A surgical robot developed by Johnson & Johnson's Verb Surgical division has performed the first fully autonomous appendectomy without any human intervention during the procedure. The operation, conducted as part of an FDA-approved clinical trial at Johns Hopkins Hospital, lasted 52 minutes and the patient was discharged the following day with no complications.
The robot used real-time computer vision and force feedback sensors to navigate the surgical field, identify anatomical structures, and perform precise dissection and closure. A board-certified surgeon monitored the entire procedure and could intervene at any moment but found no reason to do so.
While the milestone is significant, researchers emphasize that autonomous surgery remains years away from widespread clinical adoption and will require extensive regulatory review and additional trials.
