To prevent accidental falls in medical facilities, various types of bed-sensors have been produced by the clinical engineering department of our hospital. In this study a newly developed bed-sensor using a pyroelectric type infrared sensor was evaluated. The features of this bed-sensor are that it costs only 4,000 yen and can be installed anywhere on beds. It was found that the pyroelectric type infrared sensor (AMN13112) made by Matsushita Electric Works served our purpose. We test used the new bed-sensor in the for three months in the patient's ward and in the health care facility for the elderly attached to our hospital, as the systems to monitor patients who are attempting to get up, to prevent patients from leaving the bed unattended, and to replace the conventional floor sensor. As a result, it was formed that the new sensor is very usable in these applications and is also excellent in safety. But when the bed-sensor was installed in a wrong position, it was activated as a typicel nurse call system. For practical use, some improvements are necessary in stabilizing detection distance and precise control of sensitivity.
Sensors ; seconds ; Type 1 ; New ; Hospitals

No abstract available.
Arthritis, Psoriatic* ; Macrophages* ; Scleroderma, Systemic*

This study aimed to determine the different changes of muscle hardness between the human rectus femoris (RF) and vastus intermedius muscle (VI) after maximal knee extension exercise. Eight healthy men (23.0±2.6 years) performed maximal isometric contraction (IM), concentric contraction (CC), and eccentric contraction (EC) exercises of the knee extensors. Muscle hardness (i.e., strain ratio, SR) and thickness in the proximal, middle, and distal parts of RF and VI were measured by using strain elastography before and after exercises. The rates of change between the values were calculated as values before exercise 100%. For VI, a significant main effect in “part” was found in IM and EC exercises in SR. Results show that SR in the distal part (IM, 89.0±27.2%; EC, 78.2±26.9%) was significantly lower than that in the middle part (IM, 105.5±34.3%; EC, 91.8±30.4%) for each exercise (p<0.05). However, no significant main effect in “part” was found in SR of RF in any exercise. A significant main effect was found in “part” in muscle thickness of RF in the IM exercise. Also, muscle thickness in the distal part (104.5±7.7%) was significantly higher than that in the proximal part (102.5±4.3%) for each exercise (p<0.05). These results suggest that changes of muscle hardness and thickness in the proximal, middle, and distal parts of the human rectus femoris and vastus intermedius muscle after maximal knee extension exercises are different.