System and procedures for supporting dementia patients

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for supporting dementia patients using generative artificial intelligence. Specifically, a system for supporting a dementia patient is disclosed, comprising an input unit through which information regarding a patient and / or their interests can be entered, a control unit designed to retrieve and / or generate at least one piece of content, preferably audio and / or video and / or text content, from a database based on the input information, and an output unit designed to output the generated content to the patient. The present invention also relates to a corresponding method.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and method for supporting cognitively impaired patients, in particular dementia patients or other patients with impaired memory.

[0002] Caring for people with dementia or Alzheimer's disease in hospitals, nursing homes, or retirement homes is very time-consuming. Medical staff often lack the time in the hectic daily routine of hospitals to adequately address such patients.

[0003] There is therefore a need to relieve and support both affected patients and the medical staff in their daily work.

[0004] This is where the present invention comes in. It aims to provide a technical system that supports dementia patients and their caregivers in their daily lives.

[0005] According to the invention, a system can thus preferably be provided to collect information about the sick persons in a simple and practical way in the hectic daily work routine of a 24-hour hospital operation with the aim of identifying topics or interests which a particular patient can remember with a relatively high probability in the course of his mental regression.

[0006] With the help of artificial intelligence, topics tailored to the patient and coherent or historical facts are prepared and compiled as video and audio content, for example from the Internet.

[0007] This offers an opportunity to provide patients with individually tailored content, thus stimulating them cognitively. This can provide variety and enjoyment in everyday clinical practice and encourage patients to remain cognitively active.

[0008] The integration of a technical system can also reduce the burden on nursing staff, as the patient is addressed not only by the nurse but also by the system.

[0009] According to the invention, a system for supporting a dementia patient is provided, with - an input unit by means of which information regarding a patient and / or his / her interests can be entered, - a control unit which is designed to retrieve and / or generate at least one content, preferably an audio and / or video and / or text content, from a database on the basis of the input information, and - an output unit which is designed to output the generated at least one content to the patient.

[0010] The input unit may be designed to allow a user to manually enter information regarding a patient's interests.

[0011] For example, a nurse can determine from conversations with a patient that the patient is particularly interested in football and nature and make a corresponding entry in the input unit.

[0012] Alternatively or additionally, the input unit may be designed to automatically extract information regarding a patient's interests from an input, preferably from a recorded conversation protocol with the patient.

[0013] For example, a patient conversation (audio and / or video) is preferably recorded using the input device, which can be a smartphone, tablet, or terminal. Alternatively, a nurse can subsequently recapitulate a patient conversation and enter information into their dictation device. The system then independently extracts topics the patient discusses, such as football and nature.

[0014] The control unit may be designed to identify and / or prioritize, based on the information entered and / or extracted, which topics and / or interests are of preferential interest to the patient.

[0015] For example, it can be identified that the patient is very interested in football and talks about football for 70% of the conversation, while the interest in nature topics is less and the patient talks about nature for only 30% of the conversation.

[0016] The control unit can thus be designed to carry out the identification and / or prioritization of the topics and / or interests by determining, for each topic and / or interest, a time period in which the patient talks about the topic and / or interest and sorting the topics and / or interests according to the length of the associated time period.

[0017] For example, the patient talks about football for 2 minutes, music for 1.5 minutes, and nature for 1 minute. This leads to the following identification of the patient's main interests or prioritization: 1. Football (main interest), 2. Music, 3. Nature.

[0018] In order to generate or retrieve content that is of greatest interest to the patient, this prioritization is preferably used.

[0019] The control unit may therefore be designed to generate content relating to the topic and / or interest associated with the longest specific time period.

[0020] The control unit is preferably designed to use generative artificial intelligence to generate the at least one content.

[0021] For example, using ChatGPT, text content about Borussia Dortmund's 1997 Champions League victory can be generated if the patient has been identified as being very interested in football and a BVB fan. Alternatively or additionally, corresponding video content can be generated.

[0022] Furthermore, the control unit can be designed to access a database in order to retrieve the at least one content, in which a number of contents for a specific patient are stored on the basis of a patient-individualized prioritization.

[0023] For example, the database contains content for a specific patient that the patient has enjoyed in the past or is likely to enjoy. For example, the control unit first retrieves a video about football from the database, then an audio file of a specific piece of music, and then a nature documentary, and then plays these to the patient.

[0024] Information can also be obtained from the database across multiple patients. For example, for a patient A, one could search the database for a patient B with similar hobbies or interests and reuse the output files already created for patient B for patient A.

[0025] To avoid violating personal data, data can be encrypted and transmitted in encrypted form within the scope of the present invention. To ensure comprehensive use of the database, data is preferably anonymized or released.

[0026] In a system according to the invention, the input unit and / or the output unit can each be a mobile device, such as a smartphone, a terminal, or a tablet. The control unit accesses, for example, a cloud, a database, or a server. All components of the system can communicate with each other wirelessly (e.g., via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) and / or wired.

[0027] Several input units can also be provided, for example two mobile devices belonging to two nurses who interact with a patient during different shifts.

[0028] Multiple output units can also be provided, for example a flat screen in the patient room and a tablet on the patient's bedside table.

[0029] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for assisting a dementia patient, wherein the method is preferably carried out with a system according to the invention, comprising the steps: - Manually entering and / or automatically extracting information regarding a patient and / or their interests using an input unit based on a recorded conversation protocol with the patient, - generating and / or retrieving from a database at least one content, preferably an audio and / or video and / or text content, based on the input and / or extracted information by means of a control unit; and - Outputting the generated and / or retrieved at least one content to the patient by means of an output unit.

[0030] To generate at least one piece of content, generative artificial intelligence is preferably used.

[0031] It should be noted here that the terms "a" and "an" do not necessarily refer to exactly one of the elements, although this is a possible interpretation, but can also refer to a plurality of the elements. Likewise, the use of the plural also includes the presence of the element in question in the singular, and conversely, the singular also encompasses several of the elements in question.

[0032] Furthermore, all features of the invention described herein may be combined with one another as desired or claimed in isolation from one another.

[0033] Thus, the present disclosure naturally also encompasses all features disclosed within the context of a system according to the invention within the context of a present method. To avoid redundancies, not all features are explicitly disclosed within the context of a method according to the invention.

[0034] Further details and advantages of the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the embodiment shown in the drawings.

[0035] They show: Fig. 1: Steps 1 to 4 of a method according to the invention. Fig. 2: A step 5 of a method according to the invention. Fig. 3: A step 6 of a method according to the invention. Fig. 4: Steps 7 and 8 of a method according to the invention.

[0036] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 1, a system according to the invention interacts with hospital staff 1 and dementia patients 2.

[0037] In step 3, information regarding a patient and his interests is obtained using an input unit.

[0038] For example, a patient's conversation with a caregiver can be recorded using a microphone, creating a corresponding audio file. Alternatively or additionally, the conversation transcript can also be recorded as a text file ("SpeechToText"). The input device could be a smartphone, for example, that communicates via Bluetooth.

[0039] Bluetooth offers the general advantage of easy file sharing. For example, nurse A can send an audio file from their smartphone via Bluetooth to another device belonging to nurse B during a shift change, thus informing them of patient conversations, while nurse B can continue working with it.

[0040] In step 4, for example, topics that are of particular interest to a particular patient are extracted from the collected information. In other words, experiences or events can be identified that the patient is most likely to want to be reminded of.

[0041] For example, if the patient is a BVB football fan, sporting successes from the past, such as the year 1997 with the victory in the Champions League and the goal by the player Lars Ricken, will be a positive stored experience.

[0042] Another example is connections from music. A Marius Müller Westernhagen fan remembers the song "Where is Behle?" A sports enthusiast, on the other hand, thinks of the sports reporter who once coined the phrase when a cross-country skier was lost in the fog.

[0043] In other words, a patient's interests are identified in order to generate an individual entertainment program for the patient. Generative artificial intelligence is preferably used in step 5, as described in Fig. 2 is shown.

[0044] As in step 6 / Fig. 3, one idea of ​​the present invention is therefore preferably to set up with the help of artificial intelligence-based Internet chatbots or search engines such as ChatGPT and similar products and to train a medical technical device or system with them, which uses these digital sources and prepares them specifically for the individual dementia patient and thus creates a digitalization with corresponding added value for all persons acting in the hospital.

[0045] In addition, a system according to the invention can be used to measure the progression of a dementia disease or an actual state, for example by recording the interaction of a patient with the output unit (such as a reaction time, etc.).

[0046] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 4, in step 7, content individually generated or retrieved for the patient is output via an output unit. The output unit can comprise a monitor, a smartphone, a user terminal, a tablet, VR (virtual reality) or AR (augmented reality) glasses, or another suitable device.

[0047] In step 8, a user, e.g. the patient himself or a caregiver, plays the generated / retrieved content.

[0048] In summary, the present invention deals with the use of digitalization in hospitals with the use of artificial intelligence for the care of patients with dementia. A system according to the invention comprises, for example, a network of servers, client input devices, output devices, a database, or cloud, possibly a supporting software application for easy handling and the use of freely available generative artificial intelligence.

Claims

[1] System for supporting a dementia patient, with - an input unit by means of which information regarding a patient and / or his / her interests can be entered, - a control unit which is designed to retrieve and / or generate at least one content, preferably an audio and / or video and / or text content, from a database on the basis of the input information, and - an output unit which is designed to output the generated at least one content to the patient. [2] System according to claim 1, characterized by that the input unit is designed to allow a user to manually enter information regarding a patient's interests. [3] System according to claim 1 or 2, characterized bythat the input unit is designed to automatically extract information relating to the interests of a patient from an input, preferably from a recorded conversation protocol with the patient. [4] System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the control unit is designed to identify and / or prioritize, on the basis of the information entered and / or extracted, which topics and / or interests are of preferential interest to the patient. [5] System according to claim 4, characterized by that the control unit is designed to carry out the identification and / or prioritization of the topics and / or interests by determining, for each topic and / or interest, a time period in which the patient talks about the topic and / or interest and sorting the topics and / or interests according to the length of the associated time period. [6] System according to claim 5, in that the control unit is designed to generate content relating to the topic and / or interest associated with the longest specific time period. [7] System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the control unit is designed to use generative artificial intelligence to generate the at least one content. [8] System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the control unit is designed to access a database in order to retrieve the at least one content, in which a number of contents for a specific patient are stored on the basis of a patient-individualized prioritization. [9] System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the input unit and / or the output unit are each a mobile device, such as a smartphone, a terminal or a tablet. [10] A method for assisting a dementia patient, the method preferably being carried out with a system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the steps: - Manually entering and / or automatically extracting information regarding a patient and / or their interests using an input unit based on a recorded conversation protocol with the patient, - generating and / or retrieving from a database at least one content, preferably an audio and / or video and / or text content, based on the input and / or extracted information by means of a control unit; and - Outputting the generated and / or retrieved at least one content to the patient by means of an output unit. [11] Method according to claim 10, characterized by that generative artificial intelligence is used to generate at least one piece of content.

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