Research landscape, knowledge structure, and emerging frontiers of robot-assisted surgery for urolithiasis: a...

Robot-assisted techniques have been increasingly explored in urolithiasis, particularly in selected complex settings such as concomitant reconstruction, abnormal anatomy, and technically demanding stone burdens. However, the global research landscape, collaborative structure, knowledge base, and evolving hotspots of this field remain unclear. Publications on robot-assisted surgery for urolithiasis were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (Science Citation Index Expanded) on 31 January 2026 and limited to English-language articles and reviews. Bibliometric and knowledge-mapping analyses were performed using bibliometrix/Biblioshiny, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace. A total of 213 publications were included. Annual output showed an overall upward trend, with more marked growth after 2019. Research activity was concentrated mainly in the USA, Western Europe, and East Asia. The USA led in publication output, citation impact, and network centrality, whereas European countries showed stronger regional collaboration. Asian countries represented an important source of recent growth, although the indexed literature from these countries suggested comparatively lower institutional consolidation and international integration. The field developed mainly along two recurring pathways: reconstruction-associated stone surgery and dedicated robotic endourology. Current hotspots are concentrated in technically demanding and clinically complex scenarios, with increasing attention to perioperative outcomes, robotic endourological platforms, artificial intelligence, and thulium fiber laser. Overall, robot-assisted urolithiasis remains a small but increasingly structured research domain with selective clinical applicability and still-limited evidence maturity. Future progress will depend on continued technical refinement, stronger comparative clinical evidence, clearer definition of appropriate indications, and more rigorous demonstration of where robotics provides meaningful added value in modern stone care.