In 2021, the joint AI research center established by Quanta Computer and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) commenced operations. Quanta donated a high-performance AI server to NCKU, and after nearly three years of industry-academia collaboration, the NCKU team has trained multiple AI models and tools applicable to clinical research and remote diagnostic care at NCKU Hospital.
Tainan Mayor Wei-Che Huang remarked that he personally witnessed the signing of the collaboration memorandum between Quanta and NCKU in 2021. At that time, Quanta's Chairman Barry Lam stated, "The degree of AI utilization determines a nation's strength!" Mayor Huang believes this view aligns closely with President Ching-te Lai's AI industry policies. He also thanked Quanta for its foresight in deploying resources in Tainan ahead of the AI trend, providing free computing power to NCKU faculty and students to develop new applications, positioning Tainan as a national leader in AI research and development.
NCKU's Vice President for International Affairs, Professor Sun-Yuan Hsieh, pointed out that NCKU not only has talent in information engineering and algorithm research but also the clinical setting advantages of NCKU Hospital. For example, the QOCA AIM AI Medical Cloud within the center is a powerful AI-integrated computing platform. It allows for easy manipulation of data, such as database integration and image annotation, through a user-friendly interface, and trains AI models for predictive purposes, effectively assisting clinical research. An industry-academia collaboration project with Associate Professor Yi-Shan Thai from the Department of Radiology at NCKU Medical School, recognized with the 19th National Innovation Award's "Clinical Innovation Award" in 2022, exemplifies this success.
The research center also showcased various smart healthcare and IoT integration scenarios. For instance, a remote medical cloud platform can use high-definition video to allow remote physicians to consult together by accessing X-ray images and real-time patient vital signs. This system enables collaboration between clinic and medical center doctors, particularly useful in remote areas lacking specialists. Professor Hsieh believes that if NCKU Hospital and its future Shalun branch collaborate with the government, AI and IoT technologies can be implemented in hundreds of clinics, promoting more balanced medical services.
Tainan's Director of Economic Development, Rong Chuan Lin, noted that Premier Cho Jung-tai announced Taiwan's first AI industry zone in Shalun in June. The Tainan City Government is currently working with the central government to plan the zone's contents, which include the integration of the health industry and AI technologies. The city is also cooperating with the construction of the NCKU Shalun Hospital to establish a health industry zone nearby. This project has already received support from the Executive Yuan and the National Development Council. The Tainan City Government will continue collaborating with the Quanta-NCKU Joint AI Research Center and other AI research units to realize the central government's vision of a healthy Taiwan starting from Shalun.
Resource (mandarin): 成大廣達聯手AI研究從臺南發展智慧醫療應用
