SmartDock's Recognition and Features
In an exciting development in the world of healthcare innovation, SmartDock, a service provided by Yukaria Co., Ltd., has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Good Design Award by the Japan Design Promotion Organization. With a strong focus on enhancing healthcare accessibility and efficiency, SmartDock’s unique approach to preventive medicine is not only commendable but also transformative for patients across Japan.
Good Design Exhibition 2025
From November 1 to 5, 2025, an exhibition will take place at Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi, showcasing all award-winning designs, including SmartDock’s significant contributions to the field of healthcare. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the Smart Brain Dock service, which utilizes the non-operational hours of MRI and CT machines in medical facilities to allow patients to receive affordable and streamlined examinations. This innovative service has made preventive healthcare much more accessible.
What is SmartDock?
SmartDock represents a pioneering shift in how brain health evaluations are conducted. By capitalizing on the unused time of advanced medical imaging equipment, SmartDock allows users to undergo brain MRI and MRA scans efficiently, detecting conditions such as brain aneurysms, strokes, and tumors at an early stage. Patients can reserve appointments and complete pre-examination paperwork online, significantly reducing wait times at healthcare facilities. Results are accessible via computers or smartphones, making the entire process quick and user-friendly, typically completed in just 30 minutes from check-in to departure.
With a reasonable price of 24,750 JPY, SmartDock has completed a remarkable 164,000 examinations to date across 286 participating medical facilities in Japan. This service not only enhances patient experience but also supports healthcare providers by improving utilization rates of their imaging equipment.
Expansion of Services
In May 2025, an additional service called MVision Health was introduced. This service uses AI to analyze MRI images from Smart Brain Dock exams, providing detailed reports on patients' brain health conditions. The reports focus on age-related factors, such as brain atrophy and white matter lesions, allowing comparisons against normative data from healthy individuals. This level of analysis empowers healthcare providers to offer valuable insights to patients without adding operational burdens.
Moreover, certain facilities that offer Smart Brain Dock services are expanding their offerings to include cancer screenings and other major disease evaluations. This flexibility enables patients to combine various health screenings on the same day, promoting overall wellness.
Expert Evaluations and Impact
The Good Design Award jury praised SmartDock for presenting a novel MRI sharing economy model that redefines preventive healthcare. Patients often avoid brain examinations due to high costs, complexity, and lengthy processes. SmartDock simplifies this with its online reservation and feedback system while ensuring high diagnostic quality through a dual-check by specialized medical professionals. It successfully enhances operational efficiency in healthcare settings and improves the patient experience while maintaining a low cost.
With its widely adopted model spanning over 260 facilities and achieving more than 160,000 examinations, SmartDock significantly contributes to extending individuals' health spans and reducing medical costs, showcasing an exemplary design in sustainable healthcare.
About the Good Design Award
Established in 1957, the Good Design Award is a premier designation in Japan that recognizes and promotes excellence in design. It supports the improvement of living quality and utilizes design to address societal issues. The award’s