Guizhou, China — Recently, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital successfully completed the first MicroPort^® SkyWalker^® Orthopedic Surgical Robot assisted day surgery of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Southwestern China. The Robot (hereinafter referred to as “SkyWalker^®”) is fully independent developed by MicroPort NaviBot (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “MicroPort^® MedBot^®”). This surgery was completed by the team of Professor Li Sun, the chief physician of Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital. The successful completion of the first of TKA day surgery assisted by SkyWalker^® signifies the accumulation of more clinical experience and expert recognition for SkyWalker^® and is also a strong proof of MicroPort^® MedBot^® promoting the down tier - spreading of high-quality medical resources to the southwest region. Being adopted in Southwestern China, SkyWalker^® will further satisfy the needs of patients for high-quality minimally invasive surgery, accelerating the process of intelligent healthcare in the southwest region, and assisting in the construction of a “Healthy China”.

On that day, the hospital completed minimally invasive surgery of robot-assisted TKA for two patients. Preoperatively, the patients were diagnosed with degenerative osteoarthritis of the knee joint. They experienced preoperative knee joint pain, resulting in limited walking function that seriously affected their quality of life. One of them was a 65-year-old patient who was evaluated and scheduled for day surgery — also known as a surgery done on the same day. It means a surgical mode that the patient does not need to be hospitalized and can be done within one working day for admission, surgery and discharge. It has the advantages of minimal trauma, reducing chances of infection and treatment costs. After surgery, the patient did not feel any pain and was able to stand and do self-cleaning the next morning. The patient was discharged successfully the next afternoon, after postoperative evaluation and qualification.

Prior to TKA, the team of Prof. Li Sun used SkyWalker^® to perform 3D reconstruction of knee CT images for the patient, and established a personalized prosthesis plan that met the patient's physiological characteristics to improve the efficiency of subsequent surgical treatments; during surgery, SkyWalker^® guided the completion of robotic arm registration and bone registration. The robotic arm was accurately positioned to the expected planned position, and an integrated osteotomy tool assisted the doctor in completing tibial osteotomy, thereby achieving precise placement of the prosthesis. The surgery was performed smoothly and efficiently throughout the entire process, and postoperative measurements showed that the actual amount of osteotomy was completely consistent with the preoperative plan. Moreover, the automatic positioning osteotomy function of SkyWalker^® eliminated potential damage to the patient's medullary cavity caused by traditional intramedullary positioning tools in surgery, greatly reducing the damage to soft and bone tissues. Less bleeding, less trauma, faster postoperative recovery of the knee joint function gave patient a better experience.

The Orthopedics Department of Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital combines the concept of accelerated recovery with clinical practice, forming a multidisciplinary team with the Anesthesiology and Nursing departments. In 2022, they had completed more than 500 day-surgeries of TKA, which is at the leading level in China. This is the first robot-assisted TKA applied in day surgery in the southwest region. SkyWalker^® provides more accurate osteotomy plan and prosthesis selection, helping patients to quickly recover postoperatively. Also, the completion of this case is a model of medical and industrial integration, and a strong combination of MicroPort^® MedBot^® with medical resources and clinical technology in Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital. SkyWalker^® will keep improving its maturity in clinical adaptation, and practice the concept of medicine-industry cooperation, to promote the continuous improvement of the MicroPort^® MedBot^® products’ strength and clinical assistance capabilities through communication, cooperation and adaptation with surgeons.

Prof.Li Sun, the chief orthopedic physician of Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, stated that: Traditional TKA relies heavily on intraoperative observations and a surgeon’s clinical experience. Usually, physicians need to repeatedly measure and compare during surgery to find the most suitable prosthesis. Due to the large individual variability and complex conditions of patients, postoperative patient satisfaction is often low. Even if preoperative planning is used, there will still be complex intraoperative situations that require temporary response. SkyWalker^® may achieve preoperative personalized planning and real-time adjustment during surgery, effectively solving the above problems. The application of robot-assisted day surgery of TKA not only makes surgeries such as osteotomy and prosthesis selection more accurate, but also provides a better surgical platform for postoperative functional recovery of patients. It is also an important measure for hospitals to further achieve a better medical experience for patients through the use of new technologies.

Dr. Yangbin Chen, General Manager of MicroPort^® NaviBot, stated that: The successful completion of the first day surgery of TKA assisted by SkyWalker^® in the southwest region further proves that, as a representative of Chinese-made surgical robot, SkyWalker^® is being adopted by more and more hospitals with its advantages of accuracy, minimally invasiveness, and intelligence. NaviBot^® possesses not only the core technology and underlying logic of Chinese-developed robotic arms, but also a complete training and service system. With the accumulation of clinical application experience for SkyWalker^®, NaviBot^® will maintain close cooperation with frontline experts, listen attentively to clinical needs, accelerate product iteration and strengthen after-sales service and training, and provide a comprehensive and integrated orthopedic surgical robot solution for a wider range of patients!

Mr. Yu Liu, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of the MicroPort^® MedBot^® Group, stated that:  As the first and only Chinese-made orthopedic surgical robot that obtained Chinese NMPA certification, US FDA certification and European CE mark, SkyWalker^® has an independently developed medical robotic arm that can be adjusted through independent commissioning to satisfy many technical requirements by doctors and experts. The success of the first TKA by SkyWalker^® in Southwestern China not only proves its excellent performance and stability, but also opens up a new market possibility for MicroPort^® SkyWalker^®. Being adopted by Southwestern China, SkyWalker^® will help with the down tier-spreading of high-quality medical resources to the primary facility, provide more patients with beneficiary orthopedic surgical robot solutions and continuously approach to our original intention: “eliminate difficult surgery around the world”!