Medtronic's Lin Mao Aims to Be an Insider in China's Neurosurgery Market by Elevating Quality through Intelligence

In March 2024, the Chinese Neurosurgical Association Annual Meeting and the National "Two Sessions" of China have successively concluded. Top academic conferences are important opportunities to understand clinical needs and stimulate innovative practices, while the National "Two Sessions" serve as a crucial window for the world to observe and understand China. At present, accelerating the formation of "new quality productivity" driven by innovation marks that China's healthcare industry has entered a new stage of high-quality development.

Recently, Lin Mao, Senior Business Director of Medtronic's Intelligent Device and Neurosurgery Division, stated in an interview with People's Daily Online·People's Health:"The 'Two Sessions' in China have sent out a positive signal that the country will further attract foreign investment, which has greatly inspired Medtronic. In our view, the current trend in China's medical market is generally positive, with the main goal of improving the quality and efficiency of healthcare, promoting industry standardization, to achieve long-term, healthy, and high-quality development."

Mao Lin, Senior Business Director of Medtronic's Intelligent Devices and Neurosurgery Division

In the past few years, new policies such as the reform of the registration system, expedited approval of innovative medical device products, medical special zones, and bulk procurement of high-value consumables have been successively introduced, fundamentally reflecting the strong determination of the state to promote standardized development within the industry.The "Action Plan for Promoting the Trade-in of Large-Scale Medical Equipment and Consumer Goods," released on March 1 this year, explicitly proposes to advance the iterative upgrading of equipment and information facilities in high-quality healthcare institutions. It particularly emphasizes accelerating the renewal and transformation of medical equipment such as surgical robots. By 2027, the scale of equipment investment in fields including education and healthcare is expected to increase by more than 25% compared to 2023."The national direction and goals for the development of the healthcare industry are becoming increasingly clear, and the frequent introduction of new policies in recent years has also filled us with confidence in the development of therapeutic devices."Lin Mao said.

Currently, the high-quality development requirements of industries characterized by accelerated "major innovation, digitalization, and intelligence" are driving rapid transformation in China's medical device industry. From being a thoracic surgeon at a top-tier hospital in Beijing to working successively at medical device manufacturers like Philips and GE, and now as a manager at Medtronic, Lin Mao, with over 20 years of experience in the field, has unique insights into the Chinese market."The process of improving quality and efficiency in the industry will inevitably be accompanied by short-term pain, which makes it even more necessary for us, the practitioners, to break away from fixed mindsets, actively embrace changes in the market environment, and proactively adapt to transformations."

Therefore, in the wave of change, the Medtronic Intelligent Devices and Neurosurgery Business led by Lin Mao has grown against the trend, transcending cycles, and maintained an annual performance growth of about 30% over the past three years. From 2021 to 2022, he accelerated the introduction of two intelligent devices: the Mazor X™ Spine Surgery Robot and the Stealth Autoguide™ Neurosurgical Robot. Through professional education and market promotion, he gradually advanced the standardization of robot-assisted surgical procedures in the Chinese market. In 2023, under his leadership, Medtronic’s full range of neurosurgery consumables won bids in the Henan 22-province alliance centralized procurement for neurosurgery, allowing quality products to serve more patients in China. Meanwhile, Lin Mao also promoted strategic cooperation between Medtronic and industry partners such as Waterwood Tianpeng Medical and Esaote by integrating resources, actively expanding Medtronic's local "circle of friends" in China and stimulating innovation vitality within the industry ecosystem.

In the neurosurgical market, he also has a clear strategy to meet clinical needs — that is, to provide diversified and multi-level products and services, which not only meet the intelligent and precise needs of top medical institutions but also combine with the characteristics of the grassroots market to provide products with strong indications and high accessibility.

Based on the large population base and the aggravation of aging in China, once neurosurgery-related diseases such as cerebral hemorrhage, brain tumors, and hydrocephalus occur, they are extremely critical, causing a significant medical burden on both the patient's family and the entire society. "In China, the truly enormous clinical demand actually lies at the grassroots level. As a field with high treatment technology requirements, there is still vast room for the popularization of neurosurgery at the grassroots level," said Lin Mao.

To this end, for high-incidence diseases such as traumatic cerebral hemorrhage, hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage, and idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), he has led his team in tirelessly promoting new treatment technologies and auxiliary therapeutic devices. On one hand, they are enhancing the clinical application of electromagnetic navigation in grassroots hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage treatment, actively promoting cooperation with grassroots medical institutions, and organizing training programs like cerebral hemorrhage workshops to improve grassroots medical standards and the standardized diagnosis and treatment using intelligent devices. On the other hand, targeting the grassroots market, they are vigorously advancing the localized research and implementation of products such as skull repair products and neurosurgical intelligent devices to improve accessibility for grassroots hospitals.

In view of the advanced, precise, and sophisticated nature of neurosurgical operations, in Lin Mao's opinion, intelligent devices such as surgical robots and navigation systems will help clinical practice achieve greater precision, minimally invasive procedures, and intelligence."Promoting the application of robotic-assisted surgical procedures and standardizing the clinical use of neuro-navigation are part of our commitment and contribution to advancing the intelligent development of the neurosurgical industry."Lin Mao added.

While focusing on innovation and aligning with the digital transformation of healthcare, Medtronic has integrated emerging concepts, technologies, and therapies to bring innovative solutions to the industry — the AiBLE™ Digital Intelligence Ecosystem. "The AiBLE™ Digital Intelligence Ecosystem connects big data, empowers through AI, and deeply collaborates with clinical experts and industry partners to build a platform for industry-academia-research-clinical cooperation. It provides a one-stop auxiliary decision-making data system for neurosurgical procedures, seeking advancements in data processing, information infrastructure, new material science, and innovative therapies, fully exploring the digital and intelligent application prospects of neurosurgery in China," introduced Lin Mao.

As a multi-dimensional ecosystem covering products, services, industry-university-research-medical collaboration, and the broader industry, AiBLE™ Digital Ecosystem plays a more crucial role in Medtronic's blueprint for rooting itself in China and spanning across industry-university-research-medical integration. Previously, Medtronic Kanghui signed a strategic investment cooperation agreement with Changzhou National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone to jointly build the "Medtronic Kanghui Changzhou Science and Technology Park." Relying on this foundation and focusing on the development of the local neuroscience field, Medtronic reached a strategic cooperation with Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University to jointly establish the "Neuroscience Industry-Medicine Integration Innovation Platform," forming a "dumbbell-style" dual-center layout comprising a "Clinical Transformation Center" and a "Technology Transformation Center." Meanwhile, they hosted a Neurosurgery Medical Technology Innovation Achievements Challenge to accelerate the industrialization of high-quality projects."The essence of Medtronic's series of initiatives is to further promote local innovation in China's neurosurgery field."Lin Mao said.

Mao Lin, Senior Business Director of Medtronic's Intelligent Devices and Neurosurgery Division

"In an era where new technologies and materials are constantly emerging, in Lin Mao's view, Medtronic, as an industry leader, possesses several core competencies: 'First, whether it is neurosurgical robots or products such as navigation, power, and cerebrospinal fluid management consumables in intelligent integrated solutions, Medtronic consistently maintains the leading edge in technology and products; second, we actively develop a comprehensive business model of ‘equipment + consumables + services’ to achieve continuous development of comprehensive capabilities including business and service abilities; third, beyond products, we focus on the bigger picture, paying attention to the development of the industry, treatment technologies, and the creation of an industry ecosystem.'"

Today, China's economy demonstrates strong resilience and potential. The continuously optimized business environment and vast market provide a solid foundation for multinational enterprises to develop in China."Starting from a new point, we will continue to integrate innovative resources both in China and abroad, promote the standardization of diagnosis and treatment for intelligent devices such as navigation, actively respond to policy calls, assist in the updating and upgrading of therapeutic devices, and deepen our localized layout."Lin Mao said,"Medtronic aims to not only be a product introducer but also a promoter of local 'smart' manufacturing and a co-builder of an innovative ecosystem. By fully leveraging local 'smart' manufacturing capabilities, using 'intelligence' to enhance 'quality,' and developing new productivity tailored to local conditions, Medtronic strives to become an 'insider' in China’s neurosurgery market."(Li Changhong)

Mao Lin, Senior Business Director of Medtronic's Intelligent Devices and Neurosurgery Division

With over 20 years of experience in the medical device field, he has accumulated extensive experience and industry insights. In line with the trend of intelligent and digital transformation in healthcare, he accelerated the introduction of two Medtronic surgical robots in orthopedics and neurosurgery, as well as other smart devices. He also promoted industry-leading concepts and projects such as the AiBLE™ Digital Ecosystem, standardized training for surgical robots, and standardized navigation diagnosis and treatment. Actively building a local ecosystem, he comprehensively supported the intelligent development of China’s orthopedic and neurosurgery sectors.