Oral hygiene management support system and oral hygiene management support method

Abstract

To realize both of the advantage on a user side that the daily tooth-brushing action and the oral condition can be continuously improved and the advantage on a specialist side such as dentist and oral surgeon that a relation with the user as a customer can be deepened to retain customers.SOLUTION: An oral hygiene management support system 1 includes: an oral condition acquisition device 10 which acquires oral condition information including an oral image of a user; a user terminal 100; a medical-side terminal 400 which can be operated by a specialist; and a server device 200. The server device 200 acquires oral condition information acquired by the oral condition acquisition device 10 from the user terminal 100 and manages it (S5), provides the oral condition information to the medical-side terminal 400 (S7), acquires advice information input by the specialist on the basis of the oral condition information from the medical-side terminal 400 and manages it (S11), and provides the advice information to the user terminal 100 (S13).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an oral hygiene management support system and an oral hygiene management support method for supporting a user's oral hygiene management. [Background technology]

[0002] It is said that maintaining and improving oral function extends healthy life expectancy, and in recent years, the demand for oral hygiene management (oral care) has increased. Technology that utilizes the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage users' oral hygiene is also being developed.

[0003] For example, the following Patent Document 1 describes a technology that supports the maintenance and promotion of the health of the oral cavity and pharyngeal region for the purpose of extending a healthy lifespan. In the technology described in Patent Document 1, a support server acquires information that can grasp the daily function, health state, and actual care status of biological tissues in the oral cavity and pharyngeal region from a user's sensor-equipped terminal, acquires information that can grasp the user's awareness and knowledge status regarding the oral cavity and pharyngeal region, user information such as the user's general attributes, overall health status, and treatment history from the user terminal or an institutional computer that holds the user's information, analyzes the information that can grasp the latest and past function, health state, and actual care status of biological tissues in the oral cavity and pharyngeal region, and awareness and knowledge status based on the user information, generates information useful for extending the user's healthy lifespan, and provides it to the user terminal.

[0004] Also, for example, Patent Document 2 describes a technique for analyzing toothbrushing patterns and correcting toothbrushing habits. In the technique described in Patent Document 2, the toothbrushing pattern analysis and correction device includes a main body formed in the same direction as the toothbrush surface, a detection unit for detecting a signal due to the user's toothbrushing action, and a control unit for calculating the signal input from the detection unit and classifying the user's toothbrushing action into at least two or more patterns. The toothbrushing pattern analysis and correction method detects the start of toothbrushing by the user, displays a guide screen in response to the start of toothbrushing, detects the user's toothbrushing pattern, analyzes the user's toothbrushing pattern, and provides a toothbrushing correction screen in a direction to improve the adaptability based on the analysis result. The toothbrushing habit correction adaptability is further improved by a method of bidirectionally correcting the user's toothbrushing habit in real time through a video, and the user's toothbrushing habit is managed more systematically by building a database, and health consultation is possible.

[0005] Furthermore, the following Patent Document 3 describes a technology that makes it easy to know information about a user's toothbrushing behavior even while brushing their teeth. In the technology described in Patent Document 3, a toothbrush attachment includes a sensor unit that detects a predetermined physical quantity, a wireless transmission unit that transmits a wireless signal indicating the physical quantity detected by the sensor unit, a housing that accommodates the sensor unit and the wireless transmission unit, and a connecting mechanism that detachably attaches the housing to the toothbrush. The wireless terminal device includes a wireless reception unit that receives the wireless signal and acquires the physical quantity, a music output unit that outputs an image or sound to assist the user in brushing their teeth with the toothbrush based on the physical quantity, a character display control unit, and an alarm unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7115833 [Patent Document 2] Special Publication No. 2008-543418 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 6702446 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Patent Document 1 describes providing a user with useful information obtained by analyzing captured images and sensing information in the oral cavity. Patent Documents 2 and 3 describe toothbrushes that are improved to acquire a user's toothbrushing status in order to manage the user's toothbrushing status. However, there is a problem that simply providing a user with useful information obtained by analyzing the oral cavity status and the toothbrushing status will cause the user to stop brushing their teeth daily or to continuously improve the oral condition.

[0008] Patent Document 1 also describes that useful information obtained by analyzing captured images and sensing information in the oral cavity is provided to specialists such as dentists and oral surgeons. However, there is a problem in that the specialists are not involved in the user's daily tooth brushing behavior and continuous improvement of the oral condition. Furthermore, although the specialists can obtain useful information when treating the user, they are not able to acquire new customers, and there is a problem in that there is little merit for the specialists to actively participate.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an oral hygiene management support system and oral hygiene management support method that enable users to realize both the advantage of being able to continuously implement daily tooth brushing habits and improve their oral condition, and the advantage of being able to deepen relationships with users as customers and retain them as professionals, such as dentists and oral surgeons. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the oral hygiene management support system of the present invention is composed of an oral condition acquisition device having an oral condition detection unit including an imaging unit that captures an image of the oral cavity, and for acquiring oral condition information including an image of the user's oral cavity, a user terminal having an oral condition information acquisition unit that is equipped with an operation input unit and a display unit that can be operated by a user, and that acquires the oral condition information from the oral condition acquisition device, a medical side terminal having an operation input unit and a display unit that can be operated by an expert, and that acquires advice information regarding the condition of the user's oral cavity input by the expert, and a server device that is arranged on a network and can communicate with each of the user terminal and the medical side terminal via the network, wherein the server device has an oral condition information management unit that acquires and manages the oral condition information from the user terminal, an oral condition information providing unit that provides the oral condition information to the medical side terminal, an advice information management unit that acquires and manages the advice information input by the expert based on the oral condition information from the medical side terminal, and an advice information providing unit that provides the advice information to the user terminal.

[0011] According to the above configuration, the user can receive advice on the state of the oral cavity and tooth brushing behavior from a specialist such as a dentist or oral surgeon without a face-to-face consultation. The specialist can also understand the state of the oral cavity of the user from the oral cavity image of the user without a face-to-face consultation and provide advice to the user, and can also provide appropriate advice to encourage the user to visit a medical institution, thereby capturing and acquiring patients. This makes it possible to realize both the advantage of the user, that is, the ability to continuously improve daily tooth brushing behavior and oral condition, and the advantage of the specialist, that is, the ability to deepen the relationship with the user as a customer and capture customers.

[0012] In the above-mentioned configuration, the oral hygiene management support system of the present invention may have an estimation device equipped with an estimation unit that estimates the condition of the user's oral cavity based on the oral condition information of the user, and the server device may have an estimation result information providing unit that provides estimation result information including the estimation result by the estimation unit of the estimation device to either one or both of the user terminal and the medical side terminal.

[0013] According to the above configuration, by providing the expert with the estimation result of the state of the user's oral cavity by the estimation device, the expert can refer to it as reference information (second opinion) when judging the state of the user's oral cavity. Also, by providing the user with the estimation result of the state of the user's oral cavity by the estimation device, the user can refer to the estimation result by the estimation device as reference information (second opinion) in addition to the advice information of the expert.

[0014] In the oral hygiene management support system according to the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the estimation unit of the estimation device may estimate the condition of the user's oral cavity from an image of the user's oral cavity using a trained estimation model.

[0015] According to the above configuration, by analyzing the user's oral cavity image using AI (artificial intelligence) or the like, it is possible to estimate the condition inside the user's oral cavity with high accuracy.

[0016] In the oral hygiene management support system of the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the oral condition acquisition device may have a toothbrushing action detection unit that detects toothbrushing action by the user, and the oral condition information may include toothbrushing time of the toothbrushing action detected by the toothbrushing action detection unit.

[0017] According to the above configuration, it is possible to detect the tooth brushing time, which is an indicator of whether or not the teeth are brushed correctly.

[0018] In the oral hygiene management support system of the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the estimation unit of the estimation device may use a learned estimation model to estimate the condition of the user's oral cavity and the user's tooth brushing situation from an image of the user's oral cavity and a time spent brushing the user's teeth.

[0019] According to the above configuration, by using AI or the like to analyze images of the user's oral cavity and the user's tooth brushing time, it is possible to estimate the user's tooth brushing status (for example, whether there is a tendency for the back teeth to be left unbrushed), and further, by quantifying the estimated tooth brushing status, it is possible to evaluate the user's tooth brushing status as a number that is easy for the user to understand.

[0020] In the oral hygiene management support system of the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the advice information providing unit of the server device may provide advertising information for products related to oral hygiene to the user terminal together with the advice information, in accordance with the estimation result of the user's tooth brushing status by the estimation device.

[0021] According to the above configuration, it is possible to efficiently provide the user with advertising information about products for improving the condition of the user's oral cavity, based on the estimation result of the user's tooth brushing status.

[0022] In the oral hygiene management support system of the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the advice information providing unit of the server device may provide, together with the advice information, to the user terminal, medical institution information suggesting a visit to an actual medical institution.

[0023] According to the above configuration, it is possible to encourage the user to visit an actual medical institution.

[0024] In the oral hygiene management support system of the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the medical institution information may include information that enables the user to make an appointment to visit a medical institution that the user has registered in advance or a medical institution where the expert is employed.

[0025] According to the above configuration, a user can use the medical institution information provided along with the advice information to easily make an appointment to see a medical institution that the user has registered in advance or a medical institution that employs the specialist who received the advice.

[0026] In the oral hygiene management support system of the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the oral condition acquisition device may be provided integrally with a toothbrush used by the user or as a detachable attachment to the toothbrush, and the oral condition acquisition device and the user terminal may be connected via short-range wireless communication.

[0027] According to the above configuration, by providing the oral cavity condition acquisition device on the toothbrush, oral cavity condition information including an image of the user's oral cavity can be acquired during daily tooth brushing actions.

[0028] In the oral hygiene management support system according to the present invention, in the above configuration, the server device may include an authentication processing unit that authenticates the user or the expert.

[0029] According to the above configuration, by authenticating users and experts who use the system, it is possible to improve security regarding highly confidential personal information such as the user's oral condition information and expert advice information.

[0030] In the oral hygiene management support system according to the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the advice information may include advice information specific to a specific user, or advice information common to a plurality of users.

[0031] According to the above configuration, the expert can provide detailed advice tailored to an individual user, or can efficiently provide general advice to a plurality of users.

[0032] In addition, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the oral hygiene management support method of the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, is characterized in that it comprises the steps of: acquiring oral condition information including an image of the user's oral cavity by an oral condition acquisition device having an oral condition detection unit including an imaging unit that captures an image of the oral cavity; acquiring the oral condition information from the oral condition acquisition device by a user terminal that can be operated by a user; acquiring and managing the oral condition information from the user terminal by a server device that is arranged on a network and can communicate with the user terminal via the network; providing the oral condition information by the server device to a medical side terminal that can communicate with the server device via the network and can be operated by an expert; acquiring and managing advice information regarding the condition of the user's oral cavity input by the expert based on the oral condition information from the medical side terminal by the server device; and providing the advice information to the user terminal by the server device.

[0033] According to the above process, the user can receive advice on the state of the oral cavity and tooth brushing behavior from a specialist such as a dentist or oral surgeon without a face-to-face consultation. The specialist can also understand the state of the oral cavity of the user from the oral cavity image of the user without a face-to-face consultation and provide advice to the user, and can also provide appropriate advice to encourage the user to visit a medical institution, thereby capturing and acquiring patients. This realizes both the advantage of the user, that is, the ability to continuously improve daily tooth brushing behavior and oral condition, and the advantage of the specialist, that is, the ability to deepen the relationship with the user as a customer and capture customers. Effect of the Invention

[0034] The oral hygiene management support system and oral hygiene management support method of the present invention make it possible to realize both the advantage for users, that is, the ability to continuously improve daily tooth brushing habits and oral condition, and the advantage for professionals such as dentists and oral surgeons, that they can deepen their relationships with users as customers and retain them. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0035] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of an oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing functions of an oral condition acquisition device of an oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 3 is a block diagram showing functions of a user terminal of the oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a block diagram showing the functions of a server device of the oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a block diagram showing functions of an estimation device of an oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 6] 3 is a block diagram showing functions of a medical terminal of the oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a table constituting a database referenced by a server device of the oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 9] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen for an expert to input advice information on a medical side terminal of an oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 10] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen for a user to view advice information on a user terminal of an oral hygiene management support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer capable of executing processing in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0036] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0037] (Oral hygiene management support system 1) First, the configuration of an oral hygiene management support system 1 in an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of an oral hygiene management support system 1 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] An oral hygiene management support system 1 in an embodiment of the present invention includes an oral cavity condition acquisition device 10, a user terminal 100, a server device 200, an estimation device 300, and a medical terminal 400, as shown in FIG.

[0039] The oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 and the user terminal 100 are devices that can be used by a user, and the medical side terminal 400 is a device that can be used by medical professionals such as dentists and oral surgeons. In this specification, medical professionals such as dentists and oral surgeons may be referred to as experts.

[0040] The server device 200 and the estimation device 300 are arranged, for example, on a cloud. The server device 200 is capable of two-way communication with the user terminal 100 and the medical side terminal 400 via a network 500 such as the Internet.

[0041] (Oral cavity condition acquisition device 10) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions of the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 of the oral hygiene management support system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] The oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 is a device used for detecting the state inside the oral cavity (oral cavity condition) of a user. The oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 may be provided integrally with a toothbrush used by the user for brushing teeth, or may be provided as a detachable attachment to the toothbrush.

[0043] The intraoral condition acquisition device 10 includes, for example, an intraoral condition detection unit 11 and a short-range wireless communication unit 14.

[0044] The oral cavity condition detection unit 11 has a function of acquiring and outputting oral cavity condition information of the user by detecting the oral cavity condition of the user. The oral cavity condition detection unit 11 includes an imaging unit 12 and a toothbrushing action detection unit 13. The oral cavity condition detection unit 11 is capable of outputting an image of the user's oral cavity (oral cavity image) captured by the imaging unit 12 and a toothbrushing time determined from the toothbrushing action detected by the toothbrushing action detection unit 13 as oral cavity condition information.

[0045] The imaging unit 12 has a function of capturing an image of the user's oral cavity. Specifically, the imaging unit 12 is a camera capable of capturing an image of the user's oral cavity. The imaging unit 12 may be provided with a light source such as an LED for illuminating the inside of the user's oral cavity.

[0046] A user can capture an image of the inside of his / her mouth using a camera integrated with the toothbrush or a camera attached as an attachment. The oral cavity condition detection unit 11 outputs the oral cavity image of the user captured by the imaging unit 12 as oral cavity condition information. The oral cavity image captured by the imaging unit 12 may be a still image or a video. The oral cavity image is image information capturing the inside of the oral cavity of the user, and the expert and the estimation device 300 can judge the oral cavity condition of the user from the oral cavity image.

[0047] The toothbrushing action detection unit 13 has a function of detecting the user's toothbrushing action in order to specify the toothbrushing time. The method of detecting the user's toothbrushing action by the toothbrushing action detection unit 13 is not particularly limited, but for example, the toothbrushing action may be detected by detecting a physical quantity such as the vibration of a toothbrush, or the user may operate a button provided on the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10, and when the button is pressed, the start of toothbrushing is detected, and when the button is pressed again, the end of toothbrushing is detected.

[0048] The toothbrushing behavior detection unit 13 is capable of identifying the time from when the user starts brushing their teeth to when they finish brushing their teeth, that is, the user's toothbrushing time. The oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 may only detect the start / end of toothbrushing, and the user terminal 100 may identify the user's toothbrushing time. The toothbrushing time is information that serves as an index of whether or not the user's teeth are brushed correctly, and the expert and the estimation device 300 can judge the user's toothbrushing status from the toothbrushing time.

[0049] The short-distance wireless communication unit 14 has a function of communicating with the user terminal 100 via short-distance wireless communication. The communication method of the short-distance wireless communication is not particularly limited, but for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used. The intraoral condition acquisition device 10 can transmit the intraoral condition information output by the intraoral condition detection unit 11 to the user terminal 100 via the short-distance wireless communication unit 14.

[0050] (User terminal 100) FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing functions of the user terminal 100 of the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] The user terminal 100 is a device that can be operated by a user. The user terminal 100 is not particularly limited, but may be a computer such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a PC (Personal Computer). The user terminal 100 is capable of running an application (user-side application) related to the present invention.

[0052] The user terminal 100 is configured to include, for example, a display unit 101, an operation input unit 102, a communication unit 103, a storage unit 104, a short-range wireless communication unit 105, and an application unit 110.

[0053] The display unit 101 is a device that displays visual information on a display screen, such as a liquid crystal monitor or an organic EL monitor. The operation input unit 102 is a device that enables a user to input information, such as a mouse or a keyboard. The display unit 101 and the operation input unit 102 may be an integrated touch panel type input device.

[0054] The communication unit 103 has a function of connecting to a network 500 such as the Internet and communicating with other devices (e.g., the server device 200). The user terminal 100 can transmit (upload) oral cavity condition information to the server device 200 and receive advice information, advertisement information, and estimation result information from the server device 200 through the communication unit 103.

[0055] The memory unit 104 is a storage that stores applications that can be operated on the user terminal 100 and data used in the user terminal 100. The memory unit 104 stores various programs that operate as the application unit 110, oral cavity condition information such as oral cavity images and tooth brushing time received from the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10, advice information and advertisement information received from the server device 200, estimation result information, and the like.

[0056] The short-range wireless communication unit 105 has a function of communicating with the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 via short-range wireless communication. The user terminal 100 can receive oral cavity condition information from the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 through the short-range wireless communication unit 105.

[0057] The application unit 110 is a function realized by executing a user-side application related to the present invention. The application unit 110 includes, for example, an oral cavity condition information acquisition unit 111, an oral cavity condition information output unit 112, an advice information acquisition unit 113, an advice information output unit 114, an inference result information acquisition unit 115, an inference result information output unit 116, and an authentication processing unit 117.

[0058] The oral cavity condition information acquisition unit 111 has a function of acquiring oral cavity condition information from the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10. The oral cavity condition information output unit 112 has a function of outputting the oral cavity condition information to the display unit 101 and storing it in the memory unit 104. The oral cavity condition information output unit 112 has a function of transmitting (uploading) the oral cavity condition information to the server device 200 via the communication unit 103.

[0059] The advice information acquisition unit 113 has a function of acquiring (downloading) advice information and advertisement information from the server device 200. The advice information output unit 114 has a function of outputting the advice information and advertisement information to the display unit 101.

[0060] The estimation result information acquisition unit 115 has a function of acquiring (downloading) the estimation result information (information including the estimation result by the estimation device 300) received from the server device 200. The estimation result information output unit 116 has a function of outputting the estimation result information received from the server device 200 to the display unit 101 and storing it in the memory unit 104.

[0061] The authentication processing unit 117 has a function of performing authentication processing for making the server device 200 confirm the user's access rights and the right to use the user-side application when the user terminal 100 communicates with the server device 200. Since personal information is transmitted and received between the user terminal 100 and the server device 200, it is preferable that only users approved by the server device 200 can access the server device 200, and that information transmitted and received between the user terminal 100 and the server device 200 is kept confidential. Although the authentication processing in the authentication processing unit 117 is not particularly limited, the authentication processing unit 117 has a function of transmitting the user's authentication information (e.g., ID and password) to the server device 200.

[0062] (Server device 200) FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing functions of the server device 200 of the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0063] The server device 200 is a device arranged on the cloud. A computer usually arranged on the cloud can be used as the server device 200. The server device 200 is configured to provide a platform for running applications (user-side applications and medical-side applications) related to the present invention.

[0064] The server device 200 is configured to include, for example, a communication unit 201, a storage unit 202, and a platform unit 210.

[0065] The communication unit 201 is disposed on a network 500 such as the Internet, and has a function of communicating with other devices (e.g., the user terminal 100 and the medical side terminal 400) via the network 500. In addition, the server device 200 is capable of communicating with the estimation device 300 via the communication unit 201.

[0066] The server device 200 can transmit advice information, advertisement information, and estimation result information to the user terminal 100 and receive oral cavity condition information from the user terminal 100 through the communication unit 201. In addition, the server device 200 can transmit the user's oral cavity condition information to the medical side terminal 400 and receive advice information from the medical side terminal 400 through the communication unit 201.

[0067] The memory unit 202 is a storage that stores a platform provided by the server device 200 to the user terminal 100 and the medical side terminal 400, and data used in the server device 200. The memory unit 202 stores various programs that operate as the platform unit 210, information on users and experts, oral cavity condition information such as oral cavity images and tooth brushing times received from the user terminal 100, advice information received from the medical side terminal 400, estimation result information received from the estimation device 300, advertising information to be transmitted to the user terminal 100, and the like.

[0068] The platform unit 210 is a function provided by a platform related to the present invention. The platform unit 210 includes, for example, a user management unit 211, an expert management unit 212, an oral cavity condition information management unit 213, an oral cavity condition information providing unit 214, an advice information management unit 215, an advice information providing unit 216, an inference result information management unit 217, an inference result information providing unit 218, and an authentication processing unit 219.

[0069] The user management unit 211 has a function of managing information of each user. The user management unit 211 can assign identification information to the user and manage basic registration information such as the user's name, attributes (age and sex), and the user's regular medical institution. The user management unit 211 can also manage user history information and status information for each user, including reception of oral condition information from the user terminal 100, provision of advice information, advertisement information, and estimation result information to the user terminal 100, etc. The user management unit 211 may hold a database that manages information of each user, or may manage information of each user in cooperation with a database management system not shown. The user management unit 211 may manage authentication information of each user that the authentication processing unit 219 refers to during authentication processing.

[0070] The expert management unit 212 has a function of managing information of each expert. The expert management unit 212 can assign identification information to the expert and manage basic registration information such as the expert's name, specialty, and affiliated medical institution. The expert management unit 212 can manage history information and status information of the expert for each expert, including providing the user's oral condition information and estimation result information to the medical side terminal 400, receiving advice information from the medical side terminal 400, etc. The expert management unit 212 may hold a database that manages information of each expert, or may manage information of each expert in cooperation with a database management system not shown. The expert management unit 212 may manage authentication information of each expert that the authentication processing unit 219 refers to during authentication processing.

[0071] The oral cavity condition information management unit 213 has a function of acquiring and managing the oral cavity condition information of the user from the user terminal 100. The oral cavity condition information providing unit 214 has a function of providing the oral cavity condition information of the user managed by the oral cavity condition information management unit 213 to the medical side terminal 400.

[0072] The advice information management unit 215 has a function of requesting advice from an expert from the medical side terminal 400, and acquiring and managing advice information input by the expert in the medical side terminal 400. The advice information provision unit 216 has a function of providing the expert's advice information managed by the advice information management unit 215 to the user terminal 100. In addition to providing individual advice information to each user, the advice information management unit 215 may also provide advice information common to a plurality of users to the user terminal 100.

[0073] In addition, the advice information management unit 215 may provide the user terminal 100 with advertisement information tailored to the oral cavity condition or tooth brushing status of each user, or advertisement information common to a plurality of users, together with the advice information. Furthermore, the advice information management unit 215 may provide the user terminal 100 with medical institution information proposing a visit to an actual medical institution, together with the advice information. The medical institution proposed to the user may be, for example, a regular medical institution registered by the user, or a medical institution near the user's current location, home, or workplace. In addition, a medical institution tailored to the oral cavity condition or tooth brushing status of each user may be proposed.

[0074] The inference result information management unit 217 has a function of supplying the user's oral cavity condition information to the estimation device 300, and acquiring and managing inference result information based on the user's oral cavity condition information from the estimation device 300. The inference result information provision unit 218 has a function of providing the inference result information managed by the inference result information management unit 217 to either the user terminal 100 or the medical side terminal 400, or both.

[0075] The authentication processing unit 219 has a function of performing authentication processing to confirm the access rights of the user, the right to use the user-side application, and the access rights of the expert, and the right to use the medical-side application. Since personal information is transmitted and received between the user terminal 100 and the medical-side terminal 400 and the server device 200, only the user or expert approved by the server device 200 can access the server device 200, and it is preferable that the information transmitted and received between the user terminal 100 and the medical-side terminal 400 and the server device 200 is kept confidential. Although the authentication processing in the authentication processing unit 219 is not particularly limited, the authentication processing unit 219 may request authentication information from the user terminal 100 and the medical-side terminal 400 and judge whether it matches with the authentication information (e.g., ID and password) of the user and the expert set in advance.

[0076] (Estimation device 300) FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functions of the estimation device 300 of the oral hygiene management support system 1 in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0077] The estimation device 300 is a device that cooperates with the server device 200 to perform estimation processing based on information managed by the server device 200. The estimation device 300 is not particularly limited, but may be a computer connected to the server device 200 as shown in Fig. 1. The estimation device 300 may be incorporated in the server device 200, or may be arranged as a network device connected to a network 500.

[0078] The estimation device 300 is configured to include a communication unit 301, a storage unit 302, and an estimation unit 303, for example.

[0079] The communication unit 301 has a function of communicating with the server device 200. The estimation device 300 can be connected to the server device 200 by any connection method, and the communication unit 301 represents an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from the server device 200.

[0080] The memory unit 302 is a storage that stores various data used in the estimation process by the estimation unit 303. The memory unit 302 stores, for example, a program that operates as the estimation unit 303, a trained estimation model used in the estimation process, and the like.

[0081] The estimation unit 303 has a function of performing estimation processing based on input data and outputting the estimation result as output data. The estimation unit 303 is configured to be able to perform, for example, AI analysis. The estimation algorithm in the estimation unit 303 is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use AI including machine learning and deep learning. In addition, it is preferable that the learned estimation model used in the estimation processing is set in advance so as to output an optimal solution based on predetermined input data.

[0082] For example, when the estimation device 300 receives the user's oral cavity condition information from the server device 200, the estimation unit 303 inputs the user's oral cavity condition information into a trained estimation model, outputs an estimation result of the user's oral cavity condition as estimation result information, and returns the estimation result information to the server device 200. More specifically, the estimation unit 303 of the estimation device 300 may construct a trained estimation model by learning a set of oral cavity condition information and an oral cavity condition (correct answer data) corresponding to the oral cavity condition information as teacher data, and may use this trained estimation model to estimate the user's oral cavity condition using the user's oral cavity condition information as input data.

[0083] The estimation device 300 may estimate the user's oral cavity state using only the user's oral cavity image as input data, or may estimate the user's oral cavity state and the user's toothbrushing status using the user's oral cavity image and toothbrushing time as input data. The user's toothbrushing status indicates whether the toothbrushing action is performed correctly, for example, whether there is a tendency for many molars to be left unbrushed, and the estimated result of the user's toothbrushing status may be quantified to evaluate the user's toothbrushing status as a numerical value (score) that is easy for users and experts to understand.

[0084] Furthermore, the estimation device 300 may estimate advertisement information that recommends products suitable for the oral cavity condition of each user. For example, when the estimation device 300 receives the oral cavity condition information of the user or the expert's advice information from the server device 200, the estimation unit 303 may input the oral cavity condition information of the user or the expert's advice information to the trained estimation model, output advertisement information suitable for the oral cavity condition information of the user or the expert's advice information as estimation result information, and return the estimation result information to the server device 200.

[0085] (Medical terminal 400) FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing functions of the medical terminal 400 of the oral hygiene management support system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0086] The medical side terminal 400 is a device that can be operated by a specialist such as a dentist or an oral surgeon. The medical side terminal 400 is not particularly limited, but may be a computer such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a PC (personal computer). The medical side terminal 400 is capable of running an application (medical side app) related to the present invention.

[0087] The medical side terminal 400 is configured to include, for example, a display unit 101, an operation input unit 102, a communication unit 103, a storage unit 104, a short-range wireless communication unit 105, and an application unit 110.

[0088] The display unit 401 is a device that displays visual information on a display screen, such as a liquid crystal monitor, an organic EL monitor, etc. The operation input unit 402 is a device that enables a user to input information, such as a mouse, a keyboard, etc. The display unit 401 and the operation input unit 402 may be an integrated touch panel type input device.

[0089] The communication unit 403 has a function of connecting to a network 500 such as the Internet and communicating with other devices (e.g., the server device 200). The medical side terminal 400 can transmit advice information to the server device 200 and receive oral cavity condition information and estimation result information from the server device 200 through the communication unit 403.

[0090] The memory unit 404 is a storage that stores applications that can be operated on the medical side terminal 400 and data used on the medical side terminal 400. The memory unit 404 stores various programs that operate as the application unit 410, the user's oral cavity condition information and estimation result information received from the server device 200, and the like.

[0091] The application unit 410 is a function realized by executing a medical application related to the present invention. The application unit 410 includes, for example, an oral cavity condition information acquisition unit 411, an oral cavity condition information output unit 412, an advice information acquisition unit 413, an advice information output unit 414, an inference result information acquisition unit 415, an inference result information output unit 416, and an authentication processing unit 417.

[0092] The oral cavity condition information acquisition unit 411 has a function of acquiring (downloading) the oral cavity condition information from the server device 200. The oral cavity condition information output unit 412 has a function of outputting the oral cavity condition information to the display unit 401 and storing it in the storage unit 404.

[0093] The advice information acquisition unit 413 has a function of acquiring advice information input by an expert. In the medical side terminal 400, the expert can input advice information regarding the user's oral cavity condition using the operation input unit 402 while checking the user's oral cavity condition information and the estimation result information displayed on the display screen of the display unit 401. That is, the advice information acquired by the advice information acquisition unit 413 includes advice based on expert knowledge regarding the user's oral cavity condition. The advice information output unit 414 has a function of outputting the advice information to the display unit 401 and storing it in the storage unit 404. In addition, the advice information output unit 414 has a function of transmitting (uploading) the advice information to the server device 200 through the communication unit 403.

[0094] The estimation result information acquisition unit 415 has a function of acquiring (downloading) the estimation result information (information including the estimation result by the estimation device 300) received from the server device 200. The estimation result information output unit 416 has a function of outputting the estimation result information received from the server device 200 to the display unit 401 and storing it in the storage unit 404.

[0095] The authentication processing unit 417 has a function of performing authentication processing to have the server device 200 confirm the expert's access rights and the user-side application usage rights when the medical-side terminal 400 communicates with the server device 200. Since personal information is transmitted and received between the medical-side terminal 400 and the server device 200, it is preferable that only experts approved by the server device 200 can access the server device 200, and that information transmitted and received between the medical-side terminal 400 and the server device 200 is kept confidential. Although the authentication processing in the authentication processing unit 417 is not particularly limited, the authentication processing unit 417 has a function of transmitting the expert's authentication information (e.g., ID and password) to the server device 200.

[0096] (Oral hygiene management support system 1 processing) The processing of the oral hygiene management support system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[0097] 7 shows a process flow of the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. It is preferable that the user (and the user terminal 100) and the expert (and the medical side terminal 400) are approved by the server device 200 through authentication processing, and the data transmitted through the network 500 is preferably kept confidential.

[0098] A user uses the oral cavity state acquisition device 10 when brushing his / her teeth. For example, after brushing his / her teeth, the user may perform an operation of capturing an image of the inside of his / her oral cavity using the oral cavity state acquisition device 10 equipped with the imaging unit 12, so that the imaging unit 12 captures an image of the user's oral cavity. Alternatively, the oral cavity state acquisition device 10 equipped with a toothbrush may be used to perform a toothbrushing action, and the toothbrushing action detection unit 13 may identify the toothbrushing time.

[0099] In this manner, the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 acquires the user's oral cavity image and / or the tooth brushing time as oral cavity condition information (step S1). The oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 may acquire the user's oral cavity condition information every time the user brushes his / her teeth, or may acquire the user's oral cavity condition information when the user desires.

[0100] The oral cavity condition information acquired by the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 is transmitted to the user terminal 100 via short-range wireless communication, and the user terminal 100 acquires the oral cavity condition information by the oral cavity condition information acquisition unit 111 (step S3). When the user brushes his / her teeth, the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 is connected to the user terminal 100 via short-range wireless communication, and it is preferable that the oral cavity condition information acquired by the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 is transmitted to the user terminal 100 in real time. However, the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 may be provided with a memory for storing the oral cavity condition information, and the oral cavity condition information stored in the memory may be transmitted to the user terminal 100 when the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 is subsequently connected to the user terminal 100.

[0101] For example, the oral cavity condition information acquired every time the user brushes his / her teeth is stored in the storage unit 104, and thus the oral cavity condition information is accumulated in the user terminal 100. The oral cavity condition information accumulated in the user terminal 100 is uploaded to the server device 200 by the oral cavity condition information output unit 112 at any timing (step S5).

[0102] For example, the oral cavity condition information acquired by the user terminal 100 from the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 may be uploaded immediately (in real time) to the server device 200. In addition, the user may select desired oral cavity condition information using the operation input unit 102 while checking the oral cavity condition information accumulated in the user terminal 100 on the display screen of the display unit 101, and the selected oral cavity condition information may be uploaded to the server device 200.

[0103] The server device 200 acquires and manages the oral condition information uploaded from the user terminal 100 in the oral condition information management unit 213. The oral condition information management unit 213 manages the oral condition information for each user using, for example, a database. The database referred to by the oral condition information management unit 213 can store, for example, user identification information, oral condition information (oral image and tooth brushing time), date and time information when the oral condition information was acquired, etc., on a record-by-record basis, as shown in Fig. 8 described later.

[0104] Next, the server device 200 provides the oral cavity condition information from the oral cavity condition information providing unit 214 to the medical side terminal 400 of the expert in order to request advice on the oral cavity condition of the user from the expert (step S7). The request for advice from the expert may be executed when the user instructs the user terminal 100 to request advice from the expert. In this case, the user may select one or more pieces of oral cavity condition information to be provided to the medical side terminal 400. In addition, it may be set to request advice from the expert periodically (for example, once a month), so that the oral cavity condition information of the user is automatically provided to the medical side terminal 400 without the user having to give an individual instruction.

[0105] The expert to whom advice is requested may be specified by the user himself / herself, or may be appropriately selected by the server device 200. For example, a list of multiple experts may be displayed on the display screen of the display unit 101 of the user terminal 100 so that the user can view it, and the user may specify an expert from the list to whom advice is requested. Alternatively, the user may register his / her regular medical institution and expert, and the registered expert may be selected as the expert to whom advice is requested. In addition, the user may register an address such as his / her home or workplace, and the server device 200 may select a medical institution and an expert located near the address registered by the user.

[0106] Furthermore, when requesting advice from an expert, the estimation result information management unit 217 may supply the user's oral cavity condition information to be provided to the expert to the estimation device 300, causing the estimation device 300 to execute estimation processing. The estimation result information provision unit 218 may acquire the estimation result of the user's oral cavity condition output by the estimation device 300 as estimation result information, and provide the estimation result information to the expert together with the request for advice. For example, as shown in Fig. 8 described later, the estimation result information management unit 217 is configured to store the estimation result information by the estimation device 300, etc., in a record including the oral cavity condition information for which advice information is requested from the expert.

[0107] As an example, the estimation device 300 is configured to output estimation result information that estimates the state of the user's oral cavity (for example, the presence or absence of residual brushing or tartar, the location and progression of carious teeth (cavities), the presence or absence of periodontal disease, etc.) using an oral cavity image included in the user's oral cavity condition information as input data. The estimation device 300 may also use the tooth brushing time included in the user's oral cavity condition information as input data, and output estimation result information that takes the user's tooth brushing time into consideration. Note that the estimation result information is merely an estimate of the user's oral cavity condition using AI analysis, etc., and is provided as reference information when experts give advice.

[0108] The medical side terminal 400 of the expert who has been requested to give advice on the user's oral condition receives (downloads) the user's oral condition information from the server device 200 by the oral condition information acquisition unit 411. The user's oral condition information received from the server device 200 is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 401 by the oral condition information output unit 412, and the expert inputs advice information on the user's oral condition while referring to the user's oral condition information displayed on the display screen (step S9). When estimation result information by the estimation device 300 is provided together with the user's oral condition information, the expert may input advice information on the user's oral condition while further referring to the estimation result information.

[0109] In this embodiment, the expert judges the user's oral condition and the user's tooth brushing status by referring to the user's oral condition information. Since the judgment of the user's oral condition is not a face-to-face medical examination, it is desirable for the expert to input advice information within the scope of medical procedures, for example, as defined in the guidelines for online medical examinations. Specifically, the expert may input, as advice information, a judgment of the presence or absence of plaque or tartar, the correct method of brushing teeth, a recommendation to visit a dentist, etc., and if possible, may input, as reference information, suspected caries and its progress, suspected periodontal disease and its progress, etc.

[0110] When the expert inputs advice information into the medical terminal 400, the advice information is acquired by the advice information acquisition unit 413, and then uploaded to the server device 200 by the advice information output unit 414 (step S11).

[0111] The server device 200 acquires and manages the advice information uploaded from the medical side terminal 400 in the advice information management unit 215. The advice information management unit 215 manages the advice information for each user using, for example, a database. The database referred to by the advice information management unit 215 may be the same as the database referred to by the oral cavity condition information management unit 213, and for example, as shown in Fig. 8 described later, the database can store the identification information of the expert, the advice request date and time, the advice input date and time, the advice information, and the like in a record including the oral cavity condition information for which advice information has been requested from an expert.

[0112] When the advice information is uploaded from the medical side terminal 400 to the server device 200, the server device 200 provides the advice information to the user terminal 100 via the advice information providing unit 216 (step S13).

[0113] The user terminal 100 receives (downloads) the advice information input by the expert from the server device 200 by the advice information acquisition unit 113. The expert's advice information received from the server device 200 is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 401 by the advice information output unit 114, and the user can view the expert's advice information displayed on the display screen.

[0114] Furthermore, the server device 200 may provide the user terminal 100 with information on the estimation result by the estimation device 300, advertisement information, medical institution information, etc., together with the advice information. The user terminal 100 may display the estimation result information, advertisement information, medical institution information, etc., received from the server device 200, together with the advice information, for example, on one display screen.

[0115] Although common advertising information may be provided to all users, advertising information tailored to the attributes or oral cavity condition of each individual user may be provided to each user, and the estimation device 300 may estimate advertising information suitable for each user. The estimation device 300 can estimate advertising information suitable for each user by using a trained estimation model that is set to output advertising information suitable for a user when the attributes of the user, an image of the oral cavity of the user, advice information from an expert, and the like are input.

[0116] (Table 600 referenced by server device 200) Hereinafter, a table 600 of the database referred to by the server device 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a table 600 constituting a database referred to by the server device 200 of the oral hygiene management support system 1 in an embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the database shown in Fig. 8 can be referred to and updated by the oral condition information management unit 213, the advice information management unit 215, and the estimation result information management unit 217 of the server device 200. Note that the table 600 constituting the database shown in Fig. 8 is merely for the purpose of explaining this embodiment and does not limit the present invention.

[0117] 8 includes a "No." column 601, a "user ID" column 602, an "oral condition information" column 603, an "acquisition date and time" column 604, an "estimated result information" column 605, an "expert ID" column 606, a "request date and time" column 607, an "input date and time" column 608, and an "advice information" column 609. The table 600 shown in FIG. 8 is a database in a table format, and values ​​of each column stored in the same record (row) are associated with each other. Note that, although data is managed by one table 600 here, data may be managed by multiple tables that are associated with each other.

[0118] Identification information of each record is stored in the "No." column 601. The identification information of each record is different, and each record can be uniquely identified by the identification information stored in the "No." column 601.

[0119] User identification information is stored in the "user ID" column 602. Each user is assigned identification information in advance, and the user identification information stored in the "user ID" column 602 makes it possible to identify which user a record pertains to.

[0120] The "oral condition information" column 603 stores information for identifying the user's oral condition information. For example, the path name and file name of the user's oral condition information are stored in the "oral condition information" column 603, which allows identification of the user's oral condition information (such as the user's oral cavity image and tooth brushing time) compiled in a specific file format. The "acquisition date and time" column 604 stores the date and time when the user's oral condition information was acquired.

[0121] The "estimated result information" column 605 stores information for identifying the estimated result information based on the oral cavity condition information identified by the "oral cavity condition information" column 603. The "estimated result information" column 605 stores, for example, a path name or file name of the estimated result information, which makes it possible to identify the estimated result information compiled in a predetermined file format.

[0122] The "Expert ID" column 606 stores the identification information of the expert from whom advice is requested. Each expert is assigned identification information in advance, and it is possible to identify which expert provided the advice by the expert's identification information stored in the "Expert ID" column 606. Furthermore, the "Request Date and Time" column 607 stores the date and time when advice was requested from the expert, and the "Input Date and Time" column 608 stores the date and time when advice was obtained from the expert.

[0123] Information for identifying advice information from an expert is stored in the "advice information" column 609. For example, the path name or file name of the advice information is stored in the "advice information" column 609, which makes it possible to identify advice information compiled in a specific file format.

[0124] For example, in the record with "11" in the "No." column 601 shown in FIG. 8, it is recorded that advice from an expert has been received. Specifically, it is recorded that the expert "P001" has input advice information "advice101.dat" regarding the user oral condition information "stat101.dat" of "U001". The server device 200 may manage the status regarding the request for advice. For example, in the record with "42" in the "No." column 601 shown in FIG. 8, advice is being requested from an expert, and the status information "requesting" may be stored in the "input date and time" column 608 and the "advice information" column 609 to manage the status.

[0125] 8 may include various information other than the information shown in the figure. Also, the table 600 may be linked to a medical database that manages electronic medical records, prescription drugs, etc. of each user.

[0126] (Display screen 700 of medical terminal 400) Next, an example of a display screen 700 for an expert to input advice information in step S9 of Fig. 7 will be described. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen 700 for an expert to input advice information in the medical side terminal 400 of the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the display screen 700 shown in Fig. 9 is merely for explaining this embodiment and does not limit the present invention.

[0127] The display screen 700 shown in Figure 9 has an oral cavity condition information display area 701 that displays the user's oral cavity condition information, a dental formula display area 702 that displays a dental formula (dental alignment chart), an estimation result information display area 703 that displays estimation result information, and an advice input area 704 for inputting advice information.

[0128] In the oral cavity condition information display area 701 shown in FIG. 9, a user ID, the acquisition date and time of the oral cavity condition information, an oral cavity image, and a tooth brushing time are displayed. The user's name and attributes may be displayed together with the user ID. The oral cavity image may be made enlarged / reduced, and its brightness (brightness) may be adjusted. The expert can input advice information while checking the oral cavity condition information (oral cavity image, tooth brushing time, etc.).

[0129] When there are multiple oral cavity images, the multiple oral cavity images may be simultaneously displayed on one display screen 700, and the display of the multiple oral cavity images may be switched in sequence by a scroll operation. When the oral cavity images are videos, it may be possible to specify a playback time or pause the video.

[0130] 9, a dental chart (dental alignment chart) that identifies the teeth in the mouth by numbers and diagrams is displayed. The professional can input symbols, figures, text, etc. to the dental chart displayed in the dental chart display area 702.

[0131] 9 is configured to display the estimation result information that the estimation device 300 estimates from the user's oral cavity state information. The estimation result information includes the estimation result of the user's oral cavity state, an evaluation of the tooth brushing state (e.g., a numerical score converted into 100 points), etc. The expert can input advice information while checking the estimation result (the estimated oral cavity state and the evaluation of the tooth brushing state) obtained by AI analysis or the like as reference information.

[0132] 9 has a text box for the expert to input advice information, and the expert can input the advice information into the text box by using a keyboard, voice input, etc. The expert can input the advice information into the advice input area 704 while checking the oral cavity condition information displayed in the oral cavity condition information display area 701 and the estimation result information displayed in the estimation result information display area 703. The advice information is not limited to text, and may be an image, a link to a specific web page, etc.

[0133] 9, the expert who inputs advice information based on the user's oral condition information can input advice information while referring to necessary information on one display screen 700, and can efficiently input advice. Note that, although the expert here provides advice specific to a specific user only, the expert may provide advice common to multiple users (e.g. advice on correct tooth brushing movements) to multiple users.

[0134] (Display screen 800 of user terminal 100) Next, an example of a display screen 800 for a user to view advice information in step S13 of Fig. 7 will be described. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen 800 for a user to view advice information in the user terminal 100 of the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the display screen 800 shown in Fig. 10 is merely for explaining this embodiment and does not limit the present invention.

[0135] The display screen 800 shown in Figure 10 has an oral condition information / dental formula display area 801 that displays the user's oral condition information and dental formula, an advice display area 802 that displays expert advice information, an estimated result information display area 803 that displays estimated result information, a medical institution display area 804 that displays medical institutions where treatment is available, and an advertising information display area 805 that displays advertising information.

[0136] 10, the oral cavity condition information / dental chart display area 801 displays the user ID, the acquisition date and time of the oral cavity condition information, an oral cavity image, and the tooth brushing time. The oral cavity image and tooth brushing time displayed in the oral cavity condition information / dental chart display area 801 are those referenced when the expert inputs the advice information. The oral cavity condition information / dental chart display area 801 displays the dental chart into which the expert has input symbols, figures, text, etc.

[0137] Advice information input by an expert is displayed in the advice display area 802 shown in Fig. 10. By viewing this advice information, the user can obtain a judgment based on the knowledge of the expert. The advice information displayed in the advice display area 802 may include not only advice information specific to the user, but also advice information common to a plurality of users. Furthermore, an image or a link to a specific web page may be displayed as the advice information.

[0138] 10, the estimation result information display area 803 displays the estimation result information estimated by the estimation device 300 from the user's oral cavity state information. This allows the user to refer to the estimation result (evaluation of the oral cavity state and tooth brushing situation) obtained by AI analysis or the like as reference information.

[0139] 10 is configured to display information about medical institutions that suggest consultation at actual medical institutions. For example, information about medical institutions where the expert who inputted the advice information is employed is displayed in the medical institution display area 804. Information about medical institutions near the user's regular doctor, home, workplace, etc., and information about medical institutions in the vicinity of the current location information of the user terminal 100 (the user's current location) may also be displayed.

[0140] Furthermore, as information about each medical institution displayed in the medical institution display area 804, a link to a web page that lists detailed information about each medical institution, as well as a link to a page for making an appointment, a telephone number, etc. may be displayed. This makes it possible to guide the user to an actual visit to the medical institution.

[0141] In the medical institution display area 804, it is preferable to place or highlight information about the medical institution where the expert who entered the advice information is employed and information that enables appointments to be made at the top of the list of medical institutions. This makes it easier for the user to select the medical institution where the expert who entered the advice information is employed as the medical institution from which to receive the advice, and this has the advantage that experts can acquire and retain patients by actively entering advice information.

[0142] In the advertisement information display area 805 shown in FIG. 10, information on products for maintaining and improving oral hygiene is displayed as advertisement information. The advertisement information may introduce products that match each user's oral condition and tooth brushing status, or expert advice information. For example, a product associated with the evaluation (quantified score) of the tooth brushing status by the estimation device 300 may be displayed as advertisement information, or a product that the estimation device 300 estimates to be suitable for the user may be displayed as advertisement information. On the other hand, the advertisement information may not be tailored to each individual user, but may be common to multiple users. In addition, a link to a purchase page for purchasing the product may be displayed as advertisement information, which may lead the user to purchase the product.

[0143] In this way, users can view expert advice information based on their own oral condition information. This can increase the user's interest in oral hygiene and encourage them to continue to brush their teeth and improve their oral condition on a daily basis. Users can view information on the estimated results of AI analysis regarding their oral condition, further increasing their interest in oral hygiene.

[0144] Also, by encouraging users to visit actual medical institutions, it is possible to realize both an advantage for the user, that is, improvement of the oral condition, and an advantage for the professional, that is, deepening the relationship with the user as a customer and retaining the customer. Furthermore, by providing users with advertising information on oral hygiene products, it is also effective in promoting sales of products to users who are interested in oral hygiene.

[0145] (Hardware configuration) The functions of the above-mentioned user terminal 100, server device 200, estimation device 300, and medical terminal 400 can be realized, for example, by a computer 900 having the hardware configuration described below. Fig. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer 900 capable of performing the processing in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0146] 11 includes, as an example, a processor 910, a memory 920, a storage 930, an input / output interface 940, and a communication interface 950, and the components are connected via a bus 960. As the computer 900, for example, a general-purpose computer, a mobile information terminal, or the like can be appropriately selected.

[0147] The processor 910 is hardware that executes various commands written in a program and realizes and controls various functions in the computer 900. The processor 910 may be, for example, a CPU, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that performs data processing specialized for a specific purpose, or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that has a high degree of design freedom.

[0148] The memory 920 is a volatile memory that temporarily stores programs and data executed by the computer 900, and is, for example, a main storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0149] The storage 930 is, for example, an auxiliary storage device such as a magnetic disk such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a semiconductor memory such as a solid state drive (SSD), a magneto-optical disk, and an optical disk (corresponding to the storage units 202, 302, and 404). The storage 930 may be connected via an input / output interface 940, or may be located at a position accessible via the communication interface 950.

[0150] The storage 930 is capable of storing a program and data in which the processing procedure in this embodiment is described as program instructions. The processor 910 reads out the program according to this embodiment from the storage 930, expands it on the memory 920, and executes the program instructions, so that the computer 900 can implement the functions according to this embodiment. For example, the application unit 110 (user side application) that runs on the user terminal 100, the application unit 410 (medical side application) that runs on the medical side terminal 400, the platform unit 210 that runs on the server device 200, and the like are all created as programs, and the processor 910 reads out the program from the storage 930, expands it on the memory 920, and executes the program instructions, thereby realizing the functions of the application units 110, 410, and the platform unit 210.

[0151] The input / output interface 940 has a function of receiving input from the outside and a function of outputting information to the outside. The input / output interface 940 is configured to be able to connect various devices as necessary, such as user input devices (corresponding to the operation input unit 102, 402) such as a mouse 941 and a keyboard 942, information collection devices (corresponding to the operation input unit 102, 402) such as a camera 943 and a microphone 944, and information output devices (corresponding to the display unit 101, 401) such as a display 945 and a speaker 946.

[0152] The communication interface 950 has a function for the computer 900 to communicate with other computers (corresponding to the communication units 103, 201, 403). The communication interface 950 may be configured to allow the computer 900 to access other computers through a network 951. The network 951 includes, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), the Internet, and the like. The communication interface 950 may also be configured to allow direct communication with other computers. The communication method used in the communication interface 950 is not particularly limited, and either a packet communication method or a circuit switching method may be used, and either wired communication or wireless communication may be used.

[0153] The effects of the present invention will be described below. According to the present invention, it is possible to realize both an advantage for the user, that is, the ability to continuously improve daily tooth brushing behavior and oral condition, and an advantage for the specialist, such as a dentist or oral surgeon, that is, the ability to deepen relationships with users as customers and retain them.

[0154] The oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-described embodiment is configured with an oral cavity condition acquisition device 10, a user terminal 100, a medical side terminal 400, and a server device 200.

[0155] The intraoral condition acquisition device 10 includes an intraoral condition detection unit 11 including an imaging unit 12 that captures an image of the intraoral cavity, and is capable of acquiring intraoral condition information including an image of the user's intraoral cavity.

[0156] The user terminal 100 includes an operation input unit 102 and a display unit 101 that can be operated by a user, and also includes an oral cavity condition information acquisition unit 111 that acquires oral cavity condition information from the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 .

[0157] The medical side terminal 400 is equipped with an operation input unit 402 and a display unit 401 that can be operated by an expert, as well as an advice information acquisition unit 413 that acquires advice information regarding the condition of the user's oral cavity input by the expert based on the user's oral cavity condition information.

[0158] The server device 200 is a device that is placed on a network 500 and is capable of communicating with each of the user terminal 100 and the medical side terminal 400 via the network 500, and has an oral condition information management unit 213 that acquires and manages oral condition information from the user terminal 100, an oral condition information providing unit 214 that provides oral condition information to the medical side terminal 400, an advice information management unit 215 that acquires and manages advice information input by an expert based on the user's oral condition information from the medical side terminal 400, and an advice information providing unit 216 that provides advice information to the user terminal 100.

[0159] According to the above configuration, the user can receive advice on the state of the oral cavity and tooth brushing behavior from a specialist such as a dentist or oral surgeon without a face-to-face consultation. The specialist can also understand the state of the oral cavity of the user from the oral cavity image of the user without a face-to-face consultation and provide advice to the user, and can also provide appropriate advice to encourage the user to visit a medical institution, thereby capturing and acquiring patients. This makes it possible to realize both the advantage of the user, that is, the ability to continuously improve daily tooth brushing behavior and oral condition, and the advantage of the specialist, that is, the ability to deepen the relationship with the user as a customer and capture customers.

[0160] The oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above embodiment may have an estimation device 300 including an estimation unit 303 that estimates the state of the user's oral cavity based on the user's oral cavity state information in the above configuration. The server device 200 may also have an estimation result information providing unit 218 that provides estimation result information including the estimation result by the estimation unit 303 of the estimation device 300 to either one or both of the user terminal 100 and the medical side terminal 400.

[0161] According to the above configuration, by providing the expert with the estimation result of the state of the user's oral cavity by the estimation device 300, the expert can refer to it as reference information (second opinion) when judging the state of the user's oral cavity. Furthermore, by providing the user with the estimation result of the state of the user's oral cavity by the estimation device 300, the user can refer to the estimation result by the estimation device 300 as reference information (second opinion) in addition to the advice information of the expert.

[0162] In the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-described embodiment, in the above configuration, the estimation unit 303 of the estimation device 300 may estimate the condition of the user's oral cavity from an image of the user's oral cavity using a trained estimation model.

[0163] According to the above configuration, by analyzing an image of a user's oral cavity using AI (Artificial Intelligence) or the like, it is possible to estimate the condition of the user's oral cavity with high accuracy.

[0164] In the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-mentioned embodiment, in the above-mentioned configuration, the oral condition acquisition device 10 may have a toothbrushing action detection unit 13 that detects the toothbrushing action by the user, and the oral condition information may include the toothbrushing time of the toothbrushing action detected by the toothbrushing action detection unit 13.

[0165] According to the above configuration, it is possible to detect the tooth brushing time, which is an indicator of whether or not the teeth are brushed correctly.

[0166] In the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-described embodiment, in the above-described configuration, the estimation unit 303 of the estimation device 300 may use a learned estimation model to estimate the condition of the user's oral cavity and the user's tooth brushing situation from the user's oral cavity image and the user's tooth brushing time.

[0167] According to the above configuration, by using AI or the like to analyze images of the user's oral cavity and the user's tooth brushing time, it is possible to estimate the user's tooth brushing status (for example, whether there is a tendency for the back teeth to be left unbrushed), and further, by quantifying the estimated tooth brushing status, it is possible to evaluate the user's tooth brushing status as a number that is easy for the user to understand.

[0168] In the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-mentioned embodiment, in the above-mentioned configuration, the advice information providing unit 216 of the server device 200 may provide advertising information for products related to oral hygiene to the user terminal 100, together with advice information, in accordance with the estimation result of the user's tooth brushing status by the estimation device 300.

[0169] According to the above configuration, it is possible to efficiently provide the user with advertising information about products for improving the condition of the user's oral cavity, based on the estimation result of the user's tooth brushing status.

[0170] In the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-described embodiment, in the above configuration, the advice information providing unit 216 of the server device 200 may provide the user terminal 100 with medical institution information suggesting a visit to an actual medical institution together with the advice information.

[0171] According to the above configuration, it is possible to encourage the user to visit an actual medical institution.

[0172] In the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-mentioned embodiment, in the above-mentioned configuration, the medical institution information may include information that enables the user to make an appointment to visit a medical institution that the user has registered in advance or a medical institution that employs an expert.

[0173] According to the above configuration, a user can use the medical institution information provided along with the advice information to easily make an appointment to see a medical institution that the user has registered in advance or a medical institution that employs the specialist who received the advice.

[0174] In the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-mentioned embodiment, in the above-mentioned configuration, the oral condition acquisition device 10 is provided integrally with the toothbrush used by the user or as a detachable attachment to the toothbrush, and the oral condition acquisition device 10 and the user terminal 100 may be connected via short-range wireless communication.

[0175] According to the above configuration, by providing the oral cavity condition acquisition device 10 on a toothbrush, oral cavity condition information including an image of the user's oral cavity can be acquired during daily tooth brushing.

[0176] In the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above embodiment, in the above configuration, the server device 200 may have an authentication processing unit 219 that authenticates users and experts.

[0177] According to the above configuration, by authenticating users and experts who use the system, it is possible to improve security regarding highly confidential personal information such as the user's oral condition information and expert advice information.

[0178] In the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-described embodiment, in the above configuration, the advice information may include advice information specific to a specific user, or advice information common to a plurality of users.

[0179] According to the above configuration, the expert can provide detailed advice tailored to an individual user, or can efficiently provide general advice to a plurality of users.

[0180] In addition, the oral hygiene management support method executed in the oral hygiene management support system 1 in the above-mentioned embodiment is characterized by having the steps of acquiring oral condition information including an image of the user's oral cavity by an oral condition acquisition device 10 equipped with an oral condition detection unit 11 including an imaging unit 12 that captures an image of the oral cavity, acquiring oral condition information from the oral condition acquisition device 10 by a user terminal 100 that can be operated by a user, acquiring and managing the oral condition information from the user terminal 100 by a server device 200 that is arranged on a network 500 and can communicate with the user terminal 100 via the network 500, providing the oral condition information by the server device 200 to a medical side terminal 400 that can communicate with the server device 200 via the network 500 and can be operated by an expert, acquiring and managing advice information regarding the condition of the user's oral cavity input by an expert based on the oral condition information from the medical side terminal 400 by the server device 200, and providing the advice information to the user terminal 100 by the server device 200.

[0181] According to the above process, the user can receive advice on the state of the oral cavity and tooth brushing behavior from a specialist such as a dentist or oral surgeon without a face-to-face consultation. The specialist can also understand the state of the oral cavity of the user from the oral cavity image of the user without a face-to-face consultation and provide advice to the user, and can also provide appropriate advice to encourage the user to visit a medical institution, thereby capturing and acquiring patients. This realizes both the advantage of the user, that is, the ability to continuously improve daily tooth brushing behavior and oral condition, and the advantage of the specialist, that is, the ability to deepen the relationship with the user as a customer and capture customers.

[0182] The above-described embodiment is described for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. Each component and each processing step disclosed in the above-described embodiment is intended to include all design modifications and equivalents that fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0183] The present invention is applicable to technology that assists users in managing their oral hygiene, and is also applicable to technology that assists professionals such as dentists and oral surgeons in deepening their relationships with users as customers by increasing users' interest in oral hygiene and increasing the opportunities for users to visit medical institutions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0184] 1 Oral hygiene management support system 10 Oral cavity condition acquisition device 11 Oral cavity condition detection unit 12 Imaging unit 13 Tooth brushing motion detector 14, 105 Near Field Wireless Communication Department 100 user terminals 101, 401 Display section 102, 402 Operation input section 103, 201, 301, 403 Communications Department 104, 202, 302, 404 Storage section 110, 410 Application section 111, 411 Oral condition information acquisition unit 112, 412 Oral cavity condition information output unit 113, 413 Advice Information Acquisition Department 114, 414 Advice information output section 115, 415 Estimation result information acquisition unit 116, 416 Estimation result information output section 117, 219, 417 Authentication processing unit 200 Server device 210 Platform Section 211 User Management Department 212 Expert Management Department 213 Oral Health Information Management Department 214 Oral Health Information Department 215 Advice Information Management Department 216 Advice and Information Department 217 Estimation Results Information Management Department 218 Estimation result information provision department 300 Estimation device 303 Estimation Department 400 Medical terminal 500 Network 600 Tables 601 "No." column 602 "User ID" column 603 "Oral condition information" column 604 "Acquisition Date and Time" column 605 "Estimation result information" column 606 "Expert ID" column 607 "Request Date" column 608 "Input Date and Time" column 609 "Advice Information" column 700, 800 display screen 701 Oral condition information display area 702 Tooth formula display area 703, 803 Estimation result information display area 704 Advice input area 801 Oral condition information / dental chart display area 802 Advice display area 804 Medical Institution Display Area 805 Advertising information display area 900 Computers 910 Processor 920 Memory 930 Storage 940 Input / Output Interface 941 Mouse 942 Keyboard 943 Camera 944 Mike 945 Display 946 Speaker 950 Communication Interface 951 Network 960 Bus

Claims

1. An oral cavity condition acquisition device including an oral cavity condition detection unit including an imaging unit that captures an oral cavity image, for acquiring oral cavity condition information including an oral cavity image of a user; a user terminal including an operation input unit and a display unit operable by a user, and including an oral cavity condition information acquisition unit that acquires the oral cavity condition information from the oral cavity condition acquisition device; A medical terminal including an operation input unit and a display unit that can be operated by an expert, and an advice information acquisition unit that acquires advice information regarding the state of the oral cavity of the user input by the expert; a server device that is disposed on a network and is capable of communicating with each of the user terminal and the medical terminal via the network; The server device, an oral cavity condition information management unit that acquires the oral cavity condition information from the user terminal and manages it; an oral cavity condition information providing unit for providing the oral cavity condition information to the medical side terminal; an advice information management unit that acquires the advice information input by the expert based on the oral cavity condition information from the medical side terminal and manages the advice information; and an advice information providing unit that provides the advice information to the user terminal.

2. The method further includes the step of: providing an estimation device that estimates a state of the oral cavity of the user based on the oral cavity state information of the user; The oral hygiene management support system of claim 1, characterized in that the server device has an estimation result information providing unit that provides estimation result information including an estimation result by the estimation unit of the estimation device to either one or both of the user terminal and the medical side terminal.

3. The oral hygiene management support system according to claim 2, characterized in that the estimation unit of the estimation device estimates the condition of the user's oral cavity from an image of the user's oral cavity using a learned estimation model.

4. The oral cavity condition acquisition device has a tooth brushing action detection unit that detects a tooth brushing action by the user, The oral hygiene management support system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the oral cavity condition information includes a tooth brushing time of the tooth brushing action detected by the tooth brushing action detection unit.

5. The oral hygiene management support system described in claim 4, characterized in that the estimation unit of the estimation device uses a learned estimation model to estimate the state of the user's oral cavity and the user's tooth brushing situation from the user's oral cavity image and the user's tooth brushing time.

6. The oral hygiene management support system of claim 5, characterized in that the advice information providing unit of the server device provides advertising information for products related to oral hygiene to the user terminal together with the advice information in accordance with the estimation result of the user's tooth brushing status by the estimation device.

7. The oral hygiene management support system according to claim 5, characterized in that the advice information providing unit of the server device provides to the user terminal, together with the advice information, information about a medical institution that suggests visiting an actual medical institution.

8. The oral hygiene management support system according to claim 7, characterized in that the medical institution information includes information that enables the user to make an appointment to see a medical institution that the user has previously registered or a medical institution in which the specialist is employed.

9. The oral hygiene management support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the oral condition acquisition device is provided integrally with a toothbrush used by the user or as a detachable attachment to the toothbrush, and the oral condition acquisition device and the user terminal are connected via short-range wireless communication.

10. 4. The oral hygiene care support system according to claim 1, wherein the server device has an authentication processing unit that authenticates the user or the expert.

11. 4. The oral hygiene management support system according to claim 1, wherein the advice information includes advice information specific to a specific user or advice information common to a plurality of users.

12. acquiring oral cavity condition information including an image of the oral cavity of a user by an oral cavity condition acquisition device including an oral cavity condition detection unit including an imaging unit that captures an image of the oral cavity; acquiring the oral cavity condition information from the oral cavity condition acquisition device by a user terminal operable by a user; A step of acquiring and managing the oral cavity condition information from the user terminal by a server device that is disposed on a network and is capable of communicating with the user terminal through the network; providing the oral cavity condition information to a medical terminal that can communicate with the server device through the network and can be operated by a medical professional; a step of acquiring, by the server device, advice information regarding the state of the oral cavity of the user input by the expert based on the oral cavity state information from the medical side terminal and managing the advice information; providing the advice information to the user terminal by the server device.

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