** EndoQuest said its PARADIGM surgical system offers flexibility, advanced instrumentation, and an ergonomic design. | Source: EndoQuest Robotics

While some robots are learning how to carefully carry boxes, others are already actively carrying out jewelry operations inside the human body. EndoQuest Robotics, in partnership with the renowned Mayo Clinic, has made a real medical revolution by successfully performing the world's first robotic endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). If you translate from medical to Russian: They removed the malignant tumor from the patient's stomach through a natural opening, without making a single incision in the skin.

What is ESD and why is it like removing graffiti from the wall of a bouncy castle?

Imagine that you need to carefully remove the wallpaper from one wall without damaging the neighboring ones or puncturing the wall itself. Now imagine that you are doing this not with your hands, but with a two-meter knitting needle, looking into a misted glass. Now make it more complicated: the "wall" is the gastric mucosa, it is moist, elastic and bleeds at the slightest touch. This is exactly what traditional ESD looks like — an incredibly complex procedure that requires superhuman precision and iron nerves from a surgeon.

"The EndoQuest robotic platform is radically changing the approach to such interventions," said one of the surgeons involved in the operation. "It provides unprecedented tool stability and additional degrees of freedom, which allows dissection in a way we could never have dreamed of before."

Snake Robot against Cancer: how does it work?

The EndoQuest system is not just "another robot surgeon." It is a flexible robotic endoscope resembling a smart snake that is inserted through the patient's mouth. Unlike standard endoscopes, which the surgeon controls by bending in three poses simultaneously, this device is equipped with robotic arms.

What does this mean in practice?:

Stability: The robot's arm will not shake, even if the surgeon sneezes. This allows you to make jewelry cuts.

Flexibility: Tools can bend at unthinkable angles for a human hand, reaching the most inaccessible areas.

Tactile communication: The surgeon controlling the robot from the console feels the resistance of the tissues, which is crucial for the safe procedure.

Why is this a breakthrough? Because the patient goes home the next day

The main advantage of this technique is for the patient. The classic operation to remove a stomach tumor is abdominal surgery, long anesthesia, weeks of recovery, and a scar across the entire abdomen. Robotic ESD is a procedure after which a patient can get up on the same day and be discharged home 24 hours later. The risk of infections and complications is significantly reduced.

"We are moving towards a future where the treatment of early gastrointestinal cancer will become a quick and low—trauma procedure, similar to a visit to the dentist," the gastroenterologist shares his opinion. — This changes the whole paradigm of oncology."

What's next? When will robots become the main ones in gastroscopy

Success at the Mayo Clinic is not a finish line, but a strong start. The technology paves the way for the mass use of robotic endoscopy. In the future, such systems will be able not only to treat, but also to make ultra-accurate diagnoses using built-in AI algorithms for real-time tissue analysis.

And this creates a completely new market for medical specialties. It will require not only surgeons who can work with robots, but also biomechanical engineers, medical system cybersecurity specialists, and diagnostic algorithm developers. Already today, such high-tech vacancies are starting to appear on specialized platforms, for example, on jobtorob.com where you can find a job at the intersection of robotics and saving human lives.

While we are afraid of the rise of machines, the most advanced robots are quietly and methodically doing everything to make us live longer and healthier. And, perhaps, soon going to a "gastric cleansing" to a robotic endoscopist will cause no more excitement than brushing your teeth. Although, let's be honest, it won't be any nicer anyway. But definitely live longer.