First animal surgery using home-grown robot

Medical experts from Shanghai Chest Hospital completed the nation’s first animal lung surgery experiment using a single-hole surgical robot developed in China. The experiment stems from clinical research conducted by the hospital and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

With the development of minimally invasive surgery, thoracic operations via surgical robots have been performed in more than 150 Chinese hospitals — but all with robots developed abroad.

Dr Luo Qingquan from Shanghai Chest Hospital led the animal experiment by operating on a pig. With the robot, doctors were able to remove the pig's right upper lung within one hour with no serious bleeding.

Doctors then used the robot to conduct heart surgery on the same pig, whose vital signs were stable afterward.

Luo said single-hole surgical robots are a hot topic for developers in China and abroad. His team will partner with Chinese developers to create new surgical systems and improve existing ones.

“We will carry out more animal experiments to perfect the system and expedite a clinical trial for it," he said.