NeoFect, a company developing smart rehabilitation devices, announced on the 23rd that it has signed the final agreement for a research project in the ‘Home Hospital Implementation Technology Demonstration’ field under the Korea Health Industry Development Institute of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Through this project, the company plans to conduct research on the application of smart gloves, kids, and board products in home environments. In particular, the company explained that it will launch a demonstration project for the ‘Home Rehabilitation Training Devices and Services,’ which was approved under the regulatory sandbox in 2020, and run it concurrently with this research.
NeoFect’s home rehabilitation platform automatically suggests customized training methods to patients using recommendation AI technology. The core technology of NeoFect AI is patient-tailored AI recommendations learned from long-accumulated data. Due to domestic telemedicine regulations, this technology started its service in the United States and conducted clinical trials at Stanford Medical Center, achieving successful results.
A company official said, “With this research project agreement, we have laid the foundation for our AI technology to be serviced domestically,” adding, “This platform includes remote technology, enabling 1-on-1 and 1-on-N remote management and control, which allows medical staff to manage various patients simultaneously, which is an advantage.”
The demonstration study running concurrently with this research project was granted a regulatory sandbox demonstration exemption for non-face-to-face rehabilitation medical services by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in June 2020. Additionally, in 2021, the company received medical device product approval for the relevant products from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, completing preparations to start the demonstration project.
A company representative explained, “This demonstration study was proposed and conducted first by large hospitals and research-oriented hospitals through NeoFect,” adding, “We plan to establish an appropriate business model by analyzing not only the clinical effects of home-based non-face-to-face medical services but also user satisfaction, compliance, and economic effectiveness.”
The demonstration project, titled ‘Advancement and Demonstration Study of Home-Based Non-Face-to-Face Rehabilitation Medical Services for Upper Limb Function Improvement in Patients with Brain Diseases,’ will involve Professor Jang Won-hyuk from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Samsung Seoul Hospital, Section Chief Shin Junho from the National Rehabilitation Center, and Professors Min Ji-hong and Go Seong-hwa from Yangsan Pusan National University as demonstration institutions participating in the study. The research will proceed in the order of data collection, artificial intelligence development, and clinical trials, with a total research budget of approximately 1.06 billion KRW. NeoFect expects this research to not only create new business opportunities but also lead related technologies.
NeoFect anticipates that its related research will be more appropriately utilized, as last year the number of rehabilitation medical institutions included home visit rehabilitation as a key part of the third-stage pilot project.
NeoFect CEO Ban Ho-young stated, “The significance of these studies lies in securing references in advance and accelerating the commercialization timeline if non-face-to-face medical treatment is officially approved in the future,” adding, “The ultimate goal is to apply home rehabilitation services equipped with artificial intelligence technology to non-face-to-face systems.”
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