AI Primary Care Doctor 'Doctor Answer' Nears Entry into Saudi Arabia... Letter of Intent Signed

Ministry of Science and ICT: "Korean New Deal Key Achievements, Foundation for Expansion to Middle East and Entry into US and Europe"

A Letter of Intent (LOI) for the purchase of 'Doctor Answer' between Saudi 'MNG-HA' and Korea's EasyCareTech has been signed. The photo shows (from left) Wi Won-ryang, CEO of EasyCareTech; Kim Jeong-sam, Software Policy Officer at the Ministry of Science and ICT; Bandar Al Khnawi, CEO of MNG-HA. Photo by Wi Won-ryang

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced on the 19th that a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the purchase of the artificial intelligence (AI) medical software Dr.Answer was signed between Saudi Arabia's MNG-HA (Ministry of National Guard-Health Affairs) and Korea's EasyCareTech at the 'Korea-Saudi Smart Innovation Growth Forum' held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the 18th.

At the event, Kim Jeong-sam, Director of Software Policy at MSIT, and Wi Won-ryang, CEO of EasyCareTech, represented Korea and signed the LOI. Following this, an official contract will be concluded after the Saudi government procurement procedures are completed in the near future.

EasyCareTech, as the lead company representing Dr.Answer developers wishing to enter the Saudi market, has been building and operating the information systems of hospitals under the Saudi National Guard since 2014. It is a mid-sized Korean healthcare company expanding its market to neighboring Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates.

Dr.Answer consists of 21 AI medical software programs covering eight major diseases including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, colorectal cancer, and breast cancer. During clinical validation conducted at 38 domestic medical institutions including Seoul Asan Medical Center, it achieved remarkable medical outcomes such as improved diagnostic accuracy and reduced diagnosis time, and is currently used in 65 hospitals nationwide.

Korea and Saudi Arabia began cooperation in the AI medical field in October 2019, and until April last year, conducted local clinical validation in Saudi Arabia for five software programs covering four diseases from the Dr.Answer solution, confirming medical outcomes equivalent to those in Korea.

Triggered by President Moon Jae-in’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the two-year cooperation in medical AI between Korea and Saudi Arabia has borne fruit, pioneering a new fusion market of 'Data, Network, Artificial Intelligence (D·N·A) + Healthcare' with great growth potential.

MSIT explained that this achievement in Saudi Arabia not only allows Dr.Answer, a representative outcome of Korea’s New Deal, to spread to neighboring Middle Eastern countries but also provides a foundation for entering the U.S. and European markets, which demand superior market scale and quality.

Furthermore, the possibility of overseas expansion has increased for domestically developed 'cloud-based precision medical hospital information systems' and 'AI ambulances,' which are highly effective when operated in conjunction with Dr.Answer from both technical and medical perspectives.

Minister Lim Hye-sook of MSIT stated, “Dr.Answer is a representative achievement of the digital New Deal created by Korean medical professionals and AI software companies,” and added, “We will spare no support to enable Korean information and communication companies to play a leading role in the new healthcare fusion market.”

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