NUS Medicine and PolyU establish MOU to advance AI-enabled community musculoskeletal research
Published: 08 Jun 2026
Representatives of the MOU signing. From left to right: Assoc Prof Toh Wei Seong, Research Director, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NUS Medicine; Prof Roger Foo, Vice-Dean (Research), NUS Medicine; Prof Dong Cheng, Associate Vice President (Knowledge Transfer), PolyU BME; Assoc Prof Wen Chunyi, Inventor, PolyU BME.
The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) has formalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on 5 June 2026, establishing a strategic academic–clinical partnership focused on healthy ageing, functional mobility, and community-based musculoskeletal research.
At the centre of this partnership is the JointCare programme, an AI-enabled initiative that integrates orthopaedic expertise, biomedical engineering, and population health approaches to improve the early detection, risk stratification, and right-siting of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in community settings.
The programme will develop an AI-enabled, label-free motion profiling approach to assess lower-limb movement patterns associated with knee OA outside traditional hospital environments. Together with a structured knee health questionnaire, this tool is designed to support community-based risk stratification and triage, enabling more consistent right-siting of care.
By distinguishing individuals suitable for conservative community management from those who may benefit from earlier specialist review, the model supports more appropriate referral patterns. It also has the potential to reduce unnecessary referrals, shorten time-to-review for clinically significant cases, and improve overall efficiency in musculoskeletal care delivery.
Representatives signing the MOU.
NUS Medicine’s research mission is further strengthened through a platform for translational and implementation science, spanning AI-driven assessment, service evaluation, and population-focused musculoskeletal care in real-world community settings. The initiative also expands education and academic capacity by creating opportunities for clinician-scientists, researchers, students, and trainees to participate in a scalable, community-embedded research programme, while building institutional capability in AI-enabled healthcare delivery and population health research.
The project is expected to commence in Q4 2026, with an initial pilot at Boon Lay serving as a proof-of-concept to evaluate feasibility and performance in a real-world setting and refine workflows prior to broader implementation. Following successful validation, the programme will be progressively rolled out to communities across Western Singapore, with a subsequent phase exploring expansion into a multi-centre international research collaboration involving Hong Kong and potentially other countries.
Group photo of the participants after the MOU signing ceremony. From left to right: Dr Lim Kia Teng, Resident, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NUH; Adj Assoc Prof Diarmuid Murphy, Senior Consultant, Division of Orthopaedic Trauma, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NUH; Dr Sim Tao Ming, Medical Officer, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NUH; Adj Asst Prof Barry Tan, Head of Division & Consultant, Division of Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NUH; Mr Surein Sandrasegaran, Boon Lay CCMC Chairman; Adj Asst Prof Harish, Consultant, Division of Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NUH; Assoc Prof Toh Wei Seong, Research Director, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NUS Medicine; Adj Prof Mark Puhaindran, Chairman, Medical Board, National University Hospital; Prof Roger Foo, Vice-Dean (Research), NUS Medicine; Prof Dong Cheng, Associate Vice President (Knowledge Transfer), PolyU BME; Assoc Prof Wen Chunyi, Inventor, PolyU BME; Mr Justin Chan, Inventor, PolyU, BME; Dr Tianshu Jiang, Postdoctoral fellow, PolyU, BME; Ms Idy To, Assistant Director, Branding and Marketing, Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office, PolyU; Assoc Prof Reshma A Merchant, Department of Medicine, NUS Medicine; Dr Isaac Sia, Head, Rehabilitation, NUH; Mr Wong Mushan, Head, Operations, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, NUH.
Through this collaboration, the identification and management of knee OA in community settings can be improved by enabling earlier intervention, improving care navigation and right-siting, and reducing downstream burden on hospital services.
