In these early years of the 21st century, an aging society faces uncertainties over economic conditions and medical services, and health concerns that need to be addressed have been increasingly prominent, such as stress, lifestyle-related diseases and cancers. Comprehensive support for the development of technologies, tools and systems for safeguarding against health problems is being pursued as a matter of urgency, so that diseases can be prevented, their progression arrested and as many people as possible can enjoy a meaningful life everyday.

We are working on the development of an economical pain-free blood collection system and a blood information chip, which will serve as the core of a home-use system for monitoring medical indicators. We hope that such home-use systems will have a supplementary role in medical monitoring that mainly involves annual checkups sponsored by municipalities and employers.

The completion of such a system has been awaited with the expectation that it will help not only improve the quality of life of people but also enhance one aspect of the social medical system and its economy, thereby providing greater assurance for the future.

We are committed to make more significant contributions to society by exploiting the latest knowledge in clinical examination, micro-optics, electronics and information technology and by reinforcing interdisciplinal cooperation both in Japan and overseas.

We have a history of positively facing challenges to bring about breakthroughs, for example in the development of ultrasonic/laser blood flowmeters, electrocardiograms, low-frequency therapy equipment, iontophoresis, pulse-synchronized air massagers, physical function rehabilitation equipment and information technology. We will uphold this tradition and promote R&D that can contribute to health and medicine in the post-genome era.