May 30, 2022
To all press outlets
Ball Wave Inc.
Sysmex to Commence Sales of the SYLPH Ultra-Miniature High-Performance Gas
Chromatograph produced by Ball Wave
Key points of the announcement
・ Ball Wave Inc. (headquarters: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture (Japan); CEO: Shingo Akao; hereinafter“Ball Wave”) and Sysmex Corporation (headquarters: Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture; Chairman and CEO:Hisashi Ietsugu; hereinafter “Sysmex”) have entered into a sales representative agreement for the ultraminiature, high-performance, gas chromatograph*1 (product name: SYLPH) that was developed,manufactured, and sold by Ball Wave.
・ Furthermore, Ball Wave has commenced a joint investigation with Sysmex to explore the possibilityof using SYLPH in clinical testing.
■Background

Ball Wave developed a gas chromatograph for space probe applications (left) that has the dimensions
100 × 100 × 100 mm and weighs approximately 1 kg through joint research with the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA) that works by utilizing the innovative its high-sensitivity “ball SAW” sensor*2
and a “metal MEMS column*3”. Based on these results, Ball Wave has begun providing prototypes of apalm-sized (A5 size) version of the device for applications on the earth (right). Sysmex will now begin
sales of the commercial version of this prototype (named SYLPH) as a representative agent.

Figure 1. Gas chromatograph for space probe applications (left) Gas chromatograph for terrestrial applications (right)

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The ultra-miniature, high-performance gas chromatograph (SYLPH) is expected to be used for many
applications in various fields, including energy, industry, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and healthcare,as shown below:• Energy/industrial fields: Constituent analysis for evaluating the calorific value of natural gas, constituent
analysis of gases discharged from binders and electrolytes during the fabrication and use of lithium
batteries, VOC analysis, abnormal odor screening, etc.
• Agriculture, forestry, fisheries fields: Reduction of food losses by early detection of deterioration offoods such as fresh fish, fruits, vegetables, and food oils, as well as fermentation process monitoring byaroma analysis of alcohol products and soy sauce, etc.
• Healthcare field: Detection of sick house gases in living environments and contaminants in soil, disease
detection by analysis of various bodily gases (exhalation, body odor, intestinal gas), etc.

Gas constituent analysis of manufacturing

Wholesomeness and ripeness checking of fresh foodprocesses

Fermentation process

Screening for hazardous gases and abnormal odors

monitoring
Figure 2. Use cases of “SYLPH”, ultra-miniature high-performance gas chromatograph■ About Sysmex Corporation
In line with its mission of “shaping the advancement of healthcare,” which is defined in the “Sysmex
Way,” the corporate philosophy of the Sysmex Group, Sysmex works to contribute to the developmentof healthcare and the healthy lives of people. Sysmex conducts integrated R&D, manufacturing andsales, and provides support services for its instruments, reagents and software for in vitro testing of2

blood, urine and other bodily fluids. Sysmex supplies its products to medical institutions in more than
190 countries and regions throughout the world.
Website: https://www.sysmex.co.jp/en/*1 A gas chromatograph is an analytical instrument that measures a wide range of species and concentrations by
the phenomenon in which a mixed gas becomes temporally separated as it passes through a flow channel (calleda column) in which a hollow tube is wound around a reel. These are generally large table-top devices. Althoughportable types have also been developed, they are inferior to large models in terms of sensitivity and accuracy.
*2 A surface acoustic wave (SAW) is defined here as a vibration that propagates concentrated at the surface of asolid as it is transmitted across the surface of a ball. The phenomenon was discovered by Professor Emeritus
Yamanaka et al. at Tohoku University.
*3 A highly durable microfabricated column developed by Tohoku University that replaces the fragile and easily
breakable silicon columns with resilient metal in small plate-shaped columns. The new columns are fabricatedusing a microfabrication technology called micro electro mechanical system (MEMS)■ Inquiries

Ball Wave Inc.
Business Strategy Division
Phone number: +81 3 5979 2357
E-mail: tsukahara*ballwave.jp (Replace the * with an @)http://ballwave.jp/english/index.html

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