At the “Two Sessions” of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, policy signals ultimately emerged that are highly favorable to the medical device industry:

　　According to Xinhua News Agency, the draft outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan was submitted to the Fourth Session of the 12th National People's Congress for review on the 5th. The draft outline proposes more than 160 major projects and initiatives across 23 special columns, which will serve as the key priorities for the country over the next five years.

　　Among these more than 100 “high-end, sophisticated, specialized, and urgently needed” major projects, four categories are related to the medical device industry. They are:

　　 1) Vigorously develop surgical robots;

　　 2) Develop high-performance medical devices such as nuclear medicine imaging equipment, superconducting magnetic resonance imaging systems, and non-invasive ventilators;

　　 3) Develop medical devices with distinctive Chinese medicine advantages and characteristics;

　　 4) Cultivate wearable devices as a new growth driver.

　　High-performance medical devices—since 2016, from top to bottom and from official sources to industry insiders, we’ve been talking about them for a whole year. As for wearable devices and health-related products, although there are many on the market, very few have truly achieved success; we won’t go into detail about those here. Instead, let’s focus on two areas: specially designed medical devices in Traditional Chinese Medicine and surgical robots.

　　 Develop Chinese medicine-specific medical devices—“What others don’t have, we’ll have!” worldwide!

　　It is understood that so-called traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) medical devices are diagnostic and therapeutic instruments developed on the basis of TCM theory, leveraging modern scientific and technological advancements to serve TCM practices. Simply put, these devices can be categorized into TCM diagnostic equipment and TCM therapeutic instruments.

　　Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapeutic devices—such as infrared acupuncture therapy units, herbal fumigation machines, and tuina physiotherapy instruments—provide appropriate treatment parameters based on the principles of TCM and play a clinical therapeutic role by aligning with the TCM approach of syndrome differentiation and individualized treatment. Currently, these devices are quite common in clinical practice, and in the view of many business professionals, the market for TCM clinical treatment equipment has already become a highly competitive "red ocean."

　　 Traditional Chinese medicine fumigation device

　　As for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diagnostic devices—including TCM pulse diagnostic instruments, tongue-and-pulse constitution analysis devices, and meridian detection instruments—these devices collect information such as pulse patterns to provide reference for diagnosis. However, in the upstream diagnostic field, large-scale Western medical diagnostic equipment such as ultrasound, MRI, and CT scanners still dominate.

　　The pessimistic view is that traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic devices have not yet gained widespread clinical acceptance. There are many reasons for this: the lack of standardized, unified criteria; the insufficient advancement of the devices themselves; the scarcity of those with independent intellectual property rights; and the fact that TCM practitioners are often constrained by traditional modes of thinking.

　　However, Western medical diagnostic and treatment equipment cannot solve all health problems. Currently, almost all counties and above in China have traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospitals, and Western medicine hospitals also have TCM departments. Townships and communities are required to establish comprehensive TCM service areas such as TCM clinics and national medicine halls. Moreover, there are numerous specialized medical centers or departments focusing on sub-health conditions and rehabilitation therapy.

　　The “Outline of the Development Strategy for Traditional Chinese Medicine (2016–2030),” issued by the State Council at the beginning of the year, identified “promoting innovation in TCM” as one of its key tasks, explicitly stating: “Comprehensively leverage modern scientific and technological means to develop a batch of diagnostic and therapeutic instruments and equipment based on TCM theory.”

　　The latest “Draft Thirteenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development” once again lists traditional Chinese medicine–specific medical devices as a major priority project. For companies in the medical device industry, whoever can take the lead in developing diagnostic and therapeutic equipment with independent intellectual property rights—and whoever can be the first to enter the upstream diagnostic sector—will gain a significant market advantage.

　　 Surgical robots—the big highlight of the future.

　　When it comes to surgical robots, the da Vinci Surgical Robot is undoubtedly the most iconic.

　　According to statistics from First Finance Network: As of December 2015, the dozens of "Da Vinci Surgical Robots" deployed across China had collectively performed a total of 11,445 surgeries last year, bringing the cumulative total over the years to 22,917 surgeries.

　　However, the cost of surgical robots is extremely high—even the cheapest ones in Guangzhou will set you back at least 30,000 yuan. This undoubtedly places a huge financial burden on the patient.

　　 A surgical robot

　　The cost of surgical robots is also a factor that hospitals need to consider. Each robot costs tens of millions of yuan, making it unaffordable for many hospitals. This limits the widespread adoption of this medical device among hospitals.

　　Although surgical robots are constrained by external factors such as high prices and costly operations, they remain valuable assistants to surgeons, capable of handling a wide variety of complex and challenging procedures. We believe that with the continued focus on development and support from the nation’s key initiatives, surgical robots will enjoy an even brighter future.

　　The development process of surgical robots in China is as follows:

　　1997: Neurosurgical robot, Remebot.

　　2001: Capsule endoscopy, Jinsan OMOM

　　2005: Dual-plane orthopedic robot, Tianzhihang

　　2008: Intelligent surgical platform, da Vinci

　　2014, Laparoscopic Robot, Masterful Hands