Jinan, China - On August 25, 2022, MicroPort^® Toumai^® laparoscopic surgical Robot (Toumai^®), independently self-developed by Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Group) Co., Ltd. (“MicroPort^® MedBot^®”), a subsidiary of Shanghai MicroPort Scientific Corporation (MicroPort^®), successfully helped complete a robotic-assisted gastrointestinal surgery at the Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Provincial Hospital), which operated by Professor Leping Li’s team from the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Shandong Provincial Hospital. Since the first surgery was carried out on June 21, Shandong Provincial Hospital has successfully completed s50 difficult operations with Toumai^® over two months, and the average monthly surgery volume with the system has reached the international level with mature products of the same type. The stable performance of Toumai^® in research and clinical projects has gained recognition and trust of hospital experts, and has helped the hospital to make high-quality progress in scientific research.

With the introduction of Toumai^® to the operating room of Shandong Provincial Hospital on June 21, 2022, Prof. Leping Li of the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, together with his surgical team composed of Prof. Changqing Jing, Prof. Yulong Shi, Senior Dr. Liang Shang, Associate Senior Dr. Feng Tian, Dr. Kun Xiao, Nurse-in-Charge Mei Dong, Nurse Xiao Han and Anesthesiologist Xu Wang, successfully performed the first domestic robot-assisted radical colon cancer surgery in Shandong, making a new breakthrough in the field of gastrointestinal tumor treatment with a domestic surgical robot in the province. Leaders of the hospital and medical departments attached great importance to the operation. Prof. Mo Wang and Prof. Qinghua Xia of the Medical Department were active in providing appropriate support, Prof. Mengyuan Zhang and Nurse Jinbao Mao of the Department of Anesthesia and Surgery made a thoughtful arrangement of the anesthesia and surgery team, all creating a favorable condition for the successful operation.

As of August 25, under the leadership of Prof. Leping Li of the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Prof. Jiaju Lv of the Department of Urology, their team completed a total of 50 robotic procedures, specifically 22 cases in gastrointestinal surgery and 28 cases in urology surgery. These procedures cover 8 types of gastrointestinal surgical procedures such as lower colorectal resection, sigmoid resection, rectal tumor resection, gastroplasty, and 13 urological procedures such as radical cystectomy with ileal bladder replacement, radical prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy, pyeloplasty, and vesicovaginal fistula repair.

The operators participating in this clinical program quickly mastered the surgical robot skills after a short period of professional and systematic training on robotic surgery by the MedBot^® team. It is the stable performance of Toumai^® that significantly reduces the learning curve for the operators and shortens the learning time. With the help of Toumai^®, the operator can successfully perform 50 surgeries in two months at a natural pace, and it is estimated that more than 300 cases can be completed in one year, reach to the level of of the similar mature products in the field.

The success of 50 delicate surgical operations with the help of Toumai^® robot in two months is a testament to its reliable and stable performance for difficult and intense clinical work. In addition, the training and education team and the customer service support team customized by MedBot^® for the hospital provide a guarantee for the professional operation of operators and the stable operation of the robot, while promoting the widespread use of the laparoscopic surgical robot and the transfer of technology to the grassroots level, to make its benefits accessible to more patients.

The advantages of Toumai^® includes glass-free 3D monitor, high-power tissue magnification, flexible robotic arms, and intuitive movement enable the operators to get access to the most realistic surgical experience and simultaneous eye-hand-instrument coordination during the procedure; the wrist-moved surgery instruments bring freedom to surgeons helping the operators to perform more precise and minimally invasive surgical operations.

headway made by us in the field of minimally invasive, advanced and precise treatment of gastrointestinal tumors,” said Prof. Leping Li of the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, “The good performance of Toumai^® in the clinical application of gastrointestinal surgery also means that China is gradually moving towards high precision and reaching the international advanced level in medical equipment manufacturing. The cooperation will provide the personnel and technology reserve for our hospital to carry out 5G-based robotic telesurgery in the next step.”

Prof. Lv Jiaju of Department of Urology of the Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University stated, “In urological surgery application MicroPort^® Toumai^® provides a clear three-dimensional view and highly flexible instruments, allowing for a success  operation. We are very pleased to see such an excellent achievement of the domestic surgical robot ‘Designed in China’.”

Prof. Qinghua Xia of the Medical Department of Provincial Hospital said, “Over the two months of cooperation with Toumai^®, we have performed a strict ethical review of clinical research, and conducted comprehensive training on operational skills, including practical operation and functional mastery of the device, and the urology and gastrointestinal surgery teams have performed 50 actual operations. All 50 operations were performed successfully without surgery-related complications. Next step, we will focus on robot-assisted surgery training and promote the full application of robotic surgery.”

Mr. Yu Liu, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of MedBot^®, said, “With the strong support of clinical experts from Shandong Provincial Hospital, the clinical research project of Toumai^® has been a success - 50 delicate surgical operations were performed within two months, with an average monthly surgical volume up to the international level of similar mature products, which is the proof of Toumai^® , theself-developed surgical robot’s superior safety, effectiveness and stability; it also provides leading medical technology support for the continuous improvement of clinical research and innovation capability, thus boosting the high-quality development of the hospital. We will adhere to the original intention of MedBot^® in the future - to “Make Surgery Easier, Safer and Less Invasive!”