Chongqing - Participants from Peking University joined an International Youth Health Exchange Camp in Chongqing on August 14, visiting medical institutions, observing clinical practices and exploring how healthcare is delivered across the city’s medical system.
A central theme emerged from the visit: digital technology and AI are reshaping how Chongqing’s medical institutions operate, patients receive care and healthcare resources are distributed.
On August 14, participants of the International Youth Health Exchange Camp toured the Digitally Integrated Intelligent Operating Room at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. (Photo/Huxin Luo)
At the Digitally Integrated Intelligent Operating Room of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, medical images, patient data, and medical devices are integrated into a single system. Intraoperative images can be reconstructed in real time, allowing doctors to view lesions and blood vessels from multiple angles.
For difficult cases, outside experts can also connect remotely and provide real-time guidance. Through an interactive platform, remote doctors can zoom in and out and mark areas that require attention. A 4K surgical imaging platform also supports live streaming for teaching, academic meetings and surgical demonstrations.
On August 14, participants of the International Youth Health Exchange Camp observed a remote online medical consultation at the Digitally Integrated Intelligent Operating Room. (Photo/Huxin Luo)
The system impressed Bangladesh pediatrician Nazmus Sakib, whose previous experience with telemedicine was largely limited to video calls. In Chongqing, he saw doctors collaborate directly through shared surgical images.
“You can have a medical board or sort of like a team of doctors treating the same patient,” said Sakib. He believes the system can bring more doctors into the care process.
On August 14, participants of the International Youth Health Exchange Camp explored the 3D medical imaging system at the Digitally Integrated Intelligent Operating Room. (Photo/Huxin Luo)
The hospital has also provided remote medical services since 2010. Its remote healthcare network now connects 172 hospitals.
During the visit, Liu Zheng, an official with the hospital’s Medical Affairs Department, demonstrated a case sent from Qamdo, Xizang. After the local hospital uploaded the patient’s records, Chongqing doctors reviewed them and returned a diagnostic report.
The remote healthcare system interface at the Internet-based Medical Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. (Photo/Huxin Luo)
He said it conducts about three to five remote consultations and more than 100 remote diagnoses each day. Many requests come from township health centers, where doctors can seek advice from higher-level hospitals when they face difficult or unclear diagnoses.
On August 14, participants of the International Youth Health Exchange Camp learned about AI-assisted consultations at the Shangqingsi Subdistrict Community Health Service Center. (Photo/Huxin Luo)
At Shangqingsi Community Health Service Center in Chongqing’s Yuzhong District, AI supports frontline care by summarizing symptoms, conducting preliminary assessments and flagging risks. Zhong Yu, the center’s Party secretary, said the system also helps produce standardized electronic medical records and warns doctors about drug contraindications and interactions.
Faraz Ebrahhimi, an Iranian medical student at Peking University, saw AI here primarily as a tool to assist doctors.
“They are not treating it as a commodity; they are treating it as a tool to help doctors, and then help patients,” he said. In his view, AI can handle part of the information collection and initial medical record preparation before doctors review and revise the results, saving time and allowing them to serve more patients.
Ebrahhimi was also interested in the continuity of medical information. If previous medical records and test results can follow patients across different healthcare settings, he said, patients would not need to search for scattered records when changing hospitals or doctors repeatedly.
Unlike top-tier tertiary hospitals, which focus more on complex cases and cross-regional medical collaboration, community healthcare centers place greater emphasis on early screening, chronic disease management and long-term follow-up. Digitalization can help doctors manage patient information more efficiently and provide more precise care.
On August 14, participants of the International Youth Health Exchange Camp learned about COPD treatment at the Shangqingsi Subdistrict Community Health Service Center. (Photo/Huxin Luo)
At the Digital Therapeutics Center for Chronic Respiratory Diseases, digital devices monitor indicators including lung and respiratory muscle function.
Inhaler-training robots and remote respiratory monitoring devices help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, use their medication correctly. Since trial operations began in March 2026, 14 COPD patients have received individualized management.
Song Lijun, deputy director of the Shangqingsi Subdistrict Community Health Service Center, said COPD is a chronic disease with a long course and often few obvious symptoms in its early stages. Repeated acute attacks can further damage lung function, making early community screening important for early detection and treatment.
Because COPD requires long-term management, some digital devices can also be taken home. Center staff said data from each inhaler use is uploaded to the system, allowing medical workers to check the time of use, hand-mouth coordination, and effective inhalation duration, providing information for follow-up guidance.
On August 14, Nazmus Sakib tried using surgical training instruments to pick up soybeans at the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. (Photo/Huxin Luo)
At the final stop, at the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, participants used surgical training instruments and practiced clinical skills.
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