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As part of the Digital Technology Week, delegates from Singapore, South Korea, Brunei, and Hong Kong visited the Sichuan Western China Dental Hospital on July 26. They gained practical experience in the transformation of digital dentistry in China.

Demonstration of Advanced Technologies

International officials lined up to try out mixed reality simulation stations. These stations allowed for the practice of surgical procedures using virtual patients who had a complete three-dimensional reconstruction of their oral cavity in an immersive environment. Jailani Buntar, the official representative of Brunei, expressed surprise, noting that such technologies are usually associated with Western countries, while the demonstration in Western China showed Chinese digital medical equipment at the forefront of global development.

Hospital Status and Structure

The hospital holds a high position in mainland China and is included in the top 10 of the QS World University Rankings by subject, as well as being the first in China and fifth in the world according to the Shanghai Ranking. It functions as the national experimental training center, IDEA Future Learning Center. This visit was part of four thematic tours organized from July 26 to 29 as part of the APEC Digital Technology Week. The opening session was dedicated to digital healthcare, highlighting Chengdu's status as a center for the digital economy, where healthcare digitalization has reached clinical implementation maturity.

Three Pillars of Digital Medicine

The hospital's technological foundation is based on three main areas: firstly, standardized data management across eight specialties; secondly, the vertical model of Western China's intelligent dentistry, which reduces orthodontic diagnosis time from 30 minutes to less than one minute; and thirdly, the creation of the world's first clinical multimodal pathological big model for joint diagnosis by humans and artificial intelligence.

Scale and Research

The technology ecosystem serves over one million outpatient appointments annually through a smart diagnostic system. Furthermore, a 5G platform network covers more than 3,000 medical institutions across the country. The national AI-based virtual simulation center allows medical students to develop clinical thinking in highly immersive digital environments. Research results have generated over 100 million yuan in technology transfer, supporting China's dental industry cluster. The hospital also utilizes multi-omics data databases, AI-based molecular screening platforms, and medical record quality control systems, demonstrating comprehensive digitalization across services, education, research, and industry.

International Cooperation and Goals

The Western China Hospital has extended its digital dentistry technologies to 40 countries under the Belt and Road Initiative through ongoing international medical technology training programs. President Han Xianglun stated the hospital's intention to share the Western China solution as a scalable and reproducible model of smart dental healthcare via the APEC cooperation platform. The visit by APEC delegates demonstrated the transition of China's dental digitalization from academic research to routine clinical application, creating a complete ecosystem through integrated data management, AI vertical models, and international technology transfer. For the visiting delegates, the demonstration served as a concrete example of how comprehensive data management and AI integration can transform a traditional medical specialty into a digital precision healthcare service.

Patients with hard-to-control high cholesterol may soon have an oral alternative to injections for lowering cholesterol after the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approved the world's first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, a class of drugs that significantly lowers 'bad' cholesterol levels.

New drug and its application

The tablet, named Lipfendra, received approval for adults with elevated cholesterol, including individuals with a hereditary condition known as heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. However, the drug is not expected to be immediately available in India. Dr. Subhash Mandal, Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Association, noted that even with foreign approval, marketing in India does not happen automatically, as it requires CDSCO clearance, which may necessitate clinical trials according to Indian standards.

Significance of the approval and study results

This approval is significant because many high-risk patients continue to have elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels despite taking standard oral medications. Clinical trials involving 3207 adults showed that this once-daily oral drug reduced LDL levels by 56–59% over 24 weeks in patients already taking maximally tolerated statins. These figures matched the results of injectable PCSK9 inhibitors, offering an additional option for those whose cholesterol remains uncontrolled on existing therapy.

Cardiologists' view on treatment

Nevertheless, cardiologists consider it unlikely that this drug will become a primary treatment. Dr. Ambuj Roy, Professor of Cardiology at AIIMS Delhi, stated that the new oral therapy reduces LDL by approximately 50–60%, making it a promising option for patients who prefer to avoid injections.