Indonesia.md, a Singapore-incorporated subsidiary of Borderless Healthcare Group, has secured exclusive rights to introduce a next-generation artificial heart assist device in Indonesia. Developed in Shenzhen, the device is billed as the smallest and lightest long-term mechanical heart-support system currently available, designed for patients with severe heart failure.

Indonesian health authorities and clinicians have long highlighted the country’s unmet demand for durable cardiac-support technologies. Indonesia has more than 10 million heart-failure patients, and mortality rates exceed 34 per cent, according to figures cited in the announcement. Limited access to heart-transplant services and low organ-donation rates, particularly within the country’s majority Muslim population, have further underscored the need for alternative therapies.

Smaller Device Aimed at Asian Patients

The artificial heart assist device is described as over 50 per cent smaller than widely used United States systems and engineered to suit Asian thoracic anatomy. According to Indonesia.md, the device’s design aims to reduce post-operative complications, while its lightweight and longer-lasting battery is intended to support mobility and daily independence. The system is positioned as a long-term therapy option for patients unlikely to receive a donor heart.

The initiative aligns with Singapore’s push to strengthen its role as Shenzhen’s “innovation gateway” into Southeast Asia, a theme reaffirmed during a meeting in September 2025 between Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and Shenzhen Party Secretary Meng Liang.

Cross-Border Care Enabled Through Singapore

Indonesia.md will run its Borderless Medical Cloud from Singapore, enabling cross-border specialist input, pre-operative evaluation, post-operative monitoring and remote treatment collaboration across Indonesia, China, Singapore and other markets. The company also plans to build an “agentic care network” spanning caregivers, home-care nurses, physiotherapists, rehabilitation experts, nutritionists and allied health professionals to support patients after implantation.

Singapore’s digital infrastructure and experience in clinical governance are expected to serve as the backbone for what the company describes as the first Singapore-led introduction of a major Chinese cardiovascular technology into Indonesia. The move reinforces Singapore’s positioning as a regional medtech deployment hub.

Tri-Country Clinical Collaboration

The clinical leadership behind the initiative includes Dr Lim Chong Hee, known for performing Asia’s first implantation of a United States-made heart assist device. Dr Lim, now a founding stakeholder in Indonesia.md, recently completed training with Dr Yan Efrata Sembiring, Vice-Chairman of the Indonesian Association of Thoracic, Cardiac and Vascular Surgeons. The sessions were held at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing—the world’s largest cardiac centre—and Wuhan Asia Heart Hospital, China’s largest private cardiac hospital.

Indonesia.md said the platform provides a scalable model for accelerating medtech adoption across Southeast Asia, beginning with Indonesia. By connecting Chinese innovation, Singapore-based digital-health infrastructure and regional clinical needs, the initiative aims to support the emergence of a “MedTech 5.0” framework built on cloud-enabled services and integrated care networks.