Of singing dolls and gymnastics dogs
For Sabina Misoch, Head of the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Ageing at the FHS St.Gallen, one of the highlights of her research trip to Japan was a visit to a nursing home offering robotic therapies.
The FHS St.Gallen university of applied sciences is bundling its expertise in the area of old age and playing a leading role in the creation of a national innovation network. In this blog, you can read about interesting projects in the field of application-oriented research and development, as well as the services provided by the institutes and competence centres, particularly the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Ageing.
For Sabina Misoch, Head of the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Ageing at the FHS St.Gallen, one of the highlights of her research trip to Japan was a visit to a nursing home offering robotic therapies.
During her research trip to Japan, Sabina Misoch, Head of the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Ageing (IKOA) at the FHS St.Gallen, visited the village of Ogimi on the island of Okinawa – home to more centenarians than anywhere else in the world.
Swiss care homes are making ever-greater use of robots. These therapeutic or activation robots, as they are known, are designed to relieve the burden on caregivers – but they should not be seen as a substitute for them.
As part of the Swiss delegation trip to Japan, gerontologist Sabina Misoch participated in the Switzerland-Japan Economic Forum. Together with her Japanese research colleague Takanori Shibata, she formed part of a panel that attempted to answer the question of whether an ageing society can be a driver of innovation. After the forum, it was time for the Spring Ball, which had a Japanese princess as its guest of honour.
Eleven years after Switzerland and Japan signed their agreement for cooperation in science and technology, the positive effects are plain to see: the various efforts and support instruments have intensified and facilitated bilateral cooperation between the two nations considerably.
Japan’s Takanori Shibata developed the PARO therapeutic robot almost 20 years ago. Today, PARO is used in geriatric care in over 30 countries worldwide. At the invitation of Sabina Misoch, Head of the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Ageing at the FHS St.Gallen, the scientist visited St.Gallen last week for a lecture – and he had a hidden surprise in his luggage.
At the end of her research trip to Japan, Sabina Misoch, Head of the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre of the FHS St.Gallen, visited the island of Okinawa, also known as «The Island of Centenarians». That’s where she met her Japanese research colleague Makoto Suzuki.
On a research trip to Japan, Sabina Misoch, Head of the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Ageing, presented her Living Lab project to international scientists and industry representatives. But the meeting almost didn’t happen.
How do people with dementia respond to robots? Sabina Misoch, Head of the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Ageing, discussed this question with the professor Toshimitsu Hamada and his team of researchers from Tsukuba University, one of Japan’s best universities. Professor Hamada is considered a pioneer in the field of research into robot-assisted therapy in nursing homes.
«PARO» is a robotic seal that is used around the world to help treat people with dementia. It was invented by Takanori Shibata from Japan. Sabina Misoch, Head of the Interdisciplinary Competence Centre for Ageing at the FHS St.Gallen, met up with him on her research trip to Japan.