The Bellvitge University Hospital has become the first public hospital in Spain—and one of the first centres in Europe—to test the new TouMai surgical robot, developed in China by the company MicroPort MedBot. The system, which already has CE marking, was installed at the hospital for a week as part of its commitment to innovation and cutting-edge robotic surgery.
“Our hospital has made a strategic commitment to establish itself as a leader in robotic surgery, and that involves getting to know and testing all available technologies,” says Dr. Álvaro Arcocha, Medical Director of Bellvitge Hospital. “That’s why we’ve been selected as a reference centre to try out this system,” he adds.
During the testing week, specialists from Gynaecology, Urology, Thoracic Surgery, and General and Digestive Surgery used the TouMai robot to perform standard surgeries, assessing its effectiveness and technological capabilities. The system enables real-time remote surgery (telesurgery) thanks to its low-latency 5G connection, which could open new pathways for remote surgical training and mentoring.
“It’s the only robot approved in the European market for telesurgery with less than 200 milliseconds of latency, which has great potential for active remote learning: the mentor can take control at any moment,” explains Dr. Jordi Ponce, Head of the Gynaecology Department at Bellvitge Hospital and President of the Spanish Group for Gynaecological Robotics (GERGIN).
According to the Medical Director of Bellvitge Hospital, “As the hospital with the most robotic surgery experience in Spain, we’re always open to testing new technologies that could benefit our patients. Robotics allows us to continue advancing in safety, precision, and quality of care, while also helping us retain and attract talent.”
Currently, Bellvitge Hospital has four operational surgical robotic systems: three Da Vinci units and one recently acquired Versius robot. With this latest addition, Bellvitge becomes one of the first hospitals in Spain with four active surgical robots, with plans to perform over 1,200 robotic surgeries annually in 2025.
Bellvitge: A Pioneer in Robotic Surgery in Europe
Bellvitge Hospital began its robotic surgery program in 2009 and has been a pioneer in various procedures at the Catalan, national, and international levels—such as the world’s first robotic orthotopic kidney transplant (2020) and the first robotic gender reassignment surgery in Europe (2022). The experience gained has enabled the hospital to support other centres within the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) and across Spain.
Additionally, the hospital houses an Advanced Medical-Surgical Simulation Centre (SimHUB) with a dedicated robotic simulation area and runs a Robotic Training Program for residents and physicians from other hospitals.
This new test, carried out exclusively by the hospital’s medical team, further strengthens Bellvitge’s position as a European reference centre in advanced robotic surgery, with cutting-edge technology and clinical expertise dedicated to patient care.