ArticleJournal of robotic surgery2026
Miniaturization in robotic surgery: a bibliometric and science mapping analysis of technological evolution and clinical translation (1996-2026).
Article in Journal of robotic surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Miniaturization has emerged as a major technological trajectory in robotic surgery, encompassing single-port systems, flexible endoscopic platforms, capsule robotics, and microrobots designed to reduce surgical trauma and improve procedural precision. Despite rapid growth in this area, no previous bibliometric study has comprehensively mapped miniaturization as an integrated technological and clinical evolution across robotic surgery. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically analyze the global research landscape, collaboration patterns, thematic evolution, and emerging technological trends in miniaturized robotic surgery using advanced bibliometric and science-mapping approaches. A bibliometric analysis of 1,775 original articles indexed in the Elsevier Scopus database between 1996 and 2026 was conducted using Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace to evaluate publication trends, collaboration networks, thematic evolution, citation bursts, and emerging technological trajectories. The literature demonstrated rapid expansion, with an annual growth rate of 17.1%, involving 6,293 authors across 492 sources and an international collaboration rate of 21.93%. The United States dominated scientific productivity and citation impact, followed by China, South Korea, Italy, and Germany. Thematic and cluster analyses identified robotic surgery, single-port systems, minimally invasive surgery, and medical robotics as the principal research domains. Citation-burst and trending-topic analyses revealed a temporal transition from capsule endoscopy, image-guided systems, and flexible robotics toward clinically deployable single-port robotic surgery, da Vinci SP platforms, partial nephrectomy, and postoperative pain. Highly cited studies emphasized continuum robotics, magnetic actuation, microrobotics, and biohybrid robotic systems, highlighting increasing convergence between robotic surgery, biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology. Miniaturization has evolved into a mature and rapidly expanding research domain characterized by strong technological convergence and increasing clinical translation. Current trends indicate a shift from feasibility-driven innovation toward intelligent, precision-oriented, and patient-centered robotic interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42319607What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.