Pakistani student feels charm of AI diagnosis, TCM integration

NANCHANG -- It is the seventh year that 27-year-old Fahad Kabeer studying traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, the only university in east China's Jiangxi Province that provides TCM education for international students.

He was very excited to experience how modern technology helps traditional medicine become more "intelligent" during an exhibition in 2023 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Forum on Traditional Medicine which opened on Thursday in Jiangxi, and that has greatly changed his former impression on TCM.

Putting his face into the device and showing his tongue, an "artificial intelligence (AI) doctor" shaped like a capsule can proceed data analysis through his face and tongue images.

"This is just like to 'observe' in the traditional Chinese medicine," Kabeer said. "My pulse statistics can also be automatically collected through the pulse detector, with the support of massive big data uploaded, the 'AI doctor' can help for better diagnosis and treatment."

After the prescription is issued, it only takes 20 seconds for the smart devices to dispense medicines, and the auto-decoction machine would help the patients in decocting the herbal medicines in an efficient and scientific manner, ensuring a better curative effect.

As the saying goes, good medicine depends on good materials. But how can such an "unmanned" system ensure the quality of medicinal materials? Zeng Ji from the Digital TCM Industry Innovation Exhibition Center at TCM Sci-Tech Innovation City in Ganjiang New Area, explained that the source of authentic medicinal materials can be traced through the digital management platform.

"The medicinal materials prescribed by doctors can be seen in real time through the screen, and the monitored statistics of the soil, water source, and atmospheric environment where the herbs growing can be clearly indicated, so that the quality and security of medicinal materials can be strictly controlled," Zeng said.

"With the help of modern technology, traditional medicine will become more 'intelligent.' While experiencing an efficient and convenient medical treatment, the tracing system will guarantee the security of medicinal materials," said Kabeer.

Over the years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has provided an important platform, which continuously promotes TCM to the world.

Rahman Shah, deputy secretary of the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination in Pakistan, noted that China and Pakistan had broad prospects for cooperation in the field of traditional medicine.

The official believes that China is heading in the field of traditional medicine education, and more and more Pakistani students will come to China to learn TCM in the future.