Robot-assisted ophthalmic surgery: research trends, collaboration networks, and emerging clinical frontiers

Robot-assisted ophthalmic surgery spans microsurgery, medical robotics, intraoperative imaging, and force-controlled manipulation, but the structure, collaboration patterns, and thematic evolution of this literature remain incompletely mapped. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of Web of Science Core Collection records retrieved on 29 June 2026. English-language articles and reviews on robot-assisted ophthalmic surgical procedures were included. Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny and CiteSpace were used to characterize publication growth, geographic and institutional concentration, collaboration and citation networks, influential sources and documents, and thematic evolution. Of 330 retrieved records, 168 publications were included (155 articles and 13 reviews), spanning 1995-2026. Annual output increased after 2020 and peaked at 22 publications in 2025; 2026 represented partial-year indexing. The United States and China were the leading contributors, and major institutional clusters linked ophthalmology with robotics and engineering. The literature was distributed across medical robotics, biomedical engineering, computer-assisted surgery, and ophthalmology. Keyword, co-citation, cluster, and burst analyses identified a transition from feasibility and platform development toward vitreoretinal microsurgery, optical coherence tomography-guided intervention, force sensing and control, subretinal injection, retinal vein cannulation, and emerging anterior-segment automation. The WoSCC-indexed literature shows increasing concentration around ophthalmology-specific, procedure-enabling robotic capabilities rather than generic surgical automation. Future translation will depend on multicenter validation, standardized safety and surgical endpoints, training frameworks, cost-effectiveness assessment, and clearer regulatory pathways.