Innovation & Impact

INNOVATIONS

A Step Toward Smart Hospital: Robotic Surgical Technologies

IP & Licensing Entrepreneurship

Innovations & Impacts

Healthcare is one of the key areas that benefits from the advancement of innovation and technology (I&T), in particular, through the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G communications. The burgeoning of I&T development envisions a “smarter” model of provision of healthcare services and thus paves the way for the ultimate vision of smart hospital which enables a wide array of smart healthcare services like robotic surgery, remote surgery, big data for medical research, to name a few. Robotic surgery allows surgeons to perform complex surgeries with precision, flexibility and control. However, safety is a key concern as robotic surgery requires an exceptional level of delicacy and compliance.


To overcome these obstacles, Professor Samuel Kwok-wai AU of the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering and his team have developed the surgical robotic systems. The cutting-edge technology can be applied to various surgical robots with the strictest safety and compliance requirements. It also offers the advantages of both existing active and passive mechanisms critical for operational precision and reliable intrinsic safety. Supported by the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities (TSSSU), Professor AU and his team founded Cornerstone Robotics Limited, a Hong Kong-based startup that has acquired the license for their patented technology. As a key element to the company’s growth, the technology will allow them to develop new surgical solutions and enhance the safety and performance over existing technologies. This will significantly impact and generate tremendous benefits for the medical society.


From Research to Market

  • RESEARCH

  • IP & LICENSING

  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP

  • INNOHK

Prof. AU’s research interests are in the design, system dynamics, and control of robotic systems with applications to rehabilitation, medical intervention, and human-centered machine. He focuses on developing new methods of synthesis, analysis, and optimization of novel robots and mechanism, as well as control principles. In addition, Professor AU also likes to leverage the design and control knowledge, together with medical science and innovative design to create novel robotic solutions to address fundamental clinical questions, overcome limitations of existing medical devices, as well as enable new medical treatment.

Professor AU and his team have their invented technologies for robotic surgery patented and licensed.

Established in 2020 with the support of TSSSU, Cornerstone Robotics Limited is a newly established startup company and its founders have roots from CUHK. The company focuses on innovative robotics technology for healthcare with a particular interest in rehabilitation, surgery and the like with emphasis on both innovative research and development and practical clinical translation. Specifically, there are four main directions: imaging and sensing technology, multi-modality-based control, surgical instrument navigation and localization, surgical intelligence and perception. The vision of the company is to increase accessibility to high-end medical services in the Greater China region. The startup has received over US$ 27.5m investment.

Professor AU, together with Professor Philip CHIU of the Department of Surgery, co-directed the Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center (MRC) under the initiative of AIR@InnoHK. The InnoHK Centre is positioned to enable translational research on and productisation of novel surgical robotic technologies, through the R&D programmes of Endoluminal Multiscale Robotic Platforms for Diagnostics and Therapeutics, Magnetic-guided Endoluminal Robotic Platform, and Imaged-Guided Robotics Intervention.

Video

Photo