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Special Feature : Expanding Core Technologies in the Healthcare Field

Leveraging Core Technologies to Contribute to the Future of Human Health and Healthcare

Since Konica Minolta launched Japan's first X-ray _lm in 1933, the Konica Minolta Group has consistently offered new value in the field of medical diagnostics and other healthcare fields. Today, with the increasing importance of accurate medical diagnosis, Group companies are combining their unique technical strengths to develop and provide products and services that make a real difference in the world of healthcare.

Konica Minolta's Medical Diagnostic Equipment Meets a Range of Challenges

Example: Diagnostic Radiography (Core technology : Imaging, Materials)

AeroDR Digital Radiography System Contributes to Faster, More Efficient Diagnosis

The world of radiography has witnessed a change from conventional film X-rays, to digitization with CR (computed radiography). Also attracting attention today is DR (digital radiography). DR acquires images directly with an FPD (flat panel detector), so they are viewable immediately after scanning. However, conventional DR equipment is heavy, and the power and data transmission cables required have made usability an issue.
In March 2011, Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic solved these issues with the release of the AeroDR Digital Radiography System. Incorporating many weight-saving innovations, the DR system is the world’s lightest^* at 2.9 kg, and offers wireless data transmission. Furthermore, fluorescent material using proprietary technology ensures that high-quality images can be obtained with about half the radiation exposure that CR requires. In addition, use of a new type of battery enables fast charging so that a full charge takes just 30 minutes.

*

As of April 20, 2011. Including battery

AeroDR

Example: Homecare (Core technology : Optics)

Pulse Oximeter Measures Oxygen Saturation in the Blood in Real Time

The pulse oximeter is a device for measuring oxygen saturation in the blood in real time, indicating whether there is a normal supply of oxygen in the blood. This can be measured without blood sampling, simply by exposing the fingertip to light. As a testing device that is completely non-invasive, the pulse oximeter has become indispensable in the medical setting.

Since commercializing the world’s first pulse oximeter with fingertip measurement in 1977, Konica Minolta Sensing, Inc. has worked to develop lighter, more compact types, with lower prices, as well as some with self-contained memory, contributing to broader use of pulse oximeters. Not only playing a role in respiratory monitoring in operating rooms and hospital wards, Pulsox is now finding a wide range of other applications, including self-management by home oxygen therapy patients and screening for sleep apnea syndrome.

PULSOX-300

Example: Breast Cancer Screening (Core technology : Imaging)

Mammography CAD System Assists Radiologists in Making a Diagnosis

The number of breast cancer patients has been increasing worldwide in recent years. Mammography (breast X-ray) devices which can detect early symptoms of breast cancer such as microcalcification have come to be regarded as an effective diagnostic device for early detection of cancer.
Starting with the launch of the PCM breast X-ray system, which was the first in the world to use phase contrast technology^*1, Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic has consistently provided a variety of systems that deliver a full range of functions from scanning to interpretation support.
In 2010, the company developed the Neovista I-PACS CAD Type M mammography CAD system. This system detects anomalies that could represent breast cancer from patterns in X-ray images, using CAD^*2 processing based on proprietary algorithms. With easy button operation, any anomalies in the image are marked to assist the radiologist with interpretation.

*1

Phase contrast technology: A technology that enables sharper imaging using differences in density due to the phase shifts that occur when an X-ray passes through an object.

*2

CAD: Computer-aided detection.

Click image to enlarge

Technology for the Future

Development of High-sensitivity X-ray Imaging Devices that Contribute to the Early Detection of Rheumatism and Breast Cancer

Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic is participating in an industry-university project with the University of Tokyo and other universities to develop an innovative X-ray imaging devices that uses the refraction of X-rays (Talbot-Lau system). This equipment captures images with very high sensitivity by sampling phase shifts in X-rays that pass through the subject, using interference in the diffraction image. This has succeeded in capturing images of soft tissue such as cartilage, which cannot be visualized with conventional X-rays. It is expected to contribute to the early detection of rheumatism accompanied by cartilage abnormalities, breast cancer, and other disorders.

Three types of data can be obtained with one shot, including images similar to conventional X-rays (left). These are images of a cherry.