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Technical Innovation and Research Collaboration / Clusters: Biomedical Engineering in Japan
Research Overview
Innovation Activities and Regional Med-Tech Partnerships in Japan:
English, PDF (2 MB)
Technical Innovation and Research Collaboration / Clusters: Biomedical Engineering in Japan
September 2016 - March 2022
Although Japan has been one of the leading markets for medical products, most medical devices are imported to the country. Addressing this circumstance, the Japanese government launched a national STI strategy mentioning biomedical engineering as one focus area to achieve a “healthy and active ageing society as a top-runner in the world” through “reinforcing industrial competitiveness in the areas of pharmaceuticals and medical devices”. Despite the decline in innovation activities since the 1990s, Japan currently experiences a rise of ikō renkei (med-tech partnerships) at the interface between academia, industry and hospitals. This development is strongly supported by the newly established Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and various prefectural governments. By employing a multiple-actor research perspective on (biomedical) research collaborations and regional clusters in Japan, this research aims at exploring the organisation of med-tech partnerships and content of innovation activities as well as their institutional and socioeconomic context. This research is divided into two sub-projects:
Biomedical Engineering in Japan: Innovation Governance and the institutional embeddedness of research collaborations
Innovation activities in regional med-tech clusters / partnerships: Between demographic change and economic revitalisation
Brucksch, Susanne & Sasaki, Kaori (2021). Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts. Case Studies from Japan. Palgrave Macmillan (Health, Technology and Society). LINK
Brucksch, Susanne & Sasaki, Kaori (2021). "Introduction". In: Brucksch, Susanne & Sasaki, Kaori (Eds.), Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts. Case Studies from Japan (pp. 3-20). Palgrave Macmillan. LINK
Brucksch, Susanne & Wiggert, Kevin (2021). "Theoretical Reflections on Medical Devices and the Sociocultural Context in the Locale of Japan". In: Brucksch, Susanne & Sasaki, Kaori (Eds.), Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts. Case Studies from Japan (pp. 21-51). Palgrave Macmillan. LINK
Brucksch, Susanne (2021). "Conclusions on Socio-Technical Settings in Medical Contexts from the Locale of Japan". In: Brucksch, Susanne & Sasaki, Kaori (Eds.), Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts. Health, Technology and Society (pp. 313-324). Palgrave Macmillan. LINK
Brucksch, Susanne (2021). "Insights into the Digital Transformation from the Fields of Medicine and Healthcare in Japan". In: Waldenberger, Franz & Kümmerle, Harald (Eds.), The Digital Transformation: Implications for the Social Sciences and the Humanities (pp. 43-49). DIJ. (DIJ Miscellanea). LINK
Brucksch, Susanne (2020). "Insights into the Digital Transformation from the Fields of Medicine and Healthcare". In: Kümmerle, Harald & Waldenberger, Franz (Eds.), The Digital Transformation: Implications for the Social Sciences and the Humanities (pp. 43-49). DIJ. (DIJ Miscellanea).
Brucksch, Susanne (2020). "Sustaining Healthcare in Japan’s Regions: The Introduction of Telehealth Networks". In: Manzenreiter, Wolfram, Lützeler, Ralph & Polak-Rottmann, Sebastian (Eds.), Japan’s New Ruralities: Coping with Decline in the Periphery (pp. 140-158). Routledge. LINK
Brucksch, Susanne & Sasaki, Kaori (2018). "医療機器と医学にまつわるSTS研究、そして日本を事例とするSTS研究の可能性―ワークショップ (Humans & Machines in Medical Context: Case Studies from Japan: Seeking Various Potentials for Further Developments of STS Case Studies on The Relation between Medical Devices and Medical Practice in Japan)". 科学技術社会論研究 (Journal of Science and Technology Studies), 15(11) (pp. 148-153). LINK
Brucksch, Susanne & Schulz, Franziska (2018). Ageing in Japan. Domestic Healthcare Technologies. A Qualitative Interview Study on Care Robots, Monitoring Sensor Systems, and ICT-based Telehealth Systems.. DIJ (DIJ Working Papers). LINK
Brucksch, Susanne (2017). "Employing the concept of techno-governance to analyse the field of biomedical engineering in Japan". Global Perspectives on Japan, 1 (2017). LINK
Brucksch, Susanne & Wagner, Cosima (2016). "Introduction to the Technikstudien — Science & Technology Studies (STS) Research Initiative on Japan". ASIEN, 140 (Juli 2016) (pp. 5-21). LINK
Brucksch, Susanne & Wagner, Cosima (2016). "Technikstudien and STS: Launching a Research Initiative Regarding Intersections between Technology and Society in Japan". ASIEN, 140 (pp. 5-21). LINK
