It was in the 1970’s that lifts began to be imported from Europe to Japan. The first domestic lifts were produced in the 1990’s, but the utilization was extremely limited. Australian “no lifting policy” movement was introduced in 2008, that made lifts became to be known widely in Japan. To cope with risks of low back pain assosiated with long-term care, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) initiated to promote implementation of lifts into nurisng homes. The national joint project of developping care robots by MHLW and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) from 2013 to 2017 included care robots for transfer. However, mannual-lifting by care staffs is still common at nursing homes, and the implementation is still at stake. We made an interview study with 16 nursing homes which can be considered as good practices in the operation of lifts. This paper reports results of the interview to discuss future challenges of implementation of lifts in Japan.

This study aimed to develop models for estimating the physical load on elderly individuals with reduced physical function during assisted walking. Five models were constructed, considering the participants' body balance, walking stability, posture comfort during assisted walking, and total pressure on both feet. The optimal placement of welfare aids in actual caregiving settings was assumed as the "optimal solution," and the validity of each model was verified by comparing the "optimal aid placement positions" calculated by each model. Two definitions were adopted for determining the optimal aid placement positions: (1) the location where the area of reduced load due to the aid installation was most significant, and (2) the location where the total reduction in load due to the aid installation was most significant. As a result, under definition (2), the model considering body balance and walking stability was considered valid, resulting in the shortest distance between the “optimal solution” and the calculated “optimal aid placement position.”

Smart furniture has potential in supporting independent living and improving quality of life of various users. In this paper a smart chair prototype, originally designed with elderly, is introduced. The prototype consists of a pressure sensing chair which is connected to an Android device with two activation games. In order to verify and clarify its added value to users and to further define the prototype requirements according to users’ perspectives, an online survey with video demonstration was performed for two potential user groups (end-users and health care professionals as secondary users). The survey produced feedback from a diverse range of healthcare professionals as well as from end-users, most of whom were elderly. The results from the survey indicated multiple potential benefits for users including improvement and support in physical as well as cognitive abilities and mental well-being. Many improvement ideas were also pointed out by both end-users and healthcare professionals. Most of these were about additional functionalities and modularity. The online survey was seen as a good addition in user need mapping in the iterations of co-creation process.

This study presents a fall detection system based on ultrasonic sensors. The system has been designed to consider environments such as bathrooms, where traditional monitoring solutions may be impractical. Experimental results demonstrate the system’s effectiveness in minimizing false positives; false negatives require adjustments in sensor height and tilt to optimize the detection radius and minimize uncovered areas. This research contributes to the development of cost-effective, privacy-preserving assistive technologies aimed at enhancing safety and independent living of fragile individuals.

As the aging population grows, healthcare systems face increasing challenges in managing frailty and chronic conditions. Frailty syndrome, characterized by weakness, fatigue, cognitive decline, and reduced physical activity, requires early detection and intervention to improve quality of life and prevent deterioration. This paper presents the implementation and evaluation of a modular digital platform, named BONVITA, designed to support frailty assessment, self-management, and shared care planning. BONVITA integrates a serious games mobile application for assessing cognitive and physical function, AI-driven risk prediction and patient stratification, and tools for remote rehabilitation, medication management, and lifestyle monitoring. It is a key component of Bellis, a holistic digital health framework within elderly care homes under the Pharaon project, enhancing coordinated care through real-time alerts, personalized recommendations, and smart dashboards for healthcare professionals and caregivers. By leveraging AI-powered analytics, interactive assessments, and shared care tools, BONVITA enables early intervention and personalized care for frail and pre-frail individuals. Its scalable and adaptable design allows for seamless integration into broader healthcare and social care settings, offering a sustainable model to support Europe’s aging population.

There is a strong relation between visual performance and slowing down the progression of dementia. Traditional eye exams are presenting difficulties for people with dementia due to the cognitive functions these exams address and the impact the travel towards an optometric practice has on their energy level.

A systematic review has been conducted to look into improvement in eyecare for those with dementia. Eyetracking technology has the potential to measure visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and visual field in a non-verbal method. Eyetracking is possible to perform in people with dementia, as is seen in the search for biomarkers in dementia.

Tablet and smartphone based adaptations of the visual function tests have potential to be performed in a familiar environment. There is enough evidence that the adaptations are reliable on individuals without dementia even when they are visually impaired.

By the knowledge of the author, no research has been done if these adaptations on visual function test are suitable for the implementation in an optometric eyecare routine for people with dementia.