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Surgical Robotics

Key terms

No deep prerequisites here, this section is just to spark your curiosity and show what surgical robots can do.

Before we dive in, have a look at the terms below. You will see them throughout the chapter and videos, and having them fresh in mind will make everything that follows much clearer!

Term Definition
Open surgery Traditional approach that uses a large incision to give the surgeon direct, hands-on access to the operative field.
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) Techniques that operate through small incisions (or none at all) with slender instruments and a camera, reducing trauma, pain, and recovery time: based on how you reach the surgical site
Laparoscopic surgery A form of MIS in which rigid instruments and a camera (laparoscope) are inserted through several small abdominal ports; the surgeon views the field on a video monitor.
Microsurgery Procedures carried out under an operating microscope with specialized micro-instruments, enabling work on vessels, nerves, and other tiny structures at sub-millimetre scales (focus is on precision at the tissue level, not incision size): it is about what you do once you are there.
Single-port / single-site surgery MIS executed through a single multi-channel port—often hidden in the navel, using articulating tools and cameras that fan out inside the body.
Hybrid (robot + laparoscope) procedures Surgeries that mix robotic assistance for precision tasks with conventional laparoscopic or open steps, blending the strengths of each method.

Course Content

What exactly is a Surgical Robot?

Robotic surgery turns a surgeon’s hands into micron-level instruments. While the surgeon sits at a 3-D console, the robot scales big hand moves down to hair-thin motions, filters out tremor, and bends its “wrists” in ways no human wrist can. The payoff: cleaner cuts, steadier sutures, and faster healing for the patient.

To see that precision in action, watch the clip below, a surgical robot neatly stitches the fragile skin of a corn kernel with thread finer than a human hair. If it can sew corn, imagine what it can do for arteries, nerves, or the delicate lining of the eye.

Suturing a corn kernel with 12‑0 suture (Sony R&D Center, 2024).

How Do Surgeons Drive the Robot?

(The steps below describe a typical multi-arm, master-slave platform—think da Vinci, Hugo, Versius, etc.)

  1. Console in, scalpel out – The surgeon slips fingers into two pen-like master grips, peers into a magnified 3-D viewer, and rests feet on pedals, no handheld scalpels at the bedside.
  2. Hand to micro-hand translation – Every twist, pinch, or roll of the grips is mirrored at the instrument tips but motion-scaled (e.g., 10 mm hand move → 1 mm instrument move) and tremor-filtered.
  3. Pedals for “extras” – Left foot cycles camera zoom/focus; right foot fires energy (cautery, stapler) or toggles motion-scaling ratios on the fly.
  4. Head-tracking safety – Lift your head and the image blanks, freezing the arms—an instant pause button built into the viewer.
  5. Team play – A scrub nurse swaps single-use instruments; an assistant may steady tissue through an extra laparoscopic port.
  6. Setup hurdle – Before all this, a trained team spends few minutes “docking” the robot’s arms around the patient; good positioning makes the case smooth, poor positioning causes arm clashes.

In short, surgeons drive the robot with finger finesse and foot taps, while the software handles scaling, tremor filtering, and safety limits.

Here is a short documentary that traces the rise of surgical robots, explains how the technology works, and shows the real-world benefits for patients.

Robotic Surgery Unlocks a New Era of Medicine, 5-minute mini-doc tracing the rise of surgical robots, how the da Vinci works, and how this is benefit for patients, Youtube video, 1 july 2020. Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aJhNXXWmq0&t=34s

Follow up with this surgeon’s-eye view: Dr Mary Maish takes you inside the cockpit, describing how she drives the robot for lung-cancer operations and why her patients recover faster than with open surgery.

Interview, talk from Dr. Mary Maish, M.D, talking about her expereince using the surgery robot. Youtube video, 1 july 2020. Available at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z0oJR9S1Ps

Challenges of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) adoption

Challenge Zone Operational Impact Representative Limitations
A. Human–Robot Fit Ensuring the console, instruments, and feedback feel intuitive and non-fatiguing for the surgeon. • Limited instrument DOF can force awkward wrist/arm postures.
• Long sessions in a closed console may strain neck and back.
• Haptic feeback cues remain sparse or lagging.
• Camera/tool motion may not match individual surgeon style. [3]
B. Operating-Room (OR) Environment Harmonising the robot’s footprint with existing OR traffic, equipment and acoustics. • Tight layouts and umbilical cables create trip hazards.
• Frequent redocking to reach multiple quadrants.
• Console placement and ambient noise could affect team communication.
[3]
C. Workforce & Training Building a uniformly competent team across all roles who interact with the system. • Inconsistent curricula (formal courses vs. peer shadowing).
• Lack of universal, competency-based credentialing.
• Novices struggle without tactile cues that open surgery provides. [3]
D. Autonomy & Core Technology Moving from teleoperation to context-aware assistance without compromising safety. • Decision support—robot must know when and how to help.
• Safe navigation through soft, mobile anatomy.
• Reliable tissue recognition.
• Real-time motion/force control cannot tolerate latency. [4]
E. Cost & Workflow Integration Justifying capital outlay while maintaining, or improving, throughput and outcomes. • High purchase and consumable costs.
• Learning-curve case times initially longer than laparoscopy.
• Extra storage, maintenance and service contracts. [5]
F. Ethics & Regulation Defining accountability and patient trust as autonomy increases. • Ambiguous responsibility for semi- or fully autonomous steps.
• Regulatory pathways for AI modules still evolving.
• Patient concerns over robotic intervention in critical organs.
• Data-privacy issues around OR video and telemetry. [4]

Types of Surgical-Robot

No single robot can tackle every anatomy or access route, so the field has splintered into task-specific platforms.
A practical way to organise them is by where they enter the body and what they must do once inside:

Robot family (entry route) Typical use-cases
Multi-port laparoscopic
(3-4 small abdominal trocars)		 Urology, gynaecology, general soft-tissue resections
Single-port & NOTES
(single umbilical port or natural orifice)		 Scar-less cholecystectomy, trans-oral / trans-anal procedures
Orthopaedic milling / alignment Knee & hip arthroplasty, fracture screw guidance
Spine & neuro navigation Pedicle screws, stereotactic biopsies, DBS lead placement
Endovascular & cardiac catheter Coronary stents, structural-heart repair, EP ablation
Flexible endoluminal Colonoscopy, bronchoscopy, GI sub-mucosal dissection
Capsule & micro-robots Wireless GI imaging, targeted drug delivery, micro-suturing research

Adapted from Zhang et al., 2024 IEEE ICMA review on laparoscopic, orthopaedic, vascular-intervention and NOTES robots.

If you want to explore more examples, head over to robots.sfits.ch — an open, continuously-updated catalogue where you can:

  • Filter systems by access route, end-effector motion type, degree of autonomy, specialty and more.
  • Open each robot’s profile for a concise tech overview plus the latest manufacturer news & milestones.

News & Emerging Innovations

Humans-in-the-Loop — For Now

Focus-group interviews suggest that clinicians are eager for “light” autonomy but demand an instant-override option:

  • Assist, don’t replace – surgeons are happy to let the robot hold tissue tension or re-centre the scope as long as they remain in charge.
  • Full autonomy = mixed feelings – enthusiasm is tempered by worries over edge cases and liability.

Result: current Research and Development focuses on decision-support or task-support modules rather than “driver-less” surgery.

Stay on the Cutting Edge

For real-time breakthroughs—autonomous suturing prototypes, first-in-human trials, clever camera algorithms—bookmark Surgical Robotics Technology › News, this provides the latest news, events, products, technology and jobs from the Surgical Robotics industry.

Spotlight Videos

  • Will robots replace surgeons? Testing surgical robots, Robots in Japan
    YouTube, 14 Aug 2020 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfX6qiJKDMk
    A Tokyo-based surgical-robotics specialist tackles three big questions:
    Why do we need surgical robots? What happens if one makes a mistake? Could they ever replace human surgeons?
    The clip blends lab footage with expert commentary to give balanced, easy-to-grasp answers.

  • How are surgical robots made? Go behind the scenes
    YouTube, 15 Sep 2020 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WsgJznDVIc
    Step onto Intuitive Surgical’s factory floor and watch a da Vinci robot come to life—from precision machining and clean-room assembly to surgeon training, stress testing, and final quality inspection.

  • Can AI make surgery safer?
    YouTube, 2024 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEgUaGHYxNg
    Shows how operating-room video and instrument data can be fed to machine-learning models to score a surgeon’s technique in real time—turning subjective judgements into objective numbers and actionable feedback.

Innovation is sprinting ahead, but trust, tactile realism, and transparent AI oversight must grow just as fast—winners will be helpers that earn surgeon confidence, not “black-box” pilots.

Credit

This course page was created by Shujiro Shobayashi, MSc in Robotics at EPFL, and funded by IEEE RAS and EPFL.

Reference:

  1. Morrell, A. L. G., Morrell-Junior, A. C., Morrell, A. G., Mendes, J. M. F., Tustumi, F., de Oliveira-e-Silva, L. G., & Morrell, A. (2021). The history of robotic surgery and its evolution: when illusion becomes reality. Revista do Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões, 48, e20202798. https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-6991e-20202798

  2. Pugin, F., Bucher, P., & Morel, P. (2011). History of robotic surgery: From AESOP® and ZEUS® to da Vinci®. Journal of Visceral Surgery, 148(6), e3–e9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jviscsurg.2011.04.007

  3. Fuller, P., Joseph, A., Kennedy, S., Ball, M., Carbonell, A., Duffie, H., Cha, J. S., Gainey, M., & Luo, Q. (2025). Understanding the challenges of robotic-assisted surgery adoption: Perspectives from stakeholders and the general population on human interaction, built environment, and training. Applied Ergonomics, 122, 104403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2024.104403

  4. Shan, J. (2025). Surgical Robotics: Recent Development Trends and Challenges. In Proceedings of the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Technologies for Industrial Automation (ROBOTHIA) (pp. 1-6). Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. https://doi.org/10.1109/ROBOTHIA63806.2025.10986348

  5. Zhang, L., Qi, X., Peng, Y., Bao, S., Yuan, J., & Guo, S. (2024). Review on Development Status, Challenges and Development Trends of Surgical Robots. In Proceedings of the 2024 IEEE International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation (ICMA) (pp. 709-714). Tianjin, China. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMA61710.2024.10633193

Last updated: June 26, 2025

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