[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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Subjects (N=6) were asked to push a key (button) and time an interval after they listening to a sequence of sound (two buzzers) at one interval from a side (left or right) of headphone speakers. The time between the onset of the last buzzer and that of the key tap was defined as an anticipation time. The coefficient of determination between the interval and the anticipation time was calculated to evaluate accuracy of the anticipation. As a result, there was no laterality in the anticipation accuracy. However, when auditory masking was added to either side of headphone speakers, only the left side masking significantly reduced the anticipation accuracy. Thus, auditory masking caused disturbances with laterality to interval memory. These results suggest that the auditory interval memory, i.e. a working memory for the time perception is lateralized.

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A motion capture system was used to measure the heel trajectory during descending stair of twenty young healthy male and female subjects. Two kinds of the trajectory were found. One was the straight line type trajectory, and the other was the curved line type trajectory as if the heel kept away from the nosing of the stair. The former were found often when the descending cadence was high. In this condition, the heel clearance lengths were short. A mathematical model was developed to express this line type trajectory. Using this new model we could calculate the K-value which shows the shortest value of the distance between the heel and the nosing of the stair. These values were corresponded well to the values of the actual heel clearance. The K-value varies with the dimension of the stair, the tread and the riser, and other foot positioning parameters. When the K-value is negative, it means that the heel trajectory might hit the nosing of the stair if he or she walks down hastily. This kind of stair dimension supposed to be dangerous. When the K-value stays positive on the wide range of the parameter set, this dimension is adequate as the safe stair. The dimension of the minimum standard of Guidlines of Housing Design Device to Cope with Aged Society was judged as safe.

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This paper describes the development of a model which simulates the walking with a hip disarticulation prosthesis (HDP). In order to characterize walking with an HDP, the motion analyses were performed and incorporated into this study. Results of these analyses suggested that a three-dimensional model of the entire body was necessary to generate an accurate walking with an HDP. Therefore, a three-dimensional neuro-musculo-skeletal model of a human wearing an HDP was proposed including the mechanical model of an HDP and a neural model of a hip disarticulation amputee. After 20,000 iteration computation for the optimization process of neural parameters, simulated walking qualitatively represents the measured characteristics and dynamics of walking with an HDP.

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