Mar 27, 2026
The Use of Robotics in Military Surgery: A Scoping Review Protocol
- John Whitaker1,
- Philip Spreadborough1
- 1Academic department of military surgery and trauma
Protocol Citation: John Whitaker, Philip Spreadborough 2026. The Use of Robotics in Military Surgery: A Scoping Review Protocol. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.j8nlkzryxl5r/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,  which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: March 12, 2026
Last Modified: March 27, 2026
Protocol Integer ID: 313173
Keywords: robotics in military surgical setting, scoping review protocol military surgical care, specific surgical robotics, military surgical setting, robotic surgical system, military surgery, telesurgical systems for defence medicine, remote telesurgical intervention, civilian surgical practice, remote telesurgical intervention in conflict, surgical personnel, telesurgical system, augmentation of limited surgical expertise, limited surgical expertise, use of robotics, scoping review protocol military, robotics, robotic, surgical care, aeromedical evacuation platform, potential future integration with autonomous evacuation, military context, interest in robotic, exposure of surgical personnel, autonomous robotic platform, autonomous evacuation, invasive capability, defence medicine, comprehensive scoping review, field hospital
Abstract
Military surgical care is delivered across highly variable environments, including forward operating bases, battlefield settings, naval vessels, aeromedical evacuation platforms, and deployed field hospitals. These austere and resource-constrained environments pose logistical, ethical, and clinical challenges.
Robotic surgical systems—such as teleoperated, semi-autonomous, or autonomous robotic platforms—have been increasingly integrated into civilian surgical practice. These systems have demonstrated benefits including improved dexterity, enhanced visualization, and minimally invasive capabilities.
Within military contexts, robotics may offer additional advantages, including:
- Remote telesurgical intervention in conflict affected settings
- Reducing exposure of surgical personnel to hostile environments
- Augmentation of limited surgical expertise in forward locations
- Potential future integration with autonomous evacuation or battlefield systems
Despite growing interest in robotic-assisted and telesurgical systems for defence medicine, the scope, maturity, applications, limitations, and research gaps in military-specific surgical robotics remain unclear. No comprehensive scoping review has yet mapped the breadth of literature in this domain.
This scoping review aims to systematically map existing evidence on the use of robotics in military surgical settings, identify research gaps, and inform future research and policy directions.
Troubleshooting
Objectives
Primary Objective: To map and characterize the extent, range, and nature of published literature on the use of robotics in military surgical care.
Secondary Objectives:
To categorise types of robotic technologies used in military surgery.
To describe clinical applications.
To identify operational contexts.
To summarize reported outcomes, feasibility, limitations, and ethical considerations.
To identify research gaps and future directions.
Review Questions
What robotic systems have been described in military surgical contexts?
In what operational environments have robotic systems been proposed or implemented?
What types of surgical procedures are reported?
What outcomes (clinical, logistical, operational) are described?
What barriers and facilitators to implementation are identified?
Methodology
This scoping review will follow the methodological framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley and refined by Levac. Reporting will adhere to the PRISMA-ScR checklist.
Population
Military personnel
Military surgical teams
Combat casualties
Studies addressing military operational environments
Concept
Robotic surgical systems
Telesurgery platforms
Autonomous or semi-autonomous surgical robots
Robotic-assisted trauma care
AI-integrated robotic surgery in military contexts
Context
Combat zones
Deployed/field hospitals
Naval vessels
Aeromedical evacuation platforms
Military training simulations
Types of Evidence Sources
Primary research studies (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods)
Experimental and simulation studies
Technical and engineering reports
Case reports and case series
Military medical doctrine or policy reports
Conference proceedings
Grey literature
Exclusion Criteria
Civilian-only robotic surgery with no military application
Non-surgical robotics (e.g., logistics robots)
Firm base or planned surgical contexts with no direct operational or deployed context relevance.
Information Sources
The following databases will be searched:
Pubmed
Medline on EBSCO platform
CINAHL on EBSCO platform
EMBASE on Ovid platform
Grey literature sources:
Google Scholar
Reference lists of included studies will be screened for additional sources.
Search Strategy
A comprehensive search strategy has been developed with a medical librarian to search:
Medline on EBSCO platform
CINAHL on EBSCO platform
EMBASE on Ovid platform
Search strategies will be adapted for each database. No date restrictions will initially be applied. There is no language restriction and non-English language publications will be translated using google translate where possible.
Study Selection
All identified citations will be imported into a reference management software and duplicates removed.
Screening will occur in two stages:
Title and abstract screening
Full-text review
Two independent reviewers will screen studies at each stage. Discrepancies will be resolved through discussion.
A PRISMA flow diagram will document the selection process.
Data Charting
A standardized data extraction form will be developed and pilot-tested. Extracted data will include:
Author(s)
Year of publication
Country
Study design
Type of robotic system
Military context
Surgical specialty
Level of autonomy (teleoperated, semi-autonomous, autonomous)
Outcomes reported
Key findings
Identified barriers and limitations
Data Analysis and Synthesis
A descriptive analytical approach will be used.
Findings will be summarized using:
Numerical summaries (e.g., frequency of study types, countries)
Thematic analysis (e.g., operational feasibility, ethical concerns, technical challenges)
Conceptual mapping of technology maturity levels
No formal risk-of-bias assessment will be conducted, consistent with scoping review methodology.
Ethics and Dissemination
Ethical approval is not required as this review uses publicly available literature.
Findings will be disseminated via:
Peer-reviewed publication
Conference presentation in military or surgical forums
Policy briefing to defence health stakeholders
Expected Contributions
This scoping review will:
Provide a comprehensive mapping of robotics in military surgery
Identify maturity gaps between civilian and military applications
Highlight technological, logistical, and ethical challenges
Inform future research, procurement decisions, and doctrinal development