HKUST-Developed SmartCare Shifts Clinical Focus to Patient Care
Pilot Run at HKUST Campus Clinic to Enhance Medical Consultation Efficiency
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has recently introduced SmartCare – an AI platform developed by HKUST researchers that redefines patient journeys from triage to treatment – in its on-campus clinic. This landmark deployment kicks off a six-month pilot study open to 15,000+ students, faculty, and staff.
Developed by Prof. CHEN Hao from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Director of Smart Lab, SmartCare builds on HKUST’s invention, MedDr—one of the largest open-source generalist multimodal foundation models for medicine in the world. SmartCare streamlines clinical workflows, enhances patient-provider interactions, and supports medical education. The system significantly reduces administrative tasks – freeing doctors to focus on personalized patient care, leveraging differentiating features like multilingual transcription and automated medical documentation. SmartCare unifies the entire patient journey—from symptom intake to post-consultation follow-up—into a single intelligent platform. Its patent-pending Virtual Patient module further pioneers next-generation medical training with simulated consultations and instant AI feedback.
As a one-stop AI solution for healthcare, SmartCare offers the following key features:
• Intelligent Pre-visit Triage: Patients scan QR codes to submit medical histories and symptoms via text or voice-enabled systems, even before entering the clinic. This is particularly valuable for patients with complex chronic conditions or lengthy medical histories. Coupled with a customizable triage system, nurses can optimize resource allocation and patient flow, enhancing efficiency and minimizing waiting times.
• AI-Powered Consultation Assistant: With a powerful live transcription feature supporting Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, doctors can devote their full attention to patients instead of being bogged down by medical notetaking during appointments, significantly enhancing the overall patient experience and fostering personalized care.
• Medical Document Automation: The system can auto-generate over 30 types of medical documents, including referral letters, prescriptions, and medical certificates, while tracking post-consultation outcomes through its AI chatbot, reducing the administrative burdens on healthcare professionals.
Prof. Chen Hao said, “SmartCare, born from HKUST’s cutting-edge AI research, outperforms other medical AI models by leveraging our multimodal large language model, MedDr, as a leading generalist foundation model for medicine. Unlike conventional systems, SmartCare excels in processing complex medical queries, interpreting medical images, and generating detailed medical reports while seamlessly integrating into clinical workflows. Following its pilot at our campus clinic, we are also exploring collaboration with Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong, CUHK Medical Centre and many more healthcare organisations, enabling real-world validation to refine this technology for value-based and patient-centric care. HKUST’s world-class AI innovation ecosystem, including SmartLab and entrepreneurship programs, empowers SmartCare to redefine clinical efficiency and outcomes.”
Dr. Justin CHENG, SmartCare’s CEO and Co-founder as well as a Registered Medical Practitioner in HKUST’s clinic added, “Today’s doctors juggle limited time with the demands of numerous patients in their daily clinical practice. SmartCare reverses this paradigm by significantly reducing time spent on administrative tasks, allowing doctors to focus on medicine’s core — the human connection during consultations - and deliver personalized, high-quality care.” Dr. Cheng, who is currently pursuing his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering at HKUST, emphasized SmartCare's transformative impact on clinical workflows.
Prof. Samuel Yu Chung-Toi, Director of the Health, Safety, and Environment Office at HKUST, said, “The SmartCare pilot at our campus clinic epitomizes HKUST’s commitment to translating cutting-edge research into real-world impact. By providing our scholars with cross-disciplinary resources—from AI infrastructure to entrepreneurship programs—we empower innovations that address societal needs. This campus-first approach is particularly meaningful, allowing us to refine the system in a trusted environment, ensuring it meets the needs of both healthcare providers and patients.”
A Pilot Study at HKUST
A six-month pilot study is currently underway at the HKUST Clinic, inviting all students, staff, and campus users to participate and provide feedback.
In May, a tripartite partnership has been established to integrate SmartCare’s patient-centered consultation platform with PanopticAI’s camera-based vital signs monitoring technology—another HKUST-nurtured healthcare innovation—to enhance service and operational efficiency at its new ambulatory care centre in Admiralty.
About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (https://hkust.edu.hk/) is a world-class university that excels in driving innovative education, research excellence, and impactful knowledge transfer. With a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy approach, HKUST was ranked 3rd in the Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2024, 19th Worldwide and No.1 in Hong Kong in Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings 2025. Thirteen HKUST subjects were ranked among the world’s top 50 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025, with “Data Science and Artificial Intelligence” holding the 17th place, maintaining its position as first in Hong Kong. Our graduates are highly competitive, consistently ranking among the world’s top 30 most sought-after employees. In terms of research and entrepreneurship, over 80% of our work was rated “Internationally excellent” or “world leading” in the latest Research Assessment Exercise 2020 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee. As of May 2025, HKUST members have founded over 1,800 active start-ups, including 10 Unicorns and 17 exits (IPO or M&A)
For media enquiries, please contact:
Gloria Tang
Tel: 2358 6306
Email: gloriatang@ust.hk
Philip Kwong
Tel: 2358 6299
Email: philipkwong@ust.hk
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