Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) student Se-hyun Lee (second year, Premedical Course) developed an AI-based cerebrovascular synthesis and screening solution and won the Grand Prize (1st place) at the national competition '2025 K-Hightech Idea Challenge' hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Human Resources Development Service of Korea.

It is highly unusual for research led by a medical student to receive the top award at a national technology innovation competition. This achievement is seen as a symbolic recognition that AI medical technology developed at the undergraduate level has potential for clinical application.

The IMAGENE team, consisting of Se-hyun Lee, Seongmin Kim (Keimyung University), and Juho Lee (Konkuk University), unveiled their self-developed AI medical solution at the expo and attracted significant attention. In the final judging, the team was awarded the Grand Prize in recognition of the technology's technical merit, clinical effectiveness, and social impact. The technology was also exhibited at the 'K-Hightech Expo', drawing interest from experts and industry representatives.

The competition drew 50 teams nationwide, and after preliminary rounds only 10 teams advanced to the finals. Entries were evaluated comprehensively on technological innovation, applicability to industry settings, and contribution to job creation.

The award-winning work, 'CereVue', is an AI-based cerebrovascular screening solution that synthesizes vascular images from basic MRI sequences (T1, T2) alone and quantitatively analyzes major cerebrovascular lesions such as stenosis and aneurysms. Conventional MRA examinations have made timely testing difficult for many patients due to high costs, long scan times, and equipment shortages. CereVue has attracted attention as a technology that can substantially address these accessibility issues by enabling cerebrovascular assessment using only MRI, without additional scans or contrast agents.

It was particularly noted that the solution can be immediately adopted by medical institutions lacking MRA infrastructure—such as regional small- and medium-sized hospitals and health screening centers—and that PACS-, EMR-, and cloud-based deployment is readily achievable, giving the technology significant industrial and policy implications. During the final review, the team faced challenging questions on the technical architecture, data justification, marketability, contribution to workforce training, and medical device regulatory strategy. The IMAGENE team received praise for achieving "a level of completeness ready for immediate validation."

For the development of the solution, Se-hyun Lee led the development of MRI conversion and synthesis deep learning models and clinical planning. Seongmin Kim (Keimyung University) was responsible for medical data engineering and building the AI pipeline. Juho Lee (Konkuk University) handled productization and service design, completing a team structure balanced across technology, medicine, and business.

The CereVue technology originated from Se-hyun Lee's deep learning research on brain MRI conversion and synthesis. Lee said, "Cerebrovascular diseases can be fatal without prodromal symptoms, and I felt there was a need for early screening technologies that are easily accessible to everyone." Lee added, "Now that research led by a medical student has been recognized for its potential to be applied in real medical settings, I will intensify efforts to advance the technology and pursue clinical validation."