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October 9, 2012
--To contribute to the early detection of cancer--
Tokyo, October 9, 2012 - Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, “Hitachi”) today announced the development of basic technology for a contrast agent*1 to be used with high-sensitivity photo-acoustic imaging, a medical imaging technique suited for the detection of minute tumor growths deep within the body. This contrast agent uses nano-droplets*2 which repeatedly change to a gaseous state and generate ultrasound pulses when irradiated by a light source. In comparison to conventional contrast agents, a high ultrasound signal representing almost a tripling of sensitivity was confirmed. Further, it was found that measurement of tumors deep within the body could be achieved with high resolution, something which had hitherto been difficult with conventional contrast agents. This technology is expected to contribute to the early detection and treatment of cancer.
In recent years, there is growing interest in photo-acoustic imaging which irradiates a tissue region and measures the generated ultrasound pulse, as it offers new possibilities in measurement which were not available in conventional ultrasound, such as adjusting the wavelength of the light to image tumor tissue or narrowing the light to observe minute tumors. The development of a contrast agent which would reach the target tumor and efficiently generate ultrasound signals was an issue which needed to be overcome in achieving high sensitivity detection of tumors. This research successfully overcomes this issue with the development of basic technology for a contrast agent for photo-acoustic imaging by applying the nano-droplet technology developed in 2006. Details of the technology are as given below:
The contrast agent is basic technology which can contribute to the early detection or treatment of cancer through the combination with bio-markers which selectively bind to specific diseased tissue.
These results are being presented at the 2012 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS) in Dresden, Germany (7th – 10th October 2012).
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2011 (ended March 31, 2012) consolidated revenues totaled 9,665 billion yen ($117.8 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, industrial, transportation and urban development systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them.For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.