Cybernics Technology

Cybernic technology was developed as human-assistive technology and is expected to be used in a wide range of fields covering medicine, welfare, disaster rescue and entertainment. Equipped with the research and development foundation to develop technology applied to humans, Cybernics spans the gap between the various academic fields and social regulations, known as “the valley of death,” that has prevented the implementation of technology into society, and allows for the smooth realization of total systems that encompass humans, machines, and information systems from the basic research phases to social implementation.

Cybernics Research

Research on Cybernics started in 1987 when Professor Sankai of Tsukuba University, Japan started to plan the basic concepts, and on 1991 he started to develop the principle behind the iBF theory, which was to become the foundation of the technology that combines the human body with technology. In 1995, construction of actual prototypes to validate this theory began and led to the prototype of Robot Suit HAL® Lower Limb Type, and in 1999, a stand-alone experimental prototype of HAL was developed. With this model, basic testing on healthy subjects and a select group of subjects with disabilities were conducted, and the development team was able to acquire strong evidence to suggest the validity of their theory. The team’s challenge toward complete evaluation and verification of the technology’s effectiveness and the implementation of its application in society has now begun.

Cybernics in medicine

Medical Cybernic Systems are intended to reconstruct the neural connectivity network (including the connectome of the brain) and improve/regenerate the patient’s brain-neuro-physical function by promoting the improvement/strengthening of synaptic connections between the brain, nerves, and muscles. This is achieved by adjusting the patient’s neurological information in a way that allows the body to appropriately function, activating the neural loop, which importantly includes the sensory nerves, through synchronization of the sensory feedback signal with the neural signal of the motor intent generated by the brain.

More specifically, in order to allow the body to function appropriately even if the signal detected at the periphery is too faint to elicit actual muscle movement, an MD can intervene by tuning the parameters embedded in the Medical Cybernic System. This intervention enables the Medical Cybernic System to realize the movement intended by the patient in place of the patient’s muscles. Even if the muscles barely function, the sensory receptors such as those found in muscle spindle fibers get activated by the device’s movement, and this sensory information is fed back to the brain in real-time. Because this flow/loop of information between the brain/CNS and the periphery can be established repeatedly without putting much load on the muscles, synaptic connections can be improved/strengthened through neuronal plasticity, reconstructing the neural connectivity network and thereby promoting functional improvement / regeneration. In this way, the technological characteristics of the Medical Cybernic Systems were designed with the intent to promote the reconstruction of the patient’s neural connectivity network (including the connectome of the brain), and improve/regenerate the patient’s brain-neuro-physical functions.

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