This is an excerpted English translation of a Korean-language article. Only the section relevant to Kai Health is included. (Other company sections omitted.)

Kai Health is a company developing an AI solution designed to improve success rates in infertility treatment. Based on data from more than 20 hospitals in Korea and the United States, the company developed an AI algorithm that helps identify embryos with a higher likelihood of pregnancy, and it has obtained medical device certifications in Europe, Singapore, and India. The article adds that Kai Health is proceeding with domestic clinical trials to secure medical device certification from Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and that the solution is expected to become available for use at fertility clinics in Korea next year.

The article notes that infertility is a growing global issue, with around one in six couples affected, and that delayed marriage and later childbirth are contributing to rising infertility rates. IVF is described as a representative infertility treatment, in which eggs and sperm are collected, fertilized outside the body, embryos are cultured for two to six days, and selected embryos are transferred into the uterus. The article states that IVF success rates are typically around 30–40% and that costs can be high. It also describes the physical and emotional burden associated with hormone therapy and repeated failures, and cites broader social impacts.

According to the article, the key to improving outcomes is selecting high-quality embryos for transfer. Traditionally, embryo selection has depended on subjective judgments based on microscopy and experience. In contrast, Kai Health’s data-driven approach is described as improving accuracy and objectivity in identifying embryos with a higher likelihood of pregnancy—potentially reducing the time and cost required to achieve pregnancy.

The article also references Kai Health research results: embryologists’ accuracy in selecting embryos that ultimately led to pregnancy was about 37% in a given task, rising to 50% when using Kai Health’s AI score. It adds that if embryologists were to follow the AI recommendations entirely, accuracy could increase to as high as 65%. The implication presented is that more accurate embryo selection could reduce the number of treatment cycles needed.

The article introduces CEO Hyejun Lee as a former infertility specialist OB-GYN who, after more than a decade of experience including an MBA in the U.S. and strategy/business development work in the healthcare tech industry, founded Kai Health in 2021. It adds that the company is pursuing technologies not only for selecting good embryos, but also for supporting the broader process of creating and developing embryos—ranging from laboratory conditions for embryo culture to data-driven platforms that can help manage factors related to patient lifestyle improvements.

The company’s longer-term vision is described as becoming a “family-tech” company that provides solutions across infertility, pregnancy, and contraception, with the mission of contributing to solutions for low birth rates and helping more people build healthy families.

Source: Korea Hospital News (khanews.com) · Published Sep 2, 2024 · Originally published in Korean · English translation (excerpt)