Hi, Dementia Diagnosis DTx 'Alzguard' Expands Adoption Institutions

MOU Between Guro Gungdong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center and...

After signing the MOU for the AI-based dementia screening pilot project at Hai-Gungdong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, Kim Seonhwa, Director of Gungdong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, and Kim Jinwoo, CEO of Hai (from left), are taking a commemorative photo. (Photo by Hai)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Digital Therapeutics (DTx) company Hi announced on the 18th that it recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Gungdong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center in Guro-gu, Seoul, to utilize the AI-based dementia diagnosis smartphone application ‘Alzguard’.

The signing ceremony took place at Front1 in Mapo-gu, Seoul, where Hi’s headquarters are located, with Kim Sun-hwa, director of Gungdong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, and Kim Jin-woo, CEO of Hi, in attendance. Starting mid-month, both parties agreed to conduct dementia screening for elderly users of the welfare center using Hi’s AI dementia screening tool, Alzguard. Based on the pilot results, they plan to jointly propose the provision of integrated dementia services and the establishment of a health, medical, and welfare network in Guro-gu.

Hi plans to apply the latest Alzguard service in this project. The service, tentatively named ‘Alzguard Short,’ reduces the test time to about 10 minutes, cutting it by more than 60% compared to the previous version. The app’s user interface (UI) has also been updated to reflect user feedback.

Digital Therapeutics (DTx) 'Alzguard' by Hi - Eye-tracking Test Screen Follow-up (Photo by Hi)

Developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT, Alzguard was designed to screen for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) using three types of digital biomarkers: eye tracking, voice, and cognition. Currently, clinical data from over 300 Alzguard users have been collected, and through this partnership, data collection and result validation for the Alzguard Short version will be conducted, enabling the acquisition of two versions of Alzguard.

Kim Sun-hwa, director of Gungdong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center, stated, “Dementia screening is essential for the elderly, but it is not easy to get tested nearby,” and added, “We decided to participate in the pilot project with Hi for early detection and prevention of dementia.” Kim Jin-woo, CEO of Hi, also expressed gratitude, saying, “We appreciate the opportunity to be the first to verify the applicability of the Alzguard Short version at Gungdong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center,” and added, “Starting with this collaboration, we plan to expand partnerships with welfare centers frequently used by elderly seniors.”