Are Robots Truly the Saviours of Healthcare?

Medicine has drastically revolutionised in less than a century. Five hundred years ago, barber-surgeons¹ would perform simple surgeries by dim flickering candlelight in dungeons. Insanitary conditions, underdeveloped medicines, and insufficient techniques combined with poor medical knowledge were prominent occurrences. As a result, the patient would have to withstand agony and inferior patient care with minuscule chances of overcoming the high mortality rates.  

However, in the 21st century, the field of healthcare has transformed. Luckily, technology has been pivotal in this advancement. In particular, implementing robotics in several fields such as surgery, rehabilitation and mobility, radiotherapy, social assistance, and pharmacy has impacted the healthcare workforce and millions of lives. However, society and the scientific community have several concerns and questions - are robots truly the saviour of future healthcare?  

1985 marks a milestone for the bioengineering field within medicine. The PUMA 560² was the first robot manufactured and successfully implemented into difficult, lengthy neurosurgical procedures. Not only did this robot improve the precision and speed of surgery and recovery time - but it permanently altered the relationship between humans and the role of robotics. Now, robots are commonly associated with surgical use; however, their expansion continues throughout all areas of healthcare. Renowned examples include the da Vinci Surgical System, Versius, prosthetic limbs, and more automated robots such as TUG and pharmASSIST®.  

The benefits of robotics have been outlined through historical events & extensive research, notably contributing towards tackling the COVID-19³ global pandemic by alleviating the strain on the healthcare force and vulnerable patients. Not only did robots help front-line medical workers (in procedural contexts - e.g., surgeries, etc.), but also helped maintain sanitary conditions within hospitals, enabled non-contact patient care, and monitored patients and their vitals. This demonstrates that their ‘inhumane’ nature may be heroic in future epidemiological emergencies as their immunity towards diseases allows them to operate in hazardous environments.  

Furthermore, robots have demonstrated their strengths by enhancing surgical precision during minimally invasive surgeries. There’s a general increase in the frequency of robotic surgery procedures every year - and this trend will continue as time proceeds. From 2012 to 2018, there has been a drastic surge in the percentage of robotic general surgery procedures from 1.8% to 15.1%⁴. However, this trend also reflects our growing reliance on robotic surgery across several surgical departments as well (including thoracic, cardiovascular, orthopaedics, gynaecologic, urology and neurosurgery) - augmenting doctor’s capabilities.  

You may ponder: how is robotic surgery distinct from standard surgeries? Surgical robots exclusively offer 3D imaging, providing rich visualisation and extreme accuracy when operating on the intricate structures of the body. In comparison with standard laparoscopic and open surgeries, robotic devices have superior dexterity and range of motion⁵. 

Meta-data analysis suggests that the implementation of surgical robots has improved patient’s post-surgical recovery by reducing recovery times, minimising complications that could arise during surgery (i.e. blood loss) ⁶ and maintain the surgeon’s manual dexterity as the robots allow surgeons to operate comfortably from a seated position, minimising fatigue. Not only do surgical robots provide more comfort to the patient but they also benefit the healthcare team as well. 

Lastly, another core strength that robots convey is their alien-like ability to undertake repetitive, monotonous tasks - thanks to their autonomous nature. This convenient feature allows healthcare workers to target their focus on more critical tasks that require more elaborate problem-solving skills beyond the capacity of robots. For example, the robot “pharmASSIST ®” allows pharmacists to dedicate their time to patient counselling and assess more challenging drug prescriptions instead of laboriously dispensing drugs.  

Simplicity is key: robots are indefatigable, and undertaking simple tasks will reduce the strain on the healthcare force. Completing monotonous, repetitive tasks is effortless for robots; but, maintaining consistency in focus and performance is a struggle for mankind. 

Many fear that robots will replace administrative and operational healthcare roles, eventually reducing staff numbers and minimising job opportunities. However, robots will improve the current medical practice and build a more sustainable system for healthcare workers. 

Despite all of these benefits, all innovations face drawbacks. Robotics spark several ethical debates in society, in particular, concerning whether robots will ferociously replace human doctors and staff. This may tarnish the reputation and shatter patient trust - an important component in medicine. However, in reality, robots require more advanced qualifications to operate them. A robotic surgeon would have to undertake extensive training in comparison to a traditional surgeon. This underscores the amount of proficiency required to collaborate with technological advancements - requiring a high level of expertise. Still, this may create more challenges as there’s a shortage of highly skilled professionals with a background in robotics and healthcare. 

Thus, this raises another concern: the costs. As the density of robots found within hospitals increases, the costs and expenses may rise as well. As of today, the general acquisition cost of the da Vinci Robot ranges between 0.5-2.5 million USD⁷, whilst the Versius has a grand cost of 0.75-1 million USD⁸. These values do not incorporate the frequent maintenance costs required to ensure patient safety. Hence, these figures may be detrimental to hospitals in financially unabundant areas - specifically targeting developing countries with unstable healthcare systems.  

The idea of implementing robotics would have been considered science fiction a century ago. Now, robots are a reality: they serve as a stepping-stone in modern-day medicine. Robots are more than machines - they’re an asset to mankind - harmonising the relationship between man and technology. This enables improved patient outcomes, as well as improving medical competencies and ergonomics. Despite the beneficial tendencies listed, robots are not yet classified as “saviours” as there are financial, ethical and technical considerations that need to be considered carefully before accelerating the expansion of robotics in medicine, making this revolution in healthcare available to all. Robots will earn their title as being “saviours” once these complexities disappear, proving their heroic stance on healthcare - past, present, and future. 

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References & Citations 

¹ Lee, Daniel Hue, “The History Of The Barber Surgeon”, Barber Surgeons Guild, 6 Nov. 2017, https://barbersurgeonsguild.com/magazine/history-barber-surgeon/ 

² Moore, Eric J. “Robotic surgery, Benefits, Risks & Types.” Britannica, 7 January 2025, https://www.britannica.com/science/robotic-surgery#ref1225036.  

³ Frico Guizot et al, “How Robots Became Essential Workers in the COVID-19 Response, 30 Sep. 2020, https://spectrum.ieee.org/how-robots-became-essential-workers-in-the-covid19-response 

⁴ Sheetz, Kyle H. et al, “Trends in the Adoption of Robotic Surgery for Common Surgical Procedures”, NIH, Jan. 3 2020, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31922557/ 

⁵ Ann Med Surg (London), “Robotics in Surgery: Current Trends”, NIH, letter, Aug. 17 2022, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9424352/ 

⁶ Cureus, “Robotic Surgery: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature and Current Trends”, NIH, 23 July 2024, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10445506/ 

⁷ Eckhoff Jennifer A. et al, “Do the Costs of Robotic Surgery Present an Insurmountable Obstacle? A Narrative Review”, International Journal of Abdominal Wall and Hernia Surgery, April-June 2023, https://journals.lww.com/rhaw/fulltext/2023/06020/ 

⁸ Tom Shrader, “How Much is a Surgical Robot?”, R2 Surgical, Nov. 29 2023, https://r2surgical.com/blogs/news/how-much-is-a-new-surgical-robot