A study of evaluation and improvement technologies of walking posture by interaction with the environment for health promotion of the elderly

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K01580
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Bunkyo University
• Principal Investigator: Muto Takeshi 文教大学, 情報学部, 教授 (50433701)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 武藤 ゆみ子 玉川大学, 脳科学研究所, 研究員 (30614614)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: aging / gait / posture / elderly / Laser Pointer Task

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Postural changes associated with aging not only increase the risk of falling in daily life and cause serious injuries such as bone fractures, but are also a cause of low back pain and shoulder pain. In this study, we focused on the fact that the curvature of the spinal column changes with age, causing the posture to tilt more forward, and proposed a simple method to evaluate the degree of this change. As a result, it was clarified that this method can support the detection of postural changes in the early stage when they are mild, which has been difficult for elderly people to notice by themselves. Laser Pointer task (LP task) was proposed as a new exercise method for postural correction. The results showed that the degree of postural forward leaning and body sway of the elderly subjects decreased during the LP task.

Free Research Field

福祉工学，ヒューマンインタフェース

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は，福祉工学の領域では扱われてこなかった，外部環境との相互作用の観点からの人間の機能獲得メカニズムの解明とその工学的な応用の枠組みを新たに提案するものである．具体的には，直立時でなく，歩行中の姿勢において有意な加齢変化が起きることや，それを外部環境との相互作用を通して補正するため手法を報告している．このような，外部環境との相互作用を活用して実現した健康増進技術は過去に提案されていない．以上より，本研究は，これまで運動機能の改善では注目されてこなかった，人間が外部環境との相互作用により新たな機能を獲得するメカニズムの技術的な応用に対しても示唆を与える学術的意義や社会的意義を有している．