Toshiba Medical

When we look at the history of Toshiba's medical equipment, the word "first" often reappears.
Toshiba was the first in Japan to begin research on X-ray tubes in 1914, and has continued to be a national leader in diagnostic imaging equipment, being the first to introduce many products, including MRI and helical CT.
We are continuing to write new pages in the history of medical equipment development.

1875	Tanaka Manufacturing founded (1904, start of Shibaura Manufacturing)
1890	Hakunessha founded (1899, start of Toshiba Electric)
1914	Start of Toshiba medical device business Start of research on X-ray tubes (First in Japan)
1930	Establishment of Nihon Iryo Denki Ltd as a sales company for medical devices, including X-ray, fully financed by Tokyo Electric Co. Ltd.
1932	Fluorescent plate developed (First in Japan)
1935	Ink-recording electrocardiographs developed (First in Japan) Condenser discharge X-ray tube developed (First in Japan)
1939	Merger of Shibaura Manufacturing and Tokyo Electric Co. Ltd. and establishment of Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co. Ltd.
1942	Nihon Iryo Denki Ltd absorbed by Toshiba through a war-time business merger
1948	Reestablishment of Nihon Iryo Denki Ltd., the forerunner of Toshiba Medical
1951	Electroencephalography system developed (First in Japan)
1954	X-ray fluorescent intensifier tube (I.I.) developed (First in Japan)
1955	Fluorescent intensified X-ray fluoroscopy system developed (First in Japan)
1959	Transistorized electrocardiograph developed (First in Japan)
1961	Successful clinical test of electronic transmission of X-ray TV images Tokyo and Osaka (First in Japan)
1967	Medical Systems Division established.
1972	Toshiba Medical (domestic company) established
1976	Toshiba International Corporation Medical Division established in U.S.A.
1977	Electric scan-type Ultrasound system (SAL-10A) developed (First in the world)
1978	X-ray Whole body CT system (TCT-60A) developed (First in Japan)
1979	Nasu Operations established
1981	Toshiba Medical Systems Europe B.V. established
1983	First MRI (MRT-15A) and Digital fluorography system (DFP-02A) developed
1984	Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co. Ltd. changes their name to Toshiba Corp.
1985	Slipring CT scanner (TCT-900S) developed (First in the world)
1987	Toshiba Nasu Tube Factory established Achieved production of the 20,000th X-ray TV system (First in the world)
1992	Quality assurance system for ISO9001 certified
1993	Began sales of digital fluorography systems incorporating digital CCD camera (First in the world)
1995	CT fluoroscopy developed (First in the world)
1996	Super-conducting, open MRI developed (First in the world)
1997	Achieved production of the 100,000th ultrasound system (First in the world)
1998	Multislice and half-second helical CT (Aquilion) developed (First in the world)
1999	MRI noise-reduction technology developed (Pianissimo mechanism) (First in the world)
2000	Global Headquarters functions consolidated at Nasu operations
2003	Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation established Began sales of X-TV system with direct-conversion type flat panel detector(FPD) Began sales of EXCELART Vantage™, the world's quietest MRI system with the world's shortest magnet
2004	Achieved production of the 150,000th electronic-scan-type diagnostic ultrasound system Achieved production of the 15,000th CT system Began sales of the 64-detector-row CT system (Aquilion™64) Established software development centers in software houses in China and India
2005	Began sales of PET-CT system with moving gantries (Aquiduo™) (First in the world)
2006	Began sales of diagnostic X-ray angiography system with floor-mounted multi-access arm (Infinix™-i INFX-8000V) (First in the world) Toshiba Medical Research Institute USA established
2007	Toshiba Medical Systems (China) Co., Ltd. established in Beijing Developed 320-row area detector CT (Aquilion ONE™) Achieved production of the 20,000th CT system Began sales of diagnostic cardiovascular ultrasound system (Artida™), which can display three-dimensional image of the heart in real time
2008	Acquired the Advanced Visualization Imaging System section of Barco in Scotland Developed new image processing technique for diagnostic X-ray angiography system (PureBrain™)
2009	Toshiba Medical Visualization Systems Europe Ltd established Established Customer Support & Training Center (CSTC)
2010	Began sales of hybrid surgical X-ray angiography system with tilting catheterization table (First in the world) Began sales of large-bore 3-Tesla MRI system (Vantage Titan™3T)
2011	Acquired Vital Images, Inc. in the USA Developed low-dose CT scan technology (AIDR 3D) Started multicenter study of non-contrast-enhanced MRA technology Time-SLIP (First in the world)