Activities

On August 21, 2026, at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Smooth Muscle Research held in Matsuyama, Associate Professor Toshihiro Takamatsu gave a presentation titled “Label-free visualization of the intestinal nerve plexus using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging and machine learning” and received the Young Investigator Award.

This research aims to develop a label-free visualization technique for the intestinal nerve plexus, which is usually difficult to observe without staining, by combining near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) and machine learning.

The award recognizes the expansion of our near-infrared spectroscopic imaging research toward functional and pathological evaluation of the gastrointestinal tract. We sincerely appreciate the support of our collaborators and everyone who has supported this research.

Encouraged by this award, we will continue advancing the research toward technologies that can contribute to future clinical applications.

On July 25, 2026, Associate Professor Toshihiro Takamatsu gave a presentation at the 10th Ibaraki Tech Plan Grand Prix on the theme of “A next-generation endoscopic system for visualizing invisible deep structures.” He presented the research results and a business development concept.

As a result, the originality of the technology, its potential applications in clinical settings, and its future business potential were highly evaluated, and he received two corporate awards: the Sanwa Needle Bearing Award and the Kowa Award.

This technology is a next-generation endoscopic system that uses near-infrared spectroscopic imaging and AI to visualize important deep structures, such as blood vessels and nerves, that cannot be confirmed by the naked eye during surgery, thereby supporting surgeons’ decision-making. We are advancing research and development toward safer surgery and reduction of complications.

We will continue to deepen collaboration with companies and medical institutions, promote the social implementation of our research outcomes, and work toward medical devices that can be used in actual clinical practice.

An interview with Associate Professor Toshihiro Takamatsu has been published in the interview and column section of LINK-J.

The article introduces the development of laparoscopic surgical support technology using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging, collaboration with clinical partners, and prospects for clinical implementation and commercialization.

Read the interview

We participated in the 34th International Congress of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES 2026), held in Athens, Greece, and presented our research on near-infrared imaging laparoscopes.

On June 23, in the “Amazing Technologies” session, Dr. Okamoto delivered an oral presentation titled “Development of a Laparoscopic Real-Time NIR Hyperspectral Imaging for Deep Structure Navigation” (T. Takamatsu, Y. Echigo, M. Ogata, N. Okamoto, H. Takemura).

In the e-poster session, Masahiro Ogata, an M2 student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, presented “In vivo organ classification using a near-infrared multispectral imaging laparoscope with high-power LEDs” (M. Ogata, Y. Echigo, S. Hayashi, N. Okamoto, T. Takamatsu, H. Takemura). On June 25, we also joined the Social event and enjoyed exchanges with physicians, company representatives, and researchers from abroad.

On June 13, 2026, Associate Professor Toshihiro Takamatsu was accepted into the Business Planning (BP) Course of the Research Studio GET Program 2026 at the BP Course selection event held at Nihonbashi Life Science Hub.

At the selection event, he presented a business concept for surgical navigation technology using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging. Through the BP Course, we will further develop the business plan toward future implementation in clinical settings.

We participated in the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Spectroscopical Society of Japan in Fukui. On June 10, Yuichi Echigo, an M1 student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, presented our research on near-infrared spectroscopic imaging endoscopy.

After the meeting, we had a discussion and reception with Dr. Kutsumi from Fukui Rehabilitation Hospital and Prof. Okino from Institute of Science Tokyo, exchanging ideas on future research directions and medical applications.