Technology pivotal in saving young liver cancer patient

QINGDAO, China – A 2-year-old child with a large liver tumor, a case that had been deemed as hopeless by several large hospitals, underwent surgery to successfully remove the tumor in Qingdao on Dec 3.

With the help of medical equipment from Hisense Higemi, the high-risk and complicated liver tumor resection surgery took only three hours rather than traditional seven-plus hours, with just 30ml of blood loss during resection.

The surgery represented Hisense Higemi's first application of its equipment in an operating room setting within China, its own domestic market. Dong Qian, vice president of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, who performed the surgery, said: "I'm looking forward to rapid and wide application of Higemi's high-tech medical innovation, in a move to benefit both surgeons and patients across the country."

Several years ago, Hisense had started tapping the medical electronics industry by setting up key technology labs and engaging in the research and development of advanced technologies for medical applications. The company’s strengths in display and image processing techniques have been an advantage in the development of medical display equipment as well as in the development of surgical simulation techniques and commercial software and hardware focused on a "workstation + mobile display platform" leveraging the mobile internet and cloud technologies.

China's medical electronics industry is expected to reach RMB 190 billion (approx. $31 billion) in 2013 and RMB 340 billion (approx $56 billion) in 2015. The medical electronics industry has traditionally been dominated by consumer electronics giants such as GE, Philips, Siemens, Samsung, Sony, Canon, Toshiba and NEC, who have expanded into the sector.

Hisense has collaborated with renowned hospitals including Beijing Hospital, Qilu Hospital and Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University as well as academic institutes on joint development projects and development of clinical medical applications. The company plans to set up a specialized medical electronics subsidiary in the future after its initial efforts has been proven.