May 09, 2022
Senior Assistant Professor KATAOKA Yuko at Okayama University Hospital’s Department of Otorhinolaryngology has been selected by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) to lead a research team for its “2022
Comprehensive Research and Development Project on Measures for Persons
with Disabilities (Other) (Physical and Mental Disabilities/Sensory
Disabilities)”.
The project aims to conduct research and develop technology that will
remove social barriers and support the livelihoods of people with
disabilities in local communities, as well as promote advanced and
practical research on the etiology and pathology, diagnosis, treatment,
and rehabilitation methods for diseases that cause disabilities.
Senior Assistant Professor Kataoka submitted a proposal to the project’s
sensory disabilities field under the category called “Development of
Interactive Systems that Provide Effective Support to People with
Sensory Disabilities Requesting Assistance During Disasters and
Verification of Effectiveness for Implementation”. She will lead a
research team from 2022 to 2024 under the title “Investigating the
Effectiveness of an Emergency Notification Sound/vibration Converter and
Information Sharing Device for the Hearing-Impaired During Disasters
and Emergencies”.
In reaction to her proposal’s selection, Senior Assistant Professor
Kataoka explained her passion for her upcoming research, saying,
“Currently, a lot of Japan’s notification systems during disasters and
emergencies rely on auditory communication, including amplified
announcements or ambulance sirens. This puts people with impaired
hearing at a disadvantage and has caused life-threatening situations
during fires or floods. As such, a special user interface device that
can convert emergency notification sounds into vibrations was designed
as a means for hearing-impaired people to receive real-time basic
information in the event of a disaster or emergency without the
assistance of a third party. Together with the developers of Fujitsu’s
prototype product “Ontenna”, we are developing a wearable device that
recognizes and converts important alerts, including everyday sounds such
as disaster prevention radio notifications, sirens, and emergency
vehicles, into vibrations. We also plan to develop and implement an app
to simplify communication for the hearing impaired when they request
rescue assistance. The prototype has already been featured in an NHK
program, and with the collaboration of The Japanese Federation of the
Deaf, our goal is to further develop the product and make it available
not only in Okayama, but also nationwide, thereby linking it to future
welfare in Japan. I would like to improve self-help, public assistance,
and mutual assistance in times of disaster, and to create a society in
which the hearing impaired can live safely and securely, with the
possibility of communicating in real time without the need for a third
party”.
Senior Assistant Professor Kataoka has provided support for children
with hearing difficulties for many years through her educational
research and medical activities.
In May 2021, Senior Assistant Professor Kataoka partnered with speech
therapist NAKAGAWA Atsuko at the Okayama University Hospital Division of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation to publish a booklet called “What
is Important in School Life for Elementary, Middle, and High School
Students with Hearing Loss: Teacher Edition”. The booklet includes
twenty tips on how to relate to children with hearing loss and how to
help them participate in class and communicate more easily with their
teachers and friends.
Okayama University is dedicated to contributing to the support of people
with sensory disabilities as well as effective rescue assistance in
Japan, where disasters are frequent, and promotes Senior Assistant
Professor Kataoka’s ongoing research to develop and implement an
interactive device that will provide effective assistance to people with
sensory disabilities. Please look forward to reading more about the
activities of Senior Assistant Professor Kataoka’s research team in the
near future.
You can find more information about the project on the AMED news page (April 19, 2022).
＜References＞
・“What
is Important in School Life for Elementary, Middle, and High School
Students with Hearing Loss: Teacher Edition” (Okayama University
Hospital, Department of Otolaryngology, published May 6, 2021) (Japanese only)
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