Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

Global healthcare systems face immense pressure to deliver more precise, less invasive, and cost-effective diagnostics. The rise of personalized medicine and preventative care mandates technologies that can detect subtle physiological changes early. This patent offers a critical advancement by enhancing the diagnostic capabilities of ubiquitous CT scanners, aligning with the global push for improved patient outcomes and optimized healthcare resource utilization, particularly in oncology and inflammatory disease management.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Reduces image noise by up to 20% by converting CT value variations to temperature variations, enabling high-precision detection of subtle thermal changes.

02

Generates temperature distribution information with varying display modes based on set temperature resolution, supporting intuitive diagnostics.

03

Integrates as a software module into existing CT systems, visualizing deep internal temperature anomalies without increasing patient burden.

Market Opportunity
Medical Imaging Diagnostics
$1.5B–$2B globally (AI est.)
With an aging population, there is a growing need for non-invasive, high-precision early diagnostics. This technology enhances the value of existing CT systems, potentially accelerating market growth.
Major medical imaging equipment manufacturers Diagnostic software developers Large hospital networks
Drug Discovery and Clinical Research
$300M–$350M globally (AI est.)
This technology could non-invasively evaluate drug pharmacokinetics and treatment efficacy in real-time, contributing to more efficient and accurate new drug development. Demand in the research market is expected to increase.
Pharmaceutical R&D companies Contract Research Organizations (CROs) Academic research institutions
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

This patent provides strong and stable protection for its core technology, with claims covering the calculation of CT value variations, temperature conversion using a lookup table, temperature resolution setting, and temperature distribution information generation. Its high originality is supported by a limited number of prior art documents, ensuring a robust foundation for licensees.

Competitive White Space

Adjacent areas for further IP development could include integrating this temperature mapping with other imaging modalities like MRI or ultrasound for multi-modal diagnostic fusion, or extending its application to real-time therapeutic monitoring during procedures such as ablation or hyperthermia.

Economic Impact
~$1M/year estimated medical cost reduction per facility (est.).
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

Improving diagnostic accuracy by 5% could reduce re-examinations and unnecessary treatments by 500 cases annually. Assuming a medical cost of $2,000 per case, this could result in an annual reduction of ~$1M ($2,000/case × 500 cases) (AI est.). This is particularly impactful for early tumor detection and inflammation localization, contributing to reduced patient burden and optimized medical resources.

Speed to Market
5× faster than in-house development
This technology can be integrated as a software module into existing CT devices, eliminating the need for extensive hardware modifications and significantly shortening development time. The algorithm is established, and the CT value-to-temperature conversion table is technically validated, allowing licensees to quickly proceed with product commercialization or service deployment. This is estimated to reduce time-to-market by approximately 3.2 years compared to developing a similar system from scratch.
Competitive Positioning

X: Diagnostic Accuracy and Resolution
Y: Ease of Implementation and Cost Efficiency

Business Models & Applications
💡 SaaS-based Diagnostic Support
Offer a software module for CT diagnostic systems. A monthly subscription could provide access to advanced temperature distribution analysis, easing the burden on diagnosticians and improving diagnostic accuracy.
🤝 Technology Licensing
License the core algorithm of this technology to medical device manufacturers. This enables integration into their products, enhancing product value and strengthening market competitiveness.
📊 Data Analysis Service
Provide temperature distribution analysis services for anonymized CT image data from medical institutions. This could be used to build early disease detection models and optimize treatment protocols.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
🏭 Manufacturing (Quality Control)
Industrial Non-Destructive Testing
This technology could be applied to detect internal defects or material degradation in industrial products. By analyzing subtle temperature distribution anomalies from CT scan data, it could enhance the precision of quality control and predictive maintenance, potentially reducing defect rates by 15-20%.
🧪 Chemistry and Materials Science
Evaluation Tool for New Material Development
This technology could evaluate thermal properties and internal structural changes of newly developed materials by combining CT scans with temperature distribution analysis. It could non-destructively analyze material homogeneity, heat generation from stress concentration, or phase transition behavior, potentially accelerating development cycles by 20-30%.
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 12-Month Deployment
Phase 1: Technical Compatibility Assessment and Design
Duration: 3 months
Design interfaces with the licensee's existing CT systems and define customization requirements for the CT value-to-temperature conversion table. This phase involves aligning technical specifications and formulating an implementation plan.
Phase 2: Prototype Development and Testing
Duration: 6 months
Develop a prototype of the software module based on the defined requirements. Conduct testing using real-world data to evaluate initial performance and implement functional improvements.
Phase 3: Production Deployment and Optimization
Duration: 3 months
Deploy the finalized system into the production environment. Continuously monitor performance after launch and optimize the system based on feedback to ensure stable operation.
Technical Feasibility
This technology is a software-based solution for generating temperature distribution information from CT image data. The patent claims clearly describe steps for calculating CT value variations, converting to temperature using a lookup table, setting temperature resolution, and generating temperature distribution information. It can easily extend the functionality of existing medical CT devices by processing their generated image data. No new hardware or significant capital investment is required, as it can be implemented via software updates or module additions on existing IT infrastructure, indicating low technical barriers to adoption.
Success Scenario
Upon adopting this technology, medical facilities could receive high-precision temperature distribution information in real-time, in addition to conventional CT images. This is estimated to enable diagnosing physicians to visually identify subtle temperature changes in tumors or inflammatory sites, significantly improving the accuracy of early disease detection and pathological progression assessment. Consequently, patient burden could be reduced, and more effective, personalized treatment plans could be formulated.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2022-011936
REGISTRATION NO.
7671508
FILING DATE
2022/01/28
GRANT DATE
2025/04/23
EXPIRATION DATE
2042/01/28
PATENT HOLDER
学校法人北里研究所
Examination History
2024年07月11日
出願審査請求書
2025年04月01日
特許査定