Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Korean military marks new achievement in predicting COVID-19 prognosis

Captain Heo Jun-nyeong, a military surgeon from the Armed Forces Medical Command, has developed a new CheckUp app

Big data solution built by making use of an AI analysis model for confirmed patients
App presents patient status when symptoms and medical history are input
Expected to be effective in the medical field, domestically and overseas

Contributing to the national health through its continuous efforts to develop new apps related to the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19), the Armed Forces Medical Command (AFMC) has unveiled another new app. On May 22, the AFMC announced that it had developed a new “COVID-19 CheckUp” app, which presents the results of prognosis prediction when a patient inputs his/her symptoms and medical history.

The app was developed by Captain Heo Jun-nyeong, a neurologist working for the Task Force Team for the Improvement of Defense Medical Information System Performance at the AFMC, which had previously developed ‘COVID-19 Patient Severity Classification App,’ ‘COVID-19 CheckUp (Ver.1),’ and ‘Health Keeper App.’ With the need for customized treatment methods based on the patient's condition emerging as an important issue, Heo engaged in the development of a new app. With the help of the Yonsei University Health System, Heo successfully completed the development of a prognosis prediction platform based on an artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analysis. This app is currently being used at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital, and the Yonsei University Sinchon Severance Hospital is also reviewing its use.

Heo created an AI analysis model and a statistical analysis model by making use of the data on 300 confirmed COVID-19 cases to build a big data solution. The developed app was designed to predict prognosis as well as the current patient’s condition by making use of the big data.

The app was developed separately for patients and medical staff. Information and symptoms input by patients are forwarded to medical staff after going through the collection and update of data. The medical staff can conduct a complete check and management of the registered patient’s condition, even when patients are not hospitalized.

The COVID-19 CheckUp app has already been noticed worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) uploaded the app to the Digital Health Atlas (DHA) project, which was designed to seek useful solutions in the area of medicine by making use of the latest digital technology, and to provide these solutions to the world. “The COVID-19 CheckUp app will help physicians in many countries around the world,” commented Dr. Garret Mehl, chief of Digital Health Interventions Research of WHO, expressing his expectations. The use of this app is also recommended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic offices, and Seoul Metropolitan Government in banners on their websites. People who wish to use the COVID-19 CheckUp app can easily access it by entering “DOCL.org” in the address bar.

“Amid the difficulty caused by COVID-19, I hope this app can be of some help to the people. I'd like to express my sincere thanks to the AFMC, the Yonsei University Health System, and my colleagues, who gave me their full support in its development,” Heo said.

The AFMC plans to continue to promote the development of additional apps by organizing a team composed of volunteers from competent medical staff including Captain Heo. “We will continue to do our best in different areas, including the development of a rapid diagnostic kit and app related to COVID-19, as well as medical assistance, in order to protect the lives of the people and soldiers in this national crisis,” said Colonel Ha Byeom-man, chief of the health operations division of the AFMC.

By Su-Yeol, Maeng <guns13@dema.mil.kr >
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