A robot is a machine device capable of recognizing its surroundings and its own condition to automatically perform tasks. It can be commanded by humans, run pre-programmed procedures, or act according to principles established by artificial intelligence technology, assisting or replacing human work. Medical robots are intelligent service robots that provide professional medical and health services, and can be categorized into diagnostic robots, surgical robots, rehabilitation robots, nursing robots, and medical teaching robots, among others.
Surgical robots have a wide range of applications, solving problems such as poor precision, long operation time, surgeon fatigue, and lack of three-dimensional precision vision in traditional surgery. The American surgical robot "da Vinci" was the world's first automated mechanical system for laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery. Currently in its third generation, it can be widely used in general surgery, urology, cardiovascular surgery, thoracic surgery, gynecology, head and neck surgery, and pediatric surgery. It has four mechanical arms that can precisely perform complex surgeries such as heart valve repair and cancerous tissue removal under the surgeon's control. Its robotic arms not only perfectly mimic the surgeon's wrist movements but also filter out unnecessary hand tremors and provide a much wider range of motion than the human hand. Compared to traditional surgery, it results in less trauma, less blood loss, faster postoperative recovery, and shorter hospital stays. The "da Vinci" system has remarkable capabilities; its compact miniature medical robots can even enter the human body to perform specific tasks, such as administering medication at specific locations or performing precise surgeries to clear arterial blockages. Surgical robots can also be used in the military to perform simple surgeries on wounded soldiers in the field, stabilizing their conditions while awaiting rescue. In the future, doctors will be able to operate underwater and space surgeries from a computer on land.
Rehabilitation robots can meet people's diverse rehabilitation needs, including upper limb rehabilitation robots, lower limb rehabilitation robots, wearable rehabilitation robots, robots for the elderly and disabled, and intelligent wheelchairs. They not only provide convenient services but also enhance the mobility and load-bearing capacity of those undergoing rehabilitation. Meanwhile, physiotherapy and massage robots showcase the advantages of traditional medicine. Currently, people face high work and life pressures, leading to a rising incidence of occupational diseases such as lumbar spondylosis, cervical spondylosis, and carpal tunnel syndrome, resulting in a corresponding increase in the workload of physiotherapists. The emergence of physiotherapy and massage robots is expected to bring a new force to rehabilitation in specialties such as neck, shoulder, back, and leg pain clinics, traditional Chinese medicine physiotherapy clinics, and sports injury clinics.
Nursing robots can be embedded with a big data-based "cloud brain," possessing technologies such as intelligent voice interaction, facial recognition and tracking, object recognition, haptic interaction, vision-based indoor navigation and positioning, laser navigation and obstacle avoidance, autonomous learning, and self-health assessment. This enables intelligent, personalized, and safe nursing care at specific locations, times, and for specific individuals. In hospital services, besides transporting medicines and medical equipment, robots can help nurses identify patients, accurately dispense necessary medications, move or transport paralyzed or immobile patients, and deliver meals, medical records, and lab reports. In the future, they may also measure patients' temperatures, clean wards, and even help medical staff understand patients' conditions in a timely manner through video transmission.
Medical teaching robots are ideal teaching tools, capable of simulating a pregnant woman about to give birth, and even speaking and screaming. By simulating real childbirth, they can improve the surgical coordination and on-site response of obstetric and gynecological medical staff. Medical robots can also provide remote medical and health services, enabling remote control via mobile applications and leveraging the latest information and communication technologies such as cloud storage, big data analysis, and artificial intelligence to provide precise medical and health services.
Medical robots are a new interdisciplinary research field integrating medicine, biomechanics, mechanics, materials science, computer graphics, computer vision, computer networks and communications, mathematical analysis, robotics, virtual reality, and many other disciplines. They possess significant research value and have broad application prospects in both military and civilian fields, making them a current research hotspot in the robotics field. With the rapid development of the robotics industry, medical robots have received considerable attention, becoming increasingly specialized and widely applied. Surgical robots, rehabilitation robots, nursing robots, and intelligent health monitoring systems are among the major future research directions. Today, rapidly developing Internet of Things (IoT) technology allows robots to better perceive their surroundings; cloud computing technology enables robots to adapt to the diversity of human living environments, achieving self-learning and collaborative work; big data technology enables robots to make intelligent decisions; and the development of artificial intelligence is truly making robots intelligent… Medical robots will undoubtedly become increasingly sophisticated with the powerful impetus of various new technologies!
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