Zamenix Now Eligible for Direct Contracts with Public Hospitals for the Next Three Years
Loen Surgical announced on December 29 that its artificial intelligence (AI)-based kidney stone surgery robot, Zamenix, has been designated as an innovative product (designation number 2025-410) by the Public Procurement Service.
The Public Procurement Service's Innovative Product System is a program that officially recognizes products for their innovation, public value, and technological excellence to enhance public services and promote technological advancement. Once designated as an innovative product, public institutions can procure the product through direct contracts on the Public Procurement Service’s public innovation procurement platform, 'Innovation Marketplace,' for the next three years. Additionally, the product can be purchased using the Public Procurement Service’s budget through pilot purchase projects, meaning that demand institutions do not need to bear separate purchasing costs.
For companies, this provides a testbed based on government funding in the form of actual purchases, creating a favorable environment for initial validation and the spread of the product in public healthcare settings. Major public medical institutions such as national university hospitals, regional hospitals under local governments, veterans hospitals, police hospitals, and military hospitals are expected to be included as pilot purchase institutions.
Zamenix is a device in which an ultra-small endoscope passes through the ureter without incision to remove stones. AI technology is applied to all functions, including respiratory compensation, endoscope path replay, and stone size guidance, thereby enhancing surgical precision, improving patient safety, and increasing convenience for medical staff. It was designated as the 17th innovative medical device in 2021.
In 2022, a confirmatory clinical trial was conducted at Seoul National University Hospital and Severance Hospital on 46 patients with stones sized 5 to 30 mm who required retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). The trial confirmed an efficacy rate of 93.5% for stone removal and a 6.5% incidence rate of mild complications, demonstrating both effectiveness and safety.
Kwon Dongsoo, CEO of Loen Surgical, stated, "With Zamenix being designated as an innovative product by the Public Procurement Service, the adoption of this high-cost equipment by public hospitals-previously difficult to access-will accelerate, helping to bridge regional healthcare disparities. Through participation in the pilot purchase project, we aim to secure validation data and pursue entry into additional programs such as the Excellent Procurement Product designation in the future."
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