Lunit, a South Korean medical AI company, has announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to co-develop advanced, cloud-based AI solutions aimed at enhancing global access to cancer diagnostics and streamlining clinical workflows. This collaboration seeks to integrate Lunit's AI technologies with Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, facilitating the deployment of personalized diagnostic services and automated clinical tools in healthcare settings worldwide.
A central aspect of this partnership is the development of an AI customization service that enables hospitals to fine-tune Lunit's models using their own datasets. This approach addresses the challenge of varying clinical environments and data, ensuring consistent and accurate AI diagnostic results across diverse healthcare settings. Additionally, the collaboration plans to introduce an AI-powered workflow automation solution utilizing "Agentic AI," a technology that supports autonomous decision-making and task execution. This solution aims to cover the entire clinical process—from imaging and diagnosis to report delivery and follow-up scheduling—thereby reducing the workload of healthcare professionals and improving patient care efficiency.
By hosting these solutions on Azure, hospitals globally can access Lunit's AI tools without the need for separate IT infrastructure, lowering adoption barriers and supporting broader AI integration into clinical practice. Brandon Suh, CEO of Lunit, emphasized the importance of accessibility, scalability, and seamless integration of AI in healthcare, stating that the collaboration with Microsoft marks a significant step in expanding the global reach of Lunit's AI solutions, particularly in the U.S. market. Naveen Valluri, General Manager of Health Data and AI at Microsoft, highlighted the potential of combining Lunit's proven technology with Microsoft's global infrastructure to revolutionize radiology and the broader future of healthcare.
This partnership builds upon previous collaborations between Lunit and Microsoft. In July 2022, Lunit, in conjunction with FujiFilm Thailand and Microsoft, supplied AI cancer screening products to Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. The deployment included Lunit INSIGHT CXR, a CE-marked chest x-ray analysis AI software, and Lunit INSIGHT MMG, an FDA-cleared AI solution for early-stage breast cancer detection. These solutions, hosted on Microsoft Azure, have been actively used in the hospital's check-ups, intensive care units, and emergency rooms, analyzing over 100,000 medical images annually. The integration of Lunit's AI solutions aims to provide timely detection of chest abnormalities and breast cancer, enhancing patient care and driving medical innovation across Southeast Asia.
Lunit has also engaged in other significant collaborations to advance AI in medical imaging. In November 2024, the company partnered with AstraZeneca to develop AI-powered digital pathology risk assessment tools for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This collaboration focuses on utilizing Lunit SCOPE Genotype Predictor, an AI tool capable of analyzing H&E slide images to predict the likelihood of tumors harboring NSCLC driver mutations, such as Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutations. By integrating this AI solution into pathology workflows, the partnership aims to optimize diagnostic processes and improve patient outcomes through personalized treatment approaches.
Furthermore, in March 2025, Lunit announced a collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to apply its AI technologies across NCI's extensive cancer research portfolio. This partnership aims to advance research into the tumor microenvironment and immune phenotyping by analyzing whole-slide images obtained from NCI's clinical studies using Lunit's AI-powered biomarker technologies, including Lunit SCOPE IO and Lunit SCOPE universal IHC. The collaboration seeks to develop data-driven insights that can help personalize treatment approaches for cancer patients, accelerating discoveries that optimize immunotherapy strategies and improve patient outcomes.
These strategic partnerships underscore Lunit's commitment to leveraging AI to revolutionize cancer diagnostics and treatment. By integrating its advanced AI solutions with global platforms like Microsoft's Azure and collaborating with leading healthcare institutions and pharmaceutical companies, Lunit aims to enhance diagnostic accuracy, streamline clinical workflows, and ultimately improve patient care on a global scale.
Source: koreabiomed.com Lunit joins forces with Microsoft to globalize cancer diagnostic AI via Azure
