Beijing, China – On June 1, the project "Research on a Minimal Invasive, High Efficiency Orthopedic Robotic System," co-launched by Suzhou MicroPort OrthoRecon Co., Ltd. ("MicroPort®OrthoRecon"), was listed in the National Key Research & Development ("R&D") Plan, falling into the category of "Digital Diagnostic Equipment R&D," according to the announcement regarding the arrangement of five key categories (including Stem Cells and Translational Research) of the National Key R&D Plan for the Year 2017 released on the official website of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Aiming to seize the opportunity of the new round of revolution in the healthcare industry, the category of "Digital Diagnostic Equipment R&D" is being oriented on early diagnosis, accurate diagnosis, minimally invasive treatment, precise treatment, while focused on 10 key strategic products such as multimodal molecular imaging and large-scale radiotherapy equipment. It is expected to systematically strengthen the key technology research, push the development of cutting-edge technologies, facilitate the improvement of detecting technique, standardized systems, application solution and pilot application evaluation research, and thereby to speed up the integration of the production and innovation of China's medical device industry and help China's digital diagnostic equipment industry ascend into the international advanced level. The project "Research on a Minimal Invasive, High Efficiency Orthopedic Robotic System" is a four-year project co-developed by MicroPort®OrthoRecon, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Peking University, Beijing Institute of Technology, Third Military Medical University, Fudan University, and Shanghai Medical Device Testing Institute.
The National Key R&D Plan merges several prominent state sci-tech programs, including the program 863 and program 973, National Key Technology Support Program, International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Program of China, Industrial Technology Research and Development Fund, and Scientific Research Fund of Public Service Industry. The plan focuses on research in fields vital to the country's development and people's well-being, such as agriculture, energy, the environment and health, as well as strategic fields key to industrial competitiveness, innovation and national security. The five key categories mentioned in the announcement includes Stem Cells and Translational Research, Digital Diagnostic Equipment R&D, Prevention and Control of Major Chronic Non-Infectious Diseases, Biosafety Key Technology R&D, Biomedical Materials R&D & Tissue and Organ Repair and Replacement. The five key categories received a total of 782 applications and 167 of them eventually obtained government funding totaling at around 2.5 billion yuan.