Who are the founders of CYBERDYNE?
CYBERDYNE INC. was established in June 2004, to disseminate the research result of Prof. Dr. Yoshiyuki Sankai, University of Tsukuba, Japan. In 2018, CYBERDYNE, INC. added AcousticX into their product lineup. Dr. Mithun Kuniyil Ajith Singh was hired to lead the Rotterdam-based, European division for developing the photoacoustic imaging technology further. At this point, AcousticX is being sold as research equipment to universities and institutes. There are also efforts in identifying the right clinical applications by collaborating with multiple medical institutes in Europe and the USA for pilot studies. In the long term, the target is to translate this new imaging technology to clinics to touch the lives of people globally. Dr. Mithun Kuniyil Ajith Singh: ‘I am a scientist who is fascinated by this new imaging technique. But, over the years, I learned that numbers (sales revenue, funding to develop further) are more important to survive the translational phase.’
Who is your target group and what are you changing/disrupting for them?
The Rotterdam division of CYBERDYNE currently sells AcousticX as research equipment. The main target group are research institutes and universities. According to Dr. Mithun Kuniyil Ajith Singh ‘Photoacoustic imaging is undoubtedly one of the fastest-growing biomedical imaging modalities in a research setting. However, clinical translation of this technique is not happening at the expected pace, mainly because of the requirement of bulky, expensive, and slow lasers used for illuminating the tissue. We offer the world’s first photoacoustic imaging system with LED arrays as an illumination source. By utilizing LED arrays, AcousticX is portable, affordable, and energy-efficient, making it an ideal choice for researchers interested in clinical imaging applications.’
What is the key driver of your company’s growth?
CYBERDYNE was established in June 2004 as a university venture to solve various social problems facing the super-aged society. Dr. Mithun Kuniyil Ajith Singh: ‘To solve these issues we are focusing on business promotion to create the ideal future by researching, developing, manufacturing, and shipping innovative Cybernics systems, focusing on medicine, welfare, life, and the workplace and utilizing a new field called “Cybernics” that combines human resources, robots, and information. In general, we believe that technological innovations will be the key driver for developing a new Cybernics Industry that fuses “Humans” with “Cyberspace and Physical Space”. As far as the Rotterdam branch is considered, the main focus is on the clinical translation of photoacoustic imaging. By utilizing our excellent research and clinical network, we focus to achieve this goal in the coming years.’
What is the best innovation of all time according to you?
Dr. Mithun Kuniyil Ajith Singh:
“For me, the telephone is the best innovation of all time. Maybe I am biased because my research area (photoacoustic imaging) is also connected with this invention. During Alexander Graham Bell’s research in wireless communication, Bell surprisingly found that sound waves could be induced in solids if it was exposed to rapidly interrupted light. Now we are utilizing this effect for seeing through the tissue for early cancer detection. It is exciting even to write this.”
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