Suzhou has light | Domestic substitution, Suzhou's own "young" in the medical equipment field! - Suz

From the first domestically produced CT to the first magnetic resonance imaging, to the first DR and the first high-end intelligent vascular machine, the development of my country's medical device industry has entered a "golden period" in the past decade.

In 2022, the operating revenue of China's medical device industry will be approximately 1.3 trillion yuan, with an annual growth rate of about 12%, and its market share will be close to 1/3 of the global market.

Niu Qiang, investment manager of Jiangsu Medical Device Technology Industrial Park, said that a key feature behind the rapid development of medical devices is "domestic substitution". On the one hand, it is inseparable from the promotion of national policies such as medical reform, tiered diagnosis and treatment, and support for domestic equipment. On the other hand, it is inseparable from the independent innovation of our enterprises. In recent years, the "domestic substitution" of medical devices in Suzhou has also accelerated.

For example, Yaoshi Medical focuses on ophthalmic equipment products in the medical device segment, using laser scanning imaging technology for ophthalmic pre-examination and fundus disease diagnosis. At present, more than 90% of domestic high-end ophthalmic equipment is imported from overseas. However, since the price of imported products is 1.5-2.5 million yuan per unit, it is very difficult to popularize them.

There are only three similar laser scanning ophthalmoscopes in the world for fundus diagnosis. "We have the first domestic registration certificate for laser scanning ophthalmoscopes. We have recently completed clinical trials in three leading hospitals in China and have applied for product registration." Wu Haizhou, founder of Yaoshi Medical, said that as the world's first product to use electronic scanning mirror technology to achieve fundus laser scanning mirrors, it is more portable, higher performance, and lower cost than other products on the market, and can be promoted to the grassroots level.

Ochang Medical's product is a lung bronchoscope robot, which targets the third-generation surgical robot of Intuitive Surgery. It can detect and treat lung nodules through the patient's bronchus. In conjunction with other instruments, it can further ablate and cut internal and peripheral foreign bodies in the bronchi, such as lung nodules and lung cancer tumors. It can also perform clinical diagnosis and treatment such as bronchial lavage, thermal steam ablation, and radioactive particle implantation.

"In two years, we have developed two generations of prototypes and are currently upgrading the third generation prototype," said Xue Renfeng, founder of Ouchang Medical.

Zhang Lin, founder of Suzhou Chentai Medical Equipment Co., Ltd.

Chentai Medical is mainly engaged in the research of artificial hip joints in orthopedics. At present, there are about 30 domestic manufacturers capable of producing artificial hip joints in China, and 7-8 imported manufacturers. On the surface, the proportion of domestic production is not bad, but in fact, the artificial hip joints on the Chinese market are mainly ceramic artificial hip joints, which have good quality and long service life, but its most core components, ceramic femoral head and ceramic lining, must be purchased by all joint companies from a German company.

"This German company has the pricing power for Chinese ceramic hip prostheses. Their order cycle is one to one and a half years, and they require full payment," said Zhang Lin, founder of Chentai Medical. "We have developed ceramic femoral heads and ceramic liners that are exactly the same as those of the German company, which can completely replace the German company's products. The market price will be less than 50% lower than that of the German company."

At present, Suzhou's medical device industry is full of innovative vitality. Among the top 20 global medical device companies, 11 are located in Suzhou. There are 1,010 medical device manufacturers and more than 9,500 medical device operating companies in the city. More than 12,400 products have been registered (recorded). 21 Class III innovative medical devices have been approved, accounting for three quarters of the province and one tenth of the country. Suzhou's high-end medical device cluster has been selected as a national advanced manufacturing cluster.

Niu Qiang said that domestic substitution of medical devices in Suzhou has blossomed in many sub-sectors. Behind this is actually the awakening of enterprises' awareness of independent innovation.

"We boldly proposed the idea of ​​changing the mechanical structure into an electronic structure. When developing electronic core components, we also received exclusive support from a Japanese technology-based listed company. We developed and explored together for five years, and after repeated failures and iterations, we finally achieved the fundus image of our first product." Wu Haizhou said.

"To improve the bendability and flexibility of the natural orifice robot's distal end, we tried a variety of solutions, starting from multiple angles such as its own materials, structure, and motion control. We ultimately found the most suitable flexible material, designed the optimal variable stiffness structure, and applied new drive mechanisms and sensor technologies, successfully ensuring the bendability and flexibility of the natural orifice robot," said Xue Renfeng.

"There are nearly 30 steps in the production of our products, including the chemical composition of the materials, the selection of additives, the morphology of the powder, the green body forming process, the sintering process, the grinding process, etc., which will have a great impact on the final performance of the product." Zhang Lin introduced that the research and development of basic materials requires great patience and perseverance, strong technical sensitivity, and sufficient financial support.

Zhang Lin and his junior fellow student Dr. Cao Xiaogang are the co-founders of Chentai Medical. Their research direction was "Materials Science" while they were doctoral students at Tsinghua University. After graduation, they have been engaged in the research of artificial joints, hoping to make achievements in the field of ceramic hip joints.

"Our mentor once told us that doing material research requires the ability to endure loneliness. If you persist in in-depth research in this field for 20 years, you will become an expert in this field. Now my mentor's words have come true. My junior brother Cao and I have been deeply engaged in the field of ceramic joints for more than 20 years. We have experienced ups and downs in the middle, but we have never given up." Zhang Lin said.

In fact, the so-called "domestic substitution" story is not just about technological catching up, but about "keeping pace" or even "overtaking on a curve."

"When we were developing domestic alternative products, our goal was not only to copy German products, but also to improve them, including the composition of materials and processing technology. If we always follow others and imitate them, we will never be able to surpass them." Zhang Lin introduced that another material with better performance is completely different from the products of German companies. The clinical enrollment of this product has come to an end and it will soon enter the Chinese market. After the new product enters the market, it can further improve the technical level of domestic ceramic joints.

In a high-end niche field, how can domestic substitution be introduced? How can opportunities be discovered or breakthroughs sought?

In addition to meeting clinical use requirements and ensuring product functionality, one of the most important indicators is to greatly reduce product R&D costs. For example, a Da Vinci robot costs RMB 25 million, while domestic alternative products are priced under RMB 10 million. Based on China's huge market population, ordinary people can afford to see a doctor and use medical robots. At the same time, more hospitals will be able to afford to purchase them, in addition to tertiary hospitals, opening up provincial and municipal central hospitals in China and expanding the market will be the key to the success of domestic substitution.

The advent of digitalization has brought revolutionary changes to many other industries in China. In the era of big data and artificial intelligence, can medical devices find a series of new cross-border integration opportunities?