I recently visited CEATEC 2019, held at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba, Japan from October 15. This was Sony's first time exhibiting in six years, and our display this year centered on the Medical Business Group. We highlighted our medical products and solutions while introducing our initiatives for creating social value in this domain through Sony's technologies.

Being briefed on ORBEYE by Kenji Otaka (Senior General Manager,
Medical Business Group, Sony Imaging Products & Solutions)

■ Leveraging Sony's Technologies in the Medical Field

The Sony booth showcased a number of technologies developed by Sony Olympus Medical Solutions (SOMED). These included a highly compact 4K endoscope capable of accurately displaying the operation area, and the ORBEYE 4K 3D surgical microscope system that is contributing to the field of brain surgery.

ORBEYE hands-on demonstration

These products harness many of Sony's "Reality" and "Real-Time" technologies. Sony's image capturing technologies such as our highly sensitive CMOS image sensors, image processing and 3D recording technologies enable capturing of images from the dark interior environment of the human body. The transmission technologies we accumulated through our years of experience in the broadcasting domain enable us to show the captured images and video in real-time, without delay. And our display technologies output those images onto screens in the operating theater in high contrast, 4K picture quality.

In the life sciences field, which has been making stunning progress in regenerative medicine and immunology, we showcased our flow cytometer^(*), which is used to analyze cells. Its cell analysis system, which utilizes lasers as a light source, is adapted from optical disk-related technologies from our development of Blu-Ray Disc and other technologies.

※ "Flow cytometer" is the general term for devices that optically analyze cell counts and information about the interior and exterior of cells (size, structure, biomarkers, etc.). More specifically, it refers to sorters, which isolate target cells for study, and analyzers, used primarily when observing cells.

■ The History of Sony's Medical Business

Sony's medical business began in the area of B2B, initially focusing on the sale of peripheral devices such as display monitors and printers to medical institutions. Since then, we have strengthened the business and expanded its scope through joint ventures and M&A activities in Japan, the U.S., and Europe. In 2010, we entered the life sciences business with the acquisition of iCyt Mission Technology. Following this, we established SOMED as a joint venture company with Olympus Corporation. Then, in 2016, through the acquisition of eSaturnus, who I mentioned in my blog in May, we began our foray into IP-based medical imaging solutions.

Operating a business in the medical field requires deep knowledge and compliance with regulations, established sales channels for delivering products and solutions to customers, and industry-specific insight and assets. This is why, in addition to developing our own proprietary technologies and products, the extent to which we can effectively collaborate with outside entities is crucial in continuing to grow our business. Therefore, highlighting Sony's presence in the medical field at this year's CEATEC was a major accomplishment as we work to build new partnerships in this domain.

We have entered and are operating our medical business from a long-term perspective. I believe this year's exhibit allowed us not only to underline Sony's presence in the medical space, but also to demonstrate Sony's commitment to a long-term approach for bringing innovation to the medical field, and contributing to people's health.

■ Murata Manufacturing's All-solid Batteries

On a personal level, there was another highlight of my visit to this year's CEATEC which took place at the Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. booth. They were displaying next-generation all-solid batteries^(*) for small devices, for which they won this CEATEC's Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry Award, and the person who gave me the overview was a former Sony employee. I was extremely pleased to see the technologies we transferred to Murata as part of the transfer of our battery business in 2017 being combined with Murata's own, and equally thrilled to see our former colleagues who transferred to Murata thriving in a new work environment.

* All-solid batteries: A type of solid-state battery that uses ceramic components instead of the electrolytic solutions normally used in lithium-ion batteries, achieving increased safety and durability.

	Ishizuka-san being briefed on all-solid batteries.