Advancing Medical Imagingto Propel Research: LPIXEL Inc.

Medical imaging goes hand in hand with medical research. As the name indicates, medical imaging consists of all the techniques of generating visual representations of the interior of the body for medical analysis, diagnosis, and even treatment. Advances in information technology have paved the way for superior medical imaging techniques and as a result, helped researchers make improvements in various modes of treatments and diagnosis. A Japanese company named LPIXEL aims to improve medical imaging techniques by making advances in image processing methods and data analysis techniques.

The key to better imaging techniques lies in the efficient means of processing information. Medical images are data at the end of the day and a superior means to process them would go on to lay the foundation of better medical imaging.

Holistic Means of Improving Research

While carrying out the integration of life sciences, image processing, and analysis technology, we aim to improve the technology to its pinnacle. What we want to do through LPIXEL is more than life science image processing and analysis. We want to change the world of research and make it better.

Researchers cannot have the luxury of a well-rounded environment such as career, education, funding, and personal connections. While everyone acknowledges the preciousness of pushing the truth of research, society does not necessarily welcome researchers who grow up in a shelled environment. LPIXEL thinks that it can contribute to making the world better by changing the research environment that has hardly changed since numerous decades.

What the company wants to change is the world of research itself. By charting the unknown territories of medical research and providing the industry a means to do so, LPIXEL has stayed true to its mission of “making research exciting”. Realizing that it is an endless meandering corridor, the management motivates the team to stay true to the mission statement while also visit new avenues.     

A Fresh Take on Big Data

In recent years, the rapid expansion, complexity, and diversification of data have made big data a looming social problem. In the next 10 years, there is an educated estimate that the amount of information in the whole world will be 40 times what it is now, and various measures have been taken for its utilization.

This big data problem tends to be regarded as a problem by experts in various sectors and businesses. It is in fact, becoming a far more serious problem in research fields such as those dealing with life sciences. This seeps into the medical imaging industry, and with the rapid advancement of research and medical devices such as microscopes and MRI, the problem of Big Data is becoming more pronounced.

In light of this, LPIXEL is dedicated to working on the challenges of life sciences, which will become even more serious given its current rate of growth. With the technology it has been developing for bio-imaging in its laboratory for over a decade, LPIXEL has accumulated many achievements so far, helped in no small way by algorithms developed in its laboratory. Additionally, the company also leverages cutting-edge machine learning technology, also called artificial intelligence.

LPIXEL firmly believes in challenging the status quo in the medical imaging industry and knows that it is only possible with the help of advanced technology.

LPIXEL has developed its flagship product, called EIRL. It is the next generation of medical diagnostic support technology. In order for medical diagnostic work to be expanded along with advanced modalities, EIRL analyzes images and all other information needed for medical diagnosis and aims to provide an environment that enables faster, more efficient and accurate diagnosis.

Meet The Visionary behind LPIXEL’s Rapid Growth, Shimahara Hajime

Graduated from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Emerging Science, Doctoral course (Life Science). While in university, he participated in the synthetic biology convention iGEM which happened at MIT (Bronze Award). His research interests are artificial photosynthesis, image analysis, and simulation of organelles. He joined Gree Co., Ltd. and engaged in Business Strategy development and later in human resources strategy department. Hajime also worked at other IT companies overseas in business development departments to promote business tie-ups with companies in the US, Europe, and Asia. He later founded LPIXEL Co., Ltd. in March 2014 with 3 associates.  His company was awarded “Startup Next Innovator 2015 (Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry)” for the Silicon Valley Dispatch Selection. Moreover, Hajime was also Named "Top of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia (2017)" Healthcare & Science.

“The synergistic effect of life science and image analysis, which is the core technology of LPIXEL, is expressed by overlapping of color space. The innovative products created by the combination of core technologies symbolize how LPIXEL will bring new value into society.”