The new procedure is convenient and comfortable, especially for sensitive people, such as children, the elderly or patients with cardiovascular diseases, Ji noted.

The domestically developed endoscope robot is a shining example of the next generation of technology in the field, he said.

China sees more than 600,000 new gastric cancer cases each year. Effective early detection has long been an important issue for medical staff.

Liao Zhuan, a gastroenterologist at Shanghai's Changhai Hospital, said about 80 million people have refused gastroscopic examinations due to fear of pain and discomfort during the procedure, which may be contributing to a higher incidence rate of gastric cancer in China.

So far, the capsule endoscope system has already been used in nearly 1,000 hospitals and medical centers across the country.

Last year, the China Health Promotion Foundation included the robot capsule system in a health management demonstration project.

To benefit more patients and expand the medical services to more remote areas, Ankon also developed a nationwide online medical network for cooperation between experts and scholars in the field from around the country.

The platform is able to run a digestive system healthcare database that connects more than 1,000 experts and doctors from the country's top hospitals and medical institutions.

Hospitals or health inspection agencies can upload patients' data to the cloud platform, which will then be read by a team of experts remotely.

Patients do not have to travel a long way to talk with an expert face-to-face at a large hospital. Via the online platform, transfer of medical images and consultations with experts can be done directly, no matter where the patient is located. Patients can be given advice for further treatment, transferred to larger hospitals for surgery or receive treatment in local medical communities.

"More convenience will be created for patients with the innovative intelligent medical care platform, which integrates big data," said Li Zhaoshen, a member of the Chinese Medical Association's digestive endoscopy branch. "With such a platform, doctors can provide medical services to patients on a larger scale, especially for those in remote, less developed areas with fewer medical resources."