Pulse Medical Accelerates Domestic Innovation in Cardiovascular Devices to Support Healthy China Initiative

"Replacing imported medical devices with domestically produced ones is an inevitable trend. As a national enterprise, Pulse Medical feels the weight of its mission and will further accelerate breakthroughs in key core technologies to contribute to the country's early realization of 'import substitution.'" Said Chairman Ruan Chengmin of Guangdong Pulse Medical Technology Co., Ltd.

Overseas Network Exclusive Interview with Ruan Chengmin

As the "Healthy China" strategy continues to deepen, China's medical device industry has maintained a steady development trend. Ruan Chengmin stated that in the past decade, Pulse Medical has consistently adhered to independent research and development, striving to bridge the gap with foreign brands by continuously developing original products. The company is accelerating the localization of cardiovascular medical devices to contribute to the construction of a Healthy China. "China's cardiovascular medical device field started late, and related medical devices are still dominated by imported products. Promoting the localization of high-end interventional devices and solving the 'bottleneck' issue of expensive healthcare costs for ordinary citizens is an urgent matter that the country and the medical industry need to address."

Ruan Chengmin introduced that the physiological structure of East Asians differs from that of Europeans and Americans. In the field of interventional medical devices for structural heart disease, directly using products approved based on clinical trials conducted on Europeans and Americans poses significant risks for East Asians. Pulse Medical, however, focuses on researching interventional medical devices for structural heart disease that are suited to the physiological characteristics of East Asians. Ruan Chengmin gave an example: the double-disc, inner-plug type left atrial appendage occluder developed by Pulse Medical comes in 16 specifications and models, and its accompanying delivery sheath has a cross-sectional area only 51% of that of imported products. Such a design significantly reduces vascular damage in Chinese patients.

"Pulse Medical's independently developed products, such as the left atrial appendage occluder, feature several globally pioneering structural designs," said Ruan Chengmin. The left atrial appendage occluder system has been applied to hundreds of patients and has gained widespread acclaim from both doctors and patients. Key clinical application data, such as the incidence of adverse event reactions and the success rate of single-use device implantations, have shown remarkable results. Ruan Chengmin believes that the localization of medical devices in China, accelerating the "import substitution" trend, is inevitable. "The 'import substitution' of high-end medical devices in China should not merely involve simple replication but focus on optimization and surpassing. Pulse Medical has consistently upheld this philosophy."

In order to design products that better meet the operational needs of Chinese patients and clinicians, the deep "medical-engineering integration" R&D model has become a product development approach that Pulse Medical has successfully pioneered. Ruan Chengmin introduced that Pulse Medical obtains optimization and improvement ideas for existing medical device products through in-depth communication with experienced clinical doctors.

"The main product of Pulse Medical, the left atrial appendage occluder system, is a result of the deep 'medical-engineering integration' model," said Ruan Chengmin. Pulse Medical has established cooperative relationships with relevant hospitals and set up a "Industry-Academia-Research Cooperation Base." Through the deep 'medical-engineering integration' model, the product quickly completed clinical trial enrollment for 200 cases within 11 months. "The deep 'medical-engineering integration' model has injected strong innovative power into the product development work and will continue to provide strong support for future product development efforts."

As an innovative startup in the Bay Area, Pulse Medical is growing rapidly. "The business environment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area provides fertile ground for innovative companies like ours, with comprehensive support including policy incentives, market opportunities, legal protection, and talent resources," said Ruan Chengmin. Building on this foundation, Pulse Medical will continue to pursue its R&D innovation path of "deep medical-engineering integration" to truly achieve a 'seamless connection' between scientific achievements and application markets.

In recent years, an increasing number of medical device manufacturers have been actively seeking development overseas, with Pulse Medical being one of them. Ruan Chengmin introduced that Pulse Medical has established a research and development center in California, USA. By collaborating with top global cardiovascular medical enterprises and research institutions, the company introduces advanced technologies and conducts localized innovations to promote the development of new medical devices.

The development of technology cannot be separated from the construction of a talented workforce. Pulse Medical widely attracts overseas talent by strengthening cooperation with universities and research institutions, offering attractive compensation and benefits, and actively participating in international scientific and technological collaboration and exchange, thereby building an international research team. "As the global business landscape continues to evolve and China's national strength grows, the attractiveness of Chinese enterprises to overseas talent also increases," said Ruan Chengmin. He added that Chinese companies looking to attract overseas talent must leverage their core competitiveness, deeply explore, and enhance their soft power to foster a stronger sense of identity among target talents.

"At present, Pulse Medical has initiated the certification of its left atrial appendage occluder in the European market. In the future, it will also collaborate with well-known pharmaceutical enterprises in the United States to carry out FDA certification for this product, actively expanding into the U.S. market." Said Ruan Chengmin. These efforts have enhanced Pulse Medical's overall R&D capabilities and global market competitiveness, laying a solid foundation for its expansion in the global market.