Our research starts from questions raised in daily clinical practice: basic studies of disease mechanisms, development of diagnostic and treatment technologies, and clinical research using patient data. Much of it is carried out with engineers, physicists, and information scientists.
Visualization and precision diagnosis of the inner ear, surgical robotics and AI for ear surgery, vestibular schwannoma, mechanisms and treatment of sensorineural hearing loss, and evaluation of auditory implants. Our largest research group, supported by the JST FOREST Program.
Read more →Treatment outcomes of rare tumors such as external auditory canal cancer, histopathological and molecular evaluation of tumors, basic research on tumor immunity, function-preserving thyroid and salivary gland surgery, and national registry and multicenter studies.
Clinical research based on cases accumulated in the voice clinic: acoustic voice assessment, outcomes of phonosurgery, life after laryngectomy and larynx-preserving surgery, and voice therapy and rehabilitation.
AI-based analysis of videofluoroscopic swallowing studies, quantitative measurement of swallowing movement, outcomes of surgery for dysphagia, and multidisciplinary clinical research.
Treatment outcomes of skull base surgery for sinonasal tumors, and the assessment and study of olfaction, building on the department's long-standing basic research on olfactory neuron regeneration.
The otology, hearing, and balance research group brings together the faculty of our ear and hearing clinic and our vertigo clinic (Takeshi Fujita, Natsumi Uehara, Jun Yokoi, Ayu Akazawa, and colleagues). The group works as one team across the topics below. Selected publications are listed with links to PubMed or the publisher; bold marks the corresponding author. The list includes work carried out during faculty members' fellowships abroad, at previous institutions, and with collaborating institutions in Japan and overseas.
Seeing inside the cochlea is a central challenge for understanding inner-ear structure and disease. Together with engineers and photonics researchers, we have studied three-dimensional terahertz near-field imaging of the cochlea and intracochlear observation with ultrasound and optical probes (IVUS and OFDI), comparing what each technique can and cannot show. This work is the core of our JST FOREST project on minimally invasive, high-resolution diagnosis of sensorineural hearing loss.
With robotics researchers at Osaka University, we are developing an endoscope manipulator for transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES), combining a gimbal-based rotational linkage with a linear guide rail. In parallel, we apply deep learning to surgical video for automatic segmentation and classification of instruments, most recently using Segment Anything Model 2. Both projects aim at safer, more reproducible ear surgery and at objective assessment of surgical skill.
Beyond the tumor itself, we study how vestibular schwannomas affect the inner ear: tumor-derived extracellular vesicles and microRNAs, tumor genetics, immune-related biomarkers in blood, and cochlear signal changes on MRI. The work spans basic and clinical research and is carried out together with the Department of Neurosurgery at our hospital, including joint treatment planning and hearing restoration with cochlear implants for patients with neurofibromatosis type 2.
We investigate how genetic background, aging, metabolism, inflammation, and noise damage the inner ear, using animal models, metabolomics of inner-ear fluid, and genetic analysis of patients. Topics include diabetes and diet in age-related hearing loss, hearing loss in xeroderma pigmentosum, and the genetic diagnosis of late-onset and mitochondrial hearing loss.
We evaluate outcomes of cochlear implants and other auditory implants, including vestibular function after simultaneous bilateral implantation, and contribute to Japan's national auditory implant registry. Our clinic has performed cochlear implantation since 2017 and works with all three manufacturers available in Japan.
Competitive research funding awarded to Prof. Takeshi Fujita as principal investigator.
| Period | Project | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Development of a hearing loss prevention agent for xeroderma pigmentosum group A | Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), Translational Research Program, Keio University Hub, Seeds A |
| 2022–2028 | Realization of Minimally Invasive and High-Resolution Precision Diagnosis of Sensorineural Hearing Loss through Medicine-Engineering Convergence | JST FOREST Program (Fusion Oriented REsearch for disruptive Science and Technology) |
| 2022–2025 | Elucidation of Sensorineural Hearing Loss Mechanism in Eosinophilic Otitis Media Focusing on Lipid Mediators | Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), JSPS |
| 2019–2021 | Elucidation of Tumor Development and Growth Mechanisms in Vestibular Schwannoma through Genomic Analysis | Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), JSPS |
| 2018 | Elucidation of the Mechanism of Sensorineural Hearing Loss Progression due to Intractable Otitis Media | GSK Japan Research Grant |
| 2017–2018 | Elucidation of the Pathophysiology of Hearing Loss due to Vestibular Schwannoma Focusing on MicroRNAs Contained in Exosomes | Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B), JSPS |
| 2017 | Development of Disease Biomarkers for Ménière's Disease | Kindai University Intramural Grant (Encouragement Research) |
| 2016 | Development of an Endoscope Enabling Direct Access to the Round Window of the Cochlea for Diagnosis and Treatment of Sensorineural Hearing Loss | Japan Endoscopy Research Foundation |
| 2011–2012 | Elucidation of the Effects of Diabetes on Age-Related Changes in the Inner Ear and Their Mechanisms | Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B), JSPS |
As co-investigator: JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), "Improving the autonomy of locally operated endoscopic surgical robots" (Osaka University), FY2022–2026; and several AMED projects on cochlear implant intervention, unilateral hearing loss, bilateral hearing aid fitting, and xeroderma pigmentosum.
