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Mechatronics engineering, an interdisciplinary field of research that combines mechanical, electronic, and computer engineering, has revolutionised several industries through the development of smart systems to solve intricate problems. Its contributions to the health industry are noteworthy, enabling one to develop new devices that are more accurate, efficient, and accessible for healthcare procedures [1, 2]. This has opened up the innovation of revolutionary technologies such as robotic surgical systems, health sensors for wearable devices, and telemedicine software [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8–9]. Da Vinci Surgical System, to cite a simple example, has enabled more than 10 million surgeries across the globe with reports of a 50% decrease in complications and a 40% reduction in recuperation time [10, 11, 12, 13–14]. Telemedicine systems, whose genesis is based on mechatronic technologies, also witnessed 150% of their use skyrocketing during the pandemic COVID-19 periods to expand the provision of healthcare services across geography [13, 15, 16]. The worldwide medical robot market is expected to increase from $12 billion in 2022 to $30 billion by 2030, while the wearable healthcare device market will reach more than $50 billion by 2025 [10, 13, 14, 17, 18–19].
Notwithstanding all these advancements, traditional medical procedures still have some major limitations. Manual operations are less precise for complex procedures, and diagnostic tests are time-consuming and error-prone. Moreover, patient monitoring in the traditional environment continues to be resource-intensive [20, 21–22]. Mechatronics overcomes these limitations by streamlining processes, enhancing precision, and allowing real-time monitoring. Wearable devices with mechatronic sensors can alert medical professionals to abnormal heart rhythms, with the potential to reduce hospitalisations by 30% through early treatment [17, 18]. Micro-robotic systems, for instance, have shown promise in revolutionising minimally invasive surgery and drug delivery, with even greater improved treatment efficacy and patient outcomes [23].
Interdisciplinary research is a major driver of mechatronics development. Synergies between fields such as medicine, engineering, and artificial intelligence are an essential part of this development. The synergy of inputs from such different domains has provided a boost to advances in robotic surgery, wearable health monitoring, and diagnostics using AI. Besides this, continuous input from biomedical research, computational intelligence, and materials science continues to mould the future of bio-inspired nanomedicine and robotics. The development of non-invasive diagnostic devices, for...