Yitu Healthcare Launches Global Expansion with Full-Stack AI Solutions, Files IPO Prospectus

“Yitu Healthcare’s robust R&D capabilities and the high standards of its AI products have undergone the most rigorous testing in nearly 100 top-tier (Grade A tertiary) hospitals across China,” said Dr. Fang Cong, Vice President of Yitu Healthcare, in his keynote address titled “AI Empowering Healthcare” at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Medical Technology Forum, which had just convened in Singapore on October 9. Addressing hundreds of government leaders, regulatory agency heads, and hospital administrators from around the world, he stated, “We sincerely look forward to collaborating closely with every partner, both domestic and international, to jointly advance the development of the medical AI industry, build smart hospitals through advanced AI applications, and empower the global healthcare sector.”

Dr. Fang Cong stated that medical artificial intelligence is bringing about a profound transformation in clinical practice. While liberating clinicians from burdensome, repetitive tasks, AI is evolving from single-function imaging detection toward “MDT decision-making,” fully participating in the clinical diagnosis and treatment process. By serving as a “second brain” for physicians, AI is driving the comprehensive intelligentization of clinical care. Yitu Healthcare’s extensive implementation experience in mainland China demonstrates that leveraging medical AI technologies to build smart hospitals has become an inevitable trend.

The 2018 Asia Pacific MedTech Forum (APACMed 2018) is the most professional, largest, and most prestigious medical technology conference in Southeast Asia, open exclusively to industry professionals. The event brought together over 600 government officials, regulatory authorities, hospital administrators, and technical experts from across Asia to discuss cutting-edge developments in the field of medicine.

Dr. Fang Cong Delivers Keynote Address

Following the conference, Dr. Fang Cong engaged in in-depth discussions with representatives from multiple departments on key topics including the implementation pathways for medical artificial intelligence, models of collaboration, healthcare data partnerships, and privacy protection. He also granted an exclusive interview to China Global Television Network (CGTN).

It is understood that, while maintaining close communication with Singapore’s regulatory authorities, Yitu Healthcare is collaborating with multiple public hospitals and private healthcare groups in Singapore to introduce advanced medical artificial intelligence into the country’s healthcare system, aiming to alleviate its workforce shortages and the growing threat of chronic diseases.

According to estimates by the Singapore Ministry of Health, by 2020, the Singapore healthcare system would need to add 30,000 healthcare professionals to address the shrinking workforce caused by population aging and the rising demand for medical care due to the high prevalence of chronic diseases. With healthcare expenditures continuing to grow rapidly, placing significant pressure on the health insurance system, it has become imperative to introduce AI to enhance the operational efficiency of healthcare institutions.

In September of the previous year, Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia (CNA) spent several months visiting Yitu Healthcare’s Hangzhou headquarters and multiple medical institutions, including Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital. Featuring Yitu Healthcare as a representative global enterprise in medical artificial intelligence, CNA filmed and produced the special documentary series “Algorithms: How They Rule Our World.” China is emerging as a global leader in the research, development, and practical implementation of medical AI products.

In the post-event interview, when discussing the reasons why Yitu Healthcare chose Singapore as the location for its Southeast Asian debut, Dr. Fang Cong stated that there were two main reasons:

First, Yitu Healthcare’s technical capabilities, product quality, and sincerity in collaboration have been consistently recognized by stakeholders ranging from the Singapore Ministry of Health to major healthcare groups. As a leading medical AI enterprise in China, Yitu Healthcare has successfully deployed its care.ai™ full-stack intelligent healthcare solutions in over 100 Grade-A tertiary hospitals across mainland China. The company has accumulated extensive practical experience in multiple areas, including AI algorithm development, engineering, deployment and implementation, and operations and maintenance, enabling it to provide comprehensive closed-loop solutions for healthcare systems.

Dr. Fang Cong cited Yitu Healthcare’s latest intelligent diagnostic system for mammography, released in September, as an example. Leveraging tens of thousands of real-world mammography cases from multiple top-tier tertiary hospitals across China, the system achieves second-level interpretation of mammographic images. It offers multiple functionalities, including glandular tissue classification, comprehensive lesion detection, feature description, and intelligent BI-RADS categorization, while automatically generating structured reports for radiologists. Professor Peng Weijun, Director of the Department of Radiological Diagnosis at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and a leading imaging expert in China, hailed this system as “the most advanced among similar domestic products.”

In the field of lung cancer, Yitu Healthcare’s care.ai™ Intelligent Imaging Diagnostic System for Lung Cancer has also been widely welcomed by experts across China. In many hospitals, the use of artificial intelligence systems for image interpretation has become a routine practice for physicians. At Wuhan Union Hospital alone, the system provided intelligent imaging interpretation services to nearly 100,000 patients in less than one year, with a clinical adoption rate of over 92% for the structured reports generated by AI.

Furthermore, Singapore boasts a comprehensive and high-standard healthcare system, with its medical technology and regulatory standards widely recognized. The local government remains committed to improving the accessibility, quality, and affordability of healthcare services in Singapore, leading to a continuous increase in healthcare expenditure. In response to the current surge of interest in medical artificial intelligence (AI), the Singaporean government has released the “National AI Strategy” (AI Singapore). The Ministry of Health has also introduced corresponding market access regulations and privacy oversight measures. This stringent regulatory environment will significantly promote the standardized development of the medical AI industry.

Dr. Fang Cong emphasized that the medical artificial intelligence industry is at the forefront globally, and a stringent regulatory environment represents a significant policy advantage for companies genuinely committed to this sector. Singapore is a global leader in this field, with rigorous standards and clear pathways governing product market access, functional assessment, and data privacy protection. Yitu Healthcare has consistently adhered to strict medical ethical standards and fully complied with local laws and regulations. Believing that true value emerges only after rigorous testing, Dr. Fang expressed confidence that Yitu Healthcare’s products and team are well-positioned to meet the international challenges of AI product commercialization.

With the rapid development of China’s medical AI industry, Chinese medical AI companies represented by Yitu Healthcare have taken a leading position in product R&D and implementation. How can we propel advanced medical AI forward to empower the global healthcare industry?

In response, Dr. Fang Cong stated that for Chinese AI enterprises, strengthening core competencies is the top priority. Essential elements include a profound understanding of clinical needs, comprehensive product functionality, and user-friendly human-AI collaboration; none of these can be dispensed with. Only by truly implementing AI applications in clinical settings, continuously iterating and upgrading them within real-world practice, integrating them into clinical workflows, and genuinely helping clinicians improve work efficiency and enhance hospital intelligence levels, can AI solutions gain clinical acceptance.

It is also understood that Yitu Healthcare’s internationalization strategy has been advancing steadily and prudently. As a key component of its global strategy, building on the Singapore branch established in early 2018, Yitu Healthcare will set up a new R&D center in Singapore within the year. By attracting top-tier local and international talent, the center will support the internationalization of AI product development and the localization of services.