From minimally invasive surgery, targeted therapy, and hospital optimization to emergency response, prosthetics, and home assistance, medical robotics represents one of the fastest growing sectors in the medical devices industry. The regulatory, ethical, and legal barriers imposed on medical robots necessitate careful consideration of different levels of autonomy, as well as the context for use. 

This editorial originated from discussions held under the Halcyon Dialogue program jointly organized by Halcyon and AAAS on 31 January 2017 at Halcyon in Washington, D.C.

Editorial by Guang-Zhong Yang et al., Science Robotics 15 Mar 2017: Vol. 2, Issue 4, eaam8638 (DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.aam8638). Reprinted with permission from AAAS.

Read the full editorial here. 

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