The Shanghai Municipal Health Commission has recently granted approval for China's first specialized medical aircraft to start pilot operations, a pioneering step in advancing the nation's aeromedical service capabilities.

This marks the first practice license granted to an airborne hospital of a domestic medical institution.

Jointly developed by the Fudan University's Eye & ENT Hospital and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the C909 medical airplane meets China's highest cleanliness standards for hospital operating rooms, providing a sterile environment required for ophthalmic otolaryngological surgeries.

Since its maiden mission to Shihezi in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in September, the "flying hospital" has undergone major upgrades, extending its capabilities from diagnosis and treatment to surgical operations.

The medical aircraft is expected to deliver top-quality medical services to the doorsteps of patients in remote and underserved areas. It will also extend charitable medical services to patients in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Source: Shanghai Observer