To Establish the New Life Culture - Four-Wheel Walker with Sleds

抄録

What is what walks by four legs, two legs, and three legs? It is human. This Sphinx's question is circulated widely. People certainly get older, and many have gait disorder by aging. It is difficult for such people to live without a cane. The way of thinking of Sphinx's question is established as human beings' life culture for ages.

So the walker currently using was hard to use at Japanese home, it was not spread to use there.

They did not use a walker which can be used at any required time, and a care worker's support was not obtained, either, then the bedridden elderly by fracture increase gradually in number. Even if one can be standing position and walk by rehabilitation training,

Many of them became bedridden with reducing an ADL level in many cases, because they cannot perform a durations of training, and do not walk for fear of a fall since there is no care of unassisted walking in the recuperation at home after discharged hospital.

The bedridden elderly by fracture is over an average of 20%.

The development of four-wheel walker with sleds (this walker) was performed as there were the possibilities to protect many elderly's walks and to enhance the ability of their independent living.

The clinical trial was done by many university hospitals such as the Tokyo University hospital(hereafter UH) Keio UH., Kitasato UH., St. Marianna UH., Tokai UH., and Yokohama City UH., etc. by the support of NEDO Grant^1), and the development was proved effective.

The degrading of the ADL level was not shown about 4 of the femur neck fracture patient, and 2 of the degenerative malum coxae of both sides patient in the clinical trial for example.

We can presume that there are the expenditures cut effect, in the case of assuming that the half user became walking independently by the result of the study. The outcome could be presumed that the effect of a fiscal year would be 420 billion yen to the Japanese finances including local public finance in 1993, in the case of assuming that the half user became walk independently. (180,000 people, half numbers of bedridden by fracture times 4,680 thousand yen per the cost of one people).

We have strived to diffuse a walker with sled in order to be no uneasiness bedridden in many elderly and to realize their precious, full longevity life by using it as a walk supportive device at Japanese home. Furthermore, we make an effort to increase a clinical trial example. We would like to break down the common sense concerning human beings' life culture for ages. It has continued since the ancient times of the Greek myth symbolized by the Sphinx. Moreover, we would like to establish the new myth about Sphinx’ question that

“what is what walks by four legs, two legs, three legs, and six legs? The answer is a human.”

The author is convinced that the new lifestyle of living on 6 legs, such establishment of new life culture, can lead the society a life calmly richly even if many people who have the much uneasiness of old age by low birthrate and longevity, add a year in comfort.

As a result of nursing-care-insurance introduction in Japan, the economic rationality of re-acquired walking was lost, and we heard that there was no sales performance after nursing-care-insurance introduction.

“Do you think that there are some problems? Yes, I do.”

We restart this matter after the Japanese nursing care insurance breakdown.