Shanghai, China, 27 January 2022 — Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Group) Co., Ltd. (MicroPort® MedBot®) recently announced that its Toumai® Laparoscopic Surgical Robot (MicroPort® Toumai®) was approved for marketing by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), making it the first four-arm laparoscopic robot approved for marketing developed by a Chinese company. The launch of MicroPort® Toumai® marks a major breakthrough in the field of Chinese laparoscopic surgical robots, rapidly improving the clinical performance of robotic surgery in China.
Among all surgical robots, four-arm laparoscopic surgical robots are considered the most technically advanced, equipped with the most complex system and cutting-edge technology. For this reason, it is ranked first among high-end medical devices prioritized in China’s ‘National 14th Five-Year Plan’. As there is currently only one widely commercialized laparoscopic surgical robot available for use worldwide, the launch of MicroPort® Toumai® will reduce the cost of robotic surgeries in China and will alleviate the economic burden for patients, accelerating the development and promotion of robotic surgery in China.
Dr. Chao He, President of MicroPort® MedBot®, commented, “MicroPort® Toumai® is the first Chinese developed four-arm laparoscopic robotic system approved by NMPA, marking a major breakthrough in the commercialization of China's surgical robots and the clinical application of robotic-assisted surgeries. As MicroPort® Toumai® becomes commercially available, it will bring benefits to patients who are in desperate need for inclusive robotic solutions. We will maintain innovation, strengthen the integration of industries, deepen the medical-industrial cooperation, and accelerate the product iteration, in order to provide patients and physicians with inclusive total surgical solutions based on intelligent robotics.”
Compared with traditional laparoscopy, MicroPort® Toumai® has many technical merits such as realistic 3D surgical field, fine manipulation of micro-instruments, and high dexterity in narrow space. This is integral to surgical operations in complex laparoscopies, including separation and hemostasis, suturing and knotting, and functional reconstruction. At the same time, it avoids large surgical trauma, bleeding, and high complication rate associated with traditional open surgery, and enables surgical operations that are truly precise, safe, efficient, and minimally invasive.
In the pre-market clinical trial, MicroPort® Toumai® demonstrated its value in clinical applications. The safety and efficacy of Toumai® has been verified through randomized, controlled, multi-center, and head-to-head clinical trial comparisons with competing products. Toumai® has assisted clinical experts in making breakthroughs in robot-assisted surgeries in China, including the first domestic robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, the first domestic robot-assisted retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy, and the first domestic robot-assisted single-port surgery.
After the launch of MicroPort® Toumai®, MicroPort® MedBot® will facilitate the promotion of quality medical resources by providing various clinical training and comprehensive services. MicroPort® MedBot® has established ‘Robotic Surgery Centers’ with several hospitals to provide one-stop services that include technical training, customer service, and clinical support. These centers also promote the dissemination of training resources for robotic physicians using innovative training and demonstration methodologies, such as mobile platforms to bridge geographical differences in healthcare. This aims to benefit more patients while continuing to support hospitals at all levels to improve surgery efficiency and turnover rates.
About MicroPort® MedBot®
By addressing the need for cutting-edge, minimally invasive surgeries, MicroPort® MedBot® (Stock code: 02252.HK) has been dedicated to driving research and industrial integration in the fields of robotics, intelligent control, sensing and information, to provide intelligent total surgical solutions that innovatively prolong and reshape life. Currently, MicroPort® MedBot® is the only surgical robot company in the world with businesses covering five promising subsectors of surgical robots, including endoscopy, orthopedics, vascular intervention, natural cavity, and percutaneous punctures. Its product portfolio includes two approved products and seven pipeline products. Among its three flagship products, the Toumai® Laparoscopic Surgical Robot and the DFVision® 3D Electronic Laparoscope have received approval for marketing from NMPA, and the Honghu Orthopedic Surgical Robot has been granted access to the NMPA Special Approval Procedure for Innovative Medical Devices.