On the morning of February 16, MicroPort^® Toumai^® robot successfully completed China's first ultra-remote 5G robot-assisted hepatobiliary surgery, creating a miracle in the history of hepatobiliary surgery in China. The surgery crossed the territory of 5000 kilometers, connecting the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital affiliated to the Zhejiang University School of Medicine (hereinafter referred to as "Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University") and the Sir Run Run Shaw Alar Hospital of Zhejiang University in Xinjiang (hereinafter referred to as "Aral Hospital"). It was performed remotely by Xiao Liang, a chief physician of prof. Xiujun Cai's team of General Surgery Department of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University, with Zheyong Li, deputy medical director and director of General Surgery Department of Aral Hospital and Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University, leading the team on site.

After the Toumai^® robot completed two ultra-remote urology surgeries in June 2022, it completed the challenge of ultra-remote surgery in hepatobiliary surgery once again, repeatedly breaking through the limitations of time and space and successfully carrying out new department operations, which confirms that its proven remote 5G surgical capability continues to lead Chinese-developed robots to optimize the distribution of regional medical resources and benefit patients in remote areas.

Across thousands of miles of territory

Pioneering the miracle of hepatobiliary surgery

The patient of this surgery was a young woman of about 30 years old from Aral City, Xinjiang Province, who was diagnosed with gallstones more than a year ago and was clinically diagnosed as acute cholecystitis, requiring cholecystectomy.

Since Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University and Aral Hospital are jointly building a national regional medical center, the patient wished to have the surgery performed by Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University after understanding the trusteeship relationship between the two hospitals. Thanks to the 5G communication technology and Toumai^® robotic telesurgery technology, the remote control surgery with "Patients in Xinjiang and Doctors in Hangzhou" is no longer just fantasy or a dream. Xiao Liang, director of the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University, sat firmly on the doctor's console and gave instructions to the robot arm in the operating room of the Aral Hospital thousands of miles away, successfully performing cholecystectomy for a local patient.

Due to the deep depression of the gallbladder and obvious wound inflammation, the operation was difficult. Thanks to the excellent and stable surgical technique of Director Xiao Liang, the entire process lasted less than 30 minutes. With the stable assistance of the Toumai^® robot and the flexible operation of the rotatable robot arm, the wound tissue gradually and precisely dissociated from the liver surface until the gallbladder was removed and the stones were removed. The process was smooth with little blood loss.

This pioneering ultra-remote 5G hepatobiliary surgery is a milestone event in the history of hepatobiliary surgery, which has received high attention from official media and all sectors of society. Zhejiang Voice, the only broadcast media for the information release of Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, conducted an exclusive online live broadcast of the entire operation. The Paper, the Cover, CLS, Wenhui Daily and other mainstream media have made special reports. The successful practice of the domestic Toumai^® robot in ultra-remote surgery provides a strong help for high-quality medical resources to benefit patients in remote areas, upgrade local medical conditions, and contribute scientific and technological strength to the construction of regional medical centers.

Xiujun Cai, president of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, said: The surgery was assisted by the Chinese-developed Toumai^® robot, and the "Wisdom in China" robot can cope with and overcome the ultra-remote surgery challenge, which makes Chinese doctors feel gratified and points out an important direction for the development of Chinese-developed robots. The Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital of Zhejiang University will continue to promote the technological innovation and clinical application of 5G telesurgery, promote its normal development, achieve full coverage of 5G remote diagnosis and treatment projects, and shape a new medical pattern in the future.

Responding to regional health development strategies

Widely benefiting patients in remote areas

In this cholecystectomy, the difficulty and time of operation were related to the degree of structural variation of the patient's gallbladder, the location of stones, and the degree of inflammation. Therefore, based on the situation of this patient, this surgery had certain challenges, and the greater problem that this surgery needs to break through was how to ensure the stable operation of remote master-slave control and ensure the synchronous transmission of signals, images and data from thousands of miles away, so as to smoothly promote the surgical process.

Under the assistance and support of the MicroPort^® MedBot^® technical team, the control data and 3D images of the surgery were transmitted smoothly throughout the whole process despite various potential risks. Due to the long distance and certain fluctuations of the Internet, in order to avoid interruptions in the surgical network, the technical team sensitively captured the problems and overcame them in a timely manner through the telesurgery system to ensure that the doctors' remote control could be carried out smoothly. Through the access to the 5G video conference system, the medical staff of the two places were able to communicate in real time, the experts and leaders observed and guided the operation throughout the whole process. The technical staff entered the system and followed the operation remotely, observing and recording problems in real time and providing immediate feedback. Aided by all experts and leaders, MicroPort^® MedBot^® team algorithms, connectivity technicians, clinical application support staff and customer service staff, the entire process was successful without any mistakes.

MicroPort^® MedBot^® always adheres to technological innovation, and its core software and hardware have broken technical barriers to achieve independent research and development. "5G telesurgery technology, the key R&D direction that MicroPort^® MedBot^® continuously pursue and focus on, is our response to the policy of regional medical community construction under the strategy of "Healthy China", is a favorable way for overcoming physical space restrictions and solving the problems of grassroots medical treatment, and is also a practical practice of MicroPort^® MedBot^®'s belief "Make Surgery Easier, Safer and Less Invasive".

Equipped with 5G technology, telesurgery has revolutionary significance for the development of doctors' surgical methods and the medical industry. Namely, patients and doctors do not need to meet, and even at thousands of miles away, they can still see each other in a standard surgical operation room to carry out surgeries, which greatly solves the physical distance barrier for patients and expands the operation space for doctors. As a result, not only does it effectively reduce the hard loss such as transportation and accommodation costs and possible medical delays consumed by patients who seek on-site medical treatment, but it also enables them to contact their doctors remotely anytime and anywhere, satisfying the patients' sense of dependence and psychological needs on the operator. In the long run, it is of great value to widely distribute high-quality medical resources, optimize the distribution of medical resources in each region, and narrow the gap of tiered treatment.

According to Yu Liu, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of MicroPort^® MedBot^® Group, the surgery, which spanned 5,000 kilometers, is another recent creative achievement following the 500 clinical breakthroughs performed by Toumai^®. It is a historical milestone for hepatobiliary surgery in China, and is also significant for the practice of ultra-remote surgical protocols. To make Chinese-developed surgical robots accessible to patients in remote areas, providing medical services and relieving pains, we will continue to promote the practice of 5G surgery in the clinical field, gradually eliminate the differences in regional medical resources, and let patients around the country truly feel our belief: "Make Surgery Easier, Safer and Less Invasive".