[ITmedia Business Online] "Japan's way of winning lies in measurement" Tohoku University challenges Nobel Prize winner Koichi Tanaka to surpass the limit of "1000x accuracy"

On October 1, Tohoku University (Sendai City) and Shimadzu Corporation (Kyoto City) jointly opened the Interdisciplinary Measurement Innovation Center (CICMI), a research base aimed at advancing analytical measurement technology. The joint research institute will run for five years, and both parties will contribute a total of 1.5 billion yen.

The biggest highlights are the development of mass spectrometry technology that is 1,000 times more accurate than current technology, and the appointment of Koichi Tanaka (Executive Research Fellow at Shimadzu Corporation), who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2002, as an International Distinguished Professor at his alma mater, Tohoku University. Mr. Tanaka nurtures the next generation by giving lectures to students, research and development to students and young researchers, and providing know-how advice.

Mr. Tanaka, 67, says, ``I want to bloom one more time before I retire,'' and his challenge with the next generation of young people is to push the limits of ``seeing the invisible'' technology that will revolutionize ultra-early disease detection and green fields. Will Japan rise to the top of the world, armed with "measurement," which is positioned as a common foundation that supports economic security? The challenge of strengthening national power beyond the framework of industry-academia collaboration has begun.

Why are we investing 1.5 billion yen in "measurement" now? Significance as a national strategy

CICMI was newly established on both Tohoku University's Aobayama and Seiryo campuses. Why are Tohoku University and Shimadzu Corporation investing huge amounts of money to build a new base now? Behind this is a strong sense of crisis and expectations that measurement technology will affect Japan's economic security.

In July, under the Takaichi administration, the government established ``17 strategic areas'' for priority public-private investment, including AI/semiconductors, drug discovery/advanced medical care, and defense. This ``measurement'' is the foundation of all these cutting-edge technologies. This time, CICMI aims to develop "soft laser desorption ionization method" and "MEMS" (microelectromechanical systems).

In short, it is a technology that enables ``ultra-early detection'' of diseases by analyzing important molecules such as proteins without destroying them, and using ultra-small sensors that apply semiconductor technology. The aim is to create new industries and lead the world by "visualizing" things that were previously invisible, from pharmaceuticals and foods to green fields.

Destructive power with 1000 times more precision enables "ultra early detection" of diseases

Japan has one of the world's most advanced technological bases, which it has cultivated over many years for ``separating complex things, detecting minute amounts, and identifying them.'' CICMI's ambitious goal is to bring together the comprehensive knowledge of Tohoku University and the technology of Shimadzu Corporation and develop this strength to its maximum potential.

Specifically, we will aim to improve the sophistication of MALDI-TOF MS, a device that ionizes and analyzes the mass of macromolecules such as proteins without destroying them as much as possible. The goal is to push the limits by increasing the ``ratio of useful signal components to interfering noise components'' (S/N ratio), which is a measure of measurement quality, by 1000 times compared to the current level.

Toshiro Kaneko, director of the Non-Equilibrium Plasma Research Center at Tohoku University, explains, ``Early detection of diseases requires the detection of very small amounts of biomarkers.Japan has a strong technological base for such things, including the ability to separate complex things, detect minute amounts, and identify what they are. Developing this strength will lead to strengthening Japan's scientific technology and industrial competitiveness.''

If the accuracy increases by 1,000 times, it will be possible to detect extremely small amounts of biomarkers, leading to medical innovation that allows for ultra-early response to infections and diseases. Furthermore, in order to extract meaningful information from the huge amount of measurement data, the company plans to combine it with AI to accelerate its social implementation.