AITRIX "Predicting Sepsis 4 Hours Early with VitalCare"

Kwangjun Kim, CEO of AItrix (Severance Hospital Geriatrics Department).

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] AITRICS has launched an artificial intelligence software called 'AITRICS-VC (VitalCare)' that assists diagnosis by predicting patient condition deterioration. The company announced plans to extend the benefits of VitalCare beyond hospitals to patients in home care and other settings.

On the 7th, AITRICS held a launch briefing for VitalCare under the theme "Opening a New Path in Healthcare" at the L'Escape Hotel in Seoul. CEO Kim Kwang-jun stated at the briefing, "Starting with VitalCare, our medical AI technology is currently limited to hospitals, but we plan to expand it to nursing homes, community health, and eventually home care to provide assistance."

VitalCare is an AI monitoring solution that predicts the risk of death within 6 hours for ICU patients, death within 6 hours for general ward patients, unexpected ICU transfers, cardiac arrest, and sepsis occurrence within 4 hours. It received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on October 26. According to the company, VitalCare is the only solution in Korea that has demonstrated predictive performance for sepsis, death, and unexpected ICU transfers in general wards, as well as death prediction performance in ICUs.

Byun An-byeong, head of the Medical AI division, explained, "We are currently focusing on sepsis, which causes many deaths and occurs frequently in the US. Since delayed treatment of sepsis increases mortality by 8% per hour, early prediction is crucial. VitalCare predicts patient conditions using a total of 19 data points, including six vital signs and eleven blood tests."

According to the results of three clinical trials that formed the basis for MFDS approval, the prediction accuracy (AUROC) for acute severe events (death, ICU transfer, cardiac arrest) in general wards, sepsis, and death in ICUs were 0.96, 0.87, and 0.98 respectively, showing higher accuracy compared to the existing patient assessment method, the National Early Warning Score (NEWS Score).

Byun emphasized, "VitalCare was designed to help medical staff in time-critical situations make faster and more efficient decisions to improve patient survival rates. A major advantage is its user-friendly interface, prioritizing ease of use." He added, "AITRICS will leverage this MFDS approval as a stepping stone to continuously enhance VitalCare's performance and expand its use in wards through various research and development efforts."

The company also revealed plans to focus on diseases beyond sepsis. Lee Ki-byeong, head of the Medical Affairs team, said, "We are considering solutions for patient problems focusing on diseases that require prediction but are difficult to predict. We are researching conditions such as acute kidney injury and pulmonary embolism, which frequently occur in critically ill patients but are challenging to predict."

Professor Jung Kyung-soo of Severance Hospital’s Department of Pulmonology, who participated in the development of VitalCare, introduced its advantages from a medical staff perspective. Professor Jung said, "Detecting and treating critically ill patients in hospitals in a timely manner requires extensive experience and many medical personnel. There has been a high unmet clinical need for monitoring technology that predicts risk factors before specific emergency situations occur, helping medical staff prepare to respond. VitalCare is expected to improve work efficiency by providing in-hospital medical staff with the timing of patient event predictions, clinical cause interpretations, and appropriate allocation of medical resources."

AITRICS has applied for the New Medical Technology Assessment Suspension System to provide VitalCare as a non-reimbursed service. This system allows new medical technologies not yet listed under health insurance to be used clinically to gather evidence of safety and effectiveness before formal insurance registration.

CEO Kim stated, "Currently, sales and installation at medical institutions are possible. In the short term, purchases will likely be made by hospitals aiming to improve management efficiency. Once medical verification confirms that it truly benefits patients, it will be offered as a reasonably priced non-reimbursed service, and later it is expected to be covered by insurance with reimbursement."

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