With surgery increasingly able to treat smaller wounds without using complicated devices, Surgical Innovation Healthcare Co (SIH) was set up by the Pacific Healthcare Group of Companies (PHC) just for this very task.
Prof Sunton Wongsiri (left) of Prince of Songkla University shakes hands with PHC chief executive Prasert Vaiyavatjamai.
SIH recently developed a device used for carpal tunnel syndrome surgery that reduces the wound to 1.5 centimetres.
The move is part of its project to produce minimally invasive surgical products.
The process takes only 10-15 minutes and costs 20,000 to 30,000 baht compared with 150,000 baht for normal surgery. It enables the patient to resume work within seven days instead of one month.
Under the brand MiniSURE, the project was jointly developed by Prof Sunton Wongsiri of Prince of Songkla University's medicine faculty, who created the prototype.
SIH picked up the project in 2009 for development with the intention of exporting the product.
PHC chief executive Prasert Vaiyavatjamai said few healthcare companies in Thailand manufacture on a global scale.
"I want to promote Thai inventions. Registering patents abroad costs as much as 1.5 million baht, but if it doesn't start, there will be no good inventions," he said. "If [our project] is successful, I think it will give a boost to hopes for Thai inventors to increase the amount of time and money on innovation."
Mr Prasert claims MiniSURE is the smallest and cheapest surgical product in the world that can perform surgery under the naked eye.
The invention has already obtained patents in the US, Europe and Japan. It is in the process of obtaining a CE mark, an indicator of compliance with EU legislation, before being exported globally.
Sales in the Thai market will begin by the second or third quarter after MiniSURE was given a Food and Drug Administration certificate, Mr Prasert said.
In Thailand, 100,000 cases of carpal tunnel syndrome are reported every year. Patients include rubber tappers and those who use a lot of wrist movement such as housewives, chefs and office workers.
Mr Prasert said distributors from abroad and major hospital groups in Thailand have expressed interest in buying the product to lower costs.
The expected cost for the project is 30-50 million baht including design and production, obtaining a CE mark, roadshows and 10,000 clinical studies. SIH now focuses on hand surgery but will expand to foot and arm treatments.