Waseda University and Olympus Corporation establish bioscience research Institute

Singapore, July. 15, 2004--Waseda University and Olympus Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) have opened the Waseda-Olympus Bioscience Research Institute, a joint research facility based in the Biopolis that will focus on the investigation of higher brain functions such as intellect and awareness. (The Biopolis is a biomedical-sciences R&D hub located near the National University of Singapore aimed at fostering collaboration between the private and public research communities. It is home to Singapore-government-related research organizations and the R&D units of biotech-related corporations.)

The research conducted at the institute will integrate Olympus' strengths in the bioscience research area gained through its wealth of experience developing biological microscopes and genome-analysis systems, together with the research expertise offered by Waseda.

The institute has its origins with Waseda University's Institute for Biomedical Science, where for two years Olympus had been sending its researchers and participating in other exchange activities that deepened involvement between the two organizations.

Situated at the information crossroads between the United States, Europe, China and India, Singapore provided the ideal location to establish the institute. The Singapore government has made efforts to forge the country into a bioscience research hub, which now holds some 2,000 researchers.

The results of the research conducted at the institute will aid Olympus in the development of ubiquitous terminals, services, and other so-called humanware that use sensors to recognize expressions, emotions, and feedback from the brain activity of users. The institute's work will bring to fruition solutions that significantly enhance the quality of life and create the future value like a secure and safe society.

Olympus produces optical microscopes, microscope objectives, and other optical imaging components and systems. The company has licensed Wavefront Coding technology from CDM Optics (Boulder, CO; see Laser Focus World, January 1999, p. 28; December 1999, p. S26; and January 2004, p. 20); the technology can increase the depth of focus of an optical system (including image processing) by up to an order of magnitude. Olympus will apply the technology to endoscope imaging, among other endeavors.