Miniaturization in robotic surgery: a bibliometric and science mapping analysis of technological evolution and...

Miniaturization has emerged as a major technological trajectory in robotic surgery, encompassing single-port systems, flexible endoscopic platforms, capsule robotics, and microrobots designed to reduce surgical trauma and improve procedural precision. Despite rapid growth in this area, no previous bibliometric study has comprehensively mapped miniaturization as an integrated technological and clinical evolution across robotic surgery. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically analyze the global research landscape, collaboration patterns, thematic evolution, and emerging technological trends in miniaturized robotic surgery using advanced bibliometric and science-mapping approaches. A bibliometric analysis of 1,775 original articles indexed in the Elsevier Scopus database between 1996 and 2026 was conducted using Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace to evaluate publication trends, collaboration networks, thematic evolution, citation bursts, and emerging technological trajectories. The literature demonstrated rapid expansion, with an annual growth rate of 17.1%, involving 6,293 authors across 492 sources and an international collaboration rate of 21.93%. The United States dominated scientific productivity and citation impact, followed by China, South Korea, Italy, and Germany. Thematic and cluster analyses identified robotic surgery, single-port systems, minimally invasive surgery, and medical robotics as the principal research domains. Citation-burst and trending-topic analyses revealed a temporal transition from capsule endoscopy, image-guided systems, and flexible robotics toward clinically deployable single-port robotic surgery, da Vinci SP platforms, partial nephrectomy, and postoperative pain. Highly cited studies emphasized continuum robotics, magnetic actuation, microrobotics, and biohybrid robotic systems, highlighting increasing convergence between robotic surgery, biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology. Miniaturization has evolved into a mature and rapidly expanding research domain characterized by strong technological convergence and increasing clinical translation. Current trends indicate a shift from feasibility-driven innovation toward intelligent, precision-oriented, and patient-centered robotic interventions.