Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital Introduces MRI Analysis System Using AI for Dementia Diagnosis

Reduced Burden Due to Health Insurance Coverage

Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital announced on the 6th that it has introduced 'VUNO Med-DeepBrain,' an artificial intelligence (AI) solution that assists in the diagnosis of degenerative brain diseases.

The VUNO Med-DeepBrain system is a program that analyzes individual brain MRI images using AI technology. In Alzheimer's dementia, a representative degenerative brain disease, volume reduction occurs in the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe in the early stages, and as the disease progresses, structural changes such as brain atrophy and enlargement of the ventricles occur.

DeepBrain precisely measures the degree of atrophy in 100 brain regions using AI, providing quantification and numerical data on the extent of atrophy in specific areas and degeneration of the brain white matter. Additionally, it analyzes and provides information on the brain's relative age and the likelihood of degenerative disease, aiding in the diagnosis of degenerative brain diseases.

For early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, clinical settings perform PET (positron emission tomography) scans and MRI scans. While PET scans are costly and have limited insurance coverage, brain MRI scans are covered by health insurance, making them relatively affordable, and they have the advantage of confirming structural changes such as atrophy in related brain areas like the hippocampus and temporal lobe.

However, since interpretation has been based solely on the physician's visual assessment, there has been a limitation in that the results can vary depending on the clinician's experience. The DeepBrain program is expected to overcome these limitations through precise AI analysis.

Professor Ryu Chang-woo of the Department of Radiology at Gangdong Kyung Hee University Hospital stated, “We are using brain MRIs analyzed with DeepBrain for patients suspected of dementia, such as those with memory decline, to facilitate early dementia diagnosis and brain health assessment in clinical practice. We expect that the introduction of this program will be useful for the early diagnosis of degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's dementia in medical care.”

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