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Professor Haruhiko Kishima

Department of Neurosurgery

The neurosurgery unit was opened in 1972, and Professor Kishima will be the fourth professor to run the lab. The laboratory conducts both basic and clinical research to advance medical care through neurosurgery. Part of this effort includes the training of future neurosurgeons and related scientists.

Neurosurgery research

1) Reconstruction of brain function by an implantable brain machine interface

The lab aims to introduce a high performance brain-machine interface by implanting an electrode in the cranium. This brain machine interface is capable of moving a prosthetic arm using the brain signals of patients with severe paralysis.

Figure 1

2)Epilepsy research

The lab is conducting research aimed at predicting epileptic seizures and clarifying pathological conditions in the brain using electrodes and cerebral magnetometers to map brain activity.

3) Regeneration of injured spinal cord function by autologous olfactory mucosal transplantation

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause irreversible damage to the nervous system, resulting in sensory paralysis and bladder and bowel dysfunction. In 2001, the Hospital de Egas Moniz in Lisbon, Portugal developed a novel and reproducible autologous olfactory mucosal transplantation approach for treating SCI. The olfactory mucosa is a tissue capable of nerve regeneration even in adulthood, and there are expectations that its transplantation may improve SCI symptoms.

4) Immunotherapy of malignant brain tumor by Wilms Tumor peptide vaccination

In a phase II clinical trial conducted in 2004, the lab demonstrated the efficacy of immunotherapy targeting the Wilms’ Tumor 1 protein for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

5) Laser speckle flowmetry (LSF) to study cerebral ischemia

LSF is a noninvasive tool to measure and visualize dynamic changes in blood flow in the brain that are undetectable by MRI and PET. With this technology, the lab aims to elucidate the mechanism of secondary brain damage after cerebral infarction. Moreover, the lab is planning to apply similar research methods toward epilepsy and trauma models in order to elucidate new mechanisms.

Figure 2
Real-time monitoring of cerebral blood flow using laser speckle flowmetry (LSF)