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Abstract

Robotics affords a unique opportunity in surgery for introducing and seamlessly integrating new technologies to support and enhance both clinical decision making and the technical execution of surgical tasks. This chapter explores the potential for extending the capabilities of the surgeon in the future by using robotic technology to remove the constraints imposed by the surgeon’s physical characteristics, speculating upon the future benefits of removing limitations such as vision being constrained to visible spectrum, the surgeon’s hands needing to be directly on the patient, the operative motions needing to be of a scale performable by the human hand, and navigation within the body being performed with direct visualization and mental mapping.