Hangzhou Chaobo Medical's Disruptive Surgical Cutting and Hemostasis Device 'Stalon® Blade' Receives NMPA Approval
On January 1, 2026, the new generation of cutting and hemostatic equipment independently developed by Hangzhou Chaobo Medical Technology Co., Ltd. — Starlon®The Knife Receives Market Approval from the National Medical Products Administration!
For a long time, ultrasonic scalpels have been the primary tool for surgical cutting and hemostasis, with foreign companies capturing over 80% of the market share in China. The StarDragon scalpel takes a different approach by employing non-ultrasonic technology to achieve rapid tissue dissection, hemostasis, and large-vessel sealing. It delivers performance comparable to that of ultrasonic scalpels while avoiding their limitations, such as splattering and blade breakage. With significant advantages in both performance and cost, it serves as an ideal domestically produced alternative.
Unlike ultrasonic scalpels, which rely on ultrasonic vibrations and are prone to generating aerosols, the StarDragon Knife does not produce “ultrasonic atomization” during operation. This fundamentally eliminates the potential risk of tumor cell dissemination caused by splattering during tumor resection surgery, providing critical technical safety assurance for oncologic surgeons to adhere to the “no-touch isolation technique” principle.
The StarDragon Knife achieves precise tissue cutting and sealing through energy-based control, rather than relying on heat generated by tissue vibration. This results in reduced thermal injury and milder inflammatory responses, thereby facilitating postoperative recovery. Furthermore, it physically eliminates the risk of blade fracture associated with ultrasonic scalpels, enhancing surgical predictability and efficiency while ensuring patient safety.
Conventional electrosurgical instruments are contraindicated in surgeries involving the heart, brain, and nerves, as well as in patients with implanted cardiac pacemakers, due to the passage of electrical current through the human body. The innovative principle of the StarDragon Knife ensures that the electrical current itself does not pass through the patient’s body during cutting. This allows for its safe application in patients with cardiac pacemakers and in surgical procedures involving electrically sensitive areas such as the heart, brain, and nerves, thereby filling a clinical gap in the use of existing energy-based devices.
The Starlon Knife adopts a structural design similar to that of ultrasonic scalpels, enabling physicians to leverage its full performance with “zero learning curve” as no change in surgical technique is required. This seamless transition pathway facilitates its rapid adoption. In terms of core performance, the Starlon Knife has received approval for sealing large blood vessels up to 5 mm in diameter, with plans to further seek approval for sealing vessels up to 7 mm. It is suitable for nearly all open and laparoscopic surgical procedures across various specialties, including general surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, urology, gynecology, and thyroid and breast surgery. Furthermore, thanks to its optimized structure and significantly reduced cost per use, the Starlon Knife offers surgeons a highly cost-effective solution, making it an exceptionally attractive choice in the current Chinese healthcare landscape driven by the implementation of Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs).
During the research and development process, Academician Dong Jiahong of the Chinese Academy of Engineering from Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital personally guided equipment improvements and animal experiments. Subsequently, under the leadership of Academician Cai Xiujun’s team at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and the National Engineering Research Center for Minimally Invasive Instrument Innovation and Application, the first batch of clinical validations for the Starlon Knife was completed. This process embodies the collective wisdom of China’s top surgeons and engineers, ensuring the scientific rigor and reliability of the product throughout the entire chain from principle to application.
Liu Hongmei, Ph.D. (U.S.), Chief Scientist of the founding team at Hangzhou Chaobo Medical, stated: “The creation of the StarDragon Knife stems from our team’s profound understanding of precision surgery and value-based healthcare. Starting from fundamental biological effects and clinical outcomes, we continuously innovate to develop products that are more precise, convenient, and safer.”
The Starlon Knife is not only a perfect alternative to ultrasonic scalpels but also an entirely new category of device. With its superior product performance and significant economic advantages, it will break the long-standing monopoly of foreign products in China’s surgical cutting and hemostasis market. The launch of the Starlon Knife provides domestic medical institutions with a high-performance, cost-effective Chinese-made option, poised to significantly reduce procurement costs for healthcare providers and treatment burdens for patients, thereby promoting the widespread accessibility of advanced medical technologies.
ChaoBo Medical is a high-tech medical device company dedicated to the field of precision surgery. Guided by clinical needs and working in close collaboration with surgeons, we drive innovation from first principles. We are committed to integrating refined, intelligent, efficient, and human-centric technologies into every aspect of surgical procedures. Our goal is to develop surgical products and solutions that offer superior biological compatibility, clear clinical value, user-friendly operation, and cost-effectiveness, thereby serving surgeons worldwide and benefiting patients across the globe.