Page 37 - Plastics News July 2019

FeAtures

'Smart Plastics' And New Devices Help Japan Age Gracefully

Masumi Koizumi
Mitsuhiro Ebara a researcher at the National Institute for Materials Science in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, is
working with his fellow researchers to develop technology using smart polymers, or plastics that respond to
changes in the environment, such as temperature, pH, light and magnetic fields, to treat various diseases like
cancer, diabetes

itsuhiro Ebara believes the effect that thermotherapy and chemotherapy have
Mplastic sheets called on specific spots.The next step, he said, is to determine
“smart polymers” may one day “how many cancer cells we can kill through the method.”
prove to be a cheap solution
to curing cancer. Cancer is Swallowing solution
known to respond better In a nation in which more than a fourth of the population
to the simultaneous use of is 65 or older, there is increasing demand for new
hyperthermia and chemotherapy, technologies to help care for the elderly. And University
and Ebara, a researcher at the of Tsukuba spinoff Plimes Inc. is one company that has
National Institute for Materials developed a unique device to measure swallowing ability
Science in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, is working with — an important factor in preventing seniors from catching
his fellow researchers to develop technology using smart aspiration pneumonia. The startup’s chief communications
polymers, or plastics that respond to changes in the officer Atsushi Nitasaka displayed a photo of actual
environment, such as temperature, pH, light and magnetic food served to seniors with weak swallowing ability at a
fields, to treat various diseases. nursing home — blobs of liquified sushi, visually unappealing
Using the polymers, which he hopes would be available and tasteless.
even in developing countries, Ebara wants to create a Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death in Japan
medical technology that would be “accessible to anyone, and 70 percent of the cases involving seniors are said to be
anytime and anywhere,” replacing costly immunotherapy caused by dysphagia, or swallowing difficulties. Dysphagia
drugs like Opdivo with cheap materials like the plastics can accidentally allow food to pass into the windpipe
commonly found in ¥100 shops. and lungs instead of the esophagus, spreading bacteria.
Like Ebara, researchers and startups in this renowned “It’s a serious problem for this graying Japanese society,”
technology hub are tuning their technologies in medical Nitasaka contended.
and nursing care to cater to the nation’s graying society. By using a device called Gokuri, caretakers can gauge
There are unlimited variations to smart polymers Ebara swallowing ability to figure out the appropriate texture of
said. For instance, sugar-responsive polymers become food to provide. This can potentially widen the food menu
soluble when mixed with sugar, meaning it can be used for patients beyond purees without causing aspiration
for diabetes treatment, while toxin-responsive polymers pneumonia. Gokuri is placed around the neck to record
can be used to soak up certain toxins. swallowing sounds through a microphone. The data is
To treat cancer, doctors in this field first operate to remove recorded on a smartphone app that then uses artificial
tumors and other visible signs of the disease before intelligence to assess the patient’s swallowing ability. The
applying a heat-responsive smart polymer sheet containing device has a 97.3 percent accuracy rate, Nitasaka claimed.
cancer-fighting drugs and magnetic nanoparticles directly The company launched the ¥100,000 product on a
to the affected area.Doctors then use a device that limited basis in April 2018 to collect trial data from
produces a magnetic field to heat the particles, causing partners across Japan, Nitasaka said. Plimes aims to
the sheet to contract and squeeze out the drug. widen Gokuri’s domestic release and market it overseas
In a clinical test on mice, once-a-week 15-minute as well. Seele, a nursing home in Ishioka, Ibaraki
treatments applied over two months shrank lung cancer Prefecture, started using Gokuri months ago. Manager
tumors to less than a tenth of their original size, according Takuji Yamanaka said that “by modifying the food types
to NIMS Ebara expects his polymer method to double for individuals according to their swallowing ability, the

37 July 2019 Plastics News