Health and Well-Being

The AI-based software for gastric cancer prevention and management is a pioneering medical device that leverages real-time AI diagnostics to improve patient outcomes. This innovative solution aims to enhance the survival rates and quality of life for high-risk gastric cancer patients, reduce healthcare costs by preventing the disease from progressing to more severe stages, and is currently undergoing clinical trials in major hospitals in Korea with related patents secured. Among the world's seven major cancers, the one with the lowest 5-year relative survival rate of 20-30% demonstrates that regular surveillance diagnostics of the high risk patients is the most well-proven preventive measure. The core technology integrates comprehensive AI diagnostics from pre-cancerous stages to cancer and a multi-modal AI personalized surveillance system for optimal preventive management and patient care. Developed in Korea, where millions of endoscopic examinations are conducted annually, this software is designed to maximize the diagnostic and consultative capabilities of physicians and enhance the preventive management functions for patients. The user interface is tailored to meet the needs of doctors, high-risk patients, and their caregivers, with AI algorithms and interfaces continuously improving.  

Gum disease, a widespread and severe condition, often remains undetected until it progresses to advanced stages, leading to significant oral health issues and costly treatments. This AI-driven gum disease detection and management system is designed specifically for home use and caregiving environments, such as care homes. It enables non-specialists to monitor oral health effectively, providing an early and accurate gum disease screening. This technology empowers caregivers, family members, and individuals to take proactive steps in maintaining oral health, especially for care home residents and people with low mobility who may have limited access to regular dental care. Using advanced machine learning algorithms, the system analyses oral images provided by the users to detect early signs of gum disease with high accuracy. Early detection allows timely intervention, reducing the risk of severe gum issues and enhancing overall health. The AI system is user-friendly and requires minimal training to operate, making it ideal for non-professional settings. It addresses a significant market need by providing accessible, reliable, and cost-effective oral health monitoring tools, ensuring that quality oral care is available to those who need it most. This technology improves individual health outcomes and reduces the burden on professional dental services by enabling early disease management.

Controlling both outdoor and indoor air pollution is crucial for protecting human health and the environment. Outdoor air pollution from industrial emissions and vehicle exhaust contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, global warming, and environmental degradation. Indoor air pollution can also cause chronic respiratory conditions and other health issues. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), outdoor air pollution causes approximately 4.2 million premature deaths annually, while indoor air pollution accounts for around 3.8 million premature deaths each year. Traditionally, wet scrubbers are used to reduce air pollution, ensuring regulatory compliance and protecting human health. However, they have drawbacks such as scaling, fouling, inefficient pollutant removal, and generating solid waste. These issues lead to frequent maintenance, high operational costs, and environmental pollution. This technology addresses these pain points by utilizing an array of water jets without the need for packing materials. This innovative solution offers more efficient pollutant removal, reduced maintenance, a compact design, and lower energy consumption, effectively solving the problems associated with traditional wet scrubbers. The technology owner is seeking collaborations with companies in the chemical/ pharmaceutical/ steel manufacturing sector for test-bedding and research and development (R&D) projects that require an eco-friendly scrubber.

Dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, is a significant socioeconomic burden in aging societies. Traditional blood tests are unable to  detect Alzheimer's biomarkers despite that the biomarkers appear 10-20 years before the appearance of cognitive decline symptoms. A groundbreaking ultrasensitive blood biomarker detection technology has been developed to overcome this limitation. This patented technology detects disease biomarkers at femtogram (fg/mL) levels, achieving sensitivity over 10,000 times higher than conventional methods. In addition to advanced biomarker detection, a comprehensive lifelog data collection technology has been integrated. Using smart rings and other wearable devices, extensive lifelog data is gathered, including sleep patterns, activities, and urine test results. This multimodal data collection supports the creation of the world’s largest Asian Senior Cohort, targeting over 30,000 individuals for the next 5 years. A key component of this innovative approach is the AI-based data analysis for the diagnosis and prognosis of dementia and cognitive dysfunction. AI algorithms analyze the comprehensive datasets, providing precise diagnostic insights and predicting disease progression. This AI-driven analysis, combined with ultrasensitive biomarker detection and detailed lifelog data, forms a robust data platform for early diagnosis, continuous monitoring, and personalized healthcare solutions. By focusing on these cutting-edge technologies, this platform offers a holistic and precise approach to managing cognitive health in super-aging societies. This innovative solution supports precision medicine and provides a comprehensive method for the early detection and ongoing management of dementia and other age-related diseases.

The demand for improved healthcare, coupled with increasing life expectancy and a growing elderly population, alongside resource constraints, necessitates the implementation of a 24/7 remote monitoring system equipped with an accurate risk prediction process. This process should forecast potential risks for individuals, enabling early detection and remote alerts to promptly alert healthcare providers and individual caregivers, thereby enhancing the well-being of those under care. A Japanese technology owner has developed a Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor technology, characterised by executing a risk prediction process to predict risks for the monitored individuals based on presence range and posture. As a smart fall detection solution, it offers timely and proactive alerts to mitigate serious injury. Unlike conventional camera-based systems, the proposed technology emphasises the privacy of the monitored individual by abstaining from capturing actual photos or images. Through the implementation of a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, it can discern whether the individual under observation is absent from the bed, lying flat on it, sitting at its edge, or lying on the floor next to the bed. A web-based user interface had been developed to provide healthcare professionals various degrees of warning, e.g., patient at safe zone, gray zone, caution zone or bed edge zone. This makes it a reliable smart fall detection system that balances patient safety with privacy.  The technology owner is looking to work with healthcare providers, agencies or developers providing housing for the elderly, or technology companies for test bedding trials, as well as research and development collaborations to customise the technology for specific use cases.

Issues associated with odor generation present significant challenges in various aspects of daily life, encompassing unpleasant smells from various sources such as toilets, kitchens, pets, tobacco, hospitals, and transportation. These unwanted odors have a detrimental impact on individual well-being, social interactions, and overall environmental quality. Deodorants play a crucial role in addressing these challenges, fostering a more comfortable and hygiene environment. However, conventional deodorants primarily rely on masking the unwanted odors with a strong fragrance, resulting in a slow and ineffective deodorization process, particularly against strong smells. The technology owner has developed a proprietary formulation that offers an effective deodorization approach. Unlike common deodorants, the unique deodorant using the proprietary formulation can remove the sources of unpleasant smells through chemical reactions. It demonstrates remarkable efficiency against a broad spectrum of odors, including those from rotting fish and meat, rotting eggs and milk, rotting vegetable waste, ammonia in toilets, sweat, and body odor. This innovative solution has the potential to revolutionise odor control across diverse scenarios. The technology owner is seeking R&D collaboration with industrial partners who are interested in incorporating this deodorant into their products and applications.

The cause of caries (tooth decay) is a formation of biofilm lying on the teeth and subsequently becoming mature. The acid created by specific bacteria (S. mutans) dissolves the hard tissues of the teeth (enamel), which can result in pain and difficulty with eating or even tooth loss and infection.  Severe dental caries can impair quality of life but is preventable by maintaining good oral hygiene such as using fluoride toothpaste with brush and dental floss or toothpick to clean between the teeth. However, small children, older adults or people with severe disabilities may find it hard to apply.  Besides, Fluorosis may be resulted if there is overexposure to fluoride. People with Fluorosis will develop white opaques on their tooth surface, which affect the appearance. In addition, some mouthwash products contain chemicals like alcohol and chlorhexidine to help kill bacteria. The use of these chemicals has some potential drawbacks like altered taste sensation and staining of teeth. Our new compounds, dihydro-resveratrol or its derivatives can be used for preventing the formation of biofilm and inhibit the growth of bacteria which are cost-effective and very safe to use as they are herbal extracts, which have fewer harmful effects in comparison with those chemical‐based products.