The first set of China-made robot “MicroHand A” system for the mini-invasive surgery has passed the appraisal by Tianjin Science &Technology Commission. It is the first successfully developed robot for mini-invasive surgery in China, with proprietary intellectual property rights, which breaks up the technical monopoly of the similar products abroad and fills the domestic gaps, reaching the international leading level.

The robot “MicroHand A” system for mini-invasive surgery, the key project supported by the national "863 Program" and National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars, was jointly developed by Tianjin University, Nankai University and Tianjin Medical University General Hospital. Owing many technical innovation and invention patents, it is mainly used in the mini-invasive abdominal surgery and has a number of technical innovations and nventions . For example, the first 4-DOF surgical instruments were designed and produced, which is adaptable to the mini-invasive surgery, complicated suture and knot operation. The multi-degree-of-freedom cable driving technique realizes the noumenon lightweight design of the master and slave operators. Based on the isomery space mapping model, the master and slave manipulation can be controlled. Deformation emulation environment of the robot system and humane soft tissue was designed to realize the fictitious force feedback of master and slave manipulation and surgical planning. The three-dimensional stereovision system of mini-invasive surgical robot was successfully developed using the double-channel plane orthogonal polarization imagine spectrophotometry. This system has applied for 10 invention patents and four of them have been authorized. More than ten concerned articles have been published in the international and domestic academic journals.

According to introduction, at present it will cost approximately 20 million yuan RMB to introduce a similar surgical robot system in China with quite expensive surgery consumables. After the first minimally invasive surgical robot system “MicroHand A” was launched to the market , it will help reduce the price of similar products and maintain costs in the future.

Xiong Youlun, the chairman of the Identification Commission, academician of the Chinese Academy of Science and the professor of Huazhong University of Science & Technology thought that it had obvious advantages in treatment effect, alleviating the suffering, restore cycle and medical treatment costs, etc compared to the conventional open operation. It has surpassed the similar products abroad at the level of innovation, which has wide technology coverage and broad prospects on the market.

On the appraising meeting, medical workers from Tianjin Medical University General Hospital performed a successful cholecystectomy on animals using the “MicroHand A” system. The members of the appraising meeting visited the on-site surgery.