NAGOYA (Kyodo) -- Graduate school students in Japan have developed a device to easily measure symptoms of orthostatic dysregulation, a disorder common among children that causes them physical difficulty getting up in the morning and dizziness when standing.

The team at Nagoya University's graduate school hopes the device will help sufferers communicate their symptoms clearly when they need to skip classes due to their condition.

The disorder is more likely to arise during adolescence, and including those with mild symptoms occurs in about 10 percent of junior high school students, according to the Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Pediatrics.

The cane-like device, called the OD Checker, enables patients to measure the severity of their symptoms at home, showing the results in a clear way similar to how a thermometer measures body temperature.

The device measures the change in heart rate using a sensor attached to the finger of a patient when rising to stand from a lying-down position. The severity of the disorder can be assessed in accordance with diagnostic criteria.

The device was designed to support those who often have difficulty standing up and it can also detect dizziness, according to the team, which was formed in 2021 and includes students with medical and electronics backgrounds.

The team will seek private-sector support in the future to enhance the prototype and clear clinical tests in order to market the device as medical equipment.

Kensuke Sumida, 26, the leader of the team, said he wants to utilize his experiences as a sufferer of the condition, sometimes fainting when he was an elementary school student.

"When it comes to this disorder, it's important that people treat it with understanding. We first want to make people aware of the disease through our activities," he said.