October 14, 2026 Newswires

Reports Outline Robotics Study Results from Medical Research Institute (Current status and 10-year trends of reimbursed robot-assisted surgery in Japan: a nationwide claims-based study using the NDB Open Data): Robotics

Japan Daily Report

2026 OCT 14 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Japan Daily Report -- Fresh data on Robotics are presented in a new report. According to news reporting originating in Osaka, Japan, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Since reimbursement under Japan’s National Health Insurance system, robot-assisted surgery (RAS) has expanded rapidly. However, comprehensive cross-disciplinary analyses describing long-term adoption trends and regional variation remain limited.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Medical Research Institute, “This study aimed to evaluate nationwide adoption and distribution of reimbursed RAS across surgical specialties in Japan. We performed a population-based study using publicly available claims data from the National Database (NDB) Open Data (2014-2023). All procedures reimbursed as RAS as of fiscal year 2023, along with corresponding endoscopic and open procedures, were included. Ten-year trends in RAS volume were analyzed across surgical fields and procedure categories. For representative procedures in fiscal year 2023, prefecture-level and age- and sex-specific variations in surgical approach were examined. By 2023, 47 reimbursed robotic procedures were classified into 20 categories across four surgical fields. Annual RAS volume increased markedly, reaching 95,845 procedures in 2023. Urology accounted for the largest share (40,673 cases), followed by gastrointestinal surgery and gynecology. Radical prostatectomy was the most common robotic procedure, followed by rectal resection and nephrectomy for malignant tumors. Robotic utilization was highest in urology; within gastrointestinal surgery, esophagectomy and rectal resection showed relatively high adoption. Substantial prefecture-level variation was observed, with patterns differing by procedure and not consistently correlating with minimally invasive surgery rates. RAS adoption was strongly associated with the number of certified robotic surgery proctors in several procedures. For selected procedures, including gastrectomy, robotic and minimally invasive utilization decreased with increasing age. RAS has expanded rapidly in Japan, with marked procedural and regional variation.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “These population-level findings may inform implementation strategies and health policy for robotic surgery.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Current status and 10-year trends of reimbursed robot-assisted surgery in Japan: a nationwide claims-based study using the NDB Open Data. Surgical Endoscopy, 2026. Surgical Endoscopy can be contacted at: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States. (Springer - www.springer.com; Surgical Endoscopy - http://www.springerlink.com/content/0930-2794/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Kojiro Taura, Medical Research Institute KITANO Hospital, 2-4-20 Ohgimachi, Kita-ku, Osaka, 5308480, Japan. Additional authors for this research include Meiki Fukuda, Eiji Tanaka, Kohta Iguchi, Yoshihisa Okuchi, Hisatsugu Maekawa, Takayuki Kawai, Kenzo Nakano, Yusuke Fujita, Koji Hisano, Yoshiki Oshimo and Hiroaki Terajima.