Keeping abreast with rapid advances in medical care technologies around the world, the Taiwan government has been actively fostering domestic university research projects. As part of such efforts, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) initiated the SPARK Taiwan program in collaboration with the Stanford SPARK program to support the commercialization of research achievements at six universities. Among them, Taipei Medical University (TMU) was selected to join the program (named TMU SPARK) in 2014 and has incubated 51 research teams in six years. Having achieved outstanding results, these startup teams will bring vibrant energy to further build up the competitive edge of Taiwan's medical care industry, said Shi-Bei Wu, who works for TMU's Technology Commercialization Center.According to Wu, TMU SPARK is aimed at incubating academic researches. When a research team has made certain progress, TMU SPARK will bring in industry experts to make an assessment on the commercialization potential. If the research result is determined to have market potential, the team will be fostered into a startup receiving full incubation support and commercialization guidance as well as initial funding. In charge of TMU SPARK, the university's Technology Commercialization Center has successfully completed a licensing deal worth more than US$5.3 million and fostered six startup firms in six years. Three of them target precision and personalized medicine. Guzip Biomarkers (Guzip), founded in 2018, is also among the TMU SPARK supported startups.Dr Hung-Cheng Lai's team at Shuang-Ho Hospital developed Guzip's core biotechnology - the use of DNA methylation applied to cervical specimens for rapid screening of endometrial cancer. According to Guzip CEO Polly Lin, endometrial cancer used to be the second most common type of cancer in women, following cervical cancer. However, it's growingly found in younger women and has become the most common type of cancer affecting women. It is the result of abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. In the case of early diagnosis and treatment, the survival rate can reach 80%. In contrast, only 35% of patients will survive if diagnosed at a later stage. As such, screening helps early detection and thus is vital to the fight against endometrial cancer.Lin pointed out that endometrial cancer is currently diagnosed via transvaginal ultrasound or invasive approaches such as endometrial biopsy, hysteroscopy, and dilatation and curettage. Not only are these procedures invasive but they run the risks of infection, anesthesia or uterine perforation. To address these issues, medical professionals are in search of fast and highly sensitive screening technologies. Guzip's patented MPap DNA methylation detection kit provides a non-invasive and safe alternative, which performs an in vitro diagnostic (IVD) test on pap smear samples with 90% accuracy. The test result serves as a very valuable reference helping doctors diagnose endometrial cancer.Guzip's strategic plan is to introduce test kits and services. It will submit its test kit for TFDA approval by end of 2020. As to its test services, it is working with Shuang-Ho Hospital to begin offering the services to patients. The collaboration will not only strengthen the marketability of its test services but also help Guzip aggregate clinical data and provide the services at additional medical institutions going forward.Guzip's MPap DNA methylation detection kits and services are available at the patient's own expense. In view of increasing health awareness, Lin expects 60,000 patients will pay for the test services every year after they are widely available. The annual market value is projected to come to US$4.3 million. Guzip will be able to enjoy wide profit margins with its patented test kit.Aside from Guzip, TMU SPARK also incubated another team that has also demonstrated tremendous potential. The team is headed by Ruo-Kai Lin, an associate professor at the Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy, TMU, and is also dedicated to the research on screening technologies for cancers in women, specifically breast cancer.According to Ruo-Kai Lin, breast cancer is persistently among the top 10 cancers in Taiwan. For patients diagnosed with stage-one breast cancer, the survival rate is more than 95% but it drastically decreases to 30% for stage-four patients, so early detection makes a world of difference. Breast cancers are usually screened with X-ray or ultrasound imaging of breast tissues, during which the breast is squeezed tightly between two panels to allow clear images to be taken.As Asian women generally have smaller and denser breasts, the current screening methods only reach about 40% accuracy and thus a biopsy is often needed to confirm diagnosis. During a fine needle aspiration biopsy, a thin needle is inserted into the suspicious area and a vacuum sucks out tissue samples. In the case of a core needle biopsy, a thick needle is inserted into the suspicious area and takes out tissue samples. The specimen is then examined to determine if the lesion is benign or malignant. Years of clinical data indicate about 70% of breast biopsies turn out to be benign. However, six-month follow-ups are still recommended for women with benign lesions and they may have to undergo another biopsy as a precaution, which puts enormous pressure on these patients both physically and emotionally.In view of the situation, Ruo-Kai Lin's team developed a blood test for early detection of cancer. When malignant tumors grow, they release DNA into the patient's blood. By detecting DNA methylation levels for specific genes in the blood, we get an insight into whether the tumor is benign or malignant, explained Lin. The team's precision blood test for early detection of breast cancer has been tested on more than 300 breast cancer patients and healthy individuals, delivering a 92.3% sensitivity and 91.7% specificity, respectively. The high-sensitivity test can be used by doctors to first assess the likelihood of cancer and only perform biopsies on high risk cases.Utilizing an automated process, the test can be completed within a day, as opposed to breast biopsy results which take several days. Not only is it fast and convenient but it is also non-invasive. This is why the test is catching the attention of the medical care sector. With breast cancer being one of the most common types of cancer in women around the world, the test stands a good chance of tapping massive market opportunities - Taiwan's domestic market with an annual worth more than US$5.3 million and the global market with an estimated value exceeding US$6.7 billion.Thanks to TMU SPARK, Ruo-Kai Lin's team received guidance from mentors of different disciplines as well as timely capital injection that kept the team moving forward. Both Polly Lin and Ruo-Kai Lin acknowledged SPARK Taiwan's critical role in driving the commercialization of academic research results. TMU SPARK project managers working at the university's Technology Commercialization Center also think from the perspectives of the research teams and help them connect with the industry and tap commercialization resources. These efforts will continue to fuel Taiwan's medical care industry with new energy and boost its ability to compete at an international level.Guzip CEO Polly Lin (front center) and the Guzip teamRuo-Kai Lin, associate professor at TMU Photos: TMU

Leosys began its efforts in 2014 to develop an AI-based preventive healthcare platform for ophthalmoscopic eye exam through a collaboration project with Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). In view of the fact that general clinical practice only focuses on early diagnosis and screening, Leosys' intention was to develop a solution that would help ease the workload of Taiwan's ophthalmologists. It then approached ITRI's Service Systems Technology Center for assistance and developed a solution on top of open-source software. The initial-stage objective is to gain recognition and support from Taiwan's healthcare sector.According to Leosys senior vice president Tommy Tang, when talking about eye exams, people think of a lot of optical instruments and time-consuming tests. To rural residents who have to travel long distances or senior citizens who have to overcome a lot of inconveniences to get healthcare, they often put off their eye exams if they feel nothing wrong with their vision. However, eye problems progress slowly over a long period of time. If they are not caught in the early stages of development, vision loss may be irreversible, putting a huge burden on the National Health Insurance system.With the assistance from the Smart City Program, Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the guidance on technology transfer from ITRI, Leosys is able to provide system integration, operation and customer services that bring innovative eye care services to Universal Eye Center locations, where Universal Eye Center technicians use Leosys' solution to provide ophthalmoscopic exam services. The services will be expanded to the Diabetes Shared Care Network centers, vision care centers, optometry clinics, ophthalmologists' offices and community centers.Leosys proposed the innovative smart AI eye care service program in 2019, aimed to provide ophthalmoscopic exams for retinopathy screening for residents and diabetic patients in remote areas. The first phase of the program will target remote areas in New Taipei City, followed by services around Tainan. The service team includes engineers, healthcare professionals and optometrists. They use Leosys' AI smart mobile eye care kit as well as AI mobile eye exam box and auxiliary system for diabetic retinopathy diagnosis and analysis to conduct ophthalmoscopic scan and image capture for rural residents.The captured retina images are then analyzed based on doctors' expertise and AI-based real-time image recognition technology to help doctors diagnose diabetic retinopathy. By establishing models for the five stages in the progression of diabetic retinopathy, the solution can efficiently help with early diagnosis and prevention of the disease. It also enables more precise follow-up care for patients according to the stage of progression and thus reduces healthcare expenses and social costs.Tang noted that 2.548 million people or 10.83% of Taiwan's population are diabetic and the number increases by 25,000 every year. After five years of diabetes, about 20% of diabetic patients develop retinopathy with varying rates of progression. The National Health Insurance Administration pays for annual ophthalmoscopic examination. Furthermore, nearsightedness is common among Taiwan's young adults living in cities who are generally heavy users of technology. Their risks of eye diseases will only go up. Leosys believes its AI smart mobile eye care kit will play a growingly vital role.Along with Southeast Asia's rapid economic growth, people in the region are paying more attention to health issues. Chronic diseases and conditions are on the rise in Southeast Asia, so governments in the region are actively fostering their smart healthcare industries and instituting health-related policies. Taiwan's healthcare system has demonstrated to the world its professionalism, competence and competitiveness in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, according to Leosys. Under efforts of the Taiwan government's New South Bound Policy and the Malaysia-Taiwan Industrial Collaboration Summit, Taiwan-based firms endeavoring in digital medical services, remote healthcare, smart healthcare and biomedical supplies will be able to connect with partners in Southeast Asia and engage in win-win collaborations to jointly create a Taiwan healthcare brand.Leosys senior vice president Tommy TangPhoto: Sandy Du, Digitimes, October 2020

TSMC is fast advancing its IC packaging technology in line with its efforts to extend the relevance of Moore's Law. The foundry's 6th-generation CoWoS technology may enter volume production in 2023. Tight foundry supply has been driving IC vendors to aggressively build up their inventory levels. But concerns have emerged that they may have to undergo inventory correction in first-half 2021. Intel has decided to sell its NAND flash business to SK Hynix, as it faces growing threats to its core business of processors.TSMC may move 6th-gen CoWoS to production in 2023: TSMC continues to advance in CoWoS-S packaging adopting silicon interposer, with the prospect of entering volume production in 2023 for the sixth-generation of the technology that can integrate HPCs and 12 cubes of HBM (high-bandwidth memory), according to industry sources.Chipmakers may come under inventory pressure in 1H21: Fabless chipmakers, component suppliers and IC distributors have been aggressively scaling up their inventory levels, raising concerns of the semiconductor market having to undergo an inventory correction during the first half of 2021.Intel faces increasing rivalry from AMD, Nvidia, Apple in core sectors: Intel has agreed to sell its NAND flash and storage business to SK Hynix, but the chipmaker is also facing increasingly intense competition from AMD, Nvidia and even Apple in its core business of processors for PCs, servers, and AI devices.

The notebook market next year may not be as strong as in 2020, but Acer remains optimistic, expecting a wave of replacement demand in the consumer sector in 2021. The 5G era may not have taken off to a flying start in 2020 because of COVID-19 impacts, but it still has bright prospects in the long term. CCL maker Iteq expects shipments for 5G base station applications to soar in 2021. For backend service provider PTI, it stands to lose orders, thanks to Intel's selling its NAND flash business. But PTI is gearing up efforts for the logic IC segment.Acer expects replacement demand to drive notebook market growth in 2021: Replacement demand from the consumer sector, in addition to Chromebooks, will be driving the overall notebook market growth in 2021, according to Acer chairman and CEO Jason Chen.Iteq expects CCL shipments for 5G base stations to surge in 2021: Taiwan-based CCL maker Iteq expects shipments for 5G base stations, particularly sub-6GHz ones, to ramp up significantly in 2021, according to company chairman Dennis Chen.PTI to gear up logic IC backend business expansion: Backend house Powertech Technology (PTI) will step up efforts to expand its logic IC business, aiming to boost the revenue ratio for the segment from nearly 30% to over 40%, according to chairman DK Tsai.

Taiwan-based Gogolook, the developer of Whoscall fraud prevention app that identifies phone callers, has obtained investment from GaAs wafer foundry service provider WIN Semiconductors, with most of the fund to be used to develop FinTech products and tap the Japanese market, according to company co-founder and CEO Jeff Kuo.With Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Brazil being the main markets currently, Whoscall has accumulated over 80 million downloads, Kuo noted.Gogolook has set up its first overseas subsidiary in Fukuoka, Japan, for tapping the Japanese market, as financial frauds resulted in total loss of over JPY30 billion (US$287 million) a year for eight consecutive years (2012-2019) in the country, Kuo cited statistics by Japan's National Police Agency as indicating.The municipal government of Fukuoka recently invited Gogolook to attend Bryond Coronavirus PoC (proof of concept) held in the city seeking cooperation to solve fraud problems. Gogolook has cooperated with the government to complete 3-month PoC for advanced Whoscall services and a survey of users' response.

A growing number of Taiwan-based network equipment suppliers have ramped up shipments of 5G CPE (customer premise equipment) products to the markets in Europe and the US starting third-quarter 2020 and are poised to further expand their shipments in 2021, according to Digitimes Research.Taiwanese makers will see profound business opportunities coming particularly from the US thanks to the US FCC providing substantial subsidies to encourage telecom operators to expand network construction in rural areas to replace the previous ones built using Huawei or ZTE gear.The subsidies, which have been available under the CAF (Connect American Fund) initiation since 2015, are being used to encourage US telecom companies to expand their network coverage to help narrow the digital gap between urban and rual areas. Some telecom operators such as AT&T and Centurylink have adopted FWA (fixed wireless access) solutions, which are more cost effective and faster for deployment as compared to fiber or cable models, for their network rollouts in the rural areas. Related FWA services gained a boost in 2018 when FCC expanded the eligibility of subsidies to include midrange and small-scale telecom operators.Due to an increasing reliance on services rendered via fixed networks in the wake of the pandemic, more traditional telecom operators, including Charter and Windstream have joined bids for securing CBRS (citizens broadband radio service) bands in order to expand their FWA services, which in turn is likely to drive up demand for CPE products.As telecom operators are gearing up efforts seeking alternative solutions to replace those from Huawei and ZTE Digitimes Research believes CPE devices powered by solutions from MediaTek are likely to debut in 2021 and that Qualcomm may lower the prices of its related solutions to further stimulate the buying sentiment for CPE devices.

MicroLED looks like a strong candidate to compete with OLED for dominance in the display market in the next decade, says Charles Li, chairman of PlayNitride, a pioneer in microLED development, in an interview by Digitimes. Meanwhile, notebook demand remains robust, but it is likely to wane in 2021 despite the lingering coronavirus. For IC designers, they plan to raise quotes as clients continue building up inventory.MicroLED pioneer: Q&A with PlayNitride chairman Charles Li: MicroLED looks like it is going to take the display market by storm in the next decade or so. Established in 2014, PlayNitride is a pioneer in developing microLED, and has aggressive plans to sharply reduce microLED production cost in five years to make sure to accelerate the penetration of the new display technology.Notebook demand still sound in 4Q20 before waning in 2021: Notebook vendors saw strong shipment gains in the second and third quarter of 2020 with the momentum remaining robust in the fourth quarter, but they may see demand for their computer products begin to wane in the 2021, industry observers have warned.Taiwan IC design houses see clients continue stockpiling: Taiwan-based IC design houses continue to see their downstream clients including distributors stockpile aggressively, and plan to raise their quotes to constrain demand, according to industry sources.

In operation for a decade, Fashion Intelligence has been developing smart services on the basis of IoT positioning technologies in recent years. For example, Fashion Intelligence designed and integrated the software elements of the Taipei Navi app, which provides indoor navigation services at the Taipei Main Station, the biggest application field in Taiwan. It is among the highly praised public services offered by the Taipei City Government.In addition to being a public transportation hub connecting the Taiwan Railways, Taiwan High Speed Rail, Taipei MRT, Taoyuan International Airport MRT and bus networks, the Taipei Main Station is also home to a huge underground market, making it a maze to travelers. Fashion Intelligence makes use of beacon devices combining Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technologies working in connection with the traveler's smartphone to position the traveler and thereby enable functionalities including indoor navigation, traffic information, restaurant and store location, smart parking information and push notification. With Fashion Intelligence's app, travelers can easily find their way to the exit closest to where they are going or navigate to their rendezvous point without getting lost.According to Fashion Intelligence general manager Kent Chang, its positioning system delivers a +/- 2-meter accuracy, the best that BLE can achieve. However, in the lobby area with the black-and-white checkered floor, it is not easy to deploy sensors so a +/- 5-meter accuracy is acceptable to most users.Fashion Intelligence has been experimenting with using IoT positioning technologies to solve a range of different problems. Elderly care in remote communities is one area that Fashion Intelligence is trying to put its solution to practical use. Leveraging Wi-Fi communication and beacons, coupled with IoT sensors to detect smart IC cards, can enable precise positioning. Moreover, a diversity of outdoor positioning devices in the form of amulets or incense bags from temples, inductive cards or key chains that are compact, lightweight, wearable and convenient can be carried by elders so that caregivers can keep track of their whereabouts anytime anywhere.Fashion Intelligence has piloted the solution in Xishi Village, Zhutian Township, Pingtung County. Elders are more willing to wear the positioning devices offered in the form of amulets and many users have expressed satisfaction. Chang noted that the app provides two functions - positioning and self-reported positioning. It is a much more efficient and economical alternative to the old-fashioned approach of using video cameras to conduct searches and is therefore growingly adopted throughout Taiwan. Available at a monthly rental fee of NT$150, Fashion Intelligence is building up its user base and expects to connect the device with the smartphones of the elder's families or children to enable greater smart IoT business opportunities.Launching smart applications in Thailand, Singapore and Hong KongWith the assistance from the Smart City Development Projects Office, Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Fashion Intelligence has successfully expanded into Southeast Asian markets by building regional distributor networks. Fashion Intelligence looks to present localized smart applications through distributors that are capable of system integration. For example, its positioning solution available at Mercedes-Benz service centers in Thailand allow car owners to stay on top of how far along the repair or maintenance process their vehicles are as well as where they are in the service center.The solution is also being used at an elderly daycare center in Singapore. Indoor positioning helps keep track of who has been in contact with the elders for the purpose of epidemic control. Such location specific applications have tremendous development potential in Southeast Asia. Chang thinks IoT services will enable two main benefits that are welcome by the general public - safety and cost saving. For instance, asset management by warehousing companies or access control of airport restricted areas are applications that catch market attention.As Fashion Intelligence's solution is largely adopted by large-scale organizations such as government institutions and hospitals, Chang is grateful to IDB for bridging Fashion Intelligence and local distributors together, enabling a better understanding of regional needs. Thanks to IDB's match-making efforts, Fashion Intelligence has engaged in partnership deals that have allowed it to successfully penetrate into local markets. This is something Fashion Intelligence could hardly achieve by attending regional trade exhibitions. In just two years, Fashion Intelligence is already seeing business value generated as a result of these partnership deals.Fashion Intelligence is engaging in partnership deals at large scales with major telecom operators and hospitals in Hong Kong and sees promising outlook. Going forward, Fashion Intelligence expects to move toward the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, through which more vendors across different industries can join efforts.Fashion Intelligence GM Kent ChangPhoto: Sandy Du, Digitimes, October 2020

Demand for OLED is picking up, with Apple's freshly released iPhone 12 family all featuring OLED screens. Now China-based maker CSOT has plans to build a new 8.5g fab in 2021 for making inkjet-printed OLED panels. SK Hynix is expected to get a bigger share of the NAND flash market after acquiring Intel's NAND flash business. But Intel's memory backend partner PTI stands to lose orders. And Intel's data-centirc tech evangelist Abigail Hing Wen tells Digitimes in an exclusive interview how AI is transforming the world.CSOT to build new 8.5G fab for inkjet-printed OLED panels: China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSOT) plans to start building a new 8.5G fab in Guangzhou in 2021 for production of inkjet-printed OLED panels, with volume production likely to kick off in 2024, according to industry sources.Memory backend firm PTI to see orders drop from Intel: With Intel agreeing to sell its NAND flash and storage business including a manufacturing plant in China's Dalian to SK Hynix, Taiwan's memory backend specialist Powertech Technology (PTI), now with 10% of its revenues contributed by Intel, will have to adjust and enhance its customer mix to offset upcoming loss of orders from the US chipmaker, according to industry sources.Promoting trust in AI: Q&A with Intel data-centric tech evangelist Abigail Hing Wen: Abigail Hing Wen is the data-centric tech evangelist and AI podcast host for Intel. Beside her work at Intel, she has multiple identities: a lawyer in venture capital, a leader in emerging AI tech, a New York Times bestseller novelist, a wife and a mother of two. One of her novels, "Loveboat, Taipei," drew from her experience participating in a youth camp in Taiwan more than 20 years ago, and is now being adapted into a Hollywood film.

PwC Taiwan has published a report predicting blockchain technology will add a total of US$1.76 trillion to GDP of all countries around the world during the 2021-2030 decade.According to the "Time for Trust: The Trillion-dollar Reason to Rethink Blockchain" report, China will see the largest addition of US$440 billion to its GDP arising from blockchain applications in the decade, followed by the US (US$407 billion), Germany (US$95 billion), Japan and the UK (US$72 billion each), India (US$62 billion) and France (US$59 billion).Among the five main areas for blockchain application, traceability of products and services rank first with total GDP contribution of US$962 billion, followed by payment and other financial services (US$433 billion), personal identification and professional certificates (US$224 billion), contracts and dispute settlement (US$73 billion) and strengthening of customer relationship management (US$54 billion).The government sector, education and medical care will benefit the most from blockchain, the report said.Successful development and application of blockchain technology hinges on supporting policies, technology ecosystems, and a suitable mix of industries, PwC indicated.IDC projects that global spending on blockchain application is increasing at a CAGR of 55.3% to US$14.4 billion in 2023 from 2018, and the spending in 2020 is estimated at US$4.3 billion, hiking 57.7% from 2019.