Attracting an average investment of KRW 6 billion... What are the four baby unicorns to watch out for in the first half of the year? [Giggs]
Date2023.07.26.View1,233
Diagnosis of depression using saliva... "Korea is an underdeveloped country in mental health"
In the bio and healthcare field, which accounted for the largest portion of baby unicorn companies in the first half of the year, Minds AI attracted attention. This company has released a kit that helps diagnose depression using saliva. The degree of depression can be assessed by analyzing the stress hormone 'cortisol' in saliva. Normally, cortisol concentration is highest in the morning and lowest at night, which is why repeated measurements are necessary. It is evaluated as having reduced the cumbersome process of going to the hospital and having blood drawn.
Saliva collected through the kit is sent to the hospital along with the user's psychological test sheet. After about a week of analysis, the results are presented in four stages: normal, interest, warning, and risk. For patients in risk groups, a psychological treatment program using virtual reality (VR) devices is also provided. The programs encompassed by the company have been approved as medical devices by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and are about to undergo confirmatory clinical trials. The company explained that as a result of the phase 3 clinical trial, the sensitivity of diagnosis was 100% and the accuracy was 92%.
The company's founder, CEO Seok Jeong-ho, is a professor of psychiatry at Gangnam Severance Hospital. He has been researching depression for over 20 years. He felt the severity of mental health issues keenly, including losing a close friend to suicide. He said, "It's sad to see people ending their lives because they are sick physically or with an incurable disease, but it's really sad when they turn away from the world because their hearts are sick. I believe in applying the technology I created to society to help patients with depression escape the risk of suicide." “I started my own business,” he said.
Representative Seok assessed that Korea is still an ‘underdeveloped country’ in the field of mental health. His diagnosis is that only about one-fifth of people who need psychiatric treatment are receiving it. He said, “I want to make it easier for more people to access treatment,” and added, “We will distribute technology around the world that allows people to receive both evaluation and treatment at home.”