Medical Imaging Series Report No.11: Yingda Tech – Deepening Mobile Imaging Technology

Strictly speaking, diagnostic image interpretation on an iPad is feasible. With technological advancements, tablet-based mobile devices compliant with iPad specifications have increasingly become pocket-sized tools for physicians, serving as important adjuncts in clinical practice. First, tablet screens are larger than smartphone displays, and their resolution can approach the requirements for radiological diagnosis. Second, a critical function in radiological interpretation is the adjustment of window width and level on DICOM-formatted raw images; this capability ensures high-fidelity rendering of medical images on mobile devices.

(Windowing technique is a display method used in CT examinations to observe normal tissues or lesions with varying densities, encompassing window width and window level. On the same CT scan slice, selecting different window widths and levels allows for the acquisition of grayscale images that highlight various tissue structures.)

In 2011, the U.S. FDA approved the Apple iPad for use as an adjunct device in radiological medical image diagnosis for the first time. The FDA stated that the iPad’s advanced mobile technology enables physicians to view images immediately, eliminating the need to move back and forth between the diagnostic site and workstations.

The iPacs engine produced by Chengdu Yingda Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yingda Technology”) was initially positioned for mobile medical imaging applications, aiming to display images in high definition and meet diagnostic-grade standards.

In January 2015, Jiang Jiang, founder and CEO of Yingda Technology, began formal preparations to establish the company, having already conducted several months of technical pre-research and validation. The company was officially incorporated on May 29 this year. In June, version 1.0 of the SDK-embedded mobile imaging sharing toolkit and the remote diagnosis platform, both included in the iPacs engine, were officially launched.

“iPACS” is a lightweight, open-source medical imaging engine. Aligned with the trends toward cloud-based storage and mobile visualization of medical images, it can be seamlessly integrated into various scenarios related to medical imaging applications.

PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems), fully known as "Image Archiving and Communication System," is a medical imaging technology that provides image storage and access. Based on modern computer and communication technologies, it replaces traditional film with digital formats for image processing, thereby enabling the efficient and cost-effective storage, management, transmission, and display of medical images and case information. Its primary task is to store the vast volume of various medical images generated daily by hospital radiology departments in digital format, allowing for rapid retrieval and use under appropriate authorization when needed, while also incorporating additional auxiliary diagnostic and management functions.

Compared with traditional PACS systems, the “iPACS” engine is more suitable for mobile use, as it displays content via HTML5 without requiring any plugins, and mobile browsers offer better HTML5 support than their PC counterparts.

The “iPACS” engine can be applied to remote imaging diagnosis, case sharing and discussion within imaging education communities, personal cloud storage of medical images for patients, and shared access to imaging reports. It can also be used to build cloud-storage-based regional PACS imaging centers. Yingda Corporation believes that while medical imaging is a critical component, optimal outcomes are achieved only when it is integrated with clinical workflows and other business processes. This rationale underpins the company’s decision to encapsulate its core technologies into an SDK.

Jiang Jiang stated that the SDK serves to enhance the capabilities of physician-led startups. Since many such groups lack expertise in building technical teams, we can act as the engine for medical imaging solutions.

The SDK-embedded mobile imaging sharing toolkit comprises three components: front-end image display, cloud-based image storage and transmission, and back-end image processing.

Currently, a large number of medical app software companies in China are building their own databases. Unfortunately, patient data is scattered like pearls within these isolated, closed databases and has not been effectively utilized. Yingda Technology aims to avoid reinventing the wheel, at least in the field of medical imaging, by prioritizing the use of imaging as a critical auxiliary support for disease diagnosis. The company advocates for maximizing the sharing and utilization of medical images through cloud storage, based on the legal principle that imaging records, as objective medical records, belong to the patients themselves. Technically, it adopts a non-intrusive embedding and integration approach using HTML5, which allows for the convenient integration of professional image viewing tools across iOS, Android, and Windows platforms. The initial concept behind Yingda’s R&D SDK is to provide a toolkit without customizing page workflows.

As an SDK-based foundational component, it offers entry points for applications across various domains, including physician-physician community apps, doctor-patient community apps, oncology disease management apps, single-disease analysis and management software, patient follow-up systems, chronic disease management platforms, and even veterinary orthopedic medical record systems. To accommodate different application scenarios, SDK 2.0 introduces two modes: “Professional Mode” and “High-Speed Mode,” achieving a balance between display efficiency and precision. For instance, imaging-intensive diagnostic workflows can utilize “Professional Mode,” while imaging-focused educational sharing can leverage “High-Speed Mode.” Even in “Professional Mode,” technologies such as image cropping, compression, and chunked transmission are employed to optimize transfer efficiency. Compared with traditional PACS vendors, Yingda’s iPACS is positioned as a more flexible and lightweight solution. Medical imaging applications are not always heavy-duty, bulldozer-style systems; significant opportunities exist in specialized niche markets.

Jiang Jiang stated that no traditional medical software company in China has yet positioned itself to specialize in developing a lightweight, open-source PACS browser engine. Mobile imaging technology should first be made available to healthcare entrepreneurs, allowing each party to focus on its core competencies. Although some companies offer open cloud imaging platforms, they typically provide access only through SaaS models. For instance, ScImage in the United States launched PicomWebLink with objectives similar to ours, but it does not provide an SDK encapsulation for developers. Moreover, many server backends remain constrained by vendor limitations, and their architectures tend to be heavy-weight. In contrast, Yingda Company offers an SDK that can be deployed on clients’ private servers and supports the construction of a lightweight PaaS architecture, making it better suited for mobile healthcare application scenarios.

Currently, Yingda Technology only provides partial source code to developers for embedded support, with the SDK scheduled to be fully open-sourced in 2017. “We aim to lower the barrier to entry for mobile imaging entrepreneurship in China.” Nevertheless, the expansion of medical imaging services remains constrained by geographical limitations and regulatory policies. The era of free physician practice has yet to arrive, and the growth of internet-based imaging diagnosis is far from being as simple as replicating a “viral loop.”

“Yingda Technology is committed to continuously advancing in the following direction: integrating clinical and imaging data to conduct in-depth, disease-specific analyses, thereby enhancing data value; developing specialized applications and apps for niche areas; and exploring and implementing enterprise-grade PACS hybrid cloud storage solutions to alleviate hospitals’ concerns about migrating data to the cloud. This has been our strategic direction since securing financing in 2016.”

Partners

The company’s current partners include Huaxia Imaging Network, among others. It is also a contributing member of the Hangzhou OMAHA Alliance and an enterprise supported by Alibaba Cloud’s Healthcare Industry Cloud program.

Team Background

Jiang Jiang’s team currently consists of nine members, including backend development specialists and radiologists with 17 years of experience in the healthcare industry.

Financing Status

Yingda Technology currently has only small-scale individual seed investment and has not yet formally commenced fundraising. The company plans to officially launch its angel round in August. “We still hope to connect with investors specializing in the internet healthcare sector, so that they can provide guidance to our team. We aim to leverage external resources to strengthen talent acquisition, build an innovative legal team, and enhance corporate management,” said Jiang Jiang.