Noyu Capital Backs Zhenjing Intelligence to Solve TCM Quantification Challenges and Unlock a Trillion-Dollar Market
In 2005, Li Junyi, having just stepped away from his internet startup venture, was contemplating his next career move. Driven by his passion for Chinese history, culture, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and firmly believing that Chinese culture would inevitably rise alongside the nation’s growing prosperity, he resolutely chose the path of inheriting and promoting Chinese culture.
But what represents the values of Chinese culture? He reasoned that, as the only civilization in the world without a cultural discontinuity, Chinese civilization must embody immense value accumulated over thousands of years. He believed that in a healthcare market worth trillions, without robust industrial scale, the scientific and clinical value of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) would fail to benefit a broader patient population.
In order to explore the root causes of the backwardness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and to realize his dream of revitalizing TCM, Li Junyi made a firm resolution to systematically study the scientific logic underlying TCM and investigate the fundamental issues constraining its development.
After seven years of study and research, Li Junyi felt that he had basically acquired the ability to engage in in-depth exchanges with the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) community. In 2012, he established the Jixing TCM Culture Committee, leveraging this platform to bring together over one hundred members, including National Medical Masters, renowned senior TCM practitioners from various provinces, as well as numerous TCM universities and research institutions across China. Subsequently, the Gansu Jixing Dajia TCM Clinic and Nanjing Zhenjing Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. were successively founded, serving as practical vehicles for Li Junyi and his underlying TCM resources, theories, and scientific research.
Since firmly committing to the industrialization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Li Junyi has been constantly haunted by the harsh realities facing the TCM industry. Following the establishment of the Jixing TCM Culture Committee in 2012, identifying the root causes of these conditions and exploring pathways to overcome the challenges hindering the revitalization of TCM have become the focal points of discussion among the committee’s experts. As thinking and practice have deepened, Li Junyi and numerous TCM experts have gradually identified five major pain points impeding the development of the TCM industry:
First, clinical diagnosis and treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) cannot be quantified or visualized, making evidence-based practice difficult. As a result, TCM remains largely reliant on subjective judgment and individual experience, posing significant challenges for integration with modern science.
Second, the inability to scientifically evaluate the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), coupled with the difficulty in understanding communication regarding disease diagnosis and treatment, makes it challenging for patients to establish firm confidence in TCM clinical practice.
Third, the difficulty in understanding TCM theories, the obscurity of classical texts, and the intangible nature of concepts such as yin-yang, exterior-interior, deficiency-excess, and cold-heat have resulted in a lack of technological tools in TCM education, leading to an extremely low success rate in cultivating competent TCM practitioners.
Fourth, it is difficult for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to explore the patterns of various diseases and major illnesses. The effective experiences accumulated throughout history are hard to summarize into evidence-based disease models, which severely hinders the realization of TCM’s immense value.
5. Traditional Chinese medicine faces significant obstacles in its global expansion, hindered by the profound challenge of being “difficult to articulate and hard to comprehend.”
Faced with the five major pain points in the development of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry, Li Junyi’s team gradually identified a core cause underlying these issues—TCM Lacks Modern Tools Aligned with TCM Theory!“Without technological means, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) cannot establish its own standards; without standards, TCM cannot achieve modernization.” In his view,The modernization of traditional Chinese medicine must be built upon the foundations of scientification and standardization, while standardization, in turn, requires quantifiable tools.Having identified the primary contradiction, this concept became the starting point for all research and development strategies pursued by Li Junyi and his team.
Since 2015, Li Junyi’s team has been engaged in clinical research on meridian diagnostic devices. Li Junyi noted that research on meridian instruments in China first began in 1972. “In 2015, we selected a meridian detection device from among the interdisciplinary experts of the Jixing Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture Committee. This device is the result of over forty years of continuous scientific research and technological breakthroughs, achieving significant outcomes.”
The device can simultaneously and continuously collect clinical data from 80 acupoints along the body’s 20 major meridians (the twelve regular meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians). Its research foundation aligns closely with our vision for a clinically scientific tool that adheres to the inherent principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Furthermore, the device requires further refinement by summarizing its application logic from TCM clinical practice and integrating complex network systems technology for intelligent R&D. “Therefore, we have assembled an interdisciplinary professional team to accelerate the industrialization and clinical adoption of this device.”
The international scientific community has confirmed that the human body’s meridians are specialized low-resistance pathways, and the technology for acquiring corresponding meridian data by detecting the electrical resistance of acupoints is largely mature. The key challenge lies in whether data algorithms can present the unique indicators required for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) syndrome differentiation—namely, Yin-Yang, exterior-interior, cold-heat, and deficiency-excess, collectively known as the “Eight Principles” in TCM. “TCM theory is built upon invisible aspects of vital energy, such as Qi and blood, Yin and Yang, deficiency and excess, and cold and heat. These indicators constitute the most critical basis for TCM diagnosis, yet they remain undetectable by modern medical scientific equipment.”
How to Understand the Presentation of the Eight Principles: Yin-Yang, Exterior-Interior, Cold-Heat, and Deficiency-Excess? The Eight Principles are essentially the eight fundamental criteria used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for syndrome differentiation. They involve gathering evidence from eight distinct aspects to make an accurate diagnosis of a disease. This approach is analogous to Western medicine’s use of blood tests, specific biomarker assays, and imaging studies, where various indicators are combined to determine the nature and location of a disease.Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) focuses more on dialectical analysis of the causes of disease onset, namely etiology, pathogenesis, disease progression, and prognosis. The Eight Principles constitute the most important dialectical foundation in TCM diagnosis and serve as the fundamental basis for formulating clinical treatment plans.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), there are numerous schools and methods for clinical pattern differentiation. The most widely practiced include Zang-Fu organ pattern differentiation and Qi-Blood pattern differentiation, while more in-depth approaches include San Jiao (Triple Burner) pattern differentiation and Six Meridian pattern differentiation. All these systems of pattern differentiation are founded upon the evidentiary framework of the Eight Principles pattern differentiation.
Guided by the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) meridian theory, and using the TCM “Eight-Principle Pattern Differentiation” as key indicators, the Zhenjing Intelligent Research Team collected and analyzed extensive human physiological data. They developed a novel “Modernized Fifth Diagnostic Method of TCM”—the Multi-Channel Meridian Dynamic Intelligent Detection System—which accurately reflects dynamic changes in the circulation of qi and blood, thereby assisting clinical diagnosis and treatment in TCM.
From the perspective of the multi-lead meridian system, when TCM practitioners encounter complex diseases with intertwined symptoms that make pattern differentiation challenging, they can use a meridian diagnostic instrument to visualize the Eight Principles. This allows them to obtain accurate evidence based on their own dialectical and medical logic, thereby guiding the formulation of treatment plans. The Multi-Lead Meridian Dynamic Intelligent Detection System will help integrate the various schools of thought in current TCM pattern differentiation, fostering a unified consensus and synergistic effect.
“Everything is based on objectification, quantification, and visualization. This is a key feature of the Zhenjing Intelligent Multi-Channel Meridian System. Furthermore, as Traditional Chinese Medicine emphasizes holistic and systemic approaches, the Zhenjing Intelligent Multi-Channel Meridian System fully embodies the concepts of holism and dynamic perspective.”
Li Junyi introduced that the Zhenjing Intelligent team has made significant contributions to the multi-channel meridian system in two key aspects. First, they innovated the design of the meridian data acquisition device, substantially improving detection efficiency; a single acquisition takes only about five minutes, yielding precise and stable data. Second, they developed an operational software system centered on clinical syndrome differentiation analysis. The Zhenjing Intelligent team enhanced clinical usability, big data collection, dynamic data process analysis, multi-modal data fusion, and artificial intelligence–driven analytical capabilities. “We cross-reference the objective data obtained from meridian acquisition with the findings from TCM practitioners’ consultations, thereby providing richer data support for physicians’ diagnostic decisions,” Li Junyi stated. Currently,Zhenjing Intelligence is finalizing the design freeze for its medical device product, aiming to make data acquisition more convenient and accurate. Based on the current progress, the device is expected to be finalized by the end of December 2022, with clinical promotion scheduled for the second half of 2023.
In November 2021, Nanjing Zhenjing Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. was established in Nanjing, dedicated to the research and production of digital and intelligent diagnostic and therapeutic equipment for clinical Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
On September 22, 2022, the Seminar on Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements and the Investment Signing Ceremony for the “Multi-Channel Meridian Dynamic Intelligent Detection System,” hosted by the School of Continuing Education of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, was successfully held. Zhenjing Intelligence became the first medical intelligent equipment R&D enterprise jointly incubated by Nuoyu Capital and the platform of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.
Yang Zhiwen, Founding Partner of Nuoyu CapitalIt has been stated that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) represents a rare trillion-yuan market; in Shanghai alone, annual sales of TCM decoction pieces reach RMB 5 billion. However, despite this massive market size, the TCM medical device sector remains virtually untapped, lacking even basic diagnostic equipment. The Zhenjing team has achieved a breakthrough in this blue-ocean market by developing an Intelligent Multi-Channel Meridian System. This system provides a comprehensive set of objective, quantitative indicators for TCM diagnosis and efficacy assessment, functioning akin to a multi-parameter biochemical analyzer specifically for TCM. By establishing a foundational technological platform, it is helping to transition TCM from “metaphysics” toward scientific rigor.
“The founding team of Zhenjing has also left a deep impression on me. Both TCM experts hold PhDs in Biology, combining profound expertise in Traditional Chinese Medicine with rigorous scientific thinking, thereby achieving a true integration of Chinese and Western approaches. The algorithm team is composed of doctoral students led by a supervisor specializing in complex systems research. This structure aligns well with the TCM principle of treating the human body as an integrated whole and further resonates with the complex dialectical theory that intertwines humanity with the universe and the four seasons. The operations team is headed by a PhD graduate from Tsinghua University with extensive experience in medical device operations. We are firmly optimistic about Zhenjing’s outstanding team and believe they will serve as the key lever to unlock the vast blue-ocean market of TCM medical devices.”
During the interview, Li Junyi recalled how he met Yang Zhiwen. Li got to know Yang, who served as an entrepreneurship mentor, while participating in the Future Healthcare Leaders Program at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, where they engaged in multiple exchanges and discussions. “Teacher Yang Zhiwen helped me clarify the commercialization strategy for our project based on our technological characteristics and the patterns of industry incubation. He also guided us on how to effectively communicate our vision for the modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to the industry. His practical assistance has been instrumental in the development of Nanjing Zhenjing Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., helping us bridge the gap between TCM and modern enterprise management.”
“Our core founding team consists of interdisciplinary talent. The entire team not only possesses a deep and clear understanding of the direction toward modernization and intelligent development of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), but also holds a firm belief in using technology to empower TCM, enabling this great medical tradition to benefit more people and families worldwide. Behind Zhenjing Intelligence stands extensive support from clinical application research conducted by outstanding young and middle-aged TCM practitioners, nationally renowned veteran TCM experts, and Masters of TCM. We are fully confident that the Zhenjing team is well-equipped to drive the significant process of TCM modernization.”
Providing objective, quantifiable TCM diagnostic indicators is merely the first step for Zhenjing Intelligence. As data on yin-yang, exterior-interior, cold-heat, and deficiency-excess patterns continue to accumulate, Zhenjing Intelligence will establish algorithmic links among diagnostic data, physicians’ prescriptions, and classical formulas, thereby enabling the multi-channel meridian system to serve as a reference basis for prescription decisions. This will provide tangible support for improving the TCM diagnostic and treatment capabilities of primary-care physicians, while also offering visualized and quantifiable objective tools for TCM education.
With the establishment of clinical quantitative standards and the accumulation of data, effective tools will become available to address a series of longstanding challenges in the industry, such as research on major diseases and the screening process for new drug development. Guided by the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principle that “the superior physician prevents disease before it occurs,” the integration of multi-channel meridian systems into household settings will make personalized TCM health regimens—tailored to individual patterns of cold, heat, deficiency, and excess—an attainable reality. Against the backdrop of strained medical insurance resources and a growing emphasis on prevention over treatment, TCM, with its strength in preventive care, will play an increasingly significant role in health preservation and disease prevention.
“At Zhenjing Intelligence, we aspire to be pioneers in intelligent diagnostic and therapeutic equipment for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), trailblazers in the integration of Traditional Chinese and Western medicine, and the strategic fulcrum that leverages the trillion-yuan TCM industry market.”