JLK Inspection "Chest X-ray Analysis Solution Gains Attention Due to COVID-19 Spread"

Pioneering AI-Integrated Medical Intelligence with Intel
AI-Based Brain Aging Analysis Solution to Be Deployed On-Site in March

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] The technological achievements from the strategic collaboration between JLK Inspection, a medical analysis solution company based on artificial intelligence, and Intel, a global leader in semiconductor technology, have been unveiled.

JLK Inspection announced on the 25th that since last year, it has signed two official global partnerships with Intel, including the ‘IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Builder Partnership,’ and has engaged in technical cooperation. The technological achievements were introduced worldwide through Intel’s official website.

To apply medical AI in actual clinical settings and manage it continuously, it is essential to quickly provide comprehensive analysis results at the point of care where treatment takes place. Various information collected or analyzed on-site must be integrated in cloud or other server spaces, with ongoing learning and validation.

The collaboration results between Intel’s computer vision and AI solution development tool ‘OpenVINO’ technology and JLK Inspection’s AI medical algorithms were disclosed. According to materials released by Intel, among the 37 solutions in AIHuB, the AI-based chest X-ray analysis solution and 3D brain MRI analysis solution, developed in cooperation with Intel, improved image analysis speed by about 40% in environments without internet or expensive GPUs. JLK Inspection and Intel have established a foundation to operate high-performance AI medical algorithms even on general home PCs without costly GPUs.

Since 2018, through collaboration with Intel, JLK Inspection has succeeded in commercializing neural network optimization and edge computing artificial neural networks using Intel’s AI inference modules to run AI technology on mini PCs without expensive large workstations.

Regarding JLK Inspection’s chest X-ray analysis solution, which gained attention amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company optimized it for Intel’s mini PC and unveiled real-time X-ray on-site analysis and mobile operation technology integrated into vehicle-type X-ray equipment. It can also be used for quantitative analysis to separate COVID-19 patients’ movement paths and prioritize diagnosis and treatment. When the vehicle moves to an area with internet connectivity, various collected medical information can be integrated in the cloud for continuous learning and management. A converged AI medical system that users can operate remotely anytime and anywhere was also introduced.

Since March, the brain aging analysis solution commercialized at Seoul National University Gangnam Health Screening Center, which actual examinees can use, faced a technical challenge of simultaneously running 70 AI models to instantly segment and analyze 62 regions in 3D brain MRI images. JLK Inspection optimized the neural network it designed in-house together with Intel, reducing the analysis time from six hours in the previous solution to under 15 minutes without a GPU. Intel expects this technology to enable medical staff to see more patients effectively within the given time in clinical settings.

Kwon Myung-sook, CEO of Intel Korea, said, “There are many urgent challenges in the medical and health fields that require the integration of the latest computing technologies,” adding, “Intel has collaborated with JLK Inspection, which possesses outstanding technology and expertise in AI medical imaging, to develop AI development toolkits and solutions based on the latest hardware.” She continued, “We will continue to cooperate to ensure Intel’s latest technologies contribute to AI-based medical solution development.”

According to Kim Dong-min, CEO of JLK Inspection, a strong cooperative relationship has been established through a strategic partnership with Intel in the productization process of core AI technologies. Kim said, “Through the partnership with Intel, we are rapidly applying Intel’s current and future technologies to develop the first next-generation medical AI products that integrate on-site and remote care in the medical AI field.” He added, “Products with improved performance through AI-based algorithm optimization are expected to gain momentum for further expansion in overseas markets.”