Electronics manufacturers are beginning to show keen interest in the medical and health field, because from 2006 the number of areas they can play a part in has been growing fast (Fig 1)."We're approaching a turning point in the medical field where technology from our industry will spread exceedingly rapidly," said Masahiko Itagoshi, director, Digital Health Business Development Group, Solution & Business Development Group of Intel Corp of the US.
Yasuo Sugihara, deputy manager, Development Planning Group, Products Development Center, Toshiba Consumer Marketing Corp of Japan, added, "The health sector represents a major business opportunity. It will unquestionably grow."
Little Growth in Past
In the past, the very latest electronic components and other electronics technologies have been adopted for use in medical equipment in the medical and health fields, but the market for such equipment has always been fairly stable, without experiencing any dramatic growth. In addition, it has been a difficult goal for equipment and component manufacturers entering the field for the first time. Even if electronic equipment manufacturers want to release new products, the licensing and approval system imposed by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law requires quality and safety assessments that are even tougher for newer technologies. This means greater risks for the manufacturer, in the form of unexpected costs and delays, before a product can be released. Component manufacturers, meanwhile, have to fulfill these demands from equipment manufacturers, and generally consider the medical equipment market as having an excessive number of quality and safety requirements in comparison to product volume and value benefits.
In Japan, the situation is beginning to change, though, because from 2006 electronics manufacturers are closer than ever to the medical and health field (Fig 2).Stated Policy Goal
The first key point is the announced policy goal of applying information technology to restructure medicine, as spelled out in the e-Japan Priority Policy Program 2006, announced at the end of July 2006 by the IT Strategic Headquarters of the Japanese cabinet. This document is also accelerating the trend toward transferring patients from core hospitals to local facilities or homes, as far as is possible, and utilizing health information acquired in the home to prevent medical problems. This will mean a market growth from the (approximately) 9,000 hospitals at present to some 48 million households: the same quantity as for household appliances.
Significant market growth is expected in equipment, services and other products not covered by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, and it is likely that electronics manufacturers will be able to apply the technologies developed in digital household appliances and other fields.
Streamlining Procedures
Second, there is activity to streamline the licensing procedures under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. The Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI) and other organizations plan to complete guidelines for medical equipment development before the end of fiscal 2006, defining assessment indices and criteria applying to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. The stated objective is to promote new entry into the medical equipment field, with special interest in new entry from the electronics industry. Such guidelines have not existed in the past, representing a major load for companies trying to enter the field.
New Opportunities
Third, medical equipment manufacturers are getting ready to handle the new market expansion created by these developments. GE Yokogawa Medical Systems, Ltd of Japan, for example, released a compact ultrasound diagnostic system for obstetrics and gynecology use, about the size of a notebook personal computer (PC), in May 2006. The firm hopes to develop a new market, allowing physicians to visit patients, carrying the diagnostic system. This type of medical equipment manufacturer is interested in high-performance semiconductors, electronic components and other items that will make it possible to improve equipment size and other characteristics.
As engineers at several medical equipment manufacturers have commented, indicating their hopes for new business in medical electronics, "If some firms have component technologies ahead of the curve, we want to know about them fast."
Home-Use Technologies
In fact, a growing number of electronics manufacturers have recognized the changing situation as a business opportunity.
Hitachi Ltd of Japan, for example, released a watch-type sensor measuring pulse and other items, positioned as a measuring instrument for home-use health management, in early 2006. Toshiba Consumer Marketing now offers a service providing medical advice from physicians based on data including body fat, blood pressure and electrocardiogram (ECG) waveforms measured at home.
With the market moving ever closer to the home, there is an increasing number of examples of companies entering the health field while maintaining existing relationships with the household appliance world. Apple Computer, Inc of the US and Nike, Inc of the US, for example, will release a line of health-management products, using a shoe-mounted sensor to measure health information and transmit it to an iPod nano for management, in July 2006 in the US and September 2006 in Japan. Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd of Japan has proposed a system for comfortable sleeping, controlling lighting, audio-visual (AV) equipment, air conditioners and other systems to match a person's sleeping state.
At International Modern Hospital Show 2006, the medical and health exhibition held in July 2006, Nanao Corp of Japan exhibited a system to transmit emergency diagnostic imagery to specialists at remote locations, using an image transfer/remote control technology developed in-house. NEC LCD Technologies, Ltd of Japan forecasts growth in liquid crystal display (LCD) panels as electronic patient records become more common, and had a booth at the same show. These are only a few examples, but there are many more.
Digitizing Information
A closer look at the activities of electronics manufacturers reveals a common objective: recognition of a major business opportunity in the expanding application of information, especially digital information. Many manufacturers in the medical equipment sector agree that enormous market growth is possible, because the medical and health field is probably the industry lagging farthest behind when it comes to applying electronics technology to information.
The national policy position of applying information technology to restructure medicine, as mentioned above, demonstrates strong government support for the move. In the health field, for example, a framework is being planned to systematically manage individual health data acquired in the home and utilize it to prevent illness. In the medical field the widespread adoption of electronic patient records and remote medicine is driving the construction of an efficient medical system linking hospitals to clinics and homes. This represents the perfect opportunity for electronics manufacturers searching for a new market to follow existing major markets such as digital appliances or automobiles. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Ltd of Japan has positioned the healthcare sector as another major business sector, following flat-panel televisions, according to Kimio Minami, general manager, Healthcare Systems Development Office at Matsushita Electric Industrial. The firm established the office in April 2006.
In fact, information has only just really begun to be utilized in the medical and health fields. For example, the government's plan to leverage information technology and restructure medicine calls for the complete shift to online receipt systems by the start of 2011. As of 2005, only about 10% of hospitals and 4% of clinics have online systems (Fig 3). National policy calls for an increase to 100% within only a few years. This degree of abrupt transformation is occurring in many places. Supporting the Future
While officials are calling for the utilization of digital information in medicine and health, advances are likely to be on an individual basis for some time to come. For example, while health information may be measured at home, no methods have been established to define how to analyze it or use it to prevent illness. A number of medical equipment manufacturers agree that physicians cannot utilize health information acquired at home until it is significantly more accurate and detailed.
In the near future, though, efforts to utilize digital information in the medical and health fields will fuse (Fig 4). A source at Toshiba Medical Systems Corp of Japan believes that treatment, diagnostic and health information for a given individual will be stored in a single server, with medical equipment and analysis systems acting as tools (sensors) to input the latest information. Electronics manufacturers will play a major role in realizing this goal in the near future, and some are already in action. In 2006, Intel and other firms began development of a communications protocol to link diverse measurement instruments, with the goal of systematic management of information acquired in the home.
High expectations for electronics technology are evident in personnel development programs, too. The Tohoku University Biomedical Engineering Research Organization (TUBERO), established in July 2003, said the future will demand a fusion of medicine and engineering, not merely the close cooperation they enjoy at present, and hopes to train "biomedical engineers" capable of serving as both physicians and technologists. The Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering is scheduled to be established in the School of Engineering in April 2008 to train such specialists ....../documents/large_document.pdf <a href="/documents/large_document.pdf">Download the large document</a>
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