Technical Innovation Fair 2011

The Technical Innovation Fair 2011 was held on February 23 and 24 at the ATC Ageless Center in Osaka's Suminoe Ward with the theme “Utilizing Robots and Robotic Technologies to Facilitate Lifestyle Innovations: Nursing Care, Welfare, and Medicine." With labor shortages forecast at the nursing care facilities, hospitals, and other care providers tasked with supporting the nation's aging society, expectations are running high for technologies such as lifestyle-assisting robots to help ease some of the associated challenges. Fourteen companies showcased an array of products and services built around robots and robotic technologies that are expected to see use in the nursing care, welfare, and medicine fields. This report, part one and two, introduces some of these products and services.

Orthree Co., Ltd.

Orthree Co., Ltd., a venture launched by Osaka University, exhibited a system that can extract three-dimensional models from DICOM imagery obtained from CT systems and output them for use in orthopedic surgery. In the past, surgeons performing surgery on bone fractures have had to judge the location of the fracture based mostly on experience. By allowing doctors to superimpose an image of the fractured bone with that of a normal bone, the system helps them assess areas of deformation and accurately locate the fracture. It also allows the design of custom-made surgical aids for supporting the operation, paving the way for safe, rapid surgery. The system has won praise for its ease of use during ongoing trials at Osaka University, and the company plans to make it available for sale starting this spring.

Website: http://www.orthree.jp/[ Japanese version only ]

Umeda Electric Co., Ltd.

Taking advantage of extensive experience in the production of automated and labor-saving equipment for the manufacturing industry, Umeda Electric Co., Ltd., entered the medical field last year after obtaining a medical device manufacturing permit from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The company exhibited some related technologies at the Fair, including a myoelectric prosthetic hand control board that is designed and produced based on research results from Osaka Electro-Communication University and Setsunan University. It also exhibited a system capable of photographing a target object from two directions and measuring its three-dimensional shape in real-time, eliminating the need to physically scan the object. The system applies technology from inspection systems used when shipping products from factories and is expected to lead to the development of products such as order-made medical devices. Michihharu Wakatsuki of the Sale's Division's Machine vision and Control Systems Group enthusiastically describes how the company is looking forward to “utilizing its electric control technologies more aggressively in the medical sector."

Website: http://www.umeda-electric.co.jp/[ Japanese version only ]

ErgoVision Co., Ltd.

ErgoVision Co., Ltd., exhibited a system that uses special sensors to generate a virtual human model with the body dimensions and weight characteristics of a test subject. Since body burdens such as joint burden and joint torque during movement can be estimated according to the movements of the virtual model, the system can be used to measure training benefits during rehabilitation. Additionally, the system can be used in combination with data for an individual filmed with a video camera to simulate the burdens imposed on the body when a product being considered for development is used. The company claims that the system, which is priced starting at ¥1 million, can help reduce product development costs. President and CEO Shozo Hirose, who is eying the nursing care market, notes, “The system also has clear applications in the design of products such as nursing care supplies."

Website: http://www.ergovision.co.jp/[ Japanese version only ]

Muscle Corporation

Muscle Corporation exhibited a compact, integrated AC servo system incorporating a motor, encoder, driver, power supply unit, controller, and PLC functionality. Able to control its own motion via a simple system, the unit is distinguished by an inexpensive, compact design that uses less wiring. The Dream Robo wall-climbing robots at the Japan Pavilion at last year's Shanghai Expo, which created quite a stir, used the same system. The company has experience in obtaining medical device certification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and plans to leverage its strengths in supporting development of devices for use in the medical and nursing care fields.

Website: http://www.musclecorp.com/english/

Vstone Co., Ltd.

Vstone Co., Ltd., exhibited Robovie-R Ver. 3, a life-size robot platform designed for use in research into communication between people and robots. The system features a number of essential features for users considering robotic services to help elderly and physically challenged individuals participate more fully in society, including a sufficiently high level of mobility to transit rough surfaces such as studded paving blocks and slopes as well as a speed of movement designed to allow an elderly individual to walk alongside the robot (about 2.5 km/h). It has been designed for trials in environments where people are active, and such trials are already underway at shopping centers and art and other museums, where the system is used to provide guidance to visitors.

Website: http://www.vstone.co.jp/english/

Activelink Co., Ltd.

Activelink Co., Ltd., exhibited a training device originally designed help astronauts maintain muscle strength in zero-gravity environments that has been adapted for use by the general public. In addition to facilitating efficient exercise by targeting both flexing and extending of muscles, the system, which was originally made possible by a program of research and development undertaken by Kurume University School of Medicine and other institutions, lets users build muscle strength without feeling much fatigue since it does not require use of heavy weights. Reiji Oya notes, “We expect the system to be used in applications such as the prevention of metabolic syndrome by strengthening the user's physique and as a rehabilitation device for helping patients recover muscle strength following surgery." He says the company also expects the system to be used as a way to prevent locomotive syndrome, a general name for a number of motor system diseases caused by aging, including degenerative joint disease and osteoporosis.

Website: http://psuf.panasonic.co.jp/alc/en/

DreamGP Co., Ltd.

DreamGP Co., Ltd., introduced a service that can instantaneously measure a customer's feet using a three-dimensional foot-measuring device and, working in partnership with a shoe manufacturer, provide custom-made shoes in about two weeks' time. The measuring device takes readings at approximately 30,000 discrete locations, including the instep, heel, toes, and sole, and can display each foot's shape as a precise, three-dimensional image. The company, which also sells custom-made insoles and therapeutic shoes for women suffering from bunions and elderly customers who find it difficult to walk due to the use of improperly fitted shoes, is developing different stores for specific target markets, including athletes, individuals requiring nursing care, and the general public. President and CEO Motohide Arayama says, “We've launched facilities in the U.S. and Denmark, and we look forward to bringing our products and services to the world."

Website: http://www.myshoes.jp/e/

Keitsu Electronic Co., Ltd.

Products exhibited by Keitsu Electronic Co., Ltd., which is working to develop technologies such as a compact wireless module with a built-in CPU for use in wireless devices, included a system designed to help caregivers assess patients' state of health (pulse, body temperature, etc.) by fitting terminals incorporating wireless sensors onto beds and other furniture. The company has also developed a system for quickly detecting accidents caused by falls and minimizing injuries by having nursing care patients carry motion sensors with them. Additionally, it is advocating a comprehensive suite of services designed to help companies deploy wireless devices at their facilities, including radio emissions certification testing to verify whether the design of wireless equipment complies with applicable technical standards that must be satisfied in order for devices that emit such radiation to be used at care facilities.

Website: http://www.k2-denshi.com/index_e.html

Neuralimage Co., Ltd.

Neuralimage Co., Ltd. exhibited a system for tracking people's movements in real time using silicon retina sensors, its core technology. Taking technology that it had already commercialized in the form of foot traffic counters for tracking parameters such as the number of people passing a certain point, the company applied it to serve as a protective system for use in facilities such as nursing homes. This system can be installed in bathrooms and on beds to immediately detect and notify caregivers of movements such as falls. Since the sensor completes all judgment processing internally and does not output video, it offers the advantage of being able to be installed in settings such as bathrooms without compromising user privacy. Tadatsugu Udono of the company's Product Development Division emphasized the advantages of the system for the nursing care field, noting, “Our system can reduce the workload of registered nurses and other caregivers by helping them watch out for the safety of patients."

Website: http://www.neuralimage.co.jp/en/

Figla Co., Ltd.

Figla Co., Ltd., exhibited a completely self-propelled, multifunctional cleaning robot. The product has been used to clean the terminal building at Tokyo International Airport and various office buildings since its launch last year, earning it praise as a robot capable of reducing people's workload. Since its design allows use of interchangeable cleaning units, it can also be used to apply antiseptic solution at hospitals and nursing care facilities when its liquid application unit is attached. The robot also provides communication functionality, including the ability to play audio of 200 different words and sentences as input by computer and to broadcast text-based information. Its safety-conscious design has earned it a safety certificate from NPO The Safety Engineering Laboratory.

Website: http://www.figlausa.com/

JATO Co., Ltd.

JATO Co., Ltd., exhibited a digital signage system that uses a large display to show hospital announcements, health-related information, and other content for viewing by patients at medical institutions. The product is distinguished by the availability of pre-made general health information that customers can select for display, augmenting customer-specific content produced by the company. The company is expanding the service so that information can also be broadcast to devices such as computers and mobile phones and notes that the system can also be used to help nursing staff provide care at patients' residences by means of portable terminals. Masahiko Konishi says, “If individuals requiring care send in information such as their blood pressure and pulse on the day of the caregiver's visit in advance, it will be possible to provide more fine-grained care."

Website: http://www.jato.co.jp/[ Japanese version only ]

Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.

Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd., exhibited a lower-body wearable robot that reads bioelectrical potential signals generated when the wearer tries to move his or her muscles and then helps bend the knees based on control input from a power unit. Attendees were impressed by a demonstration in which the robot arm moved only when the wearer attempted to move his or her knees. The company has already sold 88 of the systems under lease and rental arrangements to medical institutions and nursing care facilities, where they are being used to meet rehabilitation needs. It is also working to develop a full-body variant for use by caregivers who must perform physically demanding tasks such as carrying patients.

Website: http://www.daiwahouse.co.jp/English/

Life Robotics Inc.

Life Robotics Inc., a venture of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, exhibited the RAPUDA daily life assistance robotic arm, which can be operated by individuals suffering from upper body impairment due to conditions such as muscular dystrophy, cervical injuries, or ALS in place of their arms by using certain bodily functions. The device is designed so that users can operate it intuitively with switches configured to accommodate remaining bodily functions, for example hand, finger, jaw, or neck movements or breathing, while viewing an interface. Describing the company's expectations for the product, Director Woo-Keun Yoon says, “There are a lot of people who want to do things for themselves, especially simple things like applying cosmetics or pursuing hobbies and interests. Our goal is to improve their quality of life by helping them do these things for themselves."

Website: http://liferobotics.jp/[ Japanese version only ]

Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine

The Department of Neurosurgery at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine is conducting research and development work on an electrocortical brain-machine interface (BMI) using intracranial electrodes. Such interfaces are designed to assess the type of movement an individual is trying to make based on an analysis of their brain waves and then communicate that information to an assistive device or other equipment so that their intended movement can be made. The team, which is developing an implantable wireless electrocortical measuring device through a partnership that includes contributors from the medical and engineering fields as well as private industry, hopes to eventually enable a completely paralyzed individual to move a robotic hand. Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Kojiro Matsushita says, “BMI technology has the potential to serve as an effective interface for paralyzed individuals. We're looking to work with a broad range of researchers and engineers at companies and academic institutions who are seeking to develop welfare and medical applications for BMI."

Website: http://www.nsurg.med.osaka-u.ac.jp/school/index_e.html