Review of the Present and Future of Spinal Robotic Technologies: Far from navigation

Abstract

The spine’s unique anatomical structure presents elevated challenges and risks in surgical procedures. Robot-assisted spinal surgeries developed rapidly in recent years. The robot-assisted techniques demonstrate promising outcomes, including the remarkable reliability, safety, efficacy, and decreased gamma exposure in spinal surgery, especially for the area of pedicle screw placement. The robot-assisted techniques are more and more popular all over the world, with the advantages like precision navigation and visualization, real-time feedback, and remote surgery. Despite significant achievements and promising prospects, the current clinical application of robot-assisted surgery remains relatively limited, with the navigation and pedicle screw insertion functions mostly used. This article reviews the current progress and outlines the future development direction in robot-assisted spine surgery.