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Introduced in NAKANISHI Special Site "愛しきものたち (Beautiful People, Beautiful Japan)"
Kono Seisakusho Co.,Ltd. was introduced in NAKANISHI Special Site "愛しきものたち (Beautiful People, Beautiful Japan)" Vol.33, an owned media by Nakanishi Inc.
Click here to read the article in Japanese.
You can read the full article translated into English from below:
Kono Seisakusho Co.,Ltd.
Crownjun Kono Co.,Ltd.
the members of CJK Holdings Co.,Ltd.
Vol. 33 Kono Seisakusho in Chiba
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Medicine and Engineering Encapsulated in a Small Needle
Medical device is used not only in operating rooms but also in many places within hospitals such as examination rooms and diagnostic rooms. With the advancement of medical device, new diagnostics and treatments have become possible. For example, the invention of stethoscope enabled examination inside the chest, the development of anesthesia contributed to the progress of surgical procedures, and the use of endoscopes enabled treatments without traditional open surgery. Thus, the fields of medicine and industry has been building up a very close relationship since ancient times. No matter how skilled a physician may be, medical device is necessary for examinations, treatments and surgeries.
This time, we visited Kono Seisakusho in Ichikawa City, Chiba, which is developing, manufacturing, and selling medical device in collaboration with doctors.
Kono Seisakusho in Chiba | 2023.12.14
A visit to Kono Seisakusho, developer, manufacturer and distributor of medical devices
in Ichikawa City, Chiba.
The company we visited this time is Kono Seisakusho, a medical device manufacturer based in Ichikawa City, Chiba. They develop, manufacture, and sell groundbreaking products in the medical field, such as the world's smallest surgical needles and microsurgery sutures, which were first introduced in Japan. The founder of the company was originally a technician for a watch manufacturer. After starting his own company independently, he has been receiving direct requests from doctors for manufacturing fine needles and sutures. At that time, there were no medical device manufacturers capable of ultra-fine processing. It was expected that Japan's world-renowned watchmaking technology would be able to produce needles under any conditions, leading the company to be selected for the task. "Since then, we have received a wide range of requests for medical developments. As we became involved in various developments, we realized that there is a great demand in the medical industry. In order to meet this demand, Kono Seisakusho has shifted its main business to the medical field and has been focusing on medical-engineering collaboration," spoke Mr. Junichi Kono, the company's President.
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Connecting medical needs and engineering seeds
"Medical-Engineering Collaboration" for Kono Seisakusho is to develop new products that provide solutions to the medical field by connecting the needs of the medical field and seeds from the engineering field. The company stands in between the two fields as an interpreter. "In medicine and engineering, the languages spoken are different, so sometimes direct communication doesn't work well. In our company, we have many staff members with engineering backgrounds who can actually create things. By having these individuals take the lead and control the situation, our collaboration between medicine and engineering is going smoothly," stated Mr. Kono confidently.
The world's first suture needle developed by the company, "Octacus," is a product born directly from the needs of doctors. Conventional suture needles typically have a circular or square cross-sectional shape at the gripping position. Square shaped needles provide a firm grip, but can only be grasped perpendicular or parallel to the needle holder; circular needles allow grasping at various angles, but are prone to slipping which leads to decreased grip strength. Each shape has different characteristics, making it difficult to achieve both stability of grip strength and maneuverability. Hearing these voices from doctors, Mr. Kushihata, who was in his second year at the company, started the development.
Unprecedented product lacked the production know-how and took time until commercializing
"I heard from doctors that a needle that can be held at any angle and has a firm grip makes surgery easier. With that in mind, I thought that an octagonal shape, midway between square and circular, might be ideal, so we began development," explains Mr. Kushihata about the beginning of the development. To manufacture an octagonal-shaped suture needle, an octagonal-shaped stainless wire with high-strength is necessary. However, without the manufacturing method, the development faced extreme difficulty. Unable to manufacture the whole process within the company, it all began with finding and reaching out to collaborating companies for assistance. "It was technically challenging to shape the wire into a needle form, and no matter how many attempts we made, we couldn't achieve a clean and strong octagonal shape. The collaborating company was about to give up, too. However, since it was something unprecedented, I repeatedly emphasized how interesting it would be if we could achieve it, and I persuaded them." It took three years until the wire was formed, and approximately five years in total until the product was completed; at last, the world's first octagonal suture needle was developed. "We were able to solve the seemingly impossible task of achieving high-level precision and strength simultaneously, thanks to the dedicated support of the collaborating companies." Mr. Kushihata is still grateful to the collaborating company until now.
Updating quality with doctors
The company's philosophy is to dedicate to the development of the medical field. It's not just about releasing the newly developed products; Kono Seisakusho continuously receive advices from doctors who are actually using them, and keep updating the quality. Dr. Tabata, a cardiovascular surgeon whom Mr. Kushihata sought advice from regarding the development of "Octacus," shares her thoughts:
"At the initial stage, we conveyed that the transition from the octagonal shape to the circular shape of the needle was not smooth, causing slight snagging. We requested improvements, and they were made. The maneuverability of needles and sutures are crucial for smooth progress in surgery, as prolonged surgeries can impose greater burdens on patients. In that sense, it can be said that medical field cannot exist without manufacturing industry."
"Using the term 'things (mono)' may sound misleading, but our surgeries involve a bit of a sense of creating things (monozukuri). By performing surgery, we aim to repair 'parts' cleanly (restore function) and improve the body's condition. That is why the presence of Kono Seisakusho, who creates easy-to-use tools for us, is greatly appreciated."
When asked about the company's future vision, President Kono expresses his enthusiasm: "Even in a small market, if there are needs from doctors, we want to aim to be the No.1, and one and only in there. We first aim to make 100 products the world's No.1." Kono Seisakusho's strength lies in its willingness to create and do anything without saying 'we can't.' They go so far as to build their own facilities such as automated machinery internally. They have the workforce with challenging spirit willing to create anything, an organization capable of creating manufacturing equipment, and the commitment to contribute to the medical industry. Kono Seisakusho is likely to acheive any goals they have set.
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Kono Seisakusho relies on Nakanishi High-speed Spindle
When drilling holes for threading suture needles, Kono Seisakusho uses Nakanishi's high-speed spindle. Particularly hard stainless steel is used as the material for the needle, so drilling holes is extremely difficult. But Nakanishi's spindle can drill holes by high-speed and with less deviation. Moreover, the high functional spindle allows Kono Seisakusho to utilize its accumulated processing know-how, making it an indispensable and crucial tool.
