Yaguo Technology: Entering the Era of Intelligent Airway Clearance

On an ordinary workday, in an unassuming apartment building in Huilongguan, Li Qian and her team were already hard at work early in the morning, a routine that has persisted for two years. Li Qian is the founder of Beijing Yaguo Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yaguo Tech”), an innovative medical device company specializing in airway management and respiratory therapy. The company is developing a “state-of-the-art, human-centered” assisted sputum clearance system for critically ill patients worldwide.

Developing medical devices is a “heavy” endeavor, requiring one to endure solitude and withstand pressure. Since its establishment two years ago, Beijing Yaguo Technology Co., Ltd. has maintained a low profile. Although it achieved excellent results in entrepreneurship competitions, the company never accepted interviews and has consistently preserved the passion and all-out work pace characteristic of its early startup phase. Li Qian stated that they would press on without letup until clinical completion was achieved. “Whether in R&D, factory construction, clinical trials, or financing, the process is akin to the shedding of baby teeth in childhood: only you can control the pace. Sometimes you need to be tough with yourself and pull it out; other times, you must have ample patience and wait for it to fall out on its own.” Currently, the company’s intelligently developed bionic sputum drainage system has entered the clinical trial phase and is expected to obtain medical device certification and officially enter the market within 2016. Li Qian remarked, “It is time for everyone to get to know us.”

Helping Patients Cough and Clear Phlegm Like Healthy Individuals

Drivers in other industries often stem from fun or the pursuit of pleasure, whereas those in the healthcare industry are frequently driven by pain.

“My father was a victim of the scarcity of medical devices in the 1990s,” Li Qian told VCBeat. “His condition should have been diagnosed with a CT scan, but the hospital lacked the equipment, forcing doctors to rely on guesswork. Unfortunately, they guessed wrong. Later, when I went through his diary, I felt profound grief. Doctors are not gods, but they deal with the most sacred of all things—life. Therefore, they need powerful tools.” This experience led Li Qian to enter the medical device industry at the start of his graduate studies. “I was fortunate enough to successfully bring two devices I led to market.” The impetus for developing a bionic sputum evacuation device came from a friend’s experience caring for a relative in the ICU: “Suctioning sputum looked incredibly painful.” That friend provided the seed funding from Yaguo.

“There are only two outcomes in life: intubation or no intubation.” In China, 625,000 ventilators are currently in use, with an annual growth rate of 10%, among which invasive ventilators account for 58.3%. The most common and fatal complication associated with the use of invasive ventilators is ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), with an incidence rate of 43.1% and a mortality rate of 51.6%. The primary reason is the patient’s inability to effectively clear secretions. There are three clinical approaches (devices) to address this issue.

The first method is to remove sputum using a suction catheter.This method requires operation by professional nurses. For patients, it is nothing short of a nightmare; the process of inserting the suction catheter into the airway is extremely painful, and each patient undergoes intubation for sputum clearance several times daily. Furthermore, this method can only clear the main airways and is unable to remove secretions within the bronchi, resulting in poor sputum clearance efficacy. Nevertheless, it remains the most commonly used method at present.

The second method is to use a vibration expectoration device for sputum clearance.Previously, manual back percussion by nurses was frequently used in clinical practice for sputum drainage. The working mechanism of mechanical vibration expectorators is to replace manual back percussion with mechanical vibration. However, the clinical efficacy of this method has not been entirely satisfactory, and the vibration is simultaneously transmitted to the nurse’s arms during operation, causing fatigue.

The third method is mechanical negative pressure airway suction.Currently, there is a device on the market that requires disconnecting the ventilator during use. It delivers air into the lungs using its own positive pressure and then removes gas from the lungs using negative pressure. The major drawback of this method is that it is cumbersome and hazardous, making it unfeasible for critically ill patients and potentially causing lung injury. Consequently, its use in intensive care units (ICUs) is rare.

Yaguo Technology’s intelligent bionic sputum clearance system simulates normal human coughing through both airflow and muscle movement, enabling patients to safely and efficiently clear secretions from the deep lungs via coughing, just like healthy individuals.Previously, there were no such bionic sputum clearance products on the market; this system can be said to fill a gap in this niche segment of the medical device industry.

This system can work in conjunction with a ventilator. After the ventilator assists the patient with inhalation, Yaguo’s sensors determine whether the inhalation phase has ended. Upon completion of inhalation, the system assists the patient with exhalation and sputum clearance. Furthermore, the intelligent bionic sputum clearance system utilizes external electrical stimulation to induce corresponding actions in the main respiratory muscles, thereby facilitating sputum expulsion and aiding in the recovery of the patient’s respiratory function.

Moreover, this system connects to the ventilator solely via the pneumatic circuit, with no other physical connections, enabling compatibility with any ventilator model and facilitating market expansion through collaboration with ventilator manufacturers.

Li Qian stated that the greatest advantage of this system is providing patients with a safe, efficient, and comfortable sputum expectoration experience.

Furthermore, this system incorporates network data acquisition and big data analytics modules, enabling real-time monitoring and management of users’ sputum expectoration status. Subsequently, big data can be leveraged to guide clinical processes and weaning from catheters.

Yaguo’s first product tackles the most challenging area, addressing life-and-death issues for critically ill patients. This foundation will enable the company to navigate with ease as it subsequently develops product lines for general wards and home care. Li Qian stated that, in the future, system hosts and consumables will be its primary profit drivers. The market is projected to reach tens of billions of yuan domestically and hundreds of billions internationally.

Angels by Your Side

The angel investors are Yu Rong, Chairman of Meinian Onehealth, and Li Wengang, Managing Director of Zhongwei Fund.

During the startup journey, Li Qian felt particularly fortunate that her angel investors not only provided substantial financial support to her team but also shared the same philosophy: this project is highly valuable and meaningful, and regardless of success or failure, we are together engaged in a meaningful endeavor.

When Li Qian first met Yu Rong, Chairman of Meinian Onehealth, he told her, “This product can help many people. I support you.”

When Li Wengang, Managing Director of Zhongwei Fund, met Li Qian, she had just resigned from her R&D position at a well-known domestic medical device company to start her own business. After brief interactions, he was deeply impressed by Li Qian’s sincerity and diligence.

“At the 2015 Singularity University China Chapter Recruitment Competition, Li Wengang made the following remarks to evaluate Beijing Yaguo Technology Co., Ltd.:”

As a former physician, when a project can save patients from a stubborn disease with a mortality rate as high as 52%, what choice do I have but to support it?

"As an investor focused on healthcare, when I encounter an entrepreneur who pours all her dreams and passion into a life-saving venture, what choice do I have but to support her?"

When family members of patients, having endured the anguish of separation and death, see a product that can alleviate the suffering of their loved ones confined to hospital beds, restore their health, and prolong their lives—what else can we do but support her right now?

Team and Honors

Currently, Beijing Yaguo Technology Co., Ltd. occupies over 900 square meters of space, comprising office areas, laboratories, and cleanroom workshops. “Behind this innovative medical device is a multidisciplinary team with years of technological accumulation.” Yaguo’s engineers span generations born in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, truly forming a team that integrates senior, mid-career, and young professionals. Most company members hail from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) or Tsinghua University, either as top academic achievers or as seasoned engineers from leading industry companies. Meanwhile, the team is supported by multiple medical advisors from Grade A tertiary hospitals, including attending physicians and department directors, as well as expert consultants from the Chinese Academy of Sciences who receive special government allowances from the State Council.

The company has filed over a dozen patent applications, seven of which have been granted, while the remaining are at various stages of examination.

At the Dark Horse Sports Meet roadshow in April 2015, Yaguo Technology won the Grand Championship. In May of the same year, as a representative of China’s most innovative enterprises, Yaguo participated in the Singularity University China Regional Student Recruitment Competition, authorized by Singularity University and hosted by Baidu News. After fierce competition, Yaguo emerged as the sole representative selected from China to visit Silicon Valley, USA, joining the world’s premier innovation enterprise club and showcasing its prowess among the globe’s most pioneering entrepreneurs. Through this experience, Li Qian established a connection with Google X. They visited this unassuming office complex twice and facilitated Yaguo’s application to the Solve for X program. Ultimately, the Intelligent Bionic Sputum Drainage System passed the review, was selected as a “moonshot,” and became one of the five moonshots featured at the inaugural Solve for X Asia Summit in November 2015. That same year, Yaguo also received an Excellence Award in the finals of the Medical Industry category of the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.

Financing Plan

Currently, Yaguo has launched a new round of financing, with the funds to be used for production capacity expansion, market promotion, and research and development of its product series. Li Qian stated, “With environmental deterioration and an aging population, the number of patients requiring invasive ventilation will continue to rise. As airway management is a critical factor determining survival rates, it must be upgraded. The transition from manual and mechanical sputum clearance to intelligent bionic methods represents not only an essential upgrade but also a significant advancement, ushering in a new era of airway management for critically ill patients.”