AI-powered tool helps doctors boost detection of colorectal polyps

2022-09-27

National Taiwan University Hospital and Cathay General Hospital are taking advantage of a new AI-powered tool that can boost detection of polyps in the large intestine. The tool can help doctors detect problems early, allowing patients to undergo treatment to prevent colorectal cancer. For 14 years now, colorectal cancer has been the most common cancer in Taiwan, killing 6,600 people in 2021.

Thanks to regular checkups and early intervention, stage 1 colorectal cancer can be cured in more than 90% of patients. In Taiwan, about 400,000 people go through checkups for the disease every year. But doctors say that maintaining good quality checkups and high detection rates is no easy task.

Wu Ming-hsien
NTU Hospital
Not all doctors have experience in diagnosing flat or sunken polyps. Doctors most frequently miss these types of polyps.

Chiu Han-mo
NTU Hospital
According to studies from abroad, experts conducting colonoscopies fail to detect 23% of polyps smaller than 5 millimeters.

Doctors say the accuracy of colonoscopies varies depending on the doctor’s clinical experience and their ability to notice abnormalities. Polyps that are very small or located on bends in the large intestine can be easy to miss. To improve detection, National Taiwan University Hospital and Cathay General Hospital collected and contributed more than 3,000 medical records of patients to create an AI polyp-detection tool with a developer. The tool can detect growths at a speed of 30 images per second with an accuracy of 95%. It can help doctors detect adenoma with between 14% and 30% more accuracy.

Chiu Han-mo
NTU Hospital
Overall, for every 1% increase in the detection of adenoma, we can reduce the likelihood of colorectal cancer development by 3% after an endoscopy.

Hung Chih-sheng
Cathay General Hospital
When it’s a small polyp, the AI detection system can circle it and bring it to the doctor’s attention, highlighting it as a potential polyp.

The AI system can help doctors detect polyps and has already been certified as medical equipment by the FDA. Hospitals say they will test the tool to see whether it does indeed improve the quality of analyses. To prevent severe disease, doctors advise people aged 50 and up to go for regular fecal occult blood tests. If the tests come back positive, seek medical help as soon as possible and get a colonoscopy. Waiting for a long time can allow polyps to grow and become cancers, making treatment more complicated.

全新"AI 瘜肉偵測系統" 早期發現治療大腸癌

2022-09-27

大腸癌連續14年蟬聯"癌王"，光是去年就奪走6600多條人性命。台大和國泰醫院合作，蒐集超過3000名患者紀錄，與業者開發AI瘜肉偵測系統，其中腺瘤偵測率，平均提升14到30%，期盼能揪出不容易發現的病灶。

透過定期篩檢、早期發現，大腸癌初期治癒率超過九成。全台每年約40萬人做大腸鏡檢查，但想維持一定品質和偵測率，並不容易。

[[台大醫院院長吳明賢]]
“並不是所有的醫師，對於那種扁平型或是凹陷型的瘜肉都有診斷的經驗，這個也是最常被疏漏的。”

[[台大醫院健康管理中心主任邱瀚模]]
“小於5mm的小瘜肉遺漏率，根據國外的研究，而且是專家做的大腸鏡，遺漏率是23%。”

醫師指出，現行大腸鏡檢查，大多靠醫師的臨床經驗與肉眼判斷，有些瘜肉如果範圍太小，或受到腸道轉彎和角度影響，很有可能被忽略。為了提升判讀能力，台大和國泰醫院合作，蒐集超過3000名患者紀錄，與業者共同開發，AI瘜肉偵測系統，學習找出病灶，目前每秒可辨識30張影像，精準度約95%，其中腺瘤偵測率，平均提升14到30%。

[[台大醫院健康管理中心主任邱瀚模]]
“整體來講，我們的腺瘤偵測率每增加1%，我們後面發生間隔癌，也就是說，做完大腸鏡之後還發生大腸癌的機會，可以降低3%。”

[[國泰醫院消化內科主任洪志聖]]
“這麼小的一個瘜肉，這個AI偵測系統可以把它認為，可能是瘜肉的地方先框住，提示醫師是說，這個地方可能有瘜肉存在。”

自動鎖定揪出瘜肉，系統取得食藥署智慧醫材許可，院方也進一步規劃試驗，確定是否真能改進檢驗品質。醫師提醒，50歲以上民眾，務必定期做糞便潛血檢查，一旦發現陽性，就要盡早就醫、進一步做大腸鏡篩檢，否則萬一等到瘜肉惡化、變成癌症，恐怕失去黃金治療時機。

Pompeo visits Taiwan for second time this year, meets with mayors, industry representatives

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Taiwan for the second time this year, meeting with politicians and industry representatives in Kaohsiung and Tainan. At a forum on Tuesday, Pompeo said the U.S. should decouple its economy from China and should seek closer economic ties with Taiwan. Meanwhile, Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chi-mai says the U.S. should play a more active leadership role among the world’s democracies.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday attended a seminar in Kaohsiung for Taiwanese businesspeople. During the seminar Pompeo reiterated his stance that Taiwan is an independent country.

Mike Pompeo
Former US secretary of state
The reality that many of your past and present leaders have made clear, is that Taiwan does not need to declare its independence, because it is already an independent nation.

Pompeo said that Taiwan is a model free-trade economy, and that the U.S. should decouple its economy from China’s in favor of closer economic ties with Taiwan.

Mike Pompeo
Former US secretary of state
Taiwan is completely different, it is the opposite of China in every one of those central respects. It’s why our trade relationship is not only good, but a model, a model for free trade around the world. America and other free nations should pursue a strategic decoupling with China.

Lai Ching-te
Vice president
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for all you have done as a secretary of state, to enhance our relationship.

Vice President Lai Ching-te was also in attendance at the seminar, using the opportunity to meet with Pompeo. Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai arrived bright and early at Pompeo’s hotel to have a short meeting with him. Pingtung Commissioner Pan Men-an too made the trip to Kaohsiung to have a brief meeting with Pompeo after lunch.

Chen Chi-mai
Kaohsiung mayor
I also brought up the fact that the U.S. could play a more active role among democracies, and demonstrate strong leadership.

Pan Men-an
Pingtung commissioner
This time, the focus is on the industrial development of Southern Taiwan, especially Pingtung City, which is an emerging city in terms of development.

On his second trip to Taiwan of the year, Pompeo took the opportunity to visit Kaohsiung’s popular harbor area. Accompanied by a guide, Pompeo walked along the waterfront from Great Harbor Bridge to the trendy Pier 2.

Chao Tien-lin
DPP lawmaker
Mayor Chen Chi-mai wanted Pompeo to feel warmly welcome in Kaohsiung. Pompeo was quite courteous. He said he worried that if he took the light rail train it would be a security issue and would inconvenience the public, so he chose to walk.

Pompeo is expected to attend the annual meeting of the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce tomorrow. That will be followed by a visit to Tainan where he will join Mayor Huang Wei-che and DPP Lawmaker Wang Ting-yu at a luncheon for industry leaders.

2022-09-27

US state secretary Blinken warns of impact of war in Taiwan Strait on global economy

In an interview on CBS program “60 Minutes,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that a war in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating for the global economy. He said that, as Taiwan produces most of the world’s advanced chips, a war would disrupt production, which would impact the world’s tech supply chain. He added that the U.S. continues to adhere to its “One China” policy, but is concerned that China is taking actions to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. In Taiwan, one analyst said he believes Blinken’s words serve as a warning for China that its own economy would be destroyed if it were to attack Taiwan.

The output of Taiwan’s semiconductor sector is astounding, reaching one-fourth of worldwide output last year. This has not gone unnoticed by the U.S., which is pouring investment into Taiwanese semiconductors.

Antony Blinken
US secretary of state
One of the reasons we are not investing so heavily in our own capacity, to produce semiconductors here in the United States. We design them, but the actual production is done in a handful of places, and Taiwan produces most of them. If that’s disrupted, the effects that that would have on the global economy, could be devastating.

Blinken warned China not to act rashly, saying that to do so would be bad for the global economy. Blinken recently met with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, during which the two discussed their positions on cross-strait relations.

Antony Blinken
US secretary of state
We had a conversation about our different approaches to Taiwan, and I reiterated what the president has said. Our continued adherence to the “One China” policy, our deep concerns that China was taking actions to try to change that status quo, that’s what the issue is.

The U.S. is concerned that China could destroy peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. U.S. President Joe Biden has also reiterated on four occasions that the U.S. would send troops to Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack. Now Blinken has also brought up Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, which one Taiwan analyst has interpreted as a warning to China.

Wang Chih-sheng
Cross-Strait Policy Association
I think it’s intended as a warning and a threat. The U.S. is now actively pushing its CHIPS and Science Act, which has already put pressure on China’s supply chain. For Beijing, the growing international support for Taiwan has left it feeling helpless.

The analyst believes that in the face of continuous U.S. support for Taiwan, coupled with the implications of war for China’s economy, China is unlikely to use military force against Taiwan.

2022-09-27

Taiwan excluded from ICAO annual assembly for third consecutive year

2022-09-27

Women Make Waves International Film Festival to screen in October

The 29th Women Make Waves International Film Festival Taiwan will be held from Oct. 14 to Oct. 23 at SPOT Huashan. The theme of this year’s film festival is "Feverish Rewind," and features 85 local and international films. FTV reporter Stephany Yang takes us in for a look.

Established in 1993, the Women Make Waves International Film Festival is the longest-running and largest issue-oriented film festival in Taiwan. By covering a wide range of issues, genres, and representations of women, the festival hopes to provide female directors a stage on which they can advocate for gender equality and rights through film.

Chen Hui-ying
Curator
Our festival aims to promote female oriented issues and particularly about gender. And also, we really want to have a platform for women directors and nonbinary directors. At the beginning it was just a very small film festival. It was issue-oriented, but small in scale. It mostly happened and took place in gallery space or some theater space. But now, over the years, we have been growing larger and larger. Now, every year we are showing 100 films on average.

Now entering its 29th year, the festival will feature 85 local and foreign films. The theme of this year’s festival is "Feverish Rewind," hoping to remind people to slow down, listen and observe. The festival will open with "Forever a Woman," a film by Tanaka Kinuyo, an actress and film director.

Chen Hui-ying
Curator
Her role as a filmmaker has been overlooked before. She’s actually one of the earliest film pioneers in the film industry. She’s the second woman to pick up the camera to shoot in a very mainstream film studio.

This year’s spotlight filmmaker is American-Canadian filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, who is also an artist, activist, and singer. She’s made more than 50 documentaries about Indigenous communities in Canada. Now 90 years old, Obomsawin is still creating films.

Chen Hui-ying
Curator
This year, we want to celebrate her legacy, partly because she is now 90 years old. She’s still creating works. We think it’s very remarkable. This year, we selected eight works from her films to see what she has tried to do over the years, including she focused a lot on the Indigenous social movements and also about the roles of women in the Indigenous society, and also about the children.

The 29th Women Make Waves International Film Festival will be held from Oct. 14 to Oct. 23 at SPOT Huashan.

2022-09-27

Control Yuan censures Army Headquarters after two soldiers die by suicide in 7 months

2022-09-27

School lunch in rural areas get an upgrade thanks to Ministry of Education plan

Children in Taiwan are back in school, and for students in rural areas, the new academic year has come with upgrades to school lunches. Last year, the Ministry of Education launched a program to provide better meals to rural schools, by establishing central kitchens and improving delivery systems. Now, children all around Taiwan are getting lunch delivered to school in brand-new catering containers, which were designed with aesthetics and food safety in mind. The meals reach them in vehicles specially fitted for the purpose, to ensure maximum safety.

The Executive Yuan last year launched the plan to make sure that children in rural areas can enjoy school lunches that are as good as those of their peers in the city. The NT$6.3 billion plan established central kitchens that deliver meals to schools, while providing bigger subsidies for ingredients and improving the quality of school lunches. One part of the plan was the design of the catering containers. They are designed in pleasant colors to stimulate the appetite. The handles have been treated to be smooth and free of sharp edges to prevent scratches when children serve the food to their classmates. No detail is too small in this project, showing the Ministry of Education’s commitment to good nutrition at school. It also shows the manufacturers of the catering containers have thought of everything.

Lai Ssu-cheng
Catering container maker
We needed to take into account the delivery process. We made them shock resistant, and insulated to keep the food inside warm. These difficulties had to be managed together. We also faced technical problems, problems with molding, with injection and so on. We addressed the problems one by one to meet the needs.

In the plan, food is delivered from central kitchens to schools in two kinds of vehicles. Larger vans can carry enough food for up to 20 classes, while smaller ones can take enough for seven. The delivery vehicles go right into the school grounds to distribute the meals. As such, keeping the food and students safe is a top priority.

Lo Yen-jung
Vehicle manufacturer
In the manufacturing process, we weighed options for the body of the delivery compartment. They have custom securing straps. And the vehicles even have devices to record the movement of the vehicle. These safety considerations were thought through by people in 10 different teams. Their efforts made this possible.

Every step of the plan to offer good food to children in rural schools is meticulously planned, to ensure that all students in Taiwan can truly have access to good nutrition.

2022-09-27

World Cup Taiwan to kick off in October

2022-09-27

Taiwan shuttlers move up in men’s singles, doubles BWF rankings

2022-09-27