Vesalius Ventures CEO Bernard Harris, First African American to Perform a Spacewalk, Expands MedTech Investment Platform into China with Cross-Border Health Tech Accelerator

(Tianjin, October 28, 2015) Vesalius Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in internet healthcare investments, officially announced today that its China-US Cross-Border Accelerator for Internet Healthcare will launch on October 30. After a year of meticulous preparation, this Eden bearing the entrepreneurial dreams of countless innovators has been established in the Tianjin Binhai High-Tech Industrial Development Zone.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Houston, Vesalius Ventures was initially established by three investment firms in collaboration with corporate partners. Leveraging specialized expertise, telemedicine technology, and industry experience, the firm provides targeted support to early- and mid-stage projects, offering capital and management assistance to accelerate the rapid growth of startups and make significant contributions to the development of the healthcare industry.


Since its inception, Vesalius Ventures has invested in or incubated more than 500 projects, spanning fields such as interactive media and databases, clinical decision support tools and healthcare process automation, innovative disease management, real-time signal acquisition and medical parameter analysis, mobile-based electronic communication technologies for displaying medical data, visualization of electronic health records, and telemedicine devices and robotics.

In fact, as early as 2008, Vesalius Ventures, with its global strategic vision, established a partnership with Opal Ventures and opened a branch in Abu Dhabi, Middle East, introducing Israeli and European medical technologies to the U.S. market, thereby injecting new vitality into its corporate investment portfolio. Today, facing China’s vast healthcare market, Vesalius Ventures aims to deepen mutual cooperation between Chinese and American enterprises through a cross-border accelerator, build a market for reciprocal exchange, and ultimately achieve win-win outcomes.

As Dr. Bernard Harris, CEO of Vesalius Ventures, stated, U.S. companies possess expertise, technology, and extensive experience, while Chinese enterprises have an in-depth understanding of the local market. The U.S. side is willing to share expert resources and provide services and products to its Chinese counterparts. Meanwhile, he also expressed hope for opportunities to introduce Chinese products to the U.S. market, thereby tapping into broader market potential.

CEO Dr. Bernard Harris

“From a purely technical standpoint, Chinese enterprises are not lagging behind. Many medical products and wearable devices are manufactured in China and applied in the telemedicine industry, such as electronic products like the Apple Watch and iPhones. Therefore, just like in the United States, China has smart and innovative professionals who are continuously driving industry development. We aim to integrate and participate by bringing together experts and innovative ideas from both countries to collaborate on providing industry solutions and promoting market prosperity. This is also the mission of our cross-border accelerator,” Dr. Harris told VCBeat.

Incubation Platform for Introducing Overseas Projects

To facilitate the smooth advancement of its operations in China, Dr. Harris appointed Lu Jun as Vice President and Managing Partner for China at Vesalius Ventures. Previously, Mr. Lu served as a Senior Business Analyst at a U.S. healthcare informatics company, and also held positions as a securities analyst and sales engineer. He holds dual master’s degrees in Biomedical Sciences and Business Administration from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, respectively.

Just last year, Lu Jun and President Feng of the Tianjin Telemedicine Association collaborated with the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) to participate in and prepare for the inaugural China International Telemedicine Technology Exhibition. This initiative marked the first introduction of the ATA to China, laying the groundwork for the successful establishment of Vesalius Ventures at the Tianjin Cross-Border Accelerator. Lu Jun stated that this platform enables the introduction of U.S. telemedicine companies to Chinese investors and facilitates seamless partnerships with relevant Chinese firms.

For example, JSA Health Telepsychiatry is a recent investment by Vesalius Ventures. It is a telemedicine company specializing in behavioral management for psychiatric patients. By consolidating resources from experienced mental health professionals and high-quality physicians, it sells specialist services to hospitals, emergency departments, community health organizations, educational institutions, and correctional facilities such as prisons. This continuous 24/7 service, combined with high-definition, HIPAA-compliant telemedicine technology, ensures that patients have seamless, uninterrupted access to medical experts anytime and anywhere.



Lu Jun further noted that the CEO of JSA Health Telepsychiatry also traveled to China to attend the accelerator’s unveiling ceremony on Friday. Prior to this, he visited Anding Hospital, a top-tier (Grade 3A) psychiatric specialty hospital, for partnership discussions, expressing hope that his trip to China would uncover additional business opportunities.

Dr. Harris stated that Vesalius Ventures, together with its Tianjin partner Bohan, helped establish a cross-border business accelerator. This model not only incubates Chinese startup internet healthcare companies but also builds a platform to introduce U.S. products and services into the Chinese market, helping American startups find Chinese partners, investors, or potential clients. Through the initial pilot of JSA Health Telepsychiatry, he aims to explore the feasibility of launching U.S. startup projects in China or to identify partners to penetrate the psychiatric care market.

“The core service of JSA Health Telepsychiatry is the remote diagnosis of mental disorders and timely referral to psychiatrists when necessary. In fact, such projects can be readily expanded and extended—for example, to include telemedicine for heart disease, remote management of diabetes, and remote care for stroke patients. The underlying principles are the same, enabling a wide range of applications in China. However, due to my limited understanding of Chinese culture, policies, and the public, I need partners like Lu Jun to help me investigate the Chinese market and launch our business.”

In addition to JSA Health Telepsychiatry, Dr. Harris also highlighted the partnership between eCardio, a portfolio company of Vesalius Ventures, and Youjiali, a Chinese enterprise. As a leader in remote cardiac arrhythmia monitoring services in the United States, eCardio finds a counterpart in Youjiali, which provides similar solutions and operational services as a domestic provider of real-time remote cardiac monitoring.

Vesalius Ventures’ vision is to establish a remote service center for eCardio in China, enabling U.S. experts to remotely review electrocardiogram (ECG) reports and provide therapeutic guidance to Chinese patients. The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in China—such as hypertension, heart failure, and acute cardiac events—is comparable to that in the United States, approaching 40%. Cardiac remote monitoring is a long-term, continuous process; even after successful treatment, patients require ongoing access to monitoring devices. In case of emergencies, such as acute myocardial infarction, patients can use their mobile phones to instantly alert hospitals or physicians, ensuring timely medical intervention. Therefore, Dr. Harris believes that the field of cardiac remote monitoring holds immense promise in China.

Currently, both parties have signed a strategic cooperation agreement, under which eCardio will primarily deliver medical services to China, while not ruling out the possibility of exporting its equipment to China in the future.

Dr. Harris also discussed other investment projects, such as RMD Networks. “RMD” stands for “Reach My Doctor,” an online network platform connecting doctors with doctors, as well as doctors with patients. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Denver, United States, RMD Networks offers a range of core functionalities, including: assisting patients in scheduling medical appointments, automatically processing prescription medication orders, recommending medications or physicians to patients, generating and managing personal health data, addressing health insurance and payment issues, and facilitating communication with physicians regarding medical conditions. Additionally, physicians can share patient information and data with one another. Through a secure information exchange network, these services aim to improve the quality of healthcare while reducing medical costs. In 2010, RMD Networks established its subsidiary, Alere.

Monebo Technologies is another portfolio company of Vesalius Ventures. It offers remote solutions for cardiac monitoring, having independently developed a suite of algorithms—including those for ECG rhythm analysis, ECG interval measurement, heart failure detection, and heart rate variability (HRV) assessment—as well as QRS complex monitoring. These technologies enable the technical interpretation, evaluation, and prediction of physiological cardiac signals. Signal processing constitutes its core competitive advantage: by acquiring digital signals via 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) devices and generating ECG tracings, the system helps physicians assess the risk probability of acute cardiac events, thereby providing robust clinical decision support.

Dr. Harris told VCBeat that his business in China is just getting started. Drawing on past U.S. investment projects, it can be envisioned that Vesalius Ventures will focus on similar enterprises in China. The establishment of the Tianjin Cross-Border Accelerator provides a matchmaking platform for companies from both China and the United States, making it possible to soon determine which projects will achieve cross-border collaboration.

“In fact, internet healthcare projects are a key focus for Vesalius Ventures. This includes medical devices, health IT, and telemedicine communications. We are particularly interested in initiatives that integrate medical services with smartphones, iPads, and internet technology. Areas such as electronic health records (EHRs), personal health records, wearable medical devices, drug development, remote physician consultations, data exchange between doctors and patients, and information sharing among physicians all require advanced equipment to facilitate better connectivity and more convenient communication between healthcare providers and patients,” said Dr. Harris.

In fact, the establishment of a cross-border accelerator in China is also part of Vesalius Ventures’ long-term strategy for implementing its internet healthcare initiatives. For the Chinese market, Vesalius Ventures has adopted a three-pronged strategic approach: first, organizing forums and exhibitions to cultivate its brand by integrating domestic resources; second, collaborating with the Tianjin Binhai High-Tech Industrial Development Area to create a startup incubator that differs from traditional models, serving not only to nurture startups but also as a base for introducing high-quality overseas projects; and third, establishing a dedicated investment fund focused on early-stage projects to facilitate bilateral cross-border investments between China and the United States, thereby assisting domestic companies in pursuing overseas collaborations and mergers and acquisitions.

Why is there such strong optimism about the Chinese market? Dr. Harris further explained the reasons by highlighting the differences between the Chinese and U.S. healthcare systems. In the United States, the most significant difference lies in physician licensure. By law, physicians must hold a medical license for each state in which they practice. Obtaining and maintaining licenses across different states is a cumbersome process, so most physicians hold licenses in only two or three states. It is rare for a physician to be licensed in all 50 states. This regulatory framework has, to some extent, constrained the development of telemedicine in the U.S. For example, a physician licensed in Texas cannot provide remote diagnosis or treatment to patients in California.

However, in China, the government initiated healthcare reforms two to three years ago, encouraging physicians to practice at multiple sites. As a result, Chinese doctors are legally permitted to provide medical services across the country without geographic restrictions. This change is expected to facilitate the redistribution of medical resources and promote equitable access to healthcare for a broader population.

"Victory and defeat are common occurrences in warfare."

As a seasoned investment veteran, Dr. Harris does not shy away from failure; instead, he speaks candidly about his past decision-making errors. In fact, it is nearly impossible for an investor to avoid making at least one or two missteps. One such mistake by Vesalius Ventures occurred approximately five years ago, when it invested in a U.S.-based project focused on personal electronic medical records. The platform’s core functionality allowed health records to be accessed anytime from medical devices, enabling patients to carry their medical histories with them and facilitating easier access to care. After its market launch, the product proved highly popular with users, attracting significant attention and substantial capital infusion from tech giants such as Intel, Google, and Microsoft. This intense competition ultimately led to the failure of Vesalius Ventures’ investment.

Another case, which Dr. Harris still deeply regrets to this day, was a missed investment opportunity. The company in question was InTouch Health, which had developed telepresence robots for in-hospital use. Physicians could remotely control intelligent self-balancing robots from their offices, directing them to patients’ bedsides for remote consultations, with screens displaying patients’ physiological data, electrocardiograms (ECGs), and laboratory results. Later, the company caught the attention of iRobot, and the two parties collaborated to develop a new generation of medical robots.



Additionally, VCBeat consulted Dr. Harris on the secrets to becoming an outstanding investor. He patiently explained, “For investors, the first step is to clearly identify what you want to achieve, and the second is to recognize where market gaps exist. Many people lack sensitivity to everyday phenomena, considering everything around them as commonplace. In contrast, others delve into the underlying patterns or seek out the root causes. Once they identify pain points, they contemplate solutions and are willing to put in the effort. Therefore, good investors are not necessarily the smartest, but they are certainly experts in their respective fields and dare to take risks. They have the courage to go against conventional wisdom, even making bold moves despite opposition from their families. Furthermore, they must possess the perseverance to pursue projects they believe in and see them through to the end. The remaining factor is relentless hard work; only through dedication can one achieve their goals.”

“The accelerator we are building operates on the same principle: it nurtures numerous ideas and innovative startups, facilitating their growth. Providing them with ample funding is at the core of establishing an accelerator in China, which is no different from accelerators founded in California. The investment environment and the cultivation of a free atmosphere for innovation are identical, all aimed at accelerating entrepreneurs’ rapid growth. This is precisely what I aim to introduce to China: fostering innovation and then bringing it to market.”

An Extraordinary Life

In fact, anyone familiar with Dr. Harris’s background is inevitably struck by his extraordinary life journey. After graduating with a degree in biology in 1978, he went on to earn his M.D., completed his internal medicine residency at the Mayo Clinic, and officially began his career as a physician.

In 1987, remarkably, Dr. Harris joined the Ames Research Center of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) as a National Research Council associate, leading research in muscle physiology. He also served as a special trainee in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps and earned a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences in 1996.

After completing his research on NASA’s Ames Project, he participated in the Air Force Clinical Adaptation Research at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and projects such as Extended Duration Spaceflight Countermeasures Research. As a clinical scientist and U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, he developed flight-certified medical equipment and technologies to extend astronauts’ duration of stay in space. As an experienced astronaut, Dr. Harris had a career spanning 18 years, accumulating more than 438 hours in space and traveling over 7.2 million miles.


He flew on two space missions, in 1993 and 1995. During his second mission, he conducted the first telemedicine consultation with the Mayo Clinic from outer space and became the first African American to perform a spacewalk. Dr. Harris later served as Vice President and Chief Scientist at Spacehab, an innovative commercial space enterprise backed by venture capital firms. He subsequently became Vice President of Business Development at Space Media, where he established its e-commerce initiatives.

According to Dr. Harris, telemedicine technology actually traces its origins back to NASA, as ground control stations needed to continuously monitor astronauts’ basic physiological parameters, a process that involved telemedicine techniques. Later, as military aerospace technology gradually transitioned to civilian and commercial applications, telemedicine ultimately became accessible to the general public.

Dr. Harris has received countless awards and honors, including the NASA Space Flight Medal and the 2000 Horatio Alger Award.

Dr. Harris stated, “During my medical training, I learned that attentive listening is crucial for physicians. If a doctor carefully listens and engages in verbal communication with the patient, they can accurately diagnose 95% of diseases without any physical contact. Nowadays, devices are available that maintain real-time remote connectivity between doctors and patients, requiring hospital visits only when necessary. This will undoubtedly significantly improve hospital efficiency.”

Internet Healthcare: Stepping Down from the Pedestal

Compared with doctors in China’s Grade 3A hospitals, who treat approximately 100 patients per day and spend less than five minutes on average per patient, physicians in the United States see an average of 30 to 40 patients daily, with an average consultation time of 10 minutes. Dr. Harris noted that although clinical encounter time remains limited, if patients follow their physicians’ instructions and adhere to guidance provided via a mobile app after their visit—such as diabetic patients paying attention to dietary habits and taking medications according to the prescribed type and dosage—and have convenient one-click access to fitness coaches, nutritionists, or nurses on the other end of the line, this will clearly encourage patients to adopt healthy lifestyle habits and reduce their risk of disease.

“In the healthcare sector, China is undoubtedly a massive market. The internet has given rise to platform-based enterprises such as Alibaba, Baidu, and Airbnb, generating substantial profits and wealth for the world. However, medical resources have not yet been utilized efficiently. If the internet can connect patients, enabling them to order medications and consult doctors online, this business segment is sure to experience sustained growth. This would be beneficial for people in China, the United States, and indeed around the world.”

Dr. Harris also cited an example of his collaboration with the largest cancer center in the United States to bring treatment models to African countries such as Ethiopia and the Congo. Due to the local shortage of oncology specialists, Dr. Harris spearheaded the establishment of surgical centers, enabling cancer patients to receive remote consultations from physicians at hospitals in the United States or the United Kingdom and obtain surgical guidance. Similar telemedicine initiatives can be applied globally to benefit people worldwide.

Regarding the future development of internet healthcare, Dr. Harris firmly believes that it will continue to grow and eventually experience a full-scale boom. In fact, 2016 may well have been the starting point of this boom for the United States, as he had already observed the growth trend of U.S. internet healthcare two years prior. The technology-enabled platforms were gradually approaching the tipping point for explosive growth, after which they would take off like an arrow released from a bowstring.

“By 2020, when we speak of internet healthcare again, it may no longer be filled with the same sense of wonder and anticipation as today; instead, it will have become an ordinary yet indispensable part of standard medical care. Much like banking services—where no one discusses ATMs anymore or questions their security, as we have grown accustomed to their use—the healthcare industry will follow suit. At that time, patients will surely be able to consult with doctors remotely via mobile phones while ensuring privacy and security. If a doctor needs to examine a patient’s ears, the patient can simply turn on the camera for a video consultation; if the doctor needs heart rate data, the patient can place a wearable device on their chest to instantly measure and transmit the data in real time. I believe that internet healthcare will undoubtedly become the norm.”