Kiang Wu Hospital furthers AI partnership with SenseTime

Hong Kong-based AI tech provider SenseTime has entered into a strategic partnership with Kiang Wu Hospital, one of Macau's biggest and oldest hospitals. 

This latest collaboration continues from the deployment of SenseTime AI modules last year to further boost the adoption and research of AI in healthcare. The initial rollout in December 2020 includes cardiac CTA, lung CT, chest x-ray modules on the SenseCare Smart Health Platform.

SenseCare is a diagnostic and treatment assistance platform that provides a suite of AI-powered tools for various clinical departments. The update partnership will now add liver CT, carotid CTA, radiation therapy contour, liver MRI, and lower limb x-ray. 

Kiang Wu had dealt with challenges in the 3D reconstruction for coronary CTA which "seriously limited" daily patient throughput. SenseTime shared that its SenseCare Cardiac has since significantly reduced the workload of the hospital's clinicians, shortening the 3D post-processing down to just 2-5 minutes from 15-20 minutes. Also, the hospital's monthly cardiac CTA throughput this year has since doubled compared to the past two years. 

Meanwhile, using the SenseCare Lung CT has also enhanced medical imaging efficiency at Kiang Wu by over half on average, the statement noted. 

SenseTime mentioned that it is planning to bring its SenseCare platform to other regions, such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

United Family Healthcare plans to set up a lung specialist medical centre with Broncus

Chinese medical device maker Broncus has entered into a strategic cooperation framework agreement with New Frontier Health Corporation, operator of premium private healthcare service provider United Family Healthcare, to establish a lung specialist medical centre.

Broncus, which is known for bronchoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic solutions, has a portfolio of 476 patents and patent applications and a pipeline of 17 products that are now marketed in the United States, Europe, Australia, and other major world markets. 

According to a press release, Broncus and United Family Healthcare will jointly set up a lung nodule diagnosis and treatment centre where the former's medical devices, surgical techniques, disease management and expert resources will be introduced. Together, they will explore a new diagnosis and treatment service model with interventional pulmonology. 

Moreover, the collaboration also seeks to enter middle-to-high end private healthcare markets.

Public med school in ​​Chandigarh posts low doctor enrolment in NDHM

There is a low enrolment of doctors from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), a public medical university in the state of Chandigarh, on the federal government's National Digital Health Mission portal.

Based on a news report, only 35% of the university's doctors are registered on the portal. The state's Health Department asked in a letter to PGIMER to take action in attaining a full enrolment.

The below optimal registration mirrors Chandigarh's "very poor" coverage of residents' health IDs under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. Only above a third of its population has been provided with digital health cards, the news report noted.

Physicians enrolling in the health programme will be able to provide care via telemedicine while raising their discoverability by patients. Another benefit is seamless, consented access to patient EMRs. 

Apollo Hospitals' telehealth arm gets first ISO telehealth services certification

Apollo Hospitals's telemedicine arm Apollo TeleHealth has received the first ISO certification for telehealth services by the British Standards Institution. 

Presently, Apollo TeleHealth delivers services from over 800 public health centres, more than 100 franchised teleclinics, and points of presence through about 350,000 common service centres. 

A news report citing a press note said the ISO 13131:2021 "offers recommendations on standards that can be used to help in the development of telehealth services". 

Apollo Hospitals Joint Managing Director Sangita Reddy was quoted as saying that the ISO certification is "critical" as the standard of transmission is also "very important". "[H]ere we are committed to using the highest standards, ensuring a quality transmission, putting in a standard electronic health record," she added.

Founder and CEO Dr Prathap C. Reddy said it is vital that the hospital group employ "strict processes to ensure quality in the delivery of telehealth services," as it caters to millions of patients across the country. The group is focused on six major tier 1 cities (Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi) and has a presence in dozen more tier 2 cities. 

"By achieving certification of ISO 13131:2021, Apollo TeleHealth has demonstrated that it has adopted [the] best practice for its telehealth services, a requirement for delivering safe healthcare from a distance," he also stated.