Chinese medical device maker’s US$2 a day heart attack risk warning system faces resistance in US
- Beijing-based Lepu Medical claims that the highly accurate system, backed by the world’s largest patient data set, can offer data analytics service at just US$2 per patient over a 24-hour heart monitoring period
- Lepu’s subsidiary Shenzhen Carewell Electronics, which has developed the analytics system, has incorporated some 47 million pieces of data collected from over half a million patients in 2,500 Chinese hospitals
Lepu Medical Technology, China’s largest medical device maker, is facing resistance from industry players in the US for an artificial intelligence-powered heart attack risk warning system that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, a company official said.
The Beijing-based company claims the highly accurate system, backed by the world’s largest patient data set, can offer data analytics service at just US$2 per patient over a 24-hour heart monitoring period.
Health care operators either see the efficiency-enhancing analytics system as a threat to their income generation or want to develop their own systems, said David Chung, who heads Maryland-based Carewell Health, a subsidiary of Lepu.
“American doctors don’t want me here because they get paid whenever there are hospital visits,” said Chung. “This technology means many people could avoid surgeries.”
A conservative stance towards new technology by hospital administrators because of high litigation risks in the medical industry also stood in the way.