Robotics and Medicine

The impact of robotics on medicine is undeniable. The success of Intuitive Surgical’s Da Vinci system has spurred a number of commercial ventures that have attracted large financial investments, such as Mako Surgical, Auris Medical, Medorobotics, and Mazor Robotics, and these efforts will continue their drive to improve health care in terms of both outcomes and costs.

Recently, Google and Johnson & Johnson have teamed with the intention of creating next-generation medical robot systems. Although the clinical robotic systems used to date are assistive and lack any real autonomy, this will certainly change. As our understanding of how to use robotics in the clinic matures, we will continue to develop a deeper understanding of how to create more intelligent, more capable surgical robots. For example, future robots will enable procedures not yet possible,