Smarter and Healthier

By Li Xiaoyang

When Bai Chunxue was first exposed to the concept of the Internet of Things （IoT） nearly a decade ago， as a doctor of respiratory medicine， he was troubled by the unsatisfactory feedback of patients about the experience of seeing a doctor. The complaints included waiting too long to get a diagnosis. To better meet patients needs， Bai， who works at the Zhongshan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University in Shanghai， began to explore the application of IoT in medical treatment.

Bais vision was fulfilled as his research team made progress in Internet of Medical Things （IoMT） facilities that can provide early diagnoses for patients. As he described at a sideline discussion at the Global Health Forum of the Boao Forum for Asia held recently in east Chinas Shandong Province， the facilities can save people with minor illnesses from a trip to the hospital through remote monitoring and provide timely warnings for those likely to suffer from severe diseases.

IoT is only one of the many technologies expected to help both doctors and patients. The Internet， 5G and artifi cial intelligence （AI） are all making medical treatment smarter and more accessible to the public.

“Technologies will promote sharing of information， boost innovation in medical treatment and make distribution of medical resources more balanced， which will in turn upgrade the healthcare industry，” Zhang Wei， professor at the West China School of Medicine， told the forum.

In China， with an expanding middleincome group and aging population， technology-based healthcare services have grown in demand.

Rosy vision

On March 16， Ling Zhipei， a doctor at a Beijing hospital， conducted Chinas first 5G-based remote surgery lasting three hours on a patient suffering from Parkinsons disease. Through remote control of robots， the brain surgery was completed successfully with technological support from the countrys largest telecom carrier China Mobile and technology giant Huawei.

According to Zhao Jie， an official with the Chinese Health Information Association， the large bandwidth and high speed of 5G-based Internet transmission can meet rising demands for smart medical treatment and revolutionize the industry. “5G is 100 times faster than 4G. The time gap [between surgeons and experts in another place] in 5G-based surgery can be reduced to two milliseconds， which is next to nothing，” he said.

As Zhao highlighted， effective 5G transmission of information has made longdistance diagnoses possible and medical treatment more accessible and affordable. Now patients in lower-tier hospitals can also enjoy top-level medical treatment.

Earlier this year， doctors at the Shenzhen Peoples Hospital in Shenzhen， south Chinas Guangdong Province， completed a complicated liver operation with online guidance from an expert based in Beijing， thanks to a high-definition 5G-based live stream. Otherwise， the surgery would have been too diffi cult for the doctors to carry out on their own.

5G technologies will allow real-time transmission of patients information without the need for monitoring facilities， remote ward rounds with robots and quick search of patients medical records to better provide emergency treatment， Zhao said.

China issued 5G commercial licenses on June 6. As the wireless technology sees wider application， smart medical treatment is expected to maintain strong growth momentum. According to Dai Zhong， General Manager of China Mobile Groups Government-Enterprise Customer Branch， the company has provided smart medical services for 150 million patients and covered 50，000 medical institutions across the country. It plans to expand its 5G network to 40 domestic cities this year.

AI has also been increasingly adopted to assist medical treatment. Diagnoses based on big data and AI can help doctors develop optimal plans and make health prognoses to decide whether surgery is necessary， reducing the rate of disability or death， Zhang said.

In his view， the focus of modern medical treatment is shifting from treating diseases to monitoring peoples health and providing early diagnoses through technologies. To render better healthcare services to the public， treatment of chronic diseases and elderly care need greater focus.

A report recently issued by Peking Union Medical College and the Chinese Aging Well Association said that the burden of chronic non-communicable diseases in China will rise by at least 40 percent by 2030 compared to 2012. China will be an aged society with more than 14 percent of the total population aged 65 and older by 2026.

According to Zhang， to better treat chronic diseases and provide more sophisticated elderly care， IoMT devices such as wearable devices and sensors need to be improved to monitor people health in a realtime and accurate manner.

“IoMT will allow patients to be treated and free them from the burden of high medical expenses， which will help improve peoples well-being，” Bai said.

Newcomers emerging

As Chinese hospitals seek to cooperate with technology providers to realize Internetbased services， online consulting sites developed by technology startups， such as Haodf.com and Chunyuyisheng.com， have emerged in recent years. In 2018， the authorities gave the nod to Internet hospitals operated jointly by medical institutions and Internet companies as long as the services are approved and offl ine treatments are ensured.

Through Internet hospitals， people can choose doctors from across the country on websites or apps and provide medical scans and describe their problems for consultation. While doctors give advice online， to ensure the accuracy of the diagnosis， some are also supposed to meet patients in person， especially if they suffer from a severe disease.

Brick-and-mortar hospitals are also providing online services such as making appointments， checking exam results and delivering medicines after online orders.

Since China has been promoting a stratified healthcare system to ease the shortage of medical resources and reduce the gap between different regions， Internetbased hospitals are expected to play a key role in this move. According to Zhang Ligang， Chairman and CEO of iKang Guobin Healthcare Group Inc.， the lack of doctors is still a prominent problem in China. The best doctors are mainly found in about 500 toptier hospitals in major cities， leading to an uneven distribution of medical resources.

Lu Qingjun， an offi cial with the National Health Commission， said that Internetbased hospitals can encourage patients with minor illnesses or stable conditions to choose online diagnoses and have more inhouse treatment rather than having to make hospital trips.

According to a report by Qianzhan， a Beijing-based industry consultant firm， Chinas online healthcare market will be worth 90 billion yuan （$12.9 billion） by 2020 with an expected annual growth rate of around 40 percent. Thus， the market is a vast new ocean of opportunities.

Challenges remain

Improved technologies have brought many prospects to Chinas healthcare industry， but the gap between vision and reality remains. According to Lu， the application of 5G technologies in medical treatment is still limited by high costs as the current infrastructure based on 4G needs to be massively upgraded. Meanwhile， the stability and sustainability of the 5G network needs to be further tested， which requires great prudence before it is applied to practical medical treatment.

The adoption of AI also faces technological limitations， since deep learning based on data collection and models is not enough to meet the demands of targeted and customized medical treatment， which calls for complicated analyses. Doctorsexperience and knowledge are still very much needed to prevent risks in treatment， Lu said.

“There is a long way to go before further application of AI in medical treatment due to ethical and legal issues， such as the lack of psychological care and difficulties in identifying accountable parties when mistakes occur，” he told Beijing Review.

In March， Tencare Doctor， an online medical consulting product developed by technology giant Tencent， was shut down. Since Internet hospitals are not allowed to provide first-time diagnoses for patients， many of the newly emerging enterprises are fi nding it hard to gain a share in the medical market.

According to Lu， the service chains of many online consulting sites are not complete since patients cant always get appropriate medical treatment through the platforms. Therefore， a possible option for Internet hospitals is to focus on providing technological support for brick-and-mortar hospitals.

Although technology continues to advance， talent is still a key force for driving medical progress. According to Zhang Wei， the advent of big data and AI will not lead to doctors losing their jobs although those who refuse to adopt the latest technological trends can face the risk of unemployment.

“Medical professionals are supposed to upgrade their knowledge as new technologies emerge. For colleges and universities， interdisciplinary training needs to be put in place to improve the medical talent pool，” he said.