(From left) Professor Hakhee Kim, Department of Radiology, Seoul Asan Hospital; Yeonjin Jang, CMO of MAILab; Professor Heejeong Kim, Department of Radiology, Seoul Asan Hospital; Dongha Yang, Vice President of MAILab.
On March 8, International Women's Day highlights the development of AI technologies that cater specifically to women. AI company MAILab has collaborated with the Department of Radiology at Seoul Asan Hospital since 2024 to develop an AI algorithm for breast cancer diagnosis.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women globally. Asian women, including those in Korea, often have a higher prevalence of dense breast tissue, which makes early diagnosis challenging with conventional ultrasound or X-ray screenings. To address this, MAILab is working on an AI model using 4D MRI data to provide breast cancer prediction technology optimized for Asian women.
This project holds special significance because it is being led by female experts in the field of healthcare AI. Dr. Yeonjin Jang, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of MAILab, and Professor Hakhee Kim from the Department of Radiology at Seoul Asan Hospital, along with other female medical and AI specialists, are spearheading the research. Their aim is to build a more accurate and reliable model.
MAILab's collaboration with NVIDIA and the use of its own AI supercomputer, which has a computational capability of 2 petaFLOPS, allows for the fast and precise analysis of vast amounts of imaging medical data. Unlike existing breast cancer AI models primarily designed based on the fatty breast tissue of Western women, this new model is expected to be the world's first AI diagnostic model optimized for Asian women with dense breasts.
Dr. Yeonjin Jang, CMO of MAILab, stated, "This project is significant not only for enhancing the accuracy of early breast cancer diagnosis but also because women experts are directly involved in its development. We hope the technology from MAILab will inspire innovative changes in women's health."
