The IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics (T-MRB) is a quarterly Green Open Access (see details in Information for Authors) multidisciplinary journal aimed at publishing peer-reviewed papers focused on innovative research ideas and medical application results. It reports significant theoretical findings and application case studies in the areas of medical robotics and bionics.
The IEEE T-MRB publishes non-incremental results on innovative systems that support the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of human diseases. These systems can be based on robotics and automation technology-related paradigms (e.g., surgical robots, devices for physical and cognitive rehabilitation, supporting systems for independent living, etc.), on bionics paradigms (e.g., medical systems that mimic living organisms or technologies that intimately interact with the human body), or combinations of both, such as robotic artificial organs and other active implantable devices featuring direct interfaces with the human body. In addition, T-MRB promotes works investigating mechanisms and principles observed in nature to unravel scientific issues and exploit them to develop innovative bionic technologies for medical applications.
Main journal topics include:
- Surgical robotics
- Rehabilitation and assistive robotics
- Bionic prostheses
- Sensory substitution
- Artificial/bioartificial bionic organs
- Medical biomimetic technologies
The journal also welcomes survey and commentary papers providing critical, systematic reviews of research areas and trends within its scope, evidence-based studies on the early clinical validation of robotic or bionic technologies, and contributions on ethical, social, economic, and organizational aspects concerning robotics and/or bionic solutions for medical and healthcare applications.
IEEE T-MRB is a publication sponsored by:
Editor-in-Chief
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Metrics
Journal Impact Factor 2023 (JIF): 3.8
Journal Citation Indicator (JCI): 0.81
Scimago Journal Ranking (SJR): 0.933 Q1
Normalized Eigenfactor: 0.70
News
Special Section on: Soft and Continuum Robots for Surgery
Soft and continuum robots are emerging as promising tools in surgical robotics due to their compliance, dexterity, and ability to navigate complex anatomy, making them suitable for various minimally invasive procedures. However, their clinical adoption is limited by challenges in sensing, control, modeling, and integration with imaging technologies—particularly the lack of real-time shape/force sensing and robust planning for uncertain environments. This Special Section aims to tackle these challenges by showcasing recent advances in design, modeling, fabrication, sensing, and control, with contributions from the IROS 2025 Workshop on Continuum Robots for Surgery and open submissions.
Topics of Interest:
The scope of the Special Section covers all aspects of soft and continuum robots, with topics of interests including (but are not limited to):
- Continuum robots and soft robots for surgery
- Design and fabrication of miniaturized and fiber-embedded continuum robots
- MRI-compatible and biocompatible continuum robotic systems
- Image-guided intervention using continuum robots
- Smart biophotonics probes empowered by continuum robots
- Clinical validation and application of continuum robots in surgery
- Human-robot interaction and safety in continuum robotic surgery
- Shared control and embodied intelligence in surgical collaboration
- Soft and continuum robots with embodded intelligence
Manuscript submission:
Manuscripts must be submitted on-line, through the IEEE submission procedure, available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tmrb-ieee.
Authors should follow the regular procedure to submit a paper to T-MRB and they must clearly specify in the cover letter that the submission is intended for possible inclusion in the Special Section entitled “Soft and Continuum Robots for Surgery”.
Publication schedule – Important Dates
- Manuscript submission deadline: 21 Dec, 2025
- Revisions back to authors: 28 Feb, 2026 (typically after two months from the submission deadline)
- Submission of the final version: 30 April, 2026 (typically after three/four months from the submission deadline)
- Publication of the Special Section: 31 May, 2026 (typically after four/five months from the submission deadline)
Current Issue - Volume 7 Issue 2 - May 2025
The new IEEE T-MRB Issue has been released. Che the full issue here.
