Pan Xiangbin and his team in surgery Photo: Sina Weibo

A Chinese doctor invented an ultrasound-guided therapy that can help finish complex cardiac surgeries in 10 minutes and has reportedly saved tens of thousands of lives around the world. 

Unlike traditional technology that uses X-rays to guide surgical wires into the body, the newest therapy uses ultrasound instead, Pan Xiangbin, director of the cardiac surgery ward of the Beijing-based Fuwai Hospital, said in an interview with Beijing Television (BTV) on Monday.

The therapy was independently created by Pan and his team. It uses B-ultrasound, and does not need to use radiation, a contrast agent or general anesthesia, therefore would not damage the patient's liver and kidney, BTV reported. 

The procedure takes only 10 minutes, according to the BTV report. 

Pan Xiangbin and his team use B-ultrasound device to locate surgical wires in patients' body. Photo: Sina Weibo

Pan said many foreign experts had also tried the therapy but failed as it was difficult to see images inside the body through ultrasound. 

However, Pan and his team can locate the wire after multiple scans, the BTV said.  

The team used the technology to save the life of a then 1-year-old girl, who was diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus and underwent a liver transplant. 

They inserted a plugging device into the girl's body through a vein in her thigh and delivered it to her heart guided by ultrasound. 

"What impressed me the most is that, instead of metal, Pan used a plugging device that can be gradually absorbed into the body," Chen Xuanzu, an expert at Beijing Anzhen Hospital, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

The therapy had been promoted to about 20 countries and regions, according to the BTV.