YDHB-NS01 robot completed cerebral angiography in 25 patients, cutting median time to 27 minutes

A prospective clinical study of the domestically produced YDHB-NS01 robotic system for diagnostic cerebral angiography was published in the Chinese Neurosurgical Journal. From May to October 2025, 25 consecutive patients underwent robot-assisted angiography and 25 consecutive patients underwent the manual procedure at the authors' center. All 50 procedures were completed, giving a 100% technical success rate biomedcentral.comChinese Neurosurgical Journalbiomedcentral.comOpen source ↗.

The median procedure time was 27 minutes in the robotic group and 38 minutes in the manual group (p = 0.005). The groups did not differ in demographic data, fluoroscopy time, patient radiation dose, contrast volume or total angiography room time (all p > 0.05). The authors observed a learning curve for the system. The robot operated stably without malfunctions, and no procedure-related or device-related complications occurred.

How the system works

According to the publication's retelling by bioengineer.org, the platform consists of a master console and a bedside slave manipulator connected by a local network. The manipulator drives standard off-the-shelf tools, here a five-French diagnostic catheter. Imaging was done on a GE digital subtraction angiography system with iopamidol as contrast agent, injected by a power injector integrated into the console workflow.

The operator works from a control room outside the interventional suite, away from ionizing radiation. Handle commands go to the manipulator over the network, and catheter movement feedback and fluoroscopic images return to the console. Such systems are developed to reduce the operator's radiation exposure and the strain of wearing lead aprons.

Operator and limitations

All robotic procedures were performed by one neurosurgeon with fewer than three years of experience in independent manual diagnostic angiography. Before the series, the operator completed a training course with theory sessions and benchtop practice on transparent vascular phantoms, including setup, remote catheter control, contrast injection and manual takeover.

The authors conclude that the system is feasible for diagnostic cerebral angiography and shows early indications of safety and procedural performance comparable to the manual method biomedcentral.comChinese Neurosurgical Journalbiomedcentral.comOpen source ↗. They note that the cohort is small, from a single center, and the study is exploratory, so larger multicenter controlled trials are required to confirm the findings. The paper also contains a literature review of robotic systems in neurointervention.