Copyright 2005 The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo)
September 27, 2005 Tuesday
SECTION: Pg. 2
LENGTH: 575 words
HEADLINE: Paralyzed ALS patients given new means of communication
SOURCE: Yomiuri

A new communication device, which can judge whether a person wants to say yes or no by measuring changes in his or her cerebral blood flow, has been developed for patients suffering from severe amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

ALS, often called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a degenerative condition without any known cause that destroys nerves that govern muscle movement, such as controlling the legs, face and eyes. It even affects breathing. The nerves that control the five senses, memory and intelligence are unaffected by the disease.

The device, developed by Hitachi, Ltd., is called Kokoro-gatari (telling of hearts), describing its function of speaking for those who cannot. ALS patients and their families pushed for the development of the product, which is expected to be released within this year.

Kuniaki Ozawa, 58, who was in charge of developing the devices for the elderly and the disabled at Hitachi, received a phone call from Shinjiro Oshima, 56, from Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, who called about his wife Setsuko, an ALS sufferer.

Setsuko, 56, developed ALS in June 1994, and in the autumn of the same year, she had to wear an artificial respirator because her breathing became sporadic.

At the time, she was able to write messages or use a word processor with her toes to communicate, but in the summer of the following year, she could no longer move her limbs.

Oshima, who used to be an engineer, developed a sensor to be placed on false eyelashes that would allow her to communicate. But in the summer of 1997, Setsuko was no longer able to blink nor move her eyeballs.

Oshima told Ozawa that it was very painful not being able to know what his wife was feeling, adding that things would be very different if she could at least answer yes or no to his questions.

Ozawa was moved by Oshima's plight, and it occurred to him that a technique to measure cerebral blood flow owned by his company could be useful.

When a person is thinking, the brain becomes active and needs oxygen, which results in increased blood flow.

He thought this physical response could be used to communicate. To say yes, one should think about arithmetic so that blood flow to the brain increases. To say no, a patient should picture rural scenes and relax.

At the end of 2000, a trial product was developed by Hitachi, and Excel of Mechatronix Co., a precision equipment manufacturer in Nerima Ward, Tokyo. A sensor placed on a person's forehead recognized changes in cerebral blood flow, and the computer judged whether it had increased or diminished to indicate yes or no.

Ozawa visited 30 patients from Hokkaido to Kagoshima Prefecture, gathering data on the trial product. The Japan ALS Association, an organization formed by patients and their families, partly financed the research.

After making a number of improvements, the percentage of correct answers reached an average of 80 percent by the end of last year, although it takes 36 seconds for the process to be completed.

The number of ALS sufferers who cannot move any part of their bodies is estimated to be about 1 percent of the total 6,600, so the market is quite small. Commercialization of the product only occurred because of the strong wishes of patients and their families.

Oshima said on receiving the device, "I'd like to talk to the manufacturer in the future, so the accuracy of the device can be improved and it can become more useful."