Academic Learning Provides a Starting Point for Thinking
What is the time spent acquiring knowledge in science and technology and conducting research at university or graduate school like? It might be a time to enjoy your final years as a student. At the same time, I believe it is a time to acquire the fundamental basis for thinking that will allow you to live a meaningful life in the rapidly changing world that awaits after graduation. While introducing my research in mechanical engineering, I would like to consider the significance of "academics" in flexibly adapting to a rapidly changing society.
New medical treatments using cultured cells, such as regenerative medicine, are attracting significant attention. For example, Professor Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University's first development of iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) in 2006 expanded the possibility of generating various cells that form the body *ex vivo*, raising expectations for curative treatments for diseases that were previously difficult to treat. It is also promising as a new medical industry, and active research is being conducted not only at our Juku's School of Medicine but also around the world. So, is this unrelated to me, a specialist in mechanical engineering? Now that wonderful therapeutic effects are being reported, the challenge is the widespread adoption of these treatments. For example, it is said that one billion cells are needed for myocardial regeneration for severe myocardial infarction. In other words, it is clear that culturing high-quality cells in large quantities is essential for the widespread adoption of regenerative medicine. When it comes to mass production and quality control, this is where mechanical engineering comes in. One of my specialties is ultrasonic engineering, which can move objects using vibration or apply force to objects without contact. Therefore, I have developed technologies that use ultrasound to automatically detach and collect cells that have proliferated in a culture vessel, technologies that enable mass cultivation, and technologies to create cell sheets convenient for transplantation. In addition to the effect of automation, there is also the advantage of being able to produce highly active, high-quality cells without the need to use the proteolytic enzymes that were widely used to detach cells from the vessel. I believe this shows the potential for the foundations of mechanical engineering to contribute to the spread of the new medical industry.
There is another example. Haptic sensing and display technology, which quantitatively measures or synthetically reproduces the feel of objects, is expected to be used in areas such as e-commerce, amusement, and telemedicine. It is the tactile version of the microphone and speaker for hearing. In particular, technology related to the sense of touch (haptics) is still developing, and the realization of haptic sensors and displays is highly anticipated. So, how is the sense of touch perceived? For example, tactile sensations like "smooth" or "rough" are perceived when mechanoreceptors located just under the skin detect vibrations applied to the skin. It has already been physiologically clarified what kind of vibrations cause mechanoreceptors to fire nerve impulses. Looking at these experimental results as a mechanical engineer, I can understand the vibration characteristics required for haptic sensors and haptic displays. This means that it is not necessary to completely detect or reproduce the vibrational stimuli applied to the finger when touching an object; a device that can detect and present only the stimuli that humans can perceive is sufficient. In this way, by re-examining past research results from my own area of expertise, I am developing new haptic sensors and haptic displays.
The challenges in the world change with the times. When you encounter such challenges, the academic discipline you have pursued will show you the starting line for your thinking.