NDR MEDICAL RECEIVES HSA APPROVAL FOR ANT-C SYSTEM FOR LUNG BIOPSY IN COLLABORATION WITH SINGAPORE GENERAL HOSPITAL

NDR Medical Technology, a pioneer in AI-empowered interventional robotics, proudly announces that its flagship Computed Tomography (CT)-guided Automated Needle Targeting system, ANT-C, has officially received regulatory approval from Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA). This milestone is achieved through a robust clinical translation partnership with Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and catalysed by Temasek Foundation.

SGH conducted the prospective study from June to September 2024 involving 30 patients who underwent diagnostic percutaneous lung biopsy using the ANT-C system. The objective was to assess its technical feasibility and clinical success.

The system successfully collected enough tissue for diagnosis and advanced laboratory testing in all 30 patients, with the procedure successfully completed in over 93 per cent of cases.

Image-guided percutaneous lung biopsy remains the primary standard-of-care approach for diagnosing pulmonary nodules, even as other methods continue to evolve. It is performed to obtain tissue samples from a lung lesion to determine if it is cancerous or benign, and guide personalised treatment based on molecular profiling. If the biopsy needle is not positioned correctly, doctors may need to repeat the procedure to obtain the required tissue sample. This can increase the risk of complications, including a collapsed lung and lung bleeding.

The ANT-C system integrates medical image processing with a lightweight robotic arm to assist doctors in executing accurate, swift percutaneous needle punctures. The smart lesion targeting system uses CT-scan images to automate lesion detection, needle path planning, and needle targeting with precision and accuracy. By translating 2D and 3D CT scan data into precise real-time robotic alignment, the study further showed that patients' radiation exposure was reduced and the procedure time was halved, from about 61 minutes in the first 10 cases to about 31 minutes in the last 10 cases using the ANT-C system.

Next-Phase Expansion: Moving into Therapeutic Ablation

With diagnostic regulatory approval successfully secured, NDR Medical Technology, in continued alignment with its clinical partners, is advancing its pipeline into new and expanding areas of clinical application. The system's next phase of clinical deployment will pivot from diagnosing lesions to actively destroying them via minimally invasive percutaneous ablation therapies, minimally invasive medical procedures used to destroy abnormal tissue—most commonly small tumours in the liver, kidney, lung, and bone—using specialised needle-like probes inserted directly through the skin under image guidance.

The robotic navigation of the ANT-C platform is positioned to handle the rigorous spatial tracking required for:

Tumour Ablation Oncology: Delivering microwave (MWA), radiofrequency (RFA), or cryoablation probes with millimetre precision to treat localised tumours in the lungs, liver, and kidneys without open surgery.
Multi-Organ Versatility: Extending the core automated trajectory planning software to support complex, deep-seated targets across Pulmonology, Hepatology, and Gastroenterology.
Optimised Thermal Margins: Assisting interventional radiologists in placing multi-probe ablation configurations perpendicularly, ensuring full thermal coverage of tumour margins while preserving surrounding healthy tissue structures.

"HSA approval for ANT-C validates our deep-tech journey in transforming interventional accuracy," said the management team at NDR Medical Technology. "Partnering with SGH allowed our clinical workflows to be fine-tuned for real world environments, while Temasek Foundation’s catalytic support ensures that game-changing local innovations rapidly reach patients. Moving seamlessly from diagnostic biopsies into therapeutic applications like ablation represents our commitment to providing a holistic, end-to-end interventional robotics platform."

Clinical validation protocols conducted alongside SGH specialists demonstrated that robotic assistance flattens the technical learning curve for practitioners while improving diagnostic yields for early-stage lesions.

“Innovation works best when clinicians and innovators work hand in hand. By contributing clinical expertise and real-world healthcare perspectives, SGH can help shape and evaluate solutions that address genuine healthcare needs. Our hope is that successful innovations will ultimately improve patient care not only in Singapore, but across the region,” said Associate Professor Too Chow Wei, principal investigator of the study, and Senior Consultant, Department of Vascular and Interventional Radiology at SGH.

Moving forward, NDR Medical Technology will push for the system to be adopted by healthcare institutions in Singapore, setting a new benchmark for smart surgical interventions.

The findings were published online in peer-reviewed international medical journal, European Journal of Radiology, in July 2026.

 About NDR Medical Technology Founded in Singapore, NDR Medical Technology specializes in AI-powered automated needle targeting platforms designed to enhance precision, safety, and operational efficiency in minimally invasive surgeries.

About Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Singapore General Hospital, established in 1821, is the largest tertiary hospital in Singapore and consistently ranked among the 10 best hospitals worldwide. It provides the most comprehensive patient-centred care with over 50 clinical specialties on its campus. As an Academic Medical Centre, it takes pride in training healthcare professionals and conducting cutting edge research to meet evolving needs of the nation as well as the region. Driven by a strong sense of purpose, SGH is committed to give of its best to heal and bring hope, as it has for over 200 years.