SideMed Launches the World's First Smartphone-Connected Capsule Gastroscope to Enable Mass Gastric Cancer Screening

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, with a particularly high incidence in Asia. In January 2024, researchers from the National Cancer Center at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences published a study titled “Trends of gastric cancer burdens attributable to risk factors in China from 2000 to 2050” in a Lancet subsidiary journal. The paper pointed out:China accounts for 44% of the global incidence of gastric cancer, ranking first worldwide, and researchers have estimated that 74.6% of gastric cancer cases are actually preventable.

The “Gastric Cancer Screening and Early Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol (2024 Edition)” also points out that carrying out screening, early diagnosis, and early treatment for high-risk populations of gastric cancer can effectively increase the early diagnosis rate of gastric cancer in the population and reduce mortality.

Gastrointestinal endoscopy is the gold standard for detecting early-stage gastrointestinal cancers and represents the optimal screening method. However, the anxiety and discomfort associated with conventional gastroscopy deter many patients, and even painless gastroscopy performed under anesthesia has numerous limitations. Furthermore, magnetically controlled capsule gastroscopy is costly, requires patients to lie on a large magnetic control bed during the procedure, and suffers from low efficiency. These factors significantly hinder the implementation of policies aimed at early screening and diagnosis of gastric cancer.

To enable large-scale populations to benefit from early screening and diagnosis of gastric cancer, Guangzhou Side Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Side Huiyi”) has spent 16 years developing the “world’s first host-free, wearable-device-free, mobile capsule gastroscopy system applicable on a large scale across multiple scenarios,” transforming cutting-edge scientific achievements into an innovative solution that can be deployed at the grassroots level to serve a broader population.

Sideshuai Medical Mobile Capsule Gastroscopy System

On July 12, Side Huiyi officially launched its smartphone capsule gastroscope—the Capsule Gastrointestinal Endoscopy System GICE-1000. At the event, Professor Liu Side, Founder and Chairman of Side Huiyi, delivered a presentation titled “Side Huiyi Smartphone Capsule Gastroscope: Endoscopic Technology for the Future.”

Professor Liu Side, Founder of Side Huiyi

Professor Liu Side is a nationally renowned expert in gastroenterology, Chief Physician of the Department of Gastroenterology at Nanfang Hospital, and academic leader.As early as 2007, Professor Liu Side led his team in establishing a large-scale capsule gastroscopy database comprising tens of thousands of examination images, leveraging years of accumulated raw data from capsule endoscopy that had undergone rigorous classification and high-precision annotation by physicians and experts.

In 2019, Professor Liu officially founded Side Huiyi, and in 2022 completed clinical trials involving 159 cases of the smartphone-based capsule gastroscopy product. Clinical results demonstrated that, compared with conventional electronic gastroscopy, the diagnostic concordance rate of the smartphone-based capsule gastroscopy reached96.8%, achieving a 99.4% coverage rate of the entire stomach. In March 2024, this smartphone-based capsule gastroscopy system officially obtained the Class III medical device registration certificate and production license.

In Professor Liu’s presentation, we learned that the SideHui Medical mobile capsule gastroscope is composed ofCapsule Gastroendoscope, Portable Recorder, App Software, Image Analysis SoftwareComposition.

“This system operates via a mobile app. After swallowing the capsule, users guide its movement along a preset gastrointestinal path by changing body positions. The camera continuously captures digital images of the stomach at a rate of three frames per second, with real-time display on the smartphone. The entire gastroscopy examination can be easily completed in just 20 minutes, generating a ‘gastric wall map’ to illustrate coverage of anatomical regions. Each examination captures approximately 5,000–8,000 gastric images, which are automatically uploaded to an intelligent image-reading system. Within about 15 minutes, the system assists physicians in generating an examination report that is sent directly to the patient’s mobile phone, providing examinees with a safer, more comfortable, efficient, and convenient experience,” introduced Professor Liu Side.

As a one-stop solution for gastric and gastrointestinal diseases, the mobile capsule gastroscope offers advantages such as being painless, non-invasive, anesthesia-free, and free from cross-infection risks. It provides new options and convenience for both patients and physicians, demonstrating superior suitability for individuals with poor compliance, contraindications to anesthesia, susceptibility to mucosal bleeding, or high risk of contagious infections. Meanwhile, Side Huiyi is committed to establishing ultra-low-cost capsule gastroscopy centers, aiming to address critical challenges in China, including the high incidence of gastric cancer coupled with inadequate diagnostic access and lack of early screening, as well as the disparity between limited medical resources for examinations and the large population requiring screening.

Currently, in the field of capsule endoscopy, the majority of marketed products from domestic manufacturers are magnetically controlled capsule gastroscopes, which require large-scale magnetic traction equipment to be installed in hospitals. Consequently, they cannot be widely deployed in resource-limited primary healthcare institutions or for home use. To address this, Sidihuiyi’s self-developed smartphone-based capsule gastroscope promotes the decentralization of high-quality medical resources and benefits more patients at the grassroots level through three key advantages.

SiDeHuiYi Mobile Capsule Gastroscopy System

The mobile capsule gastroscopy system employs an innovative wireless transmission method that requires neither a main console nor wearable devices. Reportedly, the capsule endoscope has a diameter of only 11.4 mm and weighs 3.4 g, making it easy to swallow and allowing it to pass smoothly through the digestive tract. It is capable of continuously capturing high-definition images of the stomach with an ultra-wide 160° field of view. Furthermore, patients do not need to wear any equipment during the examination. The system’s portable recorder establishes communication with the internal capsule via wireless transmission, thereby reducing the procurement and maintenance costs associated with large-scale medical equipment.

After swallowing the capsule endoscope, the subject can follow the examination guidance on the mobile app to change body positions, thereby completing a panoramic scan of the stomach and generating a “gastric wall map.” A portable recorder outside the body receives gastric images in real time. Upon completion of the examination, the images can be uploaded to the intelligent image-reading system with a single click on the app, which canAssistant PhysicianExamination reports are generated and sent to the mobile app within approximately 15 minutes, truly enabling a closed-loop gastroscopy that can be completed entirely at home.

After the data is uploaded to the cloud, physicians can use desktop-based image analysis software to download patient information and post-examination imaging data in real time, selectively annotate the images, and promptly issue diagnostic reports. This approach not only enhances the efficiency of image interpretation and diagnosis by breaking down temporal and spatial barriers, but also expands the application scenarios for gastroscopy products, thereby facilitating the widespread adoption of gastroscopic examinations.

Leveraging these advantages, Sidihuiyi’s capsule endoscopy system for gastric examination can serve medical institutions at all levels, with particular penetration into secondary, primary, and grassroots healthcare facilities. It boasts broad application scenarios and a diverse user base, including township health centers, community hospitals, elderly care and wellness institutions, government agencies and organizations, and health checkup centers. The system is applicable to health screenings, health management, diagnostic evaluation of gastrointestinal diseases in various hospitals, and postoperative adjunctive therapy.

At the conference, Professor Liu Side also stated, “Our team is working on upgrading the intelligent capsule endoscopy system to its third generation, with future plans to expand its application to full gastrointestinal tract examinations, including the esophagus, small intestine, and even the large intestine. In particular, targeting colorectal cancer—a major threat to public health—the team is developing a capsule endoscope capable of covering the entire colon and rectum. By enabling early detection and removal of polyps, this technology aims to effectively prevent the onset of colorectal cancer. Meanwhile, by accumulating data from capsule examinations, the system continuously enhances the accuracy of AI-assisted diagnosis and expands its coverage to include a broader range of disease types.”

As a high-tech enterprise leveraging artificial intelligence technology for the research and development of medical devices in gastroenterology and the provision of diagnostic services,Side Health has also established a data center and the Kanghua Cloud Mirror Imaging Center in collaboration with large teaching hospitals.

Leveraging a professional team and AL’s high-precision model algorithms, these two centers serve dual functions. On one hand, they provide image interpretation services for SideHuiYi’s mobile capsule gastroscopy system; on the other hand, they offer third-party image interpretation services by delivering specialized technical support and resource allocation to primary healthcare institutions. This enables resource-constrained grassroots facilities to achieve remote diagnosis of gastric diseases through the Kanghua Cloud Mirror Image Interpretation Center, eliminating the need to train their own image interpretation physicians.

Leveraging the smartphone-based capsule gastroscopy system and the Kanghua Cloud Mirror Image Reading Center, Side Huiyi enables self-testing and screening for gastric health risks in large populations. Its cloud-based high-efficiency image reading system can handle an annual capacity of 150 million examinations, providing a precise, convenient, affordable, and accessible one-stop innovative solution for the early diagnosis and screening of major gastrointestinal diseases.

According to reports, over 90% of Side Huiyi’s employees are engaged in research and development. Through the concerted efforts of its team, the company has secured 55 patents and four software copyrights. Side Huiyi has been recognized as a National High-Tech Enterprise and a Guangdong Province “Specialized, Refined, Differential, and Innovative” SME. It has also participated in key initiatives such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s “Open Competition” project for AI medical device innovation and the Guangdong Provincial Key Areas Research and Development Program.

Given the application value of the smartphone-based capsule endoscopy system and its market potential following large-scale adoption, Side Huiyi has also received frequent favor from investors.Successively completed three rounds of investment from multiple investment institutions, including Yuecai Fund and Guangzhou Financial Holdings Fund.

Professor Liu Side also stated at the press conference, “We hope this product will be widely adopted in clinical practice as soon as possible, expanding the population covered by early prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, thereby benefiting more patients and effectively enhancing China’s capabilities in the prevention and control of early-stage gastrointestinal cancers.”