Hospitals from China will be partaking in existing research in Singapore that aims to develop precise and personalised solutions to early detect and manage symptoms of cardiovascular diseases specific to the Asian population. 

Early this month, Kailuan General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, and Tianjin Medical University General Hospital signed a memorandum of understanding to join the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's (NUS Medicine) Project RESET. 

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

The new Project RESET Parallel Cohort will particularly focus on subclinical cardiovascular diseases (SCVD), or asymptomatic conditions associated with higher risk of cardiovascular diseases that have become a growing concern among Asian populations. Tianjin Medical University reportedly has expertise in this research area. 

The four organisations will study data from a diverse, multi-ethnic cohort of Asians using multi-omics and big data to discover molecular, metabolic, and immunological markers of heart diseases. Besides filling gaps in the research of SCVD, their study will also contribute to developing "precise, personalised prevention and management strategies for cardiovascular conditions."

Additionally, the organisations will conduct trials to test the effectiveness of AI and digital health interventions for detecting and treating cardiovascular conditions.

THE LARGER TREND

NUS Medicine launched the Project RESET in September last year. The five-year research project, funded by the Singaporean government, initially sought to track heart disease symptoms that go undetected in the majority of Singaporean people. At least 3 million individuals or half of the island city-state's population unknowingly have heart disease. Up to 80% of healthy individuals are reportedly unaware of the abnormal calcium build-up in their arteries while around four in 10 have fatty liver, which is also a key sign of heart disease.  

Project RESET then aims to discover new biomarkers of early heart disease; it also intends to pilot new methods and approaches to prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases. 

Other national and private initiatives in Singapore are building big databases representing the diversity of the Asian population, contributing to precision medicine. The SG100K project, led by the government's Precision Health Research, is analysing big data – sequencing genomes of a hundred thousand individuals – to better understand various factors contributing to non-communicable diseases relevant to Asians. Private startup Mesh Bio has established a big multi-omics dataset that assists in generating insights into metabolic conditions related to the Asian population. 

Outside Singapore, India has also embarked on a population-wide initiative, led by the Indian Council of Medical Research, to collect and curate volumes of medical images representing the Indian people to support AI development. In September, the first comprehensive multi-omics database on cancer was also launched in India after fifteen years. The Indian Cancer Genome Atlas now provides initial access to clinically annotated data on DNA, RNA, and protein profiles of breast cancer patients.