The rise of Chinese surgical robots
Report by Horizon Insights
Opportunity for domestic brands amid the expiration of several patents belonging to market leader Intuitive Surgical and its da Vinci robot. Only 0.13% of surgical procedures were performed by robots in China in 2020 (vs. 13% in US). First-mover advantage in branding and costs will be crucial given 30,000 parts the R&D involves and ongoing product iteration. Re. endoscopic surgical robots (the most widely used medical robot), MicroPort and Shandong Wego lead the way with their Toumai and Miaoshou robots which are expected to be approved in 2021-2022.