A Shanghai hospital has unveiled China’s first artificial intelligence system designed to mimic the diagnostic reasoning of the world’s leading cardiologists in a bid to tackle the country’s overwhelming demand for cardiac care.
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CardioMind, developed jointly by the Fudan University-affiliated Zhongshan Hospital and the Shanghai Academy of Artificial Intelligence for Science, compares patient histories and test results with global research to generate diagnostic suggestions.
According to its creators, the system is not intended to be a replacement for physicians, but rather a “co-pilot” that can help overburdened doctors work faster and more accurately.
“We’re feeding it cardiovascular data and teaching it to think like a top expert cardiologist,” said Ge Junbo, a leading cardiologist and academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who spearheaded the project.
“With the help (of AI), our doctors can serve more patients, reduce the overall workload, and improve the quality of diagnosis and treatment,” Ge told Yicai Global News.
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While AI tools like CardioMind are proliferating globally, proponents argue that they could be especially transformative in China, where a shrinking workforce and ageing population are straining medical resources.
The urgency is clear. For example, the Zhongshan cardiology department’s 136 physicians last year handled 820,000 outpatient visits – a ratio underscoring the pressures facing China’s top public hospitals.