The Japanese startup killing the nasal swab

Sometimes it seems like Japan just can't figure out medtech startups. In theory, Japan should be one of the most active startup markets for medical technology. In practice, however, there are relatively few success cases. Today we are going to meet one of those success cases and talk with Sho Okiyama, MD and founder of Aillis, who has developed a minimally invasive flu and covid test that is already in widespread use in Japan. Hopefully, no one will ever need to stick another swab up your nose. We also talk about Sho's time as a rural doctor, what's straining Japan's healthcare system, and how to fix it before it breaks. It's a great conversation, and I think you'll enjoy it. Show Notes Why influenza diagnosis has been so resistant to AI You’ll never get another swab stuck up your nose What practicing as a rural doctor taught Sho about Japan's healthcare system Some Japanese still turn to Shamanism for medical advice Starting an AI startup without a technical founder Building a medical training dataset from scratch The challenge Anthropic and OpenAI face in medical tech Aillis's plans for global expansion Why there are so few medtech startup in Japan and how to fix that How to drive meaningful change in Japanese society Links from the Founder Everything you ever wanted to know about Aillis Learn more about Evidence Finder Connect with Sho on LinkedIn Friend him on Facebook Follow him on Twitter @ShoOkiyama Watch Sho's TEDx talk on AI development in modern medicine Leave a comment Transcript Welcome to Disrupting Japan, Straight talk from Japan's most innovative founders and VCs. I'm Tim Romero, and thanks for joining me. Japan has a real problem with life science startups. I mean, there's no shortage of brilliant ideas and patents. There's no shortage of support programs and investors looking to invest in Japanese medtech and biotech startups. Everyone in Japan wants this to happen. Everyone knows this is about to happen. And yet, everyone is also a bit frustrated at just how slow this is happening. But of course, it is happening. So, today we sit down with Sho Okiyama, medical doctor and founder of Aillis, who has developed an AI-powered throat camera that can actually diagnose both influenza and COVID. It's the first device of its kind ever approved as a diagnostic medical device, and it is already in widespread use in clinics and hospitals in every prefecture in Japan. It's really an amazing success story that is just getting started. Sho and I talk about what it really takes to bring a new medical device to market in Japan, what it's like to be the only doctor on a string of remote Japanese islands, and how we're going to get more Japanese doctors to start startups. But you know, Sho tells that story much better than I can. So, let's get right to the interview. Interview Tim: So, we're sitting here with Sho Okiyama, the founder and CEO of Aillis, who is using AI to make medical diagnosis faster and more accurate. So, thanks for sitting down with me. Sho: Thank you for having me, Tim. Tim: I'm really looking forward to this, because I think there's so much innovation going on in biotech and medicine in Japan right now, and what you guys are doing is really interesting. So, you've got two products, and I'd like to kind of cover them briefly. First, you have the Nodoka diagnostic camera. Sho: We produce Nodoka, which is a medical device. This is a pharyngoscope. In other words, it's a throat camera. So, whenever you go to the doctor, the doctor would take a look at your throat, right? You know, find out whether it's reddish, swelling, or something like that. But all those inspections were based on knowledge inside the doctor's brain. So, what we developed was the database of the pharyngeal photo. Tim: So, when a doctor is looking at someone's throat, they're looking for all kinds of different things. But Nodoka, as I understand it, is looking for two very specific things, right? It's able to diagnose influenza and recently COVID as well, right? Sho: Yes. We used to diagnose influenza and COVID using PCR or similar methods. Tim: How accurate is it compared to the PCR test? Because I would be very, very happy if I never have to get another swab up my nose for testing these things. Sho: Yeah. Nodoka has gone through a clinical trial and has proven that it has approximately equivalent accuracy compared to the antigen testing. Tim: That's fantastic. And it's in widespread use already, right? Sho: Yes. It has been introduced to more than 2,000 hospitals or clinics in Japan. Tim: And is the driving factor just patient comfort? Nobody likes getting the swab up the nose? Or is it more accurate? Is it faster? Sho: Yeah, it's faster. And of course, it's less invasive, right? And what's more, Nodoka only has indications for two different diseases as of now, but it has the potential to have more indications, like cancers such as tongue cancer or pharyngeal canc...