A lung device that works through the airway just won Asia-Pacific medtech's grand prize

Treating a tumour deep in the lung usually means going through the chest wall. Ardens Lifescience of Busan, South Korea, built a different route: a transbronchial radiofrequency ablation system — reaching the tumour through the airway — with an electrode that conforms to the tissue it treats, aimed at cancers at the lung's periphery. On October 26 in Singapore, MedTech Innovator Asia Pacific named Ardens the Grand Prize winner of its 2026 programme, the culmination of a four-month accelerator drawn from 20 companies across the region; the Grand Prize carried $175,000, and Ardens also took the Best Video Competition Award. Three runners-up received $10,000 each, and further honours included a Dovetail Regulatory Award for South Korea's Lumino Medison, a cybersecurity award for Japan's mediVR, and an Enterprise Singapore grant for China's BaiYi Healthcare. The accelerator, now in its eighth year, has graduated 933 companies whose products have reached millions of patients.

SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: tech innovation