(The declining birthrate and aging population are causing) the working-age population to decrease. Among medical staff, the number of rehabilitation therapists, nurses, and nursing assistants is also decreasing. Our goal is to create products that allow for rehabilitation even in this situation, providing convenience to medical staff and helping patients.
Sohmyn Cho, the CEO of Delvine, explained the reason for entering the "digital transformation of the rehabilitation market."
After obtaining a Ph.D. from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University, CEO Cho worked as a senior researcher at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, then founded Delvine in 2017.
The core technology is to maximize "neuroplasticity," the brain's ability to change its neural circuits through growth and reorganization.
CEO Cho said, "When a person continuously experiences or learns something repeatedly, neuroplasticity is enhanced, but it can also be maximized in a negative way, such as with depression or drug addiction," adding, "Our technology aims to guide the process to improve anxiety, eating disorders, and addiction symptoms."
The company explained that the rehabilitation tool for the elderly, called "ITORS," developed through the 8th Seoul Innovation Challenge, is part of this effort.
Through ITORS, elderly individuals can engage in activities to maintain essential functions. For instance, it includes features that assist with training hand, finger, wrist, and shoulder functions, as well as enhancing bodily and spatial awareness. The motion tracking technology in the device is used to monitor the cognitive and physical functions of the subjects. It is designed to make exercises and rehabilitation, which may feel tedious, enjoyable, similar to leisure activities, replacing the need for scarce professional therapists. This can also be applied to patients with strokes or dementia.
CEO Cho explained, "In a stroke, where the vessels supplying blood to the brain are blocked (ischemic stroke) or burst (hemorrhagic stroke), the area responsible for inducing behavior becomes ineffective, and our role in rehabilitation is to encourage nearby areas to function instead through 10 to 30 minutes of engaging activities."
Delvine plans to launch ITORS within the first half of the year, targeting business-to-business transactions with university hospitals, senior care centers, nursing institutions, and dementia care centers.
The company aims to improve the convenience and effectiveness of rehabilitation for patients and enhance the medical efficiency for medical staff, with plans to showcase products that integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in the future.
CEO Cho mentioned, "Beyond rehabilitation solutions, our goal is to simultaneously provide health monitoring," stating, "When a dementia patient or elderly individual with limited mobility lies down and either falls or suddenly stands up due to confusion (delirium), the smart monitoring system at the hospital (or institution) will recognize this and prevent incidents."
Delvine plans to pursue this based on its technological competitiveness. Not only CEO Cho, who has primarily conducted research in the field of medical convergence based on mechanical engineering, but also Vice President Kim Shin-ah, a Ph.D. in brain engineering, has been evaluated for expertise in neuroplasticity and brain science research. The two have published over 20 related papers in prestigious SCI (Science Citation Index) and SSCI (Social Science Citation Index) journals, and the number of patent applications in diagnostic and treatment technologies and AI analysis stands at 8 (including 2 overseas).
CEO Cho emphasized, "Despite being an early-stage startup, our strength lies in our ability to rapidly advance academic research and product development."