A 2021 Review on Recent Advancements in Robotic-assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery: The Philippines Perspective

This paper provides an overview of the recent advancements in robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) from the perspective of the Philippines. The rapid development of AI technology and assistive robots along with its integration into the healthcare industry will be discussed. A brief introduction of the evolution of conventional surgery into minimally invasive surgery and (RMIS) will be tackled. This is then followed by the robotic surgery standards. A number of existing robotic surgical platforms are then explored along with their background, features, and FDA approval status. Systems that will be focused on are the Senhance Surgical Robotic System, Symani Surgical System, and the Hugo RAS System. Current trends in surgical systems would also be tackled to highlight features and techniques that seem to work the best with every advancement in robotic surgery. Trends such as soft robotics, sensors, computer vision and augmented reality, autonomy, training and techniques will be focused on. The paper concludes by discussing the more evident integration of RMIS in surgery operations. In addition, trends addressing the shortcomings of RMIS to provide an overall greater experience is mentioned. Lastly, more studies are being made to further improve and provide ease of control on the side of the surgeon during operations.