Recently, the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department of Tianjin First Central Hospital successfully performed a minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery with the assistance of the Da Vinci robot. As a new type of minimally invasive surgical device, surgical robots represented by “Da Vinci” can achieve three-dimensional imaging during complex surgeries, magnifying the field of view by more than 10 times. The flexible robotic arms enhance the efficiency and safety of the surgery.
In recent years, with the continuous improvement of artificial intelligence technology in China, robots have entered the medical field, making precision medicine accessible to the public. What sparks will fly when robots meet healthcare?
Some Medical Robot Products in China Are on Par with the World
The rapid development of artificial intelligence and the continuous expansion of application scenarios have brought new momentum to advancements in the medical field. Sun Jiaqi, a technology consulting advisor at Shandong Simaitiqi Enterprise Management Consulting Co., Ltd., told reporters from “China Electronics News” that since 2017, the application of artificial intelligence in China’s medical field has mainly focused on medical imaging, with other application areas including health management, medical robots, intelligent diagnosis, and intelligent rehabilitation.
Medical robots, as a deep application of artificial intelligence in healthcare, can assist doctors in medical diagnosis and treatment, further promoting the informatization and intelligence of the medical field. According to the classification standards of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), medical robots are mainly divided into four categories: rehabilitation robots, assistive robots, surgical robots, and service robots. Sun Jiaqi explained that rehabilitation robots can help patients recover limbs post-surgery; assistive robots can aid doctors in preoperative patient condition analysis for effective triage; surgical robots can assist doctors in surgeries through clear three-dimensional images and dexterous robotic hands, minimizing trauma and shortening recovery time; service robots can help medical staff complete various tedious tasks, such as transportation and medication dispensing.
Currently, the technological research and development of medical robots in China is accelerating, and products are extending to more application scenarios. Zhang Jinying, a senior engineer at the CCID Think Tank Electronic Information Research Institute, stated that in terms of auxiliary imaging and pathological diagnosis, medical robot products assist in remote precise analysis of medical images and structured data such as pathological slices; in terms of nursing assistance, medical service robots significantly reduce the burden on nursing staff; in terms of follow-up assistance, AI follow-up assistants break the time and space limitations of follow-ups, improving the coverage and accuracy of follow-up information collection; in terms of health management assistance, AI collects, analyzes, and processes health data in real-time, achieving precision medicine and health management.
Su Baiquan, director of the Medical Robot Laboratory at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, stated that currently, some types of medical robots in China are at various stages from research and development to certification. Several medical robots aimed at specialized surgeries are in the development stage, including ophthalmic surgical robots for treating retinal diseases, renal interventional robots for minimally invasive treatment of kidney diseases and urinary system cancers, and total knee replacement surgical robots for knee joint replacement surgeries. Multiple single-port and multi-port laparoscopic master-slave surgical operation robots are in the certification stage; these robots are universal technology platforms capable of performing a wide range of surgical subtypes. Su Baiquan pointed out that for robots in the research and certification stages, foreign counterparts are also at similar stages, indicating that China is synchronized with the world in this regard.
The Development of the Medical Robot Industry Will Not Be Smooth Sailing
Medical robots have become a technological high ground that countries around the world are competing to invest in, and the number of companies involved in medical robot business in China is gradually increasing. Data from CCID Think Tank shows that the number of companies involved in medical robot business in China has exceeded 100.
However, the development of China’s medical robot industry will not be smooth sailing. Su Baiquan told reporters that the current development of medical robots in China mainly faces four major challenges. The primary challenge comes from patent protection barriers. “When we come up with a concept for a medical robot system, we find that there are already similar solutions protected by patents in the patent database. In this case, no matter how much research we conduct, it is difficult to translate it into products because patent holders are unlikely to grant licenses in an acceptable manner,” Su Baiquan said. To overcome the research and development challenges posed by patent protection barriers, Su Baiquan also provided suggestions: first, researchers should have more forward-thinking and conduct patent layout; second, policies should encourage enterprises, research institutions, and universities to apply for a large number of patents while ensuring a certain quality of patents; third, a dedicated institution should be established to discuss patent layout issues, rather than relying solely on dispersed research teams to apply for and layout patents based on their research directions and interests.
The second major challenge facing industrial development comes from policies related to technology and industry. Su Baiquan pointed out that the national key research and development plan has provided significant financial support for medical robot projects, and the National Natural Science Foundation has given scientific personnel greater freedom in the use of funds for approved projects, which is conducive to quickly forming technological accumulation and industrial transformation. However, to form a greater technological advantage, China still needs to provide stronger policy and financial support for scientific personnel.
The third major challenge comes from the key components and reliable software systems required for medical robot systems. As a highly technology-intensive robot system, medical robots are characterized by high technology, high barriers, and high added value. The research and development of China’s medical robot industry started relatively late, and the high technical barriers and significant research and development difficulties have left China’s core technological foundation in this field weak. Su Baiquan stated that currently, most key components used in medical robots in China are foreign products with better performance than domestic products. Fortunately, the national key research and development plan has begun to support the research and development of key components. However, more policy and financial support is still needed for the development of highly reliable medical robot software.
The fourth major challenge comes from the surgical safety of medical robot systems. “In the face of the emerging phenomenon of medical robots, how to formulate corresponding national manufacturing and testing standards to ensure that the surgical safety of new robots is recognized by the public is a key issue that cannot be avoided. At the same time, from the perspective of the development of phenomena, the public’s acceptance of the safety of surgical robots also requires an accumulation of 10 to 20 years of safe surgical records,” Su Baiquan told reporters.
Utilizing Latecomer Advantages to Develop China’s Surgical Robot Industry
During the interview, it was learned that surgical robots integrate multiple modern high-tech means, and their development has great prospects. Su Baiquan introduced that the Da Vinci robot belongs to the master-slave surgical operation robot category, allowing doctors to control the electromechanical system inside the patient from an operating table several meters away, replicating fine manual operations.
What insights can the successful application of the Da Vinci robot by the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department of Tianjin First Central Hospital bring to the subsequent development of China’s surgical robot industry? Su Baiquan pointed out that the future development of surgical robots in China can leverage latecomer advantages to avoid the problems encountered by early entrants, saving time and financial costs; develop specialized medical robot systems for undeveloped surgical types, and establish patent barriers to create cross-advantages with foreign products, reducing medical costs for domestic patients; China should also combine its national conditions to utilize large-scale production in China to lower the comprehensive usage costs of robots while formulating reasonable usage policies to make the costs of robotic surgeries affordable for most patients.
Based on his work experience and related knowledge in the field of medical robots, Su Baiquan made more specific predictions about the future use and development of surgical robots in China. “First, master-slave surgical operation robots will enter clinical use within the next 2 to 3 years. Second, due to the relatively high difficulty of establishing technological barriers for robot-assisted (navigation) surgical systems, more new robot-assisted (navigation) surgical systems will emerge in the next 3 to 5 years, and these systems will extend to more types of surgeries, providing high-precision positioning information for more surgeries. Third, in about 10 years, bone tissue positioning and robot-assisted surgical systems will see greater development, with more bone tissue surgeries being assisted by surgical robots. Finally, in about 10 years, more than a dozen specialized medical robots that can enter clinical use will emerge in China, primarily supported by the national key research and development plan. By 2030, the national standards for medical robot systems in China will be basically complete, making surgical operations with medical robots more standardized and their safety recognized by the public,” Su Baiquan told reporters.