Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade, Taiwan External Trade Development Council and Kuala Lumpur Taiwan Trade Centre organised an online showcase with the theme of “Smart Medical” to share and learn about the latest Taiwanese medical treatment and smart living technologies. Taiwan’s most reputable hospitals shared some of the latest disease treatment technologies.
Apart from sharing medical information, the showcase was aimed at building working relationships with Malaysian medical professionals to create a healthier and better life for the people. Taiwanese medical technologies are recognised by the global healthcare community for their continuous efforts in researching and developing high-efficiency medical equipment.
National Taiwan University Hospital introduced its dynamic image telemedicine service. The technology can perform photo analysis and have the capability to perform real-time sonography, dermatologic and ophthalmologic examinations. This makes remote consultations more feasible and efficient. These advanced telemedicine services will provide patients with better services before their medical treatment abroad, from pre-operative evaluations to post-operative follow-up examinations
Chang Gung Memorial Hospital showcased the unique properties of protons which enable treatment without exposing the normal tissues behind tumours to radiation. According to the hospital, proton therapy can accurately treat cancer lesions in a 360° angle while minimising the side effects of radiotherapy on normal healthy tissues. The combination of proton therapy with surgery and/or chemotherapy provides a high success rate in combating tumours, making it a new alternative for cancer treatment.
Meanwhile, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital introduced their latest heart surgery technique known as the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement. This shortens the operation time while reducing bleeding issues. The hospital had also recently introduced a hybrid surgery platform, which greatly shortens the time of any surgery.
National Cheng Kung University Hospital director said the hospital has conducted international collaboration programmes with Kenya, India, Vietnam, Indonesia and other South-East Asia countries since 2008 by co-hosting international conferences, joint-research and personnel exchange programmes.
The Health Examination Centre of Shin Kong Wu Ho Su Memorial Hospital showcased their professional medical team diagnosis, separate disease examination environment and various state-of-the-art medical equipment, such as GE Revolution CT low-dose extreme panoramic gem computer tomography. They provide a one-stop examination service for the screening of three major diseases, providing complete follow-up and health management to patients.
Additionally, Landseed International Hospital talked about the hospital’s latest trend of cancer surgical treatment, Organ Preservation Therapy. The therapy is most commonly used for treating rectal cancer and/or anal cancer and the therapy provides patients with customised treatment, which has a significant effect on improving the quality of patients’ life after surgery. The therapy can also be applied in other cancers, such as nasal cavity tumour, tongue cancer, laryngeal cancer and more.
Digital health has been growing significantly in Taiwan, including the adoption of AI in the medical sector. As reported by OpenGov Asia, Taipei City-based research organisation is promoting the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academic institutions, nongovernmental groups and enterprises through data exchanges and open-source projects. Taiwan’s leading role in the global supply of semiconductors means the country is ideally placed to integrate the latest and greatest technologies into the biotech and medical sectors.
Healthcare is the ideal field to expand the use of AI given the technology’s ability to quickly conduct big data analyses and modelling. Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database contains over two decades worth of data and images to assist in this process.
Taiwan focuses on integrating advanced technologies with the latest medical applications to enable connected and smart healthcare. This development is expected to have a synergistic impact on Taiwan’s emerging advanced tech industries. As digital information is the bedrock of high-quality patient healthcare, Taiwan has long developed a comprehensive health information technology system to improve and monitor the financing and delivery of healthcare services.