Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts: Case Studies from Japan (Health, Technology and Society)

Series Editors’ Preface
Preface and Acknowledgments
Contents
Editors and Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables
Part I Introduction and Theoretical Reflections
1 Introduction
	1 Prologue: Background and Purpose
	2 Shortcomings in Current STS Scholarship
	3 Defining Devices in Medical Contexts
	4 Approaching the Sociocultural Context
	5 Overview of the Chapters
	References
2 Theoretical Reflections on Medical Devices and the Sociocultural Context in the Locale of Japan
	1 Background
	2 Technological Complexity and Clinical Workplaces
	3 Subjectivity and Standardization of Bodies
	4 Patients, Nurses and Physicians in Japan
	5 User Needs and Device Development
	6 Clinical Trials, Approval and Evidence-Based Judgement
	7 Manufacturing and Diffusion
	8 Hospitals and the Public Health System in Japan
	9 Conclusion
	References
Part II Experiences with Radiation
3 Knowledge and Culture Behind the Dosimetry System: Japanese Scientists, Radioactive Disasters and the Technologies for Measuring Radioactivity in the Twentieth Century
	1 Introduction
	2 The Birth of Radiology and the Dose Evaluation System
	3 Visualizing Technologies of Radioactivity in Prewar Japan
	4 Cyclotrons and Wartime Research
	5 Scientific Investigations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
	6 The Bikini Incident and the Activity of Japanese Scientists
	7 The Survivors of the Atomic Bombs and Dosimetry Systems
	8 Conclusion
	References
4 Monitoring Disaster: 3.11, Radiation Measurement and Public Health in Fukushima
	1 Introduction
	2 Radiation Monitoring and Human Health
	3 The Limitations of Radiation Monitoring
	4 Communicating Scientific Literacy
	5 Conclusion
	References
Part III Patient Safety, End-of-life and High-tech Medicine
5  Standardized Brain-Death Diagnostic Procedure: The Japanese Controversy of the 1980s and 1990s
	1 Introduction
	2 Background to the Brain-Death Problem
	3 Three Concepts of Brain Death
	4 Articulation of the New Brain-Death Diagnostic Standard
		4.1 Problematization of the Japan Society of EEG Criteria (1982–1983)
			4.1.1 The Impact of Proponents of the Brainstem Approach (1983–1987)
		4.2 The Brain-Death Research Council Conclusion (1985)
		4.3 Problematization of the Takeuchi Criteria (1986–1992)
		4.4 From Cultural Arguments to the Original Voice
	5 Discussion
	6 Summary
	References
6 Medical Technology, Terminal Care and Criminal Law: Court Cases from Japan
	1 Introduction
	2 Active Euthanasia
		2.1 The Tokai University Hospital Case
		2.2 The Judgement of the Court
	3 The Cessation of Medical Treatment (Death with Dignity)
		3.1 The Kawasaki Kyodo Hospital Case
		3.2 The Judgement of the Court
	4 Legislative Perspectives
	5 Conclusion
	References
7 The Role of Incident-Reporting Systems in Improving Patient Safety in Japanese Hospitals: A Comparative Perspective
	1 Introduction
		1.1 Concepts of Safety
		1.2 The Japanese Context
		1.3 Analytical and Methodological Framework
	2 Incident-Reporting Systems as Tools for Organizational Learning
		2.1 Incident Data Collating Processes in Japanese Hospitals
		2.2 Feedback from Incident Data in Japanese Hospitals
	3 Varieties of Incident-Reporting Systems in Europe
		3.1 Comparing Incident-Reporting Systems Across Europe and Japan
			3.1.1 Denmark
			3.1.2 Germany
			3.1.3 Ireland
			3.1.4 Netherlands
	4 Conclusion
	References
Part IV Innovation and Diffusion of Medical Devices
8 The Postwar Medtech Industry in Japan: A Business History Perspective
	1 Introduction
	2 A Macroeconomic Overview of the Japanese Medtech Market
	3 Innovative Companies in a Global Perspective
	4 Concentration and Transnational Expansion
	5 The Competitive Advantage of Olympus and Toshiba
	6 Foreign Companies in the Japanese Medtech Industry
	7 Conclusions
	References
9 Close Collaboration Between Medical Professionals and Engineers in Medical-Device Innovation: The Commons for Medicine and Engineering Japan Liaison Platform
	1 Introduction
	2 Disciplinary Barriers Between the Medical and Technological Fields
	3 The Significance of Clinical Needs for Innovation
	4 The Case of Commons for Medicine and Engineering Japan
		4.1 The Establishment of the Liaison Platform
		4.2 The Mission and Activities of Commons
		4.3 The Mediator-Initiated Partnership Model
		4.4 Identifying Clinical Needs
	5 Discussion and Conclusions on the Ecosystem in Japan
	References
Part V Engineering and Evaluating Medical Technology
10 Empowering Patients in Interactive Unity with Machines: Engineering the HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) Robotic Rehabilitation System
	1 Introduction
	2 Socio-Technological Human–Machine Relations
		2.1 Developmental Framework: Society 5.0
		2.2 Cybernics as an Approach to the Implementation of Society 5.0
	3 HAL as Interactive Unity and Empowerment Technology
	4 Built-in Ethics
		4.1 Safety Issues
		4.2 Cyborgization
	5 Conclusion
	References
11 Innovative Technology, Clinical Trials and the Subjective Evaluation of Patients: The Cyborg-type Robot HAL and the Treatment of Functional Regeneration in Patients with Rare Incurable Neuromuscular Diseases in Japan
	1 Introduction
		1.1 Defining Health
		1.2 Overall Research Strategy
	2 Voluntary Movement Disorders and Their Treatment
	3 Clinical Trials and the Establishment of Evidence
		3.1 Code E6
		3.2 Investigator-Initiated Trials
		3.3 Patient-Oriented Trials
	4 The Case of the Cyborg-Type Robot HAL
		4.1 HAL and the Cybernics Principle
		4.2 HAL as a Medical Device
		4.3 Clinical Evaluation, Combined Therapy and Patient-Reported Outcome
	5 Conclusions
	References
Part VI Conclusions
12 Conclusions on Socio-Technical Settings in Medical Contexts from the Locale of Japan
	1 Background
	2 Semantic Dimension
	3 The Pragmatic Dimension
	4 The Institutional Dimension
	5 Conclusions for STS Research
	References