Guest Editorial Special section on The Hamlyn Symposium 2022—MedTech Reimagined

The field of medical robotics is rapidly evolving, and many new concepts and developments have recently been proposed. New surgical robotic systems, like the latest da Vinci Surgical system, can provide high precision and dexterity enabling surgeons to perform highly complex procedures with small incisions or a single incision which can greatly reduce the trauma to patients. The next generation of robotic surgery will be centered in three main areas: i) Miniaturization: Continued efforts to miniaturize surgical robots allowing for less invasive procedures and greater maneuverability within the human body, and which can further reduce trauma, the risk of post-operative complications and shorten the recovery time; ii) Artificial Intelligence (AI): Given the recent advances in AI, more intelligent assistive and automated functions will be provided by surgical robotic systems and which can greatly enhance the surgical precision and real-time decision making; iii) Sensory and haptic feedback: New sensing and haptic feedback technologies will be integrated into the miniaturized surgical robotic systems providing the surgeons with a sense of touch and texture during the robot-assisted surgery, and which can improve the accuracy and safety of the operations.