Interview with Jin Sung Kim, CEO of ONCOSOFT, an AI-based radiotherapy SW development company
13 hospitals including OncoStudio Severance are using OncoStudio Severance, which drastically reduces irradiation time
"Our goal is to be No. 1 globally --- Apply for IPO next year"
[Seoul Economic Daily]
“The goal? The global market leader, of course. If AI can diagnose cancer, why can't it cure it?”
“We will continue the challenge of conquering incurable cancer with AI software developed with domestic technology,” said Jin-sung Kim (pictured), CEO of Oncosoft, in an interview with The Seoul Economic Daily on March 23.
Oncosoft is the only AI-based radiotherapy software company in Korea, founded in 2019 by medical physicist Kim Jin-sung, a professor of radiation oncology at Yonsei University College of Medicine.
Kim received his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in nuclear and quantum engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and began his research and clinical work in proton therapy at the National Cancer Center.
Since then, he has played a pivotal role in the introduction of proton and heavy particle therapy machines at Samsung Medical Center and Severance Hospital.
“From the moment I heard that cancer can be treated with radiation, I have never regretted choosing radiation oncology as a career,” Kim says.
“I studied with state money, so I have a sense of debt to do something for my country,” he says, explaining why he decided to start a startup. He said he was disappointed that the country was relying entirely on imports whenever it came to importing state-of-the-art radiation therapy machines, which he called a “dream cancer treatment.
Korea's radiotherapy technology is unmatched anywhere in the world. Radiation has been used to treat cancer for more than 100 years, and with Yonsei Medical Center's launch of heavy particle therapy, Korea became the seventh country in the world to have a heavy particle therapy machine. Even Sweden, home of global radiation therapy equipment maker Electa, has only one gamma knife, but Korea has 20 of them.
This question nagged at him, and he was motivated to create something that didn't exist. This is how Kim started Oncosoft and became an entrepreneur.
Oncosoft is a combination of 'Oncology' and software. The name reflects his determination to conquer cancer with software.
Radiotherapy, which uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells, is all about protecting normal tissue around the cancer cells and minimizing side effects. To create a precise radiation treatment plan, the contours of normal organs and cancerous tissue are delineated based on imaging data such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
This allows the radiation dose to be predicted for each organ and allows for precise radiation planning. This process is called image compartmentalization (contouring).
OncoStudio, which Oncosoft began developing shortly after its launch and obtained a Class 2 medical device license from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, is an AI-based automatic contouring software.
It automates the contouring work that was done manually by medical staff, reducing the work time by 90%. It's like a medical version of the image-generating AI Midjourney.
By utilizing OncoStudio's algorithm, the work time can be reduced from 1-2 days to within minutes, and the accuracy is high.
After being approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Administration, OncoStudio has been receiving a lot of love from domestic and foreign customers, proving its high accuracy and clinical effectiveness compared to global competitors such as MIM-Coreline.
OncoStudio is currently sold to 13 hospitals in Korea, including Severance Hospital and Samsung Medical Center, and is being used in clinical trials. Including the demo version, there are more than 50 domestic adopters.
As protons and neutrons are being actively used to treat cancer, the imminent arrival of Novartis' radiopharmaceutical Fluvixto in Korea has increased interest in AI technology. AI technology has already entered the field of cancer diagnosis.
Global companies such as Siemens and GE Healthcare are increasing their investments in companies with radiation therapy solutions, which is also considered a positive factor for Oncosoft.
Oncosoft has AI software products that have revolutionized the radiation therapy process, including OncoPlan, which helps plan radiation therapy based on AI, OncoFlow, which integrates and manages treatment-related data, and OncoPalette, which helps cancer patients make clinical decisions.
Kim aims to obtain overseas licenses for OncoStudio this year and make it the first year of its global expansion. In August last year, the company established a local subsidiary in Dallas, Texas, and is expanding partnerships with local hospitals and companies. With the Series B investment, which is expected to be worth more than KRW 10 billion, the company plans to accelerate staffing and further service development. “We expect to hit KRW 2 billion in annual sales this year and expand overseas in earnest, which will put the business on track,” he said. “We plan to file for preliminary listing in the first half of next year.”
