The Zone tracks their journey from a leading photographic filmmaker to an active utiliser of ai in healthcare
As a multinational corporation established in 1934, Japan’s pioneering photographic filmmaker, Fujifilm has been recognised for their operations in the field of photo imaging. Today, their offerings also include, healthcare, materials, document solutions, imaging. Michio Kondo, Managing Director, Fujifilm Middle East FZE, spoke to The Zone regarding the latest products and innovative solutions the company offers to assist the medical industry and drive its progress with the help of AI (Artificial Intelligence).
How have industry trends changed over the years?
At Fujifilm, we constantly innovate and create new technologies, products, and services that inspire people across the globe. We try to improve our existing technologies and combine our core products to create a diverse range of innovative solutions.
Fujifilm offers its services to a wide range of industries such as healthcare, materials, and imaging by leveraging the expertise we have cultivated in photographic film. We aim to provide valuable products and services to enhance the quality of life through advanced digital technologies in various business segments, facilitating the progress of society. In the medical industry, AI technologies are increasingly assisting healthcare providers in finding solutions faster and with more certainty. In addition to sophisticated imaging technologies creating a considerably greater flood of pictures per patient to be interpreted, more tasks are completed in a shorter amount of time. The ratio of manpower to image reading capability has dropped significantly. Fujifilm has been at the forefront of providing radiology services with solutions that set the standard in multimodality workflows.
Fujifilm offers its support to the medical industry through its medical systems, IT solutions, endoscopy, and AI softwares that support doctors by providing enhanced image quality performance, faster image reading and diagnostic support.
What is the primary focus and target of Fujifilm MEA?
Fujifilm’s global branding campaign, “Never Stop,” showcases our focus on reacting fast to the challenges and changes taking place in the healthcare industry. The industry has been and will continue to be one of the most important sectors in our society. It is necessary to establish a medical infrastructure that enables access to medical services, promotes improvement in the quality of medical care, and emphasises on prevention and early detection of disease.
Fujifilm started manufacturing X-ray films in 1936, and is now engaged in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. We will never step back from creating and innovating to build a healthier world. By bringing together our technologies, products and services, we will continue solving issues in the healthcare industry, and contribute to further improving the quality of life and the health of people.
We provide orientation on efficient chest X-Ray image acquisition using portable and transportable X-ray machines such as our FDR X Air, which includes a Chest X-Ray AI program for the detection of evidence of COVID-19 infected lung tissues. Moreover, we provide assistance to health organisations in the purchase of mobile computer tomography machines that can provide health care whenever and wherever it needed.
Fujifilm has expanded its portfolio through the acquisition of Hitachi’s Diagnostic Imaging- related business. This allows us now to think bigger and expand our targets to comply with the patients’ needs.
Fujifilm’s regional subsidiary, Fujifilm Middle East FZE, aspires to improve the quality of life in MEA society by utilising its team’s strength. Our human resource is our most significant asset, and we will continue to support our operations with the help of a committed staff located throughout the area. Additionally, our presence in Jafza that is one of the most competitive and technologically advanced free zones in the region, has supported us in this endeavour
At Fujifilm, we constantly innovate and create new technologies, products, and services that inspire people across the globe.
Over the past few years, Fujifilm has achieved growth through its medical and IT products. How do you intend to stay ahead of the game?
Fujifilm’s R&D department dedicates its efforts towards making tomorrow a bright future for all of us in which we can care for our customers and patients. We are confident that our recent acquisition of Hitachi’s Diagnostic Imaging- related business will help our portfolio grow even further. We have a significant global presence and offer a wide range of products, including CT, MRI, X-ray and ultrasound machines. Our capacity to provide a one-stop-total solution to medical institutions is enhanced by the integration of our product lines. Furthermore, Fujifilm’s superior image processing solutions and AI technologies can be applied to products to generate more value and contribute to high-quality medical care.
How much growth are you aiming to achieve in the next few years? And what are your revenue targets?
Our regional headquarters always looks forward to double-digit growth. Because of the fact that we have extended our services to various industries, each of our business divisions contribute towards achieving our growth targets. At our newly created Fujifilm Technology Center (FTC) in Dubai, we aim to not only expand in existing business categories, but also explore new business possibilities. It will provide us with an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our existing imaging technologies and solutions, which range from medical to graphics, and from photo/camera/optical imaging to industrial industry areas.
What kind of changes are you planning to implement in the Fujifilm Middle East division?
We “Never Stop” changing and re-assessing the ever-evolving healthcare sector. As a result of our innovative initiatives, we created a first-of-its-kind Fujifilm Technology Centre in the MEA region. We have integrated numerous roles to demonstrate our attention and target towards the regional healthcare industry through our Fujifilm Showroom for events, product launches, workshop activities, and media marketing activities.
With a fully equipped Fujifilm Medical Centre, including a radiology department, endoscopy, ultrasound, and IVD solutions, we are able to simulate, demonstrate, and promote our versatile medical system solutions to our customers.