Intra-operative image-guided interventional robotics—where are we now and where are we going?

Surgical robots are designed with the intention of allowing remote operation and improvements in precision and steadiness. Beginning around three decades ago with the earliest attempts in applications for orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery, robotic systems have been developed to offer benefits to both patients and surgeons. For example, in laparoscopic prostatectomy, the assistance of medical robots has been proven to contribute to fewer intra-operative risks (e.g. blood loss), faster recovery (including shorter hospital stay), and lower reoperation rate. Surgeons also benefit from the ergonomic design to shorten the learning curve, reduce physiological requirements (e.g. steadiness), and relieve fatigue (e.g. reduce hand and wrist numbness). Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has been performed on many parts of the human body, including but not limited to brain, heart, digestive tract, and spine. This chapter will introduce advanced medical imaging techniques from the view of assisting interventional surgeries, as well as representative robotic systems for various treatments, aiming to investigate some key techniques that are involved in their development and discussing the current status, limitations, and future trends of intraoperative image-guided robotic platforms.