On July 7, 2022, Zhuhai Maternity and Child Health Hospital and Zhuhai Sailner Digital Medical Technology Co., Ltd. jointly established the Maternity and Child HealthMedical 3D PrintingJoint Research Center (hereinafter the “Joint Research Center”) and signed a framework cooperation agreement. The Joint Research Center is a hospital–industry co-built research institution (not an independent legal entity) established by Zhuhai Maternity and Child Health Hospital and Zhuhai Sailner Digital Medical Technology Co., Ltd. Within the cooperation framework, the two parties actively pursue multi-level exchange and collaboration in clinical application, academic research, and talent development.
3D printing has been widely adopted across industries in recent years and offers unique strengths in healthcare. 3D digital technology and 3D printing bridge the unknown and the known. Although X-ray, CT, MRI, and other imaging modalities already provide much useful information, clinical practice still faces many uncertainties. In the future, highly complex surgery will move fully from the 2D era into the 3D era; 3D technology makes two-dimensional imaging information concrete, stereoscopic, and precise.
The partners will rely on the Joint Research Center to jointly apply for and undertake national, provincial, and municipal research projects, build a strong research environment, coordinate and integrate resources, strengthen academic exchange, and share scientific and technological outcomes. The Municipal Maternity and Child Health Hospital will serve as the clinical application and education/training platform, while Zhuhai Sailner will serve as the industrial translation platform. Focusing on 3D printing applications in minimally invasive medicine—and centered on medical 3D printing, VR/MR, and other 3D digital technologies for innovative maternal and child clinical use—the parties will jointly research typical-case surgical planning, operative skills training, surgical plan simulation, 3D digital innovation, and intelligent equipment R&D. They will more precisely meet clinical needs, address difficult and complex clinical problems, and deliver personalized, precise, and customized care.
Day-to-day operations of the Joint Research Center are jointly managed. The Maternity and Child Health Hospital assigns medical experts and provides necessary information resources, space, and equipment, primarily for professional medical guidance. Based on clinical surgical needs, it conducts clinical applications of individualized 3D model reconstruction, individualized 3D model fabrication, and individualized 3D surgical guide preparation through the Joint Research Center, and is responsible for research topic planning, typical case library screening, data collection, medical technical guidance, foundational research on surgical plan simulation training, and training promotion. Zhuhai Sailner will provide professional hardware and software engineering staff as well as necessary equipment and personnel, mainly for clinical 3D model reconstruction, 3D surgical models, and 3D surgical guide preparation research, as well as 3D printing technology and materials development, software development, daily operations, and market promotion.
Although X-ray, CT, and MRI already provide substantial information for clinical diagnosis, many uncertainties remain. 3D digital technology and 3D printing bridge the unknown and the known; highly complex surgery will move fully from the 2D era into the 3D era, making two-dimensional imaging concrete, stereoscopic, and precise. Establishing the Joint Research Center will further strengthen the hospital’s overall research capacity, improve doctor–patient communication, help solve difficult surgical problems, support better treatment plans for patients, and safeguard health with advanced technology.
