Indonesia reports first robotic cardiac surgery and more briefs

Jakarta heart hospital first to perform robotic cardiac surgery in Indonesia

Harapan Kita National Cardiac Hospital in Jakarta has conducted what could be the first cardiac surgery using robotic technology in Indonesia. 

The heart hospital invited India-based SS Innovations and its CEO and founder Dr Sudhir Srivastava to demonstrate their technology firstly through a Totally Endoscopic Coronary Artery Bypass. Other robotic surgical procedures were also performed, such as Internal Mammary Artery CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Graft), and ASD (Atrial septal defect) Repair. 

“We have been exploring the integration of robotic surgery in cardiovascular care at the Harapan Kita Hospital and reviewed the globally available surgical robotic systems. We found that the SSi Mantra is the only system supporting the full spectrum of robotic cardiac surgery,” said hospital director Dr Iwan Dakota in a statement.

In June, SS Innovations received regulatory approval from the Indonesian Ministry of Health to market its flagship robot-assisted surgery system. 

South Korea develops electronic medical record system for closed health facilities

The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare has started piloting a medical record storage system developed for closing or shuttered medical institutions. 

The electronic system allows patients at health facilities that have closed or going out of business to access their medical records.

The pilot, which is being conducted with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, involves 12 public health centres that use commercial EMR systems with automatic medical record transfer functionality. 

A revision in the Medical Act in 2020 led to the creation of this medical record storage system, which began in October 2023. The system is targeted for official launch by June next year.

KPJ Health adopting diagnostics AI

Private hospital group KPJ Health in Malaysia has recently partnered with Chinese medical AI company Airdoc for advanced diagnostics.

KPJ Health Central Hospital signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on using Airdoc’s diagnostics AI. The Beijing-based health tech company develops software to screen retinal images for diabetic retinopathy.  

Healthcare Global pursuing genAI cancer research

HealthCare Global Enterprises, one of India’s largest cancer care networks, has partnered with Accenture to utilise new and large AI for cancer research.

Their collaboration in general will apply AI and deep learning to analyse cancer data and enhance the understanding of different cancers, enabling precision medicine and contributing to cancer treatment and care advancement.

A specific objective of this partnership is utilising Accenture’s generative AI studios to discover and develop new cancer drug targets, mechanisms, pathways, and biomarkers. 

According to a media statement, the organisations are currently prioritising identifying molecular signatures for treating lung adenocarcinoma and head and neck cancers.

“Given the heterogenicity of tumour genomics and other forms of omics, AI has become integral to precise, personalised medical advancements. AI-powered innovation has activated established drugs in certain tumours, which was not the case previously,” HCG executive chairman Dr BS Ajaikumar commented.

IIT Kharagpur opens Tata-backed digital health research centre

The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has set up a digital health research centre with Tata Group’s IT consultancy service. 

The Tata Consultancy Services Research Center at the institute’s research park in Kolkata will focus on producing research in the areas of digital health, robotics and intelligent systems, utilising edge computing, embedded systems, and AI. 

The organisations did not disclose further details about their research endeavours.