Advanced NeuroTech

Advanced NeuroTech is a unique Shimadzu platform aimed at helping solve the challenges faced by physicians and patients by providing information about the brain needed to understand and treat brain disorders at various stages.

• 

  Presymptomatic/
  Preventive Stage

  Amyloid MS
• 

• 

  Treatment
  Stage

  SCORE Imaging
• 

• 

  Prognosis/
  Rehabilitation Stage

  NIRS Neurorehabilitation

Advanced NeuroTech is made possible by Shimadzu’s diverse range of product lines and technologies in the analytical and medical fields. By visualizing the brain from various perspectives with Advanced NeuroTech, Shimadzu will help solve challenges faced at each stage of healthcare, from the presymptomatic/preventive stage to the treatment and prognosis/rehabilitation stages thereby helping to conquer brain diseases and contribute to the people’s brain health.

Advanced NeuroTech

The following gives the background to the development of Shimadzu’s proprietary Advanced NeuroTech platform and the family of Shimadzu technologies that make Advanced NeuroTech possible.

Background

According to a 2017 Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare report, “Demographic Statistics (Final Figures),” brain-related disorders are a major cause of death in Japan, with cerebrovascular disease the third leading cause (8.2 % overall) and vascular dementia the tenth leading cause (1.5 % overall). In particular, the number of deaths from vascular dementia increased by about 7,000 compared to the previous year, 2016.

Percent of Deaths by Cause (2017)

Early-onset dementia, which starts in relatively young people in their 40s or 50s, rather than only among the elderly, has been gaining attention. Increasing depression due to stress in the workplace and other factors is becoming a social problem that is also attracting a great deal of attention.
Though selecting the best possible treatment method for each patient after the onset of such diseases is important, in recent years, it is now considered extremely important to not only choose the treatment method but also to detect disease earlier or to predict the risk of onset, control recurrence, and promote restoration of health, so they can be treated while symptoms are mild in an effort to prevent progression to more severe symptoms. That would also enable earlier and more accurate prediction of recurrence and its risk, so the appropriate rehabilitation methods can be provided.

Accurately visualizing the state of the brain is important for the early detection of diseases, predicting the risk of onset and recurrence, and selecting the best rehabilitation and treatment methods for each patient. Diseases presumably can occur due to a variety of changes in the brain, such as changes in the quantity or concentration of metabolites present in the blood, a decline in the motor or cognitive functions of the brain, or atrophy, stenosis, or other morphological changes in the brain. Visualizing the interior of the brain can contribute to the early detection and prediction of brain disorders and to selecting the optimal rehabilitation methods.

Shimadzu Technologies Involved in Advanced NeuroTech

Due to the wealth of analytical and medical technologies cultivated over the years, Shimadzu is able to visualize the state of the brain from three perspectives—molecular, functional, and imaging. “Molecular” involves visualizing the quantities and concentrations of metabolites present in blood or saliva. “Functional” involves visualizing cognitive, motor, and psychological functions. “Imaging” involves visualizing the shape of blood vessels and tissues, and the location of disorders.

• > Amyloid MS

• > NIRS neurorehabilitation

• > SCORE Imaging

Advanced NeuroTech uses a combination of Shimadzu’s proprietary visualization technologies based on three different perspectives—molecular, functional, and imaging, to provide information about the brain that is needed at all stages of healthcare, from the presymptomatic and preventive stages to the treatment, prognosis, and rehabilitation stages. That information provides support for early detection and selecting the optimal treatment and rehabilitation methods for patients.
By visualizing the state of the brain from various perspectives through the Advanced NeuroTech platform, Shimadzu will contribute to the health of people’s brains by helping to solve challenges faced in the presymptomatic and preventive, treatment, and prognosis/rehabilitation stages.

Shimadzu Technologies that Enable Brain Visualization