Humans and Devices in Medical Contexts
Case Studies from Japan
Published on 21. June 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
XXIV, 324 pages
978-981-336-282-6 (ISBN)
Description
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.
Reviews / Votes
"By comparing the use of medical devices between Japan and various other countries, this book underscores that even global technologies are not universal. This prompts the question how the differences traced best be used as sources of intellectual as well as practical inspiration." (Annemarie Mol, co-editor of On Other Terms: Interfering in Social Science English)"Technology in medicine in Japan is a fascinating subject. From the triumph of hi-tech and reliable devices to the disaster of the nuclear accident at Fukushima, Japanese medical technology has attracted the attention of scholars in humanities and social sciences, and this work marks a solid starting point. Brucksch and Sasaki have collected twelve absorbing chapters and opened the door to many disciplines as philosophy, history, and economics, as well as medicine and engineering." (Akihito Suzuki, Professor of History, Keio University, Japan)
"This book is an important contribution to the interdisciplinary study of innovation, diffusion and evaluation of high-tech medicine, including citizen's experiences with radiation. The focus on Japan illustrates the relevancy and richness of an approach that accounts for the socio-historical, cultural and political situatedness of the relationship between humans and medical devices. The fascinating case studies of the Japanese locale remind us of the importance of breaking with a universalist perspective that only addresses European and North-American perspectives and taking their socio-cultural contexts for granted." (Nelly Oudshoorn, Professor Emerita of Technology Dynamics and Healthcare, University of Twente, the Netherlands)
"A remarkable collection of well researched essays from several disciplinary standpoints about how the use of technology is shaped by culture, beliefs, politics, organizational interests and other social factors inthe medical field in Japan, e.g. radiation measurement and the controversies about brain death, patient safety, as well as robots." (John Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Michigan, US)
More details
Series
Edition
2021 ed.
Language
English
Place of publication
Singapore
Singapore
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
17 s/w Abbildungen
XXIV, 324 p. 17 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 148 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
451 gr
ISBN-13
978-981-336-282-6 (9789813362826)
DOI
10.1007/978-981-33-6280-2
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2021
Springer
€139.09
Shipment within 10-15 days
Persons
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.
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.
Content
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 Socio-Technical Settings in Medical Contexts from the Locale of Japan.