The Global Humanitarian Benefit of Telesurgery: Bridging Healthcare Disparities

Over recent years, there has been a gradual yet enthusiastic increase in the development of new robotic platforms worldwide. Twenty years after the first concrete example of telesurgery, the clinical need and technological advances in this field of surgery have recently driven research in the development of systems and instruments capable of performing remote surgery. The current technological, ethical, regulatory, and societal challenges seem to spur the development of further innovations, which can make this technology accessible to all. Indeed, considering the very large and currently existing socio-economic disparities worldwide, which are reflected almost directly in the health status of populations, it is necessary to implement countermeasures that can overcome such inequalities. Consequently, in this scenario, telesurgery may represent a tool that can respond to the increasingly strong demand for safe and accessible surgery for all.