HKUST Showcases Leadership in Med-Tech and AI at Asia Summit on Global Health

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) showcased its groundbreaking advancements in medical technology and thought leadership at the 2025 Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGH) today.  As the event’s exclusive Thematic Session and Health Innovation Partner, HKUST highlighted how technology and collaboration can create a more equitable and sustainable healthcare system for hundreds of participants, including policymakers, healthcare experts, industry leaders, start-ups and investors from around the globe.  

Co-organized by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the Summit’s opening ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre featured prominent leaders including: The Honorable John LEE, Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government; Prof. CAO Xuetao, Vice Minister of the National Health Commission; and Dr. Tedros Adhanom GHEBREYESUS, Director-General of the World Health Organization. Prof. LO Chung-Mau, Secretary for Health of the HKSAR Government and Mr. FENG Haicang, Level I Bureau Rank Official from the Department of Consumer Goods Industry of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also delivered special remarks.

Plenary Session: Driving Health Equity and Innovation

The inaugural plenary session, “Shaping a More Equitable and Sustainable Health System” brought together global luminaries, including Prof. Nancy IP, HKUST President; Dr. Victor Yosef MELT CAMPOS, Chair, APEC Health Working Group; Mr. Frédéric RIMATTEI, Special Envoy for International Affairs, French University Hospitals National Association; Mr. Martin TAYLOR, WHO Representative to China, and Dr. WU Xiaobin, Vice President, China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association. Moderated by Prof. TSUI Lap-Chee, Chairman of The University of Hong Kong Foundation for Educational Development and Research, the discussion focused on bridging healthcare disparities and leveraging academic-industry synergies.

HKUST President Prof. Nancy Ip remarked, "The complex health challenges of our time—from pandemics to healthcare workforce shortages—demand unprecedented collaboration. Universities are powerful catalysts for global health equity, but no institution can solve systemic challenges alone. We must accelerate innovation-to-impact by nurturing talent, advancing translational research, and building partnerships to make quality healthcare a universal right.”

"HKUST serves as a global connector where industry, policymakers, and researchers converge to transform breakthroughs into accessible solutions. HKUST-incubated startups are developing transformative technologies—like the FDA-approved mobile app for contactless vital sign monitoring, built on state-of-the-art AI and signal processing—to make healthcare more accessible and inclusive," added President Prof. Ip.

InnoHealth Showcase: HKUST Startups Lead Innovation

HKUST startups and researchers presented cutting-edge innovations spanning prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Highlights included AI-driven Alzheimer’s detection via blood biomarkers, real-time AI cancer diagnostics, non-invasive eye care drug delivery systems, biomimetic hydrogels for personalized cancer immunotherapy, and AI-powered speech restoration tools for paralyzed patients. These innovations exemplify HKUST’s dedication to advancing Med-Tech and AI-driven solutions that significantly improve patient outcomes.

Strategic Collaborations: HKUST Start-ups partner with Gleneagles Hospital and EC Healthcare

To translate innovation into real-world impact, HKUST has forged over 20 partnerships with leading medical institutions worldwide.  The latest collaboration involves Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong and EC Healthcare:

• Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong will deploy technologies from HKUST-incubated startups PanopticAI (contactless vital signs monitoring) and SmartCare (multimodal LLM-powered consultations) at its MediCentre.
• EC Healthcare, Hong Kong’s largest non-hospital medical service provider, signed an MoU with PanopticAI to integrate its technology into healthcare operations.

These partnerships exemplify HKUST’s commitment to translating research excellence into real-world applications, facilitating healthcare advancements through its robust entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Thematic Sessions: Pioneering AI and Healthcare Delivery

HKUST convened experts to explore technology’s role in improving patient care, streamlining healthcare delivery and achieving operational efficiency. Chaired by  Prof. LAU Chak Sing, Vice-President (Health) and Dean of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong, the first thematic session “Unlocking the Potential of AI in Healthcare,” examined AI advancements, ethics, and future trajectories with panelists including Prof. CHEN Hao, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, HKUST; Dr. NT CHEUNG, Head of IT&HI, Hospital Authority; and Prof. WANG Haibo, Director, Research Centre of Big Data and AI in Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. 

The second session, “Innovation-Driven Healthcare Delivery,” was moderated by Ms. Sabrina CHAN, Senior Executive Director of The Hong Kong Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry. The panelists were Prof. Bonnie ZHU, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, HKUST; Prof. Graham COOKE, Vice-Dean (Research) of Medicine, Imperial College London; Dr. Alex NG, President, Tencent Healthcare; and Dr. Frank PUN, Head, Insilico Hong Kong, Insilico Medicine. The discussion highlighted the challenges and opportunities of integrating emerging technologies into healthcare systems worldwide, and how these advancements can enhance patient care and operational efficiency.

The day concluded with an HKUST-hosted networking reception, where nearly 100 representatives from government, academia and industry explored collaborative opportunities to advance global health innovation.