LifeSemantics Selected as XR Twin R&D Company for Chronic Skin Disease Management in Elderly

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] LifeSemantics announced on the 4th that it has been selected as a research and development company for the ‘Extended Reality (XR) Twin Technology Development Project for Chronic Skin Disease Management in the Elderly.’

XR Twin technology utilizes metaverse technology that transcends reality and virtuality, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). It creates a twin of real-world objects on a computer and simulates them to predict and optimize outcomes in advance.

This project is part of the ‘XR Core Technology Development for the Activation of Digital Therapeutics’ initiative led by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP). LifeSemantics plans to commence joint research and development with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Yonsei University, Kwangil Fiber, and the Korea Photonics Technology Institute.

The primary research subjects are elderly patients suffering from chronic skin diseases. Among them, the focus is on pressure ulcers (bedsores), which commonly occur in patients who must remain bedridden for extended periods due to diabetic foot ulcers and spinal cord injuries. Diabetic foot ulcers, known as ‘Dangyobal,’ can be severe enough to require partial amputation of the leg, and currently, there is no adequate treatment. The 5-year survival rate after onset is about 50%, similar in severity to colorectal cancer, and if amputation occurs, the 5-year mortality rate rises sharply to 74%.

The joint research institutions point out that a major cause of onset is that elderly individuals have diminished sensation and cannot detect excessive pressure on their skin themselves. To identify their vulnerability to skin damage, they plan to create medical twins of ▲human pressure distribution and foot moisture content ▲skin tissue ▲blood vessels, and diagnose and analyze these using artificial intelligence.

LifeSemantics will utilize its cloud-based Personal Health Record (PHR) platform, LifeRecord, to prepare for ▲medical twin data collection and reliability verification ▲real-time alert system construction applying diagnostic and predictive algorithms ▲data profiling and common data processing modeling for diagnosing and treating foot ulcers (diabetic) and pressure ulcers (bedsores) ▲medical platform construction and demonstration services for remote monitoring. LifeSemantics’ technology will also be used for remote monitoring and collaboration with specialized medical staff.

Kim Kwang-hoon, head of LifeSemantics ICT Convergence Research Center, explained, “Various healthcare projects such as digital therapeutics and digital twins are becoming visible and are approaching service demonstration. If the development of this XR twin technology proceeds successfully, it is expected to significantly improve clinical convenience by distributing advanced medical information systems equipped with dermatology functions to nursing hospitals with many elderly patients.”