Since our company’s establishment in 1957, for nearly 60 years we have been engaged in the manufacture and sales of medical equipment. A variety of medical equipment has been produced as advances have been made in plastics and molding methods, but of those, vinyl chloride resin is the most utilized in terms of functionality and cost. Of course, it is safe, and due to functions such as flexibility and transparency, the material is indispensable to disposable medical equipmen
The evolution of medical equipment began with infusion sets and transfusion sets, but in time products were developed such as artificial kidneys and lungs that replace organ functions. Furthermore, there have been rapid advancements in treatments that once required difficult surgeries, but are now minimally invasive treatments, such as methods that make incisions and use endoscopes, and procedures that insert catheters through blood vessels. In addition, implanted medical devices are becoming the norm. In the future, we anticipate regenerative medicine and other advances that use materials such as iPS cells.
As this kind of development occurs, I think the types of raw materials will increase, and a variety of molding methods will also be employed. For example, certain actions are already being practically applied, such as using a 3D recreation of a patient’s own organ created with a 3D printer based on a blueprint of that organ to consider treatments tailored to a patient’s own organ. Within this kind of environment, our company will naturally pursue improvements in conventional products and a higher degree of safety, as well as develop products that meet the demands of the times.。
Recently, growth strategies have been energetically discussed under the label of the recovery of the Japanese economy. It means a revitalization of Japan, the land of manufacturing. Medicine, the environment, and tourism are the centerpieces. Generally speaking, this is very good for the relevant industries and is a theme that industry veterans have long wanted to pursue, but things will not go smoothly simply because the government’s strategies have changed. Though it will be appreciated if authorization is accelerated and further facilitated, clinical trials will never become unnecessary. On the contrary, the assurance of safety and social responsibility will likely become even tougher. I think it is important that we solidify all foundations and take the approach of steadily moving forward a step at a time. This is a challenge that does not permit failure.