In a breakthrough poised to transform retinal care, Chinese researchers have developed an autonomous robotic system capable of performing delicate eye injections with unmatched precision.
The innovation promises to make complex eye surgeries safer, faster, and more reliable than ever before.
The robot, created by a team at the Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, successfully performed subretinal and intravascular injections in animal tests with a 100% success rate, according to Chinese news agency Xinhua and a study published in Science Robotics.
Retinal surgeries are among the most challenging procedures in medicine due to the eye’s tiny, soft, and delicate structures. The new robot overcomes these challenges using advanced 3D spatial perception, multi-scale precise positioning, and trajectory control, enabling its robotic arm to operate with incredible accuracy.
In experiments with eyeball phantoms, ex vivo porcine eyes, and live animal eyes, the system reduced average positioning errors by nearly 80% compared to manual surgery and about 55% compared to surgeon-controlled robotic procedures.
The findings highlight the clinical potential of autonomous intraocular microsurgery, demonstrating improvements in injection precision, safety, and consistency.
Researchers say the system could also shorten surgeon training, ensure consistent outcomes, and enable complex procedures in remote or extreme environments where specialist surgeons are unavailable.
