UNIST announced that Medical AI Co., Ltd. has been selected as the final winner of the ‘2023 Digital Healthcare Challenge by UNIST X UCLA Center for SMART Health‘, hosted in collaboration with the UCLA Center for SMART Health in the United States. The much-anticipated award presentation ceremony was held at the UNIST Haedong Hall on October 30, where the highly-anticipated selection results were unveiled.

The ‘Digital Healthcare Challenge’ stands as a remarkable competition, aimed at bolstering the global competitiveness of domestic medical digital solutions, while simultaneously facilitating their entry into foreign markets. The winning team will have the opportunity to validate their cutting-edge digital solution with clinical data from the globally acclaimed UCLA Medical Center.

Spanning from May 18, the competition witnessed the active participation of seven exceptional teams. Medical AI Co., Ltd., the final winner, received high evaluations for their revolutionary medical innovation, exceptional product readiness, and immense potential for verification through overseas data.

At the forefront of Medical AI Co., Ltd.’s digital healthcare solution, ‘AiTiALVSD,’ lies an extraordinary early detection program for heart failure. This groundbreaking solution harnesses the power of advanced AI algorithms to meticulously analyze electrocardiogram (ECG) data, thereby providing insightful scores that indicate the likelihood of left ventricular contractile function failure. Previously, the determination of heart failure possibilities based on ECG data posed significant challenges for medical professionals.

Director Sung Chul Bae of UNIST SMART Healthcare Research Center, who also serves as the Head of UNIST Graduate School of Health Science and Technology, stated, “The winning Medical AI solution is truly exceptional, as it achieves what doctors cannot through the innovative application of AI.” He added, “UNIST remains committed to bolstering international cooperation to support the discovery and successful market entry of such exceptional digital medical technologies in Korea.”

“This remarkable achievement serves as a testament to the undeniable value of ‘AiTiALVSD,’ which diligently aids in the diagnosis of heart failure, a condition that was previously arduous to detect using conventional human ECG reading technology,” said Joon-myoung Kwon, CEO of Medical AI Co., Ltd. “Our aspirations now extend beyond the domestic market, as we aim to make significant strides in capturing the vast opportunities presented by the global market.”

Director Arash Naeim at the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the UCLA Center for SMART Health, expressed his profound enthusiasm, remarking, “The application of innovative data science and artificial intelligence in disease screening and diagnosis is an immensely encouraging development. We fervently hope that these remarkable innovations will reverberate on a global scale, fostering further international collaboration.”

Medical AI Co., Ltd. has already commenced the verification process of ‘AiTiALVSD,’ utilizing the invaluable data amassed at UCLA Medical Center in the United States. Based on the outcomes of this rigorous verification procedure, discussions pertaining to clinical trials and FDA approval procedures at esteemed American hospitals will be promptly initiated.

This extraordinary competition was made possible through the generous sponsorship of the Ministry of Science and ICT’s international cooperation project, LG Uplus Corp., and the UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute. UNIST, in partnership with the UCLA Center for SMART Health, is unwavering in its commitment to hosting annual competitions of this nature until 2025, eagerly fueling the advancement of groundbreaking medical solutions.