AI diagnosis of diseases to be available in Korea

[Courtesy of JLK]

Artificial intelligence (AI) medical devices that diagnose diseases by viewing images of major body parts such as the brain, heart, and lungs via X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) by paying medical fees will be available in South Korea starting November 10. It will be the first of its kind in the country, and expectations are growing that it will pave the way for the AI medical devices to be widely used moving forward.

Maeil Business Newspaper learnt on Tuesday that JBS-01K, local medical solutions provider JLK Inc.’s AI device for diagnosing cerebral infarctions that was designated as an innovative medical technology by the government in 2022, will be available for general patients from November 10 after the final committee approval on Friday and the notification period. More than 190 tertiary (university, general) hospitals where JBS-01K has been adopted will now be able to use the device to diagnose brain disorders for a fee with the patient’s consent, with MRI and CT images costing 80,000 won ($59.37) and 60,000 won respectively. JLK will split the fee 50:50 with the hospital.

“AI medical devices were experimentally used in clinical trials until now, but the door is now open for AI medical devices to be widespread,” JLK chief executive officer Kim Dong-min said. “We usage to expand rapidly to primary and secondary hospitals. The other four AI solutions, including ones for cerebral hemorrhage analyses and large vessel occlusion identification, are also expected to be non-reimbursable soon.”

The industry forecasts that an era of widespread use of AI medical devices by patients has begun, with eight domestic AI medical device companies currently designated by the government as businesses with innovative medical technologies. Alongside JLK, other companies on the list include Medical AI Co., CoreLine Soft Co., and Deepnoid Co. Medical AI was designated as an innovative technology in April for its AI heart failure early detection program.

CoreLine Soft’s AI brain hemorrhage image detection and diagnosis auxiliary software, NeuroCAD, was named an innovative technology on September 25. “It will be recognized as non-reimbursable early next year,” CoreLine Soft managing director and chief product officer Park Jun-min said. “Hospitals will be able to use NeuroCAD as a non-reimbursable service with patients’ consent as early as January 2024.”