04.2025 Cover Story
Far Eastern Memorial Hospital collaborates with Far EasTone Telecommunication Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology launches 5G AI new vision
Far Eastern Magazine / Editorial Room
In recent years, all over the world have been threatened by viruses. No matter COVID-19, Noro or flu, they have taken countless precious lives. How to prevent the spread of the epidemic has become a topic of concern for all sectors of the world. Especially for medical institutions that have hosted various patients, the prevention of nosocomial cross infection is a top priority. For this reason, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital gathers Far EasTone Telecommunications The power of Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology is actively developing new tools to combat the spread of pathogens.
The 'invisible enemy' brings doomsday worries
.jpg)
From the "infected islands" in Japan in 2009, the "nationwide spread" in the United States in 2011, the "corpse speed train" in South Korea in 2016, to the "epidemic" in Taiwan in 2023... The end of the world in the above movies all started from the virus, especially after the COVID-19 epidemic, the terrible spread of the virus is no longer just a plot, but a painful lesson that actually happened, and also makes the problem of epidemic prevention and control become the focus again.
Far Eastern Memorial Hospital is on the front line of epidemic prevention, and of course, it is duty bound to prevent inter infection within the hospital. Considering that traditional disinfection methods rely on manual operation and visual inspection, which cannot accurately grasp the location of fallen bacteria, and can only be repeated, large-scale, and extensive spraying and wiping in the same area within a limited time, it is very time-consuming and inefficient. In addition, personnel entering and leaving the ward for disinfection may bring out harmful fallen bacteria, thereby causing the risk of cross infection and large-scale transmission. Therefore, the hospital began discussing how to optimize the disinfection method as early as 2023. However, at that time, due to the inability to quickly determine the concentration and location of fallen bacteria, and the inability for robots to automatically find the pollution source space, there was no breakthrough.
Three strong teams join forces to achieve 'zero contact clearance'
Fortunately, with the rapid development of technology, using intelligent robots for precise cleaning is no longer a dream in 2024, driven by the explosive growth of AI technology. Far Eastern Memorial Hospital then teamed up with Far EasTone Telecommunication and Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology to form a research and development team. Far Eastern Memorial Hospital researched colony detection technology and architecture, and provided professional testing instrument reference and consultation for pollution sources; Far EasTone Telecommunication supports 5G and develops AI algorithms; Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology is responsible for robot development and related application integration.
To achieve precise eradication, the team must first solve the problem of "how to detect the location and concentration of bacteria". The Infectious Diseases Department of Far Eastern Memorial Hospital consulted medical journals at home and abroad to collect information and methods for preventing and treating cross infection. Finally, it is recommended to use microbial fluorescence analysis to detect the types and concentrations of bacterial contamination sources (such as Escherichia coli, PM2.5, etc.).
After perfecting the theoretical framework for precise cleaning, the next step is the specific implementation details. Due to the fact that none of the three institutions can understand all the specialties and technologies, there are many challenges in the initial stage, especially the integration of multiple new technologies.
The team decided to divide and attack together, Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology leads students in the development of robotics technology and the integration of backend monitoring platform databases, including ROS robot control system, Flask Web framework based on Python, and integration of MySQL and Python databases Wait; Far EasTone Telecommunication is working on building a 5G network transmission module for the special isolation ward area of Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, integrating LiDAR optical, depth of field camera, and inertial measurement module systems, and developing an AI hybrid map positioning algorithm (Hybrid SLAM) that allows personnel to view visual maps and reports in real-time from the cloud. Combined with robot spatial tracking control algorithms, it drives 5G AI robots to automatically find pollution sources and carry out precise cleaning based on 3D bacterial models generated in real-time from AI databases. After the robot is cleared, personnel sitting in the remote monitoring center can use 3D AR glasses to detect and confirm the distribution of 3D bacterial colonies returned by the system. If there are any deficiencies, they can quickly adjust the clearance strategy to ensure that all areas are fully disinfected.
The process of project development is interrelated and relies entirely on three teams from different industries with different expertise to fully leverage the synergies of the group. What's even more rare is that during the research and development period, the restrictions were relaxed at the beginning of the epidemic, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital is flooded with a large number of patients and its affairs are busy; Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology is also preparing intensively for its annual enrollment; The merger of Far EasTone Telecommunications and Asia Pacific Telecom is in full swing, but the team is still actively breaking through communication barriers, overcoming various difficulties, and finally successfully integrating multiple cross disciplinary and forward-looking technologies, including: using AI algorithms to detect the location and concentration of bacteria, and using AR to let the human eye see 3D bacteria, and then driving 5G AI robots for precise cleaning and remote real-time monitoring. The virtual real integration of Digital Twins technology is also a major tool for this project. The team created a digital twin model in the cloud virtual environment that is exactly the same as the pollution source and environmental conditions of the actual ward, and based on the characteristics and concentration distribution of the pollution source, the team created a digital twin model that is identical to the actual ward. Quickly analyze the transmission pathways of pollution sources within medical facilities by analyzing changes in relevant parameters such as 3D location, Only in the end can operators achieve zero contact clearance through real-time monitoring and management, reduce the risk of cross infection in hospitals, provide a safe environment for the public to seek medical treatment, and win a crucial battle for human survival and defense!
Strengthening the foundation and increasing the research and development capacity
This globally pioneering smart healthcare application is currently used in the negative pressure isolation ward of Far Eastern Memorial Hospital to optimize the prevention and control management of the hospital environment. In the future, it is expected to be further extended to smart factories, smart cities, smart homes and other fields, serving as a good helper for environmental pollution control and laying a new product service niche for Far Eastern Group.
In addition, this project also demonstrates the strong research and development capabilities of the group to all sectors. Far Eastern Memorial Hospital not only participated in the selection of representative works for the "2024 National Innovation Award", applied for three Taiwan and US invention patents, presented environmental pollution prevention and control achievements at the "ICBMT International Biomedical Technology Conference", but also won a silver medal at the "2024 Malaysia ITEX International Invention Exhibition", greatly enhancing the visibility of the group.
In the process of project development, Far EasTone Telecommunication not only invests in the development of related application systems, provides 5G Cloud Computing and analysis platforms for developers to conduct functional testing and verification, but also actively shares experiences with students from Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology to assist the group school in cultivating more new technology talents. With the joint efforts of industry and academia, we believe that in the near future, more innovative sparks will surely bloom.
#
