Prof. Kuroda met Dr. Takashi Kunihara, Director of Cardio-vascular Surgery at The Cardiovascular Institute, Tokyo in Fukuoka for the first time in about 15 years. They are the Hokkaido “Guild” to conduct experimental and clinical researches for clinical application of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the field of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular surgeries since the early 1990’s. They also performed simultaneous CEA + CABG surgery together at Hokkaido University Hospital before. Now, Dr. Kunihara is known as one of top cardiovascular surgeons.