{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,16]],"date-time":"2026-10-16T02:48:09Z","timestamp":1792118889258,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784851200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784851200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000070","name":"National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["1R21EB036443"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1R21EB036443"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000070","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Surg Endosc"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Artificial intelligence enables surgical robots to perform certain actions without surgeon control or semi-autonomously. Patient willingness to undergo surgery via an automated machine is a key barrier to adoption of emerging robotic technology. Further, semi-autonomous surgical robots raise numerous ethical concerns, yet little is known about patients\u2019 perceptions of these issues. We assessed patients\u2019 perceptions of ethical issues in semi-autonomous robot-assisted surgery (RAS) and how their perceptions would affect decision-making about undergoing semi-autonomous RAS.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Adult patients who underwent surgery within the prior three years, with a non-autonomous robot or without any robot, were recruited via email. We conducted semi-structured teleconference interviews that included open- and closed-ended questions, to assess factors affecting patient decision-making and ethical concerns about semi-autonomous RAS, and demographics. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Fifty patients participated. Most participants were female (62%), White (52%), and the mean age was 53. Most patients (56%) would undergo semi-autonomous RAS. However, willingness varied by which surgical process the robot would have control over. Many patients (46%) were highly willing to undergo semi-autonomous RAS when the robot has control over instruments. Four themes emerged about ethical concerns driving patients\u2019 willingness to undergo semi-autonomous RAS: (1) desire for informed consent to express self-determination, (2) semi-autonomous RAS introduces new risks to procedures, (3) doctor-patient relationship and trust can facilitate patients\u2019 willingness to undergo semi-autonomous RAS, and (4) semi-autonomous RAS comprises an important surgical innovation, conferring benefits.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our findings suggest that most patients would be willing to undergo semi-autonomous RAS. Willingness was related to ethical considerations of informed consent, perceived risks, level of surgeon versus robot control over surgical processes, doctor-patient relationship, and perceived benefits. Addressing patients\u2019 perceptions of semi-autonomous RAS may facilitate greater integration of surgical robots into clinical practice.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1007\/s00464-026-13082-z","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T15:32:42Z","timestamp":1784907162000},"page":"8026-8041","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Patients\u2019 perceptions of ethical issues in semi-autonomous robot-assisted surgery"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"40","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7306-8140","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jie Ying","family":"Wu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-1953-4957","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sydney","family":"Varnado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-0705-5007","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ashley","family":"Leon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4937-2043","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Camella J.","family":"Carlson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0866-463X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexander J.","family":"Langerman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0415-4301","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laurie L.","family":"Novak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-9031-2459","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michelle L.","family":"Houston","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5444-5695","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irene D.","family":"Feurer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0969-1998","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elisa J.","family":"Gordon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"13082_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"412","DOI":"10.1007\/s11701-025-02559-z","volume":"19","author":"M Bickford","year":"2025","unstructured":"Bickford M, Alruwaili F, Ragab S et al (2025) Impact of extended reality on robot-assisted surgery training: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 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