Thailand Partners With Seoul Hospital on Medical AI
Thailand and South Korea are partnering to develop medical AI systems, combining Korea's disease databases with Thailand's tropical disease expertise to accelerate healthcare innovation.
On July 23, Deputy Prime Minister and Higher Education Minister Yuthasak Sasangkosol visited Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Seoul, South Korea, along with senior officials to discuss cooperation on medical AI and quantum cybersecurity. The delegation explored two major initiatives: SNUH.AI, an integrated AI platform using specialized medical language models to assist healthcare workers and improve patient care through seamless hospital data integration, and SNUH Polaris, a precision medicine project using genomic technology to customize treatment based on individual patient characteristics.
Yuthasak emphasized that the partnership represents a win-win situation, as South Korea possesses disease databases that Thai hospitals lack, while Thailand has extensive tropical disease data—dengue fever, malaria, and tuberculosis—that Korea needs. He noted that Thailand's Ministry of Public Health and the science ministry are developing a similar system domestically, with the first results expected by year-end. The collaboration will allow Thailand to accelerate its medical AI development by learning from Korea's experience rather than starting from scratch, ultimately ensuring that advanced medical technology reaches the Thai public effectively.