Note 1 - Organization and Capitalization	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Notes to Financial Statements
Organization, Consolidation, Basis of Presentation, Business Description and Accounting Policies [Text Block]	1. Organization and Capitalization Asensus Surgical, Inc. (formerly known as TransEnterix, Inc.) (the "Company") is a medical device company that is digitizing the interface between the surgeon and the patient to pioneer a new era of Performance-Guided Surgery™ by unlocking clinical intelligence for surgeons to enable consistently superior outcomes and a new standard of surgery. The Company is focused on the market development for and commercialization of the Senhance® Surgical System, which digitizes laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery, or MIS. The Senhance System is the first and only digital, multi-port laparoscopic platform designed to maintain laparoscopic MIS standards while providing digital benefits such as haptic feedback, robotic precision, comfortable ergonomics, advanced instrumentation including 3mm microlaparoscopic instruments, 5mm articulating instruments, eye-sensing camera control and fully-reusable standard instruments to help maintain per-procedure costs similar to traditional laparoscopy. The Senhance System is available for sale in Europe, the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Russia and select other countries. • The Senhance System has a CE Mark in Europe for adult and pediatric laparoscopic abdominal and pelvic surgery, as well as limited thoracic surgeries excluding cardiac and vascular surgery. • In the United States, the Company has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for use of the Senhance System in general laparoscopic surgical procedures and laparoscopic gynecologic surgery in a total of 31 indicated procedures, including benign and oncologic procedures, laparoscopic inguinal, hiatal and paraesophageal hernia, sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) surgery. • In Japan, the Company has received regulatory approval and reimbursement for 98 laparoscopic procedures. • The Senhance System has received its registration certificate by the Russian medical device regulatory agency, Roszdravnadzor, allowing for its sale and utilization throughout the Russian Federation. In 2020, the Company obtained regulatory clearance for the Senhance ultrasonic system in Taiwan and Japan. On February 12, 2020, the Company expanded its claims in the EU for the Senhance System to include pediatric patients, allowing accessibility to more surgeons and patients, as well as expanding its potential market to include pediatric hospitals in Europe. The Company anticipates the robotic precision provided by the Senhance System, coupled with the already available 3mm diameter instruments, will prove to be an effective tool in surgery with smaller patients. On March 13, 2020, the Company announced that it received FDA clearance for the Intelligent Surgical Unit™ (ISU™) for use with the Senhance System. The Company believes it is the first such FDA submission seeking clearance for machine vision technology in abdominal robotic surgery. On September 23, 2020, the Company announced the first surgical procedures successfully completed using the ISU. On September 1, 2021, the Company announced that it received FDA clearance for an expansion of machine vision capabilities. On January 19, 2021, the Company announced that it received CE Mark for the ISU. Lastly, on July 28, 2021, the Company announced that it received FDA clearance for 5mm diameter articulating instruments, offering better access to difficult-to-reach areas of the anatomy by providing two additional degrees of freedom. These instruments have previously received CE Mark for use in the EU. The Company has also developed the SurgiBot System, a single-port, robotically enhanced laparoscopic surgical platform. In December 2017, the Company entered into an agreement with Great Belief International Limited, or GBIL, to advance the SurgiBot System towards global commercialization. The agreement transferred ownership of the SurgiBot System assets to GBIL, while the Company retained the option to distribute or co-distribute the SurgiBot System outside of China. GBIL intends to manufacture the SurgiBot System in China, obtain Chinese regulatory clearance from the National Medical Products Administration ("NMPA"), and commercialize in the Chinese market. The agreement provides the Company with proceeds of at least $29.0 million, of which $15.0 million has been received to date. The remaining $14.0 million represents future minimum royalties payable beginning at the earlier of receipt of Chinese regulatory approval or March 2023. In estimating the consideration in this transaction, the Company applied the guidance on constraining estimates of variable consideration. The Company reassesses the estimate every reporting period and the variable consideration will be adjusted when it is deemed no longer constrained.

Note 1 - Organization and Capitalization

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Organization, Consolidation, Basis of Presentation, Business Description and Accounting Policies [Text Block]

1. Organization and Capitalization

Asensus Surgical, Inc. (formerly known as TransEnterix, Inc.) (the "Company") is a medical device company that is digitizing the interface between the surgeon and the patient to pioneer a new era of Performance-Guided Surgery™ by unlocking clinical intelligence for surgeons to enable consistently superior outcomes and a new standard of surgery. The Company is focused on the market development for and commercialization of the Senhance® Surgical System, which digitizes laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery, or MIS. The Senhance System is the first and only digital, multi-port laparoscopic platform designed to maintain laparoscopic MIS standards while providing digital benefits such as haptic feedback, robotic precision, comfortable ergonomics, advanced instrumentation including 3mm microlaparoscopic instruments, 5mm articulating instruments, eye-sensing camera control and fully-reusable standard instruments to help maintain per-procedure costs similar to traditional laparoscopy.

The Senhance System is available for sale in Europe, the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Russia and select other countries.

• The Senhance System has a CE Mark in Europe for adult and pediatric laparoscopic abdominal and pelvic surgery, as well as limited thoracic surgeries excluding cardiac and vascular surgery.

• In the United States, the Company has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for use of the Senhance System in general laparoscopic surgical procedures and laparoscopic gynecologic surgery in a total of 31 indicated procedures, including benign and oncologic procedures, laparoscopic inguinal, hiatal and paraesophageal hernia, sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) surgery.

• In Japan, the Company has received regulatory approval and reimbursement for 98 laparoscopic procedures.

• The Senhance System has received its registration certificate by the Russian medical device regulatory agency, Roszdravnadzor, allowing for its sale and utilization throughout the Russian Federation.

In 2020, the Company obtained regulatory clearance for the Senhance ultrasonic system in Taiwan and Japan. On February 12, 2020, the Company expanded its claims in the EU for the Senhance System to include pediatric patients, allowing accessibility to more surgeons and patients, as well as expanding its potential market to include pediatric hospitals in Europe. The Company anticipates the robotic precision provided by the Senhance System, coupled with the already available 3mm diameter instruments, will prove to be an effective tool in surgery with smaller patients.

On March 13, 2020, the Company announced that it received FDA clearance for the Intelligent Surgical Unit™ (ISU™) for use with the Senhance System. The Company believes it is the first such FDA submission seeking clearance for machine vision technology in abdominal robotic surgery. On September 23, 2020, the Company announced the first surgical procedures successfully completed using the ISU. On September 1, 2021, the Company announced that it received FDA clearance for an expansion of machine vision capabilities. On January 19, 2021, the Company announced that it received CE Mark for the ISU. Lastly, on July 28, 2021, the Company announced that it received FDA clearance for 5mm diameter articulating instruments, offering better access to difficult-to-reach areas of the anatomy by providing two additional degrees of freedom. These instruments have previously received CE Mark for use in the EU.

The Company has also developed the SurgiBot System, a single-port, robotically enhanced laparoscopic surgical platform. In December 2017, the Company entered into an agreement with Great Belief International Limited, or GBIL, to advance the SurgiBot System towards global commercialization. The agreement transferred ownership of the SurgiBot System assets to GBIL, while the Company retained the option to distribute or co-distribute the SurgiBot System outside of China. GBIL intends to manufacture the SurgiBot System in China, obtain Chinese regulatory clearance from the National Medical Products Administration ("NMPA"), and commercialize in the Chinese market. The agreement provides the Company with proceeds of at least $29.0 million, of which $15.0 million has been received to date. The remaining $14.0 million represents future minimum royalties payable beginning at the earlier of receipt of Chinese regulatory approval or March 2023. In estimating the consideration in this transaction, the Company applied the guidance on constraining estimates of variable consideration. The Company reassesses the estimate every reporting period and the variable consideration will be adjusted when it is deemed no longer constrained.