On June 13, 2026, at the Special Session on Hydrogen-Oxygen Mixture Medicine Development of the 18th Straits Forum Health Sub-forum, Academician Zhong Nanshan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of the National Respiratory Center delivered a landmark address. In his speech He highly recognized the originality and global leading position of hydrogen-oxygen medicine, and elaborated profoundly the core path for its standardized, scientific and regulated development. The philosophy of "Prioritize Norms, Lead with Standards" put forward in his speech became a major consensus of the session and pointed out the direction for the future growth of hydrogen-oxygen medicine in China.
Ⅰ."Standards First, Regulations Leading" – The Core Philosophy for Advancing Hydrogen-Oxygen Medicine
Academician Zhong Nanshan emphasized that to achieve sustainable and high quality growth, hydrogen-oxygen mixture medicine must remain firmly grounded in the principles of evidence-based medicine as its core, and rely on rigorous, sufficient clinical research data to support technical clinical application. The industry should adhere to the principle of prioritizing norms and taking standards as the guide.
He emphasized that China has accumulated abundant technology and clinical experience in hydrogen-oxygen mixture medicine. After years of research by domestic medical practitioners, a clinical application and research system with distinctive Chinese characteristics has taken shape, ranking at the world’s advanced level. Nevertheless, the lack of unified operating specifications and industrial standards has led to inconsistent practices across regions. Such discrepancies not only compromise therapeutic effects but also create potential safety risks. Therefore, advancing industrial development via standardization is the most urgent task at present.
With the rapid expansion of hydrogen-oxygen mixture medicine and its clinical application, disparities exist in operational procedures, indication judgment and efficacy evaluation among different regions and medical institutions. Fragmented practices hinder academic exchange and comparative efficacy assessment, making the unification of clinical protocols and improvement of the standard system an urgent priority. Academician Zhong’s statements fully illustrate the vital value of standardization for the whole sector.
Academician Zhong Nanshan directly addressed the existing problems in the current hydrogen-oxygen mixture medicine field. He pointed out that it is necessary to unify clinical operational protocols, improve the industry standard system, and rectify irregular practices, so as to fill the gaps in disciplinary development and propel this China originated cross innovative technology from the stage of experience based exploration into a new phase of standardized, scientific, and regulated development.
In fact, there are instances in the market where unapproved industrial hydrogen production equipment is illegally used for human inhalation. Such equipment lacks biocompatibility testing and explosion proof safety verification, posing safety hazards. Academician Zhong's remarks hit the nail on the head the significance of standards lies precisely in setting safety baselines and operational boundaries for the entire industry.
“Filling the gaps in disciplinary development” is a systematic endeavor that requires not only the formulation of standards but also their dissemination, implementation, and continuous improvement. From development to implementation, group standards require coordinated efforts from regulatory authorities, industry associations, medical institutions, and manufacturing enterprises. Academician Zhong's call serves as the top level guidance for this systematic project.
In his concluding remarks, Academician Zhong summarized three core values of standardization construction. First, standardization safeguards safe and accessible medical technologies for the public, enabling patients to have definite efficacy expectations and guaranteed safety during hydrogen-oxygen therapy. Second, it lays a foundation for disciplinary upgrading by establishing unified terminology and evaluation systems for clinical research and academic exchanges. Third, it offers solid support for orderly industrial development.
This three dimensional elaboration fully demonstrates the comprehensive value of standardization for hydrogen-oxygen medicine. For patients, standardized workflows and quality control systems reduce treatment risks and ensure effective, safe access to indigenous innovative therapies. For the discipline, standards build a unified platform for clinical research and multi-center collaboration, accelerating research progress. For the industry, clear technical requirements and market access thresholds defined by standards help regulate market order and foster a healthy industrial ecosystem.
The group standard officially launched at the session materialized the standardization concept highlighted by Academician Zhong. Entitled General Specifications for Clinical Application of Hydrogen-Oxygen Mixture Inhalation Therapy (T/CRHA 316/2026), it was jointly led and drafted by the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (National Respiratory Medical Center), Peking Union Medical College
Hospital and Shanghai Asclepius Meditec Co., Ltd., with more than 20 top tertiary hospitals nationwide including Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University participating in compilation.
The standard clearly defines applicable clinical scenarios, operating protocols and application limits of hydrogen-oxygen inhalation therapy, providing authoritative guidelines for standardized and safe clinical promotion of this cutting-edge medical technology (Source: Official NetEase Account of National Party Media Information Public Platform). It covers full-cycle requirements including indications, contraindications, operation procedures, adverse reaction management, equipment maintenance and quality control, offering unified operational guidance for medical institutions at all levels.
Announcement Issued by the Chinese Research Hospital Association
The Chinese Research Hospital Association hereby approves and releases eight group standards including General Specifications for Clinical Application of Hydrogen-Oxygen Mixture Inhalation Therapy (T/CRHA 316/2026) in accordance with the Measures for the Administration of Group Standards of the Chinese Research Hospital Association. Release Date: June 12, 2026; Implementation Date: June 18, 2026
As one of the three co-leading drafting organizations of the group standard, Shanghai Asclepius Meditec has specialized in hydrogen-oxygen medicine research for over a decade. Its self-developed innovative electrolysis technology eliminates ion membranes and industrial strong alkalis, fundamentally avoiding two critical risks of traditional hydrogen production technologies: alkali corrosion from Alkaline Electrolysis Cell (AEC) and membrane degradation of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM).
Technical Risk Explanation: Industrial AEC uses 20–30% potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte with strong corrosivity. Volatile alkali mist and metal particles produced under high temperature and pressure may irritate or chemically burn the respiratory tract upon inhalation. Industrial PEM adopts perfluorosulfonic acid ion membranes categorized as persistent PFAS substances, which are hard to degrade and bio accumulative. No conclusive medical safety data exists regarding the long-term health impacts of their degradation products.
This technology has passed the Special Approval Program for Innovative Medical Devices administered by the NMPA. To date, the company has filed 606 patents in total, among which 494 have been granted (including 344 invention patents).
The Asclepius hydrogen-oxygen generator is the world’s first hydrogen inhalation device certified as a Class III medical device by the NMPA (Registration No.: 20203080066/20233081929). In 2021, it obtained expanded approval for home care use , becoming China’s first Class III active hydrogen medical device approved for household deployment.
Supported by 108 SCI papers and long-term cooperation with over 80 national top-tier tertiary hospitals, Asclepius Meditec provided core technical data and clinical experience for drafting the group standard. Guided by Academician Zhong’s theories, backed by officially released group standards and supported by industrial participants, hydrogen-oxygen medicine in China is steadily advancing along the path of high-quality development.
A: He put forward the core principle of "Prioritize Norms, Lead with Standards", emphasizing that hydrogen-oxygen medicine must center on evidence-based medicine and apply technologies with rigorous clinical research data as support.
A: Standardization can guarantee safe public access to innovative therapies, provide a framework for disciplinary optimization and update, and deliver solid backing for orderly industrial development.
A: Asclepius Meditec is one of the three joint-leading drafting units of the standard. Its innovative membrane-free, alkali-free electrolysis technology provides critical technical support for the formulation of the group standard.
