Interview with Wang Hongzhu of Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University: Practical Innovation and Cross-disciplinary Translation

What Is the Role of a Medical Equipment Maintenance Technician? How Can Scientific and Technological Innovation Be Achieved in This Field? How Did a Medical Equipment Maintenance Engineer Secure Over Twenty Patents?

To clarify these issues, let’s follow Wang Hongzhu and observe his work environment:

What can be done when the poor imaging resolution, clarity, and chromatic aberration of rigid endoscopes held by surgeons during clinical procedures compromise diagnostic accuracy? In such scenarios, the most common course of action for physicians is to contact medical equipment engineers for emergency maintenance.

Upon receiving the call, Wang Hongzhu and his colleagues likely rushed over after completing maintenance work in a department located in another building of the hospital. They went upstairs, inspected and repaired the equipment, and continued until it was fully restored to operation.

At this point, the surgery may have to be paused for 5–10 minutes. Though seemingly brief, these 5–10 minutes can feel interminably long for both the patient on the operating table and the surgeons engaged in the “battle.”

How can we shift from the passive, “firefighting” approach to problem-solving toward efficient, proactive inspection and quality control, thereby preventing issues to the greatest extent possible? Guided by this concept, Wang Hongzhu and his team provided the answer—Domestic Quality Control Testing System for Rigid Endoscopes in Hospitals。

Identifying clinical problems and solving them through engineering design—this is the starting point of Wang Hongzhu’s innovation path.

If each clinical practice is likened to a battle against disease, with doctors and nurses serving as the primary attackers, then medical engineers can be regarded as “support” personnel—stepping in whenever someone’s “weapons” malfunction.

Wang Hongzhu, an “auxiliary” staff member at the Women’s Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine (ZJUWH), together with seven colleagues from the Equipment Department’s maintenance team, is responsible for the full lifecycle management of over 7,000 medical devices and the metrological calibration of more than 1,500 devices at ZJUWH.

This seemingly behind-the-scenes “support” role plays a pivotal part in clinical practice. Rather than describing Wang Hongzhu as merely supportive, he is more akin to a “mage.”Since embarking on scientific research and innovation in 2016, he has continuously leveraged innovative technologies to enhance efficiency and empower clinical professionals.

In addition to those mentioned at the beginning of the articleQuality Control Testing System for Medical Rigid Endoscopes: Wang Hongzhu Has Numerous Clinical Innovations:

When he observed that smoke generated during surgical procedures obscured the surgical field, he conceived the idea of designing an “electrosurgical smoke evacuator” to rapidly remove the smoke. During the transport of pathological specimens, doctors were exposed to formaldehyde fumes when opening reagent bottles; he therefore devised a dual-chamber bottle with two separate compartments. Upon opening, the gas is confined to the sealed compartment, preventing physicians from inhaling the fumes. Furthermore, when performing X-ray examinations in neonatal intensive care units, infants often lack adequate shielding and are thus exposed to radiation. Given that the organs and gonads of neonates are immature and highly susceptible to irreversible ionizing radiation damage, Wang Hongzhu’s neonatal radiation protection cart has filled this critical gap in clinical protective measures.

Every one of his “golden ideas” emerged from the real-world work of doctors and nurses:

To date, Wang Hongzhu has presided over three research projects at the provincial/ministerial and departmental/bureau levels, and participated as a principal or contributing investigator in twelve such projects. In 2017, he collaborated with several hospital colleagues to jointly design five patents each. Leveraging these patents as a foundation, all applications submitted for the "New Technology and Product Development Projects" under the 2018 Zhejiang Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission program were successfully approved and received funding support. He has published multiple journal articles and three papers presented at national conferences. As the first inventor, he has been granted two invention patents and twenty-six utility model patents.

Single Knowledge Is Insufficient to Support Scientific Research and Innovation。

Judging from Wang Hongzhu's innovative achievements,Cross-disciplinary integration is undoubtedly a major advantage for driving innovation.

In 2005, Wang Hongzhu, who majored in medical imaging, joined the Equipment Department of the Women’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (Zhejiang University Women’s Hospital). Although his professional track was aligned with that of a radiologist, he remained at the hospital due to his coursework in imaging engineering. However, a few years later, he transitioned again, becoming a graduate student specializing in software engineering.

“Studying information science was truly painful.” Recalling that period, Wang Hongzhu helplessly mocked himself.

In reality, cross-disciplinary transition is inherently painful, requiring one not only to surmount knowledge barriers and overcome entrenched mindsets but also to venture into an unfamiliar domain.Yet it is precisely this cross-disciplinary approach that has opened up multiple dimensions in Wang Hongzhu’s thinking and established an interdisciplinary knowledge background, both of which are essential conditions for scientific research and innovation.

Of course, cross-industry expansion has also made Wang Hongzhu“The most medically knowledgeable among repair technicians, and the most software engineering-savvy among medical professionals.”

In 2016, Wang Hongzhu raised the difficulties he encountered in scientific research and innovation during his institution’s democratic life meeting, highlighting his struggles due to a lack of research mindset and funding. All hospital leaders present not only committed on the spot to help resolve the funding issue but also subsequently assisted in connecting him with scientific research resources at Zhejiang University. Leveraging this academic affiliation, Wang Hongzhu was able to address his shortcomings in scientific research capabilities.

Going it alone cannot sustain long-term progress in medical innovation,“Lone Warriors” Struggle to Succeed in Translating Research into Practical Applications.

Wang Hongzhu had always wished for a “mentor” to guide him when he first embarked on his innovation journey. Perhaps out of empathy, he has now become that figure for others.“Innovation Trailblazer””。

For most people, the desire to innovate is often hampered by uncertainty about where to begin. In such cases, colleagues and friends frequently turn to Wang Hongzhu for guidance, and he is always happy to lend a helping hand.

First, inspiration: Wang Hongzhu stimulates innovative thinking through dialogue and intellectual exchange, prompting individuals to reflect on pain points in daily life that are often overlooked. Second, he provides guidance and advice during stages such as topic research and special project applications. This approach helps innovation “novices” avoid unnecessary detours in the process.

Thus, such conversations frequently occur in the workplace: “Brother Zhu Zi, do you think my idea will work?”
“Sure! Come on over, let’s have a discussion.”

In addition to “one-on-one tutoring,” Wang Hongzhu also believesCommunication is an indispensable link in the mutual promotion of thinking.

This also prompted him to organize an innovation training program titled “In Every Group of Three, There Must Be One Who Can Be My Teacher” at his institution. In Wang Hongzhu’s view, professionals from different disciplines—including clinicians, nursing staff, and health informatics engineers—can each identify distinct clinical needs from their respective perspectives and develop innovative solutions to address them. During these exchanges, Wang Hongzhu shared his methodological approaches, such as the “TRIZ theory.”

Over time, such small-scale discussions no longer satisfied Wang Hongzhu; he looked forward toA Larger Platform, to encourage clinical practitioners to brainstorm and collaborate withA more efficient innovation system,to support the commercialization and implementation of every brilliant idea. “Hospitals should ideally have independent departments dedicated to research translation,” said Wang Hongzhu, reflecting his consideration of the pain point that clinical practitioners often struggle to access various social resources.

The path to innovation also requires pooling wisdom from multiple parties; therefore, Wang Hongzhu’s team participated in2022 2nd High-Value Biomedical Patent Project Selection & National Conference on Medical-Engineering Integration and New Medical Technologies / Sci-Tech China Industry Matchmaking Meeting, we hope to leverage this platform to engage in deep exchanges with the industry, tackle critical “bottleneck” challenges in the medical field, explore methods and pathways for innovation and translation, and achieve breakthroughs in industrialization.

When asked by a VCBeat reporter:“Should scientific and technological innovators understand market information and business knowledge?”

Wang Hongzhu replied: “Mandatory！”

A review of Wang Hongzhu’s innovation journey makes it evident that,Medical innovation requires not only “integration of medicine and engineering,” but also “integration of medicine, engineering, and business.”

Specifically, any innovative solution addressing clinical needs requires the joint efforts of three parties: medical professionals, engineers, and business stakeholders. “Engineering” must develop products with technical barriers and advantages; “Business” must simultaneously evaluate and establish the commercial value and business model for these products, which leverage advantageous technologies to meet customers’ latent needs.As the initial discoverers of clinical needs and the ultimate end-users of technology, physicians are responsible for evaluating and validating the clinical and technical advantages, commercial value, and practical applicability of medical products.

With Wang Hongzhu’s selection last yearTaking the Quality Control Testing System for Medical Rigid Endoscopes in the First Batch of High-Value Biomedical Patent Project Pool of the Chinese Society for Biotechnology as an Example, he crunched the numbers before initiating the project: the endoscopy market boasts substantial demand, with a domestic market size in China nearing RMB 9.5 billion and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%.

According to research reports from the United States in 2018 and 2019, risks associated with malfunctions of rigid medical endoscopes were listed among the top ten healthcare technology hazards identified by the Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI). In the current market, comparable competing products include the Scope Control quality monitoring system from the Netherlands, which tests 10 parameters and is priced at RMB 2 million, and the US-made Endobench, which tests 6 parameters and is priced at RMB 1.6 million.

In this light,Given the large market size and high demand for medical rigid endoscopes, coupled with the low cost-performance ratio of competing products, the quality control testing system for medical rigid endoscopes developed by Wang Hongzhu’s team naturally stood out. This system is capable of detecting 15 indicators and is priced at less than half that of its competitors.

In fact, Wang Hongzhu has gained unique insights into the process of innovation translation: “It is easy to secure ten or eight patents, but without commercialization, they hold little practical significance.” Today, he places greater emphasis on the conversion rate of patents, aiming for them to generate tangible benefits and truly help address clinical needs.