Severance Hospital to lead global AI healthcare innovation with new research institute < Hospital < Article

Severance held the 2026 Yonsei Digital Health Symposium AI Innovation in Healthcare at Yonsei University’s Baekyang Nuri on Thursday to explore the potential for interdisciplinary convergence and innovation in the digital health sector.

The institution, which opened the Digital Healthcare Innovation Institute in 2022 covering three colleges including medicine, dentistry, and nursing, has created an innovative environment by fusing vast clinical data with digital technology.

The Digital Healthcare Innovation Institute will be elevated this year to the Yonsei Institute for Digital Health (YIDH), a university-affiliated research body focused on specialized policy research. YIDH plans to lead a paradigm shift in digital health by establishing an interdisciplinary convergence research ecosystem involving various academic fields such as medicine, engineering, and social sciences.

During the symposium, two experts including University of Cambridge Professor Han Nam-shik and Yonsei University College of Medicine Professor Kim Hyeon-chang discussed global research trends and directions for ecosystem development.

Participants shared the latest global trends in digital health, including medical AI, big data, digital phenotyping, smart healthcare, and digital therapeutics. They also discussed core issues of future medicine such as global medical data platforms, next-generation smart hospitals, and digital biomarkers.

The event featured presentations on the actual application and research results of advanced convergence technologies, including medical physical AI, digital biomarkers, and digital phenotyping-based treatment devices. Participants exchanged experiences regarding the clinical application of the latest technologies in data-based medical research and AI innovation.

“Severance will change the paradigm of digital health through practical medical innovation based on data and AI,” Yonsei University Health System President Keum Ki-chang said. “By managing the entire cycle of digital health research from the research and development stage to the practical stage where medical staff and patients see actual benefits, the institution will present international strategies and solidify its position as an organization that fulfills its social responsibility.”