China's first quantum computing and medical data institute established in Hefei

The Hefei Institute of Quantum Computing and Medical Data, the first of its type in China, was established on Sunday in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province.

Hefei-based quantum computing company Origin Quantum and Bengbu Medical University from the province's Bengbu city jointly established the institute, according to the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center.

The institute aims to empower the security and application of medical data through quantum computing, conducting real-machine verification research on quantum medical algorithms, according to a news release from the center.

"China's medical data urgently needs domestically developed and controllable quantum computing power to advance its development," said Liu Hao, vice-president of Bengbu Medical University. Liu is also the director of the newly established institute.

He said the institute's establishment will promote research in quantum computing and medical data in China and cultivate related professional talents.

"Through the collaboration, we aim to explore new pathways for training hybrid talents in quantum computing and medical data for the future," said Guo Guoping, chief scientist of Origin Quantum.

Guo is also the deputy director of the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at the Hefei-based University of Science and Technology of China. He was named the honorary director of the newly established institute on Sunday.

Bengbu Medical University and the company continue to explore small molecule drug development using Origin Wukong, a superconducting quantum computer developed by Origin Quantum.

Since the computer's launch earlier this year, it has completed about 298,000 quantum computing tasks for users from 137 countries, according to the company.

Bengbu Medical University has been a pioneer in China in exploring the use of quantum computing in medicine.

Last year, the university and Origin Quantum improved the efficiency of molybdenum target detection for breast diseases with quantum computing technology, marking the first involvement of domestically developed superconducting quantum computers in medical research.