Early Cancer Detection with AI-powered Smell Sensors
TOKYO, October 6, 2026 - A solution developed by TAIYO YUDEN CO., LTD., titled "Early Cancer Detection with AI-powered Smell Sensors," won a "CEATEC AWARD 2026" Excellence Award.
The CEATEC AWARD is an award presented to exhibitors whose products, technologies, and services are highly evaluated for their innovation at "CEATEC," one of Japan's largest exhibitions where cutting-edge technologies gather from around the world. Among the CEATEC awards, the Excellence Award is presented to the entry that is evaluated as the most outstanding among all submissions based on a comprehensive assessment of innovation, social impact, feasibility, market potential, and co-creation, and is recognized as having exceptional potential to contribute to future industrial and societal development and the creation of new value.
The award-winning entry, "Early Cancer Detection with AI-powered Smell Sensors," applies TAIYO YUDEN's proprietary organic-inorganic material and thin-film technologies. This solution utilizes smell sensors capable of identifying "smells" from a combination of multiple gases, enabling real-time screening that leads to early cancer detection.
By expanding technological capabilities cultivated as an electronic component manufacturer into the healthcare field, and by increasing opportunities for people to seek medical checkups in their daily lives to promote early cancer detection, this solution is recognized as bridging a critical gap that traditional screening and diagnostic technologies alone have struggled to overcome, namely, motivating people to "take the initial step of getting tested in the first place."
In Japan, approximately 400,000 people die of cancer each year*1. For certain types of cancer, early detection can lead to a reduced risk of death and a shorter treatment period. However, the participation rate for government-recommended cancer screenings remains low at around 40% to 50%*2, making improving this rate a significant challenge.
To address this challenge, TAIYO YUDEN has developed a solution called "Early Cancer Detection with AI-powered Smell Sensors," which utilizes smell sensors to deliver real-time detection results. This solution digitizes odor information obtained from human urine using smell sensors and analyzes it with AI, enabling the detection of cancer-specific smell components.
TAIYO YUDEN believes that visualizing cancer risk through a routine "pre-screening" enabled by this solution and helping guide individuals to high-precision tests such as cancer screenings will contribute to reducing mortality through early detection and treatment, as well as alleviating the financial burden on patients, including medical costs.
Moving forward, TAIYO YUDEN will continue to create new services and solutions and contribute to the realization of sustainable well-being.
*1: Latest Cancer Statistics, National Cancer Center Japan
*2: Cancer Screening Participation Rates (Estimated figures based on the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions), National Cancer Center Japan
