From robotic arms to AI-assisted: the evolution and interdisciplinary integration of robotic surgery technology based on bibliometron

摘要

With medical technology innovation, robotic surgery has evolved from mechanical arm operations to AI-assisted decision-making, promoting deep integration of surgical medicine with engineering and computer science. This study employed CiteSpace software to conduct a bibliometric analysis of robotic surgical technology evolution literature from the Web of Science (2014-2024). Analysis of 520 publications revealed explosive growth from <5 annual papers (2014-2017) to 177 papers in 2024, representing a 3,540% increase. The dataset encompassed 2,968 authors, 1,957 institutions, and 266 journals across 77 countries/regions. The United States dominated with 191 publications (36.73%), followed by China (88, 16.92%) and the United Kingdom (71, 13.65%). The University of London emerged as the most productive institution (28 publications). Keyword burst analysis identified "artificial intelligence" (2019-2024) and "deep learning methods" (2022-2024) as dominant emerging themes. Computer science categories comprised >10% of publications, demonstrating strong interdisciplinary integration centered on surgery (31.54%) and biomedical engineering (12.31%). The field demonstrated clear evolution from basic instrument innovation to AI-driven, multi-disciplinary collaborative intelligent surgical systems, with Italy (centrality 0.18) and France (0.16) serving as critical knowledge brokers despite moderate publication volumes.