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A brain‐computer interface for operating an electric wheelchair (wheelchair BCI) has been studied to support independent living for physically disabled patients. The current wheelchair BCI systems are facing the problem that the wheelchair cannot be moved or rotated to an arbitrary place or direction in a single measurement. To solve this problem, we developed a BCI that uses audiovisual stimuli based on mixed‐reality (MR) and virtual sound sources. During the online analysis, six out of seven participants were able to move or rotate the wheelchair to the target location or direction at a rate higher than the chance level. Thus, our results indicate that audiovisual stimulation with MR and virtual sound sources may be useful for intuitive wheelchair operation. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cerebellar ataxia associated with retinal degeneration. The disease is rare in Japan, and this is the first full description of clinicopathological findings in a Japanese autopsy case of genetically confirmed SCA7 having 49 cytosine‐adenine‐guanine (CAG) trinucleotide repeats in the ataxin 7 gene. A 34‐year‐old Japanese man with no family history of clinically apparent neurodegenerative diseases presented with gait disturbance, gradually followed by truncal instability with progressive visual loss by the age of 42 years. He became wheelchair‐dependent by 51 years old, neurologically exhibiting cerebellar ataxia, slow eye movement, slurred and scanning speech, lower limb spasticity, hyperreflexia, action‐related slowly torsional dystonic movements in the trunk and limbs, diminished vibratory sensation in the lower limbs, auditory impairment, and macular degeneration. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed atrophy of the brainstem and cerebellum. He died of pneumonia at age 60 with a 26‐year clinical duration of disease. Postmortem neuropathological examination revealed pronounced atrophy of the spinal cord, brainstem, cerebellum, external globus pallidus (GP), and subthalamic nucleus, microscopically showing neuronal cell loss and fibrillary astrogliosis with polyglutamine‐immunoreactive neuronal nuclei and/or neuronal nuclear inclusions (NNIs). Degeneration was also accentuated in the oculomotor system, auditory and visual pathways, upper and lower motor neurons, and somatosensory system, including the spinal dorsal root ganglia. There was a weak negative correlation between the frequency of nuclear polyglutamine‐positive neurons and the extent of neuronal cell loss. Clinicopathological features in the present case suggest that neurological symptoms, such as oculomotor, auditory, visual, and sensory impairments, are attributable to degeneration in their respective projection systems affected by SCA7 pathomechanisms and that dystonic movement is related to more significant degeneration in the external than internal GP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed an electric-powered manual wheelchair with a differential-drive active caster mounted at the rear of the wheelchair. The active caster has two axes: a caster wheel axis and a steering axis, and the coordinated control of these axes enables the wheel-mounted part to move in all directions. Conventional active casters have separate motors for the steering and wheel axes, and only the motor on the wheel axis operates when the wheelchair moves straight ahead, resulting in a low drive efficiency. Therefore, we developed a differential-drive-type active caster that uses a differential-drive mechanism. The differential-drive-type active caster uses the sum of the rotations of the two motors to move the steering axis, and the difference to move the wheel axis. Therefore, the two motors always operate, thus the drive efficiency is higher than that of a conventional type. However, we found that the two motors interfere with each other owing to their structure, making it difficult to stabilize the steering axis when speed increases. A control method was developed to solve this problem. Through verification experiments, we demonstrated the ability of the wheelchair to move at speeds over 6 km/h, the legal speed limit in Japan, the improved stability of the steering axis, and the accuracy of its omnidirectional movement. Additionally, to reduce the wobble that occurs when the electric-powered manual wheelchair moves straight ahead, we introduced a yaw-rate feedback to the joystick input system. The feedback was then verified in a lane-change experiment, confirming the wobble reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Japan, the aging population is expected to increase the number of elderly people in the future. The purpose of this study was to develop a hip lift transfer assistive system to improve the QOL of elderly living and to prevent back pain for caregivers. We extracted the impediment factor and the necessary scene for the assistance, decided on the transfer process from the wheelchair in the toilet, and considered the reduction method of the burden based on the quantitative evaluation of the caregiver's lumbar burden and developed the device. Then we proposed the algorithm of the system by grasping the behavior and lumbar burden characteristics at the time of using the hip lift transfer assistive system by the developed device in which the proposed support algorithm of standing seating assistance operation is implemented in the actual use environment. Through the assistive movement evaluation experiment and the actual operation in the toilet, we have verified that the use of this device can reduce the caregivers' lumbar burden below the standard value (3400 N) and have proved the effectiveness of the proposed transfer assistive system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Asia Pacific Journal; Japan; Asia Pacific; Pacific Rim; Asia; East Asia; Northeast Asia; Southeast Asia; Southwest Asia; South Asia; Contemporary Japan; Contemporary Asia Pacific; Contemporary East Asia; US-Japan relations; US-China-Japan-Korea relations; Japan-East Asian Relations; Japan-Northeast Asian Relations; Japan-Pacific Relations; Japan-Southeast Asian Relations; Japan-Middle East Relations; Japan-Central Asia Relations; Japan-South Asia Relations; Japan-European Relations; Okinawa EN Asia Pacific Journal Japan Asia Pacific Pacific Rim Asia East Asia Northeast Asia Southeast Asia Southwest Asia South Asia Contemporary Japan Contemporary Asia Pacific Contemporary East Asia US-Japan relations US-China-Japan-Korea relations Japan-East Asian Relations Japan-Northeast Asian Relations Japan-Pacific Relations Japan-Southeast Asian Relations Japan-Middle East Relations Japan-Central Asia Relations Japan-South Asia Relations Japan-European Relations Okinawa N.PAG N.PAG 1 03/24/20 20200301 NES 200301 B Abstract: b The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games are promising comprehensive changes to accessibility for all who will be attending, including athletes, coaches, spectators, volunteers and organizers. Recently, while there are 25 sports centers which are accessible for individuals with impairments in Japan, there are not guaranteed training times for para-athletes. Disability sport through the mounting of the Paralympics and the advancement of accessibility goals for both of the Tokyo 2020 Games, will be instrumental in changing people's perspectives, through spectatorship at the games, and via screening broadcasts around the world. [Extracted from the article]