Progress and perspectives in soft robotics for surgery and rehabilitation

Clinical Snapshot

Key Findings

• Effect Size: Not applicable — no quantitative effect sizes reported; all findings are descriptive and technology-focused

• Primary Outcome: Qualitative synthesis of advances in soft robotic systems for surgical assistance (soft grippers, flexible endoscopes) and rehabilitation (wearable soft devices for neurological injury recovery)

• Nnt Or Sensitivity: Not applicable — no clinical outcome data synthesised; no NNT, sensitivity, specificity, or hazard ratios calculable from this review

• Confidence Interval: Not applicable — no statistical analyses performed

Clinical Application

Clinical implementation of soft robotic systems remains largely experimental. The review itself acknowledges that material durability, biosafety certification, and system stability represent unresolved barriers to clinical translation. No commercially available, regulatory-approved soft robotic systems are identified as ready for routine clinical deployment based on this review's evidence base. In Australia, surgical robotics falls under TGA regulation as Class IIb or Class III medical devices, requiring conformity assessment and clinical evidence of safety and performance. No soft robotic devices of the type described in this review currently hold TGA approval for routine clinical use. The RACGP and relevant specialist colleges (RACS, AAN) have not issued guidelines on soft robotic rehabilitation or surgical assistance. PBS listing of soft robotic rehabilitation devices is not currently applicable. Australian clinicians should monitor TGA's Digital Health and Medical Devices regulatory pathway and emerging NHMRC-funded research in this space. The review's findings are relevant to Australian research institutions and innovation hubs but do not yet translate to practice recommendations within the Australian healthcare system. Broadly, patients requiring minimally invasive surgery or neurological rehabilitation; however, the review does not define specific eligible patient populations with sufficient precision for direct clinical application. Most relevant to patients with stroke, spinal cord injury, or other neurological conditions requiring upper or lower limb rehabilitation, and to surgical teams considering next-generation flexible endoscopic or laparoscopic tools.

Abstract

Soft robotic systems have become a promising technology in the biomedical field due to their higher safety, dexterity and adaptability compared to traditional rigid robotic systems. This review focuses on recent advances in soft robotic systems applied to surgical assistance and rehabilitation. In surgery, soft grippers and flexible endoscopes show better adaptability, dexterity, and miniaturization, enabling safer and more precise manipulation of delicate tissues. In rehabilitation, wearable soft devices show great potential to help patients with neurological injuries to regain movement. Key innovations in actuation technology are examined, along with recent advances in multifunctional, self-healing, and environmentally responsive materials. Meanwhile, sensing systems are evolving from unimodal sensing to multimodal fusion, self-perception, and sense-drive integration, enabling robots to sense the body state and external environment with higher accuracy and realize closed-loop control. Finally, this paper points out that soft robots still face key challenges such as material durability, biosafety, and stability during clinical translation. In the future, the focus should be on the construction of systems with self-diagnosis, self-adaptive adjustment and closed-loop control, and promote the efficient landing and personalized application of soft robots from experimental research to real medical scenarios.

References

1. 1.Liu, Y., He, T., Yang, Z., Wu, Y., Cui, H., Song, W., Li, X., Shi, X., Zhai, S., Gao, F., & Chu, S. (2026). Progress and perspectives in soft robotics for surgery and rehabilitation. Journal of Robotic Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c04700