KT-Gates Foundation to Invest 12 Billion KRW Over 3 Years in ICT Infectious Disease Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] KT announced on the 17th that it will conduct a ‘Next-Generation Epidemic Prevention Research’ worth 12 billion KRW over three years with investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (hereafter Gates Foundation).

Through this research, KT will develop an ‘AI-based early diagnosis algorithm for infectious diseases’ and a ‘predictive model for infectious disease spread routes’ using communication data. The Gates Foundation will support 50% of the research costs in the form of a fund.

As the first task, KT plans to develop an app in collaboration with Mobile Doctor that allows users to self-report flu-like symptoms via smartphone. This app will store users’ body temperature and flu symptoms measured through IoT sensors. Subsequently, the accumulated data in the app will be analyzed by AI to complete an algorithm that estimates the likelihood of flu. Additionally, KT will conduct research to identify flu spread routes by analyzing population movement history based on communication data, flu genome test data, and flu outbreak areas. It will also analyze flu incidence trends by region and develop regional flu season prediction models.

KT expects that this research with the Gates Foundation will also contribute to responding to new and mutated infectious diseases such as COVID-19. The platform and algorithms developed through the research will alert risks before an epidemic occurs, aiding early diagnosis and enabling rapid response. KT and the Gates Foundation first met through the World Economic Forum (WEF) ‘Data Innovation Working Group’ in 2018. Later, in April 2019, KT presented ICT-based infectious disease prevention activities such as the ‘Global Epidemic Prevention Project (GEPP)’ at the ‘ICT Forum’ hosted by the global health research fund ‘RIGHT Fund.’ A Gates Foundation official attending the event showed interest in KT’s infectious disease response capabilities, leading to in-depth discussions on this research.

The Gates Foundation also noted that South Korea’s quarantine system has been effectively operating during the COVID-19 crisis alongside information and communication technology. All self-quarantined individuals are managed through the ‘Self-Quarantine Safety Protection App,’ and the world-class ICT infrastructure has greatly helped successfully implementing social distancing measures such as remote work and online school openings.

Andrew Trister, Deputy Director of Digital Health Innovation at the Gates Foundation, said, “If we can predict the movement and spread routes of diseases using big data analysis and mobile technology, we can save time and many lives.” He added, “KT’s research can play an important role not only in Korea but also in other countries at risk of infectious diseases.” Jeon Hong-beom, Head of KT AI/DX Convergence Division, said, “Through collaboration with the Gates Foundation, KT will contribute to elevating South Korea’s globally recognized infectious disease response capabilities to a higher level.” He added, “KT will continue to lead the use of AI and big data for global infectious disease prevention.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.