An introductory review of robotically assisted surgical systems

Purpose The scope of the work is to present the state of the art of robotically assisted surgical systems and to give a general idea about how technology can help today and tomorrow robotic surgery. The road to innovation passes through research and on field trials; for this reason, not only commercial surgery robots, but also innovative prototype robots, proposed by the Academic world, are presented. Design/methodology/approach Following a short introduction, robotically assisted surgery systems are introduced discussing their architectures and main peculiarities. A further section is dedicated to the key enabling technologies that will make possible to improve current systems and that will lead to a new generation of surgical robotic systems able to meet the patient's needs and facilitate the surgeon's task. Finally, brief concluding comments are given. Findings The idea of using robots for surgery was born many years ago and in a short time a market demand was created. Today the market is very dynamic, and several new products are updated and created for the execution of both traditional and new procedures. The article provides a guide for the reader who has an interest in this area. Originality/value This paper provides an insight into the commercial robotic surgical systems and a look on research prototypes from academic and industrial worlds.

Automated summary

This article presents the state of the art of robotically assisted surgical systems and explores how technology can assist surgical procedures. It discusses commercial surgical robots as well as innovative prototype robots from the academic world. The article examines the architectures and peculiarities of these systems, highlights key enabling technologies, and concludes with brief remarks.