Researchers Develop Head-Mounted Robotic System for Retinal Surgery

The retinal robot from the University of Utah’s John A. Moran Eye Center is capable of 1-micrometer movements.

A team of engineers and eye specialists at the University of Utah’s John A. Moran Eye Center and the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering has developed a new robotic system designed to assist surgeons in performing delicate eye procedures with greater stability and control.¹

The robotic system is designed to counteract movement from both the patient and the surgeon, helping to improve precision in retinal surgery. Unlike traditional robotic surgery tools, this device doesn’t sit on a table—it’s actually mounted on the patient’s head, keeping the eye stable even when the patient naturally moves.

“Treatments for vision disorders are rapidly advancing,” said Dr. Jake Abbot, a professor of mechanical engineering and co-leader of the team at the University of Utah . “We need to give surgeons better ability to keep up with them.”

The robot can execute movements as tiny as 1 micrometer—smaller than a human cell—allowing for ultra-precise surgical actions while minimizing the effects of unintended hand tremors.

Using a haptic interface, a handheld device that senses and translates motion, the system adjusts the surgeon’s hand movements to match the scale of the tiny surgical site inside the eye. By compensating for natural tremors, the system allows for more controlled and precise

Potential impact on gene therapy and retinal surgery

The robotic system may improve outcomes for complex retinal procedures, including those involving gene therapy for inherited eye diseases. These therapies require delivering medication to a very small space beneath the retina, a procedure that demands extreme accuracy.

Currently, surgeons must inject the therapy between two fragile layers of cells, each less than a millimeter thick. The robotic system is designed to help position the injection more precisely, reducing risks and improving consistency.

Dr. Eileen Hwang, a retinal surgeon at the Moran Eye Center and co-author of the study, emphasized the importance of precision in these procedures. 

“The unique feature of this robot, head mounting, may make it possible for patients to have subretinal injections under intravenous (IV) sedation, rather than general anesthesia,” she said. 

“IV sedation allows for faster recovery and is safer in some patients. Robots may also allow for more precise delivery of gene therapy medication compared to manual injections for more reproducible, safer treatments.”

Testing and progress toward human trials

While the system isn’t ready for human procedures just yet, early testing has been promising. The research team successfully evaluated the technology using enucleated pig eyes, demonstrating that the robot could stabilize movement and improve accuracy during delicate procedures.

To further test the system’s effectiveness, a human volunteer was fitted with specialized goggles that positioned an animal eye in front of their own. This set-up allowed the team to assess the system’s ability to correct for head motion and tremors in a controlled but realistic surgical scenario.

The findings, recently published in Science Robotics², suggest that the robotic assistant improved success rates for subretinal injections and lowered the risk of ophthalmic complications.

With further development, robot-assisted precision could soon become a key tool in retinal surgery, helping surgeons navigate the challenges of tremors, patient movement and microscopic surgical sites with greater ease.

References

1. University of Utah. Early study shows promise for retinal-surgery robot invented at the University of Utah, February 2025, Available at https://attheu.utah.edu/science-technology/early-study-shows-promise-for-retinal-surgery-robot-invented-at-the-university-of-utah/ Accessed on February 24, 2025. 
2. Posselli NR, Hwang ES, Olson ZJ, Nagiel A, Bernstein PS, Abbott JJ. Head-mounted surgical robots are an enabling technology for subretinal injections. Sci Robot. 2025;10(99):eadp7700.