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Kataoka Lab
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The lab observes the universe and examines the human body using X-rays and gamma rays.
AboutAbout the lab
Observing the universe, examining the human body.
The Kataoka Lab develops its own highly sensitive cameras that detect X-rays and gamma rays, and applies them to both astronomical observation and medicine.
Rare metals such as gold and platinum are thought to be produced in explosive events such as neutron star mergers, which are believed to emit characteristic line X-rays and gamma rays.
The lab aims to detect this light from space by mounting the cameras it has developed on ultra-small satellites weighing several tens of kilograms.
The lab also brings the same technology into medicine, working on methods to observe from outside the body how drugs move inside it.
Key terms
- Gamma ray
- Electromagnetic waves with even higher energy than X-rays, emitted by violent phenomena in space and by radioactive materials
- Neutron activation
- Irradiating a material with neutrons to turn it into a state that emits radiation. Used to trace gold and platinum
- Photon-counting CT
- CT that counts X-rays one photon at a time and forms images by distinguishing the energy (color) of each
NewsLab news
A doctoral student won the Best Oral Presentation Award (NIM-A Award) at the international conference NDIP26
A master's student won the Excellent Presentation Award Silver at the international conference ICNMTA2026
A master's student won the Best Poster Award at the international conference NDIP26
A doctoral student received the FY2025 Ono Azusa Prize
A presentation from the lab was selected as a highlighted talk at the Japan Society of Applied Physics Spring Meeting
ResearchResearch themes
The lab's shared foundation is the mechanisms that produce line X-rays and gamma rays, together with the detector technology that captures them. Extending into both space science and medical and pharmaceutical science, the lab aims to build a framework for observing the movement of matter, from the universe to the human body, with the same technology.
*Illustrative imageX-ray and gamma-ray astrophysics
Rare metals such as gold and platinum are thought to be produced in explosive events such as neutron star mergers (kilonovae). By mounting its in-house highly sensitive X-ray and gamma-ray cameras on ultra-small satellites, the lab aims to observe kilonovae and gamma rays from the Milky Way Galaxy.
*Illustrative imageNuclear medicine and particle therapy
Gold nanoparticles are attracting attention as drug carriers because they are compatible with living tissue, and platinum is itself used in anticancer drugs. The lab makes these materials slightly radioactive with neutrons and, using the same technology as in astronomical observation, visualizes from outside the body how the drugs move inside it.
*Illustrative imageMulticolor spectral CT
The lab uses photon-counting CT, which rapidly distinguishes the "color" (energy) of each individual X-ray photon. Using the differences in color between elements as a clue, it aims to separately depict the movement of each of multiple drugs.
MembersFaculty
The Kataoka Lab's members consist of faculty, ERATO project staff, visiting researchers, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorJun Kataoka
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope spacecraft model” NASA / Public domain (cropped)
- X-ray and gamma-ray astrophysics: “Eso1733s Artist's impression of merging neutron stars” University of Warwick / Mark Garlick / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Nuclear medicine and particle therapy: “PET-image” Jens Maus / Public domain (cropped)
- Multicolor spectral CT: “CT Scanner (NIH BioArt )” NIAID Ryan Kissinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (原山研究室): “Neighborhood of attractor of discretized Lorenz system. XYZ(9) plane” German A. Chernykh & Irina A. Chernykh / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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- Related lab (新倉研究室): “Ti Sapph YAG supercontinnum” Neath g / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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