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The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the medical field is an emerging topic of interest, but it is already in practice in China where the use of AI on the medical frontline has reduced the burden on overworked doctors, in turn improving diagnostic efficiency and allowing for more time spent with patients. The technology is used mostly for medical imaging, such as in radiology departments to read CT scans or MRIs. The AI is fed with 10 years’ worth of data from diverse patient cases where it learns toRead more

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top 10 leading causes of death worldwide and remains an epidemic in most countries, including Singapore. To commemorate World TB Day on 24 March, Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), and Dr Loh Kah Seng, Director of Chronicles Research & Education, shared about the current state of TB in Singapore, as well as what more can be done to eradicate the disease. Among residents and long-staying foreigners in Singapore, the rate of new TB cases had fallen from 307 per 100,000

In 2016, 5.5 trillion cigarettes were consumed worldwide — enough for each man, woman and child to smoke two cigarettes every day. The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing more than 7 million people a year. With this important health issue in mind, the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health organised a Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue (PHTLD) on the topic of tobacco control on 6 March 2019. Titled ‘Challenges to Current and Future Tobacco Control’, the 8th instalment of

Current and future cohorts of Secondary 1 female students can opt in to receive free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to protect them against cervical cancer, announced Senior Minister of State for Health, Dr Amy Khor at her Committee of Supply debate speech on 6 March. About 70 women die of cervical cancer every year. From 2011 to 2015, there were about 200 new cases of cervical cancer annually. Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying, shared two reasons for the low uptake of vaccination: low public awareness and cost. He added that

Debates on e-cigarettes often focus on the potential harms or benefits of vaping versus smoking. Dr Yvette van der Eijk, Senior Research Fellow, and Assistant Professor Lee Jeong Kyu are more concerned about the industry’s preying on youth. As e-cigarettes are newly developed products, it is hard to assess their harms and make fair conclusions about their long-term health impact. Based on the body of research, we can meanwhile assume that e-cigarettes containing nicotine are addictive, much like regular cigarettes, and that vaping is not safe, but safer than smoking. But to

The government recently passed the bill for standardised packaging for all tobacco products sold in Singapore. From next year, all tobacco packs will be a drab brown colour, with all logos, colours and branding elements removed, and graphic health warnings covering 70 per cent of the pack surface. Packaging is an important marketing tool, especially in places like Singapore where tobacco advertising is heavily restricted. A tobacco industry executive, in internal industry communications, stated in 1994: “When you don’t have anything else – our packaging is our marketing.” The move to

In response to the recent HIV registry data leak, Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), and Mr Rayner Tan, PhD student and researcher on HIV, address the dated views that many Singaporeans have of the disease. While there has been significant advances in medical science and treatment of HIV, the same cannot be said about the progress towards social acceptance and de-stigmatisation of the disease. Public perceptions and attitudes towards people living with HIV have not move beyond the narratives of fear and prejudice that marked the early