Tencent and Medopad Launch International Joint R&D of AI-Powered Parkinson’s Disease Diagnostic Assistant

On October 7, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned that Tencent, in partnership with the UK-based mobile health company Medopad and Professor Ray Chaudhuri, a world-leading expert in Parkinson’s disease, held a press conference in Hong Kong to sign a strategic cooperation agreement and a memorandum of understanding for collaborative research. The three parties will engage in in-depth collaboration in the clinical and applied fields of Parkinson’s disease, jointly launching the R&D of AI-assisted diagnostic technologies for Parkinson’s. Their goal is to deploy AI-driven motor function assessment tools—based on established clinical evaluation standards for Parkinson’s disease—in mobile and home settings, enabling rapid, intelligent motor function assessments via smartphones.

Dr. Wei Fan (left), Head of Tencent Medical AI Lab; Professor Ray Chaudhuri (center); and Dan Vahdat (right), CEO and Founder of Medopad, jointly launched the international collaborative R&D initiative for an AI-assisted diagnostic system for Parkinson’s disease.

Dr. Fan Wei, Head of Tencent Medical AI Lab, stated that in this collaboration, Tencent will provide AI technologies and capabilities for video analysis of motor function in Parkinson’s disease. By integrating these with Medopad’s mobile health applications, both parties aim to promote the “mobile,” “home-based,” and “daily-life” application scenarios for early diagnosis, screening, and routine assessment of Parkinson’s disease. The establishment of this partnership will help expand the settings for assessing motor function in Parkinson’s patients and reduce the costs associated with such evaluations.

Professor Ray Chaudhuri, a world-leading expert in Parkinson’s disease, Professor of Movement Disorders, and Director of the Parkinson’s Integrated Diagnosis Unit at King’s College London, expressed his enthusiasm for providing clinical oversight to the development of AI-assisted diagnostic technology for Parkinson’s disease in this collaboration. He stated, “Medopad’s smartphone platform brings many traditional hospital-based assessments into the home setting, and this partnership has the potential to fundamentally transform how physicians manage patients with Parkinson’s disease.”

The signing ceremony was held during the 22nd International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in 2018. Meanwhile, the Intelligent Assessment System for Motor Function in Parkinson’s Disease was exhibited and debuted at the conference, drawing attention from global experts and scholars in the field.

Tencent and Medopad Jointly Exhibit at the 22nd International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders (2018), Where Attendees Experience an Intelligent Assessment System for Motor Function in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a typical chronic condition among the elderly. However, due to its subtle early symptoms, patients often seek medical attention late, resulting in high rates of delayed diagnosis and low treatment uptake. Early detection and timely intervention can alleviate symptoms, prevent or reduce long-term motor complications, and enable patients to lead near-normal lives. Otherwise, patients may suffer from the disease for prolonged periods, with their quality of life severely compromised.

Currently, hospitals rely on traditional rating scales for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Under physician guidance, patients are required to perform specified movements for each section, and physicians assign scores item by item based on the patients’ performance. The entire process typically takes approximately 30 minutes or longer. This diagnostic approach depends heavily on verbal communication, resulting in high time costs. Furthermore, scoring primarily relies on physicians’ visual observations of parameters such as movement distance, amplitude, and frequency, lacking quantitative metrics and thus being susceptible to bias due to subjectivity.

To this end, the Tencent Medical AI Laboratory, building on its collaboration with Professor Wang Jian from the Department of Neurology at Huashan Hospital, has launched an AI model for detecting and assessing Parkinson’s disease through motion analysis—the Intelligent Assessment System for Motor Function in Parkinson’s Disease. The assessment process is straightforward: patients do not need to wear any sensors; they simply stand in front of a camera and perform a series of instructed movements. The motor assessment for Parkinson’s disease can be completed in just three minutes, assisting physicians in increasing diagnostic speed by tenfold. This technology fills a gap both domestically and internationally in the assisted diagnosis of motor function in Parkinson’s disease.

This international collaboration between Tencent, Medopad, and Professor Ray Chaudhuri aims to integrate the aforementioned AI technologies with European clinical assessment standards for Parkinson’s disease. By incorporating these technologies into the Medopad platform alongside its other data-capture functionalities, the initiative seeks to facilitate clinical and home-based applications, significantly reducing assessment time, improving physicians’ workflow efficiency, and lowering costs associated with patient consultations and rehabilitation.

Dr. Fan Wei introduced that the motion video analysis technology employed by the system integrates deep learning and image recognition capabilities. It establishes hundreds of identifiable key points on the human body and uses detection instruments to track changes in these points across parameters such as frequency, distance, angle, and speed, thereby building models to train AI.

The continuous upgrading of technology is inextricably linked to Tencent’s open and collaborative approach. For a long time, Tencent has positioned itself as a “toolbox” and a “connector,” providing partners with the necessary tools and resources. This strategy aims to ensure that the entire ecosystem remains vibrant and dynamic, like flowing water, while facilitating sharing, ultimately achieving “AI in All” (ubiquitous artificial intelligence) across all industries.

Open collaboration also provides more possibilities for the promotion and implementation of new technologies. In April this year, the General Office of the State Council officially released the "Opinions on Promoting the Development of 'Internet Plus Medical Health'". It requires improving the service system of "Internet Plus Medical Health", promoting the integration of the Internet with medical health services from seven aspects, including advancing the application services of "Internet Plus" artificial intelligence, so that people can enjoy high-quality medical services at their doorstep.

With the assistance of AI technology, Tencent’s Intelligent Assessment System for Motor Function in Parkinson’s Disease enables “quantifiable” and “refined” evaluation of motor function, thereby improving the accuracy of motor assessments. Leveraging these assessments, physicians can more efficiently evaluate the condition of patients with Parkinson’s disease, stratify them by severity, and develop more targeted treatment plans.

Medopad’s smartphone platform, integrated with Tencent’s AI capabilities, will enable patients to undergo motor assessments outside of clinical settings and share results in real time, allowing physicians to more effectively evaluate disease progression. This collaboration will advance healthcare delivery from “at the doorstep” to “inside the home.”

Dan Vahdat, CEO and Founder of Medopad, stated: “The partnership between Medopad and Tencent is grounded in our shared vision to jointly improve the future landscape of healthcare through concerted efforts. By combining Medopad’s expertise with Tencent’s technological capabilities, we aim to provide healthcare professionals with technologies capable of early prediction of complications in Parkinson’s disease patients. In the face of challenges posed by various diseases, we hope that our collaborative efforts will realize the vision of extending the lives of millions of Parkinson’s patients worldwide, enabling them to continue contributing value to society.”

This means that, in the future, for diseases assessed based on motor status, the installation of a mobile application integrating Tencent’s AI technology for Parkinson’s disease—such as the Medopad platform—can enable multi-scenario expansion of disease assessment and management. Users can leverage their personal smartphones to manage their health and evaluate the motor status of themselves and their family members anytime and anywhere, whether at home, at work, or in other environments.

About Medopad

Medopad is a global health technology company dedicated to leveraging data and technology to provide comprehensive analysis and insights into patient health for everyone, helping people extend their lifespans. Medopad collaborates with the world’s largest healthcare systems, pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, insurance providers, and tech giants such as Apple and Tencent to build an interconnected health ecosystem that supports patients, improves clinical outcomes, and realizes the future of healthcare.