Future AI-Driven Healthcare Scenarios Unveiled at Medical AI Symposium in Nanning, Guangxi

In recent years, countries around the world have been making significant strategic deployments in artificial intelligence. The Chinese government, in particular, attaches great importance to the application of AI technology across various sectors of society in the future. In July 2017, the State Council issued the Development Plan for New-Generation Artificial Intelligence, which outlined the guiding principles, strategic objectives, key tasks, and safeguard measures for the development of China’s new-generation AI by 2030. It also deployed strategies to establish China’s early-mover advantages in AI development and accelerate the construction of an innovative nation and a global leader in science and technology. Among these initiatives, intelligent healthcare was highlighted as one of the key priorities.

To advance the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare settings, the Chinese Society for Health Informatics and Medical Big Data and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Big Data Development Bureau jointly hosted a seminar themed “Digital Intelligence Guangxi, Leading the Future Together.” Focusing on “AI + Medical Imaging,” the event brought together more than 30 experts from local government, academia, the medical community, and industry to pool their expertise and insights. In light of Guangxi’s local context, participants discussed key hotspots, pain points, and future developments in medical artificial intelligence.

Xi Yang, Deputy Secretary-General of the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Director of the Autonomous Region Big Data Development Bureau

At the seminar, Xi Yang, Deputy Secretary-General of the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Director of the Autonomous Region’s Big Data Development Bureau, delivered the opening address. Mr. Xi stated that, in response to the call from the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the autonomous region’s government has proposed vigorously promoting the integration, openness, and sharing of governmental health and medical information systems with public health and medical databases, eliminating information silos, actively fostering a standardized environment for the innovative application and development of big data in health and medicine, cultivating new business models through the “Internet + Health and Medical Care” service paradigm, deepening big data innovation, and establishing a demonstration hub for health and medical services oriented toward ASEAN countries.

Professor Ziyi Chen, Tenured Professor at the University of Notre Dame, IEEE Fellow, and ACM Distinguished Scientist; Dr. Ying Chi, Technical Director of Medical AI at Alibaba DAMO Academy; and Mr. Haojian Gao, Senior Researcher at VCBeat, delivered insightful presentations on the theme of “Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Scenarios.” They shared their perspectives from three angles: how global technological advancements are driving AI in medicine, how innovative enterprises leverage technical products to propel industry development, and the current status, opportunities, and challenges facing the medical AI industry.

Professor Ziyi Chen, Tenured Professor at the University of Notre Dame, IEEE Fellow, and ACM Distinguished Scientist

Professor Chen Ziyi believes that in recent years, with the expansion of datasets, improvements in hardware, and continuous optimization of AI algorithms, there has been tremendous progress in research and innovation in artificial intelligence and big data. Guided by strong policy support in both China and the United States, applications in the medical field are being rapidly promoted. Professor Chen introduced his current research directions and cutting-edge applied technologies, emphasizing that beyond technological innovation, it is particularly important to stay close to clinical practice to solve real-world problems.

Dr. Chi Ying, Director of Medical AI Technology at Alibaba DAMO Academy

Dr. Chi Ying posited that industrial development is inextricably linked to corporate innovation and drive. Alibaba DAMO Academy boasts over 1,000 researchers distributed across eight cities worldwide, collaborating on more than 200 projects. They leverage technology to address future challenges, with a significant focus on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. Dr. Chi Ying, Technical Director of Medical AI, introduced three products—“YiTong,” “YuJian,” and “XunWei”—which target areas such as AI-powered medical imaging and analysis of medical records and literature.

Gao Haojian, Senior Researcher at VCBeat

As an observer of the medical innovation industry, Gao Haojian, Senior Researcher at VCBeat Institute, shares his insights. He begins by analyzing the current state of industrial development from four dimensions—economic factors, demographic structure, disease spectrum, and supply-side elements—by integrating the national context with the local situation in Guangxi. Gao Haojian states that changes in these factors reveal six major opportunities and challenges, and he offers recommendations for empowering the healthcare service supply side across different stages of development. He believes that to build a full-chain artificial intelligence (AI) service ecosystem, Guangxi should adopt the following AI-driven strategies: further strengthen information infrastructure; foster strong collaborations centered on pharmaceutical research; prioritize leading hospitals to create a digital “medical brain”; and further advance intelligent elderly care services.

At this symposium, experts from academia, the healthcare sector, and industry, along with local government representatives, engaged in in-depth discussions on the challenges encountered in fostering innovative collaboration across policy, application, production, education, and research in medical artificial intelligence (AI). They shared insights from diverse perspectives on cooperation models between AI enterprises and hospitals, how regulators can facilitate industrial development, and how big data empowers health insurance management. Furthermore, drawing on the local context of Guangxi, they provided valuable experience and recommendations for advancing medical AI in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

A representative of the Autonomous Region Health Commission stated that, in terms of policy, the autonomous region has been vigorously promoting the development of the big data industry. Last year, the People's Government of the Autonomous Region issued the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the Development of 'Internet + Medical Health' in Guangxi," Article 8 of which addresses Internet plus artificial intelligence services. The plan encourages the research and development of AI-based clinical decision support systems, the implementation of intelligent image recognition, case identification, and other health applications across multiple scenarios, so as to improve service efficiency. The second focus is the construction of smart hospitals, which serve three key stakeholders: administrators, physicians, and patients.

At the same time, data security is the top priority. The state has explicitly stipulated that ownership of medical data belongs to patients. To regulate which medical data can be used, the state has issued the Administrative Measures for Standards, Security, and Services of National Health and Medical Big Data (Trial). The autonomous region is considering introducing provincial-level administrative measures to provide clear regulations on the classification, acquisition, collection, application, storage, and management of big data. Therefore, enterprises must promote the application of health and medical big data under the leadership of industry authorities.

Wu Huazhang, Director of the Guangxi Medical Insurance Center, stated that controlling medical insurance costs is one of the key tasks for achieving the sustainable development of China’s medical insurance system. Preliminary explorations have been conducted in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data in cost control; however, challenges remain in seamlessly integrating business requirements with information technology. Director Wu remarked, “In terms of supervision, we aim to leverage AI and big data technologies to intelligently identify irregular clinical practices, thereby standardizing clinical pathways. Moreover, AI and big data hold even greater potential in medical insurance management, enabling the provision of the most cost-effective coverage for patients.”

In the past two years, with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in China, the state has had high expectations for AI to enable the country to achieve rapid advancement and overtake competitors. For instance, at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, one-third of the more than 300 projects submitted to the National Health Commission this year were AI-related. Wu Yulian, Director of the Department of General Surgery at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, believes that AI holds great promise in initial screening. He suggests that efforts should first target the primary healthcare market by using AI to eliminate basic human errors made by physicians, thereby avoiding elementary mistakes, before advancing to high-end products. Chen Xudong, Assistant to the President of Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, and Peng Peng, Deputy Director of the Radiology Department at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, also shared their views. They expressed a stronger preference for fundamental medical AI applications, such as measurements of bone joints and bone mass, which offer greater clinical assistance to physicians. Additionally, AI-assisted retrospective studies of medical records represent a highly valuable direction. By analyzing and issuing early warnings based on large volumes of medical activities and contextual data, AI can help screen high-risk populations, advance the timeline for prevention and treatment, and yield significant results through early screening.

There are also three scenarios for the integration of artificial intelligence with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Lin Liuyun, Deputy Director of the Information Engineering Department at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, mentioned the following: First, AI-powered deep learning tools can be used to clarify the therapeutic approaches of different TCM schools, addressing the lack of standardized guidelines due to the oral transmission of TCM knowledge. Second, TCM image analysis. In TCM diagnosis, practitioners often use infrared imaging devices to analyze various bodily conditions through images; therefore, leveraging AI-based image analysis can help study human physiological states under different solar terms. Third, TCM-assisted treatment systems enable primary care physicians to improve their diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities through these support systems.

In his address, Director Xi Yang stated that “Healthy Guangxi” is a long-term, systematic endeavor. It involves the sharing and application of data across the entire healthcare system and pertains to the cross-sector integrated development of medical artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. Since its establishment, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Big Data Bureau has attached great importance to the application of AI in the health sector. While coordinating and supporting various units in accelerating the construction of digital platforms, the Bureau has actively explored the deep integration of the internet, big data, and AI with industries, so as to expedite the delivery of data-driven public services and innovative applications.

This September, Nanning, Guangxi will host the “1st China-ASEAN Artificial Intelligence Summit.” The Big Data Bureau organized the Guangxi Global Data Intelligence Challenge, which attracted 1,635 teams from 12 countries and regions worldwide, along with participation from over 100 domestic and international enterprises and institutions. Notable participants included prominent Chinese medical AI companies and research institutions such as Huiying Medical, United Imaging, Yitu Technology, Deepwise Healthcare, Shenzhen Digital Life Research Institute, and Ruiyi Medical of Zhejiang University.

Wang Yiting, head of the Alibaba Cloud Tianchi Platform, stated that the development of digital government and intelligent industries inevitably relies on a robust talent ecosystem, requiring local efforts to identify and cultivate a cohort of industry-oriented applied professionals. The inaugural Guangxi Global Data Intelligence Challenge successfully bridged two ends: connecting governments, institutions, and organizations with needs for the integration and commercialization of artificial intelligence technologies on one side, and AI developers from around the world on the other, thereby providing intellectual support to demand-side entities undergoing digital transformation. The Alibaba Cloud Tianchi Big Data Crowdsourcing Platform provided technical, product, and operational support for the competition, leveraging the strengths of the Tianchi developer ecosystem to ensure its high-quality execution.

The Autonomous Region Big Data Bureau and Alibaba Cloud are jointly hosting this competition, with the following primary objectives: First, to attract high-caliber talent and teams from the fields of big data, artificial intelligence, and the digital economy to participate online in industrial intelligent transformation and innovation, pooling collective wisdom to draw elite talent pools and teams to Guangxi. Second, to explore pathways for big data openness and industry-oriented commercial applications through data preparation for the competition; outstanding data models emerging from the contest will have the opportunity to move beyond the laboratory and be directly applied in real-world scenarios, thereby addressing practical challenges in the development of the healthcare industry through targeted pilot implementations. Third, to leverage the government’s guiding role by mobilizing global intelligence through data openness, aggregating diverse innovation resources, and building an innovation service platform for startups and enterprises to help enhance their sustained competitiveness.

By leveraging the “Internet + Healthcare” model, the competition explores new service paradigms and fosters emerging business formats, while deepening innovative applications of big data in population health. In alignment with the development of the China–ASEAN Information Harbor, it aims to establish a premier demonstration hub for healthcare big data applications targeting ASEAN countries. This initiative provides robust support for advancing healthcare reform, enhancing the quality and efficiency of medical and health services, and building a “Healthy Guangxi.”