AI algorithms automatically detect abnormalities and control the endoscope’s insertion direction
Reduced physician fatigue and misdiagnosis risk, enhancing patient safety
Holds more than 100 technology patents; currently conducting product clinical trials with Seoul National University Hospital
(From left) MedInTech CEO Chi-Won Lee and Vice President Myung-Jun Kim (Photo = MedInTech)
[BioTimes] Currently, endoscopes are the only medical devices that allow access to and observation of the inside of the human body without open surgery or incisions. In recent years, the endoscopy market has continued to expand as endoscopes are used not only for observation but also for therapeutic and surgical purposes.
However, in actual clinical practice in Korea, flexible endoscopes are still 100% dependent on foreign products. More than 90% of the market is dominated by Japanese companies such as Olympus, Fujifilm, and Pentax. To the general public, flexible endoscopes are most commonly known as gastroscopes and colonoscopes used for routine health screenings.
MedInTech is developing a motorized, AI-based medical flexible endoscope to innovate the domestic endoscopy market, operating under the mission of “embedding physicians’ knowledge into medical devices through technology.” By integrating advanced technologies to make medical devices more intuitive and convenient to use, the company aims to reduce physician fatigue and, through artificial intelligence (AI) and motorization technologies, lower misdiagnosis rates and enhance patient safety.
We spoke with CEO Chi-Won Lee to hear more details.
◇ Intuitive operation through a motorized control system that moves beyond mechanical mechanisms
Photo = Captured from the MedInTech website
The endoscopes currently used in clinical practice in Korea, mainly produced by three Japanese companies, operate using mechanical control systems. Because these devices must be maneuvered inside the human body, they place significant physical strain on physicians and are designed in a non-intuitive manner. As a result, drawbacks such as long procedure times and patient discomfort in the throat often occur.
The flexible endoscope developed by MedInTech departs from mechanical operation and adopts a motorized control system that enables intuitive movement. AI algorithms automatically detect abnormal areas and control the insertion direction, allowing physicians to focus more comfortably on examination and treatment. At the same time, patient discomfort is reduced and procedure times are shortened. The weight of the control handle is reduced by approximately 50%.
CEO Chi-Won Lee stated, “Based on AI-driven image analysis and situational recognition algorithms, the system provides functions such as automatic air insufflation and automatic lens cleaning,” adding, “It also enables convenient execution of air supply, water supply, and suction functions that assist endoscopic diagnosis.”
MedInTech obtained medical device approvals for its endoscopes in 2023 and 2024. The company holds more than 100 patents related to motorized flexible endoscope technology. These technologies were primarily co-developed with faculty members from the Division of Gastroenterology at Seoul National University Hospital. Product development was completed through demonstrations with domestic and international physicians, as well as porcine preclinical studies.
Clinical trials are currently being conducted in collaboration with Seoul National University Hospital (Photo = MedInTech)
MedInTech is currently conducting product clinical trials in collaboration with Seoul National University Hospital. The primary objective is to demonstrate equivalence with endoscopes manufactured by Olympus of Japan, which are the most widely used worldwide. Following this, the product is expected to be adopted by domestic health screening centers as well as various hospitals.
CEO Chi-Won Lee stated, “MedInTech is the world’s first company to develop a motorized flexible endoscope,” adding, “Based on our technological capabilities, we have the ability to rapidly commercialize ideas demanded by the market and maintain a flexible organizational culture that can respond appropriately to market needs.”
He continued, “In the field of rigid endoscopes, Intuitive Surgical dominated the existing market, popularized the concept of surgical robots worldwide, and introduced new surgical approaches,” and added, “Just as Intuitive Surgical did in the surgical field, MedInTech will lead the internal medicine field with innovative technologies.”
◇ “We will expand into multiple fields including pulmonology, urology, and otolaryngology”
MedInTech team members (Photo = MedInTech)
CEO Chi-Won Lee graduated from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University and earned his Ph.D. through the university’s Interdisciplinary Program in Bioengineering. He later worked as a senior researcher at the Seoul National University Medical Research Institute and the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) before founding MedInTech in 2020 together with Vice President Myung-Jun Kim. From his academic training through to founding the company, Lee has consistently focused his research and development efforts in the field of biomedical engineering.
Vice President Myung-Jun Kim majored in Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University in China. Like CEO Lee, he earned his Ph.D. through Seoul National University’s Interdisciplinary Program in Bioengineering and served as a senior researcher at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute. Together with Lee, Kim developed surgical robots during their graduate studies and later worked on core technologies for medical flexible endoscopes at KERI.
MedInTech brings together experts from a wide range of fields. In the early stages of the company, senior researchers Chan-Soo Yoon and Je-Heon Kim joined to lead the kinematic development of the endoscope. They were responsible for the design of the endoscope system’s light source, optical system, power transmission system, as well as the mechanical design of the endoscope scope itself. Subsequently, senior researcher Tae-Hyun Kim led the development of system software, while senior researcher Seok-Ho Jo developed AI algorithms. So-Hyun Kim, a senior manager, is responsible for regulatory affairs (RA) and quality assurance (QA), focusing on regulatory approvals for both domestic and overseas market entry. Most recently, In-Hyo Jeon, Head of Division, joined the company and is in charge of domestic and international sales.
Professor Ji-Gon Ryu of Seoul National University Hospital is currently conducting the clinical trial (Photo = MedInTech).
Meanwhile, MedInTech has achieved several major milestones, including seed funding in 2020, a Series A investment of KRW 8 billion in 2022, and a Series B investment of KRW 20 billion in 2024. Based on the Series B funding, the company is now planning to complete its clinical trials, establish a mass-production system, enter the domestic market in its early phase, and obtain overseas regulatory approvals.
CEO Chi-Won Lee stated, “In the early stages, we focused primarily on engineering innovation during our R&D process, but we realized that the clinical environment was not always ready to readily adopt such innovations.” He added, “By sometimes taking a bold step back from a purely technical standpoint and reorienting development toward what would be truly helpful in clinical practice, we were able to resolve these challenges in a more natural way.”
He continued, “At the same time, we will gradually bring forward the point at which innovative automation and AI technologies—originally part of our roadmap—can be accepted by medical professionals and apply them to our products.” He also noted, “While we have currently developed an endoscope for use in gastroenterology, we plan to expand into a wide range of medical fields in the future, including pulmonology, urology, and otolaryngology.”
Source: BioTimes (http://www.biotimes.co.kr)
View the original article
https://www.biotimes.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=16260
AI algorithms automatically detect abnormalities and control the endoscope’s insertion direction
Reduced physician fatigue and misdiagnosis risk, enhancing patient safety
Holds more than 100 technology patents; currently conducting product clinical trials with Seoul National University Hospital
(From left) MedInTech CEO Chi-Won Lee and Vice President Myung-Jun Kim (Photo = MedInTech)
[BioTimes] Currently, endoscopes are the only medical devices that allow access to and observation of the inside of the human body without open surgery or incisions. In recent years, the endoscopy market has continued to expand as endoscopes are used not only for observation but also for therapeutic and surgical purposes.
However, in actual clinical practice in Korea, flexible endoscopes are still 100% dependent on foreign products. More than 90% of the market is dominated by Japanese companies such as Olympus, Fujifilm, and Pentax. To the general public, flexible endoscopes are most commonly known as gastroscopes and colonoscopes used for routine health screenings.
MedInTech is developing a motorized, AI-based medical flexible endoscope to innovate the domestic endoscopy market, operating under the mission of “embedding physicians’ knowledge into medical devices through technology.” By integrating advanced technologies to make medical devices more intuitive and convenient to use, the company aims to reduce physician fatigue and, through artificial intelligence (AI) and motorization technologies, lower misdiagnosis rates and enhance patient safety.
We spoke with CEO Chi-Won Lee to hear more details.
◇ Intuitive operation through a motorized control system that moves beyond mechanical mechanisms
Photo = Captured from the MedInTech website
The endoscopes currently used in clinical practice in Korea, mainly produced by three Japanese companies, operate using mechanical control systems. Because these devices must be maneuvered inside the human body, they place significant physical strain on physicians and are designed in a non-intuitive manner. As a result, drawbacks such as long procedure times and patient discomfort in the throat often occur.
The flexible endoscope developed by MedInTech departs from mechanical operation and adopts a motorized control system that enables intuitive movement. AI algorithms automatically detect abnormal areas and control the insertion direction, allowing physicians to focus more comfortably on examination and treatment. At the same time, patient discomfort is reduced and procedure times are shortened. The weight of the control handle is reduced by approximately 50%.
CEO Chi-Won Lee stated, “Based on AI-driven image analysis and situational recognition algorithms, the system provides functions such as automatic air insufflation and automatic lens cleaning,” adding, “It also enables convenient execution of air supply, water supply, and suction functions that assist endoscopic diagnosis.”
MedInTech obtained medical device approvals for its endoscopes in 2023 and 2024. The company holds more than 100 patents related to motorized flexible endoscope technology. These technologies were primarily co-developed with faculty members from the Division of Gastroenterology at Seoul National University Hospital. Product development was completed through demonstrations with domestic and international physicians, as well as porcine preclinical studies.
Clinical trials are currently being conducted in collaboration with Seoul National University Hospital (Photo = MedInTech)
MedInTech is currently conducting product clinical trials in collaboration with Seoul National University Hospital. The primary objective is to demonstrate equivalence with endoscopes manufactured by Olympus of Japan, which are the most widely used worldwide. Following this, the product is expected to be adopted by domestic health screening centers as well as various hospitals.
CEO Chi-Won Lee stated, “MedInTech is the world’s first company to develop a motorized flexible endoscope,” adding, “Based on our technological capabilities, we have the ability to rapidly commercialize ideas demanded by the market and maintain a flexible organizational culture that can respond appropriately to market needs.”
He continued, “In the field of rigid endoscopes, Intuitive Surgical dominated the existing market, popularized the concept of surgical robots worldwide, and introduced new surgical approaches,” and added, “Just as Intuitive Surgical did in the surgical field, MedInTech will lead the internal medicine field with innovative technologies.”
◇ “We will expand into multiple fields including pulmonology, urology, and otolaryngology”
MedInTech team members (Photo = MedInTech)
CEO Chi-Won Lee graduated from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University and earned his Ph.D. through the university’s Interdisciplinary Program in Bioengineering. He later worked as a senior researcher at the Seoul National University Medical Research Institute and the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) before founding MedInTech in 2020 together with Vice President Myung-Jun Kim. From his academic training through to founding the company, Lee has consistently focused his research and development efforts in the field of biomedical engineering.
Vice President Myung-Jun Kim majored in Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University in China. Like CEO Lee, he earned his Ph.D. through Seoul National University’s Interdisciplinary Program in Bioengineering and served as a senior researcher at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute. Together with Lee, Kim developed surgical robots during their graduate studies and later worked on core technologies for medical flexible endoscopes at KERI.
MedInTech brings together experts from a wide range of fields. In the early stages of the company, senior researchers Chan-Soo Yoon and Je-Heon Kim joined to lead the kinematic development of the endoscope. They were responsible for the design of the endoscope system’s light source, optical system, power transmission system, as well as the mechanical design of the endoscope scope itself. Subsequently, senior researcher Tae-Hyun Kim led the development of system software, while senior researcher Seok-Ho Jo developed AI algorithms. So-Hyun Kim, a senior manager, is responsible for regulatory affairs (RA) and quality assurance (QA), focusing on regulatory approvals for both domestic and overseas market entry. Most recently, In-Hyo Jeon, Head of Division, joined the company and is in charge of domestic and international sales.
Professor Ji-Gon Ryu of Seoul National University Hospital is currently conducting the clinical trial (Photo = MedInTech).
Meanwhile, MedInTech has achieved several major milestones, including seed funding in 2020, a Series A investment of KRW 8 billion in 2022, and a Series B investment of KRW 20 billion in 2024. Based on the Series B funding, the company is now planning to complete its clinical trials, establish a mass-production system, enter the domestic market in its early phase, and obtain overseas regulatory approvals.
CEO Chi-Won Lee stated, “In the early stages, we focused primarily on engineering innovation during our R&D process, but we realized that the clinical environment was not always ready to readily adopt such innovations.” He added, “By sometimes taking a bold step back from a purely technical standpoint and reorienting development toward what would be truly helpful in clinical practice, we were able to resolve these challenges in a more natural way.”
He continued, “At the same time, we will gradually bring forward the point at which innovative automation and AI technologies—originally part of our roadmap—can be accepted by medical professionals and apply them to our products.” He also noted, “While we have currently developed an endoscope for use in gastroenterology, we plan to expand into a wide range of medical fields in the future, including pulmonology, urology, and otolaryngology.”
Source: BioTimes (http://www.biotimes.co.kr)
View the original article
https://www.biotimes.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=16260