Development of an enviromental system for bedridden patients

In Japan, at present the number of severely crippled and bedridden patients who have to completely taken care of in daily life is tending to increase for several reasons, one of the most important being the fact that the proportion of aged persons in the population is growing. Providing care for these persons is becoming an extremely serious social problem for bedridden patients and also for their families. As one solution to this problem, we developed an enviromental control system for bedridden patients. The system is composed of input units, a small mobile unit, an automated storage cabinet, manipulator system, various enviromental control devices and a Central control unit. Various improvements in the basic components of the system are presented, as well as the development of some additional new components.