title: A review of surgical robots for spinal interventions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to describe the state of the art in surgical robotics for spinal interventions, a challenging problem for which robots can provide valuable assistance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multiple electronic databases were searched for articles published during the last 10 years (2002-2012). Results were refined by defined inclusion criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 18 different robots were found. Among them, five are commercially available systems: one specifically designed for spinal surgery, one for percutaneous needle-based interventions, two are radiosurgical systems with reported applications on the spine and another is a commercial robot which has been experimentally tested on spinal surgery. The remaining projects are research prototypes which are still on validation stages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A comprehensive state of the art is presented, showing that spinal robotic surgery is still at an early stage of development but with great potential for improvement.
authors.affiliation: Applied Mechanics Department CEIT and Tecnun, University of Navarra, San Sebastián, Spain.
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bertelsen
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Borro
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000601:surgery*; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical; D014584:User-Computer Interface