Daosheng Medical Powers 'TCM New Infrastructure' with AI-Driven Solutions Deployed Across Nearly 4,000 Healthcare Institutions
In May 2015, the Development Plan for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Health Services (2015–2020), approved by the State Council and released on the Chinese Government’s official website, stated that information technologies such as cloud computing, mobile internet, and the Internet of Things should be leveraged to develop intelligent TCM health service products. This document outlined the development direction of China’s TCM health service industry for the following five years and marked the first national-level development plan in the field of TCM.
After 2018, the concept of “new infrastructure” rapidly gained prominence. By 2020, the new infrastructure trend had permeated various industries, gaining particular momentum in the healthcare sector, which gave rise to the concept of “New Infrastructure for Traditional Chinese Medicine.”
“New infrastructure for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) refers to the new generation of information infrastructure, represented by 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things, that supports the digitalization and intelligent development of TCM,” explained Li Chunqing, General Manager of Daosheng Medical.
“New Infrastructure for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)” is the current business focus of Daosheng Medical. Driven by technological innovations guided by TCM philosophy and built upon a foundation of TCM data and information networks, it addresses the needs in areas such as high-quality development of TCM services, digital preservation and inheritance of renowned veteran TCM practitioners’ expertise, big data research for specialized disciplines and diseases, TCM medical consortia, and TCM internet hospitals. It provides robust support for the digital transformation, intelligent upgrading, and integrated innovation of TCM services and clinical research.
Shanghai Daosheng Medical Technology Co., Ltd. was established in Shanghai in 2007, focusing on the "objectification, informatization, and intelligentization of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)." It aims to leverage technologies such as cloud computing and big data to develop and build TCM diagnostic information collection devices, conduct AI-driven research on TCM data, facilitate the digital inheritance of renowned veteran TCM practitioners, and create intelligent health service systems for preventive treatment departments.
In 2005, Lugu Group sought to develop a digital health assessment project based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). As the project lead, Li Chunqing conducted in-depth market research on TCM. During discussions with institutions such as Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, he observed that there were few participants in the intelligent TCM diagnostic market at the time, which held considerable potential for growth. In his view, the right direction for the project had been identified.
Following meticulous preparations, Daosheng Medical was established through the joint efforts of Lugu Group and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Daosheng Medical can be described as “standing on the shoulders of giants.” Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine has decades of research foundation in intelligent TCM diagnosis, providing Daosheng Medical with a solid technological and data foundation; Green Valley Group is a professional pharmaceutical enterprise group integrating R&D, production, and sales of modern traditional Chinese medicines, offering Daosheng Medical mature market resources and experience.
However, Daosheng Medical’s growth path was not without its challenges. “When we were first established, intelligent TCM diagnosis was not a popular field, there were few market participants, and corresponding talent resources were scarce; at that time, we also faced a talent crisis.” Daosheng Medical’s solution was to proactively recruit talent from universities. By reaching out to prestigious institutions such as Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, and Tongji University, Daosheng Medical managed to resolve this urgent need.
Currently, the Daosheng Medical team has grown to over 100 members, forming a specialized R&D team composed of nearly 100 outstanding talents from multidisciplinary backgrounds, including Traditional Chinese Medicine, Western Medicine, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Electronics, Optics, and Mechanical Engineering.
In Li Chunqing’s view, Daosheng Medical is a TCM data intelligence company grounded in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) thinking. Its distinguishing feature is “organizing the R&D of TCM diagnostic information acquisition devices, TCM intelligent health assessment systems, and TCM data AI research systems from the perspective of TCM thinking and in accordance with the principles of medical device development, thereby fully meeting the clinical application needs of TCM in hospitals.” For instance, the primary concern for digital TCM diagnostic equipment is the authenticity and reliability of data acquisition. Over the past decade since its establishment, Daosheng Medical has consistently focused on enhancing the data acquisition capabilities of TCM diagnostic devices, investing heavily in foundational technology R&D and product upgrades.
Industry development, standards first. In the field of TCM diagnostic information collection equipment, it is essential to standardize data acquisition. "It’s like making a ruler; you must first ensure that ‘one centimeter’ is consistent in length." Since undertaking the research and formulation of the ISO international standard for "Traditional Chinese Medicine—Pulse Palpation Force Sensor" in 2013, the TCM intelligent hardware R&D team at Daosheng Medical has repeatedly participated in the standard-setting work of the International Organization for Standardization/Technical Committee on Traditional Chinese Medicine (ISO/TC249). To date, the team has been responsible for or participated in the drafting of three industry standards and seven international standards.
After more than a decade of development, Daosheng Medical products have been implemented in nearly 4,000 medical institutions across China.
Li Chunqing analyzed the reasons behind Daosheng Medical’s achievements from two perspectives: First, the state has strongly supported the development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Since 2015, the government has successively issued 30 TCM-related policies, aiming to “revitalize TCM” through multi-dimensional measures such as talent cultivation, support for the establishment of TCM medical institutions, and encouragement of private healthcare provision. Second, Daosheng Medical has consistently focused on meeting the needs of clinical TCM practice, carefully listening to feedback from clinical applications, and serving TCM clinical practice with a “TCM mindset.”
Through collaborations with institutions such as Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, the Liu Minru Gynecology Research Institute of National TCM Masters, and Tongrentang International, Daosheng Medical and its subsidiary Qihuang Technology have initially established their product portfolio: Daosheng Intelligent Four-Diagnostic Instrument, Qihuang Data AI Workstation, and TCM Smart Screen.
These three core products also constitute Daosheng Medical’s “TCM Smart Cloud Service Platform,” featuring specialized TCM health services such as AI-driven TCM data research, intelligent TCM health assessments, TCM-based chronic disease management, clinical decision support for TCM, and 5G-enabled remote TCM consultations, thereby empowering the “New Infrastructure for TCM.”
Daosheng Intelligent Four-Diagnosis Instrument integrates modern technological achievements with the clinical expertise of numerous TCM specialists, combining tongue diagnosis, facial diagnosis, pulse diagnosis, and inquiry to provide objective, quantitative auxiliary reference information for TCM clinical diagnosis.
The Qihuang Data AI Workstation serves as a tool for AI research in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) data, featuring functions such as an intelligent TCM data center, analytical mining, and AI training. It supports initiatives including the digital preservation and inheritance of renowned veteran TCM practitioners’ expertise, as well as AI-driven research on data from key TCM specialties and diseases.
As a “TCM AI Physical Examination” system, the TCM Smart Screen leverages big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence technologies to integrate five core functions: intelligent TCM health assessment, TCM-based chronic disease management, TCM clinical decision support, 5G-enabled remote services, and popular science education. It provides affordable TCM informatization tools for primary care settings and the broader health industry.
During the pandemic, Daosheng Medical leveraged its core strengths to support Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in the fight against COVID-19 by providing intelligent tongue image acquisition and analysis technology. The company supplied nearly 200 institutions—including Leishenshan Hospital, Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, and the Xinhua News Agency client—with smart TCM screens featuring intelligent tongue imaging devices, as well as online intelligent services for home-based TCM epidemic prevention and health management. Additionally, Daosheng Medical donated nearly 300 mobile tongue diagnosis devices, collected approximately 50,000 tongue images related to COVID-19, and provided online TCM constitution identification and popular science education services to over one million individuals.
The Qihuang Data AI Workstation provides one-stop integrated governance of multimodal data in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, with tongue image data as the core, along with TCM-specific data analysis and mining, and intelligent model training for TCM. It serves epidemic prevention and control, clinical diagnosis and treatment, and scientific research, having completed intelligent analysis of over 24,000 COVID-19 tongue images to date.
Li Chunqing stated that, on the basis of consolidating and deepening its presence in the TCM health services market, Daosheng Medical will focus its resources on entering the higher-dimensional market segment of “New TCM Infrastructure.” Leveraging the company’s TCM AI technology platform and through the organic integration of three products, it aims to achieve “Two Major Supports and the Development of Nine Key Scenarios”:
Two Major Boosters:Support the construction of intelligent data research platforms for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospitals, and enhance the capabilities of TCM-based intelligent health management services;
Nine Major Scenarios:Department of Preventive Treatment, TCM Intelligent Health Management, TCM Data Integration and Governance, Smart Inheritance of Renowned Veteran TCM Practitioners, AI Training for National Medical Masters’ Specialized Diseases, AI Research on TCM Specialty and Disease-Specific Data, TCM Imaging Data Center, TCM Smart Pharmacy, TCM Medical Consortium, TCM Internet Hospital.
“I believe that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) possesses an advanced system of theories, techniques, and culture. The core of TCM’s development trend lies in genuinely addressing the health concerns of the general public, maintaining its unique characteristics, keeping pace with the times, and actively embracing new technologies. We should boldly explore and introduce valuable technologies beneficial to TCM, such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and sensors, to help traditional TCM achieve informatization and intelligentization.” Li Chunqing shared his views on the future development trends of TCM.