Yukio Oida

Examination of Practicability of Communication Robot-Assisted Activity Program for Elderly People

We have developed a Robot Assisted Activity (RAA) program for recreational use in health care facilities for elderly people. The RAA program has been evaluated in such a facility to assess its usefulness. The program applies a standard classroom model, starting with homeroom and including lessons in the Japanese language, music, gymnastics, arithmetic, and other subjects. At the end of the program, there is a graduation ceremony. We use a video camera to record each scene. Each behavior and utterance of the participants is then analyzed. In addition, immediately upon completion of the RAA program, specialists conduct a Focus Group Interview (FGI) in which they collect comments, opinions, and requests from the participants. Ten elderly people participate in the program, two men and eight women (81.0±3.7 years old). All are residents at a health care facility in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination) score indicating the level of dementia is 24.1±3.0 points. Two participants are judged to be in a moderate stage of cognitive decline (21 points or less), six are in a mild stage (22–26 points), and the remaining two are normal. On the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), in which a score of 13.3±4.2 points indicates a state of depression, seven participants are judged to be depressive (11 points or more). The results of our study show that all participants have a favorable impression of the robot and nearly all have a positive opinion of the RAA program. This suggests that the program can be used for emotional and recreational therapy at health care facilities for the elderly. However, in spite of the overall success of the RAA program, we seldom observe interaction between participants and the robot.

Development of a Robot-Assisted Activity Program for Elderly People Incorporating Reading Aloud and Arithmetic Calculation

We developed a robot-assisted activity (RAA) program using learning tasks with a communication robot. The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of this RAA program for elderly people. Subjects were four women (aged 81.5 ± 3.1 years old) living in a geriatric health services facility. The cognitive ability of the participants estimated by Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) was 23 ± 2.8 points. The RAA program consisted of reading aloud a Japanese folk tale and arithmetic calculation including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Participants were asked to perform the RAA program at least once daily for 1 month in their private room. The communication robot (Business Design Laboratory, Nagoya, Japan) could talk with humans and change its facial expression. The time required for the RAA program was approximately 20 min. A focus group interview (FGI) was held for all subjects after the intervention period. Subjects performed the RAA program 57 ± 33 times during the intervention period. The FGI identified positive opinions regarding the robot such as interest in it, attachment to it, and pleasure obtained through it.