VUNO said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Readycure, a dementia treatment medical device company based in Korea, to jointly research artificial intelligence (AI) medical solutions and develop medical devices for dementia treatment.

Under the MOU, both companies plan to develop AI-based dementia treatment software that accurately determines the prognosis and timing of treatment for dementia, and apply it to Readycure's dementia treatment medical device Helaxon.

They also plan to collaborate on finding a method to accurately determine brain atrophy through volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an objective test to supplement the existing subjective cognitive function tests.

VUNO will interpret the test results requested by Readycure using its own AI-based brain quantification medical device, VUNO Med-DeepBrain. Readycure will then develop optimized software for dementia treatment based on the results.

VUNO Med-DeepBrain is an AI medical device that uses deep learning to analyze brain MRI images.

The device parcellates the brain into over 100 regions and provides quantified information on the degree of atrophy in each region within one minute. The company had previously obtained FDA medical device certification for the product in October and is getting ready to enter the U.S. market with the device.

"This agreement has laid the foundation to help solve the problem of dementia, which leads to a significant decline in the quality of life," VUNO CEO Lee Ye-ha said. "We are committed to exploring the application of AI technology in various areas related to dementia disorders, not only in early diagnosis but also in a broader context."

Readycure CEO Chung Weon-kuu also said, "I expect that by combining the core elements and know-how of dementia treatment technology owned by Readycure with VUNO's global AI-based brain quantification technology, we will be able to present a definitive method of dementia treatment without side effects."