[Photo/IC]

The official launch of the first domestically developed extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine will play an important role in helping treat COVID-19 patients in critical condition and boosting the development of the country's high-end medical devices.

ECMO is a kind of life support device for patients with life-threatening heart or lung problems. It is believed to play an important role in treating seriously ill COVID-19 patients.

The National Medical Products Administration, China's top drug regulator, on Thursday approved the emergency use of the first domestic ECMO equipment made by Shenzhen, Guangdong province-based Chinabridge Medical.

According to a statement by the administration, the product's key performance indicators are on par with international peers.

The launch marks a major breakthrough for China in the design, research and development, and production of such high-end medical equipment, which has been dominated by foreign countries.

The project was conducted by the National Innovation Center for Advanced Medical Devices, Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Mindray and Chinabridge Medical.

The successful development fills China's gap in the field and is an important milestone in the country's development of high-end medical equipment, Xin Guobin, vice-minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the certificate-awarding ceremony in Shenzhen on Friday.

Liu Yang, chairman of Chinabridge Medical, said the company has focused on developing a product for clinical use with independent intellectual property rights since 2018, instead of just duplicating one from overseas.

"Many of the company's intellectual property rights have been authorized in developed countries including the United States, Germany and Japan. This shows the machine is completely homegrown and innovative," she said.

"For every 10 intensive care beds in a hospital like ours, one ECMO unit is needed. But we haven't reached such a standard yet. So we are in urgent need for the production and use of such a medical device," said Geng Qingshan, president of Shenzhen People's Hospital, which is responsible for clinical trials of the ECMO.

"The official launch of the domestically developed medical equipment is a major boon for us. We hope it could be used on our patients as soon as possible."