China's C909 'flying hospital' ready for onboard surgery

​The C909 medical aircraft. [Photo/Shanghai Observer]

China's first home-made specialized medical aircraft for eye and ENT treatment has received a major upgrade, further advancing the country's aviation-based medical capabilities.

Developed by Fudan University's Eye & ENT Hospital and the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, the aircraft is now equipped with a Class I sterile operating cabin, which signifies the airplane is capable of supporting onboard surgeries.

The medical aircraft, which is modified from China's homegrown commercial jetliner C909, completed its inaugural flight from Sept 5 to 7. It arrived in Shihezi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, where nearly 50 local patients received eye and ENT examinations and treatment onboard.

Using the onboard 5G remote diagnosis and treatment system, experts could remotely control the medical equipment in real time, performing accurate diagnoses from afar.

The latest upgrade responds to the national health authorities' call to enhance county-level hospitals' capacity for cataract surgeries and to realize onboard procedures as soon as possible.

​A doctor from Shanghai sees a patient at Shihezi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, onboard the plane in September. [Photo/Shanghai Observer]

Fudan University's Eye & ENT Hospital and COMAC engineered a specialized sterile operating cabin, equipped with customized medical devices that can be fully set up within eight hours.

The upgraded aircraft now integrates multiple functional zones — consultation, examination, training, and surgery — all designed for rapid deployment and modular use.

The plane is expected to support regular medical missions in China's remote areas, where healthcare services are limited, and promote the "health Silk Road in the sky" by bringing China's high-end medical innovations abroad.