About Us

A Message From Our Director

Director of the Department of Artificial Intelligence

Daiju Ueda, MD, PhD

Our laboratory has just begun its journey as a newly established permanent basic research laboratory in 2024, but we have already published numerous world-class research studies in the medical AI field and are actively bridging the gap to clinical practice through the acquisition of medical device certifications.

Under the philosophy of "Implementing Global Health," we aim to become a world-leading laboratory in applying artificial intelligence technology to medicine. Our research results have been published in first-class international journals such as The Lancet Digital Health, the pinnacle of digital health research, and Radiology, a globally authoritative journal in medical imaging.

I want to emphasize that we focus not only on basic research but also on clinical implementation. The brain aneurysm diagnostic assistance program for MRA that we co-developed was the first in Japan to receive PMDA approval (30100BZX00142000) as a medical device that uses deep learning, and it is already being used in clinical settings.

In medical AI research and development, we prioritize not only high diagnostic accuracy and efficiency but also fairness, ethical considerations, and harmony with the global environment (Planetary Health). We also tackle diagnostic possibilities and challenging tasks that are difficult even for medical professionals through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates knowledge from medicine, engineering, and data science.

Taking advantage of our strength as a permanent AI department within the medical school, we are also focusing on nurturing the next generation of medical AI researchers. We actively promote collaboration with domestic and international research institutions and companies, aiming for rapid social implementation of research results.

Although we are a new laboratory, we have already built a solid track record and will continue to contribute to global health through the development of innovative medical AI. We sincerely request your support and cooperation.

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Philosophy

Our laboratory aims to create medical innovations using artificial intelligence (AI) technology under the concept of "Implementing Global Health." We promote research that integrates and analyzes various medical data including images, text, and voice to deliver optimal medical care to patients while also existing in harmony with the global environment.

Vision

Clinical Implementation

Beyond AI technology research and development, we create products that are utilized in actual clinical settings as medical devices, supporting both patients and healthcare professionals. Like our brain aneurysm diagnostic assistance program that received PMDA approval, we will actively introduce deep learning-based solutions into clinical practice.

  • Obtaining Medical Device Approval and Certification
    • We promote research and development of products intended for clinical use, such as deep learning-based diagnostic support tools, with regulatory approval and certification in mind.
    • Leveraging our experience in obtaining PMDA approval, we systematize and standardize procedures for protocol development, data quality management, and safety evaluation.
  • Challenging Unknown Territories
    • Beyond supporting or automating tasks traditionally performed by healthcare professionals, we use AI to explore areas previously thought impossible for medical professionals, such as estimating cardiopulmonary function from chest X-rays.
    • We engage in multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaborative research to show the robustness of our novel AI.
  • Utilization of Real-World Data
    • We aim to build highly versatile algorithms through the collection and analysis of real clinical data. We develop AI models that support early diagnosis, prognosis prediction, and treatment decision-making by utilizing a wide range of data including medical images such as MRA, CT, and MRI, as well as electronic medical records and voice data.
    • We create a secure research environment by thoroughly protecting data privacy and security.

Establishing Fairness and Ethics

When introducing AI to medical settings, we emphasize algorithmic fairness, bias control, and inclusive operation to establish ethical utilization methods that do not compromise the quality of medical care.

  • Bias Assessment and Ensuring Fairness
    • We systematically evaluate the impact of various factors such as gender, age, and race on training data and inference results to reduce risks that impair fairness.
    • We introduce fair evaluation metrics in addition to classification accuracy and reproducibility, and share information transparently with the academic community and society.
  • Cooperation with Ethics Committees and Resolving Ethical Issues
    • Beyond complying with ethical guidelines and regulations, we identify and evaluate anticipated risks such as patient rights and information handling in medical AI and take necessary measures.
    • We actively participate in international discussions and guideline formulation, demonstrating leadership in fulfilling ethical responsibilities.

Development of Planetary Health

We tackle research that balances healthcare and the global environment in response to global challenges such as population growth and global warming. Through energy-efficient AI technology and building sustainable research and development systems, we enhance healthcare quality while minimizing environmental impact.

  • Efforts to Reduce Environmental Impact
    • As computational resources for AI development tend to have high energy consumption, we work to reduce CO₂ emissions by considering efficient learning algorithms and the use of green energy in cloud computing.
    • We envision technology development that contributes to environmentally conscious changes in medical settings, such as reducing medical waste and utilizing renewable energy.
  • Balancing Global Health and Regional Healthcare
    • We develop scalable AI models with use in low and middle-income countries in mind, not just high-income countries. Through telemedicine and teleradiology, we support medical care in areas with limited medical resources, with the goal of reducing health disparities.
    • We research forward-looking healthcare strategies by accurately capturing changes in the global climate and infectious disease risks.

Education and Human Resource Development

  • Interdisciplinary Human Resource Development
    • Taking advantage of our permanent AI department within the medical school, we create an environment where not only healthcare professionals but also those with backgrounds in engineering, science, and data science can learn from each other.
    • We provide young researchers and graduate students with comprehensive educational programs where they not only discuss cutting-edge medical AI technology but also ethics, regulations, and social implementation.
  • International Exchange and Leadership
    • We promote collaboration with renowned international research institutions and expand opportunities for international joint research.
    • We strengthen leadership in the field of AI × Medicine by presenting research results through academic events both domestically and internationally.

From Research to Market

  • Strengthening Collaboration with Industry
    • We build a system that seamlessly connects basic research to practical application via strong industry-academia collaborations between medical device manufacturers and IT companies.
    • We also consider spin-offs and joint development with venture companies as a means to rapidly transform research results into social implementation.
  • Collaboration with Administration and Regulatory Authorities
    • We collaborate with regulatory authorities such as the PMDA and the FDA to develop products that combine thoughtful design and evidence-based approaches to smoothly advance the medical device approval process.
    • We contribute to guideline formulation and standardization efforts to promote the spread of AI medical devices.

Turning Over Research Results to Society

  • Open Science and Data Sharing
    • We actively return research findings through paper publications and conference presentations, and disseminate information as openly as possible while considering patenting.
    • We also work on developing large-scale medical databases and open access repositories while thoroughly implementing privacy protection and security measures.
  • Educational Programs and Public Lectures
    • We conduct lectures and events for the general public and patients to contribute to improving understanding and literacy regarding medical AI.
    • We create an environment where the transformation of medicine brought about by AI can be easily understood and accepted not only within the hospital but also in the local community.

Future Prospects

  • Our laboratory has already built a track record in world-class academic journals (The Lancet Digital Health, Radiology, etc.). In the future, we will expand applications to a wide range of fields including not only diagnostic imaging but also pathological diagnosis and biosignal analysis, contributing to the realization of personalized medicine.
  • As a leading research laboratory that proposes sustainable medical AI based on the concept of Planetary Health while ensuring international fairness and ethics, we will make an impact on the global research community and the medical world.