Special Issue on Innovative Technology for Nursing Care and Nosotrophy

Abstract

As life expectancy has become longer, the number of those who have some handicaps or diseases as well as the families, caregivers and medical staff who support them has been also increasing. While modern medical science has rapidly advanced by adopting the innovation of engineering technology especially in the fields of mechanical and electric engineering, the support for nursing, care and assistance by making use of engineering technology has only just begun.

This special issue on “Nursing Engineering,” a combination of nursing and engineering, covers a wide range of themes such as the measuring equipment characterized by non-invasiveness, unconstraint and real-time for the purpose of helping patients and healthcare professionals and the development of the related technology; the development of the technology for the equipment to support recuperation, rehabilitation or convalescent life of patients; and active introduction of information technology and user interface technique into nursing study and its case studies. “Nursing Engineering” is expected to play increasingly important role to support medical treatment and everyday life of patients along with the highly professional medical staff by making practical use of the technology of robotics and mechatronics and incorporating rehabilitation science, welfare engineering and technology for assistance.