In east China’s Anhui Province, the public consultation platform Medical Image Cloud, with technological assistance from iFLYTEK, has provided residents in the region equal access to quality healthcare and especially to those in remote rural areas.
In the Imaging Center of Lixin County People’s Hospital, doctors view and analyze medical imaging films transferred from around the county and send their diagnosis back to grassroots health organizations. Prior to the implementation of the Anhui Medical Image Cloud Platform, villagers would go to county-level hospitals for even for minor conditions, putting a strain on clinics ill-equipped for high-performance imaging devices and medical imaging film analysis.
A doctor with Lixin County People’s Hospital typing diagnosis based on medical film from Anhui Medical Image Cloud
“We receive some 100 imaging films every day from the Medical Image Cloud platform, and for each of them our doctors produce detailed reports on diagnoses to help grassroot clinics provide targeted treatment. In this way, patients don’t have to travel to far-flung hospitals and the shortage of medical imaging professionals can be relieved,” said the Director of the Imaging Center of Lixin County People’s Hospital.
On one occasion during the Spring Festival, a 70-year-old woman suddenly felt dizzy and began experiencing a headache. The woman immediately went to a local clinic, though no doctor was capable of analyzing medical imaging films. The medical workers uploaded the patient’s CT scan film to the Anhui Medical Image Cloud Platform, where an expert at the Lixin County People’s Hospital was able to provide a diagnosis of cerebral hemorrhage, greatly assisting in the timely medical treatment of the patient.
Doctor with the Wangren Town Clinic of Lixin County viewing imaging film on computer
The Anhui Medical Image Cloud Platform has become the largest provincial image cloud platform in China. Medical imaging films from grassroot medical organizations are uploaded and stored on the cloud designated for the platform, allowing patients to check their medical reports and films with doctors from higher-level hospitals providing precise diagnosis on the platform.
A hierarchical diagnosis mechanism consisting of medical organizations at provincial, city, and township levels has been established so that people can get scientific diagnoses and treatment locally without having to travel long distances to higher-level hospitals. Additionally, the platform promotes a balanced distribution of medical resources while improving imaging equipment and the capacity of imaging practitioners in grassroot hospitals.
As of February 2021, the Anhui Medical Image Cloud Platform has been connected with nearly 1,500 hospitals at all levels in the Anhui, with more than 2,000 experts working online to analyze more than 3 million medical imaging films and medical imaging films of nearly 40 million cases have been stored on the platform.
