A study titled “Clinical application of a 5G-based telerobotic ultrasound system for thyroid examination on a rural island: a prospective study” was published in Endocrine, focusing on thyroid exams using the MGI Robotic Ultrasound System.
Patients in remote areas often travel long distances for diagnosis due to limited medical resources. MGI’s robotic ultrasound system enables “remote real-time diagnosis,” removing the need for a physician to be physically present.
Thyroid disease is common worldwide. Ultrasound is essential for detecting nodules, managing risk, monitoring post-operative thyroid cancer patients, and identifying disease recurrence.
The study was conducted on Chongming Island, Shanghai, where 38% of the population is over 60 and only two primary hospitals exist. Patients typically travel two hours to urban hospitals for treatment.
MGI Robotic Ultrasound System consists of a doctor end and patient end. Researchers placed the doctor end at Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital and the patient end at Chongming Second People’s Hospital to evaluate time-effective, high-quality medical services.
139 volunteers underwent remote robotic scanning and were compared with traditional ultrasound in terms of safety, duration, image quality, and comfort. Results showed:
- Good consistency between MGI robotic and traditional ultrasound with ACR TI-RADS (ICC = 0.788–0.863) for nodules’ echo, shape, and calcification.
- Average examination time comparable to traditional methods.
- No significant differences in diameter measurements of thyroid, lymph nodes, or nodules.
- 85.6% of volunteers accepted robotic ultrasound.
- 87% willing to pay additional cost for robotic diagnosis.
- 92.8% had no negative feedback.
MGIUS-R3 supports multiple sensitive probes on its robotic arm, operated remotely via 5G up to 1,000 km. Its design allows real-time doctor-patient communication, and the manipulator simulates expert manual techniques.
The study confirms MGIUS-R3 delivers high-quality medical care to resource-constrained areas. MGI remains committed to advancing life science tools and making healthcare accessible for all.
