In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become deeply integrated into various applications and is gradually becoming an important tool to promote innovation and economic development. In China, the application of AI in medical service has been developing rapidly, a prime example of which is medical robotics.

Founded in 2015 in Shanghai, the startup Taimi Robotics Technology is a robotic systems company focusing on medical services. Taimi Robotics manufactures intelligent medical information robots for hospitals. Thanks to this technology, hospital management has become computerized, automated, and intelligent. "While meeting the efficiency needs of a hospital, the robots allow medical staff to focus on hospital diagnosis and treatment with confidence and efficiency. Patients benefit from safe, convenient, and quality treatment services in a shorter consultation time," explained Pan Jing, CEO of the company.

Information technology in the medical sector is undergoing a new revolution, moving from the medical Internet era to the era of intelligent medical care using 5G and big data, among others. The real-life application of smart medical technology is gradually broadening, and now includes remote diagnosis, remote surgery, precision medicine and assisted clinical diagnosis.

Increased efficiency

With the sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic in early 2020, intelligent disinfection robots, developed by Taimi Robotics Technology, joined the fight against the epidemic. They were used in isolation wards, intensive care units, and operating rooms in many Chinese cities, including the worst-hit city of Wuhan, Hubei Province in central China. Unlike traditional disinfection methods, disinfection robots significantly reduce the risk of contact and infection.

"In the post-epidemic era, with the need for better public health protection, Taimi Robotics can target disinfection of public areas, such as airports, schools and office premises, to enhance epidemic prevention," says Pan.

With the development of AI, microchips and 5G technologies, Taimi Robotics' product range continues to grow. To date, the company has delivered more than 400 intelligent disinfection robots to hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, and more than 10 types of Taimi medical robots have been deployed in nearly 300 major hospitals. "The introduction of robots in the medical sector helps free the minds of medical personnel by relieving them of certain tasks and, above all, brings new ideas for the future development of the sector," Pan told ChinAfrica.

As a consequence of the aging population, the demand for medical robots has gradually increased, and a wide variety of robots with different functions have been developed. According to the China Electronics Institute, the size of the Chinese market for service robots was about 15.3 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) in 2019, in which medical robots contributed 4.32 billion yuan ($660 million), representing 28.2 percent of the service robot market.

"The purpose of medical robots is to relieve medical personnel from simple, time-consuming and mechanical work, which can also be very dangerous, and to let them focus on areas where humans are irreplaceable," said Henry Huang, President of Great Health Companion, a health company. He sees robotics as a significant development in the field of intelligent healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the development process of medical robotics, providing an opportunity to introduce it into real life. Medical robots have made a big difference in the epidemic prevention and control.

Medical teleconsultation

In the past, patients had to travel to major cities to see specialists, but there was a very long wait before they could get an appointment. Last year, five online hospitals were created in Anhui Province, east China. Specialists from large hospitals were able to start providing online consultations to thousands of households.

Through teleconsultation, online prescription and the home delivery of medication, online hospitals can provide patients quality medical treatment at home, both online and offline, by integrating services. Online hospitals are also convenient for medical practitioners since a remote consultation usually lasts only a few minutes.

However, most patients are still accustomed to on-site consultation and do not fully adapt to teleconsultation, as they do not understand this new Internet-based approach to medicine. As a result, some hospitals have opened offline experience spaces for online hospital clinics, where staff can show patients how to use the online hospital.

Online hospitals are growing at a rapid pace. According to the National Health Commission, there are currently 900 online hospitals nationwide. The telemedicine collaboration network covers more than 24,000 medical facilities, with more than 5,500 higher-level hospitals capable of providing online services.

In 2020, China introduced a series of policies to support the development of 5G and actively promote the application of 5G in specific areas such as intelligent healthcare, especially for the elderly.

Thanks to modern technologies, experts can overcome time and space restrictions to provide remote counseling and assistance to primary medical institutions. According to an official from the Anhui Health Commission, this improves the efficiency of medical services and enables the general public to benefit from high-quality medical resources.

And for many startups, it is also an area for innovation. "Today, we need to identify problems in society and be able to solve them," said Pan. He sees new technologies as both a critical challenge facing the new generation of entrepreneurs and a historic opportunity for them to showcase their capabilities. "Whether it's robotics, semiconductors or AI, we believe that new technologies have bright prospects in the next 30 years," Pan noted. 

(Print Edition Title: Smart Treatment) 

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