New Robotic Platforms

Standard laparoscopic instruments have limited dexterity due to their rigidity, making some surgical tasks extremely challenging. Robotic surgery was developed to overcome these issues, but the da Vinci system is associated with high costs. During the last few years, many companies have designed and produced new robotic platforms, to improve dexterity and ergonomics with less impact on cost effectiveness. This chapter describes the main commercially available robotic platforms for colorectal surgery, with a focus on the technology, advantages and disadvantages, their architectures and features. Next-generation robotic systems mainly include a modular design, open or semi-open consoles, smaller instruments, decreased cost, and augmented reality. To date, there are still few literature data comparing the systems, as many of them are awaiting regulatory approval. Thus, future studies are necessary to assess their costs, clinical outcomes and sustainability. Many other new robotic platforms are currently under development and will be available on the market, with a potential to alter colorectal surgical practice.