ILEA000336776: Toray unveils device shortening time for diagnosis

Thermoelectric power generation module developed by NEDO and NIMS.

The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Aisin Seiki, and Ibaraki University announced on April 21 that they have developed a thermoelectric power generation module, which is composed of an alloy of easily available elements such as iron, aluminum, and silicon, and converts temperature differences into electricity. The company has developed a prototype communication device that incorporates the module, and confirmed that it can generate electricity and communicate with a temperature difference of 5 degrees Celsius. The temperature and humidity information was transmitted via Bluetooth, a short-range wireless communication standard, and was successfully displayed in real time on a tablet terminal screen. Photo taken on August 21, 2019, location unknown, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

Double Giken's Communication Tool for ALS Patients

Double Giken has developed a technology to identify the words a patient thinks from the blood flow in the brain and project them on a screen for ALS patients who cannot move their eyelids or fingers. The technology is based on a device that uses near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to determine "yes/no" from brain activity. The patient selects one word at a time and only the vowel sound of the word to be communicated, and the number of words is used to analogize the candidate words to be communicated and show them on the screen. The system, which consists of a personal computer and a terminal, will go on sale in September at the earliest. It was developed with the support of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in collaboration with Professor Naoki Tanaka of Toyo University and others. Photo taken on June 4, 2019, location unknown, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images

Sun Project's Zombie Experience VR

Virtual reality (VR) is beginning to expand beyond games to events and educational applications. The price of head-mounted displays (HMDs) has dropped and their usability has improved, and commercial production and human resource training are being commercialized. It is not necessary to create full CG content, and know-how has been accumulated to bring out the best results while reducing production costs. "The cost of building VR has come down due to investment in the game industry. The cost of building VR has come down due to investment in the game industry, and VR is beginning to enter areas that were previously unprofitable, such as corporate human resource development," explains Shoichi Hasegawa, an associate professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Having studied VR for a long time, he said, "VR has matured as research. However, social implementation is still in its infancy. (= April 5, 2019, credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images)

Hitachi devises blood sugar monitor that doesn't use blood

TOKYO, Japan - Hitachi Ltd. has developed what it claims to be the world's first blood sugar monitor for diabetics that does not require users to collect a blood sample. The non-invasive blood sugar monitoring device (photo) is intended to compute blood sugar levels by using special sensors to detect physiological parameters related to the body's metabolism, such as thermal energy, oxygen supply, and blood flow. To compute the blood sugar level, a patient places a finger on the device for 10 seconds and repeats the action two minutes later. The device takes a further two minutes to display the results. (Kyodo)

Sony unveils format enabling MDs to hold 45 hours of music

TOKYO, Japan - Sony Corp. has developed a mini-disk (MD) format that realizes a recording time of up to 45 hours of music on an MD. The development of what Sony calls the ''Hi-MD'' format (disk at R, audio system at L) marks ''an evolution of the music recording MD format into a versatile recording media that also delivers personal computer data such as images and text file recording capacities, while maintaining playback compatibility with the current MD products and ensuring copyright security,'' the consumer electronics giant said in a press release on Jan. 8. (Kyodo)

Toshiba develops 'DNA chip' for interferon efficacy

TOKYO, Japan - Toshiba Corp. said Sept. 19 it has developed the prototype of a compact medical diagnosis equipment (handout photo) to help doctors judge whether interferon treatment is suitable for specific hepatitis C patients by examining individual characteristics of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the patients. ''DNA Chip'' enables doctors to speedily decide whether interferon may be administered to a patient despite its side-effects, or if other treatment should be used, Toshiba said. (Kyodo)