Therapeutic Seal Robot as Biofeedback Medical Device: Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluations of Robot Therapy in Dementia Care

Recently developed robotics technologies are used not only in factories, but also in our daily living environment. Human-interactive robots, used to improve the quality of life, are becoming increasingly common. Their purposes and functions vary depending on their use, such as assistance, therapy, guide, entertainment, and education. Robot therapy, which uses robots as a substitution for animals in “animal therapy,” is a new robot application in the fields of welfare and patient care. The seal robot PARO began development for robot therapy in 1993. PARO was commercialized in Japan in 2005, and in Europe and the United States in 2009, and it has been used in hospitals and care facilities in approximately 30 countries. Recent research has revealed that robot therapy has a similar effect on patients as animal therapy. In 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certified PARO as a “biofeedback medical device.” While PARO can be used in various kinds of therapy similar to that where real animals are used, this study focuses on its use with elderly dementia patients because explicit differences can be easily observed before and after interacting with PARO. First, this paper explains the purposes and functions of PARO. Second, because there are several observational studies on the therapeutic effects of the elderly with dementia interacting with PARO, some typical cases and interesting special cases are introduced. These cases include recovery from depression, reduction of agitation, and recovery from speech disorders. Finally, this paper discusses why PARO has the potential to change moods and behaviors of the elderly with dementia as a nonpharmacological approach.