Promoting Healthy Ageing through AI and IoT: Korea’s AI CareCall and Japan’s AI Research for Frailty Prevention

Thet Htoo Pan, Sang-Houn Ok, Shuichi Obuchi, Myat Yadana Kyaw, Myo Nyein Aung and Donghee Han

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Digitally Inclusive Healthy Ageing Communities (DIHAC) is a cross-cultural study primarily based on Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand, further expanding to India, Malaysia, Vietnam and other Europe countries through collaboration. We organize bi-monthly cross-cultural exchange meetings to create trans-disciplinary learning opportunities. The DIHAC meeting marks its 30th time on August 21st, 2025. In the 30^th DIHAC meeting, two super-ageing societies in the world: Japan and Republic of Korea presented latest updates on artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) use for heathy ageing.

Principle investigator of the DIHAC study, Associate Professor Myo Nyein Aung, Department of Global Health Research, Juntendo University, Japan welcomed the participants and started the meeting. More than 40 participants included researchers in global health and public health, faculties from universities, clinicians, government officials: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan, members from Active Aging Consortium in Asia Pacific (ACAP), community stakeholders, representatives from INGOs and graduate and undergraduate students from Japan, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Africa, Belgium, Switzerland, Ukraine, Italy and the UK actively participated in the meeting.

We are honored to have Dr Donghee Han, PhD, Director, Research Institute of Science for the Better Living of the Elderly as chair of the 30^th DIHAC meeting. She is Head of Commission of Elderly Policy in Busan Metropolitan City Government; Board Member & Korean Representative, Active Aging Consortium in Asia Pacific (ACAP); and Korean Gerontological Society. In her opening speech, Dr Han emphasized importance of social participation in digital inclusion through her works on “cyber families” to connect older people digitally. Addressing cruciality of older people lived experience, she explained how digital policies in ROK made attempt for comprehensive inclusion of vulnerable population. She also highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts to develop best practices and how digital inclusion can reshape ageing to improve quality of later life.

Figure: Chairperson Dr Donghee Han, speakers, international audience and DIHAC study team at the 30th DIHAC meeting on August 21st, 2025

Presentation 1: AI CareCall and Healthy Ageing (Republic of Korea)

The first specker was Mr Sang-Houn Ok, Leader of the CLOVA CareCall Business at NAVER Cloud, Republic of Korea (ROK). He presented ‘CLOVA CareCall’, an AI-based phone call service developed by NAVER Cloud. CLOVA CareCall is designed to check on the safety, health, and emotional well-being of older people living alone through natural phone conversations —without requiring any additional devices.

This innovation is timely, as South Korea faces rapid population ageing, with an estimated 2.3 million older adults living alone in 2025 (1). The COVID-19 pandemic further intensified social isolation and strained traditional care systems. CLOVA CareCall addresses this gap by providing regular AI-driven check-ins for emotional connection and early detection of health concerns.

CLOVA CareCall operates through scheduled regular AI-initiated phone calls to registered older adults. Their responses are analyzed and reported to care coordinators or welfare institutions. Key features include long-term memory for ‘personalized interaction’, and the service has achieved a response rate over 90% across participating municipalities. Research published in Nature Scientific Reports (2025) showed improved memory and reduced depression among people with dementia after seven months of CLOVA CareCall use (2). It has expanded internationally, launching in Japan as “NAVER CareCall” in partnership with Izumo City, receiving positive responses despite cultural differences. CareCall was also showcased at EXPO 2025 in Osaka as a model for digital inclusion. Since its launch in 2021, CareCall has evolved to integrate IoT and health systems, supporting personalized care and emergency response coordination. In ROK, the service is publicly financed by local government for those who are living alone.

CLOVA CareCall was first introduced at the 16th DIHAC meeting, with subsequent updates presented at the 23rd DIHAC meeting.

• While simple AI phone calls help older adults feel cared for, the digital gap is still an urgent issue, as these services require smartphones and internet access.
• Emotional care and digital inclusion are underscored as critical factors for older adults’ well-being.
• Expansion to Japan Izumo city reflects wider acceptance of AI based technologies in promoting healthy ageing.

Presentation 2: IoT and AI use in Gerontology (Japan)

The second speaker was Dr Shuichi Obuchi, Ph.D, MS, PT, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Geriatrics and Gerontology (TMIG), Leader, Research Team for Human Care. He presented on the application of IoT and AI technologies to gerontology in Japan. Following Japan’s long-term care insurance reforms in 2005, frailty prevention programs were introduced to high-risk individuals. However, participation remained below 10%, leading the team to focus on early adopters to promote healthy ageing.

A four-year cohort study over 1,500 older adults identified gait-related indicators as strong predictors of functional decline (3). Building on this, the team developed a validated smartphone-based gait measurement method and expanded data collection using wearable devices such as smartwatches, sensors, and GPS with support from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The project involved 6,000 community-dwelling participants and 500 geriatric outpatients. Life-log data over 90 days revealed associations between frailty and changes in sleep, walking, and conversation patterns. Notably, caregiver interactions during mealtimes appeared to influence social engagement. Using machine learning, the team developed a frailty prediction model with an AUC of 0.91 (4).

In addition, ‘Tapestry analysis’ visualized minute-by-minute lifestyle data over a month, classifying participants into six clusters. Cluster 0, marked by high walking and talking time, was associated with non-frailty. This continuous monitoring supports early detection and personalized intervention to prevent frailly, especially for longer follow-up windows in clinical settings.

To promote behavior change, a smartphone app was developed to calculate a daily “frailty prevention score” and a monthly frailty calendar offers tailored feedback. The app includes animal metaphors for lifestyle types, positive feedback to promote healthy behaviors and QR-based data sharing with family and care providers. Finally, the speaker introduced The computer-based cognitive assessment tool (CompBased-CAT) to assess cognitive function using a tablet computer (5).

• Visualizations and metaphors allow both users and clinicians to monitor lifestyle changes objectively and provide early frailty detection and tailored intervention.
• The AI IoT based intervention bridges passive data collection with actionable, personalized prevention strategies to prevent frailty.
• Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use play an important role in older adults’ adoption of advanced digital care technology.
• Frequent monitoring of frailty elements may encourage early response, lifestyle changes, even in the period between the routine clinical follow up, promising person-centered approach to prevent the dependency

In conclusion, the 30th DIHAC cross-cultural exchange meeting highlighted innovations in AI and IoT technologies aimed at promoting healthy ageing and digital inclusion among older adults in Japan and Korea, emphasizing scalable digital inclusion approaches to enhance well-being in older population. Learning from NAVER Cloud’s CLOVA CareCall and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Geriatrics and Gerontology’s life-log–based frailty monitoring app, these exemplars demonstrate how personalized, data-driven approaches can bridge care gaps and empower older adults to lead healthier, more connected lives. As smartphones and internet access are basic to benefit from such services, bringing older adults online is no longer optional—it is essential. Ensuring internet access and digital literacy is key to enabling equitable participation in emerging care models.

PI Dr. Myo also announced the upcoming 31st DIHAC meeting, scheduled for October 2025.

References

1. Statistics Korea K. 2024 Statistics on the Aged 2024 [Available from: https://kostat.go.kr/boardDownload.es?bid=11759&list_no=433631&seq=1.
2. Kang S, Lee Y, Kim N, Ok S-H, Kim P, Park O-H, et al. Beneficial effect of artificial intelligence care call on memory and depression in community dwelling individuals with dementia. Scientific Reports. 2025;15(1):27116.
3. Obuchi SP, Kojima M, Suzuki H, Garbalosa JC, Imamura K, Ihara K, et al. Artificial intelligence detection of cognitive impairment in older adults during walking. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. 2024;16(3):e70012.
4. Obuchi S, Kawai H, Gong R. Promoting the health of older adults through the utilization of digital devices such as smartwatches –Detection of frailty signs using life-log data 2025 [Available from: https://www.tmghig.jp/research/en/etopics/archives/016559/.
5. Chen J-Y, Kawai H, Takahashi J, Ejiri M, Imamura K, Obuchi SP. Test–retest reliability of the computer-based cognitive assessment tool for community-dwelling older adults in Japan: The Otassha study. DIGITAL HEALTH. 2025;11:20552076251317627.

Authors

Thet Htoo Pan, M.D., is Ph.D. student at the Department of Global Health Research, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan

Myat Yadana Kyaw, M.D., is Ph.D. student at the Department of Global Health Research, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan

Sang-Houn Ok, is Leader of the CLOVA CareCall Business, NAVER Cloud, Republic of Korea

Shuichi Obuchi, Ph.D., M.S., P.T., is Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Geriatrics and Gerontology (TMIG), Leader, Research Team for Human Care, Japan

Myo Nyein Aung, M.D., M.Sc., Ph.D., is Associate Professor at the Department of Global Health Research, Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan

Donghee Han, M.A. (Gerontology), Ph.D., is Director of Research Institute of Science for the Better Living of the Elderly, and Head, Commission of Elderly Policy in Busan Metropolitan City Government, Republic of Korea