Anatomical models of a medical robot's environment can significantly help guide design and development of a new robotic system. These models can be used for benchmarking motion planning algorithms, evaluating controllers, optimizing mechanical design choices, simulating procedures, and even as resources for data generation. Currently, the time-consuming task of generating these environments is repeatedly performed by individual research groups and rarely shared broadly. This not only leads to redundant efforts, but also makes it challenging to compare systems and algorithms accurately. In this work, we present a collection of clinically-relevant anatomical environments for medical robots operating in the lungs. Since anatomical deformation is a fundamental challenge for medical robots operating in the lungs, we describe a way to model respiratory deformation in these environments using patient-derived data. We share the environments and deformation data publicly by adding them to the Medical Robotics Anatomical Dataset (Med-RAD), our public dataset of anatomical environments for medical robots.

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have developed a magnetically controlled soft medical robot with a unique, flexible structure inspired by the body of a pangolin. The robot is freely movable despite built-in hard metal components. Thus, depending on the magnetic field, it can adapt its shape to be able to move and can emit heat when needed, allowing for functionalities such as selective cargo transportation and release as well as mitigation of bleeding. This animal looks like a walking pine cone, as it is the only mammal completely covered with hard scales. The scales are made of keratin, just like our hair and nails.

The prospect of using autonomous robots to enhance the capabilities of physicians and enable novel procedures has led to considerable efforts in developing medical robots and incorporating autonomous capabilities. Motion planning is a core component for any such system working in an environment that demands near perfect levels of safety, reliability, and precision. Despite the extensive and promising work that has gone into developing motion planners for medical robots, a standardized and clinically-meaningful way to compare existing algorithms and evaluate novel planners and robots is not well established. We present the Medical Motion Planning Dataset (Med-MPD), a publicly-available dataset of real clinical scenarios in various organs for the purpose of evaluating motion planners for minimally-invasive medical robots. Our goal is that this dataset serve as a first step towards creating a larger robust medical motion planning benchmark framework, advance research into medical motion planners, and lift some of the burden of generating medical evaluation data.

Do you believe you'd put your life in the hands of a robotic surgeon? What is the state of your mental health right now? While the idea of a robot doing surgery or comforting somebody during a stressful moment may be unnerving to some, it is becoming increasingly common in the field of healthcare, where medical robot interest is growing. For a variety of reasons, medical robots are being created for use in healthcare. Robots are now used not only in the operating room but also in clinical settings to support healthcare workers and enhance patient care.

Telehealth was one of the most immediate shifts in healthcare following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online doctors' appointments and virtual therapy allow millions to safely get the care they need. With robots, telehealth technology can service countless other care needs, even surgery. Studies have identified robots as key instruments in treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the first identified COVID-19 patient in the U.S. was attended to by a remotely controlled robot that could complete checkups on the patient without breaking medical isolation.

Robots, AI and autonomous systems are increasingly being used in hospitals around the world. They help with a range of tasks, from surgical procedures and taking vital signs to helping out with security. Such "medical robots" have been shown to help increase precision in surgeries and even reduce human error in drug delivery through their automated systems. Their deployment into care homes has also shown they have the capability to help reduce loneliness. Many people will be familiar with the smiling face of the Japanese Pepper robots (billed in 2014 as the world's first robot that reads emotions).

Artificial intelligence is a highly popular trend in the healthcare industry, especially the outbreak of the disastrous COVID-19 pandemic. AI in healthcare has generated some of the top machines to help to cure patients as well as boost productivity in hospitals. Robotics in healthcare provided robotic arms, and medical robots to help in surgeries and teach practical syllabus to residents. Artificial intelligence is set to take over the healthcare industry in the nearby tech-driven future. Governments of different countries have started allocating funds of millions of dollars for investing in applications of AI in healthcare.

The field of micro- and nanorobotics has been developing for decades. We may soon begin seeing clinical trials.

In the popular "Futurama" TV series, one of the main robot characters was Bender. Among his favorite catch phrases was a call for his robotic companions to "kill all humans." It now looks like various biological agents – such as the coronavirus and others – may achieve that end ahead of any robot call to arms. In reality, it now appears that robots and artificial intelligence (AI) may help be one of the saviors of humanity against both natural disasters and our latest biological nemesis. Their new call to arms has become to "kill all viruses."

For one 43-year-old Beijing patient, relief had seemed an impossible dream. His arm had been numb for 14 months and every hospital he went to gave him the same answer to his questions about a remedy. Surgeons told him that the risks of mass bleeding, stroke or even paralysis were too great with the delicate operation needed to fix the abnormalities in his spine and skull that were causing the condition. Then three years ago the patient met Tian Wei, a top spinal surgeon at Beijing's Jishuitan Hospital and an advocate of using robotics in medical operations. Tian and his team used a technology called the TiRobot system to create a 3D scan of the patient's torso and plot a surgical path to the affected area.