Dispensing audit support system and dispensing audit support device

Abstract

To improve reliability of audit results.SOLUTION: A dispensing audit support device 1 displays information of each sachet 110 in a sachet information column FB5 of an audit result screen SC5 in audit result display processing after audit processing. Then, besides an audit state of each sachet 110 and a sachet image PB, the dispensing audit support device 1 displays each medicine image PM cut out from the sachet image PB separately by type, and displays the number of medicines by type and a total number of medicines obtained by totalizing them, thereby allowing a user to visually recognize them. Accordingly, the dispensing audit support device 1 allows the user to visually check, besides the audit state, various types of information used in a process of determining the audit state, to easily recognize validity of the audit state, and to sufficiently reduce a time / labor required for additional work.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 22

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a medicine inspection support system and a medicine inspection support device, which are suitably used for supporting the inspection of a single package containing a plurality of medicines, for example. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, for patients who take multiple types of medication on one occasion, the medications have been packaged in a single sachet in advance, reducing the burden on patients of having to prepare the medications they need to take based on the type and quantity of medication listed on the prescription when they take the medication.

[0003] When packaging drugs in individual packets, the pharmacist who provides the drug to the patient must prepare the drug according to the doctor's prescription and check that the drug is properly contained in each packet before handing the packet over to the patient. However, it requires a great deal of effort for the pharmacist to check the wide variety of drugs contained in each packet.

[0004] In view of this, a drug inspection support device has been proposed that takes pictures of sachets while transporting the sachets to generate images, and displays, etc., based on the results of analyzing the images. In such a drug inspection support device, an image of each drug is extracted from the captured images, and the extracted image is judged to match the drug written on the prescription, and the judgment result is notified on a screen or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-18230 A (Fig. 3, etc.) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, in a drug inspection support device configured in this manner, the judgment result for each sachet is reported, such as “correct,” “incorrect,” “insufficient,” or “extra,” but the reason or process by which such a judgment result was reached is not reported.

[0007] In addition, when performing drug judgment processing based on images, there is a risk that a correct judgment result will not be obtained and the judgment result will be erroneous because the state of each drug in each sachet may be affected and the accuracy of the analysis processing may not be sufficient. Therefore, there is a problem that a pharmacist or the like who uses the above-mentioned drug inspection support device cannot necessarily trust the notified judgment result, and since it is difficult to determine the reason for the erroneous judgment from the notified judgment result, it is necessary to take the time to visually check the sachet, etc.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a medicine inspection support system and a medicine inspection support device that can improve the reliability of inspection results. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve this problem, the drug inspection support system of the present invention includes an imaging unit that photographs multiple sachet bags containing one or more drugs of one or more types and generates a sachet image for each sachet bag; an analysis processing unit that cuts out each drug image, which is a portion representing an individual drug, from the sachet bag image, determines the type of each of the drug images, and tallys up, for each sachet bag image, a total drug number, which is the total number of drug images contained in the sachet bag image, and a number of drug images by type, which is the number of drug images of each type; an inspection processing unit that sets a reference sachet bag from multiple sachet bags and sets sachet bags other than the reference sachet bag as comparison sachet bags; and a display processing unit that controls the display of the drug images on the display unit, and the display processing unit displays the drug images contained in the sachet bag image of the reference sachet bag and the drug images contained in the sachet bag image of the comparison sachet bag on the display unit in correspondence with each other by type, and displays the total drug number and the number of drug images by type for each of the reference sachet bag and the comparison sachet bag on the display unit.

[0010] In addition, the drug inspection support device of the present invention is provided with an imaging unit that photographs multiple sachet bags containing one or more drugs of one or more types and generates a sachet image for each sachet bag; an analysis processing unit that cuts out each drug image, which is a portion representing an individual drug, from the sachet bag image, determines the type of each of the drug images, and tallys up, for each sachet bag image, a total drug number which is the total number of drug images contained in the sachet bag image and a number of drug images by type which is the number of drug images of each type; an inspection processing unit that sets a reference sachet bag to serve as a reference from the multiple sachet bags and sets sachet bags other than the reference sachet bag as comparison sachet bags; a display unit that displays information; and a display processing unit that controls the display of the drug images on the display unit, and the display processing unit displays the drug images contained in the sachet bag image of the reference sachet bag and the drug images contained in the sachet bag image of the comparison sachet bag on the display unit in correspondence with each other by type, and displays the total drug number and the number of drug by type for each of the reference sachet bag and the comparison sachet bag on the display unit.

[0011] The present invention displays on the display unit each drug image for each type of drug for the reference sachet and the comparison target sachet, as well as the number of drugs per type and the total number of drugs, thereby allowing the user to visually confirm the process of analysis and identification processing for the sachet images obtained from the comparison target sachet and easily grasp the presence or absence of problems, etc. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a medicine inspection support system and a medicine inspection support device which can improve the reliability of inspection results. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the external configuration of the medicine inspection support device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a continuous body of sachets. [Diagram 3] 2 is a schematic front view showing the internal configuration of the sachet reader; FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a circuit configuration of the medicine inspection support device. [Diagram 5] 3A to 3C are schematic diagrams showing configurations of various tables. [Figure 6] 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an audit status table; [Figure 7] 13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a medicine inspection table. [Figure 8] 11A and 11B are schematic diagrams showing a sachet image and a medicine image. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing a medicine inspection support process. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an initial screen. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing a new inspection process procedure. [Figure 12] 13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a sachet set guidance screen. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an in-inspection display screen. [Figure 14] 13 is a flowchart showing a shooting process procedure. [Figure 15] 13 is a schematic diagram showing how to determine the position of each medicine in a sachet image. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing an analysis process procedure. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart showing an inspection process procedure. [Figure 18] 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a criterion selection screen. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart showing an inspection result display process procedure (1). [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart showing an inspection result display process procedure (2). [Figure 21] 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an inspection result screen. [Figure 22] 13 is a schematic diagram showing an inspection result screen in which the inspection status is confirmation required; [Figure 23] 13 is a schematic diagram showing an inspection result screen in which the inspection status has been changed to correct or ignore; [Figure 24]13 is a flowchart showing a detailed display process procedure. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a details screen. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an interruption confirmation screen. [Figure 27] 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of an audit completion notification screen. [Figure 28] 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a correction confirmation screen. [Figure 29] 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a correction audit selection screen. [Diagram 30] 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an audit correction screen. [Diagram 31] 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an insertion detection unit according to another embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 32] 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an insertion detection unit according to another embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] [1. Configuration of the drug inspection support device] [1-1. Overall configuration of the drug inspection support device] As shown in a schematic perspective view in Fig. 1, medicine inspection support device 1 as a medicine inspection support system is broadly composed of a sachet reader 2 and an inspection result display device 3. Sachet reader 2 also includes a control unit 4 that provides overall control of the system. Medicine inspection support device 1 is configured to support an audit performed by a user such as a pharmacist on sachet string 100 in which sachets 110 are continuously connected as shown in Figs. 2(A) and (B).

[0016] In the following, the side of the drug inspection support device 1 (Figure 1) on which the inspection result display device 3 is installed will be referred to as the front side, and the opposite side will be referred to as the rear side, and the right and left sides will be defined as seen by a user facing the inspection result display device 3, and further the top and bottom sides will be defined.

[0017] The sachet reader 2 is configured in a rectangular parallelepiped shape overall, and is divided into a lower unit 5, which corresponds to approximately 2 / 3 to 3 / 4 of the lower part, and an upper unit 6 provided above the lower unit 5. The upper unit 6 is attached to the lower unit 5 near the lower end on the rear side via an opening / closing part 7, and can be opened and closed by rotating around the opening / closing part 7. A transport space 10 is formed between the lower unit 5 and the upper unit 6 for transporting a continuous sachet, which will be described later.

[0018] The inspection result display device 3 (FIG. 1) is formed in a thin plate shape overall, and is attached to one side of the lower unit 5 of the sachet reading device 2 via an attachment member (not shown). The attachment member is designed to adjust the angle of the inspection result display device 3 relative to the lower unit 5. The inspection result display device 3 also has a touch panel 8 as a display unit and an operation unit, and is electrically connected to the lower unit 5 via a connection cable (not shown), so that it can display various display screens under the control of the control unit 4, and can receive input via a user's touch operation.

[0019] [1-2. Structure of the continuous sachet bag] Next, the configuration of the continuous body of sachet bags 100 will be described with reference to Figures 2(A) and (B). Figure 2(A) is a schematic plan view of the continuous body of sachet bags 100 as viewed from above, and Figure 2(B) is a schematic plan view of the continuous body of sachet bags 100 as viewed from the front.

[0020] The continuous sachet bag body 100 is configured with a plurality of sachet bags 110 connected in the left-right direction. Each sachet bag 110 is made of a resin film that has sufficient flexibility and a relatively high visible light transmittance, i.e., high transparency. Furthermore, the sachet bag 110 has a flat shape in which the length in the up-down direction is sufficiently short compared to the lengths in the front-rear and left-right directions.

[0021] In this sachet 110, a sealed bag-shaped portion 113 is formed between an upper film 111 and a lower film 112, and the medicine M is stored in a storage space 113S, which is a space within the bag-shaped portion 113. In this single sachet 110, one or more types of medicine M, which are prescribed for one patient to take on one occasion (for example, after breakfast, etc.), are all stored. Storing a plurality of medicines M of one or more types in one sachet 110 in this manner is also called single packaging. Furthermore, depending on the prescription, storing one type of medicine M in one sachet 110 may be treated as a single packaged sachet 110. In this embodiment, the following description will be directed to a continuous sachet 100 in which a plurality of sachet bags 110, each containing one or more medicines M of one or more types, are connected together.

[0022] When sachet 110 is manufactured, for example, an imaginary fold line is set in the center in the front-to-rear direction of a sheet of film material, and the medicines M to be stored are collected and placed behind the fold line, and the front portion is folded back from the top to the rear along the fold line, so that the medicines M are sandwiched between upper film 111 and lower film 112. Next, the left side, right side, and rear side of the medicines M of sachet 110 are fused together by a process such as thermocompression bonding, thereby forming left peripheral portion 114, right peripheral portion 115, and rear peripheral portion 116 (hereinafter collectively referred to as peripheral portions 117).

[0023] In addition, by using a film material that is sufficiently long in the left-right direction, the continuous body of sachets 100 is manufactured in a state in which the sachets 110 are connected in the left-right direction, and the boundaries of the sachets 110 are cut intermittently along the front-to-rear direction to form so-called perforations. As a result, the continuous body of sachets 100 is configured in an elongated shape along the left-right direction, and allows the patient or the like to easily separate the sachets 110 when taking the medicine.

[0024] Here, looking at the thickness of the sachet 110, i.e., its length in the vertical direction, the bag-shaped portion 113 is slightly thicker in accordance with the amount of drug M stored in the storage space 113S, while the peripheral portions 117 (i.e., the left peripheral portion 114, the right peripheral portion 115 and the rear peripheral portion 116) are all approximately the thickness of two sheets of film material, making them sufficiently thin.

[0025] [1-3. Internal structure of sachet reader] Next, the internal configuration of the sachet reader 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a schematic front view in which the front side of the lower unit 5 and the front side of the upper unit 6 are omitted. Inside the sachet reader 2, a conveying unit 31, an insertion detection unit 32, a swinging unit 33, an imaging unit 34 and a discharge detection unit 35 are arranged near the conveying space 10.

[0026] The conveying section 31 is made up of three pairs of conveying rollers arranged at three positions spaced apart in the left-right direction. Each pair of conveying rollers is made up of a lower drive roller and an upper driven roller. The conveying section 31 rotates the drive rollers by supplying driving force from a drive roller (not shown) to each drive roller, and conveys the sachets 110 in the continuous string of sachets 100 (FIG. 2) leftward or rightward while clamping the rear peripheral portion 116 of each sachet 110.

[0027] The insertion detection unit 32 is disposed near the right end of the transfer space 10, and includes, for example, an optical sensor. Specifically, the insertion detection unit 32 emits detection light from an upper light-emitting unit, receives a part of the detection light with a lower light-receiving unit, generates a detection signal according to the amount of light by the optical sensor, and transmits the detection signal to the control unit 4.

[0028] In response to this, the control unit 4 can recognize the presence or absence of the continuous series of sachets 100 near the right end of the conveyance space 10, the conveyance speed, etc., based on the detection signal received from the insertion detection unit 32. Furthermore, the control unit 4 distinguishes and recognizes the bag-shaped portion 113 and peripheral portion 117 of the sachet 110 (FIG. 2) based on the received detection signal, and calculates the timing at which the bag-shaped portion 113 will reach the imaging unit 34.

[0029] The swinging unit 33 is provided below the transport space 10, i.e., slightly to the right of the center on the lower unit 5 side, and has multiple, elongated swing levers aligned in the front-to-rear direction, each of which is disposed slightly apart in the left-to-right direction. The swinging unit 33 swings the continuous string of sachets 100 being transported by vibrating each swing lever with an actuator (not shown) or the like.

[0030] The photographing section 34 is composed of a plurality of light sources, image pickup elements, and optical components such as condenser lenses, and these optical components are appropriately distributed and disposed on the lower unit 5 side and the upper unit 6 side. When the continuous body of sachets 100 is transported along the transport space 10, the photographing section 34 appropriately causes each light source to emit light in accordance with the timing at which each sachet 110 arrives, and generates an image using the image pickup elements and supplies the image to the control section 4. In response, the control section 4 performs predetermined image processing and the like on the image, and then performs various processes such as analysis processing, inspection processing, and display processing (described in detail below).

[0031] The discharge detection unit 35 is disposed near the left end of the conveying space 10, and is configured as an optical sensor similar to the insertion detection unit 32. Specifically, the discharge detection unit 35 emits detection light from an upper light-emitting unit, receives a portion of this detection light with a lower light-receiving unit, generates a detection signal according to the amount of light, and transmits it to the control unit 4. In response to this, the control unit 4 can recognize the presence or absence of the continuous series of sachets 100 near the left end of the conveying space 10, the conveying speed, etc., based on the detection signal received from the discharge detection unit 35.

[0032] [1-4. Circuit configuration of drug inspection support device and storage of drug information] Next, the circuit configuration of medicine inspection support device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Control unit 4 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. (not shown), and is also connected to storage unit 20, touch panel 8, etc. Control unit 4 uses the RAM as a work area and executes various programs read from the ROM, storage unit 20, etc., with the CPU to perform various processes.

[0033] The storage unit 20 is a non-volatile storage medium such as a flash memory, and stores various tables in which information necessary for various processes described later is stored in advance, various tables for sequentially storing the results of each process, various information such as generated image files, and various programs, etc. As information on the attributes of each drug M, the storage unit 20 stores a drug size table T1, a drug shape table T2, and a drug type table T3 in advance, as shown in Figures 5(A) to (C).

[0034] The drug size table T1 is a table that stores attribute information regarding the size of the drug M, such as sizes such as "small," "medium," "large," and "extra large," as well as information representing the conditions regarding the length of the long side for each size.

[0035] The drug shape table T2 is a table that stores attribute information related to the shape of the drug M, and stores, for example, shapes such as "circle", "oval", "capsule", and "half tablet", as well as information indicating the judgment conditions for judging each shape. The drug shape table T2 also stores "unknown", which indicates that the shape does not correspond to any of the other shapes.

[0036] Furthermore, the judgment conditions for the drug shape table T2 include three types of detailed conditions: "short side / long side ratio," "boundary line," and "acute angle." "Short side / long side ratio" is a condition related to the ratio obtained by dividing the length of the short side of drug M by the length of the long side. "Boundary line" is a condition that mainly represents the presence or absence of a boundary line along the short side direction. "Acute angle" is a condition that represents the presence or absence and number of acute angles on the curve that represents the perimeter.

[0037] The medicine type table T3 is a table that stores information relating to the correspondence between the type of medicine M actually stored in the sachet 110 and its attributes (size and shape), for example, information such as "small circle", "medium circle", "oval", and "capsule" is stored as the type, and information representing the size and shape is stored in correspondence as the respective attributes. Among these, when the symbol "-" is stored as the size, it means that the size is not important for that type of medicine M.

[0038] 6, which is an attribute representing the state of the inspection process for each sachet 110 and the state of the action taken by the user. This inspection state table T4 stores information representing the inspection state, such as "unanalyzed", "analyzed", "OK", "needs confirmation", "ignored", "correction", and "standard".

[0039] Of these, "unanalyzed" indicates that the analysis process required before the audit process (described in detail below) has not been performed, and therefore the audit process itself has not been performed. Hereinafter, this state will also be referred to as the "unanalyzed state." "Analyzed" indicates that the analysis process has been completed, but the audit process has not been performed. Hereinafter, this state will also be referred to as the "analyzed state."

[0040] "OK" indicates that there were no problems with the audit results, i.e., it was determined that the appropriate type and quantity of medication M was contained in the sachet 110. Hereinafter, this state will also be referred to as the OK state. "Verification required" indicates that there was a problem with the audit results, i.e., it was determined that the appropriate type and quantity of medication M was not contained in the sachet 110, and verification by the user is required. Hereinafter, this state will also be referred to as the verification required state.

[0041] "Ignore" is set by the user when the user confirms as a result of checking that there was a problem with the analysis process or the like and that there is no problem with the drug M contained in the sachet 110. "Correction" is set by the user when the user confirms as a result of checking that there is a problem with the actual sachet 110, such as an excess or shortage of drug M, and correction work by the user is necessary. "Reference" indicates that at the stage when the analysis process is completed, the user has set the sachet 110 as a reference sachet that serves as a standard for comparison with other sachet bags.

[0042] 7, memory unit 20 is provided with a medicine inspection table T5 for storing information related to the inspection for each sachet. Memory unit 20 is configured to generate and store one medicine inspection table T5 for one inspection of one continuous series of sachet bags 100. This medicine inspection table T5 is provided with a bag number column, an inspection status column, a medicine total number column, a medicine number by type column, a sachet image file name column, a medicine image file name column, and a memo column.

[0043] The bag number column stores a number (hereinafter referred to as the bag number) based on the order of each sachet 110 in the continuous sachet string 100 from the left end. The audit status column stores the audit status. The total number of medicines M column stores the total number of medicines M. The number of medicines by type column stores the number of each type of medicine M. The sachet image file name column stores the file name of the sachet image PB, which will be described later. The medicine image file name column stores the file name of each medicine image PM, which will be described later. The memo column stores the contents of memos, which will be described later.

[0044] Moreover, the control unit 4 (FIG. 4) forms a plurality of functional blocks therein by reading and executing a predetermined program stored in the storage unit 20. Specifically, the control unit 4 forms a transport processing unit 21, a swing processing unit 22, an image capturing processing unit 23, an analysis processing unit 24, an inspection processing unit 25, a display processing unit 26, a response processing unit 27, and the like.

[0045] The transport processing unit 21 controls the conveying unit 31 to convey the continuous string of sachets 100 (FIG. 2) from the right side to the left side of the conveying space 10. The transport processing unit 21 also determines whether the continuous string of sachets 100 is being conveyed normally or not based on the detection signals respectively obtained from the insertion detection unit 32 and the discharge detection unit 35, and also calculates the timing at which the bag-shaped portions 113 of each sachet 110 in the continuous string of sachets 100 will reach the imaging unit 34.

[0046] The swing processing unit 22 controls the swing unit 33 to appropriately swing each swing lever, thereby appropriately displacing the attitude and position of each drug M stored in the bag-shaped portion 113 of each sachet 110 in the continuous series of sachets 100 being transported. In particular, if multiple drugs M are overlapped vertically in the bag-shaped portion 113, it is expected that the vibration will break up this overlap.

[0047] The photographing processing unit 23 appropriately emits light from each light source of the photographing unit 34 and generates image data using the image sensor in accordance with the timing notified by the transport processing unit 21, i.e., the timing when the bag-shaped portion 113 of each sachet 110 in the continuous sachet 100 reaches the photographing unit 34 (FIG. 3). The photographing processing unit 23 then performs predetermined conversion processing, image adjustment processing, and the like on the image data to generate a sachet image PB as shown in FIG. 8(A) and supplies this to the analysis processing unit 24. The photographing processing unit 23 also stores the file name of the sachet image PB in the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7).

[0048] The analysis processing unit 24 (FIG. 4) performs image processing such as edge detection on the sachet image PB supplied from the photographing processing unit 23, and further cuts out an image for each medicine M, thereby generating a plurality of medicine images PM as shown in FIG. 8(B). Next, the analysis processing unit 24 determines the size and shape of each medicine M based on each medicine image PM, and determines the type based on these. Hereinafter, the relationship between each medicine image PM and the type of medicine can be summarized as shown in the table in FIG. 8(C). Hereinafter, the process of determining the type of each medicine M based on the medicine image PM in this way will be referred to as an analysis process, and the determination result obtained at this time will also be referred to as an analysis result. Furthermore, the analysis processing unit 24 counts the number of each type of medicine M based on the obtained analysis result, and stores the value (hereinafter referred to as the number of medicines by type), the file name of each medicine image PM, and the total number of medicines M (hereinafter referred to as the total number of medicines) in the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7).

[0049] The inspection processor 25 determines whether the number of each type of sachet 110 matches the number of each type of sachet set by the user, and determines the inspection status. That is, the inspection processor 25 determines the inspection status as "OK" if the total number of medicines and the number of medicines for all types of medicine M match, and determines the inspection status as "check required" if the number does not match for at least one item. The inspection processor 25 also stores the determined inspection status in medicine inspection table T5.

[0050] The display processing unit 26 generates various display screens, such as a predetermined menu screen and a screen showing the audit result (described in detail later), and displays them on the touch panel 8. The response processing unit 27 accepts an operation input from the user via the touch panel 8 in response to the display of the audit result, and executes processing in response to the operation.

[0051] [2. Drug inspection support processing] Next, a detailed description will be given of the drug inspection support process performed by drug inspection support device 1. When power is applied to drug inspection support device 1, controller 4 performs predetermined initialization and other processes, and then reads and executes a drug inspection support program from storage unit 20 (FIG. 4). As a result, controller 4 internally configures the functional blocks shown in FIG. 4 and starts drug inspection support process procedure RT1 shown in FIG. 9, proceeding to the first step SP1.

[0052] In step SP1, the control unit 4 causes the display processing unit 26 to display an initial screen SC1 shown in Fig. 10 on the touch panel 8, and then proceeds to the next step SP2. This initial screen SC1 displays a Start New Audit button BT1, a Correct Past Audit button BT2, a Resume Suspended Audit button BT3, a Confirm Past Audit button BT4, and a Set button BT5.

[0053] The Start New Audit button BT1 has the text "Start New Audit" displayed, and pressing it means that a new audit process will be started. The Modify Past Audit button BT2 has the text "Modify Past Audit" displayed, and pressing it means that the audit status of each sachet in a past audit process will be corrected. The Resume Paused Audit button BT3 has the text "Resume Paused Audit" displayed, and pressing it means that an audit process that was paused in the past will be resumed. The Confirm Past Audit button BT4 has the text "Confirm Past Audit" displayed, and pressing it means that the results of a past audit process will be displayed.

[0054] In step SP2 (FIG. 9), the control unit 4 determines whether the new inspection start button BT1 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP3, where it executes a new inspection process as a subroutine (described in detail below), and returns to step SP1 when the new inspection process ends. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP2, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP4.

[0055] In step SP4, the control unit 4 judges whether the past audit correction button BT2 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP5, executes a past audit correction process as a subroutine (described in detail later), and returns to step SP1 again when the past audit correction process ends. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP4, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP6.

[0056] In step SP6, the control unit 4 judges whether the suspended audit resume button BT3 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP7, executes a suspended audit resume process as a subroutine (described in detail later), and returns to step SP1 again when the suspended audit resume process ends. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP6, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP8.

[0057] In step SP8, the control unit 4 judges whether the past audit confirmation button BT4 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP9, executes a past audit confirmation process as a subroutine (described in detail later), and returns to step SP1 again when the past audit confirmation process ends. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP8, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP10.

[0058] In step SP10, the control unit 4 judges whether the setting button BT5 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP11, executes a setting process as a subroutine, and returns to step SP1 again when the setting process is completed. This setting process is a process for correcting the stored contents of, for example, the drug size table T1, drug shape table T2, and drug type table T3 stored in the storage unit 20 according to the user's operation. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP10, the control unit 4 returns to step SP1 again without performing any processing.

[0059] [2-1. New audit process] Next, the new inspection process executed in step SP3 of medicine inspection support processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 9) will be described. In this new inspection process, medicine inspection support device 1 performs a new inspection process on serial of sachets 100. Specifically, when control unit 4 moves to step SP3 in medicine inspection support processing procedure RT1, it starts new inspection processing procedure RT2 shown in FIG. 11 as a subroutine and moves to the first step SP21. At this time, control unit 4 also generates a new medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7), and generates a unique identification number and information indicating the current date and time, and stores them in memory unit 20 in association with medicine inspection table T5.

[0060] In step SP21, the control unit 4 causes the display processing unit 26 (FIG. 4) to display the sachet setting guidance screen SC2 shown in FIG. 12 on the touch panel 8, and proceeds to the next step SP22. An image PC21, a message MS21, and a start button BT21 are displayed on this sachet setting guidance screen SC2.

[0061] Image PC21 is composed of a diagram showing the appearance of medicine inspection support device 1 and an arrow pointing to the vicinity of the insertion position into transport space 10 on the left side of medicine inspection support device 1, and guides the user to the position where continuous sachet bag 100 should be set. Message MS21 is, for example, a sentence such as "Please set the sachet bag and press the start button," and prompts the user to set continuous sachet bag 100 near the right side of transport space 10 and then press start button BT21. Start button BT21 is an operation button on which, for example, the word "start" is displayed, and pressing the button instructs the start of transport of continuous sachet bag 100 and the start of photographing each sachet bag 110.

[0062] In step SP22, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the start button BT21 has been pressed. If a negative result is obtained, the control unit 4 repeats step SP22 to wait for the start button BT21 to be pressed. On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP22, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP23 to execute the photographing process and the subsequent inspection process.

[0063] In step SP23, the control unit 4 causes the display processing unit 26 to display the inspection in progress display screen SC3 shown in Fig. 13 on the touch panel 8, and proceeds to the next step SP24. In addition to an image PC21 similar to that of the sachet setting guidance screen SC2, a message MS31 and a stop button BT31 are displayed on this inspection in progress display screen SC3. The message MS31 is, for example, a sentence such as "Inspecting... Please wait a moment," and explains to the user that the current operation status is that an image capture process or an inspection process is being performed. The stop button BT31 is an operation button on which, for example, the word "Stop" is displayed, and when pressed, instructs the user to stop the image capture process or inspection process being performed.

[0064] In step SP24, the control unit 4 executes a subroutine described later to perform an image capturing process, and then proceeds to the next step SP25. In this image capturing process, an image PB of each sachet 110 is captured to generate the corresponding sachet image PB. In addition, in this image capturing process, an analysis process is performed on each sachet image PB to extract a medicine image PM of each medicine M and determine the type of each medicine M.

[0065] In step SP25, the control unit 4 performs an inspection process by executing a subroutine described later, and then proceeds to the next step SP26. In this inspection process, an inspection process is performed in which each drug M is compared for each type between a reference sachet that serves as a reference and each sachet, and the obtained inspection results are displayed. In addition, in this inspection process, if there is an inspection result that requires a user's response, the corresponding process is performed based on the user's operation.

[0066] In step SP26, controller 4 ends new inspection processing procedure RT2, and returns to the original medicine inspection support processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 9).

[0067] [2-2. Shooting processing] Next, the photographing process executed in step SP24 of new inspection processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11) will be described. In this photographing process, each sachet 110 is photographed sequentially while conveying sachet serial 100. Specifically, when control unit 4 moves to step SP24 in new inspection processing procedure RT2, it starts photographing processing procedure RT3 shown in FIG. 14 as a subroutine, and moves to the first step SP31.

[0068] In step SP31, the control unit 4 causes the transport processing unit 21 (FIG. 4) to start transport of the continuous series of sachets 100 by the transport unit 31, and proceeds to the next step SP32. In step SP32, the control unit 4 causes the transport processing unit 21 to detect the bag-shaped portion 113 of each sachet 110 based on the detection signal received from the insertion detection unit 32, and proceeds to the next step SP33. Note that the transport processing unit 21 counts the number of sachets 110 in the continuous series of sachets 100, and performs subsequent processing by regarding this number as the order of the sachets 110.

[0069] In step SP33, the control unit 4 calculates the time at which the sachet 110 reaches the oscillating unit 33 and the photographing unit 34 based on the timing at which the bag-shaped portion 113 of the sachet 110 is detected by the conveying processing unit 21 and the conveying speed of the sachet continuous body 100 by the conveying unit 31, and proceeds to the next step SP34.

[0070] In step SP34, the control unit 4 controls the transport processing unit 21 to transport the sachet 110 to the position of the swinging unit 33 using the transport unit 31, and proceeds to the next step SP35. In step SP35, the control unit 4 controls the swinging processing unit 22 (FIG. 4) to swing the sachet 110 using the swinging unit 33, and proceeds to the next step SP36. As a result, even if the drugs M are overlapped vertically in the bag-shaped portion 113 in the sachet 110, it is expected that this overlap will be broken down and dispersed.

[0071] In step SP36, the control unit 4 controls the transport processing unit 21 to transport the sachet 110 to the position of the photographing unit 34 using the transport unit 31, and proceeds to the next step SP37. In step SP37, the control unit 4 causes the photographing processing unit 23 (FIG. 4) to photograph the sachet 110 using the photographing unit 34 to generate a sachet image PB (FIG. 8(A)), stores the sachet image PB in the memory unit 20 in association with a number indicating the order of the sachet 110, and proceeds to the next step SP38.

[0072] In step SP38, the control unit 4 determines the position of each drug M in the sachet image PB by the analysis processing unit 24 (FIG. 4), and proceeds to the next step SP39. Specifically, the analysis processing unit 24 first divides the sachet image PB into multiple regions by multiple division lines LD along the vertical and horizontal directions, as shown in FIG. 15(A). At this time, the division lines LD are set so as to divide the bag-shaped portion 113 in the sachet 110 approximately equally in the vertical and horizontal directions. For example, the analysis processing unit 24 divides the sachet image PB into three in each of the vertical and horizontal directions, thereby dividing it into a total of nine regions.

[0073] Next, the analysis processing unit 24 extracts the outline of each drug M from the sachet image PB, and extracts a drug center point QM that is the center of each drug M. Then, the analysis processing unit 24 counts the number of extracted drug center points QM, i.e., the number of drugs M included in the sachet image PB (hereinafter referred to as the number of drugs), and counts the number of regions that include the drug center points QM (hereinafter referred to as the number of drug regions).

[0074] Here, as shown in Fig. 15(B), when the number of drugs is four or more and the number of drug regions is three or less, it is assumed that the drugs M are unevenly positioned within the sachet 110, making it difficult to properly extract an image of each drug M. In such a case, it may be possible to eliminate such an uneven position by rocking the sachet 110. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 15(A), when the number of drugs is four or more but the number of drug regions is four or more, or when the number of drugs is three or less, it is assumed that the drugs M are appropriately dispersed within the sachet 110, making it possible to properly extract an image of each drug M.

[0075] In step SP39, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the sachet 110 needs to be swung again, specifically, whether or not the number of drugs is 4 or more and the number of drug regions NA is 3 or less. If a positive result is obtained here, this indicates that the sachet 110 should be swung again in the swinging unit 33. At this time, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP40, and under the control of the transport processing unit 21 (FIG. 4), the transport unit 31 transports the sachet 110 to the right to the position of the swinging unit 33, that is, transports it in the opposite direction to before until it reaches the swinging unit 33, and returns to step SP35.

[0076] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP39, this indicates that there is a high possibility that an image of each drug M (i.e., drug image PM) can be appropriately extracted from the sachet image PB. At this time, the control unit 4 stores the file name of the sachet image PB in association with the sachet 110 in medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7), stores the file of the sachet image PB in memory unit 20, and proceeds to the next step SP41. The control unit 4 also sets the inspection status of the sachet 110 in the medicine inspection table T5 to unanalyzed.

[0077] In step SP41, the control unit 4 performs an analysis process by executing a subroutine for the analysis process described later, and then proceeds to the next step SP42. In this analysis process, a drug image PM of each drug M is cut out from the sachet image PB, the type of each drug M is determined based on the shape and size of each drug M, and the number of each type of drug M is tallied.

[0078] In step SP42, the control unit 4 controls the transport processing unit 21 to cause the transport unit 31 to discharge the sachet 110 to the left side of the transport space 10, and proceeds to the next step SP43. In step SP43, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the photographing of sachet images PB and the analysis process thereof have been completed for all sachet bags 110 constituting the sachet continuum 100 (FIG. 2) based on the presence or absence of unanalyzed sachet bags in each inspection state of the medicine inspection table T5. If a negative result is obtained here, the control unit 4 returns to step SP32 again, and repeats the series of processes for the next sachet bag 110.

[0079] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP43, the control section 4 proceeds to the next step SP44, ends the photographing processing procedure RT3, and returns to the original new inspection processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11).

[0080] [2-3. Analysis processing] Next, the analysis process executed in step SP41 of the photographing process procedure RT3 (FIG. 14) will be described. In this analysis process, for one sachet 110, a medicine image PM of each medicine M is cut out from the sachet image PB and the type of each medicine M is determined. Specifically, when the control unit 4 moves to step SP41 in the photographing process procedure RT3, it starts the analysis process procedure RT5 shown in FIG. 16 as a subroutine and moves to the first step SP51.

[0081] In step SP51, the control unit 4 uses the analysis processing unit 24 (FIG. 4) to extract a drug image PM (FIG. 8(B)) of each drug M from the sachet image PB, and proceeds to the next step SP52. In step SP52, the control unit 4 uses the analysis processing unit 24 to select one of the drug images PM whose type has not yet been determined, and proceeds to the next step SP53. Hereinafter, the drug image PM selected at this time will be referred to as the selected drug image PMS, and the drug M represented by the selected drug image PMS will be referred to as the selected drug MS.

[0082] In step SP53, the control unit 4 determines the size and shape of the selected drug MS based on the selected drug image PMS using the analysis processing unit 24, and proceeds to the next step SP54. Specifically, the analysis processing unit 24 calculates the size (length of the long side and short side) of each drug M based on each drug image PM, and determines the size (such as "small" or "medium") and shape (such as "circle" or "ellipse") of each drug M by referring to the drug size table T1 and the drug shape table T2 (FIGS. 5(A) and (B)).

[0083] In step SP54, the control unit 4 refers to the drug type table T3 (FIG. 5(C)) by the analysis processing unit 24 to determine the type corresponding to the size and shape of the selected drug image PMS, and proceeds to the next step SP55. In step SP55, the control unit 4 sets information indicating the size, shape, and type as attributes of the selected drug image PMS by the analysis processing unit 24, associates the selected drug image PMS with its attributes, and temporarily stores them in the storage unit 20, and then proceeds to the next step SP56. Incidentally, if the size and shape of the selected drug image PMS do not match any type registered in the drug type table T3, the analysis processing unit 24 sets the type of the selected drug image PMS to "unknown."

[0084] In step SP56, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the type determination and attribute setting have been completed for all medicine images PM cut out from the sachet image PB. If a negative result is obtained here, the control unit 4 returns to step SP52 and performs type determination and attribute setting for the remaining medicine images PM.

[0085] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP56, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP57, where the analysis processing unit 24 tally up the number of each type of medicine M (i.e., the number of medicines by type) and tally up the total number of medicines, which is the number of medicine images PM, and proceeds to the next step SP58. In step SP58, the control unit 4 causes the analysis processing unit 24 to store, as the analysis result, the number of medicines by type for each type and the file names of each medicine image PM in association with the sachet 110 in medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7), as well as the total number of medicines, changes the inspection status to "analyzed", and proceeds to the next step SP59. In step SP59, the control unit 4 ends the analysis processing procedure RT5 and returns to the original photography processing procedure RT3 (FIG. 14).

[0086] The analysis procedure RT5 is not limited to being executed as a subroutine from step SP41 of the photographing procedure RT3 (FIG. 14). For example, the analysis procedure RT5 may be executed in parallel with the photographing procedure RT3, and analysis may be performed sequentially on the sachet images PB generated sequentially by the photographing procedure RT3. This makes it possible to reduce the time required to complete the analysis process.

[0087] [2-4. Audit Processing] Next, the inspection process executed in step SP25 of the new inspection process procedure RT2 (FIG. 11) will be described. In this inspection process, the quantity of each type of drug M is compared between a reference sachet serving as a reference and each sachet 110, and an inspection status is set according to the obtained comparison results. Specifically, when the control unit 4 proceeds to step SP25 in the new inspection process procedure RT2, it starts the inspection process procedure RT6 shown in FIG. 17 as a subroutine and proceeds to the first step SP61.

[0088] In step SP61, the control unit 41 reads out the analysis results, i.e., each drug image PM, of a predetermined number (e.g., three) of sachets 110, starting from the smallest bag number in the drug inspection table T5 (Figure 7) stored in the memory unit 20, using the inspection processing unit 25 (Figure 4), and proceeds to the next step SP62.

[0089] In step SP62, the control unit 41 causes the display processing unit 26 (FIG. 4) to display the criteria selection screen SC4 shown in FIG. 18(A) on the touch panel 8, and proceeds to the next step SP22. This criteria selection screen SC4 is a display screen for allowing the user to select a reference sachet, which is a sachet 110 to be used as a reference in the inspection process.

[0090] Specifically, the criteria selection screen SC4 displays a message MS41 at the top, an item name column CT4 on the far left, three sachet information columns FB4 (FB41, FB42 and FB43) to the right of that, and an Other button BT41 on the far right.

[0091] The message MS41 displays a sentence such as "Please select a sachet to be used as the audit standard" to prompt the user to select one of the sachet information fields FB4. In the item name field CT4, the types of medicine stored in the medicine type table T3 (FIG. 5(C)) are displayed vertically. In each sachet information field FB4, information on one sachet 110 is displayed. Incidentally, in the initial state of the criteria selection screen SC4, information on the sachet 110 with bag numbers 1 to 3 is displayed in the sachet information fields FB41, FB42, and FB43, respectively. When the other button BT41 is pressed by the user, a predetermined sachet selection screen (not shown) is displayed, and the user can select the bag number for which information is to be displayed in the sachet information field FB4.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 18(B) which is a partial extract of FIG. 18(A), each sachet information field FB4 is provided with a reference selection button BS, a sachet image PB, and a medicine image display field AM in that order from the top. The reference selection button BS is a button on which text such as "First Pouch" is arranged, and indicates the bag number of the sachet 110 and is a button that can be pressed. The sachet image PB is an image generated by the photographing process procedure RT3 (FIG. 14), and is displayed in a slightly reduced state to match the size of the sachet information field FB41. In the medicine image display field AM, medicine images PM are displayed in association with the types of medicine M displayed in the item name field CT4.

[0093] In each sachet information column FB4, various information that is the analysis result for each sachet 110 may be read from medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) stored in memory unit 20, and displayed in combination with medicine images PM, etc. Specifically, for example, the total number of medicines M contained in each sachet 110 may be displayed near the sachet image PB, or the number of medicines by type of medicine M may be displayed in association with the type of medicine M displayed in the item name column CT4. Alternatively, for example, the sachet image PB may be omitted from each sachet information column FB4.

[0094] At this time, the user carefully checks the display contents displayed in each sachet information column FB4 and compares them with the actual sachet 110, etc., to determine which sachet 110 should be used as the reference sachet, and selects one of the sachet bags 110.

[0095] In step SP63 (FIG. 17), when the user presses the reference selection button BS in any of the sachet information fields FB4 on the reference selection screen SC4 (FIG. 18(A)), the control unit 4 determines the sachet 110 displayed in that sachet information field FB4 as the reference sachet, and proceeds to the next step SP64. At this time, the inspection processing unit 25 stores "reference" in the inspection status field of the sachet corresponding to the sachet information field FB4 for which the reference selection button BS was pressed in the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7). In the following, sachet 110 other than the reference sachet will be referred to as a comparison sachet.

[0096] In step SP64, the control unit 4 selects one of the comparison sachets with the smallest bag number from among the comparison sachets whose inspection status has been analyzed by the inspection processing unit 25, sets it as the target sachet, and proceeds to the next step SP65. In step SP65, the control unit 4 reads, by the inspection processing unit 25, the number of all types of drugs by type for the reference sachet and the target sachet from drug inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) stored in the memory unit 20, and proceeds to the next step SP66.

[0097] In step SP66, the control unit 4 performs an inspection process by comparing the number of drugs per type for each type of drug M between the reference sachet and the target sachet, and determines whether or not all types match. If a positive result is obtained here, this indicates that the target sachet can be considered to contain the appropriate type and number of drugs M. In this case, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP67.

[0098] In step SP67, the control unit 4 causes inspection processing unit 25 to determine the inspection status of the target sachet as "OK", stores this "OK" in the inspection status column of the target sachet in medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7), and proceeds to the next step SP69.

[0099] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP66, this indicates that the number of drugs by type does not match for at least one type, and therefore the user must confirm this. In this case, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP68.

[0100] In step SP68, the control unit 4 determines the inspection status of the sachet of interest to be "verification required" by the inspection processing unit 25, stores this "verification required" in the inspection status column of the sachet of interest in medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7), and proceeds to the next step SP69. In the following, a sachet 110 whose inspection status is "verification required" is also referred to as a sachet that requires verification.

[0101] In step SP69, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the inspection process has been performed on all sachets 110, i.e., whether or not all of the inspection status fields in the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) have been changed to either OK or confirmation required. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that there are still sachets 110 whose inspection status remains analyzed, i.e., sachets 110 that have been analyzed but not inspected. In this case, the control unit 4 returns to step SP64 and determines the inspection status of the remaining sachets 110.

[0102] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP69, this indicates that the inspection status has been determined for all of the sachets 110 that make up the continuous string of sachets 100 (FIG. 2). At this time, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP70, terminates the inspection processing procedure RT6, and returns to the original new inspection processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11).

[0103] The inspection process procedure RT6 is not limited to being executed as a subroutine from step SP25 of the new inspection process procedure RT2 (FIG. 11). For example, the inspection process procedure RT6 may be executed in parallel with the analysis process procedure RT5 (FIG. 16), and each time an analysis result of each sachet 110 is obtained by the analysis process procedure RT5, the inspection process may be executed sequentially based on the analysis result. This makes it possible to shorten the time required to complete the inspection process.

[0104] [2-5. Audit result display processing] Next, the inspection result display process executed in step SP26 of the new inspection processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11) will be described. In this inspection result display process, the results of the inspection processing are displayed for the user to confirm, and the inspection status of sachets that "need confirmation" is changed according to the handling policy. Specifically, when the control unit 4 moves to step SP26 in the new inspection processing procedure RT2, it starts the inspection result display processing procedure RT7 shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 as a subroutine, and moves to the first step SP71.

[0105] In step SP71, the control unit 4 initializes the display range indicating the range of sachets to be displayed by the display processing unit 26 (FIG. 4) so ​​that the sachets are displayed in ascending order of bag numbers, and then proceeds to the next step SP72. For example, if the bag number of the reference sachet is "1", the display processing unit 26 sets the following bag numbers "2" and "3" as the initial values ​​of the display range.

[0106] In step SP72, control unit 4 causes display processing unit 26 to read various information from medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) for the reference sachet and each sachet 110 in the display range, and then proceeds to the next step SP73.

[0107] In step SP73, the control unit 4 causes the display processing unit 26 to display the inspection result screen SC5 shown in Fig. 21(A) on the touch panel 8, and proceeds to the next step SP74. This inspection result screen SC5 is a display screen for presenting the results of the inspection process for each target sachet to the user while comparing it with a reference sachet.

[0108] Specifically, the audit result screen SC5 has a configuration similar to that of the criteria selection screen SC4 (Figure 18), with the item name column CT5 displayed on the far left, the criteria information column FS5 displayed to the right of that, the sachet information column FB5 (FB51 and FB52) displayed to the right of that, and the audit completion / interrupt button BT51 displayed on the far right.

[0109] The item name column CT5 displays "No." indicating the bag number near the top, the total number of drugs contained in the sachet 110 near the vertical center, and below that, the types of drugs stored in the drug type table T3 (Figure 5(C)) are displayed vertically, in the same manner as the item name column CT4 (Figure 18).

[0110] The audit completion / abort button BT51 is a button for completing or interrupting the audit process. If the audit status of each sachet 110 stored in the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) does not include any items requiring confirmation, the audit completion / abort button BT51 displays the text "Audit completed," and the audit process can be completed by pressing the button. On the other hand, if the audit status of each sachet 110 stored in the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) includes one or more items requiring confirmation, the audit completion / abort button BT51 displays the text "Audit interrupted," and the audit process can be interrupted by pressing the button.

[0111] The reference information field FS5 is a section that displays information about the reference sachet. As shown in FIG. 21(B) by extracting a part of FIG. 21(A), the reference information field FS5 displays, from the top, a bag number field NB5, an inspection status display field LN5, a sachet image PB, a memo field ME5, a medicine total number field NP5, a medicine image display field AM5, and a reference reselection button BS5. The bag number field NB5 displays the bag number of the reference sachet. The inspection status display field LN5 displays "reference", which is the inspection status of the reference sachet. The sachet image PB is an image generated by the photographing process procedure RT3 (FIG. 14), and is displayed in a slightly reduced state to match the size of the reference information field FS5. The medicine total number field NP5 displays the total number of medicines. The medicine image display field AM5 displays each medicine image PM in correspondence with the type of medicine M displayed in the item name field CT5 on the left or center, and the number of medicines by type is displayed in the medicine number field NM5 to the right of the images. The reference reselection button BS5 is a button that displays "reference reselection", and when pressed, it is possible to reselect a reference sachet.

[0112] The sachet information field FB5 is a section that displays information about each sachet 110, and is generally configured similarly to the reference information field FS5, except that a correction button BC5 and an ignore button BG5 are provided instead of the reference selection button BS. When the user presses the correction button BC5, the audit status is switched to "correction." When the user presses the ignore button BG5, the audit status is switched to "ignorance." Note that the display of the sachet image PB may be omitted in the reference information field FS5 and the sachet information field FB5.

[0113] The inspection status display field LN displays the inspection status of the sachet 110. The inspection status display field LN also serves as an operation button for displaying a details screen (described in detail below) showing detailed information about the sachet 110.

[0114] In step SP74 (FIG. 19), the control unit 4 causes the display processing unit 26 to highlight the points on the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21(A)) that should be brought to the user's attention, and proceeds to the next step SP75. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 22 corresponding to FIG. 21(A), for example, when the inspection status is other than "OK" in the sachet information fields FB61 and FB62 of the sachet information field FB6, the display processing unit 26 highlights the background of the inspection status display fields LN61 and LN62 by a color different from normal, such as red or yellow.

[0115] Furthermore, the display processing unit 26 highlights the parts of the total number of medicines and the number of medicines by type in each sachet information field FB6 that differ from the reference sachet by displaying them in a different way from the others, for example, by highlighting them in reverse, as shown in Fig. 22. Specifically, in Fig. 22, the number "4" for the total number of medicines in the sachet information field FB61 and the number "1" for the number of medicines in the type "medium / circle" of medicine M are highlighted by highlighting them in reverse.

[0116] In step SP75, the control unit 4, through the inspection processing unit 25, refers to the inspection status of all sachets in the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) and determines whether one or more sachets require inspection. If a positive result is obtained here, this indicates that the user has not yet inspected at least one of the sachets 110 whose inspection status required inspection, and therefore the inspection process cannot be completed, but can be interrupted. In this case, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP76. In step SP76, the control unit 4 causes the display processing unit 26 to display the words "Audit Interrupted" on the inspection completion / interruption button BT61, as shown on the inspection result screen SC6 (FIG. 22), and proceeds to the next step SP78.

[0117] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP75, this indicates that the user has confirmed all sachets 110 whose inspection status was to be confirmed, and therefore the inspection process can be completed. At this time, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP77. In step SP77, the control unit 4 causes the display processing unit 26 to display the words "Audit Completed" on the inspection completion / interruption button BT51, as shown on the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21), and proceeds to the next step SP78.

[0118] In step SP78, the control unit 4 determines, by the display processing unit 26, whether or not the Correct button BC5 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP79. In step SP79, the control unit 4 changes the inspection status of the sachet 110 to Correct by the inspection processing unit 25, and then returns to step SP72. As a result, "Correct" is displayed as the inspection status in the inspection status display field LN71, for example, as in the sachet information field FB71 on the inspection result screen SC7 shown in FIG. 23. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP78, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP80.

[0119] In step SP80, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the ignore button BG5 has been pressed by the display processing unit 26. If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP81, in which the inspection processing unit 25 changes the inspection status of the sachet 110 to ignore, and then returns to step SP72. As a result, "ignored" is displayed as the inspection status in the inspection status display field LN72, for example, as in the sachet information field FB72 on the inspection result screen SC7 shown in FIG. 23. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP80, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP82.

[0120] In step SP82, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the inspection status display field LN has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, it is assumed that the user intends to check detailed information about the sachet 110. In this case, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP83.

[0121] In step SP83, the control unit 4 starts a detail display processing procedure RT10 shown in Fig. 24 as a subroutine, and proceeds to the first step SP101. In step SP101, the control unit 4 causes the display processing unit 26 to display a detail screen SC8 shown in Fig. 25 on the touch panel 8, and proceeds to the next step SP102.

[0122] The details screen SC8 displays information about one sachet 110 over a wide area of ​​the screen, with the sachet image PB being displayed relatively large on the upper left side. In the center of the left-right direction of the details screen SC8, a bag number field NB8, an audit status display field LN8, a memo field ME8, a medicine total number field NP8, and a medicine image display field AM8 are displayed in that order from the top. In this medicine image display field AM8, the types of medicine M (such as "round, small") are displayed vertically on the left side, and the medicine images PM of each type are displayed on the right side, and the number of medicines by each type is displayed in the medicine number field NM on the right side. In addition, the numbers for the total number of medicines and the number of medicines by each type are highlighted only in the areas where the values ​​differ from those of the reference sachet, as in the audit result screen SC5, and are specifically displayed in inverted ...

[0123] On the right side of the details screen SC8, a memo field ME8, a correction button BC8, an ignore button BG8, and a back button BK8 are displayed in this order from the top. The memo field ME8 displays a character string input by the user as a memo. The memo field ME8 also functions as an operation button, and when pressed, the user can input or correct characters (details will be described later). The correct button BC8 displays the character string "correct", and when pressed, changes the audit status of the sachet 110 to correct, similar to the correct button BC5 (FIG. 21(A)) on the inspection result screen SC5. The ignore button BG8 displays the character string "ignore", and when pressed, changes the audit status of the sachet 110 to ignore, similar to the ignore button BG5 (FIG. 21(A)) on the inspection result screen SC5. The back button BK8 displays the character string "return to list", and when pressed, closes the display of the details screen SC8 and returns to the display of the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21).

[0124] In step SP102, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the memo field ME8 on the details screen SC8 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, this indicates that the user intends to input or update a memo regarding the sachet 110. In this case, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP103.

[0125] In step SP103, the control unit 4 displays a predetermined character input screen (not shown) on the touch panel 8, thereby allowing the user to input or update characters representing the contents of the memo. When the control unit 4 receives a predetermined operation to end character input on the character input screen, the control unit 4 stores the input or updated character string in the memo field for that sachet 110 in medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7), and returns to step SP101 again. The memo character string input here is displayed in the memo field ME8 of the details screen SC8 (FIG. 25) that is subsequently displayed, the memo field ME72 of the sachet information field FB72 on the inspection result screen SC7 (FIG. 23), etc.

[0126] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP102, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP104 and determines whether or not the correction button BC8 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP105 and, similar to step SP79 of the inspection result display processing procedure RT7 (FIG. 19), changes the inspection status of the sachet 110 to correction by the inspection processing unit 25, and then proceeds to step SP109.

[0127] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP104, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP106 and determines whether or not the ignore button BG8 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP107 and, similar to step SP81 of the inspection result display processing procedure RT7 (FIG. 19), the inspection processing unit 25 changes the inspection status of the sachet 110 to correction, and then proceeds to step SP109.

[0128] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP106, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP108 and judges whether or not the back button BK8 has been pressed. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that no button has been pressed on the details screen SC8, and therefore the currently displayed content should be continued. In this case, the control unit 4 returns to step SP101 again and repeats the series of processes.

[0129] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP108, the control section 4 proceeds to the next step SP109. In step SP109, the control section 4 ends the details display processing procedure RT10, returns to the original inspection result display processing procedure RT7 (FIG. 19), and returns from step 83 to step SP72.

[0130] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP82, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP84. In step SP84, the control unit 4 determines whether or not an operational instruction to change the display range has been given by the display processing unit 26. Specifically, the display processing unit 26 determines whether or not a swipe operation has been given to the left or right on the sachet information field FB5 on the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21(A)). If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP85.

[0131] In step SP85, the control unit 4 changes the display range by scrolling the display contents of the sachet information column FB5 left and right in accordance with the content of the swipe operation while maintaining the item name column CT5, standard information column FS5, and audit completion / interrupt button BT51, etc., and then returns to step SP72.

[0132] For example, assume that the user performs a leftward swipe operation on the sachet information field FB5 when the bag numbers in the display range are "2" and "3" as in the inspection result screen SC5 shown in Fig. 21(A). At this time, the display processing unit 26 gradually moves the display content of the sachet information field FB5 to the left, gradually erasing the information on bag number "2" from the left end portion, and gradually displays the information on the next bag number "4" to the right of the information on bag number "3" from the left end portion. The display processing unit 26 repeats the process of moving the display content of the sachet information field FB5 to the left depending on the distance and number of swipes.

[0133] Also, assume that a swipe operation to the right is performed on the sachet information field FB6 when the bag numbers in the display range are "5" and "6" as in the inspection result screen SC6 shown in Fig. 22. At this time, the display processing unit 26 gradually moves the display content of the sachet information field FB6 to the right, gradually erasing the information on bag number "6" from the right end portion, and gradually displays the information on the next bag number "4" to the left of the information on bag number "5" from the right end portion. The display processing unit 26 repeats the process of moving the display content of the sachet information field FB5 to the right depending on the distance and number of swipes.

[0134] On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP84, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP86. In step SP86, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the Complete / Abort button BT51 or the like on the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21(A)) or the like has been pressed. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that no pressing operation has been performed on the inspection result screen SC5 or the like, and therefore the currently displayed content should be continued. In this case, the control unit 4 returns to step SP72 again and repeats the series of processes.

[0135] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP86, this indicates that the user intends to end or interrupt the display of the inspection result. In this case, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP87 (FIG. 20) to perform processing according to the inspection status of each sachet 110.

[0136] In step SP87, the control unit 4, as in step SP75 (FIG. 19), uses the inspection processing unit 25 to refer to the inspection status of all sachets in the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) and determines whether one or more packets require checking. If a positive result is obtained here, this indicates that the currently ongoing inspection process cannot be completed but can be interrupted. In this case, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP88.

[0137] In step SP88, the control unit 4 displays an interruption confirmation screen SC10 so as to be superimposed on the audit result screen SC6 etc., as shown in Fig. 26, and proceeds to the next step SP89. On this interruption confirmation screen SC10, a message MS10 is displayed at the top, an interrupt button BN10 is displayed below that at the left side, and a cancel button BC10 is displayed at the right side.

[0138] The message MS10 displays a character string such as "Do you want to interrupt the audit?", asking the user whether to interrupt the audit and prompting the user to press either the interrupt button BN10 or the cancel button BC10. The interrupt button BN10 is a button for instructing the user to interrupt the audit. The cancel button BC10 is a button for returning to the previous audit result screen SC6 or the like without interrupting the audit.

[0139] In step SP89, the control unit 4 judges whether the interrupt button BN10 has been pressed. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that the cancel button BC10 has been pressed, and therefore the immediately preceding inspection result screen SC6, etc., needs to be displayed again. In this case, the control unit 4 returns to step SP72 (FIG. 19) again and repeats the series of processes.

[0140] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP89, this indicates that the currently ongoing inspection needs to be interrupted. In this case, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP90, and if there is any unsaved information in drug inspection table T5 (FIG. 7), it saves it in that drug inspection table T5, and proceeds to the next step SP96.

[0141] If a negative result is returned in step SP87, this means that the currently ongoing inspection can be completed since there is no remaining inspection status to be checked for any of the sachets 110. In this case, the control section 4 proceeds to the next step SP91.

[0142] In step SP91, the control unit 4, using the inspection processing unit 25, refers to the inspection status of all sachets in the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) and determines whether or not one or more corrections are required. If a negative result is obtained here, this indicates that the current inspection can be completed. In this case, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP92.

[0143] In step SP92, the control unit 4 causes the display processing unit 26 to display the audit completion notification screen SC11 superimposed on the initial screen SC1 (FIG. 10), as shown in FIG. 27. This audit completion notification screen SC11 has a message MS11 displayed at the top and an OK button BT11 displayed below it. The message MS11 is, for example, a character string such as "Audit completed," and notifies the user that the audit has been completed. When the OK button BT11 is pressed, the audit completion notification screen SC11 is erased, and the display returns to a state in which only the initial screen SC1 (FIG. 10) is displayed, and the process proceeds to the next step SP96.

[0144] On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step SP91, this indicates that it is necessary to confirm with the user whether or not to carry out the correction work. In this case, the control section 4 proceeds to the next step SP93, and causes the display processing section 26 to display the correction confirmation screen SC12 superimposed on the initial screen SC1 (FIG. 10) as shown in FIG. 28, and proceeds to the next step SP94.

[0145] This correction confirmation screen SC12 displays a message MS12 at the top, a correction button BR12 at the bottom left, and a cancel button BC12 at the right. The message MS12 is, for example, a character string such as "The audit has been completed. There are packets that require audit correction. Would you like to correct and re-audit immediately?", and notifies the user that the audit has been completed and asks whether or not to perform the correction work immediately. When the correction button BR12 is pressed, it indicates that the user intends to perform the correction work immediately and that the user intends to perform the audit process again (i.e., re-audit). When the cancel button BC12 is pressed, it indicates that the user intends not to perform the correction work immediately.

[0146] In step SP94, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the correction button BR12 has been pressed. If a positive result is obtained here, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP95 and executes correction processing as a subroutine. In this correction processing, the control unit 4 sequentially executes a photography processing procedure RT3 (FIG. 14), an analysis processing procedure RT5 (FIG. 16), an inspection processing procedure RT6 (FIG. 17), and an inspection result display processing procedure RT7 (FIGS. 19 and 20) only for sachets 110 whose inspection status is corrected. On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in step SP94, the control unit 4 proceeds to the next step SP96.

[0147] In step SP96, controller 4 ends inspection result display processing procedure RT7, returns to step SP26 of the original new inspection processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11), and proceeds to next step SP27 to end new inspection processing procedure RT2. Accordingly, controller 4 returns from step SP3 to step SP1 of medicine inspection support processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 9) and displays initial screen SC1 (FIG. 10).

[0148] The inspection result display processing procedure RT7 is not limited to being executed as a subroutine from step SP26 of the new inspection processing procedure RT2 (FIG. 11). For example, the inspection result display processing procedure RT7 may be executed in parallel with the inspection processing procedure RT6 (FIG. 7), and each time the inspection result of each sachet 110 is obtained by the inspection processing procedure RT6, the inspection result may be displayed sequentially based on the inspection result. This makes it possible to shorten the waiting time until the inspection result is displayed.

[0149] [2-6. Past Audit Correction Processing] Next, the past audit correction process executed in step SP5 of medicine inspection support processing procedure RT1 (FIG. 9) will be described. This past audit correction process corrects information related to past audits performed on serial sachets 100 in medicine inspection support device 1. Specifically, control unit 4 first causes display processing unit 26 (FIG. 4) to display correction audit selection screen SC21 shown in FIG. 29 on touch panel 8 (FIG. 1).

[0150] The correction audit selection screen SC21 displays a message MS21 at the top, and below that, multiple selection buttons BN (BN1, BN2, and BN3) are aligned vertically. The message MS21 displays a character string such as "Please select the audit to correct," and prompts the user to press one of the selection buttons BN. Each selection button BN is formed in a rectangular shape, and a unique management number, the date and time when the audit was performed, etc. are displayed to the right of the button.

[0151] Note that the correction audit selection screen SC21 may display, for example, a control number, date and time, or a sachet image PB of a reference sachet within each selection button BN, or may display, for example, the total number of sachets 110 or the number of sachets 110 whose audit status is "verification required" to the right of each selection button BN. In other words, the correction audit selection screen SC21 may display various information related to the audit in association with each selection button BN.

[0152] When any of the selection buttons BN on the correction inspection selection screen SC21 is pressed, the control unit 4 reads out the medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) for the selected inspection from the memory unit 20, and displays the inspection correction screen SC22 shown in FIG. 30. This inspection correction screen SC22 has a similar configuration to the inspection result screen SC7 (FIG. 23), etc., but displays a correction start button BT22 instead of the inspection completion / interruption button BT71, etc. In addition, at this time, the control unit 4 displays each piece of information in the sachet information field FB22, extracting only the sachet 110 whose inspection status is correction.

[0153] When the correction start button BT22 is pressed while the inspection correction screen SC22 is displayed, the control unit 4 starts the correction inspection process. In this correction inspection process, the control unit 4 sequentially executes a photography process procedure RT3 (FIG. 14), an analysis process procedure RT5 (FIG. 16), an inspection process procedure RT6 (FIG. 17), and an inspection result display process procedure RT7 (FIGS. 19 and 20) only for sachets 110 whose inspection status is "corrected." At this time, the control unit 4 appropriately overwrites and updates medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) with the newly obtained inspection results.

[0154] [2-7. Suspended audit resumption process] Next, a description will be given of the interrupted inspection resumption process executed in step SP7 of medicine inspection support process procedure RT1 (FIG. 9). This interrupted inspection resumption process is configured to resume an inspection process that was previously interrupted among inspection processes performed by medicine inspection support device 1 on serial of sachets 100.

[0155] Specifically, the control unit 4 first causes the display processing unit 26 (FIG. 4) to display a predetermined suspended audit selection screen (not shown) on the touch panel 8 (FIG. 1). This suspended audit selection screen has a configuration similar to the correction audit selection screen SC21 (FIG. 29), and displays information about audits that have been suspended in the past.

[0156] When an inspection is selected on the suspended inspection selection screen, control unit 4 reads out drug inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) for the selected inspection from memory unit 20, and executes inspection result display processing procedure RT7 (FIGS. 19 and 20).

[0157] [2-8. Past Audit Verification Processing] Next, a past audit confirmation process executed in step SP9 of medicine inspection support procedure RT1 (FIG. 9) will be described. This past audit confirmation process displays the results of audits performed in the past on serial of sachets 100 in medicine inspection support device 1.

[0158] Specifically, the control unit 4 first causes the display processing unit 26 (FIG. 4) to display a predetermined past audit selection screen (not shown) on the touch panel 8 (FIG. 1). This past audit selection screen has a similar configuration to the correction audit selection screen SC21 (FIG. 29), and displays information about audits that have been conducted in the past.

[0159] When an inspection is selected on the past inspection selection screen, control unit 4 reads out medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) for the selected inspection from storage unit 20, and executes inspection result display processing procedure RT7 (FIGS. 19 and 20).

[0160] [3. Effects, etc.] In the above configuration, medicine inspection support device 1 according to the present embodiment displays information about each sachet 110 in sachet information field FB5 on inspection result screen SC5 ( FIG. 21A ) in an inspection result display process after photographing, analyzing, and inspecting. In addition to the inspection state and sachet image PB of each sachet 110, medicine inspection support device 1 also displays medicine images PM extracted from sachet image PB by type, and displays the number of medicines by type and the total number of medicines.

[0161] Therefore, medicine inspection support device 1 allows a user such as a pharmacist to visually confirm the inspection status such as "OK" or "confirmation required," as well as the initially captured sachet image PB, the medicine images PM of each medicine M sorted by type, the number of medicines by type, and the total number of medicines. In this way, medicine inspection support device 1 not only presents the discrimination status to the user as the result of the discrimination process, but also allows the user to visually confirm various information used in determining the discrimination status in the analysis and inspection processes.

[0162] That is, medicine inspection support device 1 can allow the user to visually view sachet image PB for sachet 110 whose inspection status is "requires confirmation," and can also allow the user to visually view medicine images PM for each type of medicine M. As a result, medicine inspection support device 1 can very easily allow the user to determine whether there is a problem with sachet 110 and the inspection status is correct, or whether the inspection status is incorrect and medicine M is properly contained in sachet 110.

[0163] In other words, in principle, medicine inspection support device 1 may not be able to properly extract each medicine image PM from sachet image PB captured by imaging unit 34 depending on the arrangement of medicine M in sachet 110, which may result in an erroneous inspection result. However, medicine inspection support device 1 presents sachet image PB, each medicine image PM, the type of medicine M determined from the medicine image PM, and the totaled number, which are used to determine the inspection status, allowing the user to easily follow the process of the determination.

[0164] Furthermore, medicine inspection support device 1 is configured to display the total number of medicines and the number of medicines by each type for the reference sachet and each comparison target sachet using numbers on inspection result screen SC5 ( FIG. 21(A) ). This eliminates the need for the user to count the number of sachet images PB, and allows the user to quickly recognize whether there are differences or the types of medicines M where there are differences by simply comparing the numbers.

[0165] As a result, drug inspection support device 1 allows the user to easily identify the areas that should be checked by the user, and can provide appropriate inspection results with the minimum amount of work required without requiring the user to perform additional checking operations. In other words, drug inspection support device 1 can gain high trust from the user, and can reduce the time and effort required for the user to perform an inspection by actively using the inspection results. In particular, drug inspection support device 1 can significantly reduce the time and effort required for the user to perform an inspection when a relatively large number of drugs M are stored in one sachet 110 or when a relatively large number of sachet bags 110 make up one continuous sachet 100.

[0166] Furthermore, in step SP74 of inspection result display procedure RT7 (FIGS. 19 and 20), medicine inspection support device 1 highlights inverted display the differences between the reference sachet 110 and the total number of medicines and the number of medicines by type in each sachet 110 in each sachet information field FB6, as shown in inspection result screen SC6 (FIG. 22). This allows the user to easily visually identify the differences between the reference sachet 110 and the total number of medicines and the number of medicines by type, allowing subsequent confirmation and other tasks to proceed smoothly.

[0167] Furthermore, medicine inspection support device 1 presents a criteria selection screen SC4 (FIG. 18) to the user in steps SP62 and SP63 of inspection procedure RT6 (FIG. 17) to allow the user to select a reference sachet to be used as a criteria for the inspection. As a result, medicine inspection support device 1 allows the user to select a sachet that the user has carefully checked and is satisfied is free of problems as the reference sachet, thereby increasing the user's confidence in the results of the subsequent inspection.

[0168] From another perspective, since medicine inspection support device 1 compares the total number of medicines and the number of medicines of each type between a reference sachet 110 selected from any of sachet bags 110 in continuum 100 and other comparison sachet bags, it is not necessary to register an image of medicine M to be considered as a correct answer in advance. In other words, medicine inspection support device 1 does not require the user to store an image of medicine M to be considered as a correct answer in storage unit 20 in advance. Therefore, medicine inspection support device 1 does not require the user to perform a registration process or the like in advance, and can very easily perform an inspection process or the like. As a result, even if a new medicine M appears, medicine inspection support device 1 can immediately start the medicine inspection support process without requiring the user to perform a registration process or the like in advance.

[0169] Furthermore, in addition to marking the inspection status of each comparison sachet as OK or confirmation required in the inspection process, medicine inspection support device 1 allows the user to confirm the results of the inspection and then change the inspection status to correct or ignore (steps SP78 to SP81 in FIG. 6 and FIG. 19, etc.). This allows medicine inspection support device 1 to retain the course of action decided by the user after confirming the inspection results as a new inspection status and to execute appropriate processing according to the course. That is, for example, when the inspection status is changed to correct, medicine inspection support device 1 can continue to execute additional processing that is required after the user has made the correction to sachet 110, such as re-photographing, analyzing, and inspecting sachet 110.

[0170] Furthermore, when one or more sachets 110 are found to require inspection during an inspection process, medicine inspection support device 1 suspends the inspection rather than completing it, even if the user intends to end the inspection result display process. Medicine inspection support device 1 also stores information about the suspended inspection so that the inspection can be resumed later. This allows the user to easily recognize whether or not there are any sachets 110 remaining that require inspection, and when the suspended inspection is resumed, the user can efficiently perform inspection work, focusing on sachets 110 that remain requiring inspection.

[0171] Furthermore, medicine inspection support device 1 allows the user to modify or confirm a completed audit even after the audit is completed. Thus, when the user wants to modify or refer to the contents of an audit that was previously completed, medicine inspection support device 1 reads out the corresponding medicine inspection table T5 (FIG. 7) from storage unit 20, allowing the user to confirm and appropriately modify detailed information about the audit results, just as if the audit had just been completed.

[0172] Incidentally, various combinations are possible regarding the type and number of drugs M stored in each sachet 110, such as one type and one unit, one type and multiple units, or multiple types and multiple units. In any case, however, drug inspection support device 1 displays the total number of drugs and the number of drugs by type on inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21), allowing the user to easily recognize the number of each type of drug M and to easily grasp whether other types of drugs M have been mixed in, whether the drug M has been broken, etc.

[0173] According to the above configuration, medicine inspection support device 1 according to the present embodiment displays information about each sachet 110 in sachet information field FB5 of inspection result screen SC5 in the inspection result display process after the inspection process. In addition to the inspection state of each sachet 110 and sachet image PB, medicine inspection support device 1 also displays each medicine image PM cut out from sachet image PB by type, and displays the number of medicines by type and the total number of medicines, thereby allowing the user to visually confirm these. In this way, medicine inspection support device 1 allows the user to visually confirm not only the discrimination state but also various information used in the process of determining the discrimination state, allowing the user to easily recognize the validity of the discrimination state and sufficiently reducing the time and effort required for additional work.

[0174] [4. Other embodiments] In the above embodiment, in step SP74 of the inspection result display processing procedure RT7 (FIGS. 19 and 20), as in the inspection result screen SC6 (FIG. 22), when highlighting the parts of the total number of medicines and the number of medicines by type in each sachet information field FB6 that differ from the reference sachet, the display is inverted. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the color of the characters or the color of the background may be changed from that of other parts, or the size or font of the characters may be changed, or decoration may be applied with underlines, outer frames, or various figures, or the characters may be changed by blinking or changing over time, or other methods may be used to highlight the characters. In addition to changing the background color according to the inspection status, the inspection status display field LN may also change the color, size, or font of the characters, or decoration may be applied with underlines, outer frames, or various figures.

[0175] Also, in the above-described embodiment, in steps SP62-SP63 of the inspection processing procedure RT6 (FIG. 17), the reference selection screen SC4 (FIG. 18(A)) is displayed on the touch panel 8, the content of each sachet information field FB4 is visually confirmed by the user, and then any one of the sachet bags 110 is selected as the reference sachet bag. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the reference sachet bag may be set by having the user visually select in advance the sachet bag 110 to be used as the reference sachet bag before the start of the photography processing procedure RT3 (FIG. 14), and having the user input a number or the like indicating the order of the sachet bag 110.

[0176] Further, in the above-described embodiment, in step SP71 of the inspection result display processing procedure RT7 (FIGS. 19 and 20), the display range is initialized so that the bag numbers are displayed in ascending order. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, only bag numbers whose inspection status was "check required" may be extracted, and initialization may be performed so that the extracted bag numbers are displayed in ascending order. Alternatively, for example, a "check required extraction button" (not shown) may be provided in the upper right portion of the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21(A)), and when the check required extraction button is pressed, only sachets 110 whose inspection status is "check required" may be extracted and information may be displayed. Alternatively, a "correction extraction button" may be provided which extracts only sachets 110 whose inspection status is "correction" and displays information, or an "ignorance extraction button" may be provided which extracts only sachets 110 whose inspection status is "ignorance" and displays information.

[0177] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the sachet image PB (FIG. 21(B)) is displayed in each of the reference information field FS5 and each sachet information field FB5 on the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21(A)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the sachet image PB may be omitted.

[0178] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a form has been described in which a memo field ME5 (FIG. 21(B)) is displayed in each of the standard information field FS5 and each sachet information field FB5 on the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21(A)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the memo field ME5 may be omitted. Furthermore, the memo field ME5 is not limited to a form in which the user inputs any character string, and may instead display character strings that are relatively frequently input, such as "mis-cutting" or "broken medicine", in a pull-down format and allow the user to select one.

[0179] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a form has been described in which the criteria reselect button BS5 is displayed in the criteria information field FS5 on the audit result screen SC5 (FIG. 21(A)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the criteria reselect button BS5 may be omitted.

[0180] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21(A)) displays the Modify button BC5 and the Ignore button BG5 in each sachet information field FB5. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, at least one of the Modify button BC5 and the Ignore button BG5 may be omitted.

[0181] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a determination is made as to whether or not re-swing is necessary based on the sachet image PB captured by the imaging unit 34 in step SP39 of the imaging process procedure RT3 (FIG. 14), and if necessary, the sachet is swung in the opposite direction to the position of the swinging unit 33. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, an imaging element may be provided in the insertion detection unit 32, a preliminary imaging process may be performed using the imaging element to generate a spare sachet image, and based on the position of the drug M in the spare sachet image, it may be determined whether or not to swing the sachet 110 in the swinging unit 33, or the degree of swinging (strength, time, etc.) may be adjusted.

[0182] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the short side / long side ratio, the presence or absence of a boundary line, and the presence or number of acute angles are used as judgment conditions for the shape of the drug M (Figure 5 (B)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various conditions, such as the curvature of curved portions, may be used in appropriate combination.

[0183] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the size of the drug M is divided into four stages using the drug size table T1 (FIG. 5(A)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the size of the drug M may be divided into three stages or less or five stages or more. Furthermore, the shape of the drug M is not limited to being divided into five types as in the drug shape table T2 (FIG. 5(B)), but may be divided into four types or less or six types or more. Furthermore, the type of the drug M is not limited to being divided into four types as in the drug type table T3 (FIG. 5(C)), but may be divided into three types or less or five types or more.

[0184] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the type of the drug M is defined based on a combination of the size and shape of the drug M as shown in the drug type table T3 (FIG. 5(C)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the type of the drug M may be defined by appropriately combining various other elements such as the color of the drug M and the degree of surface gloss.

[0185] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the analysis processing unit 24 (FIG. 4) has been described as determining the size and shape of each drug M based on each drug image PM. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a shape measurement sensor that utilizes reflection of laser light or the like may be provided near the photographing unit 34 or inside the photographing unit 34, and the size and shape of each drug M may be determined by the shape measurement sensor.

[0186] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the inspection result display device 3 is provided in the medicine inspection support device 1 (FIG. 1), and each screen, such as the inspection result screen SC5 (FIG. 21A), is displayed on the touch panel 8 of the inspection result display device 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the medicine inspection support device 1 may be provided with a communication unit having a communication function using a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or the like, so as to be communicatively connected to a predetermined tablet terminal, a smartphone, or the like. In this case, a predetermined application, a browser, or the like may be executed on the tablet terminal or the like to connect to the medicine inspection support device 1, and each screen, such as the inspection result screen SC5, may be displayed on a touch panel or the like of the tablet terminal or the like. In this case, at least a part of various processes, such as the analysis process and the inspection process, may be executed in a control unit of the tablet terminal or the like.

[0187] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the transport processing unit 21, the oscillation processing unit 22, the photographing processing unit 23, the analysis processing unit 24, the inspection processing unit 25, the display processing unit 26, the response processing unit 27, and the like are formed as functional blocks inside the control unit 4 (FIG. 4). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the transport processing unit 21, the oscillation processing unit 22, the photographing processing unit 23, the analysis processing unit 24, the inspection processing unit 25, the display processing unit 26, the response processing unit 27, and the like may be formed as functional blocks inside a predetermined control unit (not shown) provided in the inspection result display device 3. Specifically, for example, the transport processing unit 21, the oscillation processing unit 22, and the photographing processing unit 23 may be provided inside the control unit 4, and the analysis processing unit 24, the inspection processing unit 25, the display processing unit 26, and the response processing unit 27 may be formed inside the control unit of the inspection result display device 3. Alternatively, for example, the transport processing unit 21, the oscillation processing unit 22, the photographing processing unit 23, the analysis processing unit 24, and the inspection processing unit 25 may be provided inside the control unit 4, and the display processing unit 26, the response processing unit 27, and the like may be formed inside the control unit of the inspection result display device 3. Furthermore, for example, the drug inspection support device 1 may be provided with the above-mentioned communication unit, and connected to a computer device (not shown) having a calculation function via the communication unit, and the analysis processing unit 24 and the inspection processing unit 25 may be formed in the calculation processing unit of the computer device.

[0188] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the photographing processor 23, the analysis processor 24, the inspection processor 25, and the display processor 26 formed in the controller 4 store various pieces of information in the memory 20 (FIG. 4). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a dedicated memory may be provided for each of the photographing processor 23, the analysis processor 24, the inspection processor 25, and the display processor 26, and each piece of information may be stored in the dedicated memory. Alternatively, for example, when the drug inspection support device 1 is connected to an external computer device (not shown) or the like as described above and the analysis processor 24 and the inspection processor 25 are formed in an arithmetic processor or the like of the computer device, a memory may be provided in the computer device, and information of the analysis processor 24, etc. may be stored in the memory in the computer device.

[0189] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the lower unit 5 of the sachet reading device 2 (FIG. 1) and the inspection result display device 3 are connected by a connection cable (not shown). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the lower unit 5 and the inspection result display device 3 may each be provided with a wireless communication unit using a wireless LAN or the like, and the two may be connected wirelessly. In this case, the inspection result display device 3 may be configured to be detachable from the lower unit 5. This allows, for example, a user to remove the inspection result display device 3 from the lower unit 5 and install the inspection result display device 3 in a position that is easy for the user to view, which contributes to improving work efficiency.

[0190] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which each functional block such as the transport processing unit 21 (FIG. 4) is formed by software by reading and executing a predetermined program in the control unit 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, at least a part of each functional block such as the transport processing unit 21 may be configured by hardware.

[0191] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, various programs to be executed by control unit 4 are previously stored in storage unit 20. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, at least one of the various programs may be acquired from a predetermined server device or the like connected via a communication unit having a communication function using a wireless LAN, a wired LAN, or the like in medicine inspection support device 1 and executed by the communication unit and the predetermined network. Also, at least a part of various data and information such as medicine size table T1 (FIG. 5(A)) stored in storage unit 20 may be acquired from a server device or the like. Furthermore, for example, medicine inspection table T5 generated in medicine inspection support device 1 may be uploaded to a server device or the like so that it can be referred to or modified in another information processing device or the like.

[0192] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which a light-emitting portion is provided on the upper side and a light-receiving portion is provided on the lower side of the insertion detection portion 32. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a light-emitting portion may be provided on the lower side and a light-receiving portion may be provided on the upper side. The same applies to the ejection detection portion 35.

[0193] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the drug size table T1, drug shape table T2, and drug type table T3 (FIGS. 5(A)-(C)) are stored in advance in the storage unit 20. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, at least one of the drug size table T1 and the drug shape table T2 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 20. In this case, it is considered that the respective values ​​of the drug type table T3 are stored based on the results of the analysis process.

[0194] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the continuous body of sachets 100 in which a plurality of sachets 110 are continuously connected is the subject of analysis processing, inspection processing, etc., and the continuous body of sachets 100 is transported by the transport unit 31 (FIG. 3). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, when a plurality of sachets 110 are not connected and are separated from one another, these plurality of sachets 110 may be regarded as a group and be the subject of inspection processing, etc., and each sachets 110 may be inserted sequentially into the transport space 10 and transported sequentially by the transport unit 31.

[0195] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the insertion detection unit 32 (FIG. 3) of the sachet reading device 2 is configured as an optical sensor. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured as various sensors that detect the presence of the continuous string of sachet bags 100 using various methods. As an example, as shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, an insertion detection unit 232 that replaces the insertion detection unit 32 can be provided in a sachet reading device 202 that replaces the sachet reading device 2.

[0196] The insertion detection unit 232 is composed of an arm shaft 232AX, an arm portion 232A, a spring 232K, and a displacement detection unit 232S. The arm shaft 232AX is a thin, cylindrical part extending along the front-rear direction, and is rotatably supported by the upper unit 206. The arm portion 232A is formed in a thin plate shape extending along the front-rear direction, and is penetrated in the front-rear direction by the arm shaft 232AX. The arm portion 232A has an elongated, rod-shaped arm contact portion 232AC extending from the mounting portion of the arm shaft 232AX toward the lower left, and a detection plate 232AD fanning out from the mounting portion of the arm shaft 232AX toward the upper right.

[0197] Spring 232K biases detection plate 232AD of arm portion 232A to rotate in the direction of arrow R2 around arm axis 232AX. The spring constant, etc. of this spring 232K is appropriately selected so that a relatively weak force (e.g., a load of 10 gf or less) that hardly deforms sachet 101 is applied from arm contact portion 232AC to sachet 101. Displacement detection portion 232S is, for example, an optical sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or a magnetic sensor, and detects the movement (rotation) of detection plate 232AD.

[0198] When the continuous series of sachets 100 is inserted into the conveying space 10, the arm contact portion 232AC is pushed up and to the left by the sachets 101 of the continuous series of sachets 100, and the arm portion 232A is rotated in the direction of arrow R1 about the arm axis 232AX. At this time, the insertion detection portion 232 detects the detection plate 232AD of the arm portion 232A being displaced in the lower right direction by the displacement detection portion 232S. The control portion 4 can recognize that the continuous series of sachets 100 has been inserted based on the detection result obtained from the insertion detection portion 232. The discharge detection portion 35 may also be configured similarly to the insertion detection portion 232.

[0199] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and other embodiments. That is, the scope of application of the present invention extends to embodiments in which the above-mentioned embodiments and the other embodiments are combined in part or in whole in any manner. The scope of application of the present invention also extends to embodiments in which a part of the configuration described in any of the above-mentioned embodiments and other embodiments is extracted and replaced or diverted with a part of the configuration of any of the above-mentioned embodiments and other embodiments, or an embodiment in which a part of the extracted configuration is added to any of the embodiments.

[0200] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the drug inspection support device 1 is configured as a drug inspection support system by using photographing unit 34 as a photographing unit, analysis processing unit 24 as an analysis processing unit, inspection processing unit 25 as an inspection processing unit, and display processing unit 26 as a display processing unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the drug inspection support system may be configured by using a photographing unit, analysis processing unit, inspection processing unit, and display processing unit in various other configurations. [Industrial Applicability]

[0201] The present invention can be used, for example, in a medicine inspection support device that supports a pharmacist in inspecting sachets. [Explanation of symbols]

[0202] 1: medicine inspection support device, 2: sachet reader, 3: inspection result display device, 4: control unit, 8: touch panel, 10: transport space, 20: memory unit, 21: transport processing unit, 22: swing processing unit, 23: photography processing unit, 24: analysis processing unit, 25: inspection processing unit, 26: display processing unit, 27: response processing unit, 31: transport unit, 32: insertion detection unit, 33: swing unit, 34: photography unit, 35: discharge detection unit, 41: control unit, 100: sachet continuum, 101: sachet, 113: bag-shaped portion, 113S: storage space, 117: peripheral portion, FB4, FB5, FB6, FB71, FB72 ……Sachet bag information column, FS5……Criteria information column, LN……Audit status display column, LN5, LN71, LN72, LN8……Audit status display column, M……Drug, ME5, ME72, ME8……Memo column, NB5, NB8……Bag number column, NM, NM5……Number of drugs column, NP5, NP8……Total number of drugs column, PB……Sachet bag image, PM……Drug image, SC1……Initial screen, SC4……Criteria selection screen, SC5, SC6, SC7……Audit result screen, SC8……Details screen, T1……Drug size table, T2……Drug shape table, T3……Drug type table, T4……Audit status table, T5……Drug audit table.

Claims

1. an imaging unit that captures images of a plurality of sachets each containing one or a plurality of types of medicine and generates an image of each of the sachets; an analysis processing unit that cuts out each of the drug images, which are portions representing the individual drugs, from the sachet image, determines the type of each of the drug images, and tallies, for each of the sachet images, a total number of drugs, which is the total number of the drug images contained in the sachet image, and a number of drugs by type, which is the number of the drug images for each type; an inspection processing unit that sets a reference sachet bag as a reference from among the plurality of sachet bags and sets the sachet bags other than the reference sachet bag as comparison target sachet bags; a display processing unit that controls the display of the medicine image on a display unit; Equipped with The display processing unit displays, on the display unit, the drug image included in the sachet image of the reference sachet bag and the drug image included in the sachet image of the comparison target sachet bag in correspondence with each other by type, and displays, on the display unit, the total number of drugs and the number of drugs by type for each of the reference sachet bag and the comparison target sachet bag. A drug inspection support system characterized by:

2. The display processing unit compares the total number of drugs and the number of drugs by type between the reference sachet and each of the comparison target sachet, and displays the total number of drugs and the number of drugs by type in the comparison target sachet that do not match in a manner different from that used in the case of a match.

2. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 1.

3. The display processing unit displays, on the display unit, images of the sachet of the reference sachet and each of the comparison target sachet in association with the medicine image.

2. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 1.

4. Operation section that accepts user operations Further comprising: The inspection processing unit sets the sachet selected by the user via the operation unit as the reference sachet.

2. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 1.

5. The inspection processing unit determines an inspection state of the comparison target sachet based on a comparison result between the comparison target sachet and the reference sachet of the total number of medicines and the number of medicines by type, The display processing unit displays the inspection status in association with the medicine image of the comparison sachet.

2. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 1.

6. Operation section that accepts user operations Further comprising: The inspection processing unit determines the inspection state of the comparison target sachet in which at least one of the total number of medicines and the number of medicines by type does not match the reference sachet, as a confirmation-required state that requires confirmation by the user, The display processing unit receives an operation from the user via the operation unit to change the inspection status of the comparison target sachet, the inspection status of which is the confirmation required status, from the confirmation required status to another status.

6. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 5.

7. In a state in which the medicine image, the total number of medicines, and the number of medicines by type are displayed on the display unit by the display processing unit, the inspection processing unit accepts an operation from the user via the operation unit to change the inspection status from the confirmation required status to another status.

7. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 6.

8. The analysis processing unit determines the type of the medicine image based on a determination result regarding a size and / or a shape of the medicine image.

2. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 1.

9. The inspection processing unit compares the total number of drugs and the number of drugs by type between the reference sachet and each of the comparison target sachet, and determines a comparison target sachet in which at least one of the total number of drugs and the number of drugs by type does not match as a sachet requiring confirmation, The display processing unit displays the medicine image, the total number of medicines, and the number of medicines by type for the reference sachet and the check-required sachet on the display unit.

2. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 1.

10. The sachet bags are connected together in a continuous manner to form a continuous sachet bag body, The photographing unit photographs each of the sachets constituting the continuous sachets and generates an image of each of the sachets.

2. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 1.

11. A swinging section for swinging the sachet Further comprising: The photographing unit photographs the sachet that has been swung by the swinging unit.

2. The medicine inspection support system according to claim 1.

12. an imaging unit that captures images of a plurality of sachets each containing one or a plurality of types of medicine and generates an image of each of the sachets; an analysis processing unit that cuts out each of the drug images, which are portions representing the individual drugs, from the sachet image, determines the type of each of the drug images, and tallies, for each of the sachet images, a total number of drugs, which is the total number of the drug images contained in the sachet image, and a number of drugs by type, which is the number of the drug images for each type; an inspection processing unit that sets a reference sachet bag as a reference from among the plurality of sachet bags and sets the sachet bags other than the reference sachet bag as comparison target sachet bags; A display unit for displaying information; a display processing unit that controls the display unit to display the medicine image; Equipped with The display processing unit displays, on the display unit, the drug image included in the sachet image of the reference sachet bag and the drug image included in the sachet image of the comparison target sachet bag in correspondence with each other by type, and displays, on the display unit, the total number of drugs and the number of drugs by type for each of the reference sachet bag and the comparison target sachet bag. A drug inspection support device comprising:

13. The sachet bag is configured to have a continuous sachet bag body by continuously connecting a plurality of the sachet bags, The photographing unit photographs each of the sachets constituting the continuous sachets and generates an image of each of the sachets.

13. The drug inspection support device according to claim 12.

14. A swinging section for swinging the sachet Further comprising: The photographing unit photographs the sachet that has been swung by the swinging unit.

13. The drug inspection support device according to claim 12.

Images