of gallbladder removal with expert-level precision, according to a July 9 announcement from Johns Hopkins university. "This advancement moves us from robots that can execute specific surgical tasks to robots that truly understand surgical procedures," said medical roboticist Axel Krieger,…
Perioperative nurses are at the heart of robotic surgery’s rapid rise
Editor's Note As robotic-assisted surgery continues to expand across specialties, perioperative nurses are driving operational excellence, clinical outcomes, and team coordination—often serving as the linchpin of these high-tech surgical programs. According to an April 16 article from the Cleveland Clinic, the health system’s robotic surgery program illustrates how nurses are…
Autonomous surgical robot makes strides in soft-tissue precision
Editor's Note Capability to achieve results on par with or better than humans using laparoscopic techniques demonstrates the extent to which autonomous surgical robots are rapidly evolving toward clinical readiness, according to John Hopkins University robotics researchers writing may 27 in IEEE Spectrum. The system detailed in the article, Johns…
Study: Robotic-assisted cholecystectomy raises complication risk in acute care despite similar injury rates
Editor's Note Recent research shows robotic-assisted cholecystectomy (RAC) results in similar bile duct injury rates as laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), but risks are higher for postoperative complications, longer hospital stays, and more frequent drain use. Published May 21 in JAMA Surgery, the large-scale cohort study analyzed outcomes from over 844,000 acute…
Telesurgery possibilities becoming more than remote
Remote surgery has come a long way since the first-ever case in 2001, when a surgeon in New York City operated on a patient in Strasbourg, France. No longer a product of science fiction, telesurgery’s advance promises to change—and save—countless lives, from patients in remote areas to those in warzones…
AI-powered surgical robot learns by watching
Editor's Note Kinematics-based AI similar to the technology behind ChatGPT enabled a multi-armed robot to learn new surgical techniques by watching video of human surgeons, according to a November 12 report in Healthday. “The robot is powered by the same AI that underpins ChatGPT, but instead of words and text,…
Robot could clear stroke-related blockage faster than traditional methods
Editor's Note A magnetically operated robot developed by the Multi-Scale Robotics Lab in Zurich along with several hospitals in Switzerland could be used to treat people in the critical moments following a stroke to remove blockage and resume blood flow. The findings were published February 14 in the journal Science…
Role of robotics coordinators in standardization, efficiency
The importance of a dedicated robotics coordinator’s role in an efficient da Vinci robotics program cannot be overstated. “You need someone to take ownership of the program, set up training for staff and surgeons, and coordinate ongoing development,” says June Hill, BSN, RN, CNOR, clinical director of robotics, Inova Health…
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