Robotic Surgery: AI Robot Successfully Performs Complex Operations Without Assistance

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have achieved a historic breakthrough in autonomous robotic surgery. Their robot, trained using artificial intelligence, successfully performed gallbladder removal on pig organs entirely on its own, with a 100% success rate. This breakthrough opens the door to testing robotic surgery on humans within the next decade.

Revolutionary Technology Based on Artificial Intelligence

The surgical robot uses the same type of computer neural networks that power popular artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The system was trained on videos of human doctors performing operations on organs from deceased pigs. This technology enables robots to handle complex soft tissues, such as gallbladders, which release the bile needed for digestion.

According to experts from Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and Columbia universities, this research represents a "milestone toward the clinical deployment of autonomous surgical systems." The results were published in the prestigious scientific journal Science Robotics.

Results Exceed Expectations

During tests at Johns Hopkins University, the robot performed eight gallbladder operations with a 100 percent success rate. Each operation took just over five minutes and involved 17 steps, including separating the gallbladder from its connection to the liver, applying six clips in a specific sequence, and removing the organ.

Axel Krieger, an assistant professor of engineering at Johns Hopkins, explains: "We were able to perform a surgical procedure with a really high level of autonomy. In previous work, we were able to perform certain surgical tasks such as suturing. What we have done here is a truly complete procedure. We performed it on eight gallbladders, where the robot was able to precisely carry out the clipping and cutting step during gallbladder removal without any human intervention."

Surprising Capabilities of the Robotic Surgeon

Although the surgical robots were slightly slower than human doctors, their movements were less jerky and they planned shorter paths between tasks. The robots were also able to repeatedly correct their mistakes in real time, request different instruments, and adapt to anatomical differences. According to the study, the robot corrected its course an average of six times during each operation without any human assistance.

Current State of Robotic Surgery Worldwide

Nearly all 70,000 robotic procedures performed annually in England's NHS are fully controlled under human supervision. Only bone operations during hip and knee replacements are semi-autonomous, according to John McGrath, a leading robotic surgery expert in the United Kingdom. McGrath described the results as "impressive" and "novel," saying that they are "taking us deeper into the world of autonomy."

Last month, UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting said that expanding robotic surgery is at the heart of a ten-year plan to reform the NHS and reduce waiting lists. Within a decade, the NHS said, nine out of ten key operations will be performed with robotic assistance, compared with one in five today.

McGrath, who chairs the NHS England robotics steering committee, says that autonomous surgery, although still years away, could one day allow a human surgeon to supervise several autonomous robotic operations simultaneously. Such a system would enable simple procedures such as hernia repairs or gallbladder removals to be performed more quickly, with greater precision than humans and less damage to surrounding bodily structures.

However, the expert warns that autonomous surgery remains a long way from clinical deployment. Tests on organs from deceased pigs do not assess the robots' ability to respond to a patient's movement and breathing, bleeding in the surgical field, accidental injury, smoke from heat-sealing blood vessels, or fluid on the camera lens.

Experts Express Cautious Optimism

The Royal College of Surgeons in the United Kingdom described the results as an "exciting development that shows great potential." Nuha Yassin, who leads robotic surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, explains: "The next step must be to carefully examine the details in this rapidly evolving field to assess how these findings can be safely and effectively translated into a human pilot project. Only then can this approach move toward a sustainable model for the future."

Yassin emphasizes that training, education, and patient safety must remain the top priorities. The research opens up the possibility of replicating the skills of the world's best surgeons on a massive scale, which could transform the way surgery is performed.

The Path to Human Trials

Despite the promising results, the path to human testing remains complex. Experts agree that patient safety must remain the absolute priority. The next step will be careful testing in a controlled environment with human subjects, which could begin within the next few years.

This breakthrough in robotic surgery represents a significant step forward in medicine. In the future, the combination of artificial intelligence and robotics could enable more precise, faster, and more accessible surgical procedures for patients around the world.