Precision medicine is expected to be a flagship industry of the Taiwanese economy in the next decade, as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of local industries, Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said yesterday.
Local biomedicine start-ups have over the past few years proved to be innovative, Wu told a news conference in Taipei, adding that the ministry continues to support academics in their efforts to commercialize their innovations.
Quality healthcare and advanced information and communications technologies are among Taiwan’s strengths, creating a conductive environment for the development of smart medicine, and the integration of hospital treatment and home-based healthcare, he said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Science and Technology
At the event, a team of National Taiwan University Hospital’s Yunlin branch and Quanta Computer Inc personnel introduced a distance diagnostic system that would allow doctors to monitor patients’ basic health indicators without meeting them in person.
After local COVID-19 infections surged in the second half of May, the team offered 30 packages of the system to health authorities to use in quarantine facilities, Yunlin branch vice superintendent Matthew Ma (馬惠明) said.
The system is based on artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technology, Quanta Computer business headquarters associate vice president Song Chen-hwa (宋振華) said, adding that the team is looking to promote the system to Taipei Veterans General Hospital and other hospitals.
Other innovations presented at the event included an indoor positioning and tracking system developed by Academia Sinica distinguished visiting chair Jane Liu (張韻詩) and National Yunlin University of Science and Technology associate professor Edward Chu (朱宗賢).
The system, which can track the locations of patients and medical devices, helps patients call for assistance, said Chu, who consults for BiDaE Technology Inc, a start-up founded last year.
A team led by Taipei Medical University professor Chen Ray-jade (陳瑞杰) presented its Contactless Intelligent SafePass Kiosk, which helps people register personal information and contact history by using their National Health Insurance cards.
Chen, who founded the start-up Radica Health in 2019, said that the kiosk is in use in more than 30 hospitals nationwide.
A team led by National Central University professor Lo Men-tzung (羅孟宗) presented a health data monitoring system that helps medical personnel track the health status of patients with chronic conditions remotely.
Many teams started developing their products before the pandemic, Department of Academia-Industry Collaboration and Science Park Affairs Director-General Andrea Hsu (許增如) said.
COVID-19 is a crisis, but it also provides business opportunities for start-ups, she said.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
Actress Hu Ling (胡伶) on Saturday became the first Chinese movie star to walk the red carpet of the Golden Horse Awards since 2019, when China boycotted Taiwan’s biggest awards show over political tensions. Beijing banned its entertainers from joining the awards, dubbed the Chinese-language Oscars, after documentary director Fu Yu (傅榆) voiced support for Taiwan’s formal independence in an acceptance speech in 2018. There were no films from China in the 2019 nomination list and several Hong Kong movies dropped out that year, while several big commercial productions were conspicuously absent at both the 2020 and 2021 awards. However, Hu, nominated for
RSS