The Intelligence Layer
of Surgery

Five telesurgery firsts since the Lindbergh Operation, from the first in-human telerobotic coronary intervention to a 5G robotic bariatric procedure performed 850 kilometers away.

Cedars-Sinai launched the Center for Autonomous Robotic Surgery on October 12, 2026. Here is what the announcement says and what it leaves open.

The top 5 surgical AI tools ranked by the evidence behind them, with a plain explanation of what each one does in the operating room.

NVIDIA released open simulation tools that let medical robots practice catheter and soft tissue procedures at scale before they reach a patient.

A Johns Hopkins robot placed 90% of sutures in a blood vessel repair without human help. Here is what the results show and what they leave open.

A continuously updated list of FDA-cleared and authorized surgical robots and surgical AI systems, with dates and indications. Updated October 2026.

The FDA's September 2026 draft guidance lists the testing and clinical evidence surgical robots should show and leaves autonomous systems out.

Digital literacy, AI, robotics, simulation and performance data: the five skills a national surgical training commission says future trainees need.

Automation means the robot does what the surgeon defined. Autonomy means it decides the plan. Learn how to tell the difference in 3 questions.

97 AI-enabled surgical devices have FDA clearance through June 29, 2026. See how they split across navigation, planning, endoscopy and robotics.

A verified roundup of five surgical robotics and AI developments, from a new FDA clearance to a first international telesurgery link.

A peer-reviewed paper argues thoracic surgery, not general surgery, is where autonomous robots operate next. Here is the clinical case.

Samsung Medical Center ran a solo surgery demo with two humanoid robots handling instruments and the endoscope, with no human assistant in the room.

Proximie, AWS, and Deloitte launch a year-long NHS evaluation of ambient surgical AI across 104 theatres, aimed at capacity, not autonomy.

MIT's xvr model matches a patient's intraoperative X-rays to their preoperative CT or MRI in seconds, adapting to each patient in about five minutes.

Da Vinci 5, Hugo, and Ottava each secured a different FDA clearance in the same eight months. Here's how the operating room split three ways in 2026.

Harvard and Mass General Brigham researchers propose one AI training record per surgeon. Here is what it means for residents and programs.

LEM Surgical markets Dynamis as the first "surgical humanoid." Its FDA 510(k) clearance classifies it under the same device category as its 2017 predecessor.

A 53-surgeon, 5-continent survey rates five intraoperative AI functions. Anatomy recognition wins. Decision-making loses. Only 21% have ever used any of it.

Senhance and da Vinci 5 restored touch with a physical sensor. A Kyoto University study tested whether a camera could estimate the same force with no new hardware at all.