Current robotic platforms in surgery and the road ahead

Minimally invasive surgery has rapidly evolved from the once novel laparoscopic approach to advanced robotic surgery. In the past few decades alone, robotic systems have gone from systems which were significantly limited to full-fledged platforms featuring 3D vision, articulated instruments, integrated ultra-sound and fluorescence capabilities, and even the latest wireless connectivity, as is now standard. In this review, we aimed to summarize features of currently commercialized and utilized robotic surgical systems as well as currently unfolding platforms. The pros and cons of different robotic surgical systems were discussed. In addition, we discussed the future perspectives of robotic platforms used in general surgery. In this regard, we emphasized that the market, once dominated by Intuitive Surgical Inc., has become occupied by several worthy competitors with new technological giants such as Google. Eventually, the question facing hospital systems will not be of whether or not to invest in robotic surgery, but instead of how they will strike balance between price, features, and availability when choosing robots from the growing market to best equip their surgeons.