Exploring the import of mechatronics engineering in medicine: a review

Abstract

Background

The interdisciplinary nature of mechatronics has spurred huge progress in medicine to facilitate the creation of robotic surgery, wearable health monitoring, and bio-inspired robots. All these technologies enhance the precision of surgery, boost diagnostic capability, and enable real-time patient monitoring. For example, robotic-assisted surgeries have recorded a 50% cut in complications and a 40% reduction in healing times, while wearable health technology has enhanced early anomaly detection by 80%, saving emergency hospitalisation.

Main body

This review critically examines the evolution and interdisciplinary applications of mechatronics in medicine focusing on problems including financial burdens, confidentiality of data, and compliance with regulation. Emphasis is placed heavily on the regulatory approval processes required by organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) that typically delay the use of life-saving equipment by 3–5 years. In addition, the expensive price of robotic surgery systems (~$2 million per unit) and extensive training (20–40 procedures to be proficient) are inhibiting factors. New trends such as bio-inspired robots and nanomedicine are also considered here, which have exhibited fantastic potential in minimally invasive therapy, and nanorobot-based cancer therapies have exhibited tumour growth inhibition by 50% while limiting systemic side effects.

Conclusions

To propel the ethical and sustainable adoption of mechatronics in healthcare, this review proposed the development of interdisciplinary partnerships among engineers, clinicians, and policymakers, simplifies regulatory clearance processes, and designs low-cost, scalable products. Through these avenues, mechatronics can proceed to revolutionise healthcare, enhancing patient outcomes and expanding the accessibility of cutting-edge medical technology.