Shintaro Sengoku

Axonal projection of olfactory sensory neurons during the developmental and regeneration processes

We have studied the projection of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), during the developmental and regeneration processes, using the transgenic mouse carrying the differently tagged odorant receptor genes, MOR28. We have found that the axon terminals of the two sets of MOR28-positive OSNs, one expressing the lacZ tag and the other expressing the green fluorescent protein gene, are dispersed and intermingled at early developmental or regeneration stages. Projection areas become more distinct and separated at later stages, however, two sets of axon fibers are not typically bundled or segregated during pathfinding. It appears that segregation of axons mainly occurs when they target at the olfactory bulb to form the glomerular structure.

Global competencies of regional stem cell research: bibliometrics for investigating and forecasting research trends

We employed a bibliometric approach to examine regional stem cell research in the USA, the UK, Japan and China based on publications from 2007 to 2011 with a co-citation clustering analysis to identify region-specific clusters of global competencies. We observed that there are clear differences in the number and interdisciplinary spread of competencies across regions: the USA retains the largest capacity and capability for pursuing medical and pharmaceutical applications; China has shown substantial growth through fusion approaches with chemistry and material sciences; Japan has been pursuing basic biology and is currently seeking further growth; and the UK has shown considerable growth and quality with a focus on medical research and the widest interdisciplinary spread. Furthermore, we discuss policy implications from these results in terms of industrial and clinical applications. These findings provide a rational way of evaluating research policies and forecasting research trends.

Exploring the potential of Mobile Health for product and process innovation

Mobile Health or mHealth is an emerging concept of the use of mobile devices and wireless technology for healthcare purposes. Recently, mHealth-related technology is expected to form a new category of medical devices particularly in the monitoring of patients. This is also anticipated to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of pharmaceutical clinical trials. However, there are challenges to utilize this enabling technology to innovate healthcare business. Considering this context, we explore the potential of mHealth. First, we position mHealth with respect to current innovation theories based on intensive literature review. Second, we hypothesize that mHealth has two potential areas of innovation: product innovation in the medical devices industry and process innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. To test the hypotheses, we conducted a holistic observation on clinical trials to examine how large mHealth impacts a treatment pathway by innovative products. Consequently, we observed 193 studies are registered; however, most of these remain at a primitive level of information and communication technology such as text messaging and application, which suggests a significant gap to the market forecasts. This present study forms the basis of the trend of mHealth and a future outlook from the viewpoint of technology and innovation management.

Innovation process of mHealth: An overview of FDA-approved mobile medical applications

Mobile health or mHealth is expected to provide a way to revolutionize patient care through a wide range of usages. In reality, regulatory authorities have also begun approving mobile medical applications as medical devices. However, the key factors that drive innovations in mHealth, in particular, the dynamics of technological development and market creation, are unclear. To address these issues, the present study explores the key factors that drive the growth of the mHealth industry and potential innovation pathways that need to be incorporated into corporate development strategies of organizations. We analyzed the mHealth products approved by FDA to date (N = 189) in accordance with the novelty of market and/or products and found that new product development in the existing medical market formed the majority (N = 171) whereas diversification or new market development took up only a minor portion (N = 16 or 2, respectively). We also found that the present mHealth industry is being shaped by new entrants or start-ups with expertise in the field of information and communication technology, particularly in collaboration with incumbents in the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry in the cases of radical innovation.

Tracing the knowledge-building dynamics in new stem cell technologies through techno-scientific networks

This study assesses the knowledge-building dynamics of emerging technologies, their participating country-level actors, and their interrelations. We examine research on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, a recently discovered stem cell species. Compared to other studies, our approach conflates the totality of publications and patents of a field, and their references, into single “techno-scientific networks” across intellectual bases (IB) and research fronts (RF). Diverse mapping approaches—co-citation, direct citation, and bibliographic coupling networks—are used, driven by the problems tackled by iPS cell researchers. Besides the study of the field of iPS cells as a whole, we assessed the roles of relevant countries in terms of “knowledge exploration,” “knowledge nurturing,” “knowledge exploitation,” and cognitive content. The results show that a fifth of nodes in IB and edges in RF interconnect science (S) and technology (T). S and T domains tell different, yet complementing stories: S overstresses upstream activities, and T captures the increasing influential role of application domains and general technologies. Both S and T reflect the path-dependent nature of iPS cells in embryonic stem cell technologies. Building on the feedback between IB and RF, we examine the dominating role of the United States. Japan, the pioneer, falls behind in quantity, yet its global influence remains intact. New entrants, such as China, are advancing rapidly, yet, cognitively, the bulk of efforts are still upstream. Our study demonstrates the need for bibliometric assessment studies to account for S&T co-evolution. The multiple data source-based, integrated bibliometric approaches of this study are initial efforts toward this direction.