• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2008.10b
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• pp.68-70
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• 2008

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the emergence of innovative technologies made further advances in minimal access surgery possible. Robotic surgery and telepresence surgery effectively addressed the limitations of laparoscopic procedures, thus revolutionizing minimal access surgery. Surgical robots provide surgeons with to technologically advanced vision and hand skills. As a result, such systems are expected to revolutionize the field of surgery. In that time, much progress has been made in integrating robotic technologies with surgical instrumentation. However, robotic surgery will not only require special training, but it will also change the existing surgical training pattern and reshape the learning curve by offering new solutions, such as robotic surgical simulators and robotic telementoring. This article provides an introduction to medical robotic technologies, develops a possible classification, reviews the evolution of a surgical robot, and discusses future prospects for innovation. In the future, surgical robots should be smaller, less expensive, easier to operate, and should seamlessly integrate emerging technologies from a number of different fields. We believe that, in the near future as robotic technology continues to develop, almost all kinds of endoscopic surgery will be performed by this technology.