Weigao Group and Shanghai Ruijin Hospital Launch Smart Medical Device Innovation and Translation Hub

On April 1, the signing and unveiling ceremony of the "Guangci-Sinan·WEGO Intelligent Medical Device Innovation and Transformation Space," jointly created by WEGO Group and Ruijin Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, was held in Shanghai. Attending the ceremony were Ning Guang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Ruijin Hospital, Zhou Laisheng, Guangci Laureate Professor at Ruijin Hospital, Zheng Minhua, lifetime professor at Ruijin Hospital, Shen Baiyong, Zhao Ren, and Chen Erzhen, vice presidents of Ruijin Hospital, Dai Jinliang, chairman of Yongye Group, Chen Lin, chairman of WEGO Group, Long Jing, president of WEGO Group, Tang Zhengpeng, president of Weiyuan Group, as well as leaders from relevant departments of Shanghai and Huangpu District.

Under the collective witness of all guests present, eight leaders and guests came on stage together to launch the Innovation Transformation Space. As the launch device was illuminated, the cooperation and innovation layout between WEGO and Ruijin Hospital further deepened, ushering in a new chapter of medical-engineering transformation.

Relying on Top Platforms, Building a Transformation High Ground

Since its establishment in 1907, Ruijin Hospital has always adhered to the motto of "Broad Compassion, Pursuit of Excellence," upholding its original commitment to innovation throughout a century of development. From medical exploration during the Guangci Hospital era to today's leadership in national translational medicine mega-science facilities, the hospital boasts abundant clinical resources, top-tier research teams, and well-established translational platforms, forming a complete chain from identifying clinical issues, conducting fundamental research, to validating through clinical trials.

With the strong support of Huangpu District, the Guangci-Sinan Medical Innovation Park has formed a strong innovation ecosystem. The park not only gathers top clinical resources but also witnesses the birth of many innovative achievements. These "golden ideas" from the clinical front line constitute the most valuable source of medical device innovation and provide a solid foundation for the integration of medicine and engineering.

Joining Forces to Build a Closed-Loop Industry

Ruijin Hospital President Ning Guang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, emphasized in his speech that the source of medical innovation lies in clinical practice, and the value of its outcomes is in transformation. He stressed the importance of making doctors the innovators as "chain leaders," building a bridge for seamless integration between clinical needs and industrial capabilities. This will allow doctors' inspirations to be realized and companies' strengths to be fully utilized, truly establishing a full-chain innovation and transformation platform from clinical ideas to medical products.

Weigao Group Chairman Chen Lin stated in his speech that this cooperation represents a strategic alignment with Shanghai's initiative to foster the "hospital-centered life and health industry" ecosystem. He emphasized that this marks a new era of transformation for Weigao’s development model towards a "market-ecosystem-driven" approach. The group will leverage its best resources to create innovative spaces, injecting fresh momentum into its ambition to become a world-class enterprise.

8 Major Projects Signed, Addressing Clinical Pain Points

At the ceremony, WEGO Group signed a transformation intention agreement with an 8-member expert team from the orthopedics, minimally invasive surgery, and general thoracic surgery departments of Ruijin Hospital. Eight projects originating from the clinical frontline were officially implemented.

Intraosseous Infusion System R&D Conversion Project: Led by Yu Pei's orthopedic team, this project develops an intraosseous infusion system for emergency scenarios where intravenous access cannot be established, providing a rapid, safe, and reliable alternative vascular access.

Flexible Bone Glue Conversion Project: Led by the Orthopedic Research Institute, this project aims to overcome the physical limitations of traditional bone fixation technologies by developing flexible bone glue, enabling bioaffinity topological fixation of micro-bone fragments in wet environments and reconstructing skeletal mechanical continuity.

Bionic, Minimally Invasive, and Intelligent Development and Transformation Project for Shoulder Joint Replacement: Led by the orthopedics team of Wang Lei, this project is based on Chinese patient bone anatomical data and clinical techniques to develop a comprehensive solution including intelligent auxiliary measurement, robot-assisted procedures, and rapid positioning tools.

Ruiyu - Minimally Invasive Debridement System Conversion Project: Led by the Liu Yan team from the Department of Burn Surgery, this project addresses the challenges of burn wound treatment by developing an electric debridement device with a split-unit design, integrated irrigation and suction, and anti-splash protection features, replacing the traditional surgical blade debridement method.

Frontier Technology Medical-Engineering Transformation Project in Minimally Invasive Surgery: Led by Zheng Minhua's team from the Department of General Surgery, this project focuses on key technological bottlenecks in minimally invasive surgical diagnosis and treatment. It develops intelligent minimally invasive surgical instruments and consumables, establishing a full-chain innovation system from basic research to clinical transformation.

Perioperative Medical-Engineering Innovation Transformation Project for Pancreatic Diseases: Led by the team of Shen Baiyong from the Pancreatic Surgery Department, this project focuses on the diagnostic and treatment needs during the perioperative period of pancreatic diseases. It develops implementable diagnosis and treatment plans and outcomes, bridging the entire chain from technology development, prototype validation to clinical application and industrialization.

Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Chest Diseases: Integration of Medical and Engineering Translation Project: Led by Li Hecheng's team from the Department of Thoracic Surgery, this project focuses on chest diseases, developing minimally invasive and intelligent diagnostic and treatment tools and systems to promote the precise, intelligent, and leapfrog development of chest disease diagnosis and treatment.

Operating Room Medical-Engineering Cross-Disciplinary Transformation Project: Led by Wang Xiaoning's nursing team, this project focuses on the entire surgical process, integrating multidisciplinary technologies such as medicine, materials science, and biosensing to construct an innovative model of "Demonstration R&D in Operating Room Scenarios + Multidisciplinary Collaborative Research + Rapid Clinical Validation and Iteration."

Looking Forward to the "15th Five-Year Plan," Jointly Drawing a New Chapter for the Industry

This collaboration marks a critical step for Weigao Group in its transition from "manufacturing-driven" to "innovation-driven." By deeply integrating the top clinical resources of Ruijin Hospital, WEGO has established a "radar station" at the forefront of innovation—on the clinical demand side—enabling it to promptly identify and secure original technologies with the highest market potential. This not only continuously injects high-quality innovative projects into WEGO’s pipeline, enriching its premium product portfolio, but also leverages early involvement to bring forward WEGO’s engineering and industrialization capabilities, ensuring that projects are primed for rapid commercialization from their inception, thereby strengthening its position within the industry.

Looking ahead to the "15th Five-Year Plan," this platform will become a key fulcrum for WEGO's strategic future industry layout. Against the backdrop of China’s vigorous development of the “Future Health” industry, the platform will focus on cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and advanced implantable materials, promoting the deep integration of medical and engineering cross-disciplines, and helping WEGO seize the commanding heights of global medical device innovation in the next five years.

The landing of this innovative transformation space represents a further deepening of WEGO's medical engineering innovation layout in Shanghai. According to reports, in the future, the Guangci-Sinan·WEGO Intelligent Medical Device Innovation Transformation Space will continue to gather global innovative resources, build a virtuous ecosystem of "clinical problem discovery, platform precise对接, and rapid industrial response," contributing to the enhancement of China's independent innovation capability in medical devices and the health level of its people.