Recent in vivo surgical robot and mechanism developments.

The surgical landscape is quickly changing because of the major driving force of robotics. Well-established technology that provides robotic assistance from outside the patient may soon give way to alternative approaches that place the robotic mechanisms inside the patient, whether through traditional laparoscopic ports or through other, natural orifices. While some of this technology is still being developed, other concepts are being evaluated through clinical trials. This article examines the state of the art in surgical robots and mechanisms by providing an overview of the ex vivo robotic systems that are commercially available to in vivo mechanisms, and robotic assistants that are being tested in animal models.