University Professor’s Welfare Inventions
Helping Disabled People

Professor ISHIMATSU Takakazu,
Nagasaki University – Faculty of Engineering

In line with the effects of Japan’s aging society, the number of people requiring care is increasing throughout Japan. These disabled people often have wishes that many people living normal lives are unaware of. For example, a wife who has been forced to live her life in a wheelchair had a small wish to be able to look at the outside from upstairs. However, it is not easy for even a small wish like this to be granted for those in wheelchairs as it is obviously very difficult for a physically handicapped person to navigate a stairway.

But this lady badly wanted to realize her wish, so she asked Professor ISHIMATSU Takakazu of the Faculty of Engineering at Nagasaki University for help. Fortunately for her, Professor Ishimatsu has devoted himself to creating inventions that will give dream and hope to handicapped and elderly people. After a continual process of trial and error, he at last created a product that could help people like her. The trial elevator he invented can carry a person upstairs slowly, step by step. When the woman saw it, her eyes shone brightly like a child’s. What a great invention!

As a student Professor Ishimatsu studied robotic engineering before entering the field of industrial robot development. One day his mother died. This was the day when he was supposed to make a business trip to Tokyo to attend an important conference. Although he departed after he had seen her pass away, on the plane he pondered what was more important – his work or her death, and this made him reconsider what he was doing. These thoughts were the beginning of his studies into “welfare robots.”

Later, he was asked by a group of medical professionals in Nagasaki to take part in the setting up of the “Nagasaki Hillside Association.” The group hoped to make good use of the robots that Professor Ishimatsu had studied and designed. Nagasaki city has many hills and flights of stairs. Subsequently, handicapped people used to have a lot of difficulty visiting their rehabilitation facilities, and because this made them hesitant to go out, it reduced the possibility that they would be able to recover.

The devices Professor Ishimatsu has invented for welfare purposes are not only for use on slopes – he has created many inventions for handicapped people including an automatic device to open and shut doors and windows without the aid of a care worker, and a device that, via a personal computer, expresses the user’s intentions by the use of any part of their bodies – even those parts that can barely move. These devices are adaptable even for those who have serious diseases according to the degree of the symptoms.

For one bedridden patient who is barely able to speak, the above-mentioned invention allowed him to show his wishes and intentions by simply moving his fingers over a computer screen positioned beside a bed. The device is operated by him simply pointing at a “word board,” suspended over his chest, that is connected to the computer. This device allows him to communicate with his care giving wife, and also allows him to call his wife’s mobile phone when she is out.

Accepting of Any Kind of Request
Professor Ishimatsu says, “It is now possible to operate e-mail and an air conditioner just by using one’s fingers, wrists, eyebrows or chin. Handicapped people express their thanks to me and I feel that my work is very well worth doing. However, on the other side of the coin, giving a person the ability to express their intentions means that they can express their complaints and problems, too. Sometimes, this may impose a burden on families who are exhausted caring for their loved ones.” This shows that his work does sometimes create complications.

How much are people likely to pay for such welfare devices? “In the case that the government recognizes and subsidizes the invention, a patient’s burden is only 10%. In the case it is not supported by the government, they will be asked to pay the full cost, but that is only a small amount of money, say, between a few thousand and tens of thousands of yen.” Sometimes, these devices are rented for students’ educational experiments. In this case, the devices are provided free of charge.

“I feel it is a challenge to facilitate desperate calls for help from patients’ families,” says Professor Ishimatsu, who accepts any kind of request. He visits patients who are unable to move, finds a part of their body that can move, and then creates a customized device for them. If the patient’s condition gets worse, he visits them again and adjusts the device, and he often encourages the patients to go out. Professor Ishimatsu is also anxious about patients’ mental health and sometimes sings songs at their bedsides.

“The hardest time in my work is when any part of the patient’s body stops moving completely – then my role is finished,” he says. Professor Ishimatsu also attends funerals of his patients and mourns over their deaths. “I think what defines whether a society is good or bad depends on how easily the poorest people can live in it,” says Professor Ishimatsu heartfully.

He adds quietly, “In many underdeveloped countries, elderly people are respected and handicapped people are supported by local people in the respective areas. It used to be like this once in Japan. But Japanese have gradually come to live more self-centered lifestyles. Once again we should strive to focus on underprivileged people and improve their quality of life. Furthermore, we also have to learn from underdeveloped countries about how we should treat elderly and handicapped people. ”

Professor Ishimatsu has received many letters requesting consultations from not only people in Nagasaki but from all over Japan. “I have received such a large number of requests, my replies tend to be late but I will never refuse their requests. Although I sometimes ask other robotics researchers in the area for assistance, I am doing my best to answer all of them.” Through Professor Ishimatsu’s achievement of these great undertakings, we can see his humble and gentle nature!

Interview: TANIGAWA Kyoko

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