Uploaded January 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Medical Robotics is a fast-developing field of research that plays an increasingly important role in healthcare today. There are many examples of its positive impact ranging from improving patient care, allowing more time for emotional support, to carrying out physically demanding tasks such as delivering medical supplies, to transforming surgical procedures for patients and medical professionals alike by reducing recovery time through minimally invasive procedures. On the other side, robot ethics is a growing area of debate, as robots become increasingly advanced, and asks questions about how we treat robotic systems, the risks involved and how we control these systems and their use.
The Institute of Physics (IOP) and the German Physical Society (DPG) brought together a panel of specialists to discuss the future of robotics for medicine and the ethics that must be considered as the sector develops.
The panellists are:
•Dr Dan Stoyanov, Professor of Robot Vision in the Department of Computer Science at University College London, Director of the Wellcome/EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (WEISS), a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies and Chief Scientist at Digital Surgery Ltd.
•Dr Neena Rhandawa, consultant Colorectal Surgeon with specialist interest in Robotic IBD and Intestinal Failure.
•Dr Mariana Medina Sanchez, Group Leader of Micro- and Nanobiomedical Engineering Group Institute for Integrative Nanosciences - IFW Dresden
Medical Robotics is a fast-developing field of research that plays an increasingly important role in healthcare today. There are many examples of its positive impact ranging from improving patient care, allowing more time for emotional support, to carrying out physically demanding tasks such as delivering medical supplies, to transforming surgical procedures for patients and medical professionals alike by reducing recovery time through minimally invasive procedures. On the other side, robot ethics is a growing area of debate, as robots become increasingly advanced, and asks questions about how we treat robotic systems, the risks involved and how we control these systems and their use.
The Institute of Physics (IOP) and the German Physical Society (DPG) brought together a panel of specialists to discuss the future of robotics for medicine and the ethics that must be considered as the sector develops.
The panellists are:
•Dr Dan Stoyanov, Professor of Robot Vision in the Department of Computer Science at University College London, Director of the Wellcome/EPSRC Centre for Interventional and Surgical Sciences (WEISS), a Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies and Chief Scientist at Digital Surgery Ltd.
•Dr Neena Rhandawa, consultant Colorectal Surgeon with specialist interest in Robotic IBD and Intestinal Failure.
•Dr Mariana Medina Sanchez, Group Leader of Micro- and Nanobiomedical Engineering Group Institute for Integrative Nanosciences - IFW Dresden
