Our Project
Towards building a manufacturing technology hub and the development of medical devices in Shinshu
The purpose of our project, following the adoption of the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) establishing Shinshu University as a core hub for regional medical device development, is to uncover the needs of medical institutions, and cultivate the seeds into medical devices to be sold on the global market with increased quality while strengthening the medical-engineering coordination system that we have established, and training medical device development personnel who have the perspective of healthcare professionals.
*Shinshu is the name of the old province of the present-day Nagano Prefecture.
Implementation Structure
While using Shinshu University Hospital as its clinical site, Shinshu University promotes medical device development centered on the Shinshu University-Innovative Research & Liaison Organization where many medical-engineering coordinators are enrolled. In addition, we are building a structure for medical device development while cooperating with bases and organizations such as "Research Center for Supports to Advanced Science" which is equipped with approximately 50 types of analytical instruments for MD development, "Shinshu Medical Industry Association" which is formed by medical device development companies from the Shinshu region, and "Center for Shinshu Medical Innovation for Regional Technology" which is a medical rental lab constructed adjacent to Shinshu University School of Medicine and Shinshu University Hospital.
Features
Our project’s feature point is that it builds a support system that is in line with the intentions of the development companies. In other words, local companies specializing in precision equipment manufacturing and metal processing have their own unique technologies, and this project supports the development of medical devices utilizing these companies’ respective technologies.
Flowchart
Activities
Medical Device Development Personnel Training Seminar
The goal of this seminar is to educate company representatives who are looking to get engaged in medical device development or who are already engaged in medical device development. We invite lecturers who have deep knowledge of medical device development from various departments to conduct this seminar. The explored themes vary from a beginner’s introduction to medical device development, to R&D funding, clinical research and trial design, and marketing and sales channel development. Since FY 2015 we have also been conducting an educational activity for healthcare professionals titled “Seminar on Discovering Medical Device Development Researchers.”
Shinshu University Hospital Tours
In response to requests from private companies, Shinshu University Hospital welcomes visitors who want to explore medical device development themes at our medical facilities. However, instead of visiting all clinical departments, a medical-engineering coordinator interviews the company about its development themes beforehand, and then decides which medical departments to visit. At our medical facilities, you can ask our physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals about the difficulties they face at work. There are also examples of groups leading to commercialize new medical devices by obtaining some improvement tips in the tour.
Seeds of Technology Exhibition
The purpose of the Seeds of Technology Exhibition is to provide healthcare professionals with access to private-sector technologies and products that can be applied to medical devices, and to conduct joint research on medical device development. It is for this reason that we hold the exhibition at Shinshu University Hospital where every year there are exhibits from approximately 20 manufacturing companies. During the exhibition’s fourth year, in FY 2015, more than 70 healthcare professionals attended over a two-day period.
Medical-Engineering Coordinator’s Matching Support for Needs and Seeds
Because the medical-engineering coordinators at Shinshu University have built a relationship of mutual trust with the school’s healthcare professionals, they can identify their medical needs at any time. After conducting preliminary surveys, such as for marketing, joint R&D begins once the coordinator approaches a company that possesses the technology to solve identified development needs for medical devices and products. In addition, the coordinators organize groups that focus on development themes, such as the Washing and Sterilization Group and the Emergency Medical Device Development Group, with healthcare professionals and corporate developers as its members.
Joint Exhibition at Medical Device Exhibitions in Japan and Overseas
In order to expand sales channels for medical devices, it is necessary to establish connections with buyers who pay frequent visits to hospitals and clinics. To achieve this, we support market development by jointly exhibiting with member firms of the Shinshu Medical Industry Association at medical device exhibitions in Japan and overseas where buyers from various fields gather together. In addition to large scale exhibitions such as MEDICA, COMPAMED, HOSPEX JAPAN, and Medical Fair Asia, we have also previously participated in joint exhibitions of medical associations. Going forward, we aim to expand market development support by participating in exhibitions that are key to developing the global market for medical devices such as MD&M in North America and Arab Health in Dubai.
Cooperation with Other Regions
Shinshu University and Shinshu Medical Industry Association are continuing to collaborate on medical device development with Hamamatsu Medical University and the Hamamatsu Medical-Engineering Technology Innovation Core, which are also promoting medical-engineering cooperation. In FY 2015, Shinshu University and several member firms of the Shinshu Medical Industry Association visited the Hamamatsu area where they held R&D case study presentations on medical devices and also toured companies in the Hamamatsu area.
Achievements
Perspiration meter with compensated flow control ventilated capsule
Nishizawa Electric Meters Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ✖ Department of Innovation of Medical and Health Sciences Research, Shinshu University School of Medicine
A ventilated capsule-style sweat sensor is a device that measures amounts of sweat and that can quantify the temporal aspects of sweat with a high degree of accuracy. It functions by supplying air to a capsule on the skin which in turn ventilates the sweat. The amount of sweat is then measured by the rise in humidity of the supplied air. In order to enable the measurement of large amounts of sweat, here we developed the new "compensated flow control” so that the air flow rate is regulated based on the amount of sweat. It is expected to be applied as a new testing device in a number of medical departments such as dermatology, neurology, psychiatry, and anesthesiology.
Ion AmpliSeq Hearing Loss Research Panel v1
Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K. Life Technologies Japan Ltd. ✖ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Shinshu University School of Medicine
Genetic testing for hearing loss is a vital test that can provide useful information for predicting prognosis, predicting concomitant symptoms, and selecting treatment methods. The previous genetic diagnostic rate was as low as 30 to 40%, therefore the addition of new mutations to the screening test were needed in order to improve the diagnostic rate, and a more comprehensive genetic analysis method had to be developed. This product can analyze genes responsible for hearing loss more efficiently than conventional methods and it improves diagnostic rates by 10% or more by utilizing new genetic analysis technology for hearing loss.
Call for Medical Needs
We are currently gathering information on the needs of the medical community.
We are searching far and wide for needs in the medical community that can be solved with the help of manufacturing technologies. These needs can be difficulties that physicians, dentists, clinical engineers, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, radiologists, and other healthcare professionals face in their daily work, objects that they wish they had, and problems that they want to solve. We also provide seamless support for medical needs, such as identifying issues, matching with corporate technologies, R&D for commercialization, and obtaining R&D funds.
Please feel free to contact and consult us about any difficulties that you face on a daily basis.
Staff
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General ManagerNobuhiro Sugihara
Professor, Ph.D.
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University -
Clinical Resarch AdviserKazuhiko Matsumoto
Clinical Professor, M.D, Ph.D.
Center for Clinical Research, Shinshu University Hospital -
Medical-Engineering Coordinator
Intellectual Property Staff
Startup Support staffKiriko MatsuyamaAssociate Professor, MBA
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University -
Medical-Engineering CoordinatorTomoko Abe
Associate Professor(URA), Ph.D.
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University -
Medical-Engineering CoordinatorTakao Sasado
Associate Professor(URA), Ph.D.
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University -
Medical-Engineering CoordinatorShigeru Tazawa
Assistant Professor(URA)
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University -
Medical-Engineering Coordinator
Startup Support staffAkihiro TsunodaProfessor
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University -
Medical-Engineering CoordinatorKazunori Sakurai
Professor
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University -
Clinical Resarch AdviserMaki Yamaura
M.D., Ph.D.
Center for Clinical Research, Shinshu University Hospital -
Clinical Resarch AdviserTakagi Yoshiko
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University
Center for Clinical Research, Shinshu University Hospital -
Medical-Engineering CoordinatorShinji Uchibori
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University
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Medical-Engineering CoordinatorKoji Yagasaki
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization, Shinshu University
Contact
Innovative Research ＆ Liaison Organization
Research Administration Office
3-1-1, Asahi, Matsumoto City 390-8621