AIST > Organization > Research Bases > AIST Shikoku > HTRC

Health Technology Research Center

Fields	Life Science
Research Units	Health Technology Research Center

Outline of Research

Because Japan is an aging society with fewer and fewer children, and the issue of health, which is the key to a comfortable human life without anxiety, is a matter of great concern for its people. Recognizing this, The Japanese goverment is promoting the development of health maintenance technology and the creation of health maintenance technology and creation of health-related industries as part of its Strategy for Creating New Industries which was proposed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry(METI) and the Council for Science and Technology Policy(Cabinet Office), Likewise, one key goal of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology(AIST) is research and development related to good health and longevity, both of which are essential components for a high-quality life, by specifying priority topics in accordance with a research strategy based on the needs of society, in order to achieve its second period Mid-Term objective.

Health-related studies include divers subjects,encoompassing the interaction between human beings and the natural and living environments, the physiological homeostatic mechanism in human beings and the physical and mental effects of various kinds of stresse in social life. In paticular ,health engineering studies require a wide range of research, combining biotechnology, human engineering, environmental engineering, information engineering, material engineering, and social engineering amoung other fields.

In the next five years, the Health Technology Research Center, which was established during AIST's, second period,will purse research and development focusing on the technical study of the maintenance and management of human health, based on the research resources accumulated by its Shikoku Substation. The Center will alsostrive to establish a new research area referred to as the health- technology research area, in order to contribute to the creation of a new 21^st-century industry.

Specically, the main objectives of the Center are to develop the technology for advanced disease prediction and diagnosis, so that the physiological condition of potential patients who are at risk of desease, to develop the technology to eliminate various risk factors present in our immediate living environment and to return the results to society. The Center also intendto make the results of its cooperative reseach with other research groups, companies and universities in the field of health engineering available to society, and to established its presence as a base for promoting health-related industries in the Shikoku area.

ISafe comfortabl human life requires on the maintenance and promotion of health with the emphasis on early predictioin or indecation of abnomal health conditions and taking appropriate measures without delay, as well as research on the creation of living environments suitable for maintaning good health.

ITo realize these goals, the Center will develop the technology to predict and diagnose health conditions based on a functional analysis of biological materials associated with diseases and conduct research on technology for isolating, eliminating,and neutralizing adverse factors in the living environment which can deteriote human health based on precision measurement and microfabrication.

Nano-bioanalysis Team, Biodevice Team

The general purpose of these terms is to study the development of predictive and diagnosis technologies for health maintenance based on the analysis of biological functions and develop device for this purpose.Specific goals include the following:

- Development of 1-molecule real-time imaging technology for examination of the dynamic processes of genes and proteins in a living cells with the aim of creating a cancer-diagnosis technology and prediction/diagnosis technology for obesity.

- Development of bio-devices which can analyze within a few minutes the haplotypes of the human genome using nano-technology, development predictive/diagnostic technology for hypertension and diabetes, and development of technology for determining the beneficial effects and side effects of drugs and medicines.

- Development of bio-devices which can analyze within a few minutes the protein markers of lifestyle-related diseases in infinitesimal amounts of blood, and research and development of home-diagnosis technology.

- Development of element technologies, including 1-molecule DNA manipulation technology and 1-molecule DNA-sequence identification technology, as part of the development of 1-molecule DNA analysis technology for made-to-order medical care based on individual genomic analysis.

Glycolipid Function Analysis Team

The purpose of this team is to study evaluation technology for biological functions,with the following objective:

- Development technology for the prediction, diagnosis and treatment of cancers and central-nervous-system disorders by identifying and clarifying the activity of molecules involved in signal transfer on cell surface during various life processes.

Health Hazards Reduction Team

The purpose of this team is to study health-risk reduction technologies,with the following objective:

- Development of high-performance adsorbents which selectively remove harmful substances including nitrate, borate, fluoride, and ammonium ions, as well as persistent organic pollutants.

- Development novel antibacterial agents, which retain their antibacterialproperties in aqueous media for over 1 year, based on novel silver-ion-exchanged materials which exhibit wide antibacterial spectra.

- Development of technology for removal and/or detoxification of microorganisms, such as viruses and fungi, through controlled nano-interface interactions, with the aim of applying the technology to hygienic and medical care.

- Integration of the above fundamental technologies, for producing safe drinking water and medical water from rivers or lakes.