Robot will perform keyhole surgery on NHS patients by next year

A new robot with flexible joints like a human will be used by the NHS next year to operate on patients. Known as Versius, it is a third of the size of robots already used by hospitals, such as the da Vinci Xi system. Experts say this should allow it to perform a wider range of delicate procedures via keyhole surgery, such as hernia repairs. Each of the robot's four arms has fully-rotating wrists, controlled by a surgeon sitting at a console with two video game-like joysticks and a 3D screen. This gives surgeons increased dexterity and a magnified view, which is thought to reduce pain and boost recovery times among patients.