The precise docking between industry, academia, and research yields fruitful results. This "Chinese intelligent manufacturing" has turned expensive patents into patient benefits

 

Date：[2024/1/5]
 

Dongfang Net reporter Wang Jiani reported on January 5th: For patients, although surgical robot assisted surgery has many advantages, the relatively expensive surgical cost has become a "roadblock" in the patient's treatment process. In order to break the monopoly of international brands and benefit more patients, domestic medical and engineering scientists have deeply carried out cross cooperation between medical and engineering fields. More and more independent research and development projects and products are constantly emerging, and the "Honghu" robot is one of them.
At the 2023 Shanghai Industry University Research Cooperation Excellent Project Award Ceremony held this morning, the "Honghu" robot won a special prize. It is reported that this is the first and only orthopedic surgical robot in China to obtain NMPA, FDA, CE, and ANVISA certifications at the same time. Currently, it has passed the entry requirements of multiple overseas markets such as the United States, Europe, and Brazil. Successfully going abroad and winning the brand reputation of "China's Intelligent Manufacturing" high-end medical devices, the "Honghu" robot is a fruitful result of precise integration between industry, academia, and research.
Brainstorming in the caf é, Joining Hands on the Road of Industry, Education and Research
The birth of the "Honghu" robot comes from the 5-year cooperation between the Ninth People's Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and Shanghai Minimally Invasive Medical Robotics (Group) Co., Ltd. - the research and industrialization of the "Honghu" joint replacement surgical robot system. On the one hand is a comprehensive tertiary first-class hospital integrating medical treatment, teaching and scientific research, with 5 members of the CAE Member; On the other hand, it focuses on research and development in the field of surgical robots, and is the only surgical robot company in the world with business covering five "golden tracks" of endoscopy, orthopedics, vascular intervention, natural cavity, and percutaneous puncture. How can the two successfully hold hands?
"We often joke that the Honghu robot, also known as the coffee robot, was born as a result of several doctors and engineers brainstorming in coffee shops," said Professor Li Huiwu, the project leader and orthopedic department of the Ninth Hospital, in an interview with Dongfang Net reporters.
In China, there are nearly 120 million patients with osteoarthritis, of which over 10 million require joint replacement surgery due to disease progression. This type of surgery requires very high precision, with surgical accuracy controlled within 2 millimeters and angle error controlled within 3 degrees. At present, the failure rate of this surgery for ten years is as high as 20%. "Can we collaborate to develop a surgical robot that strictly controls surgical accuracy, significantly improves surgical success rates, and is affordable for the general public?" After this idea emerged, everyone resolutely decided to embark on the path of developing domestically produced orthopedic robots.
Relying on the "13th Five Year Plan" national key research and development plan, Li Huiwu, as the chief scientist, jointly applied for the development of the "Honghu" knee joint replacement surgical robot with minimally invasive technology. The research and development of a hip and knee compatible, safe, efficient, and minimally invasive joint surgery robot system that it applied for was approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China in 2017. This project is also the first joint surgery robot project supported by a national key special project in China.
After three years of arduous research and development, 100% localization of core components
However, at the beginning of research and development, the team faced an important decision: whether to purchase imported components for assembly, or highly localized independent research and development? "The latter is a foreseeable and full of difficulties and obstacles, but we have no hesitation." Li Huiwu said that the original intention of the project cooperation is to reduce the cost of surgical robots and make this technology affordable for the people. "Therefore, we must take the path of localization and independent research and development.".
In addition to truly reducing the cost of treatment for the general public, domestically developed products also have more autonomy in terms of iterative updates. Li Huiwu gave an example that if the robotic arm is independently developed, the team can continuously iterate and update. For example, the first generation was knee surgery robots, which can be upgraded to perform hip surgery and then upgraded to perform spinal surgery. "Although the early stage of independent research and development may be arduous and long, once successful, there will be unlimited possibilities for upgrades in the future, and even towards a world leading level."
If the road is obstructed and long, then it will come. After more than three years of hard work and independent innovation, the team finally successfully developed the "Honghu Joint Replacement Surgery Robot" and completed the first total knee joint replacement surgery in July 2020. The robot has achieved complete localization of core components such as robotic arms, navigation systems, and control systems, with a localization rate of 97% for system components and 84% for cost localization. Technological independence ensures rapid iteration of robots, breaks the monopoly of international brands, and fills the gap in the field of joint replacement surgical robots in China.
China's technology has successfully gone global, and the achievements of industry, academia, and research have benefited more patients
What are the advantages of the "Honghu" robot compared to traditional surgery? Li Huiwu introduced that the automatic positioning osteotomy of "Honghu" avoids the problems that traditional intramedullary positioning tools may cause certain damage to the patient's medullary cavity, greatly reducing the damage to soft and bone tissues. Patients have less bleeding and trauma, and the postoperative recovery of knee joint function will be faster and the feeling will be better. At the same time, the surgical robot, combined with a unique internal axis knee joint prosthesis, greatly reduces the incidence of joint loosening, inaccurate force lines, and joint dislocation caused by conventional surgical techniques. The postoperative X-ray examination report of the patient shows that robot assisted osteotomy can achieve precise force line recovery, and the patient's prognosis is good, proving that this surgical robot has unique clinical advantages compared to traditional surgery.
In 2022, the "Honghu" joint replacement surgical robot obtained NMPA registration certificate, and subsequently obtained registration certificates in the United States, Europe, Brazil, and Australia, as well as multiple overseas market access requirements, breaking the global monopoly of foreign countries on the underlying core components and upstream industry chain of surgical robots.
In June of this year, four Polish orthopedic experts also made a special trip to the Ninth Hospital to observe and learn from Shanghai doctors using the "Honghu" joint surgical robot to assist in completing two total knee replacement surgeries. The intraoperative assistance ability, intelligent navigation ability, and precise and efficient surgery of this surgical robot have left a deep impression on Polish doctors. In September, "Honghu" completed Europe's first "Chinese made" robot assisted total knee replacement surgery at the General Hospital of the University of Larissa in Greece, and completed three machines in a day, bringing good news to foreign patients.
To promote the industrialization process of the project, the project has also successfully incubated a subsidiary of Minimally Invasive Robotics Company - Suzhou Minimally Invasive Changxing Robotics Co., Ltd. The company has set up a research and development center in Shanghai, a parts company in Suzhou, and a subsidiary in the United States. It has established the first joint replacement surgical robot generation base in China to achieve mass production, with a factory area of over 5000 square meters and a production capacity of 250 units per year; More than 30 surgical robot training centers have been established nationwide, covering six major regions: East China, Central China, South China, Southwest, Northeast, and Northwest.
It is reported that in the next step, Jiuyuan and Minimally Invasive Robotics Company will carry out a series of digital orthopedic technology research around the field of surgical robots, promoting the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G technology, AR/VR technology, and surgical robots. Li Huiwu stated that the R&D team will always focus on improving the experience of the medical patient group, and will gradually improve the quality of robot remote control ability, multifunctional execution ability, and intelligent decision-making ability. With domestic medical devices going abroad, China's technology will be promoted, and intelligent surgical solutions will be provided to benefit more patients.