Review of Interventional Robotic Systems

Abstract

Abstract The success of the da Vinci system has shown the feasibility and a great potential of using robotic systems to improve healthcare. With a trend of replacing more and more invasive surgeries with minimally invasive interventional procedures, developing robotic systems for interventions has seen a boost of interest from both the industry and the academia in the past two decades. Using robotics to conduct intervention procedures is expected to better protect the clinicians by reducing their radiation exposure and to create better patient outcome in cases where high positional accuracy is needed, such as placing a stent or a coil. However, adoption of interventional robotics has been slow due to the limitations of current interventional robotic systems such as a steep learning curve, lack of haptic feedback, and safety concern. This narrative review first introduces the current clinical applications of interventional robotic systems and their limitations. The major technological features of interventional robotics, including the master-slave manipulator, soft continuum robot, and end effector, are then described. Finally, several manufacturing research topics are proposed for future interventional robotic systems.