Patents for the elderly to prepare for the super aging society

 

As the aging population increases, the proportion of the population who suffers from various physical disorders increases including degenerative diseases that occur naturally with age. Accordingly, the need for rehabilitation aids for them is also increasing.

In the case of Korea, according to statistics from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), patent applications for rehabilitation aids for the last five years (2014-2018) have increased by 69% over the past five years (2009-2013), and the number of patent filings for rehabilitation aids for the elderly is 151 from 64 cases, it has more than doubled, accounting for 22% of the total period in the last five years. Looking at patent applications by technology field, 51% of applications related to muscle strength, 32% of applications related to nerve function such as balance, and 11% of applications related to skeletal relaxation.

In this post, we’re going to introduce the patented technologies on rehabilitation aids for the elderly.

Rehabilitation aids and its patents

⚫ A stroke

▲ wipsglobal.com
KR 10-1916414
"Hemiparesis rehabilitation training system and method for driving the same"

Stroke is a brain disease in which blood vessels in the brain are blocked or ruptured, causing bleeding. Face or body parts may be paralyzed, and speech problems may arise. The patent of the above picture is a technology that helps for those situation. This is a device that enables rehabilitation by symmetrical movement of the paralyzed side by measuring the position of the glove with a 3D sensor when the patient wears a glove on the non-paralyzed side and moves the joint when the body is partially paralyzed. It is a useful patented technology that helps rehabilitation through symmetrical exercises.

⚫ Parkinson's disease

▲ wipsglobal.com
KR 10-1800557
"A Walking Auxiliary Equipment for Parkinson's disease patient"

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system in which the limbs and the body tremble and stiff. The head is pushed forward, the torso and knees are bent, and walking with a small stride. The above patent is a driving aid for Parkinson's disease patients, and when a Parkinson's disease patient with reduced walking ability wears a head-mounted walking aid, the surrounding environment including obstacles is provided in front of their eyes in augmented reality. The next foot position for walking is visually guided through a laser.

⚫ Gait rehabilitation training

▲ wipsglobal.com
KR 10-2014162
"Monitoring system of walking balance for lower limb rehabilitation"

The above patent is a technology related to a gait balance monitoring system that can be usefully used in rehabilitation treatment. It is a walking balance monitoring device that allows a user wearing a gait assisting means to measure whether the balance is maintained while walking on a treadmill and transmit it to a display device to recognize whether the walking balance is maintained or deviated in real time. The rehabilitation patient can directly monitor whether the gait balance is maintained in real time and correct the posture by themselves, thereby increasing the effectiveness of rehabilitation training. Physical therapists can also provide improved training programs because they can easily monitor and check the training results.

⚫ Dementia

▲ wipsglobal.com
KR 10-1956152
"Rehabilitation training system using pegboard"

Dementia is a disease in which intelligence, will, and memory are persistently and essentially lost due to damage to cerebral nerve cells. It is mainly seen in the elderly population. The above patented technology evaluates the time, accuracy, pattern memory, etc. by inserting a stick into a board in which a plurality of light sources, which are sequentially output. It is a rehabilitation training system that sets the training mode, outputs a light source of a specific color on the board, inserts a peg that matches the shape or size of the hole, detects it with a sensor module that detects it, and evaluates memory and cognitive abilities.

Hope that the era of rehabilitation aids specialized for the elderly population will be active, and many useful patents will be developed to reduce physical pain caused by diseases, so that the age of life can be more healthy and happy.

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(source)

This content is an excerpt from the Korean articles by reporter Soo-jin Choi, Reporter of Intellectual Property Policy of the Korea Intellectual Property Office.

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