Channel 8 News Coverage: AI Integrated into TCM Herbal Dispensing, Driving Preservation and Innovation

Thank you Mediacorp Singapore’s Channel 8 News for the feature!

Artificial intelligence is gradually permeating various industries, and the local traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) sector is also adopting technology to preserve traditional knowledge and improve service efficiency. Some herbal shops have developed AI systems to digitize generations-old prescriptions, helping staff dispense herbs more accurately. Meanwhile, some TCM clinics have introduced massage robots to provide personalized acupoint therapy.

Lee Chin Siong, third-generation owner of Heng Foh Tong Medical Hall, said that few herbal shops across Singapore still offer manual herb dispensing services. To preserve valuable prescriptions and experience, he collaborated with Singapore Polytechnic to collect decades of dispensing knowledge from his parents and develop an AI tool. The goal is both to pass on this knowledge and to address labor shortages in the industry.

Lee said, “My parents have been dispensing herbs for over 50 years. If their knowledge isn’t preserved, it will gradually disappear.”

He explained that in the past, herbal preparation relied heavily on experience and intuition, with prescriptions often existing only in practitioners’ minds. When herb prices fluctuated or supplies ran short, practitioners had to rely on experience to quickly find substitutes, making it difficult to teach at scale.

Now, with AI systems, practitioners can select suitable herbs and dosages from complex combinations based on different conditions. When certain herbs are out of stock, the system can suggest alternatives, with final approval by a TCM physician.

He added that in the short term, the system mainly serves as a preservation tool to ensure knowledge continuity. In the future, they hope to further improve efficiency and accuracy in herbal preparation through automation and robotics.

Credit: MediaCorp Channel 8 News
https://www.8world.com/singapore/ai-tcm-3123246