Invented "fingertip-sized one-chip" that overturned the common sense of microscopes --IDDK Ueno dreaming of microscopic observation of the deep sea and space --CNET Japan

"In-house entrepreneurs" who challenge the creation of new businesses and innovation in large companies. What many of them have in common is that they are active not only inside the company but also outside the company, and have horizontal connections, a wide range of connections, an observation eye to find problems, and flexible ideas that can be linked to solutions. is.

In this series, we will interview intrepreneurs who are active in such large companies, introduce intrepreneurs of other companies that they respect, and listen to them in a relay format.

This time, Mr. Soichiro Ueno, CEO of IDDK, who spun off from Toshiba. By using an image sensor like that used in digital cameras, we have developed a "micro-imaging device (MID)" that can directly capture the observation target as an image, and have developed a new microscope that was not possible with a microscope using a conventional lens. I am trying to expand the world of observation.

Commercialization of patented technology while experiencing setbacks

——First of all, please tell us about your background.

My name is Ueno from IDDK. At the university, I researched an optical technology called hyperspectrum that visualizes objects with light, and after being involved in a university-launched venture in a product development business using that technology, I joined Toshiba in 2007.

At Toshiba, we experienced the design and development of image sensors used in mobile phone cameras for about 10 years in the semiconductor-related division, and during that time, we came up with an idea that would lead to the current business using the microscopic observation technology called MID. It was adopted by an in-house venture support system called "Toshiba Startup".

However, I was aiming to commercialize it at another company in 2016, but it failed, and after that, with the support of Startup Hub Tokyo operated by Tokyo in 2017, I started the current company called IDDK. It will be in the launched form.

——You once experienced a setback, didn't you?

In addition to that, at the beginning, through Toshiba Startup, we were promoting commercialization on the premise of an independent carve-out scheme in the form of receiving investment from Toshiba, but at that time, we received investment due to the problem of Toshiba's window dressing settlement. There were twists and turns in the fact that it was possible and unacceptable, and there was also the background that it eventually became a spin-off.

Even so, there is Cytoronix, a cell culture management platform that was recently launched as a carve-out from Toshiba, and there is also Coeste, which was born as a joint venture between Toshiba and Avex. Businesses that have their origins in Toshiba are gradually coming out.

——I continued to challenge without giving up while hitting the wall many times. Where was that motivation?

One is the technique of microscopic observation itself. It was my own patented technology, and being the creator was my motivation as an engineer. The other is that when I was interviewing various people about the commercialization of this technology at that time, Professor Takashi Tsuji of RIKEN, who is known for research on the practical application of regenerative medicine, greatly supported the commercialization. .. The fact that there were people who acknowledged that way was also a big support.

——Isn't there an option to develop your business within Toshiba?

There were some hurdles to proceed within Toshiba. First of all, Toshiba did not have a microscopic observation business in the first place, and there was no underwriter for the business. Even if it is undertaken by the semiconductor division, it seems that we are developing a large-scale business such as an image sensor for mobile terminals, so if we can not see the market of 10 billion yen per year, we are doing mobile. It's better, isn't it? "

However, if a company called Toshiba wasn't interested in this technology, that wasn't the case. When I talked to various business divisions, there were many places that said, "You can become a customer." He said that he would definitely like to use the Toshiba Medical and Healthcare units in the medical department that were in the company at that time. However, there was no place to do the microscopic observation business itself, so I decided to go outside the company and develop it.

You can carry it anywhere and observe it microscopically on the spot.

——Can you tell us more about the technology called “MID” that was born in this way?

IDDK's vision is to spread this "microscopic observation technology that anyone can use anytime, anywhere" to the world. The acronym for that word is taken to the company name "IDDK", but the core technologies that support this are the technologies called MID and micro-imaging devices.

MID is a new microscopic observation method created by combining the optical technology of a university-launched venture and the semiconductor technology learned after joining Toshiba. Whereas conventional microscopes are techniques for magnifying objects with a lens, MID is a technique for viewing objects on devices such as semiconductors and image sensors for cameras.

Mechanism of "MID"

When you capture an object with a high-definition mesh image sensor composed of dots, you can see a world similar to what you see through the lens of a microscope. However, with a normal microscope, an object is placed on a glass plate and a part of it is magnified with a lens to obtain an image, but with MID, there is a difference that you can see it just by placing the object.

——It's interesting that you can see it just by putting something on it. What are the strengths compared to ordinary microscopes?

I think that ordinary microscopes are reasonably large even for individuals. It is even larger with a high-magnification microscope used by professionals such as researchers. It is not realistic to carry such things and use them in various places.

On the other hand, MID has no optical mechanism like a lens, so it is small, easy to carry, and can be arranged freely. For example, just by dripping water scooped from a river on the MID, plankton and the like there will be visible as images on the screen of a computer connected via USB or wirelessly.

You may be wondering, "Is it only in the laboratory that makes microscopic observations?", But in fact, microscopes are now often used in the infrastructure that supports our lives.

For example, some drinking water purification is called biological purification, which uses the power of microorganisms, but a microscope is required to check whether the water is clean. Even in the medical field, microscopic observation of the affected area during surgery, and those with hydraulically operated parts such as elevators and escalators are checked with a microscope because small dust in the lubricating oil can lead to failure. I do.

Nowadays, most of the observations are taken out at the site and brought back to the laboratory for examination, but with MID, you can see it immediately on the spot. In this era, it is significant in that you can work with less movement, and it can also be applied to telemedicine. You can also check if the surrounding air is clean, so you can take immediate action when pollen or chemicals are detected.

You will be able to observe immediately on the spot with MID

——One advantage is that it can be made significantly more compact.

It also has the advantage that it is easy to increase the number because it is small. In most laboratories, there are one or two large microscopic observation devices, and all the researchers use them in turn. By introducing a compact microscopic observation device using MID here, each researcher will be able to have a high-performance observation device one by one. Then, research and development should be further accelerated.

There are some experiments that are not enough even if each person has one. For example, drug discovery. Since we have to check the interaction of various medicines, we have to check a huge pattern of drug combinations. By introducing a large number of MIDs there, multiple experiments can be performed in parallel, so even one person can create a world where experiments can be controlled in a scalable manner.

Moreover, this is a technology that can be observed with a small image sensor 1 chip. If you add functions for cell culture and analysis to this unit and combine them into one unit, the experiment can be further streamlined. If it creates something like a research center with 1 million units, researchers simply set conditions remotely for it and give instructions to conduct experiments all at once.

We believe that research will evolve further if the concept of "cloud lab" is realized, and we have already started selling "Cellany", a microscopic observation device for cell observation, as the first product.

Microscopic observation device "Cellany"

The structure is also very different from that of a microscope. MID has no adjustment points such as focusing. Even if you try to use a microscope in the water, there are complicated moving parts, so you need to take measures such as flooding and devise operations, but with a 1-chip MID, you can see it just by putting it in the water.

——How much is the selling price?

The standard price of Cellany is 550,000 yen. Professional-use microscopes cost 300,000 to 1,500,000 yen, so it's not particularly cheap or expensive compared to that, isn't it?

——Will MID be developed as a commercial product?

While continuing the BtoB project, I would like to challenge the world of BtoC. We announced a MID product that is about the size of a USB stick and can be used by children at Makuake, a purchase-type crowdfunding (the list price is 55,000 yen, and we are looking for support until August 30, 2021). You can use it by dripping water on the sensor part or immersing it in water as it is.

Looking for support for USB stick model at Makuake (until August 30, 2021)