Digital technology helps spread TCM products globally

YINCHUAN — During a remote consultation, Ma Yan, a traditional Chinese medicine expert from Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region currently working in Benin, West Africa, treated a local patient suffering from peripheral facial paralysis via the Sino-Benin TCM telemedicine platform.

"The patient, who had been suffering for more than five months, has shown improvement after previous treatments. This teleconsultation with experts in Ningxia enables us to design safer and more effective treatment plans based on the patient's medical history," Ma told Xinhua News Agency via WeChat.

Ningxia has been dispatching medical teams to Benin to carry out medical assistance missions since 1975. By 2024, the region had sent a total of 28 batches of medical teams, covering fields such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and TCM.

Launched in 2023, the Sino-Benin TCM telemedicine platform uses digital technology and artificial intelligence to enable real-time collaboration between medical teams in Benin and Chinese specialists, sharing data and utilizing tools like TCM intelligent augmented-reality-assisted diagnosis systems.

This initiative has already provided over 300 remote diagnoses, enhancing patient care while training local professionals.

Beyond Benin, digital innovations like AI-assisted diagnosis and smart wearable devices are gaining traction worldwide.

At the China-Arab States Expo in September, Ningxia launched an "internet plus healthcare" cooperation platform. According to experts and scholars in the field of digital intelligence in TCM, digital technology and AI are profoundly transforming the healthcare landscape, creating new opportunities to enhance the efficiency of medical services and elevate the standards of health management. Du Yong, director of Ningxia's health commission, said such efforts pool top experts to offer remote services to Arab nations.

The comprehensive application of digital intelligence technologies in healthcare, such as AI-assisted diagnosis, intelligent wearable monitoring devices, smart acupuncture and massage robots, along with TCM and TCM-based dietary therapy products, is steadily gaining recognition and acceptance globally.

Shi Jinyu from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine said that their AI-powered constitution detection system is already being used abroad, expressing hope that smart TCM products will help bring the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine to people globally.

A Cambodian student studying at Ningxia Medical University, who asked to use her Chinese name Chen Liying, said, "China's advanced medical robots and TCM techniques like acupuncture are popular in Cambodia, combining with Western medicine for better outcomes."

Xinhua