With Tens of Thousands of Clinical Trials, Wireless Endoscopy Emerging Player Insy Medical Completes Tens-of-Millions Series A Financing

Recently, Insy Medical, an emerging player in the domestic wireless endoscopy sector, completed a Series A financing round of tens of millions of RMB. The investor consortium includes Kairos Capital, Yueda Private Equity Funds, and Suzhou Angel FOF. The funds will be primarily used to accelerate the research and development and regulatory approval of disposable wireless endoscopes, as well as the development of both domestic and international channel networks.

Founded in 2020, Insy Medical is one of the few domestic wireless endoscope manufacturers that independently masters three foundational technologies: ultra-high-definition ultra-low-latency wireless image transmission, image signal processing calibration technology, and low-power system integration. The company's core product, the wireless endoscope camera system, has obtained a medical device registration certificate. The system integrates endoscopic camera, cold light source, and power supply into a single unit, featuring intelligence, miniaturization, and wireless capabilities, and is broadly applicable across all rigid endoscopy departments including urology, orthopedics, gynecology, otorhinolaryngology, thoracic surgery, and general surgery.

To this end, VCBeat conducted an exclusive interview with Meng Fan, founder and CEO of Insy Medical, to explore how this leader in intelligent wireless technology is pioneering a wireless new era in minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment.

Meng Fan, who holds both a master's degree and a doctorate from the School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, has focused his research on the development of complete medical device systems. In 2019, through a research project opportunity, his team undertook a national project established by the Ministry of Science and Technology on the development of endoscope image processing motherboards, with the goal of targeting the endoscope image acquisition and processing motherboard market, which had long been monopolized by German and Japanese manufacturers.

"At that time, the core technology motherboards for many domestic endoscopes were purchased from Germany or Japan, then assembled and registered in China. By the time the products reached the end-users, prices remained prohibitively high," Meng Fan pointed out in the interview, describing the market landscape for endoscope image motherboards at that time.

During the course of the research project, the team conducted in-depth communication and surveys with clinicians, receiving extensive frontline feedback on the user experience of endoscope equipment. "The equipment was too bulky. The handheld camera and handle had to be connected to the main unit through two long cables. The preparation and cleanup process before and after surgery was time-consuming and labor-intensive, requiring multiple personnel, which reduced surgical efficiency. At the same time, the complex cabling created a great deal of interference in the operating room and increased the risk of hospital-acquired infections," Meng Fan recalled in the interview.

It was precisely these frontline clinical feedback that inspired Meng Fan's team. "Could we make the product wireless? Just like turning a landline telephone into a mobile phone." Based on this line of thinking, Meng Fan's team decided to focus on product form innovation.

Leveraging their professional knowledge acquired at Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, combined with the team's technical accumulation in endoscope image acquisition and processing, as well as in-depth research in wireless image transmission, the research and development team produced the first-generation prototype of the wireless endoscope.

With the support of the research project collaboration, the product prototype received preliminary clinical validation, and industrial capital subsequently entered the picture, paving the way for the next phase of industrialization. The company was then established as "Insy Medical."

It was during this phase that the team was fully assembled. Insy Medical built a comprehensive team combining "medical-engineering integration, foundational technology, and commercial operations." Each of the core members assumed leadership in their respective areas: Meng Fan led overall system development and clinical engagement; Gu Yin oversaw financing and financial planning; Cai Changcheng was responsible for foundational wireless communication technology development; and Wang Jingyi and Gao Hong brought a seasoned endoscope marketing team and invaluable industry experience.

Complex cabling and poor user experience are only the "visible" pain points of traditional wired endoscopes criticized in operating rooms. In fact, there are also non-visible bottlenecks in minimally invasive surgical procedures, including difficulties in infection control and an evident ceiling in operational efficiency.

Before a traditional laparoscopic surgery begins, the first task for the nurse is to cover the two light-guiding and power cables—each as thick as a finger and three meters long—with long sterile sleeves. The second task is to manually seal the connection point between the cables and the handle using adhesive tape or cotton thread. Meng Fan gave an example to describe this step: "It's like in the old days when people liked to wrap their remote controls in plastic bags at home."

The pre-operative requirements are that the cables must not allow water ingress, must not fog up, and must not become dislodged during use.

After surgery, the nurse must remove the sterile sleeves, retrieve the cables, and move the cart to the next operating room. This 10-to-15-minute cleanup process, locked in by the cumbersome cables and sterile sleeves, directly reduces the effective number of procedures that can be performed in the operating room.

From both a time and economic perspective, in a top-tier hospital operating room with seven to eight surgeries scheduled per day, if each surgery is delayed by this 10-to-15-minute bottleneck, it effectively means one to two fewer surgeries per day, significantly diminishing the hospital's operational efficiency and revenue.

Based on its understanding of the clinical pain points of traditional endoscopes, the Insy Medical team developed three core foundational technologies, focusing on key parameters including image latency, resolution, battery life, and overall device sterilization, while integrating real-world scenario requirements into product design.

Unlike the domestic endoscope innovations over the past decade, which have primarily focused on "functional endoscopy" directions such as fluorescence, narrow-band imaging, confocal imaging, and 3D imaging, Insy Medical has pursued innovation in product form. However, if wireless endoscopy is understood simply as cutting the cables to make it wireless, that perspective would be too narrow. The wireless endoscope embodies Insy Medical's three core foundational technology capabilities, each addressing real clinical pain points.

First is ultra-high-definition ultra-low-latency wireless image transmission. Unlike most products on the market that adopt Wi-Fi solutions, Insy Medical has built a point-to-point radio frequency transmission system based on its proprietary customized chips and private image transmission protocol. Clinical testing has demonstrated that the system achieves a minimum optical-to-optical latency of 60 to 70 milliseconds, approaching approximately one-third of the latency of Wi-Fi solutions, and comparable to the 60-to-100-millisecond latency of traditional large wired systems. This technological capability is Insy Medical's most direct response to clinicians' concerns regarding hand-eye coordination and surgical safety.

In terms of image resolution, a critical parameter, the approved E-series wireless endoscopes, covering six models, support both 4K and 1080p mainstream resolutions, on par with current mainstream large wired systems used in clinical practice.

Meng Fan emphasized in the interview: "When physicians use our device, they will not perceive any difference in latency or resolution compared with the traditional large systems they are accustomed to using."

In terms of interference resistance, the solution has passed coexistence stability testing recognized by the Shanghai Medical Products Administration, in conjunction with commonly used surgical power equipment including high-frequency electrosurgical units, ultrasonic scalpels, and lasers, and has obtained network security certifications from the State Radio Regulatory Commission of the People's Republic of China for two major series of models.

Second is low-power system integration and multi-to-one pairing. Battery life is an unavoidable challenge for wireless devices. Insy Medical's solution features a single-handset built-in battery that supports 4.5 hours of continuous operation, with support for up to eight handsets paired with a single main unit, enabling a "multi-to-one" function. When the battery of one handset is about to run out, the surgeon can press the switching button on the main unit to switch to a backup handset within seconds, allowing the surgery to continue uninterrupted.

This proprietary feature has significant implications for consecutive surgical procedures. Theoretically, rotating through eight handsets can support uninterrupted 24-hour surgical coverage.

Unlike traditional wired devices that require "sterile sleeve application plus adhesive tape sealing," Insy Medical's entire system supports low-temperature plasma sterilization. Nurses no longer need to apply sterile sleeves to the handset; the device can be taken directly onto the surgical table and used immediately. From a quantitative perspective, each surgery can save 10 to 15 minutes of pre- and post-operative preparation time. For a top-tier hospital with seven to eight surgeries scheduled per day, saving this time for each surgery effectively translates into the capacity for one to two additional surgeries per day, delivering a triple benefit in terms of patient access, economic efficiency, and clinical workflow productivity.

Third is endoscope image quality optimization technology. Insy Medical's proprietary endoscope image optimization algorithm can correct and enhance the raw images acquired by the sensor, achieving unique image restoration and significantly improving image quality. This capability supports examination and surgical procedures across multiple departments and anatomical sites.

When a landline telephone became a mobile phone, it retained the calling function, but its greater value lay in mobile payments, diverse entertainment, and other extended capabilities.

Similarly, the value of wireless endoscopy extends beyond form innovation—miniaturizing and portable large wired systems—to enabling endoscopes to reach broader scenarios including bedside, emergency, field military medicine, and veterinary care.

"The traditional 'cart plus cables' form can hardly reach these scenarios. In more urgent bedside and emergency settings, in more dispersed primary care facilities, and in specialized mobile military medical units, the demand for wireless devices is clear and urgent," Meng Fan pointed out.

Therefore, building on its three core foundational technologies and starting from real-world scenario needs, Insy Medical has advanced its product matrix along three main tracks.

The first track is the E/S series endoscope camera system, which is Insy Medical's primary commercialized offering. This system has obtained two Class II registration certificates, covering six models, supporting both 4K and 1080p resolutions, and compatible with all rigid optical endoscope departments, including general surgery, urology, orthopedics, gynecology, and thoracic surgery.

The second track is disposable wireless consumable endoscopes, representing an important strategic focus for Insy Medical's second phase. Meng Fan pointed out in the interview that the current disposable endoscope sector faces challenges of "strong homogenization and overly single functionality." Many industry approaches involve downgrading traditional reusable endoscopes through material and process simplification to achieve disposability, which in many scenarios does not meet clinical needs. Insy Medical's strategy is not to compete on price and volume, but rather to combine its proprietary wireless and low-cost advantages with innovations in one to two therapeutic directions, creating differentiated competitiveness across different product variants.

The third track is veterinary wireless endoscopes and wireless ultrasound. Targeting chain veterinary hospitals, livestock farming operations, and agricultural universities, Insy Medical offers compact, fully portable product forms suitable for rental and sharing models, and has already established collaborations in specialized scenarios including equine joint surgery and cattle bezoar cultivation and harvesting in China.

Overall, Insy Medical's product evolution logic moves from a single camera system to a comprehensive product matrix, representing a deepening of application scenarios.

In terms of product channel ecosystem development, Insy Medical has adopted a horizontal expansion strategy, covering both civilian and military markets, with simultaneous focus on domestic and international markets.

In the core civilian market, Insy Medical has presence in both top-tier hospitals and primary care facilities. Top-tier hospitals were the earliest deployment setting for Insy Medical's products. For this high-demand, high-expectation scenario, Insy Medical's approach follows a domestic substitution logic. The products have been trialed in multiple top-tier hospitals including Shanghai Xinhua Hospital, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Shanghai General Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, and Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital affiliated with Zhejiang University School of Medicine, with cumulative clinical trial usage exceeding 12,000 procedures.

For the primary care hospital market, Insy Medical has developed specialized models with a focus on high cost-performance. "From the chip level to hardware, software algorithms, application-layer software, and the product housing, everything is developed, designed, and manufactured by the Insy Medical team. Leveraging the advantages of the domestic supply chain, the overall product cost is under our independent control," Meng Fan explained the pathway to achieving cost-performance in Insy Medical's products.

What further differentiates Insy Medical from other endoscope companies is its penetration into the military market.

Unlike the civilian market, the military market imposes higher requirements on product stability, environmental tolerance, portability, mobility, and battery life and power consumption. Based on the specific requirements of this scenario, the research and development team has customized the product, including adaptations for operating temperature ranges, sterilization effectiveness, and rapid deployment capability.

At the same time, Insy Medical is promoting its products to military hospital systems at the grassroots level through civil-military integration programs. "Primary-level hospitals also need higher cost-performance domestic devices and digital integrated systems. In addition, patient information confidentiality requirements are even stricter than in public hospitals, preventing many imported products from entering military hospitals," Meng Fan articulated the entry point for domestic devices in the military market.

In other words, given the sensitive nature of military hospitals as special scenarios, there is substantial demand, and domestic devices have significant room for expansion in the military market. From Insy Medical's perspective, it has secured early access to this incremental market.

However, Insy Medical has not limited its vision to the domestic market, but has proactively extended its market reach overseas. According to reports, the company's products have been showcased at medical device exhibitions in major global regions including Europe, the United States, South America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, and have established a certain level of brand credibility.

Regarding the specific deployment of this financing round, Meng Fan articulated two clear directions: first, to accelerate the research and development and regulatory approval of various categories of disposable wireless consumable endoscopes; second, to increase investment in both domestic and international channel development.

"We are quite confident in the domestic market and have accumulated substantial expert resources. The overseas market has been an unexpected gain for us. In recent years, with the trend of Chinese medical devices going global, coupled with our innovative products with Chinese characteristics, we have gained high recognition overseas," said Meng Fan.

At the conclusion of the interview, when asked to define Insy Medical with three keywords, Meng Fan's answer was wireless minimally invasive, domestically developed, and intelligent diagnosis and treatment.

Wireless minimally invasive reflects Insy Medical's entrepreneurial ambition. "We are entering through the most challenging segment—wireless imaging systems—to demonstrate our capability to overcome technical difficulties and the sophistication of our technology."

Domestically developed is a confident expression of Insy Medical's innovative technology. "We will always champion the concept of 'independently developed in China.' Our existing technologies are the most advanced globally, and they are the most advanced across all parameter dimensions."

Intelligent diagnosis and treatment encapsulates the company's vision of evolving "from wireless camera systems to wireless surgical instruments, and then to a comprehensive wireless minimally invasive platform integrated with artificial intelligence."

At the end of the interview, Meng Fan offered his perspective on the future trajectory of minimally invasive medicine: "From open surgery to minimally invasive surgery, and over the next 10 to 20 years, we are entering the era of wireless minimally invasive surgery." Insy Medical's vision is to build upon its proprietary foundational technology accumulation, with clinical needs as the primary guide, to deeply cultivate both civilian and military markets, and to establish China's premier brand in wireless minimally invasive surgery.