Shanghai, China, 20 May 2025 – MicroPort® MedBot™ is pleased to announce that its Toumai® Tele-Robotic Surgical System has recently received market approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China. This approval makes Toumai® the world's first tele-operated surgical robotic system authorized for commercial clinical use, marking a groundbreaking milestone in the field of tele-robotic surgery.
MicroPort® MedBot™ has addressed two of the industry’s longstanding technical barriers - compatibility with existing network infrastructure and large-scale deployment feasibility. In response to the requirements of large-scale clinical development, the company has developed a next-generation tele-surgical platform featuring ultra-low latency image compression, multidimensional data encryption, adaptive network optimization strategies, and safety assurance protocols tailored to complex network environments.
The Toumai® system is the first in the world to support integration with multiple communication infrastructures, including 5G, broadband, dedicated fiber lines, and satellite communications. This enables highly flexible and cost-effective “one-to-many” and “many-to-many” remote surgical connectivity. As a result, it significantly reduces operational costs and simplifies deployment of telesurgery.
MicroPort® MedBot™ has also established the world’s first and only intercontinental telesurgery network, which currently spans six continents and over 100 countries and regions. To date, nearly 400 tele-surgical procedures have been successfully performed. Network performance tests show that the bidirectional latency is less than 50 milliseconds for inter-provincial procedures and under 150 milliseconds for telesurgeries conducted across telecom carriers, countries, and continents.
Tele-surgical technology breaks down the barriers of geography and time, making advanced surgical care more equitable and accessible. It reduces the need for long-distance patient transfers, decreases associated medical costs, and eases the burden on healthcare systems by enabling remote collaboration between surgical teams and institutions.
Since early 2024, the Toumai® Robot has enabled a series of world-first tele-surgical milestones, including the first vehicle-mounted telesurgery, ultra-remote lung tumor resection, ship-based robotic surgery, remote pancreaticoduodenectomy, satellite-enabled telesurgery, and the first “five-hospital simultaneous” procedure. These achievements underscore the versatility of telesurgery and its potential for global scalability.
This milestone not only marks a technological breakthrough but also a significant step toward redefining the future of surgical care delivery.
About MicroPort® MedBot™
Commenced its development for laparoscopic surgery robots in 2014, and officially established in Shanghai in 2015, Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Group) Co., Ltd. ("MicroPort® MedBot™", stock code: 02252.HK), a subsidiary of MicroPort Scientific Corporation ("MicroPort®", stock code: 00853.HK), is currently the only surgical robot company in the world with businesses covering five promising subsectors of surgical robots, including endoscopy, orthopedics, vascular intervention, natural orifice surgery, and percutaneous puncture. At MicroPort® MedBot™, we are committed to meeting the growing demand for cutting-edge robotic surgery. By integrating advanced research on robotics, control algorithms, image-based navigation, and precision imaging, we provide comprehensive intelligent surgical solutions to prolong and reshape the lives of patients, lead the advancement of robotic surgery, and shape the era of intelligent surgery.
More information is available at: www.medbotsurgical.com/en