Shanghai, China (October 24, 2024) – MicroPort^® MedBot^® (HKSE:2252) announced today that the company successfully completed 6 robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy procedures in the Republic of Angola. The surgical cases were performed by Dr. Vipul Patel, a world-renowned robotic urologist surgeon for his contributions to the field of robotic-assisted surgery and one of the most experienced robotic surgeons in the world having personally performed over 18,000 robotic prostatectomies, and his surgical team based out of the Global Robotics Institute at AdVent Health in Celebration, Florida, in the United States of America. The urology surgeries were performed at Complexo Hospitalar de Doenças Cardio-Pulmonar Cardeal Dom Alexandre do Nascimento (Cardeal) which is located in the city of Luanda and has been established as a national health reference center for Angola. 

From these 6 successful surgical cases and for the first time in the sub-Sahara Africa region, two of the cases were performed remotely using Toumai^®’s telesurgery capability. Robotic telesurgery, also known as remote surgery, is a surgical procedure where a surgeon performs an operation on a patient remotely using a robot and telecom networking. For these telesurgery cases, the master robotic console and remote console were located in separate sites at the Cardeal hospital campus with the connection between the master and remote consoles utilizing only Toumai®’s telesurgery console and Cardeal’s in-house telecom network. The total latency time between the master and the remote systems for these robotic surgical cases was less than 6 milliseconds. 

“My team came here to Angola to help the country for a great humanitarian purpose. The potential of robotics, remote surgery and education is the future of healthcare equity for countries such as Angola, ” said Dr. Vipul Patel, “By being able to operate remotely, we have demonstrated for the first time in Africa the potential route for future humanitarian success. Today was proof of concept with our entire team here, we must proceed with caution and safety in the future.”

With a total population of 38 million people, Angola has one of the highest mortality rates for prostate cancer in Africa. Prostate cancer is the third most common cancer in Angola, after breast and cervical cancer. In 2020, the age-adjusted death rate was 33.13 per 100,000 people which puts Angola 23rd in the world for prostate cancer deaths. While the developed regions like Southern Africa have the highest incidence of prostate cancer in Africa, the emerging countries in Africa, like the sub-Sahara Africa countries, actually have the highest mortality rate due to lack of and inadequate access to healthcare services to treat these life threatening conditions.

A key feature of the Toumai® system is its telesurgery application, which holds transformative potential for the future of healthcare. Telesurgery allows surgeons to perform procedures remotely, leveraging high-speed data transfer and real-time communication. This capability is particularly crucial for extending specialized surgical care to underserved or remote areas, thereby bridging gaps in healthcare access. By enabling expert surgeons to guide complex operations from a distance, telesurgery not only enhances the reach of medical services but also ensures that patients in remote locations receive the highest standard of care. This innovative approach can significantly reduce disparities in healthcare access and improve outcomes across diverse populations. To date, Toumai® has successfully completed over 200 human robotic telesurgery cases globally. 

“We are proud to participate in these landmark robot telesurgery cases to bring the Toumai^® system to this region of the world,” said Dr. He Chao, Founder and President of MicroPort^® MedBot^®, “In time, we will look back on this date and this achievement and recognize that this was the foundational event for how the delivery of healthcare was revolutionized in Angola with Toumai^® and the promise of telesurgery.” 

MicroPort^® Medbot^®’s Toumai^® Surgical Robot System was specifically developed to improve outcomes and enhance operational efficiency for all surgical procedures. Designed with both surgeons and patients in mind, the Toumai^® system integrates advanced robotics, high-definition 3D visualization, and intuitive control interfaces to offer an unprecedented level of precision and control for surgeons. This system is engineered to support a wide range of procedures, including complex minimally invasive surgeries, thereby expanding its versatility across various surgical specialties. Toumai^® is currently approved to be used in urology, thoracic, general, gynecology, thyroid and breast, and pediatric surgeries. Toumai^® is currently approved and commercially available in China, the European Union and other countries recognizing NMPA and CE Mark approvals.  

About MicroPort^® Medbot^®  

Commenced its development for laparoscopic surgery robots in 2014, and officially established in Shanghai in 2015, Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Group) Co., Ltd. ("MicroPort^® MedBot^®", stock code: 02252.HK), a subsidiary of MicroPort^® Scientific Corporation ("MicroPort^®", stock code: 00853.HK), is currently the only surgical robot company in the world with businesses covering five promising subsectors of surgical robots, including endoscopy, orthopedics, vascular intervention, natural orifice surgery, and percutaneous puncture. At MicroPort^® MedBot^®, we are committed to meeting the growing demand for cutting-edge robotic surgery. By integrating advanced research on robotics, control algorithms, image-based navigation, and precision imaging, we provide comprehensive intelligent surgical solutions to prolong and reshape the lives of patients, lead the advancement of robotic surgery, and shape the era of intelligent surgery.