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Mexico A Key Partner in Medical Devices Development

Enrique Giraud -
Managing Director of Fujifilm México
Home > Health > View from the Top

Mexico A Key Partner in Medical Devices Development

Javier Giraud - Fujifilm México
Medical Systems Vice President
Javier Giraud

STORY INLINE POST

Thu, 01/17/2019 - 10:57

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Q: Why should healthcare companies consider Fujifilm as their ideal imageology provider?
JG: Fujifilm’s value lies in doing things better or differently, offering more and better services at a lower cost. Our operations are based on innovation, which is reflected in how the company develops its technology and in how it goes beyond commercializing products to providing innovative solutions.
Sometimes it is not necessary to improve the quality of diagnostic technology but to put quality equipment in the hands of clients, especially for the public sector in Mexico. Our global presence allows us to be in touch with current trends in the healthcare sector and to adapt our offering accordingly. For example, we know that in Japan home care is preferred, which means there is a need for diagnostic devices with greater portability.
EG: Fujifilm has Open Innovation Hubs all around the world to be close to people developing new technologies. Our experience in different sectors and the interoperability of our products are both core strengths for the company. Today, almost all television screens have Fujifilm accessories and most all cameras include our color supplements; our solutions transcend the industries they were created for.
Q: How has Fujifilm Advanced Research Laboratories boosted the company’s technology development process since its establishment in 2006?
EG: Fujifilm wants to develop smaller and portable high-quality products with a low level of radiation. Fujifilm invests US$4 million in R&D daily. This constant cash flow, together with several acquisitions of companies that are not only profitable but that contribute with technological value, are key to Fujifilm’s ongoing product development. We can innovate more quickly and think outside the box, unlike other companies that tend to react more slowly to change.
JG: In Mexico, the company has developed three products for the healthcare sector. The first was a digitizer called Prima designed 10 years ago to cater to low-demand hospital groups. The second product was a medical imaging device built in collaboration with the University of Guadalajara, which uses 2.5W tubes, unlike conventional equipment that require tubes between 32-62W. With our equipment, patients are less exposed to radiation and physicians do not compromise the quality of their diagnosis. Our third solution, Fujifilm FCR, was designed in collaboration with mammography doctors to improve breast cancer diagnosis in Latin America. Fujifilm FCR identifies microscopic abnormalities in the breast with a single image, allowing for faster detection and early treatment, if necessary.  
Q: What led Fujifilm México to collaborate with Lunit and Salud Digna on the AI Pilot Project?
JG: Mexico has a limited doctor base, which makes it an ideal candidate to use artificial intelligence (AI) to grow and improve clinical diagnostics at health institutions. The AI Pilot Project does not seek to substitute doctors but to be a collaborative tool so they can make better and faster decisions.
Our goal is to have a positive impact on the work of radiologists in three ways: helping them to prioritize patients, streamlining information through Big Data applications and developing more precise imaging solutions that require only one take to avoid radiation overexposure. AI will help doctors shorten the time needed for reporting and diagnosis by 30-40 percent, allowing for more efficient appointments and a higher volume of patients.
EG: Salud Digna is one of Fujifilm’s main partners in Mexico because of its radiological offering and sizeable volume of patients covered through 100 branches across the country. Access to so many people helps us generate representative data for the entire country, which makes our AI systems much better.

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