A World Where Children's Lives Are Not Determined by Their Birthplace: Heartkids' LIFELINK Selected for FY2026 NEDO NEP 'Pioneer Course' – Aiming to Eliminate Disparities in Saving Seriously Ill Children's Lives with Doctor-Patient Support AI Device "YUPO-SAPO"

Heartkids' LIFELINK (Location: Sapporo, Hokkaido / Tokyo), represented by Director Kyoko Kozai, has been selected as a project implementer (NEDO Front Runner: FR) in the FY2026 'Research and Development Type Startup Entrepreneurship/Management Talent Acquisition Support Project / Deep Tech Field Talent Discovery / Entrepreneur Training Project (NEP) / Pioneer Course' publicly solicited by the National Research and Development Agency New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

■ Background and Purpose of This Adoption: To protect the 'last bastion' of severe pediatric care

The field of Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) faces challenges such as an overwhelming shortage of specialists and harsh working conditions. A survey in the U.S. even indicated a 40% shortage rate, leading to situations where survival rates differ between facilities for children born with the same illness, highlighting the limits of medical care solely reliant on human dedication.

This project, "YUPO-SAPO," is a device specialized for seriously ill children that reproduces the "perception and judgment" of experienced doctors using AI. It aims to standardize the quality of medical care by integrating and analyzing facial color, breathing, monitor waveforms, and sharing the doctors' thought processes as knowledge.

Through its adoption into the NEP Pioneer Course, Heartkids' LIFELINK will accelerate the verification of the clinical utility of its technological seeds and the construction of a business model for social implementation.

■ Overview of "YUPO-SAPO," the World's First Doctor-Patient Support Device

Chief Researcher: Wataru Sakai (Chief of Pediatric Intensive Care, Hokkaido Children's Medical and Rehabilitation Center)

Core Technology: Severity assessment algorithm using facial color analysis

Functionality: A system capable of replicating the temporal and comprehensive judgment of experienced doctors for critically ill children in Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU), providing suggestions for medical interventions through bedside monitoring and educating young medical professionals.

Issues Addressed:

Elimination of Survival Disparities: AI supplements experience differences across regions and facilities, enabling high-quality treatment anywhere.

Reduction of Overwork: AI supports 24-hour monitoring tasks, reducing the burden on doctors and nurses.

Efficiency of Education: In the pediatric field with fewer cases due to the declining birthrate, accumulated data is utilized as a simulator.

■ Comment from Representative Director Kyoko Kozai

"The quality of medicine is the quality of people. However, a model solely reliant on human dedication has reached its limits. We believe that task-sharing human dedication with a system, and continuously supporting medical professionals who 'never give up on anyone,' leads to an improvement in the quality of medical care. 'YUPO-SAPO' challenges to improve the survival rate and transform disparities in global pediatric medical care, starting from Hokkaido, a medically underserved area. With NEDO's support, we will build social infrastructure that connects children's lives to the future."

■ To connect children's lives to the future, we await your donations and support

Creating a Japan where children's lives are not determined by their birthplace

We, Heartkids' LIFELINK, aim for a society where the probability of a child's life being saved does not change due to their birthplace or environment.

To protect children battling serious illnesses, doctors work tirelessly, pushing their limits in the field day and night.

It is our mission to support these frontline efforts and pass on knowledge and technology to the next generation.

Our ongoing challenge, the "Doctor Clone AI Camera 'YUPO-SAPO'," aims to improve harsh working environments, enhance the quality of medical care, and most importantly, pass on "life-saving medicine" to the future.

This challenge can only continue with the support of each and every one of you.

Your generous donations will be carefully used for future-building in children's medical care, including AI development, medical professional training, and social awareness activities.

Please join us in connecting children's lives and smiles to the future.

[Donation Application Form]

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbsfS7EHevpfXJO_0KlbJEiTjriyFhpRMpTIAmd0yp3KWMpA/viewform

[Organization Overview]

Organization Name: Heartkids’ LIFELINK, a Non-Profit General Incorporated Association

Established: April 2025

Representative Director: Kyoko Kozai

Location: Sapporo, Hokkaido / Tokyo

Chief Researcher: Wataru Sakai (Chief of Pediatric Intensive Care, Hokkaido Children's Medical and Rehabilitation Center)

Managing Directors: Toshihide Aso (Director, Fukuoka Dojin-kai Clinic) / Hidetugu Asai (Chief of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery, Hokkaido Children's Medical and Rehabilitation Center)

Business Activities: AI medical support and education system development in pediatric intensive care / Medical professional training / Social awareness activities

Official Website: http://tron2040.com/lp/heartkidsliifelink/

Contact: editor@tron2040.com
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