[Press]'Itphy', A Startup Providing Digital Healthcare Services for Musculoskeletal Diseases

Itphy is a startup that provides digital healthcare services for lifelong management, including prevention and monitoring of musculoskeletal diseases. It was founded in July 2022 by CEO Rhee Sung-min, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Kyung Hee University Medical Center.

CEO Rhee introduced the company, saying, "Itphy provides a service called 'RingDoc' that connects doctors and patients in a single ring," and added, "We are a company that provides digital healthcare ranging from the prevention of musculoskeletal diseases to monitoring when diseases occur."

RingDoc prevents musculoskeletal diseases based on personal health data before they occur. First, it measures joint range of motion and evaluates joint function using AI motion analysis, then predicts current joint status based on thousands of patient data records. Based on the analyzed joint status and collected health data such as individual underlying conditions, it prevents diseases before they occur or worsen.

"For example, patients with diabetes are prone to frozen shoulder, so we provide necessary medical knowledge and exercises in advance to prevent it. Or, if someone is obese, knee osteoarthritis is likely to occur, so we first recommend lifestyle habits or foods to prevent this. If a disease is present, when visiting the hospital, medical staff set up a set of exercises most suitable for the individual based on analyzed joint function so they can easily follow along. Patients can check their condition and recovery level at home, and receive feedback from medical staff upon revisiting based on the results of exercise records at home. Even when coming from a distant region to a tertiary hospital and then going to a primary hospital near home, the recorded individual joint status is connected, allowing for continuous medical service."

RingDoc allows users to self-diagnose at home or while waiting for outpatient care. After evaluating and transmitting their joint status, the medical web analyzes the data to set up lifestyle habits and exercises most suitable for the individual. Users manage exercise records at home and can receive information on basic medical knowledge through a chat window.

CEO Rhee said, "Our biggest competitiveness is our team members." "The CEO of Itphy is a university professor who is closest to the medical field and can immediately feel patients' difficulties. We can provide the most professional service and quickly reflect user feedback. The AI expert developer assisting in development is an authority in the AI development field, having presented at the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference, etc., and is achieving sophistication based on thousands of people's data, going beyond simple motion analysis using AI. Also, a person with experience in successfully leading IPOs for two companies in the bio-healthcare field is with us as a management investment advisor and executive director. Furthermore, about 10 top-tier professors, including a world-renowned authority who served as the president of the International Congress of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, are participating as executive directors. It-P has a close network with medical staff from numerous overseas institutions (USA, Japan, China, Singapore, Thailand, UK, India, Saudi Arabia, etc.), which will be a great help when expanding globally."

As a company within the Hongneung Innopolis, Itphy has been selected as a key participating institution for several Medical Twin (Metaverse) hospital establishment projects. Companies within the Hongneung Innopolis can receive regulatory sandbox exceptions for parts where service provision is impossible due to legal restrictions.

"Patients with significantly low accessibility, such as those living in medically underserved areas where visiting medical services is difficult or elderly patients, are not receiving the same medical services as others. When selected for the regulatory sandbox, we are given the qualification to apply non-face-to-face medical services, which are not yet institutionalized, to them. Itphy predicts diseases through AI based on users' personal health data. We are building a system to connect medical staff non-face-to-face to prescribe the most suitable lifestyle habits and customized exercises for each individual. Unlike general medical services, Medical Twin hospitals will be able to provide personalized digital treatments by converging cutting-edge IT technology related to medicine."

Itphy is currently focusing on prototype development and patent applications, and has applied for two related patents. CEO Rhee emphasized, "Itphy wanted to overcome the medical reality lacking continuity, where patient personal health data is not linked between hospitals, leading to repeated questioning and physical examinations every time one goes to a hospital."

"There is a lack of linkage or management of individual patient health data. It is difficult to know one's joint status before coming to the hospital, and even if one goes to the hospital, data is not linked, so one receives treatment after a long wait and questioning. Also, when moving from one hospital to another, data is not linked, so tests already done are repeated, making it difficult to receive continuous management. Itphy's goal is to enable patients living in rural areas who have visited a tertiary hospital with difficulty to have their personal data transmitted to a primary hospital, providing continuous medical service."

Regarding future plans, CEO Rhee said, "In 2023, we will enter Singapore, a medical hub, to provide non-face-to-face medical services through collaboration with Singaporean medical staff," and added, "I want to become the No. 1 digital therapeutic for the prevention and management of musculoskeletal diseases in the future."

"I want to provide continuous medical services by connecting medical staff and users in a single ring offline, while simultaneously creating a metaverse hospital for musculoskeletal diseases based on this service online. I want to provide high-quality medical services based on ICT innovation technology in a single metaverse space, and ensure that recorded personal health data is linked to hospitals in each region so that patients receive continuous medical services."