Philips and Shenzhou Medical Launch Shenfei Cloud 3.0, Empowering Nearly One Million Grassroots Healthcare Institutions

On October 19, the 83rd China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF)Held in Shanghai as scheduled. Amid the impact of the pandemic, this year’s Medical Device Expo has highlighted an increasingly robust path toward innovation in the medical device industry.

At the CMEF, numerous medical device companies launched products for epidemic prevention and control as well as innovative offerings. Among the many new product launches, “Shenfei Cloud 3.0,” jointly released by Philips and Digital Health China Technologies Co., Ltd., received widespread acclaim.

In 2018, Philips partnered with Digital Health China Technologies Co., Ltd. to launch Shenfei Cloud 1.0. Shenfei Cloud 1.0 is a “cloud platform” solution based on Philips’ IntelliSpace Discovery computer-aided diagnosis system. It transformed the traditional model requiring healthcare institutions to purchase complete suites, enabling them to select specific application modules from the “Philips IntelliSpace Platform” according to their actual operational needs and budget.

In 2019, Philips partnered with Digital Health China Technologies Co., Ltd. to launch Shenfei Cloud 2.0. Amid the market’s shift toward primary care settings, Shenfei Cloud 2.0 focuses on single-disease lung cancer screening scenarios, providing an integrated solution that combines medical equipment, health information software systems, and professional services for lung cancer screening in primary care markets.

In 2020, the highly anticipated launch of Shenfei Cloud 3.0 broke down the boundaries between diagnosis and treatment, beginning to offer integrated diagnostic and therapeutic solutions, including an MR intelligent imaging solution, Intelligent Radiotherapy Cloud, Intelligent Cloud PACS services, and an Imaging Education Academy...

(Image provided by the company) 

Shenfei Cloud 3.0 is an all-in-one, full-featured intelligent cloud platform. Released in 2020 as a SaaS-based solution, Shenfei Cloud 3.0 provides hospitals at various levels with a comprehensive, end-to-end cloud solution that integrates the entire clinical workflow—from imaging screening, 3D imaging-assisted diagnosis, and surgical risk assessment to treatment, efficacy evaluation, and follow-up.

It is a common occurrence that CT scans and other images obtained at primary care hospitals are unusable at tertiary hospitals and other medical institutions, necessitating repeat examinations for patients. The underlying reason is that the images acquired at primary care facilities lack sufficient clarity. However, with Shenfeiyun 3.0’s end-to-end solution spanning from diagnosis to treatment, primary care hospitals can leverage high-quality imaging equipment and advanced intelligent software. Patients can then seek consultation with specialists at their respective hospitals using the high-definition images captured at primary care facilities, thereby eliminating the need for redundant tests. This undoubtedly reduces patients’ medical expenses and minimizes the waste of healthcare resources.

Shenfei Cloud’s frontline research has revealed a shortage of imaging specialists in China, along with time-consuming repetitive workflows within hospitals that hinder physicians’ efficiency. In response, Shenfei Cloud 3.0 leverages advanced intelligent analysis technologies to enhance diagnostic efficiency and accuracy, alleviate physicians’ workload, and allow them to devote more time to patient treatment.

Shenfei Cloud 3.0 also enables joint consultations between higher-level and lower-level hospitals, with experts providing real-time online guidance to primary care facilities in delivering treatment, thereby reducing healthcare costs. Additionally, primary care institutions can leverage Shenfei Cloud 3.0 for continuing education and retraining to enhance their medical capabilities.

Shenfei Cloud 3.0’s MR imaging offers precise post-processing solutions, enhancing efficiency at the diagnostic stage; its Intelligent Radiotherapy Cloud decentralizes medical resources to strengthen service capabilities in primary hospitals, benefiting patients at the treatment stage; and its Intelligent Imaging Academy facilitates continuing education for physicians in primary hospitals, thereby elevating their clinical competence. From diagnosis and treatment to physician re-education, Shenfei Cloud 3.0 provides an integrated solution.

It is foreseeable that, driven by policies such as “strengthening primary care,” tiered diagnosis and treatment, and medical consortia, Shenfeiyun 3.0 will rapidly empower hospitals at all levels by developing modules for remote expert services, training and education, remote work, and video interaction, thereby providing patients with end-to-end solutions spanning from diagnosis to treatment.

In the post-pandemic era, a new wave of hospital construction has emerged. Digital Health China Technologies Co., Ltd. has observed that during the development of county-level medical consortia, there is an urgent need for post-processing of MRI images. However, current MRI image processing workstations or software on the market are prohibitively expensive, resulting in limited adoption of high-end software applications.

Therefore, Shenfei Cloud has launched MRI solutions for acute and critical care this year, focusing on major diseases involving the nervous system, vasculature, heart, and oncology. By leveraging various advanced intelligent software tools, it enables an integrated diagnostic and therapeutic workflow for acute and critical conditions. In terms of business model, hospitals at all levels can adopt the corresponding advanced intelligent software based on their specific needs and budgets. This initiative lowers the barrier to entry for hospitals of different tiers to access high-end software, while the application of diverse advanced intelligent software significantly reduces physicians’ workload and enhances diagnostic efficiency.

In the past, hospitals purchasing post-processing software for medical imaging often had to make trade-offs based on their actual needs due to the high costs. However, Shenfei Cloud 3.0 is like a smartphone, with advanced intelligent software functioning similarly to apps. Once integrated into Shenfei Cloud 3.0, it not only offers affordable pricing and flexible usage but also allows users to choose between pay-per-use or annual subscription models, fully meeting their clinical or research requirements.

In terms of technology, Shenfei Cloud 3.0 applies Philips’ IntelliSpace Portal imaging technology to the cloud. IntelliSpace Portal has been ranked by KLAS as the world’s leading image processing technology for ten consecutive years. The Shenfei Cloud 3.0 MR imaging solution includes the latest version of Philips’ IntelliSpace Portal, offering intelligent comprehensive imaging applications, advanced MR angiography analysis, MR neuro perfusion, MR spectroscopy analysis, MR diffusion, and white matter fiber tract tracking services.

Additionally, the Shenfei Cloud 3.0 MR Imaging Solution is compatible with CT, MRI, and other medical imaging devices from various manufacturers. Taking stroke as an example, this MR imaging solution integrates CT and MR scans, performs quantitative or qualitative analysis of scanning data through multimodal image processing, and leverages advanced intelligent software to evaluate and analyze patient conditions.

For another example, the Shenfei Cloud 3.0 MR Imaging Solution provides one-click post-processing for coronary heart disease (CHD), enabling image browsing, vessel detection, automatic tracking, and quantitative analysis with a single click. Meanwhile, the MR imaging solution can intuitively display three-dimensional cardiac images. Through the “fully digital magnetic resonance + cardiac post-processing + cardiac imaging diagnosis” workflow of the MR imaging solution, physicians can obtain information on myocardial viability and coronary vasculature, facilitating early screening and prevention of CHD.

Zhu Chenfeng, Senior Director of Strategic Key Accounts for Philips Greater China, stated, “In addition to the advantages of its pricing model, the Shenfei Cloud 3.0 MR Imaging Solution facilitates vertical integration and remote consultations through lightweight imaging centers. For instance, primary care hospitals or mid-to-high-tier hospitals that have recently launched related services can leverage the expertise of specialists at more advanced institutions to resolve issues in real time via remote communication and learning.”

(Image provided by the company)

Shenfei Cloud 3.0’s intelligent radiotherapy cloud solution deploys Philips’ most advanced radiation therapy planning system, Pinnacle16, to the cloud, providing hospital radiotherapy departments with services such as cloud-based intelligent target delineation, radiotherapy plan design, and remote radiotherapy training. As a globally renowned radiation therapy planning system with superior compatibility, Pinnacle16 supports equipment from all linear accelerator manufacturers and offers a unified operational and communication platform for physicians and medical physicists across different healthcare institutions.

Shenfeiyun Intelligent Radiotherapy Cloud leverages a SaaS model to enable primary care hospitals to access intelligent, automated precision radiotherapy technologies. Hospitals can procure services on demand, lowering the barrier to entry for using Pinnacle software.

In terms of specific services, the Intelligent Radiotherapy Cloud automatically transmits all patient data—including diagnostic and localization images, and electronic medical records—to the cloud platform for storage and management via a cloud proxy server. For patients requiring radiotherapy, the hospital’s local front-end server uploads diagnostic and localization images to the cloud, enabling medical technicians to perform target volume delineation and treatment planning anytime and anywhere. All data are centrally managed on the cloud platform; users can view and process them simply by logging into the web portal, significantly improving work efficiency.

The Intelligent Radiotherapy Cloud enables video interaction and remote expert services through its cloud platform. Zhu Chenfeng stated, “During the pandemic, it has been difficult for patients to travel to large hospitals, forcing them to receive radiotherapy at local primary care facilities. To enhance the radiotherapy capabilities of these primary care hospitals, Shenfei Cloud 3.0 provides remote education and training services, facilitating continuing medical education for their physicians. Experts can conduct real-time online image review and consultations via the cloud platform, and transmit target delineation and radiotherapy planning results directly to the linear accelerators at primary care hospitals, enabling local physicians to administer radiotherapy treatments.” This application scenario exemplifies how the Intelligent Radiotherapy Cloud decentralizes high-quality medical resources, thereby benefiting a broader patient population.

Shenfei Cloud 3.0’s imaging education solution encompasses a variety of formats, including live webinars, online classrooms, offline training, online Q&A sessions, remote education and training, and remote consultations. Physicians can freely select their preferred educational formats and schedule at their convenience, thereby comprehensively enhancing their clinical capabilities.

The teaching expert team of the Imaging Education Academy is represented by Professor Jin Zhengyu, Dean of the Chinese Radiology Education Academy, Chairman of the Chinese Society of Radiology (CSR) under the Chinese Medical Association (CMA), and Director of the Department of Radiology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. These instructors are members of the CSR and include renowned specialists from top-tier tertiary hospitals such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Peking University People’s Hospital. They all possess advanced expertise in medical imaging and extensive teaching experience. The curriculum focuses primarily on real-world clinical issues, aiming to enhance physicians’ professional competence and clinical skills.

On October 15, 2020, Mr. Shi Wenzhao and Professor Jin Zhengyu signed a long-term strategic cooperation agreement on behalf of Digital Health China Technologies Co., Ltd. and the Chinese Academy of Radiology Education, respectively, marking the official launch of the Shenfeiyun Imaging Education Institute.

(Digital Health China Technologies Co., Ltd. signs agreement with the Chinese Academy of Radiology Education; photo provided by the company)

Professor Jin Zhengyu stated, “In the post-pandemic era, medical imaging education faces new challenges and opportunities. It is imperative for the healthcare system to adapt to the rapid development of imaging medicine and modern medicine by breaking through the traditional structure of professional knowledge training and establishing new educational models within medical institutions that better align with social development. The launch of the Shenfeiyun Imaging Education Academy will introduce new teaching and training paradigms to advance the field of medical imaging education.”

In the future, Shenfei Cloud Imaging Education Academy will collaborate with the Chinese Radiology Education Academy and leading physician groups in the industry. By adopting a multi-modal integrated approach that combines remote consultation, remote teaching, continuing medical education (CME) credits, and live-streamed instruction, we aim to establish a long-term mechanism for supporting grassroots hospitals and providing continuing education.

“Shenfei Cloud 3.0 aims to provide customized cloud service solutions for healthcare institutions; offer doctors more intelligent and precise cloud-based workflows; and deliver comprehensive cloud-based health services for patients,” said Zhu Chenfeng, Senior Director of Strategic Key Accounts at Philips Greater China, in an interview with VCBeat. “We will provide solutions for hospitals, physicians, and patients across all stages, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. In the future, we will launch products such as Follow-up Cloud to enhance full-cycle management and achieve end-to-end patient care.”