New master's degree, Al lab among initiatives to boost TCM in Singapore

Having local pipeline of good-calibre TCM practitioners vital, says Koh Poh Koon

- Christine Tan

Ying Xuan, 20, a second-year student in NTU's Chinese medicine bachelor's programme, is open to pursuing the master's degree in future to hone her expertise. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

(ST PHOTO: GIN TAY)

Artificial intelligence (AI) could soon be used to help manage diabetes or digestive disorders from a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) perspective, as part of projects that a new lab launched by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is exploring.

The laboratory, a collaboration between NTU and the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (BUCM), will be based in Dongfang Hospital, a clinical medical college in BUCM. NTU Chinese medicine students will be sent there to do research.

Announcing the lab at the inaugural Singapore Global Traditional Chinese Medicine Summit at Pan Pacific Orchard hotel, Senior Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon said it bridges “ancient knowledge with cutting-edge technology”.

NTU’s director of Chinese medicine Linda Zhong, speaking at the summit organised by NTU on Sept 28, said that the future of TCM is linked to the rise of AI.

“Imagine Al-powered diagnostics that complement our pulse and tongue assessment, or data analytics that unlock new patterns in herbal formula efficacy,” said Associate Professor Zhong, urging practitioners to embrace these new tools.