Next Generation Endoscopic Intervention
- Forming academia-industry collaborations to jointly develop innovative medical devices that meet specific needs in the medical field
- Data sharing between industry and academia for the development of existing and new medical devices
- Utilizing a complete set of 3D equipment for rapid prototyping that is able to withstand bench testing and non-clinical testing
- System for regular user feedback at early R&D stages to expand the commercial market
- Hiring talent with experience in medical devices from the private sector, and using clinical traning and animal testing facilities to train researchers in the skills required to lead academia-industry collaborations
A research complex that brings together industry, academia, and government to jointly develop innovative medical devices with a scholarly approach unique to universities
For the next generation of minimally invasive endoscopy devices, we are building an open innovation platform by bringing together representatives from industry, academia and government. Under the consultation of medical doctors, companies will be organized into subgroups to build solutions beginning from the basic research stage through to the pre-clinical stage.
The emphasis on these projects will be the needs expressed by the doctors and not the technologies that exist. Furthermore, attention will be given to constant modification of the devices through long-term feedback from users for optimization. The data acquired by these modifications will be treated academically, meaning they will be disseminated for future training.
This project is working with several domestic and foreign companies with expertise in medical equipment, plastic molding, metal processing, and polymer science among other subjects for new therapeutics. Government contributes by subsidizing the program and setting standards that will lead to spin-offs.
These products coming out of this project are being evaluated not just by companies, but also by several government agencies (MHLW, METI, AMED, etc.), which have provided funding for more than 10 projects, some which are ongoing.
The result has been 11 products on the market with 4 more under application. In addition, the group has acquired 20 patents with another 105 pending, 14 design rights, and 2 trademarks. Academically, it has produced more than 40 publications as the lead research group. Our activity has been covered by media, including 34 appearances in newspapers, 12 in magazines, and another 12 on television.
By continuing to work closely with medical doctors and clinical sites, we anticipate more projects to reach the early stages of commercialization, more patents and other legal titles, and more academic data to advance our understanding of related fields.
