[WEEKLY BIZ] [Knock, Knock! Startup] Cutting Endoscope Weight in Half, Reducing Misdiagnosis Rate to 5%
On the morning of the 10th, at MedInTech’s headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, CEO Chi-Won Lee (right) and Vice President Myung-Jun Kim hold up the controller attached to MedInTech’s motorized endoscope. “Our product is the world’s first AI-powered motorized endoscope,” Lee said. “Our goal is to become a company that innovates all medical devices.” / Reporter Jang Ryeon-seong
For years, the endoscopy market has effectively been “Japan’s domain.” Flexible endoscopes used for gastric and colonoscopy procedures are dominated by three Japanese companies—Olympus, Fujifilm, and Pentax—which together control more than 90% of the global market. During the height of the Korea–Japan trade dispute in 2020, the National Assembly even held a policy forum titled “Revitalizing the Development of Domestic Medical Devices, Focusing on Gastrointestinal Endoscopes,” amid concerns over a potential ban on Japanese endoscope exports.
Now, however, a Korean smart endoscopy startup, MedInTech, is challenging Japan’s iron grip on the market. MedInTech CEO Chi-Won Lee (35) said, “Since the 1980s, endoscopes from major competitors have seen virtually no technological innovation beyond improvements in image quality,” adding, “In contrast, MedInTech’s endoscope is the world’s first AI-powered motorized endoscope, capable of reducing diagnostic misdiagnosis rates to below 5%, regardless of where or by whom it is used.” WEEKLY BIZ met with Lee and Vice President Myung-Jun Kim (32) on the 10th at MedInTech’s headquarters in Jongno to discuss the company’s vision for leading innovation in endoscopic technology.
◇ The World’s First Motorized Endoscope
— How is it different from competitors’ products?
“MedInTech’s endoscope is the world’s first motorized model. Conventional endoscopes are mechanical: when a physician pulls a control lever with their thumb, the scope bends. The bending angle is controlled by the pulling force on the tube. In contrast, a motorized system uses electrical signals, enabling far more precise movement with much less force. It also weighs about half as much as a typical mechanical endoscope—around 350 grams.”
— Why is weight so important?
“For routine screenings, a gastroscopy takes about 3 to 5 minutes, while a colonoscopy takes 15 to 20 minutes. If an abnormal area is found, an additional 30 minutes of examination may be required. From the moment insertion begins until the end of the procedure, physicians must continuously hold the endoscope, repeatedly pressing and releasing controls with their thumb to adjust the camera angle—a physically demanding task. This places significant strain on the joints and muscles. Moreover, doctors typically perform 60 to 80 screenings in the morning alone, so fatigue accumulates. A difference of 350 grams may seem small, but for medical professionals who perform endoscopies every day, it makes an enormous difference.”
◇ Reducing Misdiagnosis Rates from 30% to 5% with AI
— How is AI technology utilized?
“AI technology is used to lock the camera onto abnormal tissue (lesions), estimate lesion size, and prevent blind spots—features that are all industry firsts. With conventional products, even after a lesion is detected, changes in the camera angle during movement often require physicians to search for the lesion again. In contrast, MedInTech’s endoscope enables camera fixation through AI-based motion control and can even estimate the size of the target. This allows physicians to focus solely on treatment.”
— Is there a difference in misdiagnosis rates compared to existing products?
“Globally, the average endoscopic misdiagnosis rate is reported to be around 30%. When examinations are performed by less experienced physicians, lesions may be missed during insertion, or certain areas may be unintentionally skipped. Because MedInTech’s system uses AI to automatically detect abnormal areas and identify blind spots that were not captured, we expect the misdiagnosis rate can be reduced to as low as 5%.”
On the morning of the 10th, at MedInTech’s office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, CEO Chi-Won Lee (right) and Vice President Myung-Jun Kim pose in front of award plaques. / Photo by Jang Ryeon-seong
◇ Through Technological Excellence and a Customer-Centric Strategy
— What motivated you to start the company?
“I (the CEO) studied Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University, and the Vice President studied Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University in China. We met in a biomedical engineering laboratory at Seoul National University while jointly developing surgical robots, and later joined the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), which has the longest history of research on flexible endoscopy in Korea. During our research, we realized that converting endoscopes to an electrically driven system and integrating AI would enable weight reduction and more precise control. Based on this insight, we founded the company in February 2020.”
— What was the key to successfully raising KRW 20 billion (200 billion won) in recent funding?
“I believe the key was maintaining technological superiority while prioritizing customer needs above all else. For example, from a purely technical standpoint, we could have designed the endoscope controller to operate with only one-tenth of the conventional force. However, based on feedback from physicians who felt that such a setup would be unfamiliar, we adjusted it to require one-third of the force instead.”
— What are your future plans?
“MedInTech’s endoscope is currently undergoing clinical trials at Seoul National University Hospital. Once the trials are successfully completed, we plan to begin full-scale sales in the fourth quarter of this year. In the long term, our goal is to become a company that innovates not only endoscopes, but all medical devices.”
— Reporter: Jae-Woo Chae
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https://n.news.naver.com/article/023/0003840132?sid=101
https://www.chosun.com/economy/weeklybiz/2024/06/13/DI22VQVFDNC3RIEDIHNFJDZSHE/?utm_source=naver&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=naver-news
[WEEKLY BIZ] [Knock, Knock! Startup] Cutting Endoscope Weight in Half, Reducing Misdiagnosis Rate to 5%
On the morning of the 10th, at MedInTech’s headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, CEO Chi-Won Lee (right) and Vice President Myung-Jun Kim hold up the controller attached to MedInTech’s motorized endoscope. “Our product is the world’s first AI-powered motorized endoscope,” Lee said. “Our goal is to become a company that innovates all medical devices.” / Reporter Jang Ryeon-seong
For years, the endoscopy market has effectively been “Japan’s domain.” Flexible endoscopes used for gastric and colonoscopy procedures are dominated by three Japanese companies—Olympus, Fujifilm, and Pentax—which together control more than 90% of the global market. During the height of the Korea–Japan trade dispute in 2020, the National Assembly even held a policy forum titled “Revitalizing the Development of Domestic Medical Devices, Focusing on Gastrointestinal Endoscopes,” amid concerns over a potential ban on Japanese endoscope exports.
Now, however, a Korean smart endoscopy startup, MedInTech, is challenging Japan’s iron grip on the market. MedInTech CEO Chi-Won Lee (35) said, “Since the 1980s, endoscopes from major competitors have seen virtually no technological innovation beyond improvements in image quality,” adding, “In contrast, MedInTech’s endoscope is the world’s first AI-powered motorized endoscope, capable of reducing diagnostic misdiagnosis rates to below 5%, regardless of where or by whom it is used.” WEEKLY BIZ met with Lee and Vice President Myung-Jun Kim (32) on the 10th at MedInTech’s headquarters in Jongno to discuss the company’s vision for leading innovation in endoscopic technology.
◇ The World’s First Motorized Endoscope
— How is it different from competitors’ products?
“MedInTech’s endoscope is the world’s first motorized model. Conventional endoscopes are mechanical: when a physician pulls a control lever with their thumb, the scope bends. The bending angle is controlled by the pulling force on the tube. In contrast, a motorized system uses electrical signals, enabling far more precise movement with much less force. It also weighs about half as much as a typical mechanical endoscope—around 350 grams.”
— Why is weight so important?
“For routine screenings, a gastroscopy takes about 3 to 5 minutes, while a colonoscopy takes 15 to 20 minutes. If an abnormal area is found, an additional 30 minutes of examination may be required. From the moment insertion begins until the end of the procedure, physicians must continuously hold the endoscope, repeatedly pressing and releasing controls with their thumb to adjust the camera angle—a physically demanding task. This places significant strain on the joints and muscles. Moreover, doctors typically perform 60 to 80 screenings in the morning alone, so fatigue accumulates. A difference of 350 grams may seem small, but for medical professionals who perform endoscopies every day, it makes an enormous difference.”
◇ Reducing Misdiagnosis Rates from 30% to 5% with AI
— How is AI technology utilized?
“AI technology is used to lock the camera onto abnormal tissue (lesions), estimate lesion size, and prevent blind spots—features that are all industry firsts. With conventional products, even after a lesion is detected, changes in the camera angle during movement often require physicians to search for the lesion again. In contrast, MedInTech’s endoscope enables camera fixation through AI-based motion control and can even estimate the size of the target. This allows physicians to focus solely on treatment.”
— Is there a difference in misdiagnosis rates compared to existing products?
“Globally, the average endoscopic misdiagnosis rate is reported to be around 30%. When examinations are performed by less experienced physicians, lesions may be missed during insertion, or certain areas may be unintentionally skipped. Because MedInTech’s system uses AI to automatically detect abnormal areas and identify blind spots that were not captured, we expect the misdiagnosis rate can be reduced to as low as 5%.”
On the morning of the 10th, at MedInTech’s office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, CEO Chi-Won Lee (right) and Vice President Myung-Jun Kim pose in front of award plaques. / Photo by Jang Ryeon-seong
◇ Through Technological Excellence and a Customer-Centric Strategy
— What motivated you to start the company?
“I (the CEO) studied Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University, and the Vice President studied Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University in China. We met in a biomedical engineering laboratory at Seoul National University while jointly developing surgical robots, and later joined the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), which has the longest history of research on flexible endoscopy in Korea. During our research, we realized that converting endoscopes to an electrically driven system and integrating AI would enable weight reduction and more precise control. Based on this insight, we founded the company in February 2020.”
— What was the key to successfully raising KRW 20 billion (200 billion won) in recent funding?
“I believe the key was maintaining technological superiority while prioritizing customer needs above all else. For example, from a purely technical standpoint, we could have designed the endoscope controller to operate with only one-tenth of the conventional force. However, based on feedback from physicians who felt that such a setup would be unfamiliar, we adjusted it to require one-third of the force instead.”
— What are your future plans?
“MedInTech’s endoscope is currently undergoing clinical trials at Seoul National University Hospital. Once the trials are successfully completed, we plan to begin full-scale sales in the fourth quarter of this year. In the long term, our goal is to become a company that innovates not only endoscopes, but all medical devices.”
— Reporter: Jae-Woo Chae
View the original article
https://n.news.naver.com/article/023/0003840132?sid=101
https://www.chosun.com/economy/weeklybiz/2024/06/13/DI22VQVFDNC3RIEDIHNFJDZSHE/?utm_source=naver&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=naver-news