{"id":1070,"date":"2026-03-16T15:24:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T06:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futurecarelab.com\/?post_type=cases&p=1070"},"modified":"2026-07-02T14:52:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T05:52:29","slug":"case07","status":"publish","type":"cases","link":"https:\/\/futurecarelab.com\/en\/cases\/case07","title":{"rendered":"We tapped into the expertise of a physical therapist to clearly define product benefits."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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On-Site Testing<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
\"On-Site<\/figure>\n\n
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\n \"Testing\n
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Testing and evaluation by Future Care Lab in Japan led to a confident product introduction at nursing care sites.<\/h2>\n

SIDE: Development Company<\/span><\/p>\n

We had been looking for a way to alleviate lower back and general physical strain on operators engaged in difficult labor\u2014including those loading and unloading customer cargo at logistics worksites tied to our original parent business\u2014so in 2010 we entered into a joint development project on a powered exoskeleton with the Tokyo University of Science. Full-scale rollout of the project began in 2014, and our company continued to develop assistive suits that were lightweight and affordable to address the problems with them at the time; namely, they were heavy and expensive. We completed the SUPPORT JACKET Bb+PRO in 2016, the SUPPORT JACKET Bb+FIT in 2018, the SUPPORT JACKET Ep+ROBO in 2019, and the SUPPORT JACKET Bb+PRO II in 2020.<\/p>\n

Future Care Lab in Japan (\u201cthe Lab\u201d) approached us during a trade show about a solution that would alleviate back strain on caregivers who made home visits to help with bathing tasks. That was how we started working together. They started by doing a trial introduction at a Sompo Care facility. Based on feedback about cost and from on-site personnel who actually wore the devices (and found them hot with prolonged use, for example), we set out to develop the SUPPORT JACKET Bb+PRO II, a more comfortable, lower-cost suit that would still offer the needed assistance. Once the on-site testing and evaluation was complete, the Lab took charge of giving out product information at other Sompo Care facilities. I thought they set up a wonderful system for reliably sharing product information they had deemed critical as a result of their testing and evaluation.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve sold a total of 17,000 SUPPORT JACKET Bb+ series products to date, and they\u2019re currently being put to work at many nursing care sites as well as in the usual manufacturing, logistics, and agricultural settings. We\u2019ve also been getting more orders from overseas lately. We\u2019re now looking to develop an even more user-friendly assistive suit, something that might even be used in regular retail settings like a typical work uniform.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n

\"Testing<\/figure>\n\n
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\n \"Multiple\n
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Multiple perspectives, including frontline feedback and expert insights, are critical in testing and evaluation<\/h2>\n

SIDE\uff1aFuture Care Lab in Japan<\/span><\/p>\n

There was a need from nursing care workplaces for a tool to reduce the strain on the lower back during tasks like bathing assistance, which requires staying in a bent posture for long periods, and transferring patients from beds to wheelchairs. After exploring various options, we came across the Support Jacket Bb+ series.<\/p>\n

We started by verifying the effects of the suit in the Lab, but we struggled to come up with a way to evaluate it since the technology wasn\u2019t designed to support muscular movement but rather serve as a second spine to keep people in a proper posture. We had one of our physical therapists on staff look at how caregivers moved before and after wearing the suit in order to assess posture changes, and then later conducted testing and evaluation on caregivers actually performing bathing assistance tasks, either in facilities or during in-home visits. Our assessments found that while the suit felt a bit awkward when wearing it across multiple tasks (such as throughout bathing, excretion, and transfer assistance), it was effective during repetitive motion (such as helping several people with bathing back-to-back).<\/p>\n

After testing and evaluating the product at multiple caregiving facilities and during in-home services, we sent out information to various facilities letting them know that the suit could be introduced for assistive tasks that involved certain kinds of motion. The project underlined the importance of involving multiple perspectives, including frontline feedback and expert insights, in the testing and evaluation process.<\/p>\n

Interviews based on information current as of September 2021.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Message From the Development Company<\/h2>\n
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Development Company\uff0fSUPPORT JACKET Inc.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Regarding the Support Jacket, our PR in the nursing care industry was not progressing as we had hoped. However, thanks to our collaboration with Lab, we were able to introduce it to nursing care workplaces, and now we can recommend the product with confidence.Also, they handled the loaning of sample products very carefully and thoroughly right up to the return.We often hear that the nursing care industry involves a lot of heavy labor. I feel that Lab\u2019s sincere efforts show a strong spirit to breathe new life into improving such work environments.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1057,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"class_list":["post-1070","cases","type-cases","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurecarelab.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cases\/1070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurecarelab.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurecarelab.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cases"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurecarelab.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurecarelab.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}