Clinical Milestone: AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot Completes Urology Registration Clinical Trial Surgeries

March 30, 2024, AGIBOT Medical Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. (AGIBOT) proudly announces the successful completion of urology registration clinical trials for its independently developed AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot. Professor Zhang Xuepei’s team at The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University performed the final case, in which a robot-assisted partial nephrectomy, marking full enrollment completion.

Under Professor Zhang’s leadership, the team achieved exceptional efficiency: Initiated enrollment on January 19, 2024;Completed 31 registered clinical cases within 18 operative days;

Executed back-to-back procedures on 9+ days, including triple consecutive surgeries;100% surgical success rate across all cases (partial nephrectomies and radical prostatectomies).

Prof. Zhang commented:“As a high-population province with substantial medical demands, Henan benefits significantly from domestic surgical robotics. The AGIBOT system demonstrated precision, efficiency, and safety in complex procedures. We anticipate its accelerated market entry to benefit more clinicians and patients.”

Project Introduction

This clinical trial adopted a prospective, multi-centre, single-group target value design scheme. Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, as the main lead unit, together with the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, and with the encouragement and guidance of academician Zhang Xu, a domestic expert in the field of urology, worked together to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot developed by AGIBOT in urological laparoscopic surgery.

A total of 68 subjects were enrolled in the trial, with a 100% surgical success rate for the main efficacy indicator. Dozens of subjects have completed post-operative follow-up according to the established protocols, and the patients have recovered well. This proves that the AGIBOT Laparoscopic Surgical Robot can safely and efficiently help doctors to complete difficult and high-intensity surgical procedures.

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.

Principal Investigator

Prof. Zhang Xuepei

Director, Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University

Chairman, Urological Tumour Committee, Henan Anti-Cancer Association

Chairman, Urological and Male Genital Tumour Committee, Henan Clinical Oncology Society

Vice Chairman, Urology Society of Henan Provincial Medical Association

Director, Henan Anti-Cancer Association

Director, Henan Clinical Oncology Society

Vice Chairman, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Group, Specialized Committee on Urogenital and Male Genital Tumours, Chinese Anti-Cancer Society

Standing Committee, Urogenital Tumour Committee, Chinese Anti-Cancer Society

Member, Robotics Group of Chinese Medical Association Urology Branch

Member, Chinese Physicians Association, Urology Physicians Branch

Member, Medical Robotics Physicians Branch, Chinese Physicians Association

Group Leader, Henan Provincial Standardized Training Base for Clinical Application of Artificial Intelligence Assisted Therapy Technology (The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University)

Group Leader, Urology Endoscopy Diagnosis and Treatment Technology Clinical Application Standardized Training Base in Henan Province (The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University)

Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University

Founded in 1956, the Department of Urology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University is a doctoral degree authorization point of the Ministry of Education, a national key clinical specialty, a national standardized training base for residents, a national training base for physicians of county hospitals in urology of the Chinese Medical Association, a urology research institute of Henan Province, a urodynamics diagnostic and treatment centre of Henan Province, and a telemedicine consultation and treatment centre of Henan Province. The Department of Urology covers different subspecialties such as genitourinary oncology, adrenal disease, urinary stones, urinary control, male medicine, kidney transplantation, etc., and has become the urology base for the construction of “double first-class” disciplines of Zhengzhou University.

The Department of Urology currently has 12 wards (7 in the hospital district, 3 in the Zhengdong hospital district, 1 in the north district and 1 in the south district), with an establishment of 510 beds. There are 3 urological endoscopy centers and 2 extracorporeal lithotripsy centers. 37,000 patients were admitted and treated in 2023, and the annual surgical volume was more than 16,000, including 1,094 robotic surgeries.

The Department of Urology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University is the only unit with a doctoral degree in urology in Henan Province, and is also the unit where the only key discipline in the field of urology is located, the unit where the chairman of the Society of Urology of the Henan Medical Association is located, and the unit where the chairman of the Urological Tumour Specialist Committee of the Anti-Cancer Association of Henan Province is located. The Department of Urology has obtained 31 National Natural Science Foundation projects and 97 provincial and ministerial scientific research projects. In the past five years, the Department of Urology has published a total of 146 SCI papers, with the highest impact factor of 43.07 points, published 213 Chinese series and Chinese core articles, edited more than 30 monographs, participated in the preparation of The 2022 Chinese Urology and Men’s Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines, obtained 23 patents for invention or utility model, and won more than 10 second-class prizes for scientific and technological progress in Henan Province.

At present, the operations and technologies carried out by the Department of Urology include a variety of common and complex diseases in urology, such as robot-assisted laparoscopic radical treatment of renal cancer+inferior vena cava cancer thrombus removal, robot-assisted laparoscopic total cystectomy+in situ ileal substitute cystectomy, robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for completely endogenous renal carcinoma, laparoscopic retroperitoneal giant tumour resection, penile prosthesis placement, nerve repair after dorsal penile nerve dissection, sacral neuromodulation for various complex voiding dysfunctions, lingual mucosal patch for repair of long segmental ureteral stenosis, and other various complex surgeries.

The Science and Technology Measurement Value (STEM) of Chinese Medical Schools/Chinese Hospitals evaluated by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in 2022 is located in the 20th place in the country. according to the data of Healsan Consulting LLC in the United States, the number of papers published in the Department of Urology of Chinese hospitals in 2022 is located in the 8th place in the country, and the total influence of the published papers is located in the 10th place in the country.

According to the hospital’s three-year action plan and 14th Five-Year Plan, the Department of Urology of the hospital will further refine its specialties, and will set up different professional teams such as urological oncology, urological stones, urinary control, men's medicine, adrenal gland diseases, prostate hyperplasia, urinary tract repair and reconstruction, renal transplantation, paediatric renal transplantation, etc. The professional teams will be working together with the joint efforts of Director Zhang Xuepei, and the committee, and will be moving towards the first-class domestic specialties.