Huashan Hospital & MicroPort Announce New Patent for Shoulder Rehabilitation Device Amid IPO Filing
Recently, Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Suzhou Minimally Invasive RehabilitationKangA new patent has been published in the field of medical technology. This patent discloses a shoulder abduction fixation device that can accommodate the abduction needs of patients with different body sizes. By utilizing the contraction and expansion of a first bladder, the device can abduct the arm to various angles, thereby achieving effective abduction training to facilitate shoulder joint functional recovery.
According to public information, the patent application was filed on September 27, 2022, with Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University and Suzhou Minimally Invasive Rehabilitation Medical Technology as joint patent holders. The inventors of this patent are Professor Chen Shiyi, Director of the Department of Sports Medicine at Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, and Associate Chief Physician Ge Yunshen. Professor Chen Shiyi, who serves as Ge Yunshen’s graduate supervisor, is the Director of the Institute of Sports Medicine at Fudan University and the Chair of the Department of Sports Medicine at Huashan Hospital. He has established and led the development of the sports medicine and arthroscopy discipline at Huashan Hospital.
Suzhou Minimally Invasive Rehabilitation Medical Technology is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MicroPort Scientific Corporation, a leading domestic innovative group specializing in high-end medical devices. Established in 1998, the company has built production and R&D bases in China, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and India. Its marketed products cover twelve major business clusters: cardiovascular and structural heart disease; electrophysiology and rhythm management systems; bone and soft tissue repair technologies; aortic and peripheral vascular diseases; cerebrovascular and neuromodulation science; surgical critical care and robotics; endocrine management and assisted reproduction; urology, gynecology, digestive, and respiratory diseases; plastic surgery and medical aesthetics for ears, nose, mouth, eyes, and body; in vitro diagnostics and in vivo/in vitro imaging; technologies for treating solid tumors in vivo; and insomnia, depression, and rehabilitation medicine.
The patent applied for in this instance is expected to correspond to sports medicine products for bone and soft tissue repair. Currently, MicroPort has two marketed products in this field, primarily including the Endosharp High-Speed Shaver Blade for Arthroscopic Use (Jiangsu Medical Device Registration No. 20222042163) and the Galaxy Insight True 4K HD Arthroscopy System (Jiangsu Medical Device Registration Nos. 20232060029 and 20222062264).
In addition, MicroPort currently holds 116 domestic patents and 4 international patents in the field of sports rehabilitation, covering areas such as joint traction, electrical stimulation, rehabilitation robotics, rehabilitation assessment, wearable devices, and laser therapy.
Sports Medicine is a multidisciplinary clinical medical specialty that integrates medicine with sports, primarily focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of injuries to bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, synovium, and other structures related to or affecting physical activity.
It originated from orthopedics but is distinct from it. To better manage sports-related injuries, many hospitals are separating sports medicine from orthopedics, such as Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, and Peking University Third Hospital.
Innovations in sports medicine are also closely intertwined with orthopedics, rehabilitation medicine, kinesiology, materials science, biomechanics, and endoscopic minimally invasive techniques. From the perspective of the industry chain, the upstream sector of the sports medicine industry consists of raw material suppliers; the midstream comprises manufacturers of sports medicine products and consumables; and the downstream primarily involves distributors of sports medicine products and end-user hospitals.
Sports Medicine Upstream and Downstream Industry Chain; Image and Data Sources: Guojin Securities, Yunhu Consulting
Sports medicine surgery primarily involves the treatment of injuries and pathological conditions affecting bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, synovium, and other tissues.
According to data from Yunhu Consulting’s report “China’s Sports Medicine Market Is Booming, with Local Enterprises Accelerating Domestic Substitution,” implantable consumables for knee and shoulder joints account for approximately 98% of sports medicine procedures, making them the dominant surgeries in this field. On the equipment side, arthroscopic surgical systems constitute the primary equipment, representing about 40% of the overall market, while the remaining 60% comprises medical consumables such as suture anchors, interference screws, and titanium plates with buttons.
Currently, the domestic sports rehabilitation market in China remains monopolized by major imported manufacturers such as Smith & Nephew, Johnson & Johnson, and Arthrex. According to a report by Yunhu Consulting, Smith & Nephew held a market share of over 50% in 2021, followed closely by Arthrex, Johnson & Johnson, and other imported brands, while the market share of domestically produced brands was less than 10%.
Furthermore, given the relatively short history of sports medicine discipline development and market growth in China, most manufacturers have used consumable products with lower market entry barriers as a foothold, resulting in a market share of less than 10% in the equipment segment.
However, with the advancement of discipline construction and innovation capabilities, as well as the prominence of market demand, there still appears to be significant room for domestic substitution in the sports medicine market.
In 2014, the “Several Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Sports Industry and Promoting Sports Consumption” issued by the State Council explicitly highlighted sports rehabilitation as a key focus area. In recent years, orthopedic products such as artificial joints and spinal implants have also become priority categories in the centralized bulk procurement of high-value medical consumables conducted by various provinces.
As a subspecialty of orthopedics, centralized procurement of sports medicine consumables is also emerging. On November 30, 2023, the fourth round of national centralized procurement of high-value medical consumables included sports medicine products for the first time, marking the near-complete coverage of centralized procurement across the four major categories of high-value orthopedic medical consumables. Sports medicine consumables mainly include suture anchors, knotless anchors, fixation anchors, fixation plates, sutures for repair, and soft tissue reconstruction devices.
Previously, six cities in Jiangsu Province and Luoyang City in Henan Province had already included suture anchors in the scope of centralized procurement as early as 2021.
With the active promotion of policies and the continuous improvement of the medical insurance system, the sports medicine industry is expected to gradually enter a growth phase. In this process, the development of discipline construction and the deep integration of industry, academia, research, and application may become key drivers for industry development and the emergence of original innovations.