Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts

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 novel 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.

Autorentext
Dr Susanne Brucksch is a principal researcher at the German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo. Her research covers topics of innovation in medical technologies, Science and Technology Studies (STS) and Japanese Studies.

Dr Kaori Sasaki is a professor at Sapporo Medical University. As a sociologist, her main interest lies on the shaping of bio-politics on humanity alongside cultural (identity) politics. She conducts research regarding the utilisation of electronic health records in Japan and in the UK.

Inhalt
1 Introduction to the Edited Volume.- 2 Theoretical Reflections on Medical Devices and the Sociocultural Context in the Locale of Japan.- Section A: Experiences with Radiation.- 3 Knowledge and Culture Behind the Dosimetry System: Japanese Scientists, Radioactive Disasters, and the Technologies for Measuring Radioactivity in the 20th Century.- 4 Monitoring Disaster: 3.11, Radiation Measurement, and Public Health in Fukushima.- Section B: Patient Safety, End-of-life and High-tech Medicine.- 5 On the Japanese Controversy over a Standardised Brain-Death Diagnostic Procedure in the 1980s-1990s.- 6 Medical Technology, Terminal Care, and Criminal Law: Court Cases from Japan.- 7 The Role of Incident-Reporting Systems for Improving Patient Safety in Japanese Hospitals: A Comparative Perspective.- Section C: Innovation and Diffusion of Medical Devices.- 8 The Postwar Medtech Industry in Japan: A Business History Perspective.- 9 Close Collaboration between Medical Professionals and Engineers in Innovation in Medical Devices: The Liaising Platform Commons for Medicine and Engineering Japan.- Section D: Engineering and Evaluating Medical Technology.- 10 Empowering Patients in the Interactive Unity with Machines: A Study on Engineers and Engineering of the Robotic Rehabilitation System HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb).- 11 Innovative Technology, Clinical Trials, and Patients' Subjective Evaluation: The Case of the Cyborg-type Robot HAL and the Treatment of Functional Regeneration in Patients with Rare Incurable Neuromuscular Diseases in Japan.- 12 Conclusions on SocioTechnical Settings in Medical Contexts from the Locale of Japan.