Lung cancer claims more lives each year than any other cancer, making early and accurate diagnosis crucial to improving survival rates. To that end, the U.S. FDA has cleared the integration of Intuitive Surgical Inc.’s Ion endoluminal system and Siemens Healthineers AG’s Cios Spin mobile imaging cone-beam CT imaging technology to enhance robotic lung biopsies.

Shanghai Microport Medbot (Group) Co. Ltd. plans to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on the Sci-Tech Board to raise ¥2.8 billion (US$420 million) to progress its surgical robots. The funds raised from the IPO would go toward research and development of the surgical robots, manufacturing, marketing and academic promotion, as well as replenishing working capital. The company also plans shareholder dividend distribution plans within three years following the IPO listing.

Ethicon Endosurgery Inc. and Intuitive Surgical Inc. have been sparring in the courts over patents for robot surgery systems for some time, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled on yet another of those disputes.