AI-Based Diagnosis and Treatment for 8 Major Diseases... Dr.Answer Phase 1 Success Leads to Phase 2 Launch

Ministry of Science and ICT·NIPA, Doctor Answer 1.0 Online Performance Report
Doctor Answer 1.0 Achievements Including Saudi Clinical Trials
Launch of Doctor Answer 2.0… Operation Until 2024

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The first phase of the AI medical software (SW) 'Doctor Answer,' designed for the diagnosis and treatment of eight major diseases directly linked to national healthy life expectancy?such as cancer, heart disease, dementia, and cerebral hemorrhage?has achieved significant clinical results, leading to the launch of the second phase.

On the 29th, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) held the 'Doctor Answer 1.0 Project Performance Report and 2.0 Launch Report' simultaneously online at the Healthcare Innovation Park in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

Doctor Answer 1.0 is a project in which the Ministry of Science and ICT invested a total of 48.8 billion KRW over three years starting in 2018. Of this, 36.4 billion KRW came from government funding, and 12.4 billion KRW from private contributions. Centered on Asan Medical Center in Seoul, a total of 1,962 participants annually from 26 domestic medical institutions and 22 ICT companies took part. It is AI medical software developed by linking and analyzing various medical data such as clinical data and medical imaging.

Doctor Answer 1.0 consists of 21 AI software programs supporting the diagnosis and treatment of eight major domestic diseases. The cancers include breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer; other diseases include cerebrovascular disease, heart disease, dementia, epilepsy, and rare pediatric genetic diseases. It also includes cerebral hemorrhage diagnosis, breast cancer risk prediction, and early dementia diagnosis.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety held a meeting in July last year to expedite the medical device approval process for Doctor Answer. Through this, six medical device approvals, six non-medical device approvals, and nine ongoing approvals were achieved. Notably, during the clinical validation process involving 141 medical professionals from 38 domestic medical institutions, improvements in diagnostic accuracy and reductions in diagnosis time were realized.

From July 2020 to March 2021, clinical validation was also conducted in Saudi Arabia, laying the foundation for exports. The clinical results applied to Saudi patients (cardiovascular disease: 200 patients, CT; cerebral hemorrhage: 24 patients, CT; colorectal cancer: 114 patients, 1,386 images; dementia: 205 patients, MRI) confirmed performance at the same level as in Korea.

The Ministry of Science and ICT will widely disseminate the achievements of Doctor Answer, a core project of the Digital New Deal, and to enhance public awareness of AI medical services, will carry out the Doctor Answer 2.0 project from 2021 to 2024 with a national budget of 28 billion KRW. The Doctor Answer 2.0 project team is led by Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, with participation from 30 medical institutions and 18 ICT companies. Twelve companies are involved in development, and 18 in clinical validation.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to establish a close cooperative system with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety from the planning stage of Doctor Answer 2.0 to ensure the achievements of Doctor Answer 1.0 continue into 2.0, and will support the project team's research and development through proactive administration.

Baek Rong-min, director of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and chief research officer of Doctor Answer 2.0, stated, “In the future, all medical data will be utilized based on AI technology, providing innovative personalized medical services. We will do our best to develop high-quality medical software that can be applied in clinical settings through clinical validation and medical device approval.”

Cho Kyung-sik, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “Doctor Answer is an excellent achievement created by our world-class medical professionals and ICT companies. Once Doctor Answer 2.0 is developed, citizens will be able to access AI medical services at any hospital. The government will accelerate efforts to create conditions so that citizens can experience Doctor Answer, a core project of the Digital New Deal, and support our AI medical software companies to capture overseas markets.”