Robotics in Interventional Radiology: Past, Present, and Future

Robotic endovascular systems have been successfully used to treat a wide range of pathologies including endovascular aneurysm repairs, uterine artery embolizations, and cardiac electrophysiology ablations. Limited research suggests that the use of robotic systems may help to achieve a more accurate manipulation and increased steerability of the catheter during endovascular procedures. In addition, robotic systems have also been designed to enhance image.guided percutaneous procedures, demonstrating a potential to facilitate needle placements and guidance and diminish radiation exposure risk. There are still many limitations for the widespread of this emerging technology. More studies are needed to validate the use of robotic systems and to show meaningful clinical advantages over traditional methods as well as assessing cost-effectiveness.