SHIMADZU

Research Areas

Brain and Mind

Contributing to prevention and treatment of root causes of
brain-related disorders by visualizing the brain and mind status

  • Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry:Technology used to ionize and analyze the masses of macromolecule/polymer compounds without damaging them [MS]
  • Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Imaging:Technology used to visualize brain activity status by measuring changes in blood flow at the brain surface [fNIRS]
  • Liquid Chromatograph Mass Spectrometry:Technology used to separate components in liquid samples and ionize them to analyze their masses [LC-MS]

Dementia
Establishing testing and diagnostic methods

Estimating Amyloid-Beta Accumulation Levels in the Brain

Joint research with the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology

Discovering biomarkers that can be used to measure amyloid beta accumulation levels in the blood, which have been linked to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption /Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Stages leading to Alzheimer’s Disease
PET examination
Observation of accumulated areas
Screening with Blood Biomarkers
Simple screening
(minimally invasive and low cost)
With no
amyloid beta
accumulation
With
amyloid beta
accumulation
High amyloid-beta accumulation levels. Change in ratio of amyloid-beta biomarkers.

Intellectual Technologies：Advanced NeuroTech Amyloid MS

Simple Measurement of Risk for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

Joint research with Sochikai Memory Clinic

Measuring changes in brain blood flow during calculation task, etc

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Imaging

Calculation task
Such as successively subtracting 7 from 100
Palm sensitivity task
Differentiating similar letters drawn on the palm
Brain blood flow changes during calculation task

Rehabilitation
Restoring brain function

Promoting the restoration of brain function during rehabilitation by having patients imagine body movement while checking changes in brain blood flow for themselves

Joint research with Kawasaki Medical School

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Imaging

Neurofeedback
Training to simulate brain areas with cognitive decline

Neurorehabilitation Application Research

Depression
Improving accuracy of testing and diagnosis

Predicting Risk of Depressio

Joint research with Kyushu University

Identifying risks of developing depression at an early stage by measuring metabolites in blood

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry

Personality classification by expert medical interview

Examples of how various depression symptoms are linked to metabolites in the blood
(Thicker lines and larger dots indicate higher correlation)