Professor Guo Hongqian’s Team from Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital Completes First-Center Enrollment for The First Center in the Urological Registration Clinical Trial of the AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot

On March 8, 2024, AGIBOT Medical Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (AGIBOT) announces the successful completion of first-center enrollment in its urology registration clinical trial. The Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital team led by Professor Guo Hongqian concluded all 37 registered cases, including 2 robot-assisted radical prostatectomies performed.

Project Introduction

This clinical trial adopted a prospective, multi-center, single-group, target-value design. As the main leading institution, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, together with the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, and with the encouragement and guidance of Academician Zhang Xu, an expert in the field of urology in China, jointly dedicated themselves to evaluating the effectiveness and safety of the AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot developed by AGIBOT in urological laparoscopic surgeries.

Under the guidance of Prof. Guo and the joint efforts of the urology robotic surgery team, the clinical trial has been progressing smoothly. 2 cases of robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) were completed by Director Xu Linfeng in two consecutive operations on 20 December, followed by 1 case of robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (RALPN) by Director Liu Guangxiang on 22 December, and 1 case of robotic-assisted partial nephrectomy (RALPN) by Director Liu Guangxiang on 22 December. On the 22nd, Director Liu Guangxiang successfully completed one case of robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (hereinafter referred to as RALPN). This marks the completion of the first case of human surgery (FIH) on RALP and RALPN by the AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot, and the AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot has successfully entered the clinical application stage since then.

From this starting point to 8 March 2024, Prof. Guo Hongqian’s team has completed a total of 37 registered clinical surgeries in 22 surgical days, of which more than 10 were performed in two consecutive days, and in a number of days three consecutive surgeries were performed. The surgical procedures included 21 partial nephrectomies and 16 radical prostatectomies, of which the partial nephrectomies were performed by transperitoneal approach and retroperitoneal approach respectively. All the surgeries were successfully completed with a success rate of 100%, and the intraoperative indicators and postoperative results suggested that the surgical results were good and the patients recovered well. This proves that the AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot can safely and efficiently help doctors to complete difficult and high-intensity surgical operations.

Prof. Guo Hongqian stated:“The AGIBOT system demonstrated exceptional clinical reliability throughout this trial. Its commercialization will significantly advance accessible robotic surgery. We look forward to AGIBOT’s further efforts to promote the early launch of this product and realize the popularity and universality of robot-assisted surgery.”

AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot: An Indispensable Assistant in Surgical Laparoscopic Surgeries

The AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot is a cutting-edge system designed for minimally invasive procedures in urology surgery, gynecology surgery, general surgery, and thoracic surgery. It comprises a Surgeon Console with an integrated high-definition 3D monitor, a Patient Cart with four robotic arms featuring deployment guidance, a Vision Cart equipped with a 3D video fusion processor, and a suite of multi-degree-of-freedom surgical instruments and accessories.

The system offers precise, low-latency master-slave teleoperation, immersive HD 3D imaging, dexterous multi-degree-of-freedom instruments, and an intelligent real-time interactive interface. These innovative features aim to provide surgeons with an intuitive and efficient robotic-assisted surgical experience, achieving enhanced precision and synchronization between vision and operation.

Introduction of Department of Urology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital

Established in 1953, the Urology Department of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital stands as one of the earliest urological specialties in China. Prof. Zhou Zhiyao, the founder, completed China’s first radical prostatectomy in the 1970s. In recent years, under the leadership of Prof. Guo Hongqian, the discipline leader, the department has been developing rapidly, focusing on urinary system tumors (prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and bladder cancer). The total number of robot-assisted surgeries in the department has remained among the top in the country, and in 2020, the number of surgeries ranked first nationwide. In addition, the department took the lead in establishing an integrated prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment center in China. This center covers early-stage prostate cancer screening, magnetic resonance-ultrasound image fusion-guided prostate cancer targeted biopsy, Da Vinci robot-assisted surgical techniques, whole-organ tissue pathological sectioning, precise focal ablation of prostate cancer, endocrine therapy, chemotherapy, and is equipped with a patient follow-up office and system, as well as a clinical drug trial center. In 2020, the number of prostate fusion biopsies reached 1,674. Furthermore, clinical research on drugs and medical devices is a distinctive feature of the Urology Department of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital. Currently, there are over 40 enterprise-sponsored projects and more than 20 researcher-initiated studies in progress. The extensive clinical research on drugs and medical devices has provided patients with more choices and hopes.

At present, the Urology Department of Drum Tower Hospital has successfully carried out various robot-assisted surgeries, including Da Vinci robot-assisted surgeries and AGIBOT laparoscopic surgical robot surgeries developed by AGIBOT, making positive explorations and contributions to the development and progress of urological surgeries. The robot-assisted surgical team led by Prof. Guo Hongqian consists of a group of experienced robot-assisted surgeons, including 16 chief robot-assisted surgeons and 20 assistants. They have long been engaged in routine urological tumor surgeries such as robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, partial nephrectomy for renal tumors, and radical cystectomy. Under Prof. Guo’s leadership, the Urology Department has completed over 11,000 robot-assisted surgeries. The team focuses on surgical technology innovation in organ preservation and function restoration. It has taken the lead in developing innovative surgical procedures in China, such as posterior-approach robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, robot-assisted partial nephrectomy for renal tumors, and robot-assisted total-laparoscopic orthotopic neobladder. Additionally, the team has overcome numerous urological challenges and carried out a number of complex urological surgeries, including robot-assisted total-laparoscopic living-donor kidney transplantation, robot-assisted radical nephrectomy with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus removal, and kidney-sparing surgeries for various complex renal tumors.

Prof. Guo Hongqian

Administrative Director, Department of Urology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital

Director, Institute of Urology, Nanjing University

Chief Physician, Professor of Nanjing University

State Council Government Special Allowance Expert

Doctoral Supervisor of Nanjing University, Nanjing Medical University, Xuzhou Medical University, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Speciality: Diagnosis and treatment of complex genitourinary tumours, renal transplantation, minimally invasive urology, especially precise minimally invasive surgical treatment of urological tumours. He has led the Department of Urology of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital to complete up to more than 11,000 robotic surgeries in total, with the annual volume of surgeries ranked steadily as the first in the country, and the individual volume of surgeries ranked first globally for the fifth consecutive year. He has published a number of articles in Mol Cell, Nat Commun, J Hematol Oncol, Cancer Res, J Urol, J Nucl Med and other international journals as a corresponding author.

Presided over 3 projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and received 10 medical awards at provincial and municipal levels.

Director of Jiangsu Urology Medical Quality Control Centre

Chairman of Jiangsu Physicians Association Medical Robotics Committee

Chairman of Jiangsu Preventive Medical Association Urology Disease Prevention and Control Committee

Member of Chinese Physicians Association Robotics Surgery Physicians Branch

Member of Chinese Physicians Association Urology Physicians Branch

Director of Jiangsu Urology Medical Quality Control Centre

Chairman of Jiangsu Physicians Association Medical Robotics Committee.