Hisense Launches 'Four-in-One Integrated' Smart and Secure Biobank Storage Solution at CMEF

In 2022, the company first unveiled its “four-in-one” strategy encompassing “terminal IoT connectivity, cold chain informatization, storage automation, and scenario intelligence.” This strategy enabled interconnected IoT among medical refrigerators and other devices, facilitated information exchange across medical cold chains, and ensured secure IoT for vaccine storage. By leveraging IoT and automation to achieve intelligent industry applications, Hisense Life Sciences Cold Chain, an industry leader, relied on the industrial layout advantages of its parent group’s big health sector to launch the Hisense Biobank Smart and Secure Storage Integrated Solution, based on the upgraded “four-in-one” strategy, at the 87th China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF) held on May 14, 2023.

A representative from Hisense Life Sciences Cold Chain stated that at the CMEF exhibition, where domestic and international giants jointly showcase their innovations and influence the global medical device industry, Hisense unveiled its Smart and Secure Storage Solution for Biobanks, a product developed over five years. This launch not only marks Hisense Life Sciences Cold Chain’s transformation from a hardware manufacturer to a systemic solution provider, broadening its development horizons and strategic landscape, but also drives the Chinese high-end medical equipment industry to break through from standardized product operations toward customized, systematic, and solution-based offerings, thereby steadily advancing industrial transformation.

On May 14, the 87th China Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF), held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai under the theme “Innovative Technology, Leading the Future with Intelligence,” featured a display area of over 320,000 square meters, attracting tens of thousands of products from 5,000 leading industry players worldwide.

At this year’s exhibition, Hisense Life Sciences Cold Chain made its global debut of the Hisense Biobank Smart Secure Storage Solution. Built upon three core safety pillars—equipment storage security, operational process security, and information security for samples and data—the solution ultimately delivers a smart, secure storage offering to customers.

According to Hisense staff at the exhibition, “the Smart and Secure Storage Solution for Biobanks attracted the attention of thousands of medical device industry attendees within just over two hours, who inquired about the specifics of the solution. This demonstrates that, under the broader context of Healthy China, biobanking is entering a golden period of rapid development, and Hisense is poised to become a leader in this industry.”

The development of the Hisense Biobank involved not only five years of exploration but also the collaboration of professionals from fields such as medicine, the Internet of Things (IoT), digitalization, product research and development, software engineering, and legal consulting. After conducting in-depth research into biobank-related regulations and standards, carrying out on-site investigations at more than 30 biobanks both domestically and internationally, and soliciting guidance from industry experts, Hisense finally launched this intelligent and secure storage solution.

Unlike medical refrigerators and blood bank refrigerators, the construction and operation of biobanks involve multidisciplinary knowledge and industries, including sample science, cryobiology, bioinformatics, statistics, and ethics, as revealed by multiple industry insiders. From site selection and design of physical biobanks in the early stage, to sample collection, processing, quality control, transportation, and project management during the operational phase, and finally to the translation of medical research findings, sharing standards, and intellectual property rights allocation in the later stage, it is a cross-disciplinary and cross-industry systematic engineering project.

In response to this situation, the head of Hisense Life Sciences’ cold chain division explained that while the scope—from medical equipment to biobanks—presents significant challenges to corporate operational capabilities, it also expands business opportunities and market presence. It is understood that Hisense oversees and assists in every stage of biobank development, starting from project initiation. This includes site planning based on research directions and storage objectives, designing rational functional zones and personnel/material flow paths, establishing safety assurance systems, providing staff training and guidance, assisting with equipment and consumables procurement plans, deploying advanced information systems, and building a comprehensive biobank operational framework. These efforts aim to achieve refined management and standardized operations, ensuring high-quality operation and management of biobanks.

For example, Hisense Life Sciences Cold Chain’s expert team assists clients in securing national qualifications and approvals, such as the Ministry of Science and Technology’s approval for the preservation of human genetic resources and accreditation from the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) for biobanks. The team also provides expert panel support and one-on-one coaching services, thereby helping clients overcome professional barriers across industries, departments, and disciplines.

As a leading enterprise in the high-end medical equipment industry, Hisense Life Sciences Cold Chain has been continuously deepening its expertise in energy-saving technologies in recent years, spearheading the industry’s green, environmentally friendly, and low-carbon development. Currently, it provides comprehensive solutions for medical institution equipment across seven major application areas, with full temperature range and multi-scenario coverage, and offers products such as -86°C ultra-low temperature freezers to efficiently meet sample storage needs.

Notably, following the CQC energy-saving and environmental protection certification awarded to Hisense ultra-low temperature and low-temperature refrigerators, Hisense medical refrigerators and blood bank refrigerators have received the China Energy-Saving and Environmental Protection Certification for Medical Refrigerators from the China Quality Certification Centre (CQC). This milestone underscores the continuous recognition by national authoritative bodies of Hisense’s expertise in “green, energy-efficient refrigeration technology” for high-end medical equipment.

The launch of the Hisense Biobank signifies not only the company’s upgrade from a hardware manufacturer to a provider of systemic solutions, but also reaffirms its leadership in driving the transformation and development of the high-end medical equipment industry. In its smart and secure storage solutions for biobanks, Hisense Life Sciences Cold Chain has established a new operational framework characterized by “One Core, Two Wings.” The “One Core” serves as the foundation of safety, while the “Two Wings” consist of IoT-enabled automation and specialized professional services.

Guided by research applications and centered on quality management, the Hisense Biobank R&D team continuously upgrades its biobank management system. It integrates comprehensive data, including sample information and patient laboratory, diagnostic, and treatment records, covering biobank sample management, resource management, process management, and quality management. Furthermore, the human-computer interaction system of the Hisense Biobank Resource Management System enables end-to-end lifecycle management of samples that is “seamless and traceable,” allowing users to achieve high-quality, high-standard, and highly efficient sample management.

IoT-based automation is a primary top-level design consideration in biobank construction. A review of leading large-scale biobanks both domestically and internationally reveals that they all possess a solid foundation in IoT and automation infrastructure. Hisense Life Sciences Cold Chain leverages the Hisense Cloud Platform and advanced IoT technologies to enable efficient 24/7 data acquisition, storage, and analysis of various biobank parameters. Through continuous monitoring and visualized display of operational status, it significantly enhances the level of intelligent management in biobanks.

In response to the uneven quality and mixed standards prevalent among market players, as well as the growing demand for specialized and systematic services in biobanking, Hisense Life Sciences Cold Chain has adopted the business philosophy of “growing together with our customers.” Beyond guiding users through professional biobank training and organizing visits to renowned biobanks for advanced study, the company provides 24/7 hotline support, responding to technical support requests within one hour. It has also established a “Five-Free, Four-Inspection, Three-In-Place” service policy, offering biobank users free upgrades and operation and maintenance services for three years, ensuring a worry-free experience throughout.

As can be seen, the launch and market introduction of Hisense’s comprehensive smart and secure storage solution for biobanks not only drives operational upgrades and elevates competitive dynamics within the medical equipment industry, but also ushers in a new cycle, new momentum, and a new landscape for industry development.