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Naomi Day sat down with Keita Shimomura, CEO of F.MED, to discuss his journey into MedTech, the challenges of building a robotics company and his vision to transform microsurgery worldwide.
For Keita Shimomura, establishing F.MED stemmed from a deep reflection on the state of medical technology in Japan. “I have worked in the MedTech business sector for over 20 years. I have long wondered why Japan, despite its strong manufacturing infrastructure and large medical market, has produced only a limited number of global MedTech companies.”
He pointed to a strong domestic focus and risk-averse culture that left innovation largely coming from overseas. At the same time, Shimomura was struck by how much surgical quality could vary between hospitals. “This led me to think about how surgical procedures could be standardised, a challenge not only in Japan, but globally.”
His perspective shifted further when he met Susumu Oguri, now F.MED’s CTO, who had begun developing a microsurgery robot in 2013. “Initially, our goal was simply to develop the robot for research purposes. However, after numerous discussions and tangible progress in development, we became motivated to apply the robot in real surgical cases to benefit patients.”
That marked a turning point. What began as an engineering project became a mission to push the boundaries of surgical robotics.
Creating F.MED required technical innovation as well as personal sacrifice. “We were strongly motivated to change the world with our microsurgery robot. At the same time, being in our late 40s with families of our own, we also had to consider how to sustain our immediate world.”
Both founders negotiated with their employers to work in parallel for a year, reducing financial risk while building momentum. “After that, we formally established our legal entity, began seeking investors to become independent, and ultimately succeeded in closing our seed financing round.” He credits their supporters,“Without the compassion and belief in our vision from those who supported and encouraged us, this achievement would not have been possible.”
Shimomura began to understand what would ultimately define F.MED’s path forward, for him “this experience reaffirmed the importance of holding a strong vision in running our business, and it has since reminded us to keep our company vision at the core of everything we do.”
For Shimomura, the driving force has always been the pursuit of consistency in the operating room, “The core value of computer-assisted surgery… lies in minimising or even eliminating errors that are inevitable in human practice.” The technology must step in to close the gap, “Even if a surgeon achieves a 99% success rate with high quality, it is our mission to bridge the remaining 1% gap.”
Microsurgery remains a particularly demanding field. “These procedures require surgeons to anastomose blood vessels, lymphatic ducts, and nerves that are less than 1 mm in diameter. To accomplish this, they must use sutures finer than a human hair while simultaneously controlling hand tremor.”
Such precision normally takes years of training to master. F.MED’s robotic system aims to change that. “With the assistance of our robot, microsurgical tool handling becomes stable and precise, leading to enhanced safety and efficacy in microsurgery.”
Shimomura emphasised that the true test of technology lies in its effect on real lives. “For us, the foremost measure of value is improvement in patient health outcomes.”
Clinical evidence will be the ultimate benchmark. “If clinical studies and statistical data demonstrate enhancements in quality of life and prognosis for patients undergoing microsurgery, we can then affirm that our product has the potential to make a meaningful impact on society.”
This patient-first philosophy is what defines F.MED, where technology transforms care and changes lives worldwide.
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