Teleoperated Humanoid Robots Complete First-Ever Live Surgeries in Preclinical Trial
核心洞察
Surgeons at UC San Diego (搜索) successfully completed two gallbladder removal surgeries using remotely controlled humanoid robots in a proof-of-concept preclinical trial published in Nature.
One procedure involved a humanoid robot with a human assistant, while the second was performed entirely by two humanoid robots working together on large non-primate mammals.
The compact, 60-pound "Surgie (搜索)" robots offer a fraction of the cost and space of traditional 1,800-pound surgical robotic systems, enabling potential deployment in rural areas, battlefields, and even space.
In a world first, surgeons at the University of California San Diego have successfully completed live surgical procedures using teleoperated humanoid robots, marking a significant milestone that moves beyond the fixed robotic arms found in operating rooms today. The proof-of-concept preclinical trial, published in the journal Nature, involved gallbladder removals (cholecystectomies) in large, non-primate mammals, with one procedure performed by a humanoid robot alongside a human attendant and a second completed entirely by two humanoid robots working in tandem.
"Remotely operated and autonomous humanoid robots have real potential for amplifying access to critical surgeries to which patients would otherwise not have access," said Michael Yip, an engineer at UC San Diego (搜索). "This can help address the healthcare crisis not only in the United States, but also worldwide."
A Compact Alternative to Traditional Surgical Robots
Conventional robotically assisted surgical systems, while lifesaving, come with substantial limitations. Many of these multiarmed devices weigh over 1,800 pounds and require specialized teams to install them into retrofitted operating rooms. They are also typically designed with only one type of procedure in mind. The humanoid robots used in the UC San Diego (搜索) trial, nicknamed "Surgie (搜索)," stand approximately five feet tall and weigh only 60 pounds—compact enough to wheel into a small clinic or a field hospital.
"It's a fraction of the cost, and it takes a fraction of the space in an operating room," said Dr. Shanglei Liu, assistant professor of surgery at UC San Diego (搜索) School of Medicine and one of the study's lead authors, who personally operated one of the robots during the trials. "So it's easy to deploy, anywhere from rural areas to the battlefield and even to space."
The surgeons controlled the robots remotely using standard surgical tools fitted with adapters so the robotic hands could grip and maneuver them properly. Testing progressed through lab simulations, animal trials, and finally live surgery. "We were surprised at how well Surgie (搜索) meshed with our workspace and workflow," said UC San Diego (搜索) surgeon Nikita Thareja.
Challenges and Future Directions
The first teleoperated humanoid surgeries did encounter early technical hurdles. The Surgie (搜索) robots required recalibration multiple times during procedures, which slowed the overall process compared to existing surgical systems. Latency—the lag between a surgeon's hand movement and the robot's response—also remains a challenge for any remote-controlled surgery.
However, researchers are confident the technology will improve, citing similar progress with robotic laparoscopic surgery. The first of those procedures took six hours, while today's machine-assisted examples typically take around 30 minutes.
"This achievement reflects the power of bringing engineers and surgeon innovators together to solve meaningful clinical problems at our world-class training and research lab," said Dr. Ryan Broderick, interim director of UC San Diego (搜索)'s Center for the Future of Surgery.
An Operating Theater of the Future
The team's vision extends beyond the operating table. Future humanoid robots could assist by fetching instruments, tidying the room, or working alongside human staff as full team members. "One of our goals is to develop an autonomous surgical assistant," Yip said. "Many communities struggle with adequate staffing on the surgical team, which means patients are not being treated. Our goal is an operating theater of the future, where humanoid robots and humans work side by side as an integrated team to deliver procedures to those in need, both in traditional hospital settings as well as in non-traditional, field medicine scenarios."
The researchers say their real target is the growing shortage of surgeons and the surgical backlogs it creates, particularly in rural areas or regions far from major hospitals—a problem that traditional surgical robots, with their bulk and cost, have done little to address.