AI inside Develops Prognostic AI for “Rare Diseases of the Ocular Surface” in Collaboration with Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine

AI Assists Physicians in the Diagnosis, Contributing to the Treatment of Designated Intractable Diseases

Tokyo, May 31, 2024 –  AI inside Inc., a provider of an AI platform, announces the development of AI for predicting the prognosis of the ocular surface findings of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare ocular surface disease, as a result of the joint research with Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (hereinafter referred to as “KPUM”). This AI enables the collaboration between physicians and AI to early detect medical conditions and provide a progress outlook, contributing to the resolution of regional disparities in medical services and appropriate treatment.

Details of initiatives

Since 2021, AI inside and KPUM have collaborated on the research and development of an AI system to assist in the diagnosis of rare diseases of the ocular surface*1. The prognostic AI developed as a result of the joint research predicts how advanced the ocular manifestations of Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), both designated as intractable diseases in Japan, will be in the coming years.

Introduction into clinical practice will enable physicians and AI to collaborate to determine the severity and predict the prognosis with high reproducibility based on AI assistance, regardless of the physician’s experience in treating rare diseases of the ocular surface. The group of physicians who participated in the verification demonstrated that the prediction performance was as good as that of physicians with more expertise.

This prognostic AI for the ocular surface was developed by a KPUM research team on an AI platform that AI inside provides. The R&D methodology that highly integrates the AI and medical knowledge of AI inside and KPUM has led to a highly accurate prognosis prediction.

This joint research has been recognized for its practicality in directly assisting physicians in diagnosis. It has been selected by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) as a “Practical Application Research Project for Intractable Diseases” for the fiscal year 2024. A paper on the joint research was published in the medical journal “Allergy” on April 25, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.1111/all.16136

*1 AI inside and Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Launch a Joint Research on an AI System to Assist in the Diagnosis of Ocular Surface Diseases (Japanese only)

Background

The rare diseases of the ocular surface, Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are designated as intractable diseases in Japan that cause sores on the mucous membranes of the lips, mouth, eyes, and nose, and multiple rashes, blisters, and sores on the skin throughout the body. They are refractory cicatricial keratoconjunctivitis diseases that can lead to visual impairment or blindness when the ocular lesions are severe.

The annual incidence of these rare diseases is about 2.5 per million population, limiting the number of physicians with extensive knowledge of it. It is difficult to provide adequate medical services uniformly throughout the country, especially in cases with severe ocular lesions. Even in the chronic phase, several years after the onset of the disease, some patients develop ocular lesions, and it is necessary to adequately predict the progression of ocular lesions and provide appropriate treatment. However, their being rare diseases make it not uncommon for ophthalmologists to have no experience in treating patients with these diseases, and their medical experience has had a significant impact on the treatment.

Comment by Mayumi Ueta, Associate Professor, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine

By expanding this initiative, we expect that even ophthalmologists with limited experience in treating rare ocular diseases can provide appropriate therapeutic intervention for patients suffering from rare ocular diseases. We will continue the joint research with AI inside to contribute to the implementation of AI in the medical field, aiming for a society where anyone can easily access appropriate medical services.

About AI inside Inc.

AI inside is a tech company that conducts R&D and social implementation of cutting-edge technologies, such as generative AI, LLM, and autonomous AI. We provide the AI agent “Heylix,” the AI-OCR service “DX Suite,” and the AI infrastructures “AnyData” and “AI inside Cube” to a wide range of government agencies, local governments, and private companies. Our AI services have been used more than 5.5 billion times by over 50,000 users. Through these initiatives, we will promote the collaboration between humans and AI, and realize the “VALUE SHIFT,” by shifting the time saved through improved productivity and operational efficiency to higher-value-added, advanced operations.

Company Name: AI inside Inc.
Location: 4th Floor, 3-8-12 Shibuya Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo, Japan
Representative: Representative Director, President & CEO Taku Toguchi
Founded: August 2015
Business details: Development and provision of artificial intelligence and related information services
Website: https://inside.ai/en/

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