MFU Wellness Center and FUJIFILM bring medical innovation to give TB screening to people in remote areas of Chiang Rai with the aim of reducing limitations to basic healthcare services
MFU Wellness Center and FUJIFILM forge partnership in conducting physical checkups in remote areas of Chiang Rai, including Ban Laolew and Ban Pangmahan with the aim of promoting proactive tuberculosis (TB) screening and reducing limitations to basic healthcare services among locals, hill tribes and stateless minorities.
Ban Laolew and Ban Pangmahan are geographically remote communities in Chiang Rai located uphill and almost
a hundred kilometres away from the city centre. The locals encountered difficulty in accessing healthcare services and never had a chance to take X-rays due mainly to X-ray van inaccessibility. Moreover, it was reported that 67 tuberculosis patients were found in Mae Fah Luang, Chiang Rai in 2021 with 8.95 per cent mortality rate per annum.
The collaborative partnership between MFU Wellness Center and FUJIFILM is established to tackle this issue through the integration of MFU Wellness Center’s holistic healthcare services, ranging from basic healthcare to complicated medical surgeries, and FUJIFILM’s medical innovation, FDR Xair, the portable X-ray unit with capability to X-ray bedridden patients.
In this event, there was a total of 550 people who had registered for the checkup and 147 cases were detected to develop pulmonary-related conditions and were given appointments for treatment as the next step.
Assoc. Prof. Chayaporn Wattanasiri, Ph.D., President of Mae Fah Luang University, said, “Mae Fah Luang University was established in the name of the mother of King Rama IX, Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra, who was lovingly known to Thais as Mae Fah Luang. HRH Princess Srinagarindra lavished her attention upon overall health and well-being of her subjects that contributed to the foundation of MFU Wellness Center for providing people with basic healthcare services which prevent people from getting sick and reduce the burden on national health expenditure. To maintain good health, MFU Wellness Center is strongly oriented towards education and prevention rather than treatment, as in our mission to achieve sustainable healthcare.”
Asst. Prof. Tawatchai Apidechkul, Dr. P.H., Acting Director of MFU Wellness Center, Mae Fah Luang University, added,
“MFU Wellness Center operates its services through 3P strategy: Prediction, Prevention and Promotion, which heavily emphasises people who face difficulty in getting medical services. Previously, we came across obstacles to providing mobile checkups and reaching out to TB patients in remote areas as the equipment that we have cannot be relocated into the areas. So, the physical checkup under the collaboration of MFU Wellness Center and FUJIFILM that offers medical equipment support, has allowed medical professionals to provide diagnosis, basic healthcare services, and treatment for people with proper care.”
Mr. Yuto Kumagai, Assistant to Managing Director, FUJIFILM (Thailand) Ltd., stated, “As a responsible corporate citizen, Fujifilm is firmly committed to solving social issues in all dimensions, especially health inequality. To solve the above-mentioned issue, we continuously create and develop our medical innovations and technologies which cover three key health aspects: Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment. In this mobile checkup, we understand the limitations to accessing remote areas, so we bring our medical imaging solution, FDR Xair, to support medical professionals in this physical checkup, contributing to relieving burdens on the medical staff.”
FDR Xair is a compact and portable X-ray unit weighing only 3.5 kilos. It is suitable for bedridden patient X-ray and mobile checkup in remote areas which the X-ray van cannot access. The X-ray unit gives safe and sufficient radiation dose as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, the FDR Xair is equipped with AI technology which can transfer X-ray images onto a computer and locate lung abnormalities rapidly and accurately.
Fujifilm always places strong emphasis on solving social issues, especially health issues that not only individuals but create negative impacts on wider society. In 2021, Fujifilm launched its new corporate campaign “NEVER STOP” that reinforces its commitment to give back to society by never stopping creating a wide range of innovations and technologies that enable people to live a healthier life and create new values.
