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Toshiba Corporation
Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation

TOKYO―MicroRNA detection technology, developed by Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502), has won the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award in CEATEC AWARD 2020, the prestigious awards presented at CEATEC, Japan’s premier electronics industry trade show. The company also took the Semi Grand Prix award in the New Normal Solutions Category for the Simulated Bifurcation Machine.

CEATEC AWARD recognizes highly innovative and superior technologies, products and services exhibited at CEATEC. A panel of judges assesses entries in terms of academic and technological perspectives as well as marketability and future potential.

1. The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award Winner: MicroRNA Detection Technology

One of the two awards made by government ministries, the most respected of the CEATEC AWARD event.

Toshiba’s MicroRNA detection technology is able to accurately detect the presence of any of 13 different cancers, affecting different organs, in only a few hours and using only a small sample of blood.

CEATEC AWARD 2020 judges’ assessment

This compact device can make a significant contribution to medical care by improving QOL as it can offer a quicker way to detect metastases and cancer recurrence via a blood test that puts little burden on the patient. Both the device and electronics that comprise the technology are “Made in Japan”. Compared with RNA detection technologies developed by other companies, it is superior in terms of speed and cost. The technology shows promise for use as an international medical package with a wide range of applications, including the identification of diseases other than cancer. It is expected to become a valuable tool for tracking biomarkers. The aim is to have these tests covered by health insurance and to have them included as part of the National Health Insurance basic medical examination. In addition, this technology was highly evaluated for its potential to contribute to achieving SDG 3 – "Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages".

Minoru Yonezawa, General Manager of the New Business Development Office in Toshiba’s Cyber-Physical Systems x Design Division was delighted by the judge’s decision: "We are very proud to win the award. As made clear in the Toshiba Next Plan, we are promoting precision medicine that delivers early-stage detection and individualized treatment as a core business. MicroRNA detection technology is one of our most important innovations, able to detect early-stage cancers with very high accuracy. We are aiming for early commercialization after completing verification tests.”

Koji Hashimoto, Senior Fellow at Toshiba’s Corporate Research & Development Center also welcomed the award: "The technology is a simply executed, low-burden testing method that realizes early, highly accurate detection of cancers. It has attracted a lot of attention from the healthcare industry since we first announced it in November 2019. We are continuing R&D toward commercialization in the near future.”

 

2. Semi Grand Prix of New Normal Solutions Category: Simulated Bifurcation Machine

This year CEATEC introduced a “New Normal” category for technologies that can help us to overcome the problems of living in the world shaped by the impact of the coronavirus.

The Simulated Bifurcation Machine (SBM) is a technology that selects the best solutions from among an enormous number of patterns. At its heart is a Toshiba-developed algorithm inspired by research in quantum computing that delivers the world's fastest^* and largest-scale combinatorial optimization—the ability to find the optimum solution among many alternatives. Commercialization of the SBM is promoted by Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation.

CEATEC AWARD 2020 judges’ assessment

Combinatorial optimization is recognized for its ability to rapidly solve many issues facing modern society, such as finding the optimal routes for vehicles to alleviate traffic congestion. It is expected that this highly flexible technology, provided either as a cloud service or on-premises, can be used for a wide range of purposes and it is expected to contribute to solving a variety of issues. When put to work for local governments and industry, SBM will pave the way to the creation of an efficient and sustainable world.

Yu Kaneko, Senior Manager at Toshiba’s Corporate Research & Development Center, expressed his pleasure at the selection: "We are delighted to win this award. This is a unique algorithm, directly inspired by the research into quantum computing that we are advancing at Toshiba. It allows us to get the best solutions for complex problems with many alternative solutions, such as how best to route traffic to avoid congestion, and to do so at high speed. It’s a tool that promotes efficiency and productivity. We are proceeding with R&D and working toward commercialization with a number of partners."

Masaru Watabiki, Senior Expert of New Business Development Office, Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation stressed the potential of the technology: "Toshiba Digital Solutions is handling business development for the SBM, developing markets with partners who aim to solve social issues. Going forward, we will do our best to achieve early commercialization.”

Toshiba Group will continue to make efforts to contribute to solutions to the issues that society faces, and to create new services, under the Group’s long standing Basic Commitment, "Committed to People, Committed to the Future."

 

*  Toshiba's Breakthrough Algorithm Realizes World's Fastest, Largest-scale Combinatorial Optimization
    Toshiba Corporation Corporate Research & Development Center press release
      https://www.toshiba.co.jp/rdc/rd/detail_e/e1904_01.html
    Science Advances 19 Apr. 2019, Vol. 5, no. 4, eaav2372
      https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/4/eaav2372