Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, “Marubeni”), OPExPARK Inc. (hereinafter, “OPExPARK”), Beyond Next Ventures Inc. (hereinafter, “BNV”) and DENSO CORPORATION (hereinafter, “DENSO”) have agreed for Marubeni to invest with BNV in OPExPARK to support the digital transformation (hereinafter, “DX”) of operating rooms and a surgical education platform business for doctors (hereinafter, “this project”). OPExPARK was jointly established by DENSO and BNV.
In recent years, the need for DX has been rapidly increasing in the healthcare industry, as represented by the development of new medical services such as telemedicine and online medication guidance, and the utilization of medical data. In addition, with the decrease in the number of surgeries and restrictions on movement, delivering surgical education has been challenging, with young doctors having fewer opportunities to learn techniques from operations that senior doctors perform. Therefore, there is a growing expectation for an educational platform that allows doctors to learn surgical techniques online.
OPExPARK was established in 2019 with the support of BNV, utilizing the information integration platform “OPeLiNK” developed by DENSO with the support of the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development. OPeLiNK is an information integration platform that constantly provides data gathered from each piece of equipment in the operating room, which is conventionally handled individually, with data in a consistent format so that it can be used by any device. By extracting and delivering accumulated equipment and biological data, information important to the decision-making of the surgeon can be visualized, and advanced tacit knowledge that was difficult to learn outside the operating room can be shared. OPExPARK promotes DX of surgical education through the delivery of educational contents that enables anyone to learn cutting-edge surgery anytime, anywhere. In addition, OPExPARK contributes to the improvement of the quality of medical care in Japan and overseas by transmitting surgical videos and data acquired by OPELiNK in real time and by providing advice on diagnosis and surgery from remote locations.
Marubeni has strengthened and expanded its IT consulting services business and cloud integration business to support and promote DX for customers and partners. By investing in this project and utilizing its cultivated know-how of DX support and promotion, support for IT fields (including the cloud), and cooperation with other businesses, Marubeni will contribute to the expansion of OPExPARK’s services from DX in operating rooms and surgical education to DX in hospitals. By acquiring knowledge, networks, and business know-how in the healthcare industry through participation in this project, Marubeni aims to expand business in the digital health industry by promoting DX and developing new services in the field of drug discovery and clinical trial support in the future.
Since 2018, BNV has been involved in the establishment of OPExPARK (with carve-out support from DENSO) and support for its business growth. In establishing the company, BNV developed initial business strategies, business plans, and support for management team organization through “BRAVE”, an acceleration program provided by BNV. After the company’s establishment, BNV has been involved in continuous investment, recruitment, business development, and business growth support.
From 2014 to 2019, DENSO developed OPeLiNK and has been developing businesses that raise the medical level in emerging countries by utilizing the surgical information acquired through OPeLiNK. Even after OPExPARK’s founding, DENSO has continued to acquire know-how in the digital twin business, support OPExPARK through joint research, and dispatch both technical and sales employees to the company.
Through this agreement and this project, Marubeni, OPExPARK, BNV, and DENSO will promote DX in the healthcare industry and contribute to the improvement of medical quality.
