License transfer highlights Fujitsu’s open innovation approach with the Silicon Valley ecosystem to bring advanced technologies to market to solve social challenges
Fujitsu Limited, Delight Health
Tokyo and Palo Alto, CA November 20, 2023
Fujitsu Limited and Delight Health, a Bay Area startup, announced today that Fujitsu will license its Topological Data Analysis (TDA) technology to Delight Health in exchange for an equity stake in the company. This license transfer will support Delight Health’s plans to achieve fast-track FDA approval by fiscal year 2024 and bring an advanced delirium to market (1) detection equipment to accurately predict the onset of disease and address the needs of patients suffering from this disorder.
Fujitsu developed TDA, an AI technology that enables the analysis of abnormalities and disturbances in complex, distorted and volatile time series data with broad applications in a range of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing and infrastructure. From July 2018 to May 2021, Fujitsu researchers and Dr. Shinozaki at Stanford University (2) performed joint research on the application of TDA for delirium detection using electroencephalogram (EEG) data. The unique result of research was the ability to accurately detect delirium using a portable single-channel EEG device with the bispectral EEG (BSEEG) algorithm (3) significantly improved by Fujitsu’s TDA technology. The joint research resulted in several publications, including a research paper published in 2021 (4).
In July 2023, Dr. Shinozaki co-founded Delight Health (DH) as a new company to commercialize this award-winning technology (5). “Delight” was named after their vision to bring “light” to “delirium”. Fujitsu will license Delight Health to use TDA and will take an equity position in the company.
“Harnessing advanced technologies to solve human and societal problems is at the core of Fujitsu’s mission and purpose,” said Hideto (Ted) Okada, SVP and Head of Technology Strategy Unit at Fujitsu. “By partnering with Delight Health to deliver innovative solutions to detect and treat neurological and psychiatric disorders, we hope to enhance the health and well-being of millions of people around the world.”
“Fujitsu is a company recognized for its advanced technologies and excellent research, and our joint collaboration has resulted in significant scientific breakthroughs,” said Prof. Gen Shinozaki, co-founder of Delight Health. “By taking an equity position in Delight Health, Fujitsu demonstrates its business commitment to accelerate the delivery of products to more effectively identify delirium, paving the way for new treatments and better patient outcomes.”
Background and challenges
Delirium is a serious disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. In the United States alone, 2-3 million older adult patients suffer from delirium annually. Delirium is estimated to result in a 40% mortality rate at one year (6) and impact over $150B (7) to the healthcare system. Healthcare professionals currently rely on questionnaires to find the prevalence of the disorder, which remains subject to individual interpretation by busy hospital staff and can occasionally result in misdiagnosis and delayed intervention. AI-based prediction can greatly increase accuracy and enable early detection and treatment, resulting in significant cost savings and better patient outcomes.
1. Period:
November 2023 to November 2028
2. The responsibilities of the two companies:
Fujitsu
- Fujitsu will provide TDA software, training and technical support to ensure that DH engineers are able to gain the necessary expertise in TDA and have sufficient knowledge to integrate TDA into the delirium detection device being developed by Delight Health.
- Fujitsu will have the exclusive right to co-market, promote, distribute and otherwise commercialize all licensed products developed by Delight Health in Japan, where Fujitsu will be the primary provider with respect to a customer in Japan or a customer headquartered in Japan .
Delight Health
- Will integrate TDA into their Delirium detection unit.
- Will obtain FDA approval necessary to offer Delirium measurement services to providers.
- Will market and sell both the Delirium device, services to support and capture measurement revenue once the device is sold to hospitals and clinics.
Future plans
Fujitsu plans to further explore opportunities to provide advanced technologies to innovative startups to accelerate solutions to social challenges.
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About Fujitsu
Fujitsu’s purpose is to make the world more sustainable by creating trust in society through innovation. As the digital transformation partner of choice for customers in over 100 countries, our 124,000 employees work to solve some of the biggest challenges facing humanity. Our range of services and solutions draw on five key technologies: Computing, Networks, AI, Data & Security and Converging Technologies, which we bring together to deliver sustainability transformation. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenue of 3.7 trillion yen ($28 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, and remains the largest digital services company in Japan by market share. Find out more: www.fujitsu.com.
About Delight Health
Led by Prof. Gen Shinozaki of Stanford University, Delight Health is innovating delirium care. Central to its pioneering approach is an advanced, proven EEG device and algorithm designed to detect and predict delirium by analyzing patients’ brain signals. Beyond mere detection, this technology will offer a proactive approach to patient care, ensuring timely interventions. In a delirium landscape where precision is paramount, Delight Health’s EEG solution will provide promising accuracy, speed and reliability in delirium treatment.
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All company or product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The information in this press release is accurate at the time of publication and is subject to change without notice.
Date: 20 November 2023
Town: Tokyo and Palo Alto, CA
Company: Fujitsu Limited, Delight Health