Evaluation of Orientation Performance of Attention Patterns for Blind Person.

Tactile walking surface indicators (TWSIs) are installed on footpath to support independent travel for the blind. There are two types of TWSIs, attention patterns and guiding patterns. The attention pattern is usually installed at the crosswalk entrances. The direction of the crossing can be acquired by the row of the projection of the attention pattern through the soles of the shoes. In addition, truncated domes or cones of the attention pattern were arranged in a square grid, parallel or diagonal at 45 degrees to the principal direction of travel. However, the international standard organization (ISO) allows a wide-ranging size. In this research, the direction indicating performance was compared at the same intervals for the five diameters specified by the international standard. As a result of the experiment, the diagonal array does not indicate the direction of travel, but the projection row does indicate the direction of travel in the parallel array. When the attention pattern is installed at a crosswalk entrance, a parallel array should be installed in the direction of the crossing.

Visibility of LED Blocks Mounted on Crosswalk Boundaries for low Visual Capacity.

According to the WHO, about 80% of visually impaired persons in the world are with low visual capacity. It is considered that LVs' safe independent mobility will be improved as employing Tactile Walking Surface Indicators (TWSIs). In the night, guidelines for constructing warning blocks, a kind of tactile surface indicator, have not been well established. Therefore, crossing crosswalks is one of the most dangerous situations for visually impaired persons. We thus developed novel LED blocks that indicate crosswalk boundaries between sidewalks and roadways. This study addresses the LED blocks under various environmental illuminations and illumination from the opposite side of the crossing.

Development of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Assessment Tools for Patients with ALS.

ALS patients usually use augmentative and alternative communication tools to communicate with other people, but the assessment tools, including the selection of an input switch, are very difficult to operate. In this study, we developed a novel device to measure the physical ability of patients to operate the input switch with a push lever. The study focused on the amount of pushing and the power required to operate the input switch, and the effectiveness was verified.

Hyperfractionated radiotherapy with concurrent docetaxel for advanced head and neck cancer: a phase II study.

AIM: To evaluate the value of hyperfractionated radiotherapy with concurrent use of low-dose docetaxel in locally-advanced head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients eligible for this study had confirmed diagnosis of HNSCC stages II (>10 cm(3)) to IVB. Radiotherapy was delivered twice daily at 1.2 Gy/fraction to a total dose of 72.0 Gy. Docetaxel (10 mg/m(2)) was administered weekly during radiotherapy. RESULTS: From March 2003 to October 2008, 70 patients were treated. Primary sites included the oropharynx (n=25), hypopharynx (n=24), larynx (n=18), and other sites (n=3). Major grade 3 acute toxicities included mucositis (n=43) and treatment-related pain (n=20). The median follow-up period for surviving patients was 43 months. The 5-year local control rate and overall survival rate were 62.6% and 61.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This modality is a valuable treatment option for the management of locally-advanced HNSCC.