Wireless handheld ultrasound, which is lighter than a mobile phone, a 4K endoscope camera light source all-in-one machine that integrates display, camera, and light source functions, the first domestically approved "navigation+automatic execution" orthopedic intelligent surgical system, and an orthopedic joint surgical robot that can cover both hip and knee joints... At the 90th China International Medical Equipment Expo held recently, various medical equipment with "eighteen martial arts" were refreshing. After years of development, China's medical equipment industry has gone through a stage of starting from scratch, falling behind, and catching up. It has now entered a new stage of following, running in parallel, and leading the way. The appearance of the aforementioned products is a microcosm of China's medical equipment industry moving towards the mid to high end. Facing the future, competition from the global medical equipment field is becoming increasingly fierce. What is the competitiveness of China's high-end medical equipment? How to further move towards the high-end of the industrial chain value chain? Against the backdrop of accelerated development of new generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence, how will the high-end medical equipment industry develop? What are the weaknesses or shortcomings of China's high-end medical equipment in key core technology research, innovative product promotion, market recognition, etc? Powerful manufacturing basic medical equipment refers to the sum of relevant hardware, software, and integrated systems developed and applied to ensure the safety and health of the people, mainly including diagnostic and testing equipment, treatment equipment, monitoring and life support equipment, etc. Huang Yang, the head of research for the healthcare industry at JPMorgan Chase Greater China, told reporters that the complete manufacturing industry chain in China strongly supports the development of the medical equipment industry. "The medical equipment industry is ultimately industrial manufacturing. China has great advantages in the supply capacity, manufacturing costs, and supply of engineering talents in the industry chain." The latest data shows that China has the world's most complete industrial categories and the most complete industrial system in the manufacturing industry. Among the world's 500 major industrial products, more than 40% of China's product output ranks first in the world. A strong manufacturing foundation is empowering the manufacturing of medical equipment. The reporter saw in the production factory of Lianying Medical Changzhou that a series of production processes such as material delivery, production welding, and quality inspection have been automated. The factory manager Yan Quanliang stated that the production of medical imaging equipment involves hundreds of components and dozens of suppliers. "Now, we can handle all of them with just one factory, and there are only a few production factories in the world that can achieve this." At the same time, the complete manufacturing industry chain foundation has also attracted overseas medical equipment companies to develop in China. For example, John R. Adler is an honorary professor of neurosurgery and radiation oncology at Stanford University in the United States. He invented the ZAP-X Mars rover radiosurgery robot for head and neck radiation therapy, which can achieve non-invasive neurosurgery and has global leading technical strength. This complex device requires advanced manufacturing technology to achieve. After inspecting manufacturing factories in China, I saw the possibility of their industrialization John R. Adler stated. At present, the equipment and related accessories have been confirmed to be locally produced by Baiyang Pharmaceutical and will be supplied to the global market. It is worth noting that while China's medical equipment industry has improved its manufacturing capabilities, it has also accelerated its pace towards high-end products and achieved fruitful results. Data shows that over the past decade, more than 250 innovative devices with global leading technology and made in China have been approved for market launch. At the same time, the industry has entered a stage of comprehensive acceleration of innovation. For example, multiple core technologies such as fiber optic spectrometers, dual energy gradient systems, gradient amplifiers, PET digital optical detectors, and MR superconducting magnets have been successfully developed; Domestic high-end products such as heavy ion radiation therapy system, proton radiation therapy system, and "artificial lung" extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy (ECMO) have achieved zero breakthroughs and entered clinical applications. In the past, high-end medical equipment was imported from abroad and expensive. Nowadays, this stereotype has been broken, and domestic medical equipment has torn off the label of 'cheap low-end'. It is not uncommon for domestic high-end medical equipment to enter large tertiary hospitals A person who has been engaged in the sales of medical equipment for a long time introduced. In addition, with the continuous improvement of competitiveness, more and more domestic medical equipment products have entered overseas markets, and the brand influence of enterprises continues to increase. In 2023, 11 Chinese companies including Lianying Medical, Mindray Medical, Weigao Orthopedics, Xinhua Medical, etc. will be included in the top 100 global medical device companies. Leveraging artificial intelligence, whether at the 2024 China Medical Equipment Exhibition or the 90th China International Medical Equipment Expo, "smart manufacturing" has become a new highlight of the high-end medical equipment industry. New technologies such as artificial intelligence, industrial Internet and cloud computing are accelerating the development of intelligent, accurate and networked medical equipment. Huang Yang stated that high-end medical equipment will gradually move from hardware competition to dual competition of hardware and software. "In this regard, China has abundant clinical big data, which may further be transformed into advantages in medical big models and build new competitiveness in the industry." It is reported that this new trend in the industry has opened up imaginative space for domestic medical equipment to enter a new track. For example, the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that roars at work can reduce MRI scan noise by about 98% after being implanted with AI algorithms; The medical robotic arm composed of "steel and iron bones" has been transformed by AI and has a "smart" mind. It can intelligently navigate, predict "road conditions" and issue alerts during the surgical process; The application of digital technologies such as 5G and virtual reality has made remote surgery possible. Doctors only need to move their fingers to remotely control the imaging of the display screen. Human computer interaction in the operating room has become possible... In fact, domestic enterprises are promoting the construction of software capabilities. For example, Lianying Intelligence has trained the "uAI+Yingzhi Big Model" based on globally leading medical parameters, and has taken the lead in creating a large model base for the vertical medical field; Hisense Medical has developed a series of intelligent medical devices based on AI, such as Hisense Ultrasound HD80, Hisense Digestive Endoscope Intelligent Screen, Computer Aided Surgery System, etc; Haier Medical has launched an innovative smart vaccine full scenario solution, which can promote the intelligence of vaccine administration from the manufacturer's transportation link to the entire chain of disease control cold storage, vaccination clinics, appointment vaccination, and abnormal reaction monitoring, achieving precise vaccine collection with zero errors, instant freezing of problematic vaccines, and traceability of the entire vaccination process. Huang Yang candidly stated that in China, the frequency of use of most medical equipment is much higher than in overseas countries, which also means that the medical usage data of these devices is "larger" and "thicker". "With a large amount of medical data as the foundation, and then developing big data and promoting AI applications on this basis, there will be a first mover advantage. In the medium to long term, the soft power based on medical equipment hardware will become the new competitiveness of the entire industry." Activating innovation. It is understood that although China's medical equipment industry continues to develop well, it still needs to seek breakthroughs in key core technology research, scientific research transformation, and promotion and application of innovative products for the future and global stage competition. During the investigation, the reporter learned that the upstream and downstream of China's medical equipment industry are continuously carrying out the work of extending, supplementing, and strengthening the chain on the basis of the existing manufacturing industry, continuously deriving new applications, new formats, and new models, and accelerating the formation of new quality productivity. The innovation of medical devices must be based on clinical needs Academician Ge Junbo from Zhongshan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University told reporters that the innovation history of medical devices has always revolved around respecting the most basic needs of patients, collaborating with various professions, and is a process of mutual verification between scientific research and clinical practice, as well as the integration of medicine and engineering. In the past, China's innovation in medical equipment was mainly based on imitation, and the integration of medicine and industry was not done enough. Facing the future, it is urgent to promote the deep cross integration of medical engineering and build a complete knowledge system for the innovation process of medical devices Ge Junbo said. Meanwhile, investment and merger events have occurred from time to time in China's medical equipment industry. For example, in 2024, Mindray Medical was able to enter the high energy consuming field and improve its consumables research and development capabilities through the acquisition of control of Huitai Medical; Kangzhong Medical has completed the acquisition of 30% equity of ISDI LIMITED, a high-end X-ray flat panel detector and CMOS sensor R&D and manufacturing enterprise in the UK, further enhancing Kangzhong Medical's ability to provide customers with comprehensive X-ray core component solutions. Chen Yun, the representative of the investment banking department of Huachuang Securities, told reporters that for medical equipment enterprises, mergers and acquisitions are one of the ways to quickly acquire new technologies to make up for their shortcomings and enhance their core competitiveness. (New Society)