An expo displaying the latest trends in the health sector, including the ever-more prominent role played by artificial intelligence (AI), opened Friday in Wuhan, China.
The World Health Expo has gathered over 1,000 companies from China and beyond to display their technologies and products in sectors such as medical equipment, biochemical drugs, traditional medicine, and elderly care.
The four-day event has trained the spotlight on the sweeping applications of AI in China's medical services, from cancer screening to dental check-ups.
Among the popular exhibits is a bus-like vehicle capable of conducting AI-powered cervical cancer screenings.
"AI can automatically identify whether the cell sample is cancerous, reducing the workload of the doctor while improving the efficiency of diagnosis," said Wang Lan, brand marketing director of Wuhan-based Landing Med, which developed the mobile lab.
A portable AI fundus camera developed by Airdoc, a Beijing-based eye health company, is able to complete a scan within 15 seconds and issue a digital health report in two minutes.
These health reports show people their risk of developing tumors, anemia, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, among other health issues.
According to Jiang Zhenglong, the company's sales director, the camera is able to identify 50 diseases based on the analysis of more than 30 million eye examination reports. It also provides high-quality disease prevention and treatment plans.
Jiang said that AI has promoted the use of portable medical equipment in remote mountainous areas, where medical resources are relatively scarce, and raised people's awareness of eye health.
Hu Zijian, marketing director of the Beijing-based information technology company Deep Care, said that the broad application of AI technology in China's medical industry -- in areas such as image diagnosis, digital medical records, medicine research and development, and health management -- has greatly increased doctors' work efficiency.
However, there are still challenges that need to be addressed, such as the barrier to medical data sharing and privacy protection, Hu added.
The expo is co-hosted by the Hubei provincial government, the National Health Commission, and the Wuhan municipal government.