Takashi Azuma

He received his M.S. degree in 1998 from the Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Specialized in measurement engineering. After graduation, he joined the Central Research Laboratory of Hitachi, Ltd. where for 13 years he was engaged in research and development of medical ultrasound equipment, namely development of ultrasound imaging devices and research on minimally invasive ultrasound treatment technology, a next-generation treatment technology to treat cancer without surgery. His research earned him a PhD degree from Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University in 2010. In 2011, he moved to the Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, and in 2016, he became a professor at the Center for Disease Biotechnology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo. During this period, he also served as a specially appointed official of PMDA (Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency) from 2013 to 2014, where he was in charge of the review and approval of medical devices. In 2016, he became one of the founding members of Lily MedTech, Inc. a start-up company developing a breast cancer screening device using the results of his research at the University of Tokyo. He retired from the University of Tokyo in 2019 to take up the position of Director and CTO of Lily MedTech, where he is responsible for device development, clinical research, and regulatory approvals. In his current position from 2022, Lily MedTech is developing a breast cancer testing device as well as a reading assistance AI.