The emergence of artificial intelligence and robotic systems in surgical settings represents one of healthcare's most promising frontiers for improving patient safety and care precision. Understanding how this technological integration has evolved academically provides crucial insights into where perioperative nursing is heading and what gaps remain in our knowledge base.
A comprehensive bibliometric analysis examining 291 research publications from 2015 to 2025 reveals that scholarly interest in intelligent operating room nursing has surged dramatically, with publication rates tripling from 16 articles in 2015 to 49 in 2024. Nearly half of all research output has concentrated in just the past three years, suggesting the field has reached an inflection point. The study mapped research across multiple domains including AI-driven risk identification, robotic surgical assistance, smart sensing technologies, and data-driven decision support systems that help perioperative nurses optimize workflows and deliver individualized patient care.
This bibliometric approach offers valuable perspective on how academic research priorities align with clinical implementation realities. While the publication surge indicates robust scientific interest, the concentration of recent work suggests many fundamental questions about intelligent surgical technologies remain unresolved. The analysis likely reveals geographic and institutional research clusters, funding patterns, and collaboration networks that influence how quickly these technologies translate from laboratory concepts to bedside applications. For health-conscious adults considering surgical procedures, this research landscape analysis provides insight into which AI-enhanced nursing capabilities are approaching clinical maturity versus those still in experimental phases.