The private Kiang Wu Hospital yesterday inaugurated its “Brain Health Centre”, after the commencement of its trial operation in November last year, pledging to further enhance its capability to screen and identify those with higher risks of cognitive disorders and strengthen its training and treatment programmes for those with cognitive impairment, thanks to the technology provided by BrainAurora Medical Technology Limited (腦動極光) from the Chinese mainland.
Kiang Wu Hospital’s collaboration with the tech firm, aka BrainAU, to operate its Brain Health Centre formally started yesterday, when a cooperation agreement between the two sides was signed.
The tech company specialises in digital therapeutics for cognitive impairment, particularly in the field of neuroscience and mental health, according to its website (https://www.66nao.com/). The company operates in Beijing and Zhejiang Province’s Shaoxing City. It is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
With collaboration with BrainAU, Kiang Wu Hospital launched its “Brain Health Programme” in June last year, after which its Brain Health Centre started operating in November on a trial basis.
The Brain Health Centre’s inauguration ceremony and the agreement signing ceremony between Kiang Wu Hospital and BrainAU were held at the hospital’s Dr. Henry Y. T. Fok Specialist Medical Centre yesterday.
Delivering a speech yesterday, Kiang Wu Hospital Charitable Association President Tommy Lau Veng Seng noted that according to the findings of a research study, the number of those with dementia in Macau stood at around 6,000 in 2021, making the prevention and early treatment of cognitive disorders an urgent priority.
Based on Macau’s population of 683,200 in 2021, about 0.87 percent were afflicted by dementia.
Lau said that after its research and planning process lasting one year, Kiang Wu Hospital decided to introduce and adopt the digital therapeutics for cognitive impairment developed by BrainAU, with the aim of creating a chained “hospital-community-home” service model for the screening, diagnosis and treatment of dementia.
Also delivering a speech, Kiang Wu Hospital President Li Pengbin noted that a team of Kiang Wu healthcare professionals went to Beijing in February last year to study the nation’s latest therapeutics for dementia and cognitive impairment, after which the hospital decided to introduce the digital therapeutics for cognitive impairment developed by BrainAU, with the aim of creating a one-stop service model ranging from early screening, accurate diagnosis and treatment, multidisciplinary intervention, to extended services to the community and homes.
Li noted that Kiang Wu Hospital launched its Brain Health Programme in June last year, after which the hospital launched the operation of its Brain Health Centre in November on a trial basis, as part of its healthcare services provided by its rehabilitation department.
One of the functions of the centre, according to Li, is to screen the hospital’s outpatients and inpatients aged 50 or over for dementia or cognitive disorders.
Li noted that the centre officially started operation yesterday, with its operation supported by a multidisciplinary healthcare team from various medicine departments.
BrainAU’s digital therapeutics is an AI-based platform and solution to the screening and treatment for cognitive disorders through the use of big-data models.
Guests yesterday unveil the inaugural plaque of Kiang Wu Hospital’s Brain Health Centre, at the hospital’s Dr. Henry Y. T. Fok Specialist Medical Centre, including Huang Huagai (fifth from left), who heads the Social Work Department of the Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau, Kiang Wu Hospital Charitable Association President Tommy Lau Veng Seng (fifth from right), Kiang Wu Hospital President Li Pengbin (right), and BrainAU CEO Cai Longjun (third from left). – Photo: Tony Wong
