Magnetic-assisted surgery: the road from laparoscopy to robotics

Abstract

The incorporation of magnetic fields into surgery to reduce the invasiveness of minimally invasive surgery led to the creation of magnetic-assisted surgery. External magnets coupled with their internal counterparts assist during surgical procedures, avoiding the need for additional trocars. Multiple advances have been made in this field in the past 15 years, with new promising technologies being developed. This review centers on the history of magnetic-assisted surgery and the available evidence of its safety, benefits and discusses the very promising combination of this new paradigm-shift technology with robotics.