Top spine surgery robots unveiled at CIIE
On November 5, 2020, the highly anticipated 3rd China International Import Expo opened in Shanghai.
As a global medical device giant, Medtronic has participated in three consecutive CIIEs. At this CIIE, the Medtronic booth covers an area of 400 square meters and is divided into seven themed exhibition areas. With the theme of "Promoting a Healthy Future Together", a total of more than 70 world-leading innovative therapies and products are displayed, of which nearly one-third One is the first time to be exhibited in China. All products cover epidemic prevention and control, surgical and spinal surgery, heart and blood vessels, intelligent surgery, digestion and liver, intelligent diabetes management, kidney health and other fields.
Among them, the most impressive is the Mazor X StealthTM Editio surgical robot for the spine, which made its debut at the CIIE, which made its first public appearance in China.
As we all know, Medtronic is the absolute king in the global spine and neurosurgery field, with world-leading technology and a complete product line. In the past 5 years, Medtronic has introduced more than 20 internationally leading products and technologies in the fields of spine and neurosurgery. Especially in 2018, after acquiring the world-renowned spinal surgery company Mazor Robotics, Medtronic accelerated its advancement into the world's top spinal surgery robotics field.
The Mazor X StealthTM Edition spinal surgery positioning and navigation system that was unveiled this time is a landmark product, the core node of Medtronic's smart surgery ecosystem. Its appearance means that the global spinal surgery robot industry standard will be reshaped.
"Spine surgery positioning and navigation system" sounds complicated. Simply put, it combines Medtronic’s Stealth platform with Mazor’s existing robotic technology, plus intelligent algorithms, to achieve preoperative planning and execution of surgery. Provide precise surgical approach guidance and visualization information for spine surgeons to meet the surgical goal of "high precision and accuracy".
Specifically, before the operation, Mazor X StealthTM Edition uses powerful pre-operative planning software to enable doctors to formulate and simulate surgical plans based on the patient's physiological structure. During the operation, Mazor X StealthTM Edition uses Medtronic's world-leading intraoperative navigation technology to provide real-time image guidance to ensure accurate and safe operation. At the same time, Mazor X StealthTM Edition uses its own physiological structure recognition and image registration algorithms, with a self-developed surveying and mapping-grade medical robotic arm to achieve precise positioning during surgery. From open surgery, minimally invasive surgery to percutaneous surgery, Mazor X StealthTM Edition can fully cover.
It is understood that Mazor X StealthTM Edition has now entered the registration process and is expected to be listed in China next year.
Spine market giants look around, industry standards will reshape
Globally, robot-assisted surgery is becoming the mainstream of the future.
In January 2020, an analysis report released by the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that as many as 15% of general surgery operations may have been completed with the help of robots. And 6 years ago. This proportion is only 2%, which means that the application of surgical robots has achieved explosive growth in the past 6 years.
In a nutshell, the areas currently assisted by surgical robot systems include soft tissue surgery, orthopedic surgery, and spinal surgery. Companies around the field of surgical robots can be described as crowded. In the past 2019, giants such as Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, and Zimmer Bangmei have made acquisitions in the field of surgical robots, spending a total of nearly 7 billion US dollars. Various surgical robot systems are in different stages of development or commercialization.
The spine is called the "second lifeline" of the human body, and is the "pillar and pillar" of the human body. With the intensification of aging, the incidence of the spine area is getting higher and higher, such as cervical spondylosis, osteoporosis, lumbar disc herniation, etc., and showing a younger trend. This is a direct driving force for the giants to increase the field of spine surgery robots.
In the field of spine surgery robots, Medtronic is in an advantageous position. Followed by Stryker, Zimmer, and NuVasive are also investing heavily in product research and development. Fierce competition, undercurrents raging.
In September 2018, Medtronic spent US$1.64 billion to acquire Mazor Robotics, an Israeli orthopedic surgical robot company. The completion of this acquisition has established Medtronic's absolute advantage in the field of spine surgery robots.
The core technology of surgical robots is to be able to realize the collaborative control of the surgical navigation system and the robotic arm. In the world, there are only a handful of companies mastering the core technology of orthopedic surgery navigation and positioning robots and entering clinical applications. Israel's Mazor Robotics is one of the best. This is also the most important factor in Medtronic's choice to acquire Mazor.
Through the acquisition, Medtronic has obtained technology sources, integrated with its own surgical navigation system, and used its existing channel advantages to focus on expanding the market and consolidate its leading position in the field of spinal surgery robots.
At the time of the acquisition of Mazor Surgical Robot Company, more than 200 Mazor systems have been used clinically on four continents, and more than 200,000 implants have been guided in 45,000 operations, making minimally invasive spinal surgery Standard surgery in many hospitals.
The global aging trend is intensifying, and the incidence of spinal diseases, joint injuries, and orthopedic trauma worldwide is increasing year by year. The "Chinese Surgery Yearbook" shows that there are as many as 20 million cases of bone trauma (spine, knee joints, etc.) in China each year, of which 79.35% require surgical treatment. The traditional "barehanded operation" mode has the pain points of "complex structure, deep location, large trauma, and difficult judgment", and the operation risk is high. Surgical robots have become an important helper for doctors due to their precise navigation and operational safety functions, and are increasingly needed for surgery.
For this reason, Mazor X StealthTM Edition will set a new standard for the spine surgery robot industry with its predictability, accuracy and visualization functions.
Broaden the moat and promote the innovation of Chinese spine products
In the past ten years, the Chinese market has been one of Medtronic's important global markets. Like other multinational giants, localization is an important strategy for Medtronic in the Chinese market.
One example is that in 2012, Medtronic spent US$816 million to buy Kanghui Holdings, the second largest in the field of orthopedics in China, especially Kanghui’s spine business. Medtronic Kanghui has become Medtronic's first business unit headquartered outside the United States to operate independently, with a high status.
In the past 5 years, Medtronic has introduced more than 20 international leading new products and technologies to the Chinese market in the fields of spine and neurosurgery.
It should be pointed out that the development of the surgical robot industry is not as simple as selling equipment. It is often an overall solution of "surgical robot + surgical products + medical services".
Medtronic has always been the king of the global spine product market. As early as 2010, its spine business product revenue reached 3.5 billion US dollars. Therefore, the combination of spine surgery robot + spine products has greatly broadened Medtronic's moat in the spine field, which includes both technology and market.
The introduction of Mazor X StealthTM Edition this time is another upgrade of Medtronic in this field. However, this action is not just to improve Medtronic's product line in the field of spine and neurosurgery in the Chinese market. More importantly, it can improve the quality of domestic clinical treatments, boost the creation of a domestic smart surgery ecosystem, and comprehensively promote the industry. The development of industry, university and research.
This is reflected in the fact that Medtronic has collaborated with a team of domestic doctors and engineers to integrate Medtronic's latest global technology to launch the ECO/CAPMATE spinal implant developed in China. At the same time, in terms of spinal implants, robots, spinal navigation and other equipment, Medtronic has jointly developed products that are more adapted to the needs of Chinese patients with top domestic hospitals, Shanghai Jiaotong University and other universities.
In promoting the popularization of internationally leading therapies and surgical methods, Medtronic organizes more than 600 offline boutique courses and online education for more than 200,000 people every year. Through platforms such as the "Greater China Spine Education Center", it plans doctors The complete growth path on this platform will comprehensively improve the surgical skills of Chinese doctors, shorten the doctor’s learning curve, accelerate growth, and promote Chinese spine medicine to the world’s advanced level.
Focusing on spinal surgery, Medtronic's products will also include O-armTM O2 O-arm intraoperative imaging system, Stealth EditionTM spinal surgery navigation system, Midas surgical power system, and Medtronic spinal surgery internal fixation implant system, etc. Equipment and instruments, through the introduction of these products and technologies, Medtronic has opened up product boundaries and formed a complete intelligent surgery ecosystem to assist doctors in accurately, efficiently and safely completing various spinal surgery operations to maximize patient benefits.