Evolution of Robotics in Neurosurgery

Technology and neurosurgery have gone hand in hand since a long time. Technological development of robotics in neurosurgery over the last couple of decades has been rapid, yet it still has a long way to go before it becomes a "routine" element of the standard neurosurgical procedure. Apart from the obvious advantages they have over humans, that is, precision, consistency, endurance, and reproducibility, robots also provide additional freedom of movement beyond what is anatomically feasible for humans. Since its first practical application in 1985, the promise of robotics has spurred development and design of numerous such devices for application in neurosurgery. In the current era, the role of robots in neurosurgery is limited to programming movements and planning trajectories for deep cranial targets, biopsies, spinal screw placements, deep brain stimulation, and stereotactic radiosurgery. This narrative, nonsystematic review discusses the evolution of various robotic systems, with a focus on their neurosurgical applications.