Recently, a major breakthrough was achieved in a project under China’s National Key R&D Program, led by Surgsci Medical Ltd. After years of dedicated research, the project team has fully met all technical indicators and successfully solved the challenges surrounding the articulating ultrasonic scalpel, making them the first team globally to master and apply this technology comprehensively.
“As modern surgery progresses toward minimal invasiveness and precision, ultrasonic scalpels—with their unique high-frequency vibration cutting mechanism—enable instant protein denaturation and simultaneous vessel sealing. Compared to traditional electrocautery or mechanical cutting, this innovative technology significantly reduces intraoperative bleeding and postoperative complications. It is widely applied in general surgery, hepatobiliary procedures, gynecology, and more. With the advancement of laparoscopic and robotic techniques, ultrasonic scalpels have become indispensable in modern surgery.”
Pain Points: Innovation Demands from Limitations
While conventional ultrasonic scalpels offer clear advantages, their single-axis design has become increasingly limiting in complex surgical scenarios. Surgeons often need to constantly adjust the instrument’s angle when operating in narrow fields, adding difficulty and prolonging surgical time. Furthermore, compatibility with robotic systems remains insufficient, hindering further development in smart surgical environments.
To address these constraints, there is an urgent need for a multi-degree-of-freedom ultrasonic scalpel that provides greater maneuverability, enhances surgical precision, and enables broader clinical application.
The Breakthrough: A Multi-DOF Ultrasonic Scalpel System
The multi-degree-of-freedom (multi-DOF) ultrasonic scalpel is a novel surgical device that allows surgeons to adjust the cutting angle dynamically, thanks to its articulating head. This innovation enables more flexible navigation through narrow and complex anatomical regions, optimizing surgical paths, reducing operator fatigue, and improving overall surgical efficiency and patient outcomes.
The head can articulate up to 90° in pitch and yaw, offering outstanding flexibility and stability under varied surgical angles.
Due to changes in structural design, the traditional energy transmission models cannot be directly applied. The critical challenge in R&D has thus become how to ensure efficient energy delivery and stable cutting/sealing performance while achieving multi-DOF motion.
Although several companies have proposed conceptual designs, no commercialized product has emerged thus far.
Surgsci: Leading Its First National R&D Program
Leveraging its robust foundation in high-end medical device development, Surgsci was selected to lead a project under the “Diagnostic and Therapeutic Equipment and Biomedical Materials” priority of China’s National Key R&D Program: the “All-Electric Multi-DOF Intelligent Ultrasonic Scalpel System Development” initiative. This marks a strategic effort to advance multi-DOF ultrasonic technology, overcome critical technical barriers, and pioneer new clinical applications.
Core Breakthroughs: Solving Three Major Technical Challenges
The project aims to develop a next-generation ultrasonic scalpel characterized by exceptional flexibility, precision, and stability. The ultimate goal is to enable full multi-axis articulation of the scalpel head, while ensuring efficient and stable transmission of ultrasonic energy.
To achieve this, the team has worked to:
Increase energy conversion efficiency of piezoelectric ceramic materials,
Improve transducer performance,
Control operating temperature,
And reduce the length and diameter of the transducer and blade for clinical use.
As of now, significant breakthroughs have been made. Surgsci has successfully developed a second-generation prototype featuring multi-DOF articulation, transforming cutting-edge concepts into viable clinical products and laying valuable groundwork for future innovations.
Experimental Validation: Accelerating Toward Clinical Application
Recently, the multi-DOF ultrasonic scalpel underwent successful ex vivo animal testing at Ruijin Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. The results validated stable energy output, precise cutting, and efficient vessel sealing across varied angles—affirming its feasibility and stability for clinical use.
Through this experiment, the team further enhanced the articulation control system, shortened the bending segment length, and validated its effectiveness for minimally invasive procedures. This progress builds a solid foundation for upcoming clinical trials and provides valuable insights to drive innovation in the broader industry.
Looking Ahead: Pioneering the Future of Intelligent Surgical Equipment
The development of the articulating ultrasonic scalpel marks a transformative leap in ultrasonic surgical technology. As the “All-Electric Multi-DOF Intelligent Ultrasonic Scalpel System” project progresses, each phase—from concept to working prototype—reflects the dedication and innovation of the Surgsci team.
Looking to the future, Surgsci aims to integrate this technology seamlessly with surgical robots, enabling high-precision collaboration between robotic arms and the multi-DOF scalpel. This synergy will dramatically enhance the accuracy and automation of surgeries, especially in narrow or complex anatomical fields.
Surgsci is also refining the scalpel design to enhance maneuverability in tight spaces. In the third-generation prototype, the articulating segment has already been reduced to less than half the length of the second-generation model—bringing more versatility to high-precision, high-difficulty minimally invasive surgeries.
