News: Launch of Centre for AI in Medicine (C-AIM)

By Sanjay Devaraja, Editor, LKCMedicine's Redefine Newsletter

LKCMedicine and the National Healthcare Group (NHG) have launched the Centre of AI in Medicine (C-AIM) to drive advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) for healthcare. The new centre aims to revolutionise patient care and inform public health policies through its research activities. It will focus on elderly frailty, medical imaging, cancer screening, and mental health. This is in line with Singapore’s second National AI Strategy (NAIS 2.0) to encourage the roll-out of AI-driven healthcare solutions and tools.

The centre was officially launched on 30 September 2024 by Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, Mr Tan Kiat How.

“The establishment of this Centre is another significant milestone in Singapore's journey to harness AI to improve the health and well-being of our citizens. Healthcare will remain not only a national challenge, but a global one – requiring the sharing of knowledge and expertise not just across disciplines and domains, but across sectors and borders too. Collaborations between academia, industry and the public sector will be increasingly important to enable a holistic transformation of healthcare,” said Mr Tan.

Chairman of LKCMedicine, Mr Lim Chuan Poh, in his opening remarks, said: “C-AIM reflects our shared vision of transforming healthcare through the power of artificial intelligence. With its multidisciplinary team of clinicians, engineers, social scientists, and data experts, it seeks to develop holistic, AI-driven solutions that will address real-world healthcare challenges. Importantly, these solutions need to be trusted and accepted by the clinicians, the patients and wider society.”

Image: (L-R) NTU Distinguished University Professor, Vice President (AI & Digital Economy) and Dean, College of Computing & Data Science (CCDS), Prof Luke Ong; Prof Joe Sim, Group CEO, National Healthcare Group; NTU Senior Vice-President (Health and Life Sciences) and Dean, LKCMedicine, Distinguished University Professor and Co-Director of Centre of AI in Medicine (C-AIM), Prof Joseph Sung; Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, Mr Tan Kiat How; Chairman of NTU Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Mr Lim Chuan Poh; NTU Vice President (Research), Distinguished University Professor, Prof Ernst Kuipers; NTU Senior Deputy Dean, CCDS, Associate Vice President, Capability Building and Co-Director of C-AIM, Prof Miao Chun Yan at the launch event.

NTU Senior Vice-President (Health and Life Sciences), Distinguished University Professor and Co-Director of C-AIM, Professor Joseph Sung said: “While Singapore has a strong foundation for the safe growth of AI in healthcare, more needs to be done to bridge the gap between technology development and real-world clinical application.”

“Our unique multidisciplinary research across fields will ensure that AI solutions are not only innovative but also accessible, affordable, and scalable. C-AIM will help build the trust, evidence, and integration needed for widespread AI adoption,” said Prof Sung, who is also Dean of LKCMedicine.

C-AIM collaborates with both local and international academic and industry partners, including Yale School of Medicine and Olympus Singapore, to conduct multidisciplinary research across various fields such as medicine, computer engineering, data analytics, social science, ethics, and implementation science. With the combined expertise of these partners and more than 100 researchers and clinicians, C-AIM is well-positioned to transform the healthcare landscape and position Singapore as a global leader in AI-driven medicine.

Senior Deputy Dean of the College of Computing & Data Science, Associate Vice President, Capability Building, and Co-Director of C-AIM, Professor Miao Chun Yan, said: “In addition to technological advancements, it is crucial to prioritise human-machine interactions to create human-centred AI systems that healthcare professionals can trust and use in a natural and intuitive way. This will ensure that AI solutions are both impactful and widely adopted.”

The launch of C-AIM marks a pivotal step in Singapore’s progress toward digital healthcare transformation. With AI becoming more prevalent in clinical practice, the Centre’s efforts will ensure that healthcare professionals and patients alike can fully leverage the advantages of cutting-edge technology.