Korea officially launches big bio data project

The South Korean government has started recruiting participants for the National Integrated Bio Big Data Construction Project.

The ambitious 606 billion won (over $400 million) project is Korea's largest healthcare project to date, commissioned by the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology. 

It aims to collect clinical and genomic data of a million individuals, including patients with rare diseases and severe conditions, over the next eight years. The resulting big database will be accessible to university and hospital researchers from 2026 to support research in precision medicine and digital healthcare. 

The project is led by the Ministries of Health and Welfare, Science and ICT, and Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

AIIMS Delhi setting up AI development hub

The flagship unit of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi will set up an innovation hub for developing AI solutions in healthcare.

The public medical university has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with GE HealthCare's joint venture in India, Wipro GE Healthcare, to establish the AI Health Innovations Hub. The latter is reportedly investing $1 million over five years in this centre, supporting the development, testing, and deployment of AI-powered smart systems and workflow solutions in cardiology, oncology, and neurology. 

NEC Thailand eyes nationwide expansion of digital elderly care 

NEC Thailand is supporting the smart transformation of Umong, a municipality in Lamphun Province, north Thailand by delivering digital elderly care technology. 

It signed a memorandum of understanding with the municipality to jointly develop a digital healthcare platform that connects with local medical facilities, supporting the long-term care of the elderly and patients with chronic diseases. 

The project also involves the integration of fall detection technologies. Remote care technologies, including IoT devices, are also planned to be introduced.

NEC worked on a similar smart transformation project with Chiang Mai last year. The initial success of the present project with Umong "will serve as a model for other municipalities across Thailand," it said in a statement.