Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	May 09, 2013
Entity Registrant Name	INTEGRATED SURGICAL SYSTEMS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000894871
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Trading Symbol	issm
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		8,483,005
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013