Shenzhen, China —— The first robot-assisted clinical study partial nephrectomy was successfully completed on April 24 at South China Hospital of Shenzhen University "South China Hospital") with Toumai^® Laparoscopic Surgical Robot (Toumai^®) independently developed by Shanghai Microport Medbot (Group) Co., Ltd. (MedBot^®). It is also the first urological surgery completed with Toumai^® in South China and is of great significance for the rapid improvement of clinical application of robot-assisted surgery in China and the breaking of market monopoly.

The patient is a 70 year-old male, who was admitted to the Urology Department of South China Hospital for prostatic hyperplasia and uroschesis. He was diagnosed as having developed space-occupying lesion in his left kidney, which was considered as clear cell carcinoma of kidney. Considering that the cardio-pulmonary function of the patient is poor and there are relatively multiple complications, the risk of surgery and anesthesia will be relatively high.

Professor Feng Wang said after the surgery, "The successful completion of the surgery has strengthened our confidence in Chinese-developed surgical robots. Toumai^® provides a 3D laparoscope of a stable and clear field of view, larger turnover angle of robotic arm, dexterous suture needle, and higher accuracy and stability. They enable us to complete the surgical operations more accurately and efficiently, such as separation hemostasis, suturing and knotting in a narrow anatomical space. This helps shorten the operation time, reduce the amount of bleeding, and at the same time minimize the occurrence of adverse complications such as injury of peripheral blood vessels and organs."

"The clinical study surgery with Chinese-developed robot provides more possibilities for our hospital to achieve the goals of precision, standardization, minimal-invasion and customization in urological diagnosis and treatment. We have also accumulated important clinical evidence and technical experience for the application of Chinese-developed surgical robots, and made a new breakthrough in clinical application, and this will play a positive role in the future popularization of Chinese-developed surgery robots and the breaking of market monopoly." Song Wu, president of South China Hospital, said that it was an important development direction for South China Hospital to build a robot pilot hospital. For the next step, the Hospital will introduce more medical robots, vigorously improve the medical technology and services, and provide patients with more accurate, efficient and safe treatment methods and intelligent diagnosis and treatment solutions in the whole process.

The Chinese-developed Toumai^®, as a sharp weapon in the field of minimal-invasive surgery, has fully demonstrated its accuracy and stability in clinical surgeries. Its wrist-type surgical instruments are highly flexible, its high-power three-dimensional operation field ensures the accurate exposure of lesions, and its master-slave teleoperation is sensitive and easy to use, which effectively simplifies the surgery, shortens the operation time, fully possesses the ability to assist doctors in complex operations in the narrow anatomical space, and fills up the relevant gap of Chinese development in this field.

Mr. Yu Liu, Chief Commercial Officer of MedBot^®, said: "Thanks to the strong support of South China Hospital. The successful completion of the surgery represents that Toumai^® has reliable and stable clinical performances and can provide high-quality medical services to more patients. MedBot^® hopes to provide intelligent surgical solutions to more hospitals and experts and achieve the initial goal to "Make Surgery Easier, Safer and Less Invasive!”