NBI Summit

The 2018 NBI Summer Innovation Summit was held by Pintu Group in Beijing on August 8th and 9th. The Summit』s theme was 「Keeping up with the Rhythm of Innovation,」 and the discussion ranged from planning and innovation trends in the business sector to health, education, tourism, and retail.

On the first day, the Canada Wellness Institute (CWI)』s China CEO Carrie Solmundson gave her keynote speech on international innovation and healthcare management reforms.

Solmundson stated that the CWI』s systematic health management can help the government effectively control healthcare spending while achieving the goals of 「Healthy China 2030.」 Her company has 22 years of experience in the field.

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Society』s Pain Point

Under Chinese government policy, the government is responsible for almost all medical expenses, especially expenses related to chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The current high total cost of medical care, lack of effective disease prevention, and lack of chronic disease management has forced the government to consider alternatives. Moreover, China』s population is aging, chronic diseases are rampant, and many citizens have unhealthy lifestyles. Medical resources are not sufficient and many patients are not treated on time, exacerbating their conditions.

Speaking to the four hundred audience members, Solmundson said that today』s China resembles Canada twenty years ago. The huge cost of treating chronic diseases is overwhelming China』s public healthcare system, so the government must start thinking about how to prevent illness and lower the rate of disease. The system should focus on prevention instead of treatment. Just as Canada did twenty years ago, China will have to change the population』s unhealthy lifestyle and develop disease rehabilitation.

Pushing for Healthcare Reform

China』s medical resources are strained, so government is pushing for new medical reforms under the slogan of Big Healthcare. Many business opportunities have arisen from this decision. The internet has made China a fast-paced society, and healthy Chinese enterprises understand the significance of technology.

Solmundson believes that AI innovation is an important assistant for disease prevention and hospital rehabilitation. She views AI as an indispensable link in the future medical service supply chain. Through rigorous individual risk screening and health assessments, we can provide personalized prescriptions, give scientific and effective exercise advice, lead people to develop good eating habits and sleep patterns, and correctly understand their overall health. These conditions allow us to manage chronic diseases more effectively.

Famous Chinese Medical Technology Company Airdoc

Airdoc』s representative Fei Chen spoke about his company at the summit. Using guidance from medical experts, Airdoc』s deep learning computer image recognition AI formed a medical image recognition algorithm. The AI can improve doctors』 productivity and make medical health services more efficient.

About 5 million people die of diabetes annually worldwide, and on average one person dies from the disease every seven seconds. In China, diabetes is responsible for 12% of the nation』s healthcare expenditure, resulting in about 673 billion US dollars of expenses.

In China, there are about 114 million people with diabetes, which means that one out of every 10 people will be diabetic. In total there were about three thousand people attending the Summit, so amongst the audience nearly three hundred people are or will be diabetics.

Even celebrities often die of diabetes. Chiang Ching-kuo, a Taiwanese politician and the son of Chiang Kai-shek, couldn』t move in his later years because of diabetes. Although celebrities pay attention to their health, diabetes is still a common disease because it is difficult to detect. Only 30% of diabetics are aware of their condition, which means 7 in 10 are not. This is primarily because the existing method for testing for diabetes is cumbersome and costly.

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Medical AI Tested in the Field

Time cannot erase the hardships of taking the first step. Instead, these hardships become carefully preserved memories.

CWI provides full lifecycle health management services for the entire population, including services for both members and non-members. Additionally, the company has 8-16 week chronic disease intervention programs, providing comprehensive medical examination services and health management services for corporate executives. There are also special services such as stop smoking programs, weight loss programs, and yoga classes. It took five years and strong data to convince the Chinese government to spend some of the limited healthcare budget on disease prevention to reduce the total cost of medical expenses.

To date, Airdoc is one of the few Chinese medical AI companies. For the past three years, the company has been building an electronic doctor assistant. Airdoc wishes to build the world』s largest doctor labelling network to train deep learning AI algorithms. After three years of continuous improvement, the algorithm can identify a variety of chronic diseases. Its medical experience is equivalent to a senior physician who has worked in medicine for 760 years and studied from more than 300 top medical experts.

In 2017, Airdoc was invited to participate in Microsoft』s build conference. Company representatives travelled to six African countries by boat and served the nations』 myopia patients with Baodao, China』s largest optical chain.

A Gathering of Sages

The lively and worthwhile Summit captured the audience』s attention with innovative technologies. Jian Zhou, CEO of Microsoft』s Shanghai Accelerator, said that there is no doubt that global business is experiencing unprecedented changes. Using the internet, AI, VR, AR, and other technologies, innovative businesses are destroying, disrupting, and transforming traditional industries. The medical field is no exception. Only with innovation and continuous improve can health management survive this societal change.

With increased spending, high-level government backing, and regulatory system updates, the Chinese healthcare system has changed substantially. One or two policies are not sufficient, but systematic support will allow China to greet innovation with open arms. With medical innovation, China will play a part in constructing this new era.