LO
DeploymentPhysical automation2018-06-30
In 73 Michigan hospitals, robotic surgery rose from 1.8% to 15.1% of common general-surgery operations between 2012 and 2018
Surgeonoccupation page →
Event date / reported
2018-06-30
Evidence stage
DeploymentAn employer has put it into production. Can move the baseline — weighted by scale and how similar the setting is.
Tasks this bears on
Operating by hand and through the laparoscope
The open and keyhole operation itself: dissecting, controlling bleeding, removing or repairing tissue, and closing.
Being augmented✓ Evidence-backed
Where this applies
Michigan, United States. The peer-reviewed study of 169,404 patients in 73 hospitals finds the use of robotic surgery for common general-surgery procedures increased from 1.8% in 2012 to 15.1% in 2018, while open surgery fell from 42.4% to 32.4%, and that hospitals launching robotic programmes saw laparoscopic surgery fall from 53.2% to 51.3%. Data from January 2012 to June 2018. The surgeon still operates the robot from a console; one state, and nothing after 2018.
What this means
A growing share of operations is done through a robot the surgeon controls, rather than by the surgeon's hands in the patient.
What it does not yet show
One state, data ending in 2018; the robot is controlled by the surgeon, so this is not autonomy.
What you can check
Open the article on PubMed Central and find "The use of robotic surgery increased from 1.8% in 2012 to 15.1% in 2018".
Does it change the assessment?
No. The impact index is never moved by a single event. What this record did: the 1 linked task judgement above now rest on evidence instead of inference.
Source
Sheetz, Claflin and Dimick — 'Trends in the Adoption of Robotic Surgery for Common Surgical Procedures', JAMA Network Open 3(1):e1918911 (10 January 2020), PubMed Central · verified 2026-10-15 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-10-15 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.