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Updated: May 16, 2026
A Spine Robotic-Assisted Navigation System for Pedicle Screw Placement
Published on: May 11, 2020
A review of surgical robots for spinal interventions
Alvaro Bertelsen1, Javier Melo, Emilio Sánchez
1Applied Mechanics Department CEIT and Tecnun, University of Navarra, San Sebastián, Spain.
Background:
This study aimed to describe the state of the art in surgical robotics for spinal interventions, a challenging problem for which robots can provide valuable assistance.
Methods:
Multiple electronic databases were searched for articles published during the last 10 years (2002-2012). Results were refined by defined inclusion criteria.
Results:
A total of 18 different robots were found. Among them, five are commercially available systems: one specifically designed for spinal surgery, one for percutaneous needle-based interventions, two are radiosurgical systems with reported applications on the spine and another is a commercial robot which has been experimentally tested on spinal surgery. The remaining projects are research prototypes which are still on validation stages.
Conclusions:
A comprehensive state of the art is presented, showing that spinal robotic surgery is still at an early stage of development but with great potential for improvement.
