Yizhan Medical Empowers Global Healthcare with AI and Mobile Internet Diagnostic Platform under the Belt and Road Initiative
In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past six years, the joint construction of the Belt and Road has achieved milestone successes. Relying on the Belt and Road as a bridge connecting China’s vast market with the global stage, an increasing number of Chinese enterprises have begun to expand overseas and integrate deeply into the global economic system.
Amid the backdrop of the rapid development of the "Belt and Road" InitiativeAt the China-Arab States Expo, Wingspan Medical Group reached a cooperation agreement with the Health Commission of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and the Thailand-China ASEAN Economic and Trade Promotion Association, jointly signing the “Strategic Framework Agreement on Technology Service Export and ‘Internet + Healthcare’ Demonstration.” Through this collaboration, Wingspan Medical Group will deliver high-tech medical services to Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand.
(The image shows the signing ceremony at the China-Arab States Expo)
Chinese companies’ global expansion has largely manifested in the export of products and technologies, with relatively limited outreach in healthcare services. As a company deeply engaged in the research and development of AI applications for medical imaging, how will Wingspan Medical Group strategize its international expansion? In response to these questions, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) interviewed Gao Yunlong, Partner and Chief Marketing Officer of Wingspan Medical Group, to provide readers with the latest insights.
Wingspan Medical Group was founded in 2009,is a high-tech enterprise that provides smart medical imaging solutions and focuses on the research and development of artificial intelligence applications in medical imaging.Among the numerous AI+medical imaging companies, Wingspan stands out by leveraging its decade of profound expertise in the medical imaging industry.
Over the past 10 years,Wingspan has built an “AI + Internet” cloud empowerment center that integrates remote imaging diagnosis, imaging medical consortia, imaging physician groups, an AI open collaboration platform, healthcare informatization, and medical imaging diagnostic centers.
Its core product, “Cloud Imaging,” provides radiologists with professional online image viewing and remote diagnostic reporting tools. By leveraging mobile internet to connect traditional medical imaging silos, it optimizes resource allocation and enables efficient, rapid connectivity between equipment and physicians. This fundamentally addresses the pain points in imaging diagnosis, thereby improving both accuracy and diagnostic speed.
(The image shows the Wingspan Medical Imaging Multidimensional Ecosystem Map)
Based on “Cloud Shadow,” Wingspan has also built an AI-powered open collaboration platform that rapidly enhances physicians’ existing capabilities, addressing industry challenges such as insufficient output of core diagnostic expertise and the scarcity of high-level medical imaging diagnosis from the supply side.
“For now,”Wingspan already operates China’s largest medical cloud platform, covering more than 3,000 partner hospitals and over 120,000 partner physicians nationwide.“Gao Yunlong told VCBeat.
He cited as an example the Ningxia Remote Imaging Diagnosis Center operated by Wingspan, which has been successfully running for over two years, covering more than 180 medical institutions across the autonomous region, with a diagnostic volume reaching as high as 320,000 cases.
The Wingspan Ningxia Remote Imaging Diagnosis Center is a cloud platform centered on Yinchuan First People's Hospital, linking upward to top-tier tertiary hospitals in Beijing and extending downward to primary healthcare institutions across the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
By connecting county-level hospitals, township health centers, private hospitals, and employee hospitals to use the Wingspan Box, images are uploaded to the cloud. Central experts then review the images and write diagnostic reports, enabling patients to receive real-time diagnosis and treatment services from Grade A tertiary hospitals locally on the same day.
Amid the sweeping tide of AI technological advancement, Wingspan has strived for excellence and emerged as a leader in the evolution of China’s medical imaging ecosystem. “This collaboration with our Thai partners represents both an opportunity for Wingspan to advance its global expansion and a historical inevitability,” said Gao Yunlong.
Currently, developed countries such as those in Europe, the United States, and Japan are leading the development of medical technology and providing high-quality healthcare services to their citizens. However, in developing countries, particularly in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa, the level of healthcare is relatively poor. Due to the uneven distribution of medical resources and the backwardness of primary healthcare, people find it difficult to access high-quality medical services.
“Delivering high-tech medical diagnostic services will help improve and elevate the standard of local healthcare.”Gao Yunlong stated. He introduced that prior to finalizing the cooperation with Thailand, the Wingspan team had accompanied a delegation from the Ningxia Health Commission on an onsite visit to Thailand. “Medical resources in Thailand are extremely unevenly distributed. The highest-quality medical resources are concentrated in top-tier hospitals, such as royal hospitals, which boast leading-edge technology, advanced equipment, and high-quality services, but their prices are prohibitively expensive, making them inaccessible to the general public,” said Gao Yunlong.
(The image shows Gao Yunlong, Partner & CMO of Wingspan Medical Group)
Given such a significant disparity, how can the vision of enabling the general public to access premium healthcare services be realized? Following the signing of the “Strategic Framework Agreement on Technology Service Export and ‘Internet + Healthcare’ Demonstration,” Gao Yunlong stated,Wingspan Medical Group will leverage its practical experience in establishing the “Internet + Healthcare” demonstration zone to promote the Wingspan Smart Medical Imaging Ecosystem in Thailand, exporting high-quality imaging cloud platform tools, big data management tools, artificial intelligence platforms, training platforms, as well as advanced intelligent radiological diagnostic technologies and services.
“Through the Wingspan Cloud Platform, grassroots medical institutions are seamlessly connected with top-tier hospital resources, unlocking previously scarce assets and enabling ordinary citizens in Thailand to access affordable, high-end medical diagnostic services.“Gao Yunlong introduced.”
He revealed that Wingspan will conduct pilot programs in one or two hospitals in Thailand before the end of this year, with nationwide coverage in Thailand expected by 2020. From 2020 to 2021, Wingspan will successively establish regional centers in Southeast Asia, Africa, Central Asia, and other regions.
Western countries have long held a leading position in high-tech medical resources. Wingspan represents China in providing AI-powered mobile internet intelligent diagnostic platforms to Southeast Asian nations such as Thailand, exporting high-tech medical services. This not only demonstrates China’s leadership in AI applications but also underscores its responsibility as a major global power.
“While meeting domestic supply demands, China also enables countries along the Belt and Road Initiative to access high-level medical imaging diagnostic tools, thereby enhancing their quality and capabilities in medical imaging diagnosis. This reflects China’s responsibility and commitment to building a community with a shared future for mankind.“Gao Yunlong said.”
Furthermore, most overseas medical institutions and practitioners remain within the Western cognitive education framework, and their medical equipment is largely monopolized by the “GPS” companies. He stated that Wingspan’s international expansion will demonstrate to the world that, with the advent of the artificial intelligence era, China’s medical technology has achieved rapid development and taken a leading position, and can be made accessible to people worldwide, benefiting the global community.
“Wingspan’s overseas expansion will also establish a robust export platform for domestic equipment and consumables manufacturers, bringing Chinese imaging devices, diagnostic platforms, medical devices, and high-tech AI products to international markets. This will encourage more technology enterprises to go global and promote the outward development of China’s healthcare industry,” said Gao Yunlong.Whether in traditional device manufacturing or the new era of AI, Wingspan serves as a “small boat,” towing the industry forward.
Gao Yunlong stated that Wingspan has currently reached preliminary cooperation intentions with several domestic medical device manufacturers for overseas expansion.
“There are approximately 6 billion people worldwide, yet fewer than 1 billion have access to high-quality medical services. We hope that through the outreach of the Belt and Road Initiative, more people will be able to benefit from premium healthcare,” said Gao Yunlong. He expressed great optimism about the future development of Wingspan.