On the third day of the 2024 Taiwan Medical Technology Exhibition, Vice President Bi-khim Louise Hsiao made a special visit to the Nangang Exhibition Hall in Taipei yesterday morning. At around 11 a.m., she visited the "Age-Free Health Living Zone" of Taipei Municipal Gan-Dau Hospital (operated by the Taipei Veterans General Hospital), where Director Liang-Kung Chen provided an introduction. The Vice President showed great interest in the "Zenbo Jr" home social robot, expressing hope that digital technology developments can help older adults achieve healthy longevity.
"Good morning, Vice President!" Director Liang-Kung Chen greeted Vice President Hsiao and introduced Gan-Dau Hospital, which is distinct from medical centers and regional hospitals. It focuses on community healthcare, aging health, and long-term care. Although not large in scale, it has been promoting an international-level digital transformation plan across the entire hospital. This includes the introduction of smart mattresses in patient beds, ergonomically designed smart lighting, electronic whiteboard management systems at nursing stations, and personalized audiovisual health education systems for patients. The hospital has received several domestic awards for these innovations, and its smart nursing home was recognized with a bronze award at the 2023 National Biotechnology Quality Awards in the long-term care category.
In terms of promoting community health and longevity, Gan-Dau Hospital has closely collaborated with major domestic tech companies such as Acer and ASUS. The hospital and community have implemented Acer’s facial recognition system to predict the emotional and cognitive status of elderly care center cases. The system has also expanded to a 3D human skeletal detection system, exploring the relationship between physical activity and aging health.
The iHARP health management system, co-developed by National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Gan-Dau Hospital, and ASUS, collects physiological measurements and exercise performance data from community-based activities and integrates this data with the Zenbo Jr social robot. This system connects health data from the elderly at home and in the community to the hospital’s operational system, providing physicians with reference material for medical decisions. This platform will also collect health data for future development of artificial intelligence applications, driving various precision health and longevity initiatives.
Vice President Hsiao expressed high interest in the development of the Zenbo Jr home social robot, asking how elderly individuals could interact with such advanced technology. Director Liang-Kung Chen explained that Zenbo Jr was designed to bridge the digital divide for seniors. Through natural language conversation, seniors can engage with Zenbo Jr without needing to operate an app. They can chat, inquire about health issues or symptoms, request appointment scheduling, and receive medication reminders. The robot can also detect emotions from the conversation, fully integrating the advantages of digital technology to help seniors apply technology for healthy longevity at home.
Director Liang also introduced the "Safe Aging" team, supported by the Veterans Affairs Council and consisting of the three Veterans General Hospitals, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, and Gan-Dau Hospital. The team recently received notice of winning the 2024 Presidential Cup Hackathon Excellence Team award, one of the five teams that stood out after fierce competition. Vice President Hsiao showed great interest in this project, and Director Liang explained that it was supported by the Veterans Affairs Council and collaborated with the startup company "9 Rise International Mobile Health Technology" and the Kaohsiung City Government for implementation.
Vice President Hsiao also showed interest in the "Health Strength Soup" developed by the Laurel Nutrition Research Lab. Director Liang explained that beyond using digital technology for personalized health data collection and risk assessment, it was equally important to provide practical solutions for the public’s everyday life. The Laurel Nutrition Research Lab, in collaboration with National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and the Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s Aging Medical Center, developed different formulations of the Health Strength Soup based on the health needs of seniors. Clinical trials have validated its effectiveness, and commercialization is underway to provide practical solutions for healthy longevity.
Director Liang, a top-tier scientist ranking in the top 2% globally, has also ranked first in Taiwan’s clinical medicine for five consecutive years. When Vice President Hsiao visited, Chi-Huey Wong, the president of IBMI, personally introduced and acknowledged Director Liang’s international research performance. Alan Wu, the executive director of IBMI, also explained the product advantages of the Laurel Health Strength Soup, which exemplifies how Director Liang's team transitioned from academic research to real-life applications.
At the exhibition, Vice President Hsiao, Chi-Huey Wong, Alan Wu, and Director Liang had an animated discussion. Vice President Hsiao spent considerable time at the Gan-Dau Hospital’s "Age-Free Health Living Zone" before leaving. Regarding the Health Strength Soup, Director Liang continued to discuss it with Chi-Huey Wong, Alan Wu, and the Laurel Nutrition Research Lab team, exploring everything from product flavor to future applications. They emphasized the importance of lifestyle technology development and looked forward to expanding the project beyond food to include healthy lifestyle beverages, helping the public achieve both health and taste.
Resource: 蕭副總統參訪醫療科技展體驗關渡醫院無齡健康生活區
