First-in-human evaluation of an independently developed Chinese robot-assisted system for percutaneous coronary intervention

 BACKGROUND  Several studies have proved the safety and feasibility of robot-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in reducing the occupational hazards of interventionists while achieving precision medicine. However, an independently developed robot-assisted system for PCI in China has not yet emerged. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of a robot-assisted system for elective PCI in China.

 METHODS  This preclinical trial included 22 experimental pigs and preliminarily supported the safety and feasibility of the ETcath200 robot-assisted system for PCI. Then, eleven patients with coronary heart disease who met the inclusion criteria and had clinical indications for elective PCI were enrolled. PCI was performed using a robot-assisted system. The primary outcomes were clinical success (defined as visual estimated residual stenosis < 30% after PCI and no major adverse cardiovascular events during hospitalization and within 30 days after PCI) and technical success (defined as the ability to use the robot-assisted system to complete PCI successfully without conversion to the traditional manual PCI).

 RESULTS  Eleven patients were included in this clinical trial. A drug-eluting stent with a diameter of 3 mm (interquartile range: 2.75–3.5 mm) and a length of 26 mm (interquartile range: 22–28 mm) was deployed in all patients. The clinical success rate was 100%, with no PCI-related complications and no in-hospital or 30-day major adverse cardiovascular events, and the technical success rate was 100%.

 CONCLUSIONS  The results strongly suggest that the use of the independently developed robot-assisted system in China for elective PCI is feasible, safe, and effective.