Roen Surgical Supplies Jeju’s First AI Kidney Stone Surgery Robot, Easing Burden of Medical Travel

Jeju Central Hospital Introduces 'Zamenix' Kidney Stone Surgery Robot

Large-Scale Clinical Validation... Reducing Skill Disparities and Raising Regional Healthcare Standards

Roen Surgical announced on April 15 that it has supplied its artificial intelligence (AI)-based kidney stone surgery robot, 'Zamenix', to Jeju Central Hospital. This marks the first introduction of a surgical robot in the Jeju region. The company stated that it aims to bridge the gap in medical technology between regions and promote the widespread adoption of precision medicine.

AI-based kidney stone surgery robot 'Jamenics'. Roen Surgical

According to Roen Surgical, Zamenix recently proved its technological safety and effectiveness by successfully completing a large-scale innovative clinical trial at five major general hospitals in Korea, including Samsung Medical Center and Korea University Anam Hospital, involving 232 patients. Through this first-of-its-kind clinical trial for a surgical robot, Roen Surgical demonstrated that the AI functions can compensate for differences in the skill levels of medical professionals and help standardize surgical outcomes. This shows that regional base hospitals can now provide high-quality medical services comparable to those offered by major hospitals in the metropolitan area.

Until now, kidney stone patients in Jeju had to travel to mainland hospitals by air to undergo complex robotic surgeries, enduring not only significant time and financial burdens but also considerable physical strain for both patients and their caregivers. Going forward, however, patients will be able to benefit from a one-stop process—from appointment to surgery to post-operative care—within the region. They can also quickly return to their daily lives thanks to the robot surgery’s minimally invasive endoscopic approach.

Zamenix, designated as Korea’s 17th ‘Innovative Medical Device’ in 2021, is the world’s first AI-based kidney stone surgery robot. It removes stones by inserting a 3mm flexible endoscopic robot into the ureter without incisions. Its respiratory compensation function tracks moving stones in real time to enhance laser accuracy, while the route reproduction function shortens surgery time. The stone size measurement function helps determine the optimal method for fragmentation and removal, minimizing damage to the ureter and kidney. The remote operation system reduces both radiation exposure and physical fatigue for medical staff, thereby improving surgical focus. To date, Zamenix has been introduced at 15 domestic hospitals and one overseas hospital.

Roen Surgical and Jeju Central Hospital plan to use this equipment introduction as a starting point for a strategic partnership to establish a ‘Jeju-style robotic surgery operation model’. The two sides have agreed to jointly develop: ▲ standard protocols for robotic surgery, ▲ advanced skill training for medical professionals, and ▲ optimization of personalized treatment pathways based on AI clinical data. In particular, Roen Surgical will operate a real-time support system with dedicated technical staff to ensure that regional base hospitals can maintain the same level of surgical safety as leading hospitals in the metropolitan area.

Geonhyeon Park, Chief of Urology at Jeju Central Hospital, said, “We are now able to offer Zamenix, which has been adopted preemptively by major general hospitals in the metropolitan area, to the people of Jeju. The precise AI features will enable us to provide safer and more differentiated treatment to patients with complex kidney stones.”

Dongsoo Kwon, CEO of Roen Surgical, commented, “We hope that Zamenix will become a practical technical solution to improve the quality of healthcare in Jeju. Starting with this supply, we will strengthen our nationwide precision medicine network so that patients across the country can receive high-quality kidney stone surgery wherever they are.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.