China National Medical Imaging AI Contest Expands ASEAN Outreach

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Bernama) -- China's national medical imaging artificial intelligence (AI) competition has expanded its outreach to Southeast Asia, holding a promotional event in Vietnam after a similar engagement in Malaysia as organisers seek to attract international participation ahead of the contest later this year.

The China Medical Insurance Imaging AI Recognition Competition, jointly organised by China's National Healthcare Security Administration and the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, introduced its competition framework and participation opportunities to Vietnamese government agencies, medical institutions and industry representatives during an event in Hanoi on June 10.

In a statement, the organising committee said the competition, China's first national-level professional contest focused on AI-powered image recognition, will be held in Guangxi from August to October 2026.

The event features eight tracks covering diseases including lung cancer, breast cancer, glioma, kidney cancer and thyroid cancer, using imaging modalities such as CT, MRI, CTA, X-ray and ultrasound.

Participating teams will be provided with anonymised and expert-reviewed medical imaging datasets for model training, validation and evaluation, with the competition designed around real clinical pathway data to assess the practical application of AI solutions in healthcare settings.

Under the theme "Intelligent Imaging, Smart Future", the Vietnam event introduced competition rules, technical platforms and registration procedures while facilitating discussions on medical imaging AI trends, clinical applications and regional cooperation opportunities.

The Vietnam event followed a promotional seminar in Malaysia in May, where universities, research institutions and medical technology companies expressed interest in participating and viewed the contest as a platform for deeper cooperation with China in medical imaging AI.

Guangxi, which borders ASEAN member states, is positioning itself as a regional hub for AI development and cross-border collaboration.

According to the organisers, Guangxi plans to invest 45 billion Chinese yuan over the next three years to support AI-led industrial development and establish a 10-billion-Chinese yuan AI industry fund, while award-winning projects may receive funding support and accelerated review channels for Class II medical devices. (100 Chinese yuan = RM60.97)

The competition is open to domestic and international teams through free online registration. Registration for the competition will remain open until July 15, with preliminary rounds conducted online from Aug 1 to Sept 30 and the final scheduled to be held in Nanning in mid-October.

-- BERNAMA