HEALTH & WELFARE

Scene from an actual surgery using the 8K
endoscope on a human patient. The images
produced are more detailed than those visible tothe naked eye. With multiple doctors and medical
staff being able to watch the operation at the sametime, they can undertake more difficult surgeries
and share the knowledge and experience gained.

AN 8K-IMAGETECHNOLOGY:A GAME-CHANGER FOR FUTURE SURGERY

The world’s first 8K endoscope has been developed by a Japanese doctor by applying the technologies of NHK Science &Technology Research Laboratories. Bringing microscopic nerves and blood vessels into full view on a big screen, it makes
advanced surgical procedures safer than before. How does such unprecedented resolution transform medical practice?
“It’s as if I were performing surgery inside thepatient’s stomach!”
The surgeon was amazed at the high-resolution
image being projected onto the monitor display when
he operated to remove a gallbladder in the world’s
first clinical surgery with the 8K rigid endoscope.
8K footage boasts 16 times as many pixels as the2K footage of endoscopes widely used today. That isnearly equivalent to being able to read a newspaper
from 10 meters away, and makes tiny blood vessels

and sutures—invisible to the naked eye—clearlyvisible.
Dr. CHIBA Toshio, a Japanese surgeon who has
performed endoscopic surgeries on fetal patients,
developed this world’s first 8K rigid endoscope.
He felt there was room to improve conventional
endoscopes of the time with their low image quality
and light sensitivity.
In 2006, while working as a doctor at the National
Center for Child Health and Development, Dr.

Chiba was transfixed by a documentarybroadcast on Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK,or Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
about the arrest of an airplane hijacker.
What captured his attention so firmly
was the fact that the faces of those
involved were clearly visible, even though
the camera footage was taken in the middleof the night in pitch darkness.
He desperately wanted to make useof this video technology for endoscopic
surgery. So, without wasting any time on
making a prior appointment, he went
immediately to talk to NHK Science &Technology Research Laboratories, which
was conveniently located opposite hisworkplace. He was lucky enough to bumpinto the then director-general, TANIOKA
Kenkichi. The pair hit it off and decided on
the spot to start development to incorporate
first the night-vision technology known as
HARP and then the ultra-high-definition
8K technology in rigid endoscopes.
At the time the prototype 8K endoscope wasintroduced into clinical practices in 2014, it weighed
2.5 kg. Reducing it to be small and light enoughfor practical use in surgery was therefore a major
challenge. However, after much repeated effort, Dr.
Chiba succeeded in reducing the weight of the device
to 450 g in just four months. In 2017, an 8K rigid
endoscope was commercially launched, and the 8K
Surgical Microscope was released later.
“It’s because Japan has a very high level oftechnical expertise in 8K-image sensors andendoscopic lenses that we were able to make theproduct so much more practical,” he remarks.
“Compared to conventional endoscopes, 8K has a
far greater sense of realism. Once you’ve experienced
it, you can’t go back to the old image quality.” This
technology, which enables observations of minutedetails in the inner structure of the body, not onlyallows for safer and more accurate surgical procedures,
but also provides the means for types of surgery
that have previously been extremely difficult. The
possibilities for medical treatment are wide-ranging,as Dr. Chiba says: “Footage of surgery by skilled

Top: An 8K image features many more pixels than the commonly used 2K image,allowing even the smallest details of the subject to be seen clearly.
Left: The 8K endoscope was developed by Dr. Chiba and his team by applying the8K-image sensor technology for broadcasting used by NHK Science & Technology
Research Laboratories. AIR WATER BIODESIGN INC.

surgeons can be used for educational purposes, andonline medical care and remote surgery by medical
specialists can happen far more easily.”
To make the most of 8K-endoscope technology,
it is vital to develop high-speed communication
networks, such as 5G and fiber optics, to efficiently
share the vast amounts of 8K data. And if there isprogress in the development of robotic forceps formore precise operability than with the human hand,and evolution of AI capable of faster and moreaccurate diagnostic imaging, then 8K endoscopes
will be able to demonstrate their true value.
Dr. Chiba goes on, “How quickly we can bring good
products to the practical field is important. In orderto do this, I believe we need to foster open innovation
across borders and industries. Certainly, I would liketo cooperate with people and companies overseas tobuild infrastructure and develop technologies thatmake use of our 8K technology.”
Japan’s video technology, first developed aroundtelevision broadcasting, is having an impact that
could change the future of medical care. No doubt
Dr. Chiba will continue to take on the challenge ofcreating even better medical treatment.
CHIBA Toshio, M.D., Ph.D.
Specialist in fetal and pediatricsurgery. Chairman of board ofdirectors of the Medical
Innovation Consortium andproject professor at Juntendo
University, Faculty of Medicine.
He was awarded the Albert
Schweitzer Award in 2020 for
his achievements in thedevelopment of 8K endoscopes.