Life Innovation Business Expansion Project

FILTRYZER^™ HDF

Toray Industries has developed FILTRYZER^™ HDF, Japan's first polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) hollow fiber membrane-based hemodiafiltration device, and has recently launched sales of this product in Japan. Broadly two therapies employ artificial kidneys. The first is hemodialysis with dialyzers. The second is hemodiafiltration with hemodiafilters, which combines hemofiltration and hemodialysis.
More than 80% of hollow fiber membranes in hemodiafilters in Japan are made of polysulfone. Demand has risen for other materials, including because of allergic reactions and other biocompatibility issues and toxin removal performance needs. Toray is the world’s sole manufacturer of dialyzers incorporating PMMA hollow fiber membranes. They have earned excellent reputations in Japan and numerous other nations for excellent biocompatibility and uremic toxin removal.
By using technology it has developed over many years, the Company pursued hemodiafilter development and now has Japan's first PMMA hemodiafiltration device, FILTRYZER^™ HDF. The product has since received manufacturing and marketing approval in Japan, and is covered by the country's health insurance system.
Having obtained approval in 2007 to market Japan’s first polysulfone hollow fiber membrane hemodiafilters, the Company has continued to work to improve them. The new PMMA hemodiafiltration device underscores Toray's ongoing commitment to meeting diversifying dialysis market needs.

Allergy Testing BiochipFine columnar structure in the center of the chip

Food, pollen, and other allergies afflict half of Japan’s population. Incidence rates are rising, particularly among infants and young adults. It is common in medicine to identify such ailments by using in vitro diagnostic products that measure allergen-specific IgE antibody levels in the blood. An issue with simultaneously measuring allergen-specific IgE antibodies from small blood samples (which can alleviate stress for certain patients) has been that proteins, cells, and other contaminants in the blood impede accurate measurements.
Recently, Toray Industries completed development of an allergy testing biochip that can simultaneously measure multiple allergen-specific immunoglobin E (IgE) antibodies from trace amounts of blood. Toray was able to attain high precision from measurements with small samples by combining the microarray technology of its 3D-GeneTM, a highly sensitive DNA chip, and its low-fouling polymer technology to prevent blood component adhesion.
This new biochip should help reduce stress on children and others whose blood is difficult to draw and enhance the accuracy of allergy diagnostics in medical settings. Toray aims to undertake large-scale verifications of the specimens of allergy sufferers and swiftly apply for in vitro diagnostic certification.

LIVMOA^™3000

Based on a fusion of fiber and film technologies, the LIVMOA^™ lineup of disposable personal protective clothing provides both comfort and barrier properties, making it ideal for dust protection, clean rooms, infection control, and other uses. Toray Industries is promoting business development for this product line.
The Company conducted an evaporative heat resistance test on the fabric of a highly breathable model of LIVMOA^™ designed to optimize safety and comfort. Using the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index¹, a benchmark for heat stress, the test found that the correction value (value added to the WBGT value according to the clothing combination) showed the same value as for regular clothing. Accordingly, this protective clothing helps keep the wearer from getting sweaty while working, resulting in a high level of comfort. Additionally, the test confirmed that the fabric helps reduce heat stress for the wearer compared to general-purpose protective clothing.
Going forward, Toray will strive to promote safer and more comfortable work environments by marketing its highly breathable model of LIVMOA^™ disposable personal protective clothing to the manufacturing and construction sectors, where heat protection is essential in summer.

1. 1 This benchmark used for heat stroke prevention is derived from temperature, humidity, and radiation from light.