Beppu Medical Center Opens Oita Prefecture’s First Baby Head Shape Clinic, Building a Care Pathway for Cranial Checkups and Helmet Therapy

Japan Medical Company announced that the National Hospital Organization Beppu Medical Center in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, has opened a specialized outpatient clinic for infant head shape concerns, called the Baby Head Shape Clinic. This marks the first time a medical institution in Oita Prefecture has newly established a dedicated head shape clinic and built a system to provide helmet therapy. The clinic will respond to consultations about infant head shape by conducting evidence-based cranial checkups and differential diagnosis of pathological deformities using X-rays and other examinations. Based on the assessment, physicians will provide home-care guidance, follow-up observation, necessary testing, and treatment options according to the infant’s age in months, developmental stage, and severity of symptoms. The goal is to establish an appropriate regional care pathway. The clinic was opened against a backdrop of rising demand for consultations about infant head shape, changes in lifestyles and childcare environments, and an overflow of information on social media. Another factor is the widespread guidance to place infants on their backs to sleep in order to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which can make positional cranial deformities caused by head-turning preferences more noticeable. In this context, regional core medical institutions are expected to provide proper cranial checkups, clear explanations, and pathways to specialist evaluation when needed. At the Beppu City Council in December 2025, council member Koji Anai raised a general question on “head shape and helmet therapy from age zero,” leading to concrete discussions on causes of cranial deformity, timing for starting treatment, and cost burden. Japan Medical Company said that the fact these issues are being discussed in a public setting based on accurate information reflects deepening social understanding of infant head shape concerns and helmet therapy. Council member Anai is also scheduled to attend and give opening remarks at the Oita Pediatric Head Shape Seminar 2026, co-hosted by the company on May 20. A key feature of the clinic is physician-led assessment, including differential diagnosis between positional cranial deformity and pathological cranial deformities such as craniosynostosis. Based on the diagnosis, the clinic will provide care guidance suited to the infant’s age and development, such as positional adjustment and tummy time, along with follow-up observation. If treatment is considered necessary, options including helmet therapy will be presented. By offering an organized care experience covering evaluation, explanation, and next steps, the clinic aims to support the establishment of an appropriate medical pathway and reduce parental anxiety. Beppu Medical Center has been certified as an accredited treatment medical institution by the Japan Helmet Therapy Evaluation and Certification Organization. The organization sets requirements for medical institutions and physicians to ensure the quality of cranial checkups and helmet therapy, including completion of certified training and examinations by affiliated physicians, on-site observation at university hospitals or children’s hospitals that provide cranial checkups and cranial orthotic treatment, and access to equipment such as X-rays needed for differential diagnosis. The organization recommends that proper cranial checkups using X-rays or CT be performed at accredited institutions, and that helmet therapy be introduced only when necessary after pathological causes have been excluded. The clinic’s physicians, Dr. Hiroshi Koga, chief of pediatrics at Beppu Medical Center, and Dr. Rui Shinrai, chief of plastic surgery, participated in the organization’s 7th training program on appropriate helmet treatment for positional cranial deformity. The program covered practical topics such as distinguishing positional cranial deformity from pathological cranial deformity, explaining conditions and treatment to parents, documentation and risk management, multidisciplinary care pathways, and sharing clinical knowledge from overseas. Beppu Medical Center is a core hospital of the National Hospital Organization with 483 beds. As a Regional Perinatal Maternal and Child Medical Center for eastern Oita Prefecture, it provides advanced perinatal and pediatric care, including a neonatal intensive care unit. By establishing the Baby Head Shape Clinic, the hospital extends its comprehensive support from pregnancy and childbirth through postpartum care to specialized head shape consultation, enabling smoother access within the prefecture to appropriate cranial checkups and treatment options. Dr. Koga commented that the clinic is intended for parents concerned about their baby’s head shape, parents whose child has been identified by a primary physician as having cranial deformity, and physicians considering referral. Until now, patients in Oita often had to seek care outside the prefecture. By opening the prefecture’s first cranial morphology clinic, Beppu Medical Center aims to create an environment where patients and families can receive consultation and treatment closer to home. The clinic will focus on two areas: accurate diagnosis of cranial deformity, including distinguishing pathological deformities requiring treatment such as craniosynostosis from positional plagiocephaly; and helmet therapy for positional plagiocephaly, in which a dedicated helmet is worn during early infancy when skull growth is active to help shape the head. Because starting at the appropriate time is important for effectiveness, early consultation is encouraged when symptoms are a concern. Dr. Shinrai said many families have struggled with infant head shape asymmetry while not knowing where to seek advice, or have given up because there was no specialized consultation point in Oita Prefecture. The new clinic was established to respond to those urgent needs. Working closely with pediatrics, the clinic will first provide evidence-based diagnosis to determine whether the condition is a pathological deformity such as craniosynostosis and whether treatment is needed. Through careful examination, the team aims to support families’ concerns and children’s healthy growth. In connection with the clinic’s opening, the Oita Pediatric Head Shape Seminar 2026 will be held on May 20, 2026, in a hybrid format for both in-person and online participants. The seminar aims to provide accurate information to medical institutions in Oita Prefecture and healthcare professionals involved in pediatric and neonatal care, including pediatricians, obstetricians and gynecologists, midwives, and public health nurses. Topics will include cranial checkups in infants, the significance of early diagnosis of pathological cranial deformities, Beppu Medical Center’s experience with craniosynostosis, and screening and differential diagnosis of cranial deformities. Japan Medical Company stated that, in addition to developing, manufacturing, and providing medical devices, it regards the accumulation and sharing of academic knowledge that contributes to the standardization and equalization of proper cranial checkups and helmet therapy as an important initiative. Taking the opening of this clinic as an opportunity, the company will work with medical institutions to support care pathways based on differential diagnosis and help create an environment where babies and families can seek consultation with confidence. The company’s Qurum Fit product is a Japanese-made cranial remolding helmet developed jointly with specialists in neurosurgery, pediatrics, neonatology, pediatric surgery, and plastic surgery. It is manufactured using advanced 3D printing technology and produced entirely in-house at the company’s factory in Arakawa, Tokyo. The helmet is designed for high breathability to reduce heat and moisture, and both the helmet body and cushion can be washed, supporting comfort, hygiene, and treatment effectiveness. Qurum Fit has also been adopted for cranial remolding treatment at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore’s largest public specialist hospital for women and children. Japan Medical Company is a manufacturing venture that uses advanced 3D printing technology to innovate the shape of medical care. Building on the manufacturing technology and spirit cultivated over 130 years by its predecessor, Ono Kogyo, founded in 1897, the company promotes evidence-based proper cranial checkups and helmet therapy as a leading company in infant cranial remolding helmets. In 2012, it jointly developed Aimet, the first domestically made cranial remolding helmet in Japan, with a neurosurgeon, and became independent as Japan Medical Company in 2018.