Digital Health Around the World: Korea

For many of us this time of year brings travel opportunities and a chance to break away — physically and mentally — from the familiar.

Given this, I thought it would be the perfect time to launch a new mini-series I’m calling, “Digital Health Around the World.”

As illustrated in the recent StartUp Health funding report, global digital health innovation and investment activity is accelerating, with many significant deals involving non-U.S.-based companies. The innovation trade winds are clearly blowing toward Asia, Europe and other parts of the world where difficult health infrastructure, outcomes, and demographic challenges are looming.

Our first stop on this digital health world tour is Korea.

Korea is an interesting digital health market. It is home to Samsung, which has not only increased its share of the global wearables market, but is making some significant moves in digital health, as illustrated in the Innovation Map below. Some of Samsung’s most notable innovations are in the areas of continuous biometric monitoring and telemedicine.

Innovation Map: Key Samsung Digital Health Activities — April 1 — July 31, 2017

Source: DigiHealth Informer

But, Samsung is not the only source of health tech innovation in Korea. The country has long been known for its strength in the telemedicine arena (despite ongoing regulatory challenges). Also, (as shown in the Innovation Map below) entrepreneurs and academic researchers are tackling other areas.

Innovation Map: Korea Emerging Tech and Digital Health Activity — April 1 — July 31, 2017

Source: DigiHealth Informer

These include:

• Depression: Korea has the highest suicide rate among OECD nations. To tackle this public health crisis, “Ybrain has created a headband that sends weak electric currents to the brain — a device that the local startup believes could eventually become a revolutionary tool in the treatment of depression as it could be used at home.”
• Electronic Skin: Packed with sensors, this ‘electronic skin’ can measure cardiac activity, breathing and other biometrics. Researchers at Korea’s DGIST developed this innovation.
• Mobile Health (Not shown in Innovation Map Above): Insurers throughout Asia are investing in and utilizing digital technologies, and AIA Korea, local subsidiary of pan-Asian life insurance giant AIA Group, is no exception. The firm has launched a “digital health management service — tentatively named AIA Vitality — will allow its users to personally manage their health via a smartphone app.”

We’ll be traveling to another part of Asia in the next installment of this series: Singapore. Lately, the country has made some interesting strides in artificial intelligence and evidence-based mobile health lifestyle interventions.