Aye to smart medicine solution to shortage of eye doctors
A clinic showcasing smart medicine.
Smart medicine is the solution to solve the shortage of medical professionals and the public's rising demand for eye care and services, experts told the summary conference of the eye disease prevention and control alliance in the Yangtze River Delta region.
AI-based eye disease screening, AI-based assistant diagnostic robots and databases for eye health information have been tried and used in the region.
These have advanced technological ability and profound medical resources.
There are 47,000 eye doctors in the nation, however, the incidence of myopia among domestic children and minors is 53.6 percent.
More than 90 percent of university students have myopia. There are more than 11 percent of Chinese adult suffering diabetes, and 21 to 36 percent of them have the risk of diabetic retinopathy.
"Facing huge demand, intelligent medicine can be used for eye disease prevention and management, cloud imaging system and big data for the eye care industry," said Dr Zou Haidong, director of the Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Control Center, the leader of the alliance.
"Smart medicine can help solve the shortage of medics, especially in grassroots facilities.
"Intelligent technology can conduct automatic and early screening and assist diagnosis in grassroots facilities for precise medicine in the follow-up clinical practice. It can save manpower, help detect disease in primary stages and enhance precise medicine."
The alliance also introduced a cloud clinic, which allows patients to receive service from top experts through the Internet instead of going all the way to leading hospitals in big cities in the delta region.
To improve grassroots medics' capability, the alliance also initiated a three-year project to cultivate eye professionals in small cities.
Dr Zou Haidong, director of the Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Control Center, leads experts conducting a charity consultation in the Yangtze River Delta region.
