A surgeon remotely controlled a humanoid robot during an animal spine operation, according to Linyan Medical’s account in a report republished by TMTPost. The company said the experiment removed part of a vertebra, a procedure called a laminectomy.
The test took place shortly before Linyan announced a broader project involving humanoid robots and surgery. The company said the operation required accuracy within 1 millimeter. That was the stated target; the report does not establish that it was achieved. The company reported no serious complications during the operation, including nerve damage or a tear in the protective layer around the spinal cord. This was a company account, rather than an independently reviewed study.
An augmented-reality display showed the animal’s bones, nerve paths and blood vessels during the procedure. Augmented reality adds digital images to a live view, helping a doctor see structures that may be hidden beneath the bone.
The robot did not decide how to perform the operation. Linyan founder Liu Yang said the surgeon controlled every movement remotely, including whether to cut, how much to remove and when to stop.
Liu said the company’s surgical world model handles planning, augmented-reality images and accuracy checks. A world model is software that represents the setting a machine works in. China’s National Medical Products Administration approved Linyan’s navigation system in 2024, according to the report.
That approval applies to the navigation system, not necessarily to surgery by a humanoid robot. The report does not establish approval for humanoid-robot surgery on human patients.
The experiment also does not show that the robot can perform surgery independently. Linyan still lists challenges involving force control, living tissue, blood, smoke, tissue movement and breathing. These changing conditions can make it difficult for a machine to sense and respond safely.
The company plans more animal testing within one to two years. It hopes to explore human studies within two to three years and demonstrate the technology at major hospitals within three to five years. Those are company targets, and human testing would still require regulatory approval.