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Smart Opinion Initiates AI Model Proof-of-Concept Experiment with World’s #1 Hospital(1), Mayo Clinic

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Selected for Phase 2 of the HealthTech Gateway “AI Medical in the US” Acceleration Program Conducted by JETRO in Collaboration with Mayo Clinic Platform

TOKYO, Jan. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Smart Opinion, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kenji Yamanami), a company dedicated to developing “Smaopi,” an AI-powered breast cancer screening tool that uses AI technology to analyze ultrasound image of the breast to detect suspected breast cancer through image diagnosis, is pleased to announce that it has been selected as one of five startups to participate in Phase 2 of the HealthTech Gateway “AI Medical in the US” program. This program is organized by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in collaboration with Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate2, a medical technology startup support program within Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, USA.

This program, a collaboration between JETRO and Mayo Clinic Platform, which possesses one of the largest patient data networks in the United States, is designed to provide robust support for startups in the digital health sector and those utilizing AI in their products. The program will facilitate their entry into the US market, as well as provide access to medical data and product improvement opportunities.

In Phase 1, which served as a foundational program, 16 Japanese companies, including Smart Opinion, participated in a 10-week program from the end of September 2024, that included a visit to the United States. This initial phase focused on acquiring foundational knowledge for entering the US healthcare market, establishing networks within Mayo Clinic, providing opportunities for discussion with investors, and formulating effective business strategies.

Following further document screening, presentations, and interviews, along with a rigorous evaluation process, Smart Opinion, along with four other AI-driven digital health companies, has been selected for Phase 2. Phase 2 is a medical data utilization program, spanning 30 weeks, that will provide access to Mayo Clinic’s medical data platform, which holds de-identified data from millions of patients. Participants will also have the opportunity to engage in AI model development and validation, receive one-on-one mentoring with experts, obtain feedback from clinical teams, and participate in pitch events targeting the Minnesota ecosystem, including Mayo Clinic, and investors. It is expected that this program will provide comprehensive support for entry into the US market.

By participating in the Phase 2 support program, Smart Opinion aims to leverage the expertise of Mayo Clinic specialists in the regulatory, clinical, technical, and business areas to further its business development. As a medical technology startup, we will validate the effectiveness of our AI technology “METIS Eye” in the US market and explore methods for its implementation in clinical settings. Through the support of many healthcare professionals, we aspire to expand our business and help save more lives from breast cancer.

[1] World’s #1 Hospital
Mayo Clinic was founded to promote patient-centered care and was recognized as the world’s best hospital in the 2024 World’s Best Hospitals rankings published by Newsweek magazine.

[2] Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate
Mayo Clinic Platform_Accelerate leverages one of the largest patient data networks in the US and aims to make new knowledge, solutions, and technologies available through collaboration with medical technology innovators to create a healthier world. In collaboration with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), it is conducting a two-phase program to enhance opportunities for companies engaged in medical technology development in Japan to apply their products and services in the US healthcare business.

About Smart Opinion
Smart Opinion, Inc. was established in October 2019 as a joint venture between Fixstars Corporation (TSE Prime: 3687) and Prodigy Medical Co., Ltd. Smart Opinion is committed to improving early detection of breast cancer and supporting women’s health. The company is focused on the development and promotion of “Smaopi,” an AI-powered breast cancer screening tool utilizing ultrasound examination that can detect suspected breast cancer through image diagnosis. The company also offers patient support services that promote “patient-centered” medical care through digital and IT technologies, as well as health management support services for women.
https://www.smartopi.com/

About Fixstars Corporation
Fixstars Corporation is a technology company with the corporate message “Speed up your Business.” Through software parallelization and optimization to efficiently utilize multi-core processors, as well as memory technology that achieves low power consumption and high-speed IO, and high-speed software using AI, Fixstars is accelerating the businesses of its customers in various fields, such as medical, manufacturing, finance, and mobility, and is contributing to the realization of green IT.
https://www.fixstars.com/

Media Contact
Company: Smart Opinion, Inc.
CEO: Kenji Yamanami
URL: https://www.smartopi.com/
Email: 389334@email4pr.com
Tel: +81-3-6420-0762

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SOURCE Smart Opinion, Inc.

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NUH WINS GOLD AT IHF AWARDS 2026 FOR GREEN OPERATING THEATRE PROGRAMME

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 NUH won Gold and received an Honourable Mention for its sustainability efforts at the International Hospital Federation Awards 2026, alongside presentations of its green surgical initiatives, digital health and organisational improvement initiatives at the World Hospital Congress.

SINGAPORE, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The National University Hospital (NUH) has won the Gold Award (Low Carbon Healthcare) for its Green Operating Theatre programme at the International Hospital Federation (IHF) Awards 2026. The hospital also received an Honourable Mention (Hospital Sustainability Acceleration) for its system-wide approach to embedding sustainability across healthcare delivery and hospital operations.

The awards were presented at the 49th World Hospital Congress in Seoul, where NUH is also sharing other initiatives in environmental sustainability, digital health and organisational improvement.

Professor Aymeric Lim, Chief Executive Officer of NUH, said: “Healthcare must become more sustainable without compromising patient care. Our teams have shown that simple, practical changes on the ground, from the way we run our operating theatres to how we use resources, can make a real difference. This recognition belongs to the multi-disciplinary teams and partners who turned ideas into everyday practice, and who continue to improve how we care for our patients.”

Advancing low-carbon healthcare by reducing the environmental impact of surgical care

NUH’s Green Operating Theatre (OT) programme began with efforts to reduce the use of high-carbon anaesthetic gases. What started as a targeted decarbonisation initiative has since grown into a hospital-wide programme that brings together clinicians, nurses, operations teams and facilities staff to drive sustainability across surgical practices, resource use, waste management and energy management.

The programme has achieved a 99 per cent reduction in the use of desflurane, a high-carbon anaesthetic gas, and delivered annual energy savings of about 660,000 kWh by optimising operating theatre ventilation during non-operating hours.

Surgical teams redesigned instrument sets used for high-volume knee replacement procedures to better reflect routine requirements, reducing emissions by almost 10,000 kg CO2e annually while also cutting water use and sterilisation workload. Efforts have also been made to reduce unnecessary consumables and expand medical recycling streams.

Collectively, these initiatives have generated valuable insights that NUH has actively shared through inter-cluster platforms and collaborations, helping to inform the adoption of low-carbon practices across Singapore’s public healthcare system.

Embedding sustainability into everyday healthcare delivery

NUH received an Honourable Mention for its organisation-wide approach to embedding sustainability into hospital planning and operations.

Guided by the IHF Sustainability Accelerator Tool, NUH integrated sustainability into leadership oversight, strategic planning and everyday decision-making, strengthening efforts in Appropriate Value-based Care, virtual care, procurement, workforce engagement and environmental stewardship.

This system-wide approach to advancing a sustainable healthcare system has been recognised internationally. In 2025, NUH became the first hospital worldwide to receive the Joint Commission International-Geneva Sustainability Centre’s Healthcare Sustainability Certification. This year, it was the only hospital in Singapore to be accorded the highest 5-Leaf distinction in Newsweek-Statista’s World’s Greenest Hospitals index.

A new model of rehabilitation care

Recognised as one of the top three healthcare innovations selected for the International Hospital Federation’s i-to-i Innovation Hub Awards 2026, the NUH Virtual Rehabilitation Centre (VRC) is helping to extend rehabilitation beyond hospital walls.

Developed as a virtual-first rehabilitation ecosystem, the VRC combines personalised patient education, self-management tools, AI-enabled telerehabilitation, remote monitoring and digital rehabilitation pathways to support patients throughout their recovery journey. By enabling rehabilitation to continue beyond traditional clinic visits, the VRC improves access to care, strengthens patient participation in recovery and allows therapists to focus their attention on patients with more complex rehabilitation needs. The digital home exercise programme, for instance, supports around 2,000 patients and records about 21,000 logins each month, freeing up the equivalent of 66 physiotherapist workdays annually for direct patient care.

The innovation demonstrates how technology can be used not simply to digitise existing services, but to transform how rehabilitation is delivered at scale.

Helping doctors work smarter with electronic medical records

NUH also presented results from its Great Epic Transformation (GET) programme at the 49th World Hospital Congress in Seoul. The hospital-wide programme trained specialist doctors to personalise their Epic electronic medical record (EMR) workflows, using customised note templates, order sets and shortcuts to work more efficiently.

Nine months after training, participating doctors spent 10.2 per cent less time in the EMR each day, equivalent to more than 33 hours saved per doctor annually, while time spent placing orders fell by 26.5 per cent. Twelve of 13 efficiency measures improved across both medical and surgical specialties. Based on annual estimates, the overall efficiency gains are valued at more than S$91 million a year.

The programme is being extended to allied health professionals and pharmacists across NUHS, with a target of reaching more than 2,000 healthcare professionals by the end of 2026.

About the National University Hospital (NUH)­

The National University Hospital (NUH) is Singapore’s university hospital. While the hospital at Kent Ridge first received its patients on 24 June 1985, our legacy started from 1905, the date of the founding of what is today the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. NUH is the principal teaching hospital of the medical school.

Our unique identity as a university hospital is a key attraction for healthcare professionals who aspire to do more than practise tertiary medical care. We offer an environment where research and teaching are an integral part of medicine, and continue to shape medicine and transform care for the community we care for.

We are an academic medical centre with over 1,200 beds, serving more than one million patients a year with over 50 medical, surgical and dental specialties. NUH is the only public and not-for-profit hospital in Singapore to provide trusted care for adults, women and children under one roof, including the only paediatric kidney and liver transplant programme in the country.

The NUH is a key member of the National University Health System (NUHS), one of three public healthcare clusters in Singapore. For more information, visit www.nuh.com.sg

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SOURCE National University Hospital (NUH)

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NEXCOM NGFW platforms secure growing traffic across modern academic networks

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TAIPEI, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — NEXCOM, a leading supplier of network appliances, is helping academic institutions strengthen network security as digital learning expands across cloud platforms, AI-powered tools, remote access, and connected campus services.

As educational environments become more distributed, academic networks must support growing traffic and diverse connections while protecting sensitive data and maintaining reliable access to learning resources. NEXCOM’s Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) platforms provide a centralized security layer for inspecting and controlling traffic across campus and remote environments.

Learn more about securing digital learning environments in the joint case study.

Centralized Security for Digital Learning

On campus, NGFW platforms can inspect traffic between academic networks and external resources as students and faculty access learning platforms and web services. For remote users, secure VPN connectivity supports authorized access to internal resources while enabling centralized security policies.

“Every new digital service in education adds value for students and educators, but it also adds traffic, connections, and another layer of security responsibility,” says Allan Chiu, VP of Networking and Communication Solutions at NEXCOM. “The challenge is making sure security keeps pace without slowing down the learning experience. NEXCOM’s NGFW platforms provide the performance and scalability needed to secure modern, highly distributed academic networks.”

Scalable Platforms for Network Security

NEXCOM’s portfolio provides scalable platforms for firewall, edge security, secure remote access, and demanding network security workloads. Key platforms include:

NSA 7160R: A 2U high-performance security platform powered by dual Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, with eight PCIe 5.0 expansion slots and throughput of up to 1.6 Tbps.FTA 5190: A compact 1U edge server powered by Intel Xeon 6 SoC technology, designed for reliable connectivity and security at the network edge.

About NEXCOM

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, NEXCOM is shaping the future of AI-powered networking with its software-defined solutions. Through its Network and Communication Solutions (NCS) unit, NEXCOM delivers cutting-edge platforms for Cybersecurity, OT Security, SD-WAN, SASE, Load Balancing, 5G uCPE, edge AI, and more. NCS specializes in professional design and manufacturing services, enabling reliable and scalable network infrastructures for businesses of all sizes. With a focus on innovation, NEXCOM’s solutions empower customers worldwide to build resilient, high-performance networks tailored to the demands of tomorrow’s connectivity challenges.

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SOURCE NEXCOM International Co., Ltd.

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Forrester’s 2027 B2B Go-To-Market Predictions: AI Agents Will Influence 75% Of B2B Purchase Decisions

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To remain competitive, providers must strengthen customer trust, substantiate value claims, and offer human expertise and guidance

SINGAPORE, Oct. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — According to Forrester’s (Nasdaq: FORR) 2027 B2B go-to-market predictions, business buyers will increasingly deploy AI agents to handle tasks across the buying process, from supplier discovery and information gathering to contract-renewal analysis. While truly autonomous buying will remain concentrated in high-volume, low-risk, and repeatable purchases, the ubiquity of these agents will require providers to ensure that their systems and sellers can respond with speed, accuracy, and consistency.

Forrester’s B2B Predictions reports, covering topics including B2B go-to-market strategy, business buyers, and content and creative, offer forward-looking insights to help executives and their teams anticipate change, reduce uncertainty, and make confident decisions ahead of market shifts. Key highlights from the 2027 B2B go-to-market predictions include:

Buyers will double their human interactions to validate AI-generated recommendations. As AI becomes the primary interface for researching products and providers, buyers will encounter more AI-generated recommendations, synthetic content, automated outreach, and agent-mediated interactions. Since AI cannot fully judge service provider fit, feasibility, trust, or accountability, buyers will require conversations with provider teams and trusted third parties including analysts, customer references, and partners to confirm and validate buying decisions.Two-thirds of providers will lose deals because buyers cannot verify claims. Buyers already use AI-assisted search and analysis tools to gather information about products and vendors, synthesize provider claims, and fact check. As the reliance on these capabilities continue to advance, go-to-market teams will need to act fast to restructure content discovery for AI tools, including providing credible and consistent proof points that AI tools can index and validate.Most CMOs will cut programs or accept reduced capacity after overestimating AI gains. As pressure intensifies to reduce personnel costs with AI, marketing leaders will eliminate as many as 25% of roles in anticipation of productivity gains that fail to meet expectations. As a result, they will have to choose between cutting program budgets to restore capacity through rehiring, contractors, or agency support or accept reduced execution with a smaller team. In either case, lower campaign investment, weaker execution, or both will reduce marketing’s overall value contribution.

“In 2027, the defining challenge for B2B go-to-market leaders will be to make deliberate choices about what to automate and where human judgment still matters,” said Sharyn Leaver, chief research officer at Forrester. “As AI becomes ubiquitous across the buying process, B2B leaders that pair AI-driven speed and convenience with transparency, control, and trust will extract the most value from AI.”

Resources:

Download Forrester’s 2027 Predictions guide for B2B go-to-market.Register for Forrester’s webinar exploring the key trends reshaping B2B go-to-market strategies in 2027.Learn how to turn these predictions into action through Forrester’s global B2B events and research programs.

About Forrester
Forrester (Nasdaq: FORR) is one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world. We empower leaders in technology, customer experience, digital, marketing, revenue, and product functions to make confident decisions in an AI-driven world and accelerate growth through customer obsession. Our unique research and continuous guidance model helps executives and their teams achieve their initiatives and outcomes faster and with confidence. To learn more, visit Forrester.com.

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SOURCE Forrester

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