Zhongke Ruiyi Completes Tens of Millions of Yuan Series A Financing to Advance Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment Infrastructure for Neurological Disorders

VCBeat has learned that Zhongke Ruiyi recently completed a financing round worth tens of millions of yuanSeries A financing, led by TusPark Ventures with participation from Guotai Venture Capital, and Vanshi Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor. The funds raised in this round will be primarily used for product research and development, clinical trials, product registration, and market promotion.

According to available information, Zhongke Ruiyi is an innovative, fast-growing medical technology enterprise established through the commercialization of scientific research achievements from the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Leveraging frontier neuroscience accomplishments that have received the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the company integrates industry, academia, and research capabilities in interdisciplinary medical-engineering R&D. It provides intelligent technological solutions covering the full spectrum of screening, diagnosis, treatment, and research for neurological disorders.

Since June 2021, Zhongke Ruiyi has secured three rounds of financing. Early investors include renowned institutions such as Legend Capital, ZhenFund, Changjian Investment, BlueRun Ventures, and the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI).

Lead Investor of This RoundQiu Qing, Managing Director of TusPark VenturesStatement: Zhongke Ruiyi is a translational case study resulting from over a decade of in-depth collaboration between the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS) and leading domestic clinical teams in basic research and clinical scientific research. We place great emphasis on the development journey characterized by years of integration and continuous iteration between technology and clinical practice, through which our team has accumulated valuable translational achievements and clinical data. All products developed by the company are guided by real-world clinical needs in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders. Leveraging human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence technologies as tools, we develop clinically viable and user-friendly diagnostic devices. Our product portfolio is being progressively launched to the market and has gained recognition and support from numerous clinical experts. We anticipate that Zhongke Ruiyi’s products will serve as more precise tools to assist neurologists in disease diagnosis and treatment, while transforming the professional expertise of high-level physicians into standardized algorithmic models, thereby benefiting a broader range of doctors and patients.

Su Xiaorui, Investment Director at GuoTai Venture CapitalStatement: Neurological disorders have long been a key focus area for us. This disease category involves a large patient population, significantly impacts daily life, and presents clearly defined unmet clinical needs. Zhongke Ruiyi has integrated top-tier clinical resources from leading institutions such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Beijing Tiantan Hospital, along with medical cohorts comprising thousands of individuals. Addressing critical clinical pain points, and leveraging AI and big data technologies built upon over a decade of technical accumulation at the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, we have launched a disruptive neurological function assessment system. Compared with traditional solutions, this system enables earlier, more precise, more quantitative, and more convenient screening and diagnosis of neurological disorders, providing clinicians with smarter diagnostic tools. We believe that as more products are developed, obtain regulatory approvals, and expand their clinical applications, Zhongke Ruiyi will demonstrate significant potential both within and beyond hospital settings.

As the aging of China’s population intensifies, the number of patients with neurological disorders—represented by stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease—will continue to rise.

Currently, there are approximately 10 million Alzheimer’s disease patients in China, a figure projected to exceed 40 million by 2050; the number of Parkinson’s disease patients has already surpassed 3 million and is expected to reach 5 million by 2030.

However, the early warning, diagnosis, and treatment of neurological disorders remain major clinical challenges, disproportionate to the vast number of patients and the severe burden of these diseases.

In other disease areas, physicians often diagnose conditions based on data indicators of human physiological functions; for instance, anemia and other disorders can be diagnosed by counting red blood cell counts and measuring hemoglobin concentration. However, the uniqueness of the nervous system renders the description of neural function complex and challenging, making precise early warning, diagnosis, and intervention for neurological diseases even more difficult.

Traditional neurological examination is a disease diagnosis and evaluation method widely used by current neurologists. It has been extensively applied in clinical practice for over a century. The core of this approach involves taking medical histories, conducting visual observations, and using semi-quantitative scales, followed by qualitative assessments of core neurological functions such as motor, cognitive, and sensory capabilities based on the physician’s experience, thereby diagnosing neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. This method relies on the physician’s empirical judgment and is associated with several issues, including strong subjectivity, poor consistency, and high rates of missed diagnoses.

Meanwhile, the uneven distribution of medical resources in China and the lack of diagnostic and therapeutic experience among primary-care neurologists have led to high rates of missed and misdiagnoses of neurological disorders. Furthermore, the onset of neurological diseases, particularly neurodegenerative disorders, is often insidious, with a prolonged disease course. Many patients’ families are unaware of the condition, mistakenly attributing symptoms to “old age” or “senile confusion,” thereby missing the optimal window for diagnosis and treatment. As a result, patients often present for medical intervention only when the disease has progressed to its middle or late stages.

To address this challenge, the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with leading Grade-A tertiary hospitals in China such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, initiated in-depth cooperative research a decade ago. Supported by a series of major national projects, including the National 863 Program during the 12th Five-Year Plan period and the National Key R&D Program during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the team has deeply integrated intelligent human-computer interaction technologies with clinical diagnostic and therapeutic methods. This effort resulted in the development of a multimodal intelligent auxiliary diagnosis system for neurological diseases, which addresses the limitations of traditional neurological function assessment methods and provides physicians with quantitative, standardized, and traceable analyses of neurological function. The project was selected as one of the “Top 30 Best Cases for the Implementation of AI Applications in Healthcare” awarded by the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China. As a representative achievement of the National Key R&D Program, it was featured in the National Exhibition of Scientific and Technological Achievements during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. The invention team received the Second Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award in 2018 and the First Prize of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Award in 2015.

With a series of scientific achievements successively produced, Zhongke Ruiyi was established in 2020, shouldering the important task of transforming these achievements and promoting the comprehensive clinical application of projects. Focusing on core directions such as multimodal quantitative evaluation of neural functions and brain function intervention and remodeling, Zhongke Ruiyi has formed four major product R&D and transformation platforms, covering more than ten specific product pipelines tailored to particular needs and scenarios. These solutions will serve as infrastructure for neurology departments at hospitals of all levels, assisting doctors in more objectively assessing, screening, diagnosing, and treating patients with neurological disorders.

It is reported that the multi-center clinical trial titled “Study on Reference Ranges of Quantitative Parameters for Motor and Cognitive Functions in the Chinese Population” (also known as the Construction of a Data Model for the Healthy Chinese Population), initiated by Zhongke Ruiyi in collaboration with 13 leading domestic neurology hospitals—including Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, and Xiangya Hospital of Central South University—has completed participant enrollment. The establishment of reference ranges for quantitative parameters of two core neurological functions, motor and cognitive abilities, marks a first in the field of neuroscience across China. This achievement will not only drive methodological breakthroughs in the clinical assessment of neurological functions but also provide standardized tools for the diagnosis and functional evaluation of neurological disorders, akin to complete blood counts and electrocardiograms.

Notably, in addition to serving diagnosed patients, Zhongke Ruiyi’s products can also be used for screening and early warning, thereby reaching a broader population. By providing objective assessment, screening, and diagnosis, Zhongke Ruiyi helps patients achieve early detection and timely treatment, simultaneously realizing its social value of saving lives and unlocking greater economic potential.

To date, Zhongke Ruiyi has established two major systems: brain function assessment and disease diagnosis, and digital therapeutics for neurological disorders. Notably, its quantitative motor function assessment system obtained the National Medical Device Registration Certificate in early 2023, making it China’s first non-wearable, non-invasive, medical-grade software and hardware product designed for objective, quantitative assessment of human motor function.

According to the introduction, this product utilizes ultra-high-resolution depth vision sensors, cutting-edge motion capture technology, and intelligent algorithms. By quantitatively evaluating various motor function parameters, it assesses gait, balance, coordination, and range of motion, thereby enabling physicians to make accurate and objective diagnoses and monitor disease progression. This addresses the challenge of inconsistent subjective evaluation criteria in the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders.

The device features a compact footprint and user-friendly operation, enabling immediate use upon startup. It eliminates the need for patients to undergo cumbersome procedures such as donning motion-sensing devices or performing positioning calibration. Compared with traditional gait function assessments, this system completes an examination within 5 minutes and generates a report within 1 minute, allowing more than ten patients to be evaluated per hour, thereby significantly enhancing clinical testing efficiency.

In addition to medical institutions, the quantitative assessment system for motor function can also be used in physical examination centers, rehabilitation facilities, and elderly care institutions. Furthermore, this system enables quantitative evaluation of human motor function before and after drug administration, thereby objectively assessing drug efficacy and accelerating the research, development, and market approval of new drugs.

In addition, several products developed by Zhongke Ruiyi, including the Cognitive Function Assessment and Training System, the Eye-Tracking Detection System, and the Virtual Reality Neurofunctional Rehabilitation Training System, are currently in the registration application phase and are expected to receive approval for market launch sequentially this year.

The reason for such efficient and rapid advancement across multiple product lines is that Zhongke Ruiyi possesses integrated R&D capabilities at the intersection of medicine and engineering, combining industry, academia, and research. Leveraging over a decade of research foundation from the Institute of Software team, Zhongke Ruiyi jointly established the “Joint Innovation Center for Neuroscience” with Peking Union Medical College Hospital, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Beijing Society for Prevention and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Diseases, and collaborated with leading domestic centers and dozens of top-tier experts. This partnership fosters in-depth cooperation across various subspecialties, including cerebrovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and cerebral small vessel disease, driving a complete closed loop from clinical application needs to industrial implementation.

It is reported that the major project under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s “Science and Technology Innovation 2030—New Generation Artificial Intelligence” program, titled “Key Technologies for Intelligent Human-Computer Interaction Aimed at Early Warning of Nervous System Diseases,” in which Zhongke Ruiyi participated in the application, has recently been approved for establishment. Led by Dr. Tian Feng, Chief Scientist of Zhongke Ruiyi and Researcher at the Institute of Software, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS), the project involves a consortium of 10 leading domestic institutions with prominent strengths in key technology research and application demonstrations in this field. The project leverages six national key/engineering laboratories and four top-tier medical research platforms. Participating teams include domestic leaders in human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence, such as ISCAS, Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, and University of Science and Technology Beijing; as well as top-tier neurology research and clinical application teams, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital (ranked first in neurology specialties), Beijing Tiantan Hospital (ranked first in scientific and technological volume for neurology), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, and The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. As the sole enterprise participant, Zhongke Ruiyi is responsible for the transformation and practical implementation of the project’s achievements.

Dr. Fan Xiangmin, CEO of Zhongke Ruiyi, stated, “We are honored to have gained the favor and support of top-tier investment institutions such as TusPark Ventures and Beijing GuoTai Venture Capital Fund Management Co., Ltd. With a series of milestone achievements—including the successful completion of our Series A financing, approval of medical device registration, and initiation of major national projects—the company will fully leverage its resource advantages in scientific research, clinical practice, market access, and capital to accelerate industrialization. This will enable the rapid commercialization of innovative breakthroughs in brain science, thereby serving more physicians and patients.”