The effective integration of robotic technology and surgical tools has played a vital role in advancing surgical care by enabling telepresence in surgery to provide mentorship and surgical care across long distances in the absence of surgeons. This article describes our experiences with advancing surgical education and innovation through telementoring community surgeons, establishing the world's first telerobotic surgical service, and the integration of Artificial Intelligence and robotics to provide remote surgical care and training.

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Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided biopsies are an accurate, but technically challenging, method for screening and diagnosis of breast lesions.This study assesses the safety and efficacy of an Image Guided Automated Robot (IGAR) in performing breast biopsies compared to manual procedures.Methods: Safety was determined from adverse events (AEs) and device deficiencies.Efficacy was assessed using targeting accuracy, number of successful biopsies, pain and scar scores, patient discomfort, and radiologist-determined ease-of-use.Results: All seven procedures in phase I were successfully and safely completed with no AEs and one device deficiency. The 23 IGAR biopsies in phase II outperformed the 18 manual biopsies in 1-week pain scores (p = 0.027), scarring at 1week (p = 0.035), 1-month (p = 0.004), and components of comfort and ease-of-use.Phase II had seven and three AEs in the IGAR and manual groups, respectively (p = 0.317), with no serious AEs and nine device deficiencies. Conclusions:The IGAR system is safe and effective for breast biopsy procedures.The results from these trials indicate the IGAR system as a potentially viable alternative to manual breast biopsy procedures.