Prof. Michael Ying, Associate Head of HTI (left) and Dr Ziman Chen, Postdoctoral Fellow of Prof. Ying (right)
March 14, 2024, marks World Kidney Day, and this year's campaign theme - "Kidney Health for All: Advancing equitable access to care and optimal medication practice", resonates deeply with the global prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Affecting over 850 million individuals worldwide and contributing to more than 3.1 million deaths in 2019 alone, CKD stands as a pressing global concern. As the 8th leading cause of death globally and projections indicating it could rise to the 5th leading cause of death by 2040 if left unaddressed, there is an urgent need to solve this important healthcare issue. Healthcare professionals should adopt effective strategies to slow down disease progression and enhance the quality of life and longevity of CKD patients.
In response to this pressing need, Professor Michael Tin Cheung Ying and his Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Ziman Chen have developed an innovative diagnostic tool named Smart-CKD (S-CKD). Leveraging advanced machine learning technology, S-CKD aims to enhance the monitoring and clinical management of CKD. Professor Ying emphasizes, "S-CKD utilizes non-invasive ultrasound data and patient demographics to aid healthcare professionals in diagnostic decisions and treatment optimization, offering cost-effective solutions to guide patient management and deliver significant clinical benefits."
Accessible through both online web-based platforms and offline document-based formats, S-CKD serves as a user-friendly auxiliary instrument for flexible clinical applications. It provides real-time, reliable, and non-invasive assessment of renal fibrosis risk in CKD patients during routine clinical practices. This diagnostic approach plays a pivotal role in guiding treatment decisions, improving patient prognosis, and offering advantages in clinical management, counseling, treatment regimen decisions, and follow-up scheduling.
The research on S-CKD, titled "Development and Deployment of a Novel Diagnostic Tool Based on Conventional Ultrasound for Fibrosis Assessment in Chronic Kidney Disease," was published in Academic Radiology in September 2023, highlighting its excellent diagnostic accuracy and high clinical application value. Moreover, the research findings on S-CKD were showcased at the BIOHK2023 exhibition in September 2023.
On the occasion of World Kidney Day 2024, Professor Ying hopes that his research findings will contribute to this year's campaign theme, promoting proactive clinical management and medical decision-making for CKD. Additionally, the Health Bureau of Hong Kong has recently been actively advancing the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme (CDCC), emphasizing primary healthcare and disease prevention over curative treatment. Professor Ying expresses hope that the research team's innovative technology will contribute to this initiative and advance healthcare development in Hong Kong and beyond.
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