In this week’s episode of “The Great Doctor Weekly,” we invited Professor Song Chengli from the School of Medical Devices and Food at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology to discuss the topic of medical robots.
Host: Robots are the crown jewels of the manufacturing industry, and medical robots are the crown jewels of robots. How do you interpret this statement?
Professor Song: Medical robots involve knowledge from many disciplines, including mechanical control, computer software, and medicine, making them indeed a crown jewel.
Host: When we think of medical robots, the first thing that comes to mind is the Da Vinci robot. Recently, we reported on a news story where the robotic arm tied knots seamlessly. What changes has the Da Vinci robot brought to traditional surgery?
Professor Song: The Da Vinci robot is currently the mainstream surgical robot in medicine, with many applications in clinical settings, including complex surgeries such as cardiac and gastrointestinal procedures. Robotic surgery has many advantages; doctors can perform delicate surgeries in a 3D environment with minimal bleeding and quick recovery, while also reducing the fatigue level of the surgeons.
However, we must mention that its cost is extremely high, with the startup cost being around 30,000, and each operation requires a dedicated engineer for maintenance. A complete Da Vinci robot system costs about 30 million yuan. Additionally, consumables like the robotic arms are also expensive; for instance, the robotic arm is locked by software and needs to be replaced after 10 uses.
Host: Scarcity increases value. As I understand, there are only about 20 such devices in Shanghai. To break the monopoly, domestic surgical robots are also making progress. What developments have there been?
Professor Song: As a cutting-edge research direction for the future, many domestic units are conducting research and development in robotic technology. As far as I know, the Tianzhihang orthopedic medical robot in Beijing has already obtained the medical device registration certificate from the National Medical Products Administration, and I believe that in the future, more domestically produced medical robots with original technology will enter the market.
Host: The development of the Da Vinci surgical robot took 14 years. Does the domestic surgical robot also need such a long time, and what are the biggest challenges it faces?
Professor Song: We still have a significant gap with international standards in core technology development. Specifically for medical robots, many technical challenges need to be overcome, such as controllers, motors, and software algorithms.
Host: Surgical robots are just one type of medical robot. What other types are there?
Professor Song: The scope of medical robots is actually quite broad, ranging from examinations, surgeries, rehabilitation, to logistics robots in smart hospitals. For example, during examinations, there are capsule robots that you can swallow, which will capture images of bleeding points, polyps, etc., in your gastrointestinal tract and transmit them wirelessly. Hospitals also have logistics robots that can transport medical equipment and disinfectants, saving labor costs.
Once, at a conference in the United States, I saw a well-known professor walk onto the stage effortlessly, but you could hear creaking sounds. It turned out he was an amputee and had an intelligent prosthetic limb, allowing him to walk, go up and down stairs, and even climb mountains. The benefits of robotic technology for patients are immense.
Host: It all sounds great, but why do medical robots still seem not to be widespread in our lives?
Professor Song: Medical robot technology is quite complex, and national regulations are strict. Many startups have to go through a long process. Currently, robotic products are relatively expensive, requiring patients to bear costs of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. Therefore, accelerating industry-academia-research cooperation and appropriately lowering prices are necessary to allow robots to serve hospitals and patients more widely.
Host: What are your visions for the future of medical robots?
Professor Song: Robotic technology will definitely become more minimally invasive and intelligent. In the future, when you have a disease, you may not need surgery; swallowing a capsule or injecting smaller nano-robots could potentially clear blood clots and plaques in your blood vessels. At the same time, good innovations must create value and not necessarily become more expensive. I hope that future robotic technology will be affordable and can alleviate the pressure on both patients and doctors.
Host: Professor Song has also been working hard in the field of medical robots to promote better technology implementation. Can you tell us more about it?
Professor Song: Recently, I, along with several well-known professors in the industry, initiated the establishment of the Shanghai Chuangqi Health Development Research Institute, aiming to promote Chinese original technologies and products to the market. We also initiated the selection of the Qipu Award to provide a platform for outstanding domestic medical robot startups to showcase their work, hoping to attract more scientists and investors to pay attention to this field.
For more exciting content, please watch this week’s “The Great Doctor Weekly.”
Broadcast Time:
First Broadcast December 21 (this Saturday) at 8 PM, Shanghai Lifestyle Fashion Channel (Oriental Cable Channel 40), Golden Channel (Oriental Cable Channel 103) simultaneously.
Rebroadcast December 21 (this Saturday) at 10:30 PM, and December 22 at 11 AM, Shanghai Lifestyle Fashion Channel.
(For details on the Qipu Award, click the end of the articleRead the original text.)
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