Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts
Case Studies from Japan

About this book

This book explores the ways in which socio-technical settings in medical contexts find varying articulations in a specific locale. Focusing on Japan, it consists of nine case studies on topics concerning: experiences with radiation in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Fukushima; patient security, end-of-life and high-tech medicine in hospitals; innovation and diffusion of medical technology; and the engineering and evaluating of novel devices in clinical trials. The individual chapters situate humans and devices in medical settings in their given semantic, pragmatic, institutional and historical context. A highly interdisciplinary approach offers deep insights beyond the manifold findings of each case study, thereby enriching academic discussions on socio-technical settings in medical contexts amongst affiliated disciplines. This volume will be of broad interest to scholars, practitioners, policy makers and students from various disciplines, including Science and Technology Studies (STS), medical humanities, social sciences, ethics and law, business and innovation studies, as well as biomedical engineering, medicine and public health.

Table of contents

• IntroductionBrucksch, Susanne (et al.)
• Theoretical Reflections on Medical Devices and the Sociocultural Context in the Locale of JapanBrucksch, Susanne (et al.)
• Knowledge and Culture Behind the Dosimetry System: Japanese Scientists, Radioactive Disasters and the Technologies for Measuring Radioactivity in the Twentieth CenturyNakao, Maika
• Monitoring Disaster: 3.11, Radiation Measurement and Public Health in FukushimaLoh, Shi Lin
• Standardized Brain-Death Diagnostic Procedure: The Japanese Controversy of the 1980s and 1990sSasaki, Kaori
• Medical Technology, Terminal Care and Criminal Law: Court Cases from JapanShiroshita, Yuji
• The Role of Incident-Reporting Systems in Improving Patient Safety in Japanese Hospitals: A Comparative PerspectiveKodate, Naonori (et al.)
• The Postwar Medtech Industry in Japan: A Business History PerspectiveDonze, Pierre-Yves
• Close Collaboration Between Medical Professionals and Engineers in Medical-Device Innovation: The Commons for Medicine and Engineering Japan Liaison Platform\Tanishita, Kazuo
• Empowering Patients in Interactive Unity with Machines: Engineering the HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) Robotic Rehabilitation SystemGruneberg, Patrick
• Innovative Technology, Clinical Trials and the Subjective Evaluation of Patients: The Cyborg-type Robot HAL and the Treatment of Functional Regeneration in Patients with Rare Incurable Neuromuscular Diseases in JapanNakajima, Takashi
• Conclusions on Socio-Technical Settings in Medical Contexts from the Locale of JapanBrucksch, Susanne