Inventors want expo's ‘bathtub of the future' to assist elderly
Recently, an Asahi Shimbun reporter climbed into Science Co.'s 'Mirai (future) Human Washing Machine' at the Osaka Kansai Expo.
The pod is on display at the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion run by the city and prefectural governments.
Although the experience was only 15 minutes long, the reporter's body and mind were refreshed. The secret to this is that the bath releases two types of bubbles and uses a heart rate monitor.
And, while it's easy to play it up as a gimmick, this machine is expected to play an important role in supporting the elderly.
Its developer, Science Co., is known for its "mirabath" tub that uses foamy microbubbles in place of directly washing one's body with a soapy sponge or scrubber like a loofah.
Yasuaki Aoyama, 65, is the founder and president of the Osaka-based company. He began brainstorming ways for people to bathe without directly scrubbing their skin when he saw how his daughter's dermatitis was causing her to suffer.
This eventually led to the company developing its first version of the mirabath in 2008 and later dreaming up the pod currently featured at the expo.
Aoyama remembers becoming fascinated with the original human washing machine exhibited by Sanyo Electric Co., now a subsidiary of Panasonic Holdings Corp., at the 1970 Japan World Exposition in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. At the time, he was a young child.
When it was decided in 2018 that the expo would return to Osaka in 2025, the mirabath was already a standard fixture in certain condominiums.
Aoyama was frustrated that public perception still considered "human washing machines" futuristic and unobtainable instead of part of daily life despite a product like the mirabath being available for so long; it is currently in its seventh iteration.
The company decided to take on the mantle of re-envisioning the machine from the 1970s for the expo and began development six years ago.
When the reporter climbed into this bathtub at the expo and closed the hatch, hot water streamed in and eventually reached chest height.
Microbubbles about 0.003 millimeter in size formed and washed away skin detritus including sebum. The hot water turned whitish, not from dirtiness but the high density of the bubbles.
Even smaller ultrafine 0.0001 mm bubbles formed to cleanse everything above the neck. They were so fine that they had no buoyancy and settled at the bottom of the tub where a current of water is used to wash a user's body with bubbles.
The "future" aspect of the Mirai Human Washing Machine, however, is the addition of a feature to calm the mind.
Sensors installed into the back of the chair maintain an electrocardiogram reading of the bather's heart and, by extension, assess their autonomic nervous system that regulates unconscious actions such as heart rate and breathing.
In tracking this, the machine changes the ambience of the bath. If bathers are feeling a little down, it plays uplifting music and displays similarly themed images. If they're feeling a little excited, calming music comes on with matching visuals to encourage relaxation—a mind cleanse of sorts.
Even though the reporter didn't even use soap and was just sitting there, her skin felt soft and smooth after the bath. She had heard that the surface temperature of bodies rises by 3 degrees, and she certainly felt warm for a while after getting out of the bath.
The experience is limited to only five groups per day. Science Co. opened applications prior to the start of the expo, but it was so popular that all slots were reserved until September; they are currently not accepting reservations for the time being.
Rather than a one-off contraption, the company plans to release a product that can be installed in homes after the expo ends in October. It aims to make it available for less than 1 million yen ($6,964).
'It will help save lives of elderly individuals in an aging society,' Aoyama said, concerning how this invention could change society if it is integrated into their daily lives.
When bathers soak in a bathtub full of microbubbles, research indicates those that pop in their pores improve blood circulation and will keep them warm longer, even in lukewarm 38-degree water.
This could reduce the number of elderly people who die from heat shock where the victim is exposed to rapid changes in temperature.
Aoyama is enthusiastic about its potential.
'If we can connect with medical institutions and reporting systems, as well as drain the water all at once, it could also reduce the risk of drowning,' he said.
In nursing homes, bathing their charges is caregivers' most physically demanding task. However, the chore has transformed into merely supervising a resident at facilities equipped with the mirabath; the system has been well received by both caregivers and bathers.
For some, the routine of bathing has gone from warming their bodies and scrubbing down to simply doing nothing except relax. Perhaps this will soon be the reality for more people in the coming years.
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