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An incubatee of the CUHK SZRI InnoHub completed the world's first bladder tumour excision

Agilis Robotics Ltd., an incubatee of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hub (InnoHub), recently released a new clinical development, using the company's fully flexible dual-arm endoscopic surgical robotic system .

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine) and Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering performed the world’s first robot-assisted en bloc resection of bladder tumour (ERBT) in December last year using a locally developed endoscopic surgical robotic system. As of today, the team has completed eight clinical trials, which have shown promising outcomes, removing bladder tumours in a single piece with greater precision than traditional ERBT and with enhanced safety，and reduces the risk of recurrence of bladder cancer compared with conventional surgery.

*At the launch event: Professor KWOK Ka-wai, Co-Founder of Agilis Robotics (left), Professor Ng Chi-fai, Tzu Leung Ho Professor of Urology, CUHK Medicine (centre), Dr Peter Chiu Ka-fung, Associate Professor, Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, CUHK Medicine (right)

The locally developed endoscopic surgical robotic system with fully flexible robotic arms, the Agilis Robotics IntilumeTM System, consists of an endoscope holder, a robotic positioning cart and a surgeon control chair, compatible with a variety of commercial endoscopes for endoluminal endoscopic surgeries. The system comes with a pair of flexible and compact robotic instruments of 2.8mm to 3.5mm in diameter to achieve tissue retraction and dissection. Each instrument can move in more than five different directions and enable en bloc tumour resection within a tiny space. Doctors operate the system with a pair of remote controls configured for robotic positioning and manipulation, enhancing procedural stability.

Endoscopic surgical tool for traditional manual ERBT (left), two soft and tiny robotic arms of Agilis Robotics (right)

Hong Kong-based Agilis Robotics was registered in the Hong Kong Science Park in January 2021, while its subsidiary Agilis Robotics Ltd. , registered in Shenzhen in the same year, is located in the InnoHub. The company focuses on the field of natural cavity surgical robots. Its technology originates from Hong Kong universities, and it works closely with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong, and a number of the world's leading medical institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic in the United States. With the world's leading fully flexible technology, we have developed a fully flexible dual-arm surgical robot to fill the gap of endoscope +  robot. 

The company's long-term goal is to develop a new generation of minimally invasive surgical robots to assist doctors in performing minimally invasive surgeries while performing endoscopic examinations of the patient's natural body cavities. Currently, the product has entered the critical stage of FDA and NMPA dual-certification filing and is expected to be approved by the FDA within 2025, and is expected to be the first surgical robotic system to be certified for the indication of transurethral bladder tumour removal.

Source of information：[CUHK Communications and Public Relations Office]https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/sc/press/cuhk-conducts-worlds-first-robotic-assisted-en-bloc-resection-of-bladder-tumour-with-locally-developed-endoscopic-surgical-robotic-system/