A cloud-based medical service that will be used to improve capsule endoscope technology will be unveiled at the fourth China International Technology Fair in Shanghai from Thursday to Saturday.

It is expected to benefit tens of millions of patients who have gastric diseases, the platform developers and medical experts said.

The platform, the first of its kind in this field, runs a digestive system healthcare database and connects more than 1,000 experts and doctors from the country's top hospitals and medical institutions.

It was developed by Ankon Technologies Co, located in Shanghai's Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone.

The company also developed the world's first magnetically controlled capsule endoscope system, NaviCam, which weighs less than 5 grams.

Patients can swallow the capsule with water, and a tiny camera inside takes photos automatically as it passes through the body before being expelled through a bowel movement.

Now, the new system will enable the photos to be sent to the cloud platform with its connections to a number of hospitals and medical institutions across the country, where experienced doctors will be able to look at them in conjunction with patients' medical reports before offering diagnoses and treatment suggestions remotely. The system is expected to be especially helpful to patients in isolated locations.

"The platform closes the distance between doctors and patients, especially those from remote areas, and patients can choose the hospitals and doctors they like on this platform," said Ji Pengsong, president of Ankon.

The magnetically controlled capsule system combines cutting-edge technologies including robotics, sensors, optical image and imaging processing. Its precise control and positioning functions can ensure a complete examination of the stomach. The whole inspection process can be finished in about 15 minutes, according to the developer.

Without adverse reaction and no need for an anesthetic, the system not only reduces pain and discomfort for patients but also greatly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of internal inspections.

China is among countries with the highest rates of gastric cancer. There are about 400,000 new gastric cancer cases a year in China, accounting for more than 40 percent of all new gastric cancer cases worldwide, according to guidance on China's early gastric cancer screening and endoscope diagnosis released in 2014.

Each year, about 80 million people who should receive a gastroscope inspection refuse the procedure due to the fear of pain and discomfort. The new technique is likely lead to more patients being diagnosed and treatment being started earlier, said Liao Zhuan, a gastroenterology doctor at the Shanghai Changhai Hospital.

People will be able to see a range of the latest technologies and products from the Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone during this year's technology fair, including a superconducting single-photon detector, an electrically powered manned aircraft and a digital optical PET-CT scanner used for tumor inspection.

wanghongyi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/21/2016 page5)