A company that develops AI medical solutions to help clinicians make diagnostic decisions—such as whether a disease is present, its severity, and a patient’s condition—we visit AIDOT.

AIDOT presents precise and fast diagnosis with AI medical devices

CEO Jeong Jae-hoon, who has experience working at an IT company and founding a mobile-solution startup, happened to learn that many women around the world—especially women in developing countries—suffer from cervical cancer. Cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women after breast cancer, can be detected early and its incidence can be reduced by more than 90% through initial screening alone. Yet many cases progressed to death because patients were unable to receive appropriate care early on.

Seeking to create an environment where people can be screened more easily, CEO Jeong joined forces with prominent obstetrics and gynecology professors in Korea, as well as Vice President Choi Seong-won, an IT industry expert, to develop “Cerviray,” an AI solution for cervical cancer.

World’s first AI system for remote interpretation of cervical cancer

Conventional medical equipment such as CT, MRI, and X-ray machines is difficult to move, and cytology-based testing can also yield results that vary to some extent depending on a clinician’s experience. However, AIDOT’s “Cerviray” is highly portable and improves accuracy by updating on-site data. In particular, even when testing is conducted overseas, it enables remote communication with Korea’s excellent medical professionals, allowing patients to receive clinicians’ consultation on AI results from anywhere.

This solution is especially impactful in developing countries. Eighty-five percent of cervical cancer deaths are concentrated in developing regions such as China and Southeast Asia, due to insufficient medical infrastructure. Korea’s situation was not very different 20 years ago. At the time, cervical cancer had the highest incidence among women’s cancers in Korea, but the establishment of an early diagnostic system significantly reduced the incidence rate. Fortunately, awareness of cervical cancer is gradually increasing in many countries and investment is rising, and demand for “Cerviray” is also growing.

Cerviray to be deployed across China; demand surges in Southeast Asia

Last year, AIDOT received the Minister’s Award from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and won first place at the Northeast Asia Innovation Forum, and later in the year it also obtained ISO certification, an international standard for quality management systems. Through this, exports to Southeast Asia and South America are expected to accelerate.

AIDOT’s innovation does not stop there. It plans to commercialize an AI-based portable carotid ultrasound device and solution in the second half of the year. This solution uses data obtained by performing an ultrasound examination directly on the carotid artery, and the AI analyzes it in just 10 seconds to determine whether there is a stroke risk.

Development completed for an AI-based stroke interpretation system

In addition, development has been completed for a real-time AI gastroscopy solution. The defining feature and differentiator of AIDOT’s gastroscopy solution is that, on-site during a gastroscopy exam, it marks and alerts clinicians in real time to even the smallest lesions. It then uses AI to interpret whether the detected lesion is pre-cancerous, and if it is cancer, whether it is early-stage or advanced, presenting the probability as well. Research is also underway to apply the solution not only to gastroscopy but also to the colon and small-bowel capsule endoscopy.

Rapidly growing medical AI market; aiming to be a global leading company

As it has become known that AI was the first to predict the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in medical AI has grown even further. Among domestic AI startups, companies in the medical AI field are seeing steep growth. Korean medical AI companies are gaining attention by combining advanced AI technology with outstanding medical expertise—and AIDOT is at the forefront.

AIDOT website: aidot.ai

Published: April 5, 2021 / KBS WORLD