VB ThinkTank Session #67: The Present and Future of Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Robots

Given its vast population, China is considered the country with the largest rehabilitation needs globally. According to statistical data from The Lancet, the number of people in China requiring rehabilitation services reached 460 million in 2019. This substantial patient demand has spurred a massive rehabilitation market. With the accelerating aging of the population, heightened public awareness of rehabilitation, and strong policy support from the government, the market size of the rehabilitation medical service industry is poised for continued growth.

The rehabilitation medical market is vast, yet the development of domestic and international exoskeleton robot companies in this sector has remained lukewarm. In the field of rehabilitation exoskeleton robots, China started late, with few application cases. Moreover, the shortage of professional rehabilitation therapists in China has resulted in limited data from clinical trials and applications, hindering the establishment of standardized rehabilitation protocols and preventing the true realization of their clinical value.

Traditional rehabilitation exoskeleton robots have two major limitations. First, they rely on passive training, which yields inferior rehabilitation outcomes compared to active training. Second, these devices are relatively bulky and cumbersome, with complex operational procedures.

Recently,Anjielai Technology’s Innovative Product, LiteStepper™ Single-Leg Rehabilitation Training Robot, Approved for Market Launch, this is aWorld’s First Single-Lower-Limb Rehabilitation Medical Robot，For use in healthcare settings, where trained medical personnel guide hemiplegic patients through rehabilitation training.It is reported that “mobile robot-assisted lower-limb gait training” has been included in the medical insurance catalogs of multiple provinces and municipalities, with the Beijing medical insurance item code: MZZ00001.

1. Core Clinical Application Value of Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Robots

2. Marketization Challenges and Countermeasures for Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Robots

3. Challenges and Solutions in Active Rehabilitation with Rehabilitative Exoskeleton Robots

4. Sharing on the Certification of AngelRay’s Single-Leg Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Robot Product

What Are the Current Pain Points of Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Robots? How Will They Develop in the Future?

At 20:00 on October 10, 2022, VCBeat and Anjielai Technology will jointly“The Present and Future of Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Robots”as the theme, inviting Li Zhe, Vice President of Zhengzhou University Rehabilitation Hospital; Cao Xin, Investment Director at October Capital; and Li Luya, Founder of Anjielai Technology, to participate in a roundtable discussion on the current state and future of domestic rehabilitation exoskeleton robots.

Li Zhe | Deputy Director of Zhengzhou University Rehabilitation Hospital, Chief Physician, Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Medicine

Li Zhe, M.D., Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Medicine, Chief Physician, and Doctoral Supervisor. Visiting Scholar at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, and Academic and Technical Leader of the Henan Provincial Department of Education. Deputy Director of Zhengzhou University Rehabilitation Hospital and Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. Director of the Henan Provincial Quality Control Center for Rehabilitation Medicine; Chairman of the 7th Committee of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Henan Medical Association; Member of the Specialty Branch of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation of the Chinese Medical Association; Vice Chairman of the Committee on Rehabilitation of Craniocerebral Trauma of the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine; Corresponding Editorial Board Member of the *Chinese Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation*; Vice President of the Rehabilitation Physicians Branch of the Henan Medical Doctor Association; Vice Chairman of the Rehabilitation Medicine Management Branch of the Henan Hospital Management Association; Director of the Teaching and Research Section of Rehabilitation Medicine and Physiotherapy at Zhengzhou University; and Director of the Rehabilitation Medicine Base for Standardized Residency Training at the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Henan Province.

Primary Research Focus: Basic and Clinical Studies in Neurorehabilitation.

Cao Xin | Investment Director, October Capital

Cao Xin holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Tokyo. With several years of experience in consulting and equity investment in the healthcare sector, he previously worked at Accenture and Chuanliu Investment. Currently serving as Investment Director at Shanghai Shiyue Asset Management Co., Ltd., he oversees investments in the medical device and in vitro diagnostics (IVD) sectors. In recent years, he has led investment initiatives for companies including Angelai, Baiying Biotechnology, and Microscope Intelligence.

Li Luya | Founder and President, Anjielei Technology

Dr. Li Luya, Founder and CEO of Angelai Technology, studied under Academician Zhang Qixian, a renowned Chinese expert in spatial mechanisms and robotics. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanics and completed his postdoctoral research at Beihang University. Later, under the supervision of Professor William A. Gruver, an IEEE Life Fellow, he conducted postdoctoral research on the redundancy of intelligent dexterous hands at Simon Fraser University.

For over two decades, he has been engaged in academic research, product development, and commercialization of robotics and intelligent non-invasive medical devices. He served as a senior executive at two overseas listed medical device companies for more than ten years and co-founded Urodynamix Technologies Ltd. His achievements include participating in or leading more than 10 national-level scientific research and industrialization projects; publishing over 20 academic papers; obtaining more than 20 authorized patents and having 8 international patent applications published; receiving three ministerial-level Science and Technology Progress Awards; securing regulatory approvals from the U.S. FDA, EU CE, China NMPA, and South Korea KFDA for four medical device products; and leading or participating in equity financing rounds for Chinese and foreign enterprises totaling over RMB 600 million.

Anjielai Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. was established in December 2017, founded by leading talents in robotics and biomedical engineering, as well as rehabilitation

A National High-Tech Enterprise Founded by a Senior Team of Medical Experts.

The company focuses on the field of intelligent rehabilitation, addressing critical clinical needs by developing innovative products such as single-lower-limb and ankle-foot rehabilitation training robots. It has mastered key technologies including intelligent autonomous gait learning, human-robot interaction, redundant sensor fusion, musculoskeletal metabolic information sensing, and exoskeleton bionic design, and holds more than 70 related intellectual property rights.

The company is setting its sights on the international rehabilitation market and actively expanding its global business footprint, with an overseas division currently established in North America. Meanwhile, it is advancing in-depth collaborations with leading international research and clinical institutions to comprehensively enhance the efficiency and efficacy of rehabilitation medical care, bringing disruptive innovation to the global rehabilitation industry.

Shiyue Capital is a rapidly growing, emerging private equity investment management firm founded by former senior executives of leading domestic securities firms and core members of their equity investment and investment banking teams. Shiyue Capital operates three management platforms and currently manages more than 10 private equity funds, with assets under management exceeding RMB 3 billion. Since 2016, it has invested in nearly 50 projects, with 22 portfolio companies successfully listed on the A-share market (including those approved but awaiting issuance), and over 10 prospective IPO candidates are in the process of filing new applications.