Chinese team conducts pioneering remote surgery between Beijing, Rome

An experienced Chinese medical team on Friday successfully completed a groundbreaking remote robotic surgical operation at a frontier practical conference.

Led by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) academician Zhang Xu, also the urology department director at the Third Medical Center of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital, the Chinese medical team carried out the operation simultaneously in Rome, capital of Italy and Beijing, capital of China.

The two places are about 8,100 kilometers apart, with the two-way communication distance exceeding 20,000 kilometers.

While Zhang was skillfully operating a self-developed remote surgical robot in Rome, in an operating room of the Third Medical Center of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital, the surgical robot received remote information instructions from Zhang and executed them precisely on a prostate cancer patient to remove the lesion. "The biggest problem with a remote surgery is communication -- whether there is any delay. During today's surgery, there was almost no delay, and it was almost the same as an on-site surgery," said Zhang.

"To me, it was a really, a historical experience, a historical moment. The fact that he was able to do it in Rome makes us very, very happy," said Vito Pansadoro, chairman of Challenges in Laparoscopy, Robotics and AI, the frontier field conference.

Zhang said that the remote surgery is a systematic innovation brought about by the cross-integration of new technologies and new concepts, and is of great significance for remote treatment in future battlefield environments and disaster-stricken areas.

In the next step, China will apply the research direction to military field medical services to better protect officers and soldiers stationed in remote areas, according to Zhang.

"Through the remote surgery, we can project the most advanced medical resources to the front line in real time," Zhang said.

Chinese team conducts pioneering remote surgery between Beijing, Rome

Chinese team conducts pioneering remote surgery between Beijing, Rome

Chinese team conducts pioneering remote surgery between Beijing, Rome

Chinese team conducts pioneering remote surgery between Beijing, Rome

Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates on Wednesday welcomed the decision of Britain to ban the imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the eight countries also welcomed the Britain's decision to introduce restrictions on services linked to such settlements.

They expressed hope that this decision will help mobilize the international community to take similar actions in line with international law and hold organizations and individuals engaged in illegal settlement activities accountable.

The ministers reiterated their call for Israel to rescind all measures taken in connection with settlement activities and other measures aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the occupied Palestinian territory, underscoring that the only viable path to achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace is the implementation of the two-state solution, said the statement.

On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced a series of countermeasures against Britain, including closing the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem and removing British personnel from a U.S.-led Gaza coordination center, in response to London's decision to ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

8 countries welcome Britain's ban on imports from Israeli settlements

8 countries welcome Britain's ban on imports from Israeli settlements