[Life Act 3 Company] Ivy League Economics Student Turned Medical Student... Why Did They Create a Dementia Prevention App?

Gomyungjin, CEO of Silvia Health

"If dementia is detected at the early mild cognitive impairment stage, it can be somewhat prevented, and even if it has progressed to the dementia stage, early detection and response offer clear benefits. Nevertheless, due to negative social perceptions, many people delay diagnosis or screening and only visit hospitals after dementia has significantly advanced. I hope such unfortunate situations do not occur."

'Silvia' is an application (app) designed to allow mild cognitive impairment testing anytime and anywhere, with expert interpretation available. It also enables cognitive ability management through brain training designed like a game. Silvia Health, the operator of Silvia, provides non-face-to-face customized prevention services targeting middle-aged and older users, having obtained certification for non-medical health management services from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Last year, its program for patients in the pre-dementia stage received approval for confirmatory clinical trials from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, recognizing its clinical capabilities and technological expertise.

On the 15th, we met Go Myung-jin, CEO of Silvia Health (age 30), at the Silvia Health office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. He is a prodigy who went alone to the U.S. during middle school, graduated from Princeton University with a degree in economics, and transferred to Seoul National University College of Medicine. He said he found meaning in a life that influences the lives of various people and chose to start a business after seeing the growth potential of the age-tech market instead of becoming a doctor.

CEO Go said, "Currently, one in ten people aged 65 or older in Korea has dementia, and one in five is in the pre-dementia stage. As aging progresses, the number of dementia patients inevitably increases, so I saw market potential."

Sylvia Health CEO Gomyungjin is introducing the product ahead of an interview on the 15th at Sylvia Health in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

- You changed your major from liberal arts to science. It must have been a difficult choice. Can you tell us about the decision process?

▲ I grew up under the care of my grandparents and was very interested in elderly issues. Among the economics courses offered at Princeton University, I took 'Agricultural Economics' and 'Labor Economics' and was attracted to socioeconomics, which scientifically approaches social problems. I was interested in aging and socially vulnerable groups, writing a thesis on Japan's aging phenomenon and a graduation thesis on the social role of grandparents in the education of children from single-parent families in China.

Then, I took a leave of absence from school for a while and came to Korea to volunteer at a hospital. This experience sparked my dream of becoming a medical professional who can change people's lives, affecting life and death. Since there were no doctors in my family, I had never considered the profession before, but I developed a goal to enter medical school even if it meant studying more.

- What led you to change your career path to a startup CEO, and why did you choose 'age-tech' as your business direction?

▲ After entering medical school, I saw that many middle-aged and older people, including my grandparents, feared dementia but were left in blind spots for management. It is very common for one in five people aged 65 or older to be in the mild cognitive impairment stage, just before dementia, with cognitive decline. However, many people still do not receive management due to physical and psychological barriers. I focused on this problem and started a business to create an easily accessible cognitive health management solution for everyone.

- Is dementia preventable?

▲ It is preventable, but early detection of dementia in Korea is more than twice as late compared to other advanced countries due to lack of awareness. If detected at the early mild cognitive impairment stage, some prevention is possible, and even if it is dementia, early detection offers clear benefits. Dementia spans a spectrum from manageable daily living levels to severe stages, and early detection allows appropriate prescriptions to prevent further progression. Management at the stages of subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment is especially important.

- Recently, many services related to mild cognitive impairment or dementia diagnosis have emerged. What differentiates Silvia Health from other services?

▲ We focus not on diagnosis but on 'prevention and management' at the pre-dementia stage. We analyze individual dementia risk factors and provide customized dementia prevention programs. Based on users' health information and lifestyle habits, we predict dementia risk and offer medically evidence-based content such as cognitive training, physical exercise, and mindfulness. We also provide feedback on personal sleep, diet, and exercise to help improve lifestyle habits.

- Do you have many users? What kind of feedback do you receive?

▲ We have over 2 million user data points and have recorded more than 100,000 app downloads. Currently, we focus on B2B (business-to-business) and B2G (business-to-government) strategies, and our services have been adopted by banks, insurance companies, public institutions, and long-term care facilities. Some individuals have also installed the app; one person who installed it on their mother’s phone, who is in the early stages of dementia, said, "At first, my mother was confused, but now she enjoys using it and even sets alarms to use it regularly," giving positive feedback.

- Do you have short- and long-term goals?

▲ We received pre-Series A investment at the end of 2022 and plan to raise more investment this year. Our goal is to enhance personalized management recommendation algorithms based on over 2 million accumulated brain health data points to help those with declining memory manage brain health more efficiently and effectively than current standardized methods.

Currently, we focus on self-care outside the clinic rather than telemedicine. In the future, through global expansion, we want to see if our product can provide meaningful indicators for use inside clinics as well.

We also want to proactively identify and correct various lifestyle risk factors threatening cognitive health and become a 'pacemaker' that helps users maintain independence and activity for a long time, accompanying them on a journey to a healthier and happier old age. Within three years, we aim to be the company and service that first comes to mind when people think of 'brain health.'