Micro Hand A--China's bet in robotic surgery

Micro Hand A (妙手A) has been developed jointly by Tianjin University, Nankai University and Tianjin Medical University General Hospital. The first animal trials were conducted July 2010 in the university hospital, and since then, it is said to be deployed in some local hospitals. 

Further patrners are the Southern Medical University, Computer Research Institute of Surgery by the Southern Medical University, South China University of Technology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, National Defense University and Waseda University in Japan. The first phase of research was realized with 10 million yuan investment. They claim to be 3 years from becoming market-ready.

The Micro Hand A's main features include:

• 3D vision system
• 360 deg articulated inctruments
• 0.1 mm accuracy claimed
• 4 patents (6 pending)

You can find some related publiations here, and also the system was presented at the latest ICRA. A video of the first animal trial can be found here.

The etalon da Vinci system was first introduced in China in 2006, and received SFDA approval in July 2008.

Read more about the system here.

Source: Tianjin University