A frailty discovery method based on daily monitoring data obtained from MIMAMORI sensors is propoed. The motion detection sensors were installed to the ceiling of rooms or corridor of elderly’s home. Comparing the sensed daily-life data with the cognitive and motor functions taken at each regular hospital visit, indices which may relate to the frailty prevention were examined. Mini Mental State Examination（MMSE）and One-Leg Standing Duration with Vision Test showed correlation with the activity level calculated from the sensor data. The results suggest that the activity level at home may be a predictor of frailty especially about cognitive function and balance motor function of the elderly.

View full abstract

 The prevalence of peristomal skin disorders in Japan is reported to be 34.3% among outpatients and 24.9% among inpatients. This high prevalence is attributed to the fact that not all nurses have an understanding of appropriate stoma care, as a result of which measures for preventing skin disorders is insufficient and healing of these disorders is delayed. Furthermore, ostomates who develop peristomal skin disorders experience physical suffering due to pain and itching, and their quality of life decreases. In order to resolve this problem, the ABCD-Stoma^®care tool was developed. With this tool, by confirming the check items corresponding to the ostomate’scondition, targets for optimal skin conditions and appropriate methods of skin care for skin disorders can be determined. However, issues still remain even with the use of this newly developed tool. Therefore, we herein describe a tool for improving the quality of care for peristomal skin disorders and measures for resolving the remaining issues using information and communications technology.

View full abstract

 We compared the image quality of a pocket-sized ultrasound machine with a linear array probe（PUM）with that of the laptop type ultrasound machine（LUM）for normal subcutaneous tissue.
  Six healthy adults volunteered to undergo ultrasound examination of their skin at sites where pressure ulcers frequently occur（i.e., sacrum, greater trochanter, heels）using two ultrasound systems. Examinations included transverse and longitudinal scans in three positions by each ultrasound system. Sacrum and right greater trochanter were assessed visually for the degree of clarity of the bone boundary, deep fascia, and superficial fascia. The right heel was assessed only for the degree of clarity of the bone boundary. Ultrasound images were visually classified as poor, fair, or good.
  Overall, PUM in 30 images of 84 pairs which compared the images of the 3 positions with two ultrasound systems achieved clarity equivalent to or greater than that of LUM images. PUM showed lower image quality than LUM in 18 images of 24 pairs which compared the images of the bone boundary in the sacrum and right greater trochanter. In contrast, there was fair agreement between PUM and LUM regarding the bone boundary of the right heel.
  Our results showed that PUM readings are in fair agreement with those obtained using LUM. PUM allows quick, though limited, performance. PUM, however, may be the only equipment available for an initial ultrasound assessment.

View full abstract

  Purpose：The aim of this study is to objectively verify the relaxation effects of practicing taktil care, a method of “touch care.”
  Subjects：Twenty practitioners who routinely performed taktil care were enrolled as subjects in this study.
 Methods：A control setup of 30 minutes of sitting quietly and an intervention of 30 minutes of taktil care.
 Analysis：Physiological, biochemical and psychological changes were compared between the control and intervention periods, and between measurements taken before and after the control setup and intervention.
 Results and Discussion：Compared with the control period, the intervention period resulted in significant activation of parasympathetic nerve activity in the autonomic nervous system and significant reduction of sympathetic nerve activity. After intervention, a significant increase in salivary secretory immunoglobulin A and a significant decrease in the degree of oxidation in oxidation-reduction potential were seen compared with before intervention. Vitality, stability and pleasure scores in the two-dimensional mood scale were also significantly higher after intervention than before. The above findings physiologically, biochemically and psychologically confirmed that taktil care has relaxation effects in practitioners themselves.

View full abstract

 Purpose：Fluid therapy is chosen for its good effect and reliable patient safety. However, patients receiving it often have to endure various inconveniences. This study aimed to examine how patients’ daily activities are hindered while undergoing fluid therapy.
 Methods：Focus group interviews were conducted on two groups of nurses（14 nurses in total）working at a university hospital in July and August 2013. They were interviewed regarding the difficulties patients undergoing fluid therapy experience when leaving the bed, the cause of such difficulties, and what efforts nurses are performing to facilitate bed leaving. Their comments were sorted into categories using a constant comparative method of the grounded theory approach.
 Results：Comments were sorted into six categories, which revealed the following process：1）The［transfusion condition］and［transfusion device］triggered a［sense of helplessness towards daily activities during treatment］under certain［patient conditions］and［treatment environments］. 2）［Obstacles to daily activities during treatment］and［sense of helplessness towards daily activities during treatment］mutually triggered each other.
 Conclusions：In order to prevent obstruction of daily activities during fluid therapy, approaches to mitigate the sense of helplessness towards daily activities, along with approaches to improve the fluid therapy environment and patients’ conditions, are required.

View full abstract

 The home care setting requires a quick, portable and non-invasive nutritional monitoring method such as skin hardness measurement. Nutritional status is reflected in the fat and muscle thickness in the temporal region, which could be evaluated by skin hardness. The aim is to examine the relationship of skin hardness of the temporal region to the fat and muscle tissue thicknesses, and then to nutritional status. A cross sectional study was conducted on 13 adults from March 2015 to June 2015. Skin hardness measurement was conducted by using a skin hardness meter, followed by fat, muscle, and total tissue thickness measurements using ultrasonography. Anthropometric measurements were used for nutritional assessment. Pearson’scorrelation test was used to examine the relationship between skin hardness and fat and muscle thicknesses, and then skin hardness and nutritional indicators. The skin hardness of the temporal region significantly correlated with total tissue thickness（r=0.782, p=0.002）and fat thickness（r=0.717,p=0.006）of the temporal region. The skin hardness also showed significant correlation with nutritional indicators such as body mass index（r=0.665,p=0.013）, arm circumference（r=0.682, p=0.010）, and calf circumference（r=0.618, p=0.024）. These results suggested the potential of the skin hardness measurements as an alternative indicator of nutritional status.

View full abstract

 Recently in aged society, the role of oral care is getting larger and larger because keeping oral health can bring aged people higher quality of life. So it is quite important to develop an educational environment in order to grow up nurses with practical oral care skill. In order to conduct appropriate oral care training, we attempted to develop an oral care simulator. This paper describes the first prototype of oral care simulator and its software to serve students in nursing an effective oral care training environment. A tooth alignment 3D model data was prepared for the simulator. Arranged by a 3D-CAD software so that it can embed pressure sensors to detect brushing, a tooth alignment was modeled using a fused deposition modeling machine. Sensor signals from pressure sensor are transferred to a computer via A/D convertor. Software for oral care training was also developed. Based on demand with oral care education, the software can store sensor signal with temporal sequence to record oral care procedure, and it can evaluate its procedure in addition to compare one’s own records in the past or other specialists.

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract