China enhances smart health care with first national medical image database

The project has been approved by the National Health Commission and will be built by the Chinese Society of Radiology (CSR). Up to now, medical images were separately stored in hospitals and could only be shared among affiliated hospitals or under agreements. — SCMP

China has initiated a national radiology image database, the country’s first standardised medical image platform, to facilitate the sharing of patient information and take a further step towards smart health care powered by data-trained artificial intelligence technology.

The project, officially initiated at an industry-wide conference over the weekend, will involve 350 to 400 hospitals. It has been approved by the National Health Commission and will be built by the Chinese Society of Radiology (CSR), according to local media Yicai, which cited Liu Shiyuan, chairman-elect of the CSR’s radiology branch.