Myongji Hospital professor to develop 'Korean knee health age' prediction model

In a significant stride towards proactive healthcare, Professor Kim Jin-goo of Myongji Hospital's Sports Medicine Center is spearheading the development of a novel medical model to determine the 'biological age' of knees in Koreans. This groundbreaking initiative, proposed at the 'Latest Advances in Sports Medicine Symposium,' seeks to standardize the assessment of knee health and predict disease prognosis based on a comprehensive analysis of individual health conditions.

“

Biological age aims to induce lifestyle improvements and active prevention through social warnings before the onset of disease.

South Korea faces a growing burden of knee joint problems, exacerbated by sedentary lifestyles and a rapidly aging population. The current medical system is largely reactive, focusing on treatment after conditions have developed. Professor Kim's proposal represents a crucial paradigm shift, advocating for a preventative management approach that could alleviate long-term healthcare costs and improve quality of life for many.

The concept of 'knee biological age' is innovative in its approach. It integrates multiple factors—including weight, past injury history, lifestyle habits, functional test results, and imaging findings—to provide a single, intuitive measure of a person's knee condition, expressed as an equivalent age. This contrasts sharply with traditional methods that rely heavily on chronological age or subjective pain levels, offering a more objective and actionable metric for both patients and clinicians.

“

Treatment-centered medicine intervenes when patients are already suffering and increases the medical costs for individuals and the nation.

Professor Kim articulated the dual purpose of this initiative: a public health objective to encourage lifestyle changes and preventative measures through early 'social warnings,' and a clinical objective to provide a more precise basis for treatment decisions. He highlighted the limitations of current treatment-centric models, which often intervene only after a patient is already suffering, leading to increased personal and national healthcare expenditures.

“

Myongji Hospital will proactively establish the medical evidence for 'knee biological age' and serve as the starting point for establishing social standards.

Myongji Hospital plans to establish the evidence-based assessment protocol within the year and aims to complete a sophisticated predictive model, comparable to the CDC's established metrics for heart, lung, and brain health, within two to three years through multi-institutional collaboration. Leveraging AI and ontology technology, the hospital intends to standardize medical language, anonymize data, and create a robust data hub for future research, setting a new global standard for knee health management.

“

This proposal is not merely an academic declaration but a starting point based on execution, and we will establish new global standards for knee health management in collaboration with domestic and international experts.