Nearly 30 NCKU Teams Featured at BIO Asia-Taiwan, Focusing on AI, Rapid Testing, and Clinical Applications

2025.07.24 / 17:19 / Commercial Times – by Hsieh Yi-Yen

The 2025 BIO Asia-Taiwan Exhibition opened on July 24 at Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 1. National Cheng Kung University (NCKU, Booth N715A) led nearly 30 teams, including members of the Southern Taiwan Research & Industry Platform, spinoff startups, medical alliance hospitals, and industry partners. Together they showcased innovations across 22 pitch sessions, integrating top biomedical R&D resources from central and southern Taiwan, and offering opportunities for integrated clinical collaboration while inviting domestic and international partners to co-create a new landscape in biotechnology.

Members of the NCKU Medical Alliance include NCKU Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Changhua Christian Hospital, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, E-Da Hospital, and Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Several hospitals presented clinical research technologies. Juming Biomed, an NCKU spinoff, unveiled CanWellBeing, a software system powered by proprietary AI algorithms that analyzes abdominal CT images in 3 seconds, generating more than 70 indicators and benchmarking against big data. The system assists in chemotherapy dosage optimization, early screening of chronic and metabolic diseases, and proactive health management. It fills the gap left by DEXA and BIA, which only measure muscle mass, by introducing “muscle quality” as an early disease warning indicator. It also reduces a physician’s manual 40-minute quantification process down to 3 seconds, immediately producing disease risk assessments.

Eternal Materials showcased multi-platform in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) technologies, including gold nanoparticles, quantum dots, and AI-driven aptamer-based rapid tests. Its next-generation qualitative and quantitative diagnostic products, such as fluorescent rapid tests and rapid ELISA, can perform biochemical analysis without requiring laboratory processing, providing reliable point-of-care testing (POCT) for clinical and community use.

Taichung Veterans General Hospital, in collaboration with Huede HealthTech, presented the AI Aided AKI Prediction Software, an AI-powered tool applied to critical care. It predicts ICU patients’ risk of developing acute kidney injury (AKI) within 24 hours, enabling earlier intervention and treatment by physicians, thereby reducing the risk of dialysis or mortality caused by kidney damage.

Changhua Christian Hospital developed the Assistive Syringe Actuator (ASA), an innovative single-handed injection device with pen-style ergonomic design. Operated by thumb control, it simplifies the injection process and is especially useful in rehabilitation, orthopedics, and ultrasound-guided thyroid injections.

Chung Shan Medical University Hospital’s spinoff company, Dinkenwell, introduced Speedell Cooling care Hand and Foot Mask, an innovative soothing product that provides relief from sensory hypersensitivity in just 2–5 minutes through cooling stimulation.

Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital developed a portable dehydration detector requiring only a small saliva sample and disposable test strip. This non-invasive tool provides rapid hydration status assessment and can be used for long-term dehydration monitoring or daily glucose management for diabetes patients.

Having invested years in nurturing startups, NCKU launched the Precision Health Industry Accelerator in 2023 to help prototype-ready startups move toward product-market fit. This year, six startups joined the exhibition: AB DigiHealth, Cardio Metrics, IVD R.E.D. Microfluidic Chip, iAmbition Technology, EM EMPIRE, Lampe Smed. Lampe Smed, established under NCKU’s incubation system, developed user-friendly care tools to improve nursing efficiency, such as a repositioning mat for single-nurse patient handling, a magnetic mask holder to prevent pressure injuries, and an anti-tangling wire organizer.

AB DigiHealth introduced icONE, an AI-powered embryo quality prediction system for IVF procedures. By combining embryonic genomic data with maternal physiological parameters, it predicts implantation success rates with 92% accuracy. Clinical trials confirmed it can raise pregnancy rates up to 81%, helping physicians select the most viable embryos.

Cardio Metrics developed a Smart Dynamic Cardiac Function Evaluation System that uses wearable devices to measure cardiac motion per beat (CMPB) in real-time, quantifying heart function changes during exercise and rehabilitation — solving the current limitation of delayed efficacy assessment.

IVD R.E.D. Microfluidic Chip developed the AI Smart Kidney Disease Prediction System and CoreTest® Rapid Kidney Function Detector, combining AI algorithms with portable testing to provide accurate, real-time assessment of kidney disease risk and indicators.

iAmbition Technology launched iSAFE, an all-in-one intelligent care platform combining AI image recognition, multi-modal health monitoring, and behavior analysis algorithms. It detects falls or abnormal health conditions in real time, alerts caregivers, reduces workload, and improves care quality.

EM EMPIRE introduced its medical e-commerce platform Nursing Station Online along with the first “smart wound care at home” service. It applies AI data analysis to match patients with the most suitable wound dressings, delivers them promptly, and provides digital tracking tools to monitor healing progress, ensuring seamless post-discharge home care.

Since 2021, NCKU has continuously participated in BIO Asia-Taiwan for five years, leading more than 150 teams to this annual international biotech event, showcasing its role as a powerful leader in connecting resources and driving biomedical innovation.