AstraZeneca Pioneers Health IoT with Tech-Enabled Smart Healthcare Solutions

Wuxi, Jiangsu, September 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca made its fourth consecutive appearance at the World Internet of Things Exposition (hereinafter referred to as the “IoT Expo”). Through six innovative healthcare scenarios, 14 integrated diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for comprehensive disease management, and 35 new smart healthcare technology applications, the company leveraged VR, scenario simulations, and other methods to provide immersive and interactive experiences. These efforts showcased to the public its innovative practices in empowering smart health through technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, 5G, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Among them, the six newly launched innovative integrated diagnosis and treatment solutions for full-course disease management primarily focus on exploratory practices in key areas such as “early cancer screening,” the “hospital-to-home” health management model, and “medical consortia.”[China Pharmaceutical Innovation Center]Introduce advanced technological applications such as the "Xiaobai" pharmacy robot and AI virtual pharmacists, with a focus on rationalized, refined, and intelligent medication use.[Cardiac Rehabilitation Center]Establish an integrated in-hospital and out-of-hospital management platform to help patients improve cardiopulmonary function, ultimately enhancing their quality of life and reducing event recurrence, by providing standardized cardiopulmonary assessment, developing cardiac rehabilitation plans, and implementing home monitoring.【Smart Healthcare Community】By providing modular solutions, we support the government in driving the decentralization of high-quality medical resources to benefit a vast number of patients in county-level regions.[Chronic Kidney Disease Full-Course Management Center]Leveraging big data from in-hospital, inter-hospital, and health examination sources to achieve "early screening and early diagnosis," standardized treatment, and whole-course management of chronic kidney disease, while providing home-based peritoneal dialysis and other care models.[Cough and Asthma Management Center]Achieve a closed-loop community-based management of chronic respiratory diseases through early primary care screening and stratified diagnosis for patients with cough and wheezing symptoms.[Women's Oncology Prevention, Treatment, and Integrated Care Center]Covering all aspects including screening, follow-up, surgery, and communication, providing integrated whole-course care for patients with breast and ovarian cancer.

Wang Lei, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca and President of International Business and China, stated, “This year marks the tenth anniversary of Wuxi’s IoT industry. Today, the global IoT landscape bears a distinct ‘Taihu imprint.’ AstraZeneca’s innovations in the Health Internet of Things (HIoT) originated in Wuxi and have been implemented in over 1,400 hospitals across China in the past two years. Some solutions have also expanded internationally, with pediatric nebulization rooms established in more than 700 locations along the Belt and Road Initiative countries and regions, and cancer screening programs extended to 11 countries. Looking ahead, we will further explore the integration of this field with emerging technologies such as 5G and AI, creating a closed-loop health management system spanning from hospitals to homes, and driving innovative breakthroughs in key areas including early cancer screening and medical consortia.”

A Powerful Alliance: Empowering Smart Healthcare with Technology

At this Medical Expo, AstraZeneca continued to intensify its investment in the application of innovative technologies in diagnosis and treatment, signing strategic cooperation memoranda with numerous partners. AstraZeneca joined forces with Huawei and China Mobile to launch a strategic partnership focused on Internet-plus smart hospital medical innovation solutions based on 5G applications, seeking collaboration in the construction of medical informatization in areas such as telemedicine, smart healthcare services, smart IoT, and artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca reached a cooperation intent with Omron, whereby both parties will jointly explore the application of advanced respiratory medical devices across the entire continuum from prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to rehabilitation, aiming to enhance diagnostic and therapeutic standards and improve the patient healthcare experience. They will also create whole-disease-course solutions based on home scenarios to improve patients’ out-of-hospital diagnosis and treatment capabilities. In addition, AstraZeneca will collaborate with Ping An Smart City to enhance early screening and early diagnosis in nephrology and to develop a multi-tiered diagnosis and treatment system based on digital healthcare. The two parties will also engage in discussions in the field of smart healthcare, including medical education, knowledge empowerment, and computer-aided diagnosis, to better serve healthcare professionals.

Early Screening and Early Diagnosis: Leading the Prevention and Control of Major Diseases with the Concept of “Treating Pre-disease”

During the IoT Expo, the Smart Health Development Summit, co-hosted by the Jiangsu Provincial Health Commission and the Wuxi Municipal People’s Government, and organized by the Wuxi Municipal Health Commission, the Administrative Committee of Wuxi National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, the People’s Government of Xinwu District, Wuxi, and AstraZeneca China, was held under the theme “IoT-Enabled Health Along the Belt and Road.” The summit brought together numerous national, provincial, and municipal leaders, including Hu Jianping, Deputy Director of the Statistical Information Center of the National Health Commission; Tan Ying, Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Health Commission; Liu Xia, Deputy Mayor of Wuxi Municipality; and Xie Shoukun, Director of the Wuxi Municipal Health Commission, as well as leading industry figures from home and abroad, such as Sun Yinghao, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Participants convened to discuss emerging trends in the future development of smart health, focusing on “Health IoT,” “Early Screening and Diagnosis,” and “Rehabilitation Management.”

As one of the three major components of the Healthy China Initiative, the prevention and control of major diseases is a key element in building healthy lives for Chinese residents. The 2019 Government Work Report explicitly stated the need to “strengthen the prevention and treatment of major diseases, promote preventive screening and early diagnosis and treatment, and focus on alleviating critical issues affecting people’s livelihoods.” At this summit, Wuxi’s “trinity” model for gastric cancer prevention and control was officially launched. In early 2018, led by the National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases (Shanghai) and the National Quality Control Center for Digestive Endoscopy, and supported by AstraZeneca, the National Gastrointestinal Cancer Prevention and Control Center (GICC) project pioneered community-based gastric cancer screening in Wuxi. With strong support from the Wuxi Municipal Health Commission, the project had effectively screened 10,101 residents as of June this year. Among them, 1,188 residents underwent refined endoscopic examination, which identified 11 cases of low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, 7 cases of high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, and a total of 13 cases of early-stage and advanced upper gastrointestinal cancers. Over the next year, Wuxi City plans to expand community-based pilot screening to an additional 10,000 individuals, further refining the “trinity” chronic disease prevention and control model integrating disease prevention and control institutions, medical institutions, and community health service centers.

In addition, the Wuxi Municipal Health Commission and the China Prostate Cancer Alliance jointly launched the “Integrated Prevention and Control: National Prostate Cancer Screening and Wuxi Citywide Screening Model Collaboration Project.” Both parties will explore the “Wuxi Model” for prostate cancer screening and work together to establish a green channel for prostate cancer referrals in Wuxi. This initiative aims to ensure the effective operation of a tiered diagnosis and treatment system characterized by initial consultation at primary care institutions, two-way referrals, separate management of acute and chronic conditions, and coordinated care across different levels of the healthcare system. By providing whole-course disease management solutions, the project seeks to increase the early detection rate of tumors and improve patient survival rates.

Xie Shoukun, Director of the Wuxi Municipal Health Commission, stated, “Wuxi has launched a cancer prevention initiative, focusing on the healthy lives of its residents. Strategically, this marks a shift from emphasizing ‘treating existing diseases’ to ‘preventing diseases before they occur,’ fully implementing the Outline of the Healthy China Action and jointly building a healthy lifestyle for the people of Wuxi.”

Professor Sun Yinghao, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chairman of the Urology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, stated: “Promoting early diagnosis and screening for prostate cancer, and providing prostate cancer patients with one-stop, whole-course management covering all stages—from screening, needle biopsy, and pathology to treatment and follow-up—while leveraging new AI technologies, can enhance diagnostic accuracy and comprehensively improve the treatment experience and quality of life for prostate cancer patients.”

5GTechnology "Infuses Soul" into Mobile Health and Telemedicine

Uneven distribution of medical resources and difficulties in seeking cross-regional medical care have long been pain points in the development of the healthcare industry. With the advent of the 5G era, there is now hope for resolving these pressing challenges in accessing medical services. At this year’s Internet of Things Expo, a mobile lung cancer screening vehicle was showcased. The vehicle is fully covered by a 5G network and equipped with low-dose spiral CT scanners, intelligent AI-based image reading systems, telemedicine platforms, and imaging cloud systems. It can perform chest lesion examinations, enable remote image interpretation by specialists, and provide treatment recommendations based on examination reports, thereby offering targeted assistance to both high-risk and low-risk populations.

Furthermore, the Gastrointestinal Tumor Prevention and Treatment Center, launched last year, will leverage the latest 5G technology to build an intelligent information platform for the diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases for healthcare institutions. This platform will enable real-time transmission of data from intelligent devices used for the three-item gastric function blood test. Additionally, through initiatives such as establishing an Endoscopy Training Academy, it will promote the adoption of telemedicine applications, including live broadcasting of endoscopic surgeries, remote ward rounds at primary care hospitals, and quality control of digestive endoscopy.

From Hospital to Home: Building a Closed-Loop System for Full-Course Disease Management

As the incidence of chronic diseases continues to rise in China, the “hospital-to-home” model has garnered increasing attention in recent years, with a growing demand for home-based health management. Guided by the “patient-centric” philosophy, AstraZeneca is continuously advancing whole-course disease management solutions that encompass education, screening, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and rehabilitation, thereby helping patients extend disease management from hospitals to their homes. At this year’s Medical Device Expo, AstraZeneca launched advanced management technologies, including a “12-lead ECG vest” capable of real-time monitoring and early warning of events such as myocardial ischemia, a “Smart Family Doctor Contracting System,” and a “Home Sleep Monitor.” These innovations further refine the integrated diagnosis and treatment management process, creating a closed-loop whole-course disease management system spanning from hospital to home.

Responding to the Construction of Medical Consortia, Assisting in Improving Primary Healthcare Standards

AstraZeneca has actively responded to the government’s call for the comprehensive promotion of county-level medical consortiums, contributing to the goal of “managing serious illnesses within the county and minor illnesses within the township.” At this Medical Products Expo, AstraZeneca, together with its partners, launched the “Smart & Beneficial Medical Consortium” solution tailored for county-level healthcare. This solution comprises eight modules, including health poverty alleviation, training for primary care physicians, chronic disease management, and early screening for major diseases. It is designed to meet the diverse needs of county-level medical consortiums, connecting and empowering healthcare institutions at the county, township, and village levels. By facilitating the downward flow of high-quality medical resources, AstraZeneca supports the government in achieving a robust county-level system, vibrant township-level services, stable village-level care, integrated vertical coordination, and seamless information connectivity, thereby benefiting the vast population in county-level areas.

Rooted in China, Driving Chinese Innovation to the World

2019 marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and AstraZeneca’s 26th year in the country. Throughout this period, AstraZeneca has closely aligned with China’s health development and innovation-driven development strategic blueprint, actively exploring new forms of partnership with the government and various social stakeholders. By joining forces with cross-sector collaborators both domestically and internationally, the company has worked to build an open, collaborative, and win-win innovative healthcare ecosystem, successfully transforming from a traditional pharmaceutical company into an innovative platform enterprise that provides comprehensive disease management solutions for patients.

In response, Lei Wang, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca and President of International Business and China, stated, “AstraZeneca remains committed to its promise of ‘Rooted in China, Serving China.’ We actively explore the new potential of cutting-edge innovative technologies in the healthcare industry, unlock greater value for the industry and patients, meet China’s health needs through scientific innovation, and optimize and integrate the industrial supply chain. Our goal is to provide Chinese patients with precise, efficient, convenient, and accessible healthcare services, thereby contributing to the early realization of the ‘Healthy China 2030’ initiative.”