Hospitals from China will participate in existing research in Singapore that aims to develop accurate and personalized solutions for early detection and management of cardiovascular disease symptoms specific to the Asian population.
Early this month, Kailuan General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University and Tianjin Medical University General Hospital signed a memorandum of understanding to participate in the RESET project of the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine).
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The new Project RESET Parallel Cohort will specifically focus on subclinical cardiovascular disease (SCVD), or asymptomatic conditions associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, which have become a growing concern among the Asian population. Tianjin Medical University reportedly has expertise in this area of research.
The four organizations will study data from a diverse, multi-ethnic cohort of Asians using multi-omics and big data to discover molecular, metabolic and immunological markers of heart disease. In addition to filling gaps in SCVD research, their research will also contribute to the development of “precise, personalized prevention and management strategies for cardiovascular disease.”
In addition, the organizations will conduct trials to test the effectiveness of AI and digital health interventions for detecting and treating cardiovascular disease.
THE BIG TREND
NUS Medicine launched Project RESET in September last year. The five-year research project, funded by the Singapore government, initially aimed to identify the symptoms of heart disease that go unnoticed in the majority of Singapore’s population. At least 3 million people, or half of the island city-state’s population, unknowingly have heart disease. Up to 80% of healthy people are reportedly unaware of the abnormal calcium buildup in their blood vessels, while around four in ten have fatty liver disease, which is also a major sign of heart disease.
Project RESET then aims to discover new biomarkers for early heart disease; It also plans to test new methods and approaches to prevent the onset of cardiovascular diseases.
Other national and private initiatives in Singapore are building large databases that represent the diversity of the Asian population, contributing to precision medicine. The The SG100K project, led by the government’s Precision Health Research, analyzes big data – sequencing the genomes of one hundred thousand individuals – to better understand various factors contributing to non-communicable diseases relevant to Asians. Private startup Mesh Bio has established a large multi-omics dataset that helps generate insights into metabolic disorders associated with the Asian population.
Outside of Singapore, India has also embarked on a population-wide initiative, led by the Indian Council of Medical Research, to collect and manage volumes of medical images representing the Indian people to support the development of AI. In September, the first comprehensive multi-omics database on cancer was also launched in India after fifteen years. The Indian Cancer Genome Atlas now provides initial access to clinically annotated data on DNA, RNA and protein profiles of breast cancer patients.