A patient suspected of carrying the new coronavirus, COVID-19, arrives at Kyungpook National University Hospital in Daegu, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Feb. 19, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will start compiling big data from the clinical and genome information of 10,000 people, health authorities said Monday.
The two-year national pilot project that will run through 2021 will cover data on people with genetic anomalies and those with rare diseases that are linked to their genome.
Those who want to participate in the project are advised to visit 16 major hospitals across the country starting Tuesday and to be checked by doctors to assess their qualifications for the project.
The health ministry said those with rare illnesses in the project will be given so-called whole gene sequencing tests that could help scientists and doctors to find out the cause of their illnesses down the line.
All such information will be given special identification that cannot be traced to a person for privacy, the ministry said.
Such data will be kept at state-run bio-information centers, with access only to be given for treatment of patients and to authorized researchers.
“The creation of the big bio data can lead to growth of the country’s bio-health industry and pharmaceuticals and precision medical equipment sectors,” the health ministry said.
(Yonhap)
