Jishi Medical Secures Angel Funding from Yuanyi Capital to Advance XR-Based Vision Therapy for 27 Million Amblyopia Patients Across All Age Groups

VCBeat learned at the first time，SuzhouFocusightHealthcareTechnology Co., Ltd. (referred to asFocusightHealthcare”）Announced the completion byMARATHON VENTURE PARTNERSExclusively Invested byAngel RoundFinancing. The funds will be used for its self-developed mixed reality-basedDevelopment and Implementation of Visual Training Methods Using XR Technology.

Focusight, established in 2020, is a high-tech enterprise dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions for the treatment and prevention of common eye diseases through industry-academia-research collaboration. The company’s current product range addresses the needs of patients with amblyopia, dry eye, and end-stage eye conditions, with proprietary intellectual property in digital therapeutics for amblyopia treatment.

Amblyopia is a common eye disease that occurs in children and is one of the main eye diseases affecting children's visual development. It is usually the result of an imbalance in binocular stimulation input during the early stages of visual development.

Amblyopia can not only lead to a decrease in best-corrected visual acuity but also cause abnormal fixation, color vision, and dark adaptation issues. It may even result in abnormal stereoscopic vision development during the sensitive and critical periods of children's visual development, seriously affecting the physical and mental health of children.

Traditional occlusion therapy, while simple and easy to implement, has limited efficacy (some patients fail to achieve normal vision even after prolonged occlusion or experience a degree of regression after discontinuation of the treatment). It also causes defects in binocular functions, impairs stereoscopic vision, and affects the appearance and daily life of children, potentially leading to issues such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal. These factors result in poor compliance, often making the treatment outcomes unsatisfactory and prone to recurrence.

Generally speaking, the treatment of amblyopia reaches a critical point at the age of 12, and the effect of treatment after the age of 12 is minimal. For a long time, in the field of clinical research on amblyopia, almost no treatment measures have been taken for amblyopia after the age of 12 (those who failed to be treated or did not receive effective treatment before the age of 12). If amblyopia is not effectively treated, it can lead to permanent visual loss.

The pathogenesis of amblyopia is relatively complex, usually not only an eye problem but also related to the transmission of visual information and the visual perception of the brain center.

Focusight and the Chinese Academy of Sciences collaborated to introduce magnetic resonance technology and discovered that amblyopia patients have small cell layer damage. These cells mainly mediate fine vision and color, so the fine resolution or visual acuity of amblyopia patients is worse. Focusight, for the first time, fully revealed the neural circuit damage in living amblyopia patients and proposed for the first time."Dual-Mechanism Hypothesis"That is, in a monocular state, there is damage to a small upward cellular pathway, and when both eyes work together, the good eye strongly suppresses the bad eye, thereby exacerbating the damage.

Based on the above theory, Focusight, in collaboration with renowned domestic ophthalmology clinical experts, has jointly developed a vision training method based on mixed reality XR technology. This method reactivates cellular layer repair in amblyopic patients through specific image stimulation algorithms, thereby restoring vision in cases of amblyopia. The results are effective across all age groups, marking a significant breakthrough in the field of amblyopia.

This visual training program mainly includes two aspects,On the one hand, it is the innovation of hardware., utilizing some daily scenarios, such as wearing mixed reality XR glasses for free learning, working, eating, etc., without affecting normal life, greatly improving patient compliance;On the other hand, it is the innovation of the training mechanism.Combined with binocular push-pull training, it targets dual-mechanism damage training and can replace traditional occlusion therapy to treat amblyopia in older children and adults, potentially even achieving a cure.

Regarding this round of financing, Focusight founder Tong XiaoyuFocusight stated: "Focusight has introduced high-resolution functional magnetic resonance into the research on mechanisms of neurological eye diseases such as glaucoma and amblyopia to address clinical issues. In the future, we will also develop multiple new paradigms for application in ophthalmic diagnosis and treatment. We hope to use scientific research methods to reveal disease mechanisms more accurately and objectively, solve challenges in clinical diagnosis and treatment, and transform research findings into innovative technologies. Based on market-landing products and patient usage and recovery feedback, we will continuously adjust the technological form to create a complete closed loop. Focusight will also target and expand into more ophthalmology fields, combining brain cognition and clinical research to resolve more complex problems."

Mr. Li Yang, Investment Vice President of MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERSFocusight is composed of a globally leading industry-academia-research team that deeply integrates brain science, ophthalmic clinical practice, and wearable technology. By leveraging brain science to thoroughly investigate the pathogenesis of ophthalmic-related diseases and designing targeted therapeutic paradigms, the company develops diagnostic and therapeutic products based on wearable devices that align with clinical pathways, are personalized, and ensure high patient compliance. Starting with adult amblyopia, the company plans to expand in the future to comprehensive digital management of eye health, including low vision, glaucoma, and dry eye, thereby enhancing the overall standard of ophthalmic treatment, improving patients' quality of life, and addressing current gaps in ophthalmic care.

MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS was founded in 2016 as an early-stage venture capital fund focused on the digital health technology sector. Currently, the total investment management scale of its multiple RMB and USD funds exceeds 3 billion RMB.

MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS focuses on early-stage and growth-stage investment opportunities in digital healthcare, making forward-looking investments in three key infrastructures: efficient reach, innovative payment solutions, and efficiency improvements. MARATHON VENTURE PARTNERS has invested in medical devices and equipment with core technologies and innovative business models, precision diagnostics, mobile healthcare and services, and health insurance technology companies. Recent investments include industry leaders such as Shukun Technology in AI medical imaging, Magna Health in innovative healthcare payment solutions, Sinsin Technology in dental 3D printing equipment, Borden Medical in B2B medical device distribution platforms, and Leono Medical in interventional devices for ENT (ear, nose, and throat) applications.