These smart technologies are transforming healthcare

Digital transformation is changing the face of every industry, including healthcare. From a lack of access to basic healthcare services in many places around the world to a general staffing shortage that's expected to reach 18 million by 2030, there are plenty of gaps that technology like 5G, cloud and AI are primed to offset.

However, to effectively use these technologies, we first need to fully understand the challenges that the healthcare sector experiences from multiple perspectives, including patients, healthcare professionals, and management.

And that’s something I’ve been spending a lot of time on since the pandemic began stretching global healthcare resources to breaking point: visiting hospitals, talking to healthcare professionals, and attending industry events.

With a large portion of face-to-face visits off the table during the pandemic, healthcare providers have had to look for new ways to interact with non-emergency patients. Doctors have been able to consult patients remotely, diagnose conditions, and even review X-rays and CT scans in high definition – often collaboratively with other experts in remote locations.

In turn, people have become more accepting of remote healthcare services and telemedicine, with Ernest Young reporting that 54% of patients with chronic diseases now accept remote healthcare.

That’s a welcome trend: research shows that 30% of hospital visits from patients with common chronic conditions are in fact unnecessary, tie-up resources, and cost the industry upwards of $8.3 billion per year. For patients, the online approach means better and safer access, less wasted time, and lower costs.

The ability to see a doctor regardless of location has helped democratize healthcare access for many people in underserved areas.

Much like connectivity sits at the core of remote healthcare, it can drive up the efficacy of emergency response during the “golden hour”, the time when effective medical intervention can mean the difference between life and death.

Historically, it’s been impossible to share data between ambulances, A&E departments, and experts in a way that enables a real-time response.

A 5G-powered remote emergency channel that links to a command centre gives doctors equipped with VR glasses the same view as if they were actually inside the ambulance. Doctors receive data on a patient’s vital signs in real-time on a large screen in the command centre, including the patient's ECG, ultrasound image, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and temperature.

The patient's medical history can be quickly established, doctors can guide paramedics in the ambulance, and patients can be admitted to hospital immediately after arrival with their details and condition known. This isn’t something for the future – many hospitals in China are already using this solution.

Alongside remote technologies and 5G, AI is emerging as a key technology in the tech-powered healthcare armory. It’s been instrumental, for example, along with the rapid rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, the large-scale virtual screening for potential drugs and shortening the simulation time from one month to less than one day.

Equally, AI can offset a shortage of specialists, such as ultrasound experts who can interpret echocardiograms to diagnose heart disease. A single expert can diagnose just 40 cases per day, which for patients translates into a waiting time of nearly one week. By training algorithms in small-sample data for 10 heart conditions, we’ve developed the B Ultrasound solution that can speed up the diagnosis process by between five to 10 times.

In addition to B Ultrasound, since 2018 we’ve been working with more than 80 hospitals in China on the world's largest heart-health research project. With the consent of the research subjects, we’ve collected anonymized data from nearly 3.1 million people. Our smart wearable devices can collect signals from users in real-time, identify abnormal heart rhythms with AI, and upload the results to Huawei Research. Cloud AI then pushes information about high-risk people to the remote medical management platform of the hospitals we’re working with, so that healthcare workers can take appropriate measures.

For physicians, wearables and apps overcome the challenges of data acquisition and analysis, with AI able to analyze massive data through continuous monitoring. Over the past two and a half years, more than 10,000 people were screened for suspected atrial fibrillation (AF) – an abnormally fast heartbeat. More than 4,400 people were diagnosed with AF, with an accuracy of 94%.

Currently, Huawei's smart wearable devices can also monitor blood oxygen and generate electrocardiograms. We expect to release a medical-grade blood pressure watch by the end of the year.

To maximize the effectiveness of the technologies to empower doctors, and improve the patient experience, hospital management must also be smart.

Open, connected digital platforms can achieve the real-time visual management of operations and resources in hospitals, from patient flow and doctor workloads to bed occupancy and medical device use. This in turn can enable hospital management to plan and improve resource use and make decisions based on full datasets, underpinning overall healthcare performance and outcomes.

Over the past 18 months, I’ve witnessed the dedication and bravery of healthcare workers, as I think much of the world’s population has. However, with a chronic shortage of medical staff unfolding and with half the world’s population still lacking access to basic healthcare services, we need to develop solutions if we are to move forward as an equitable society where everyone has room to fulfill their potential.

In healthcare, technology companies can make a real difference – and I believe that’s something worth committing to.