Hospital to pursue region-centered AI cancer management and medical data research
Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital will join a series of national research and development projects aimed at building a new framework for regional cancer care using AI and medical data.
Through two national R&D projects totaling 34.2 billion won ($25.3 million), the hospital plans to extend its clinical expertise in cancer care into AI and medical data technology, accelerating the development of a self-sufficient regional cancer care system that covers diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment management without patients having to leave the region.
The hospital will participate in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Korean ARPA-H initiative, specifically a project to build an integrated AI-based regional cancer management network. Led by Gangwon National University Hospital, the project will involve a research team headed by Shim Hyun-jeong, a professor in the oncology department at Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital. The team will work on standardizing cancer care information and establishing an AI-driven multidisciplinary care and patient follow-up management system.
The core aim of the research is to standardize cancer care data and use it as the foundation for AI-assisted multidisciplinary consultations and patient tracking. The goal is to move cancer patients away from dependence on medical institutions in the greater Seoul area and build a framework in which treatment and post-treatment care can be delivered continuously through regional hospitals.
The hospital will also take part in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's second biohealth R&D program, under the digital healthcare segment of the biotech industry technology development initiative.
That project aims to form the OnKoTECT consortium to build a world-class cancer-specialized medical data warehouse and develop innovative software-as-a-medical-device products with no existing equivalent on the market.
Oh Hyung-joo, a professor in the respiratory medicine department at Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital, will lead the hospital's research contribution. Through a consortium that includes Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, the National Cancer Center, Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital and Pusan National University Hospital, the project will lay the groundwork for developing digital health technologies and applying them clinically using large-scale cancer medical data.
Both projects share a common thread: combining clinical experience and medical data accumulated on the front lines of cancer care with AI technology to drive meaningful change in regional cancer medicine.
The hospital plans to use the research as an opportunity to broaden the application of cancer medical data and strengthen its capacity for data integration and standardization through multi-institutional collaboration.
In particular, it intends to build a foundation for channeling the diverse cancer care information generated in clinical settings into research and technology development, creating a virtuous cycle in which medical data feeds directly into patient care and digital health innovation.
The hospital also plans to combine its accumulated cancer care experience with digital technology to expand cooperation among regional medical institutions, while strengthening the link between clinical practice and research so that findings can be applied in real care settings.
Through these efforts, the hospital aims to raise the quality of regional cancer care and secure a competitive edge in cancer-focused digital health research.
"These national R&D projects will be an important opportunity to extend the cancer care experience and clinical research capabilities our hospital has built up into AI and medical data technology," said Oh In-jae, director of the biomedical research institute. "We will advance the foundation for utilizing cancer medical data through multi-institutional collaboration and ensure that our research outcomes are applied in actual clinical settings to improve the quality of patient care."
sij@heraldcorp.com
