AI Medical Service Inc. (hereinafter AIM), a medical start-up specializing in the development of diagnostic endoscopic AI, has signed a joint research agreement with Stanford University School of Medicine (hereinafter Stanford Medicine), one of the world's top medical research institutes, and will begin research activities in August 2023. AIM is the first Japanese company to sign a joint research agreement with Stanford Medicine in the field of endoscopic AI.

AIM is now working toward receiving regulatory approval in Japan for its endoscopic AI product designed to identify early-stage gastric cancer. Its collaboration with Stanford Medicine will facilitate joint research designed to verify the applicability of Japanese endoscopic AI in the United States.

Gastric cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death worldwide, and approximately 26,000 cases of gastric cancer are newly diagnosed in the United States each year.

Stanford Medicine is located in the center of America's West Coast, a diverse region where 58% of the population belongs to various minority groups. Gastric cancer is noteworthy for its high prevalence among Asian communities. Stanford Medicine established CARE (Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education) in 2018 with the mission to improve health outcomes among members of the Asian community through increased knowledge and education.

Comment from Dr. Joo Ha Hwang, Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology & Hepatology) and, by courtesy, of Surgery

"We are excited to collaborate with AI Medical Service Inc. in evaluating their AI platform for detecting early gastric cancer. This is an important issue in the United States because the incidence of early gastric cancer is relatively high in several immigrant populations, especially East Asians; however, the detection of early gastric cancer remains low because lesions are often subtle and difficult to identify. We look forward to evaluating this technology in clinical studies at Stanford Medicine where we have a diverse population of ethnicities who are considered to be at higher risk for gastric cancer."