Big Bets on Wuhan: United Imaging "at Full Steam" to Support Health Industry Upgrade
WUHAN, China, Nov. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, now stages an epic comeback as the second World Health Expo 2020 opens here on Nov. 11, 2020. Industry thought leaders, including Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, former Director-General of WHO, Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine and Chemistry, politicians, academicians and scholars from global health sectors explore the future of the healthcare industry with nearly 100 leading medical companies from home and abroad at this top event.
Xue Min, Chairman of United Imaging Group, said on the concurrent World Health Industry Summit Forum: "Since the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, United Imaging has been working hand in hand with Wuhan. In 79 days, we witnessed the rebirth of Wuhan as the ground zero. This not only shows what we can achieve when united as one, but also reveals the rise of innovative forces in the industry. Now Wuhan is at the pivotal point of post-pandemic recovery. We will accelerate our investments in Wuhan, and help to build Wuhan into the innovation center of global health industry."
"The protection of people's lives and health requires technical innovation. As we move into an intelligent, digital era, there is a growing sense in healthcare that we can transform from a 'treatment-centered' mindset to a 'health management-centered' one, supported by those innovative technologies and ideas. United Imaging is the first in the industry to build an intelligent healthcare ecosystem covering all stages from prevention, diagnosis, cure and rehabilitation, aiming to empower our healthcare professionals and patients alike. With the increasing expansion of the health industry, we wish to enhance our cooperation with all stakeholders to contribute to the improvements, consolidation and development of the industry." he added.
At the Expo, United Imaging showcased a complete portfolio of cutting-edge products and solutions, including uMR 9.4T, the Ultra-High-Field 9.4T preclinal MR with PET Insert; uMR Omega, the world's first 75cm ultra-wide Bore 3.0T MR; uCT ATLAS , the ultra-premium 640-slice CT; and more of the latest solutions for pandemic control -like the industry's first Mobile Imaging Center designed for both pandemic control and routine tasks, the Intelligent Public Health Solution for Prevention and Control, and mobile-cabin CTs, to name a few.
Changzheng, the World's First Mobile Imaging Center, Helps to Bring Healthcare Services to More
The mobile imaging center was quite a highlight on site. For the first time ever, the 17 m, 28-ton Mobile Imaging Center integrated a myriad of imaging devices, including CT with uAI Vision technology, mobile DR, and user-friendly mammography under one roof. More than that, the Imaging Center has been transformed from an "immobile" fixed asset to a go-anywhere facility by the onboard UIHCloud, which captures, manages, stores and shares data and information on imaging, devices and the vehicle in real time. In major outbreaks, they can be deployed at epicenters immediately to improve the imaging examination capacity at the frontline, or they can be used for routine examinations (such as physical examinations, screening of lung/breast cancer, and follow-ups of cancer patients) in normal times to help improve the capabilities of public health at a community level. From product definition to R&D and manufacturing, the Mobile Imaging Center is designed and made in Wuhan. This not only fuels the development of healthcare industry in Hubei, but also strongly supports the upgrade of our public health system.
CTs for Communities: United Imaging's Intelligent Public Health Solution for Prevention and Control Piloted at East Lake Hi-tech Development Zone (ELHDZ), Wuhan
Community Healthcare Centers (CHCs) are the "outposts" of the national public health network. United Imaging's Intelligent Public Health Solution for Prevention and Control could be a "force multiplier" for them. Powered by the aligned strength of "Equipment, AI, UIH Cloud and Healthcare Groups," this solution helps the healthcare centers improve their early screening and examination capabilities of major epidemics, enables hierarchic coordination between regions, and closes the loop of "prevention - screening - triage - diagnosis - follow-up."
This solution was implemented by the ELHDZ government during the pandemic outbreak to build an intelligent screening and hierarchic prevention/control system at Guanggu Branch, The Third Hospital of Wuhan, and other 9 CHCs, which made it the first district in Wuhan to complete pandemic testing. Under this system, CTs were deployed at a community level for the first time, and connected to Wuhan Health Cloud to enable coordination with Guanggu Branch, The Third Hospital of Wuhan - the entity at a higher level. Under this model, technicians at CHCs did the scanning and uploading work, and doctors read images and sent diagnosis results back. This helped to fill the gaps in diagnostic resources, thus enabling preliminary screening of COVID-19 at the community level. As of now, over 10,000 remote diagnoses have been completed through this system.
Notably, in recent years, the UIHCloud developed by United Imaging's Wuhan team has been playing a key role in the construction of national hierarchical medical system. Currently, it is used in over 150 programs in China for 100 million people. In Hubei alone, UIHCloud is deployed at 101 medical facilities, with 10 million records stored on the cloud.
With uAI Intelligence Aided Analysis System for COVID-19, this solution could help healthcare professionals in fast diagnosis, triage and intelligent follow-up by improving the reading speed to 10 times the current speed. In addition, thanks to the healthcare professionals available through this system, now the primary healthcare facilities are able to provide internet-based remote expert diagnosis of intractable diseases, and health management services.
Mobile Cabin CT: A Powerful Weapon against the Pandemic
The 1:1 replicated Mobile Cabin CT was absolutely the superstar of the Pandemic Resources Pavilion at the expo. At the darkest moment of Wuhan's pandemic crisis, many civil facilities - like the Convention Center - were temporarily repuzrposed into emergency Mobile Cabin Hospitals (MCHs). However, they failed to meet the demanding requirements of CT on-location, preventing many CTs from being deployed. United Imaging stood up and delivered a fast, flexible and intelligent solution customized for MCHs in only 5 days: Mobile Cabin CT, the "Emergency RD". Its container-like design enabled fast assembly and disassembly, and together with its small footprint and "plug-and-play" feature, that helped to meet the urgent needs for CTs. Meanwhile, with uAI Vision technology, the CT could enable smart positioning and setting-up of the patients without mask removal. In this way, physicians could perform scanning without entering the scanning room, so the risk of cross infection could be remarkably reduced. During the outbreak, this powerful tool was deployed at 60% of MCHs in Wuhan, and other hospitals at Tsingtao, Dalian and Shanghai.
More Investments to Add More Momentum to the Health Industry of Wuhan
During the expo, United Imaging Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) to build a "Medical Technology Joint Laboratory". In the future, HUST will join hands with United Imaging's Wuhan team on various forward-looking topics to drive the cross-disciplinary collaboration and the monetization of medical innovations.
The $ 760 million, 200,000 sq. m. United Imaging Wuhan Headquarters Phase 1 - about the size of 24-soccer fields has also been inaugurated. This one-of-a-kind site is the largest R&D, manufacturing and operating center in the global high-end medical device sector. Tasked with R&D and manufacturing of high-end medical equipment and core components, the site has made several breakthroughs in core technologies and many of them have world-leading performance. More research will be done on remote medical services, advanced clinic diagnosis and treatment equipment, intelligent medical equipment and consumables to close the loop from prevention to rehabilitation in the health industry. This will create hundreds of millions in value for Wuhan, and support the upgrade of whole value chains.
SOURCE United Imaging Healthcare Co., Ltd.
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