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Neng, et al.
Professor Jean-Christophe Fricain at the University of needs of prospective patients laid a good foundation for
Bordeaux proposed a laser-assisted bioprinting method developing surgical robot technology . Surgical robots
[29]
to repair bone defects. The researchers used this printing are faced with obstacles of limited visual perception,
method to print collagen, nano-hydroxyapatite, and low distal dexterity, poor hand-eye coordination, tactile
mesenchymal stem cells in situ at the location of the skull perception obstruction, and non-ergonomics, but these
defect in a mouse model to repair the defect . This study problems are not as significant these days with the
[23]
shows that in situ skull repair is possible and provides a advances in microelectronics and algorithms . As
[30]
new approach to bone repair. a powerful auxiliary surgery aid, surgical robots are
In situ 3D bioprinting technology is also promising for increasingly employed in clinical applications worldwide.
specific applications in stomatology and ophthalmology. It is not to replace the surgeons completely, but to integrate
Dental pulp tissue, which is located in the dental pulp the surgical techniques to assist the surgeon and improve
cavity, contains nerves, blood vessels, dental pulp stem their accuracy and success rate in performing surgical
cells, and other components with sensory, nutritional, operation .
[31]
dentin forming, defensive, and restorative roles . When
[24]
irreversible inflammation occurs in dental pulp, the usual 3.1. Orthopedic surgery robots
treatment is to remove the inflamed tissue and perform Surgical robots first appeared in orthopedics in the
root canal treatment. This approach can relieve pain but 1930s when Dr. Bauer pioneered the technique of
does not restore the physiological function of the dental needle biopsies through the posterolateral spine .
[31]
pulp tissue. Professor Daniela F. Duarte Campos’ team Medtronic and Mazor Robotics collaborated to develop
at the School of Medicine of the Technical University of SpineAssist ®, the world’s first spinal surgery robot
Aachen in Germany proposed a hand-held 3D bioprinting and one of the most widely used surgical robots to date,
method for dental pulp tissue regeneration. The dental which was approved by the United States Food and
pulp tissue was printed in the root canal model and then Drug Administration (FDA) in 2004. SpineAssist ®
cultured to form vascular tissue, making in situ root canal automatically executes its robotic arm to achieve a pre-
treatment possible. Nevertheless, in situ 3D bioprinting specified trajectory that maximizes surgical precision
has particular potential in dental pulp treatment . and reduces complex movement during surgery. Using
[25]
Professor Juliana Lopes Hoehne of the Federal University SpineAssist ® has proven to be more effective in reducing
of Sao Paulo, Brazil, applied piezoelectric inkjet 3D radiation exposure, incidence of complications, operation
printing technology in ophthalmic surgeries. They also time, and recovery time . Subsequently, Medtronic’s
[32]
simulated the in situ bioprinting process in the experiment stealth software technology was combined with Mazor’s
using pig eyes as the substrate for cell-laden printing robotics to develop the next generation of Mazor X ®
and observed their ocular cell growth and proliferation. stealth robotics. It consists of a stand-alone robotic arm
They demonstrated that this bioprinting technology has with an integrated linear optical camera that assesses the
the versatility and high precision desired for ophthalmic work environment through interactive 3D scanning to
surgery and could make a big difference in in situ printing. avoid collisions and improve predictability and flexibility
With the constant progress in research in the future, it is during surgery [31,32] . Stryker Co. of the United States
expected that ophthalmic implants would become highly designed the MAKO Robot Auxiliary system, a semi-
personalized for users and attain low immune rejection automatic robot that was approved by the FDA in 2015. It
rates in the future . uses a tactile feedback system and computed tomography
[26]
3. Current status of robotics in the medical scan positioning technique to significantly reduce the
probability of complications after single-compartment
field knee arthroplasty (UKA). However, it increases the cost

In the past 10 years, intelligent medical technology of surgery and the radiation exposure for patients, both
has become a popular research direction in the medical detrimental to its widespread clinical applications [33-35] .
field, and this has brought about the emergence of new The TSolution-One ® robot system was developed by
techniques such as artificial intelligence-based image- THINK Surgical and was approved by the FDA in 2019.
aided diagnostic methods. In conjunction with that, the The robot system reproduces the precise placement of
new innovations in the field of surgical robot technology components in images during preoperative planning,
also become potential tools used in surgeries [27,28] . allowing surgeons to create, view, and analyze surgical
The research in surgical robotics does not support its results in three dimensions [34,36] .
widespread application in the medical field, nor does it 3.2. Neurosurgical robot
help lower the costs of application. However, surgical
robots could provide essential technical support for Neurosurgical robots have been evolving for the past
minimally invasive precision surgery. The evolving decades. Their advantages are mainly reflected as follows:

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