"Miaoshou" Breaks Monopoly: Chinese Domestic Surgical Robot Advances Toward Market

Recently, the multi-center clinical study of "Miaoshou S," a domestically produced surgical robot jointly developed by Tianjin University, Central South University, and Weigao Group, has officially entered the clinical trial phase. This development brings domestic surgical robots just "one step away" from market entry, marking another breakthrough in China's independent innovation in high-end medical equipment.

It is understood that in developed countries, surgical robot systems have been widely applied in fields such as general surgery, urology, gynecology, and cardiothoracic surgery. China's surgical robots mainly rely on imports, with core technologies and products predominantly controlled by a few developed nations.

As a collaborative project integrating industry, academia, research, and clinical application, Professor Wang Shuxin’s team from Tianjin University and Professor Zhu Shaihong’s team from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University jointly developed the domestically produced “Miaoshou S” surgical robot system with independent intellectual property rights, combining medical and engineering expertise. Compared with manual operations and traditional laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery, the surgical robot transcends the physical limitations of the human hand. The robotic arms, replacing human hands, can rotate and swing freely through 360 degrees, enabling effortless multi-directional rotation and torsion. All tremors from the surgeon are filtered out, while suturing and knot-tying remain dexterous, resulting in more refined and precise surgical maneuvers. Meanwhile, the visualization camera surpasses the limits of human vision; the “stereoscopic image display window” equipped on the surgical robot can magnify the surgical field several times. Through this small window, surgeons view high-definition three-dimensional images, providing clearer visibility and significantly improving surgical quality. Furthermore, with the assistance of “Miaoshou S,” surgeons can finally perform procedures while seated, facilitating the execution of prolonged and complex surgeries.

Professor Wang Shuxin stated, “The development of surgical robots is not intended to replace surgeons, but rather to extend their surgical capabilities. In minimally invasive procedures such as abdominal surgery, the visual display is typically two-dimensional with limited magnification. However, by utilizing a surgical robot system, the view can be magnified more than tenfold, allowing entry into the abdominal cavity and providing larger, three-dimensional, and more intuitive images on the screen.”

Compared with similar surgical robots currently monopolizing the market, “Miaoshou” demonstrates significant advantages in system size/weight, image field of view, adaptability to surgical positions, overall equipment cost, and procedural cost, while achieving comparable technical levels in operational modes, flexibility in surgical assistance, working space, operating force, and positioning accuracy.

(Original Title: “Skilled Hands” Break the Monopoly, Chinese Domestic Surgical Robots March Toward the Market)