Verso la robotica in sanità? Il caso toscano tra fattori facilitanti e inibenti

This article sheds light on the complex process of diffusion of robotics in healthcare. The study focuses on Tuscany, an extreme case where institutional, financial and technological preconditions seem consistent with a potential widespread of robotics in the field. Irrespective of these preconditions, the article provides a detailed analysis of the complex articulation of factors that prevent the large diffusion of new robotic technologies in healthcare. Through the analytical framework inspired by the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), we look at the articulation of socio-economic and institutional landscapes, health regimes and technological niches. While the stock of investments, organisational resources and technologies seem to support robotics in health, the actual relationship between landscapes, regimes and niches does not allow for a broader diffusion. Robotic technologies are not embedded in health institutions because of investments that are too market-oriented, as well due to regulatory bottlenecks and organisational fragmentation.