With the oldest and fastest-aging population in the world, Japan’s healthcare is facing unprecedented challenges. However, with the help of Japanese ingenuity and innovation, the nation’s medical manufacturing companies are taking on these challenges by designing better products, solutions and devices. As the nation moves from treatment to preventive care, new digital technologies such as AI, robotics and Big Data are playing an increasingly prominent role in healthcare, with medical device manufacturers like Toray Medical looking at ways to incorporate these technologies into their products moving forward.
“By utilizing Big Data and AI, the medical industry will be able to provide more high-precision detection and treatment to patients, thus overcoming discrepancies,” says Mitsuru Tanabe, President of Toray Medical, whose business includes dialysis equipment, ICU-related solutions, and other medical equipment. “This highprecision and consistent medical treatment will not only be advantageous to patients but also to the government in terms of treatment costs being reduced. Additionally, lower-cost treatment can be done in a shorter period of time.”
President of Daiichi Medical, Masaaki Hayashi, also serves as Vice Chairman of the Association of Medical Devices and reveals that within the association, various committees deliberate on the potential for utilizing robots in surgical procedures and other advanced technologies in the medical field. “We possess the capabilities to implement these cutting-edge technologies,” he says, before highlighting Daiichi Medical’s own holistic approach to product and technology development. “Our aim is to provide the highest quality and to achieve this, we must consider not only the welfare of patients and healthcare providers but also the broader landscape of social security and healthcare structures. This holistic perspective guides us as we develop new technologies and products.”