2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Equilibrium control by the electrical stimulation -New approach for bilateral vestibular disorder and fall

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	19K09858
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 56050:Otorhinolaryngology-related
Research Institution	Toho University
Principal Investigator	Ushio Munetaka 東邦大学, 医学部, 講師 (70361483)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	鈴木光也東邦大学, 医学部, 教授 (50302724)
Project Period (FY)	2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Keywords	前庭 / 重心 / 電気刺激 / モーションキャプチャー
Outline of Final Research Achievements	We found that the timing of plantar pressure change and center-of-gravity sway differs between normal subjects and patients with severely impaired peripheral vestibular function. The range of center of gravity sway increased with eye closure in both the lateral and anteroposterior directions, but the range of each body part movement increased in only the lateral direction with eye closure. The body equilibrium and plantar pressure of the patients with severely impaired unilateral peripheral vestibular function were reproduced in normal subjects by stimulating the head using an electrical stimulator. In addition, a program was created in which the subject was made to wobble when standing with the eyes closed, and information from a head-mounted accelerometer was calculated and fed back as electrical stimulation. Multiple waveforms of electrical stimulation were created to determine the conditions under which the posture could be normalized more quickly.
Free Research Field	耳鼻咽喉科
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	両側前庭機能障害症例や高齢者では、平衡障害による転倒が問題となる。現在行われている薬物療法やリハビリテーションなどの保存的治療には限界があり、人工前庭器や自立支援ロボットにもまだ困難な点がある。一方、電気刺激を用いて平衡障害にリアルタイムかつ持続的にアプローチする試みはない。本研究は、体平衡について詳細な検討を行い、そのデータに基づいて電気刺激を用いたリアルタイムかつ持続的な平衡コントロールをはかる方法を創出する点で学術的意義があると考える。また、平衡障害に対する保存的治療と手術（人工前庭器）の中間となる、難聴に対する補聴器に相当するアプローチ法を提案するという点で社会的意義があると考える。