Endofotonics Pte

Endofotonics Pte. Ltd. is a medical technology company established in 2013, with its headquarters in Singapore and a subsidiary in Shanghai. The company was founded by Professor Lawrence Ho, a senior consultant gastroenterologist at the National University Hospital in Singapore, along with Cheng Tim Kum and Huang Zhi Wei. Professor Ho's clinical background in gastroenterology was instrumental in identifying the challenges of early gastric cancer detection, which became the company's primary focus.

The firm operates in the medical diagnostics market, specifically targeting the early detection of gastric cancer, a leading cause of cancer mortality in Asia. Its business revolves around the development and commercialization of the SPECTRA IMDx™ system, which provides real-time, in-vivo molecular diagnostics during endoscopic procedures. This system is sold to healthcare institutions, such as hospitals and specialized clinics, that perform endoscopies. Endofotonics has secured significant funding to support its growth, including a Series A round in 2016 and a S$12 million Series B round in 2020 led by prominent healthcare investors.

The core product, the SPECTRA IMDx™ system, is an artificial intelligence-enabled platform that utilizes Raman spectroscopy. It features a specially designed fiber-optic probe that can be inserted through the working channel of a standard endoscope. The probe directs a laser at the tissue, capturing the resulting molecular information, or Raman spectra. An AI-powered algorithm then analyzes these molecular signatures in real-time, typically within 3 to 5 seconds, to differentiate between high-risk neoplastic lesions (like high-grade dysplasia and cancer) and low-risk ones (such as gastritis or intestinal metaplasia). This provides immediate, objective feedback to the clinician, addressing the limitations of conventional white-light endoscopy where cancerous tissues can be visually indistinguishable from normal tissues, often leading to delays in diagnosis pending biopsy results. The platform technology is also being developed for application in other organs and for identifying safety margins during surgical resections.

Keywords: medical technology, diagnostic equipment, gastric cancer detection, Raman spectroscopy, endoscopy, artificial intelligence in healthcare, in-vivo diagnostics, molecular diagnostics, cancer screening, real-time diagnostics, medtech, SPECTRA IMDx, life sciences, oncology, gastroenterology, clinical diagnostics, surgical oncology, cancer biomarkers, optical probe, minimally invasive diagnostics