KT signed a memorandum of understanding with the Catholic Medical Center (CMC) to promote technical cooperation and develop prototypes for digital therapeutics. KT will support marketing and provide healthcare-related solutions and technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud while supporting. CMC provides research personnel, clinical infrastructure and medical advice for joint research.
"Through cooperation with CMC, we will create various references in the field of digital therapeutics such as addiction improvement, rehabilitation, and chronic disease management," KT's AI and digital transformation convergence business head Song Jae-ho said in a statement on January 4. "We hope that personalized treatment will be possible through platform-based services."
Digital therapeutics or software as a medical device (SaMD) are seen as an important issue in the medical field. Clinical trials of digital therapeutics for mental and respiratory diseases are underway in South Korea. SaMDs interact with data and their applications can quickly process huge amounts of complex data.
KT has focused on offering advanced digital healthcare services by establishing information communication technology-based health business models. In September 2020, the company partnered with NGeneBio, a molecular diagnostics venture that provides clinical analysis software, to establish specialized platforms for storing and managing personal genetic analysis information.
In 2021, KT teamed up with the state-run Korea Health Promotion Institute to develop personalized digital healthcare programs for elderlies using AI and robots. The company works with Zena, a startup with biometric data analysis technology, to introduce an AI-based healthcare kiosk that can measure blood pressure and heartbeat.