Keio Research Institute at SFC

* This laboratory has been completed.

■Objectives and Targets

Between the academic years of 2015 and 2017, the Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus conducted studies on the ME-BYO House as part of research commissioned by Kanagawa Prefecture. This research was conducted under the ME-BYO concept promoted by Kanagawa Prefecture to develop a housing environment that enables discovering and improving presymptomatic illnesses, just by living in such houses. From academic year 2018, efforts were made to develop a research framework that does not generate research fees by forming a joint research agreement with a private business company, so as to be able to continue studying the potentials of the ME-BYO House. As a result, it has become possible for us to extend the duration of our activities and continue our studies.

In Japan, the 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan advocates that we aim for the realization of Society 5.0. It seeks to develop a society that creates new values by promoting IoT and implementing AI. But the government has no need of making such announcements, as the current trend toward information orientation will inevitably lead to the advent of such a society.

This trend is also moving into the health and medical fields, where efforts are being made to collect and share various data, and to develop and implement an analysis infrastructure. Currently in Japan, reports show that consultation rates are stagnating. Even so, many people receive general health checks, specialized exams, and other medical exams, which means that health data is being collected on a regular basis. However, the frequency of such health checks remains at a rate of about once per year. Also, these health data focus only on the body, and in general, do not include lifestyle information other than those related to alcohol consumption and smoking. This is creating a limit to the research that could be done within the medical field. If a person is visiting a hospital on a regular basis, the effectiveness of the treatment can be measured. However, it is difficult to grasp the situation of those who are not receiving treatment at hospitals, creating obstacles in conducting comparative studies.

There are also limits as to what individuals can do to collect health data. Right now, it is relatively easy to acquire a device that measures health data. And with the recent technological advances, these devices are beginning to be equipped with IoT, and health data are starting to be uploaded into cloud through the Internet. However, it is difficult for people, on an individual basis, to make use of such data, and since the benefits of using them remains to be seen, these data have not yet reached the stage of explosive dissemination.

And so, the goal of this research is to develop a framework that gathers health data from our daily lives, and to create a platform that makes use of such data.

It is difficult to make use of health and lifestyle data unless they are gathered in a systematic way. However, right now, there is such a wide variety of measuring devices being offered that it makes it difficult for individuals to collect health data in a systematic manner. Furthermore, although it is possible even now for individuals to collect health data, few would be able to sublimate such health data into knowledge and make use of them. And even if data is acquired, the services attached to the measuring devices are limited to those for health and medical purposes, making it difficult for people to use them on an individual level.

The current situation also poses problems for companies who wish to enter into the field of health data. This is because right now, even if companies try to enter into health service and other types of services that use health data, they would need to work on gathering and acquiring data, in addition to developing and providing the services.

In order to resolve this situation, we will develop a system for gathering health data with a focus on housing, which is the basic environment where people make their living. We will also develop a distribution system for the health data that has been acquired through these houses, and study its feasibly. The system to be developed will provide the health data—collected from equipment installed into the houses by various vendors, from health checks performed at companies or other organizations that the resident of the house belongs to, and from exams conducted at hospitals and other medical institutions—on a health data platform, and we will create an environment that enables separate service providers to develop and provide the health services.

■Overview of Research Activity Plans

<1st phase>

[Develop and prepare experiment plan]

Develop an experiment plan with the premise of using student dormitories and housing for the elderly, and proceed with preparations, developments, etc. to create the environment needed for conducting the experiment plan.

[System development]

Develop a house interface for collecting health data, as well as a house interface for supporting health services. At the same time, develop a simplified programming environment that utilizes IoT platforms such as IFTTT.

[Experiment preparations and PoC]

Provide housing that can actually be used as a ME-BYO House, install equipment such as health data measuring equipment, health information feedback devices, and smart devices, and make preparations to begin conducting the experiment. Also, conduct proof-of-concept by having researchers stay at the house, etc.

<2nd phase>

[Demonstration experiment]

Have participants actually occupy the prepared ME-BYO House, and go about their daily lives using the installed equipment. Also, use questionnaires and other such methods to evaluate as to whether the provided system is contributing toward health.

[System improvement]

Continue making improvements to the system to keep developing ME-BYO House equipment that is even easier to use. Install the developed equipment into the ME-BYO House at an appropriate timing.

[Analysis]

Analyze the acquired data, and determine the behavior of the system. Also, determine what requirements are needed to make improvements to the system.

Researchers, managers and professors