6 world-first systems in surgical robotics
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Three decades separate the first robot cleared to assist in an operating room from a robot performing a procedure in orbit. Six systems mark the milestones in between.
AESOP became the first robot cleared for use in surgery
Computer Motion's Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning, or AESOP, received FDA clearance in 1994 as the first medical robot approved for use in surgery. The voice-controlled arm held and positioned the endoscope camera during laparoscopic procedures, a task previously performed by a human assistant.
Source: NASA Spinoff
Da Vinci brought the first multi-specialty robotic system to market
Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci Surgical System received FDA clearance in 2000 for general laparoscopic procedures, becoming the first robotic system cleared for broad multi-specialty surgical use. The system paired a surgeon console with a patient-side cart and EndoWrist instruments, translating hand movements into scaled, tremor-filtered motion inside the patient.
Zeus performed the first transatlantic robotic surgery
Computer Motion's Zeus Robotic Surgical System was used to complete a full cholecystectomy on a patient in Strasbourg, France, controlled by a surgeon in New York City, on September 7, 2001. The 45-minute procedure, published in Nature, was made possible by a dedicated transatlantic fiber-optic link and marked the first robotic surgery performed across an ocean.
Source: Nature
Mako became the first FDA-cleared robotic arm for orthopedic surgery
MAKO Surgical Corp.'s RIO Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System completed its first MAKOplasty partial knee procedure in 2006, the first FDA-cleared robotic arm system for orthopedic surgery. The system combined patient-specific 3D pre-surgical planning with real-time haptic feedback that constrained the surgeon's tool to a pre-defined safe zone during bone preparation.
Source: MAKO Surgical Corp.
Versius Plus became the first CE-marked robot with integrated ICG imaging
CMR Surgical's Versius Plus system became the first CE-marked surgical robot to offer an integrated indocyanine green, or ICG, fluorescence imaging system in 2024. The feature, called vLimeLite, gives surgeons a choice of color display modes to visualize blood flow, vessels, and biliary anatomy directly through the console.
Source: CMR Surgical
MIRA performed the first robotic surgery in space
Virtual Incision's MIRA platform, the world's first miniaturized robotic-assisted surgery system, completed a simulated procedure aboard the International Space Station in 2024. The company performed MIRA's first terrestrial surgery, a robotically assisted right hemicolectomy, in 2021.
Source: Virtual Incision
