Over the past few years, rapid advances in surgical robot navigation, imaging, and workflow integration have transformed what is possible in the operating room. Looking to 2026, I expect this momentum to accelerate in three specific areas: new areas of imaging, the expansion of robotics into community hospitals, and the evolution of commercialization strategies.
Beyond anticipated technological advances, democratization of access marks a groundbreaking new phase in robotic surgery because it represents a shift in where these innovations are adopted and who they help. This means that in the coming years, revolutionary advances in minimally invasive surgery will become easier and more cost-effective.
Robotic surgery arrives at community hospitals
For years, surgical robotics has been considered the domain of large urban health systems and teaching hospitals. High capital costs, lengthy implementation times and resource-intensive support models mean that only the largest institutions can adopt the technology at scale. That picture is changing.
By 2026, community hospitals will become an increasingly important growth engine in this field. Several forces are driving this shift:
- Patient access: Smaller hospitals want to offer the same minimally invasive procedures to attract patients to academic centers. Robotics help them retain local patients who would otherwise travel to hospitals for care.
- Economics: New business models, including subscription pricing, per-procedure economics, and more flexible service structures, make robotics financially viable for hospitals with tight budgets.
- Technology maturity: The platform is easier to adopt, installs faster, has streamlined workflows, and relies less on large on-site support teams.
The result will be a wider patient population that can benefit from robotic surgery. You could imagine patients in smaller urban areas or rural communities being able to receive advanced care closer to home and their support networks. It also enables these providers to realize new revenue streams and allows hospitals of all sizes to participate in shaping the future of minimally invasive surgery.
Imaging technology stands out
The ability of doctors to see inside the human body and accurately interact with the anatomy remains a challenge. Even today, many older robotic platforms still rely on offline scans for navigation during surgery, which can lead to CT-to-body discrepancies.
Over the next year, I believe advances in real-time visualization, AI-driven reconstruction, and multimodal fusion will continue to reshape how we view and interact with the body during surgery. I think three areas are particularly important:
- Higher-fidelity real-time visualization: New sensor and image processing technologies enable sharper resolution and greater depth of field, especially in flexible robotic oscilloscopes. This makes it possible to display smaller structures more clearly, reducing reliance on fluoroscopy and other ancillary imaging.
- AI-enhanced interpretation: Artificial intelligence is increasingly embedded directly at the point of care. These systems can highlight areas of interest, guide navigation, and compensate for suboptimal visualization in challenging anatomy. The most effective designs support, rather than replace, clinicians, acting as an additional layer of safety and precision.
- Cross-modality integration: One of the most exciting frontiers in imaging is combining streams such as CT, ultrasound, and endoscopic video into a unified view. The unique positioning of the robotic platform makes this possible, providing a more comprehensive map of the surgery in real time.
By 2026, visualization will no longer be just about “seeing better,” but empowering clinicians with a deeper, data-rich understanding of anatomy, helping them make faster, safer, and more confident decisions in the surgical suite.
Commercialization becomes more strategic
As technology evolves, so does the way we bring surgical robots to market. For many years, commercialization has been dominated by large capital equipment models and long sales cycles. The model is being reimagined, and I expect 2026 to bring even greater changes.
That's because hospitals are increasingly looking for predictable, per-procedure economics rather than large upfront investments. Disposable endoscopes and subscription-based service models fit well with this trend, providing greater flexibility to health systems facing tight budgets.
At the same time, the focus is shifting from volume to value. As the global healthcare economy comes under pressure, stakeholders are scrutinizing whether new technologies can deliver measurable improvements in outcomes and efficiency. Evidence generation becomes as important as engineering. Companies that can demonstrate real-world impact through shorter programs, less complexity, and higher throughput will stand out.
Finally, commercialization strategies are becoming region-specific. The drivers of adoption in North America are different from those in Europe or Asia, where reimbursement models and regulatory pathways vary. The most successful companies will be those that adapt commercialization to local circumstances rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.
Looking to the future
The story of 2026 will ultimately be about convergence. Technological advances such as imaging will overlap with changing commercialization models and new hospital realities to enable new patient impacts and economic models.
Taken together, these shifts herald a future in which surgical robots are defined not just by large machines in the operating room, but by smarter, more flexible systems that are seamlessly integrated into clinical workflows, deliver measurable value across diverse care settings, and keep up with the rapid innovation cycles that define modern healthcare.
For innovators, clinicians and patients, this is a future worth looking forward to.
Photo: PhonlamaiPhoto, Getty Images
Zhang Jian is a serial entrepreneur. Prior to joining Noah Healthcare, Jane co-founded and served as CEO of two other successful startups. Additionally, he was the No. 2 employee at Auris Health, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2019 for $5.7B. Prior to joining Auris, he worked at Intuitive Surgical. Jane received her master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University.
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