Facial recognition start-up Yitu teams up with Chinese hospital to reduce cancer mortality rate using big data

A leading Chinese technology start-up in facial recognition is turning its attention to catching cancer.

Yitu Technology has teamed up with a hospital in Chengdu to use artificial intelligence to reduce wait times for lab results and speed up diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Initially focusing on lung cancer, the most common form of cancer deaths in China, a system co-developed by Yitu and West China hospital, will assist doctors in diagnosing and treating the disease by processing real time inputs from written records, genetic tests, scans and pathological examinations.

A database of lung cancer cases has been established in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, Yitu said on Friday.

“While some may say AI is built on big data, we believe health care data is built on AI,” said Ni Hao, Yitu’s health care chief executive. “We want to show the industry what an AI-empowered diagnosis and treatment system will be like.”

Founded in 2012, Yitu completed a US$200 million round of funding earlier this month, with investors including ICBC International, Gaocheng Venture Capital, and SPDB International. China accounted for 48 per cent of the total US$15.2 billion raised by AI companies worldwide last year, outstripping the 38 per cent raised by US firms, according to US research firm CB Insights.