Continuum and Soft Robots in Minimally Invasive Surgery: A Systematic Review

Faster recovery, reduced trauma, and improved patient outcomes drive innovations in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Notwithstanding significant advancements, traditional MIS tools have been limited in navigating deep anatomical pathways and offering precise control at target sites. Continuum robotics has emerged as a solution, with recent developments enabling greater flexibility and maneuverability in surgical interventions. In this review, we first highlight recent developments in mechanical-continuum robots for traditional minimally invasive surgery and then summarize the current state-of-the-art in steerable catheter-based interventions. We discuss limitations to current approaches and explore the emerging potential of soft robots as a novel strategy to address the challenge of developing versatile, highly articulated flexible tools for minimally invasive surgical interventions. We hope that this review will, on the one hand, provide an introduction and resource for students and researchers alike, and on the other hand, will stimulate discussion vis-à-vis future directions in minimally invasive surgery.