Korea ARPA-H to build AI-driven surgical assistant robots
South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Human Services (MOHW) and the Korea Institute for Health and Industry Development (KHIDI) have announced three additional projects based on the Korea’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-H).
One of these is an AI-powered assistant robot designed to perform repetitive tasks that support doctors during surgery. Its development is intended to address the shortage of surgical staff.
Two other new projects will develop treatments for severe symptoms of infectious diseases and personalized anti-cancer vaccines.
Mohw and Khidi are currently looking for partners for these new projects. Seven more ARPA-H projects are scheduled to be announced next month in June. The South Korean government has allocated a total of 1.2 trillion won ($830 million) for the program by 2032.
Bangkok Hospital Sets AI-Driven Vital Signs Kiosk
Bangkok Hospital has announced a smart mirror equipped with AI for screening for vital signs.
The private hospital recently partnered with Access Company to set up a self-service kiosk. The self-service kiosk performs a 45-second contactless facial scan to assess vital signs. These include heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate variability, atrial fibrillation, stress level, and wellness indicators.
The smart kiosk is powered by the Taiwanese company Faceheart Vitals. FaceHeart is approved by both US and Thai food and drug distributors. Following recent pilots, it will be installed in various service areas of the hospital, including the Health Design Centre and the International Patient Services Centre.
The hospital also disclosed plans to install temperature-focused cameras to add contactless temperature measurements to the smart mirror.
Seoul National University Hospital operates Medtronic RAS
Seoul National University Hospital has added another robot-assisted surgical system.
It became the first hospital in South Korea to operate Medtronic’s Hugo Las, which was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in June last year. It has been recently used to perform surgery in patients with prostate and pancreatic cancer.
The Medtronic system will be added to two existing RAs used in hospitals. Single and multi-port systems with intuitive surgical surgical procedures.
LKCMedicine receives $12 million gifts to advance AI, home health technology
Nanyang Technological University Singapore recently announced that it had received S$15 million ($11.5 million) from the Private Family Foundation Sim Foundation.
Based on the press release, the gift will support translation research at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in two areas. The university said these areas of research aim to improve access to quality care, particularly for the elderly and disadvantaged, reducing hospital workloads.
