Surgical instrument management method and information management system

Abstract

To provide a surgical instrument management method and an information management system, capable of reducing a load in maintenance of a surgical instrument in a facility using a surgical robot system, and reusing the surgical instrument used in the surgical robot system.SOLUTION: There is provided a management method of surgical instruments 30 which are used in a surgical robot system which is installed in each of multiple facilities 10, the surgical instruments are collected and are subjected to at least washing and sterilization and then are delivered to any facility 10. In each of the multiple surgical instruments 30, state information related to a state of the surgical instrument 30 is associated with identification information of each surgical instrument 30 and stored. Then, the state information related to the surgical instrument 30 which becomes in a state in which the instrument can be delivered by maintenance, is updated to state information indicating a fact that the surgical instrument can be selected as a delivery object to the facility 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for managing surgical instruments and an information management system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, surgical operations are performed using a surgical robot system. The surgical robot system includes a console and a surgical robot arm. During a surgical operation, a surgical instrument such as forceps is attached to the surgical robot arm, and the surgical robot arm and the surgical instrument are operated by an operator operating the console.

[0003] Such surgical instruments are subjected to maintenance such as cleaning and sterilization after surgery and are then reused. Patent Document 1 listed below describes an automatic processing device for performing post-operative cleaning processing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] US Patent Application Publication No. 2020 / 0261173 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, compared to conventional surgical instruments used manually by surgeons, surgical instruments used in surgical robot systems have fine and complex structures such as wire mechanisms, and require complicated postoperative cleaning processes, so that if not properly maintained, there is a risk of damage to the surgical instruments or of proteins and other substances adhering to the surgical instruments remaining. Even if the automatic processing device described in Patent Document 1 is used, such maintenance is a heavy burden on facilities such as medical institutions that use surgical robot systems.

[0006] In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide a surgical instrument management method and information management system that enables the reuse of surgical instruments used in a surgical robot system while reducing the burden of maintaining surgical instruments in facilities that use the surgical robot system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, 12, 18, 19, 49, 51, 55 and 59, the present invention provides a method for managing surgical instruments (30) that have been used in a surgical robot system (11) installed in each of multiple facilities (10), collected, maintained including at least cleaning and sterilization, and delivered to one of the facilities (10), in which, for each of the multiple surgical instruments (30), status information regarding the status of the surgical instrument (30) is stored in association with identification information of each of the multiple surgical instruments (30), and status information corresponding to a surgical instrument (30) that has become deliverable through maintenance is updated to status information indicating that it can be selected as a target for delivery to the facility (10) (step S212 in Figure 18).

[0008] According to the surgical instrument management method of the present invention, since maintenance such as cleaning and sterilization of surgical instruments used in the surgical robot system does not need to be performed at the facility where the surgical robot system is installed, the burden on the facility that uses the surgical robot system can be reduced. In addition, since it is possible to manage whether or not a surgical instrument can be selected as a delivery target to a facility based on status information of the surgical instrument, a surgical instrument that has become deliverable through maintenance can be identified from among multiple surgical instruments and provided to the facility for reuse.

[0009] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, 10, 12, 18, 19, 49, 51, 55, and 59, the present invention provides an information management system (40) that manages surgical instruments (30) that have been used in a surgical robot system (11) installed in each of a plurality of facilities (10), are collected, undergo maintenance including at least cleaning and sterilization, and are delivered to one of the facilities (10). The information management system (40) includes a memory unit (152) that stores, for each of the plurality of surgical instruments (30), status information regarding the status of the surgical instruments (30) in association with identification information of each of the plurality of surgical instruments (30), and a control unit (141) that updates the status information corresponding to a surgical instrument (30) that has become deliverable due to maintenance to status information indicating that the instrument can be selected as a target for delivery to the facility (10).

[0010] According to the information management system of the present invention, since maintenance such as cleaning and sterilization of surgical instruments used in the surgical robot system does not need to be performed at the facility where the surgical robot system is installed, the burden on the facility that uses the surgical robot system can be reduced. In addition, since it is possible to manage whether or not a surgical instrument can be selected as a delivery target to a facility based on status information of the surgical instrument, a surgical instrument that has become deliverable through maintenance can be identified from among multiple surgical instruments and provided to the facility for reuse. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden of maintaining surgical instruments in facilities that use surgical robot systems, while making it possible to reuse surgical instruments used in surgical robot systems. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining reuse of a surgical instrument according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the surgical instrument management system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a process flow in a facility according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a process flow in the device center according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the surgical robot system and the surgical instrument according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a patient-side device and a surgical instrument according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a surgical instrument according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the operating device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the information management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating the functional configuration of a work terminal installed in a facility and a work terminal installed in a device center according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the configuration of a surgical instrument table stored in a database and details of status IDs according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a demand information table stored in a database according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a delivery information table stored in a database according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission process of an operation log by the control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an operation log related to an arm to which a surgical instrument is attached, according to the first embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a process of updating the status to collected by the information management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 18]FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the processing of the operation terminal and the information management system in the maintenance process of the device center according to the first embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an update screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an operator's work in a maintenance process at a device center according to the first embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the operation terminal and the information management system in the device center selection process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a delivery decision screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the first embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a modified example of the delivery decision screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the processing of the operation terminal and the information management system in the delivery process of the device center according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 25] FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a delivery screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the first embodiment. [Figure 26] FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the processing of the operation terminal and the information management system during inventory management in the device center according to the first embodiment. [Figure 27] FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an inventory screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the first embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the processing of the operation terminal and the information management system in the selection process of the device center according to the first modification of the first embodiment. [Figure 29] FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery decision screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the first modification of the first embodiment. [Diagram 30]FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating details of a status ID according to the second modification of the first embodiment. In FIG. [Diagram 31] FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a surgery schedule table and a surgical instrument number table stored in a database according to the second embodiment. [Diagram 32] FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a demand information table stored in a database according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. [Diagram 33] FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram illustrating shipping confirmation at a device center according to the second embodiment. [Diagram 34] FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing the processing of the work terminal and the information management system in the facility when inputting a surgery schedule according to the second embodiment. [Diagram 35] FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a surgery schedule input screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a facility according to the second embodiment. [Diagram 36] FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a delivery decision screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the second embodiment. [Figure 37] FIG. 37 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an inventory screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the second embodiment. [Figure 38] FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a surgery schedule table stored in a database according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. [Figure 39] FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a combination table stored in a database according to the third embodiment. [Diagram 40] FIG. 40 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a surgery schedule input screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a facility according to the third embodiment. [Diagram 41] FIG. 41 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgery schedule table according to a modified example of the third embodiment. [Diagram 42] FIG. 42 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a combination table according to a modification of the third embodiment. [Diagram 43]FIG. 43 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a usage record table according to the fourth embodiment. [Diagram 44] FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing the processing of the information management system and the operation terminal when registering demand information according to the fourth embodiment. [Diagram 45] FIG. 45 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a usage record table according to the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 46] FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing the processing of the information management system and the operation terminal when updating combination information according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 47] FIG. 47 is a diagram showing lead times set for each status ID according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 48] FIG. 48 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a delivery decision screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 49] FIG. 49 is a diagram illustrating details of a status ID according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 50] FIG. 50 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgical instrument table stored in a database according to the seventh embodiment. As shown in FIG. [Figure 51] FIG. 51 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of a maintenance process at a device center according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 52] FIG. 52 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an inspection screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in an inspection area according to the seventh embodiment. [Diagram 53] FIG. 53 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a confirmation screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in an inspection area according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 54] FIG. 54 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgical instrument table stored in a database according to the first modification of the seventh embodiment. FIG. [Figure 55] FIG. 55 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a surgical instrument management system according to the second modification of the seventh embodiment. [Figure 56]FIG. 56 is a flowchart showing the process of an examination using a surgical robot system according to the second modification of the seventh embodiment. [Figure 57] FIG. 57 is a diagram showing a usage state ID added to a status ID according to the eighth embodiment. [Figure 58] FIG. 58 is a diagram showing a refurbishment ID added to a status ID according to a modification of the eighth embodiment. [Figure 59] FIG. 59 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a surgical instrument management system according to the ninth embodiment. [Figure 60] FIG. 60 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a facility table and a device center table stored in the database DB according to the ninth embodiment. [Figure 61] FIG. 61 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgical instrument table stored in a database DB according to the ninth embodiment. As shown in FIG. [Figure 62] FIG. 62 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a delivery decision screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the ninth embodiment. [Figure 63] FIG. 63 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery decision screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the tenth embodiment. [Figure 64] FIG. 64 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgical instrument table stored in a database according to the eleventh embodiment. As shown in FIG. [Figure 65] FIG. 65 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery decision screen displayed on a display unit of a work terminal in a device center according to the eleventh embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining reuse of a surgical instrument 30. As shown in FIG.

[0014] A surgical robot system 11, which will be described later, is installed in a facility 10 such as a medical facility. During surgery, a surgical instrument 30 is attached to the surgical robot system 11. The surgical robot system 11 is operated by an operator who is a doctor, and performs surgery on a patient. Once the surgery is completed, the surgical instrument 30 used in each facility 10 is collected in the device center 20.

[0015] The device center 20 collects the surgical instruments 30, performs maintenance such as cleaning and sterilization on the collected surgical instruments 30, and stores the maintained surgical instruments 30 in a warehouse. When a demand for surgical instruments 30 arises from a facility 10, the surgical instruments 30 in the warehouse within the device center 20 are selected as delivery targets in response to the demand, and are delivered to each facility 10. At the facility 10, surgery is performed by the surgical robot system 11 using the surgical instruments 30 delivered from the device center 20.

[0016] 1, when the maintenance of the surgical instruments 30 is performed at the device center 20, the burden of maintaining the surgical instruments 30 at each facility 10 is reduced. Furthermore, when the surgical instruments 30 are reused, the use of the surgical instruments 30 can be made environmentally friendly.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the surgical instrument management system 1.

[0018] The surgical instrument management system 1 includes a surgical robot system 11, a communication control device 12, a work terminal 13, a work terminal 21, and an information management system 40. The communication control device 12 and the information management system 40, the work terminal 13 and the information management system 40, and the work terminal 21 and the information management system 40 are connected by a network 50. The network 50 is, for example, the Internet. The communication control device 12 is, for example, a computer.

[0019] A surgical robot system 11, a communication control device 12, and a work terminal 13 are installed in each of the multiple facilities 10. The surgical robot system 11 is communicatively connected to an information management system 40 via the communication control device 12 and a network 50. The work terminal 13 is communicatively connected to the information management system 40 via the network 50. A maintenance management system 20a consisting of multiple work terminals 21 is installed in the device center 20. The multiple work terminals 21 are communicatively connected to the information management system 40 via the network 50.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the process flow within facility 10.

[0021] At the facility 10, an operator inputs, for example, surgery schedule information into the work terminal 13 as demand information prior to the date of surgery. The surgery schedule information includes, for example, the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required for the surgery. The surgery schedule information inputted into the work terminal 13 is transmitted to the information management system 40. Thereafter, the surgical instruments 30 required for the surgery are delivered to the facility 10 prior to the date of surgery.

[0022] The surgical instrument 30 delivered to the facility 10 is attached to the surgical robot system 11 at the time of surgery. A surgical instrument ID capable of identifying the surgical instrument 30 is stored in the memory unit 31 (see FIG. 5) of the surgical instrument 30. The surgical instrument ID of the surgical instrument 30 attached to the surgical robot system 11 is transmitted to the information management system 40 via the communication control device 12 as part of the operation log of the surgical robot system 11. The operation log will be described later with reference to FIG. 16.

[0023] When the surgery by the surgical robot system 11 is completed, information indicating the completion of the surgery is transmitted to the information management system 40 via the communication control device 12. As a result, the information management system 40 sets the status of the surgical instruments 30 used in the surgery to "recovered." The status of the surgical instruments 30 will be described later with reference to FIG. 12. The used surgical instruments 30 are then collected into the device center 20.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of processing within the device center 20. As shown in FIG.

[0025] The processes performed at the device center 20 include a maintenance process, an inventory control process, a selection process, and a delivery process.

[0026] In the maintenance process, an operator inputs the surgical instrument ID of the surgical instrument 30 collected from the facility 10 into the work terminal 21. The surgical instrument ID input into the work terminal 21 is transmitted to the information management system 40, and the status of the surgical instrument 30 stored in the information management system 40 is set to "under maintenance". After that, maintenance such as cleaning and sterilization is performed on the surgical instrument 30, and the surgical instrument 30 is packaged in a sealed state in a tray or the like. The operator inputs the surgical instrument ID of the surgical instrument 30 for which maintenance has been completed into the work terminal 21. The surgical instrument ID input into the work terminal 21 is transmitted to the information management system 40, and the status of the surgical instrument 30 stored in the information management system 40 is set to "in stock". After that, the surgical instrument 30 proceeds to the stock management process.

[0027] In addition, in the maintenance process, for example, if it is determined that the number of times a surgical instrument 30 has been used exceeds a predetermined threshold or if it is determined that the surgical instrument 30 is broken, the surgical instrument 30 is discarded and a new surgical instrument 30 is replenished. In addition, if the frequency of surgery at each facility 10 increases or if a new facility 10 is added, it is necessary to increase the total number of surgical instruments 30, so new surgical instruments 30 are replenished. The replenished surgical instruments 30 are passed through the maintenance process and then proceed to the inventory management process.

[0028] In the inventory management process, the surgical instruments 30 that have been packaged after the maintenance process are stored in a warehouse.

[0029] In the selection process, the operator operates the work terminal 21 to send a request instruction for demand information and surgical instrument information to the information management system 40, and receives the demand information and surgical instrument information as a result from the information management system 40. The demand information and surgical instrument information include the types and numbers of surgical instruments 30 required in the facility 10, and a list of the surgical instruments 30 stored as inventory in the warehouse of the device center 20.

[0030] The operator operates the work terminal 21, refers to the demand information and the surgical instrument information, and determines the surgical instruments 30 to be delivered. As a result, in the information management system 40, the status of the surgical instruments 30 determined to be delivered is set to "Delivery determined", and the surgical instruments 30 are associated with the delivery destination facility 10. After that, the operator picks up the surgical instruments 30 set to be delivered from the warehouse.

[0031] In the delivery process, the operator performs delivery procedures for the surgical instrument 30 picked up from the warehouse, and inputs the surgical instrument ID of the surgical instrument 30 for which the delivery procedures have been performed into the work terminal 21. The surgical instrument ID inputted into the work terminal 21 is transmitted to the information management system 40, and in the information management system 40, the status of the surgical instrument 30 for which the delivery procedures have been performed is set to "delivered", and the surgical instrument 30 and the delivery destination facility 10 are stored in an associated state. The operator then delivers the surgical instrument 30 to the delivery destination facility 10.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the surgical robot system 11 and the surgical instrument 30.

[0033] The surgical robot system 11 is an apparatus used in endoscopic surgery. The surgical robot system 11 includes a surgical robot 110 (also called a patient-side device), an operation device 120, and a control device 130 that controls the patient-side device 110 and the operation device 120. The control device 130 is built into the patient-side device 110 and is communicatively connected to the communication control device 12. The control device 130 may be built into the operation device 120, or may be arranged independently of the patient-side device 110 and the operation device 120. Three surgical instruments 30 are attached to the patient-side device 110. The three surgical instruments 30 are operated to perform surgery on the patient. The number of surgical instruments 30 attached to the patient-side device 110 is not limited to three, and may be one, two, or four or more.

[0034] The surgical instrument 30 includes a memory unit 31. In Fig. 5, information stored in the memory unit 31 is shown in a dashed box. The memory unit 31 stores a surgical instrument ID, a type ID, a surgical instrument name, and the like related to the surgical instrument 30. The memory unit 31 may further include the maximum number of uses, the current number of uses, the lot number, the manufacturer, and the like related to the surgical instrument 30.

[0035] The surgical instrument ID is an ID capable of individually identifying the surgical instrument 30. The surgical instrument ID is, for example, a serial number. The information stored in the memory unit 31 is associated with each other based on the surgical instrument ID. The type ID is an ID capable of individually identifying the type of the surgical instrument 30. The surgical instrument name is the name of the surgical instrument 30 indicated by the type ID. The surgical instrument name indicates the function possessed by the surgical instrument 30, the type of end effector 33 (see Figure 7), etc. The surgical instrument name is, for example, forceps A, forceps B, forceps C, high-frequency knife A, high-frequency knife B, high-frequency knife C, etc.

[0036] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the patient-side device 110 and the surgical instrument 30. As shown in FIG.

[0037] The patient-side device 110 is a patient-side device equipped with four robot arms (hereinafter, abbreviated as arms) 115 to which three surgical instruments 30 and one endoscope 60 can be attached. The patient-side device 110 operates according to command values ​​transmitted from the control device 130 by operating the operation device 120 by an operator who is a doctor.

[0038] The patient-side device 110 includes a base 111, an operation unit 112, a base arm 113, a support unit 114, and four arms 115. Three surgical instruments 30 and one endoscope 60 are detachably attached to each of the four arms 115.

[0039] The operation unit 112 is installed on the base 111, and includes a display unit and an input unit. While watching the display unit of the operation unit 112, the operator operates the input unit of the operation unit 112 to drive the base arm 113 of the patient-side device 110, thereby moving the support unit 114 and placing the arm 115 at a position suitable for preparation for surgery. The base arm 113 is a robot arm having a rear end installed on the base 111 and equipped with multiple joints. The upper surface of the support unit 114 is rotatably connected to the tip of the base arm 113, and moves in conjunction with the movement of the tip of the base arm 113, and rotates around the axis of the tip of the base arm 113.

[0040] The four arms 115 have their upper ends attached to the lower surface of the support part 114. Each arm 115 is an arm having 12 shafts and joints between the shafts. A support configured to allow the surgical instrument 30 and the endoscope 60 to be attached and detached via an adapter 38 (see FIG. 7) is provided at the lower end of the arm 115, and the surgical instrument 30 or the endoscope 60 is attached to the support via the adapter 38. The surgical instrument 30 has an elongated shaft 32, and the endoscope 60 has an elongated shaft 61. The endoscope 60 is, for example, a 3D videoscope.

[0041] Before the start of surgery, a drape 115a is placed over a patient lying on the operating table, and each arm 115 (see FIG. 7) with an adapter 38 attached to the support is positioned. A guide tube (trocar) is inserted into the abdomen of the patient lying on the operating table, and the shafts 32, 61 of the endoscope 60 and the surgical instruments 30 attached to each arm 115 via the adapter 38 are inserted into the patient's body via the guide tube. In this way, preparations for surgery are made. Usually, the surgical instruments 30 are replaced with different types of surgical instruments 30 multiple times during surgery depending on the treatment content.

[0042] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the surgical instrument 30. The upper part of Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the surgical instrument 30 attached to the tip of the arm 115, and the lower part of Fig. 7 is a plan view showing typically the configuration of the surgical instrument 30 during cleaning.

[0043] As shown in the upper and lower parts of Fig. 7, the surgical instrument 30 includes a memory unit 31, a shaft 32, an end effector 33, a housing 34, a tag 35, cleaning liquid supply ports 36a, 36b, and 36c, a tube 37, and an adapter 38. The surgical instrument 30 is, for example, a variety of treatment tools such as grasping forceps, scissors, a hook, a high-frequency knife, a bipolar, a monopolar, a snare wire, a clamp, and a stapler. The end effector 33 differs depending on the type of the surgical instrument 30. The upper and lower parts of Fig. 7 show, as examples, the end effectors 33 when the surgical instrument 30 is scissors and grasping forceps, respectively.

[0044] The shaft 32 has an elongated shape. The end effector 33 is provided at the tip of the shaft 32. The housing 34 has a generally cylindrical shape, and supports the end of the shaft 32 opposite the end effector 33. The memory unit 31 is disposed in a housing that prevents the intrusion of a cleaning liquid within the housing 34, and is configured, for example, by a flash memory. The tag 35 is affixed to the upper surface of the housing 34, and the surgical instrument ID of the surgical instrument 30 is printed on the surface of the tag 35, for example, as a barcode or QR code (registered trademark). In addition, a character string of the surgical instrument ID is printed on the surface of the tag 35.

[0045] The cleaning liquid supply ports 36a, 36b, and 36c are holes for supplying cleaning water to the inside of the shaft 32 and the housing 34 when cleaning the surgical instrument 30. The cleaning liquid supply ports 36a and 36b are provided on the side surface of the housing 34, and the cleaning liquid supply port 36c is provided on the bottom surface of the housing 34. The pipe 37 is disposed inside the housing 34 and the shaft 32 so as to extend from the cleaning liquid supply port 36a to near the tip of the shaft 32.

[0046] Drape 115a is detachably attached to arm 115 so as to cover arm 115, and is a cover for preventing infection of a patient caused by arm 115. Adapter 38 is attached to a support for arm 115 to which drape 115a is attached, and fixes drape 115a.

[0047] When the surgical instrument 30 is connected to the arm 115, an adapter 38 is attached to the support on the arm 115 side. This mechanically and electrically connects each part of the surgical instrument 30 to the arm 115 via the adapter 38. By electrically connecting each part of the surgical instrument 30 to the arm 115, the patient-side device 110 can read and write information between the memory unit 31 of the surgical instrument 30. When the surgical instrument 30 is to be removed from the arm 115, the surgical instrument 30 is detached from the adapter 38 attached to the support on the arm 115 side.

[0048] When the surgical instrument 30 is washed in the device center 20, as shown in the lower part of Fig. 7, a hose 39 is connected to the washing liquid supply port 36a, and washing water is supplied into the tube 37 via the hose 39. The washing water supplied into the tube 37 is supplied from the tip 37a of the tube 37 into the shaft 32, passes through the shaft 32, and flows into the housing 34. In addition, a hose 39 is connected to the washing liquid supply port 36b, and washing liquid is supplied into the housing 34 via the hose 39. The washing water supplied into the housing 34 flows out to the outside from the gaps in the housing 34 and the washing liquid supply port 36c.

[0049] Thus, the process of supplying cleaning water to the cleaning liquid supply ports 36a, 36b in cleaning the surgical instrument 30 is called flushing. The process of cleaning the surgical instrument 30 consists of five steps including flushing. The process of cleaning the surgical instrument 30 will be described later with reference to FIG. 20.

[0050] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the operating device 120. As shown in FIG.

[0051] The operation device 120 is an operator-side device that is operated by an operator, who is a doctor, during endoscopic surgery to drive the patient-side device 110.

[0052] The operation device 120 includes a base 121 , a support portion 122 , a frame member 123 , an operation panel 124 , a viewer unit 125 , two hand controllers 126 , and a foot unit 127 .

[0053] The support part 122 is installed on the upper part of the base 121 so as to be movable up and down. The frame member 123 is installed on the support part 122. The operation panel 124 is installed on the upper surface at the front center of the frame member 123. On the left and right sides of the operation panel 124, arm rests 123a are formed on which the operator can rest his or her elbows when operating the hand controller 126. The height of the arm rests 123a can be changed by moving the support part 122 up and down relative to the base 121.

[0054] The viewer unit 125 is supported at the tip of an arm 125c installed on the upper surface of the support section 122, and the height can be changed by rotating the joint of the arm 125c. The viewer unit 125 includes a viewer 125a and a head sensor 125b. The viewer 125a is a display section for displaying an image (endoscopic image) captured by the endoscope 60 and various screens. The head sensor 125b is a transmissive photoelectric sensor provided to sandwich the area in front of the viewer 125a. When the operator looks into the viewer 125a, the operator's head approaches the viewer 125a, the light is blocked from the head sensor 125b, and the state in which the operator is looking at the viewer 125a is detected.

[0055] The two hand controllers 126 each have seven axes and joints between the axes, and are installed on the support part 122. The left and right hand controllers 126 are input devices for an operator to operate the four arms 115 of the patient-side device 110 using the left and right hands, respectively.

[0056] When the operator inputs a movement operation to the hand controller 126, each joint of the hand controller 126 rotates about its axis. This drives the target arm 115, and moves the surgical instrument 30 or endoscope 60 attached to the arm 115. In addition, if a surgical instrument 30 equipped with forceps as the end effector 33 is attached to the target arm 115, when the operator inputs a gripping operation to the hand controller 126, the tip of the forceps is driven to open and close.

[0057] The foot unit 127 is installed on the lower front side of the base 121. The foot unit 127 is an input device that enables an operator to operate the patient-side device 110 with his / her left and right feet.

[0058] The operator can switch between the surgical instrument 30 and the endoscope 60 to be operated by the left and right hand controllers 126 by operating the foot unit 127. In addition, the operator can cause the end effector 33 provided at the tip of the surgical instrument 30 to perform a predetermined operation (for example, incision, coagulation, etc.) by operating the foot unit 127.

[0059] Before the start of surgery, the operator sits on a chair, places both arms on the armrests 123a, and places both feet inside or in front of the foot unit 127. The operator places his head inside the viewer unit 125 and looks into the viewer 125a. When the head sensor 125b detects that the operator's head is positioned inside the viewer unit 125, the patient-side device 110 can be operated by the operating device 120.

[0060] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control device 130.

[0061] The control device 130 includes a control unit 131, a storage unit 132, an interface 133, and a communication unit 134.

[0062] The control unit 131 is, for example, a CPU. The control unit 131 executes a computer program stored in the storage unit 132 to control each hardware unit of the control device 130 and execute various processes. The storage unit 132 is, for example, an SSD or HDD. The interface 133 is a communication interface capable of communicating with the patient-side device 110 and the operation device 120 based on a predetermined communication standard. The communication unit 134 is, for example, an interface capable of communicating with the communication control device 12 based on the Ethernet standard.

[0063] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the information management system 40. As shown in FIG.

[0064] The information management system 40 includes an information processing device 41 and a database device 42. The information management system 40 writes information received from the communication control device 12 and the work terminals 13, 21 into the database DB, and also retrieves information stored in the database DB and transmits it to the communication control device 12 and the work terminals 13, 21.

[0065] The information processing device 41 includes a control unit 141, a storage unit 142, and a communication unit 143. The control unit 141 is, for example, a CPU. The control unit 141 executes a computer program stored in the storage unit 142 to control each unit of the hardware of the information processing device 41 and execute various processes. The control unit 141 transmits an instruction to the database device 42 to store information in the database DB and to acquire information from the database DB. The storage unit 142 is, for example, an SSD or HDD. The communication unit 143 is, for example, an interface capable of communicating with the work terminals 13, 21, the communication control device 12, and the database device 42 based on the Ethernet standard.

[0066] The database device 42 includes a control unit 151, a storage unit 152, and a communication unit 153. The control unit 151 is, for example, a CPU. The control unit 151 executes a computer program stored in the storage unit 152 to control each unit of the hardware of the database device 42 and execute various processes. The control unit 151 stores information in the database DB and retrieves information from the database DB in response to an instruction from the control unit 141 of the information processing device 41. The storage unit 152 is, for example, an SSD or HDD. The storage unit 152 stores the database DB. The database DB stores various tables and operation logs of the surgical instrument 30 transmitted from the surgical robot system 11. The communication unit 153 is, for example, an interface capable of communicating with the information processing device 41 based on the Ethernet standard.

[0067] Although the information management system 40 is configured by the information processing device 41 and the database device 42, the configuration of the information management system 40 is not limited to this. For example, the information management system 40 may be configured by one information processing device 41. In this case, the database DB is stored in the storage unit 142. The information management system 40 may also include another device that performs processing between the information processing device 41 and the database device 42. In this case, the three devices of the information management system 40 configure a so-called Web three-tier structure.

[0068] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the work terminal 13 installed in the facility 10 and the work terminal 21 installed in the device center 20. As shown in FIG.

[0069] The work terminals 13 and 21 are configured, for example, by a personal computer or a smartphone. The work terminal 13 includes a control unit 161, a storage unit 162, a display unit 163, an input unit 164, a reading unit 165, and a communication unit 166. The work terminal 21 includes a control unit 171, a storage unit 172, a display unit 173, an input unit 174, a reading unit 175, and a communication unit 176. The work terminals 13 and 21 have substantially the same configurations and functions, and therefore, for convenience, the configuration of the work terminal 13 will be mainly described below.

[0070] The control unit 161 is, for example, a CPU. The control unit 161 controls each part of the hardware of the terminal and executes various processes by executing a computer program stored in the storage unit 162. The storage unit 162 is, for example, an SSD or an HDD.

[0071] The display unit 163 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input unit 164 is, for example, a keyboard and a mouse. Note that, instead of the display unit 163 and the input unit 164, a touch panel type display may be used. Also, the input unit 164 may be, for example, a microphone. For example, in the working terminal 21, a voice recognition program may be stored in the storage unit 172 so that an operator at the device center 20 can input information and instructions without touching the input unit 174. This can prevent contamination of the surgical instrument 30 due to bacteria adhesion caused by the operator touching the input unit 174 in a sterilization process (see FIG. 20) described later. Also, the working terminal 21 may further include a speaker, and output information displayed on the display unit 173 by voice through the speaker. This allows the operator to perform maintenance work without checking the display unit 173, and can improve the efficiency of the maintenance work.

[0072] When a barcode is printed on the surface of the tag 35 (see FIG. 7), the reading unit 165 is configured with a barcode reader, and when a QR code (registered trademark) is printed on the surface of the tag 35, the reading unit 165 is configured with a camera. The communication unit 166 is, for example, an interface capable of communicating with the information management system 40 based on the Ethernet standard.

[0073] The control unit 161 executes a web browser or a predetermined application to receive information for constructing a screen from the information management system 40. The control unit 161 displays various screens on the display unit 163 based on the received information for constructing the screen.

[0074] An operator of the facility 10 who operates the work terminal 13 operates buttons and the like included in the screen displayed on the display unit 163 via the input unit 164. Similarly, an operator of the device center 20 who operates the work terminal 21 operates buttons and the like included in the screen displayed on the display unit 173 via the input unit 174. As a result, various information is transmitted from the work terminals 13, 21 to the information management system 40.

[0075] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the configuration of a surgical instrument table and details of status IDs stored in the database DB.

[0076] As shown in the upper part of FIG. 12, the surgical instrument table includes items such as a surgical instrument ID, a type ID of the surgical instrument 30, a surgical instrument name, a status ID, and a last update date and time.

[0077] The items of surgical instrument ID, type ID, and surgical instrument name correspond to the surgical instrument ID, type ID, and surgical instrument name shown in Fig. 5. That is, the item of surgical instrument ID indicates an ID capable of individually identifying the surgical instrument 30. The item of type ID indicates an ID capable of individually identifying the type of the surgical instrument 30. The item of surgical instrument name indicates the function possessed by the surgical instrument 30, the type of end effector 33, etc.

[0078] The status ID field indicates status information regarding the status of the surgical instrument 30. Values ​​A to E are set for the status ID, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 12. The status ID value A (in stock) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 has completed the maintenance process at the device center 20 and is stored in the warehouse. The status ID value B (delivery determined) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 has been determined as a delivery target at the device center 20. The status ID value C (delivery) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is being delivered from the device center 20 to the facility 10. The status ID value D (recovery) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is being recovered from the facility 10 to the device center 20. The status ID value E (under maintenance) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is undergoing a maintenance process at the device center 20. The last update date and time field indicates the date and time when the status ID in the surgical instrument table was last updated.

[0079] The surgical instrument table contains information on all surgical instruments 30 used in the surgical instrument management system 1. For convenience, the upper part of FIG. 12 illustrates information on surgical instruments 30 with surgical instrument IDs SI00001 to SI00003. When a new surgical instrument 30 is introduced into the surgical instrument management system 1, the surgical instrument ID, type ID and surgical instrument name of the surgical instrument 30 are registered in the surgical instrument table. The status ID and last update date and time of the surgical instrument 30 are updated according to the use of the surgical instrument 30. When a surgical instrument 30 is discarded, the information corresponding to the surgical instrument 30 is deleted from the surgical instrument table.

[0080] The surgical instrument table may further include an item of a registration date indicating the date on which the surgical instrument 30 was first registered in the device center 20. This makes it possible to grasp the period of time elapsed from the registration date to the present, or the period of time elapsed from the registration date to the last update date and time, and this can be used as a reference for the device center 20 to decide whether to continue managing or discard a surgical instrument 30 whose number of uses or cumulative usage time has not reached the upper limit.

[0081] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a demand information table stored in the database DB.

[0082] The information management system 40 determines the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required at each facility 10 based on the surgery schedule information (see FIG. 3) transmitted from the work terminal 13 of each facility 10. The information management system 40 adds a record to the demand information table based on the received surgery schedule information and the determined type and number of surgical instruments 30.

[0083] 13, the demand information table includes fields for facility ID, facility name, type ID of surgical instrument 30, surgical instrument name, and quantity. The field for facility ID indicates an ID that can individually identify the facility 10. The field for facility name indicates the name of the facility 10. The field for quantity indicates the required number of surgical instruments 30 of the type corresponding to the type ID at the facility 10 corresponding to the facility ID.

[0084] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery information table stored in the database DB.

[0085] The information management system 40 adds a record to the delivery information table based on the surgical instrument 30 set as having been decided for delivery and the facility 10 to which the surgical instrument 30 is to be delivered.

[0086] 14, the delivery information table includes items such as a facility ID, a facility name, a type ID of the surgical instrument 30, a surgical instrument name, a surgical instrument ID, and a delivery status. The delivery status item indicates whether the delivery procedure for the surgical instrument 30 has not yet been carried out (undelivered) or the delivery procedure for the surgical instrument 30 has already been completed (delivered).

[0087] Next, the processes performed in the surgical instrument management system 1 will be described with reference to the flowcharts and screens shown in FIGS.

[0088] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation log transmission process performed by the control device 130.

[0089] When the surgical robot system 11 is powered on at the start of surgery in the facility 10 (step S101: YES), in step S102, the control unit 131 of the control device 130 starts transmitting operation logs corresponding to the four arms 115. In step S103, the control unit 131 transmits the operation logs to the information management system 40 via the communication control device 12 at predetermined time intervals (e.g., one second) until it detects the end of the surgery.

[0090] The control unit 131 detects the end of the surgery by detecting a predetermined change in state, such as the removal of the drape 115a from the surgical robot system 11. When the control unit 131 detects the end of the surgery (step S104: YES), in step S105, the control unit 131 transmits surgery end information indicating the end of the surgery to the information management system 40 via the communication control device 12, and in step S106, continues transmitting the operation log. In addition, when an instruction to turn off the power is input from the surgical robot system 11 (step S107: YES), in step S108, the control unit 131 terminates the transmission of the operation log started in step S102, and in step S109, shuts down the surgical robot system 11.

[0091] The end of the surgery may be detected by the control unit 141 or 151 of the information management system 40 based on the operation log received from the control device 130. In this case, when the control unit 141 or 151 of the information management system 40 detects the end of the surgery, it stores the surgery end date and time in the memory unit 142 or 152 in association with the surgical robot ID of the corresponding surgical robot system 11.

[0092] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an operation log related to the arm 115 to which the surgical instrument 30 is attached.

[0093] The operation log includes the following fields: date and time, surgical robot system ID, arm position, surgical instrument ID, and operation flag. The date and time field indicates the date and time when the operation log was transmitted. The surgical robot system ID field indicates an ID that can individually identify the surgical robot system 11. The arm position field indicates which of the three arms 115 the information included in the operation log is based on. The surgical instrument ID field is the surgical instrument ID of the surgical instrument 30 attached to the arm 115 indicated by the arm position. The operation flag is a flag that indicates that the surgical instrument 30 attached to the arm 115 was in operation.

[0094] Specifically, for example, the surgical robot system 11 and the information management system 40 may be configured so that when a doctor operator operates the hand controller 126 or foot unit 127 of the operation device 120 to operate the surgical instrument 30, an operation log indicating this is transmitted from the control device 130 to the information management system 40, and an operation flag corresponding to the date and time and the surgical instrument 30 is set to "1." This allows the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 to calculate the number of times the operation flag is set to "1" to obtain the accumulated usage time (see FIG. 50), which will be described later.

[0095] The value of the operation flag may be set according to the type of operation of the surgical instrument 30 (e.g., opening and closing of forceps, energization of an electric scalpel), and the accumulated usage time may be acquired for each type of operation. The method of acquiring the accumulated usage time is not limited to this method, and may be, for example, the total time that the surgical instrument 30 is attached to the arm 115, regardless of whether the surgical instrument 30 is operating or not.

[0096] The operation log transmitted at a predetermined time interval corresponds to one line of data in Fig. 16. The example shown in Fig. 16 shows an operation log related to a first arm in a surgical robot system 11 having a surgical robot system ID of RB001. When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the operation logs continuously at predetermined intervals, the control unit 141 stores the received operation logs in a database DB. For convenience, the operation logs are arranged in chronological order from top to bottom in Fig. 16.

[0097] When the power supply of the surgical robot system 11 is turned on, for example, the operation log shown in the first and second lines of FIG. 16 is transmitted. At this time, if the surgical instrument 30 is not attached to the first arm, information indicating that the surgical instrument 30 is not attached (for example, "-" or Null) is added to the item of the surgical instrument ID. Then, when the surgical instrument 30 is attached to the first arm, the operation log including the surgical instrument ID is transmitted as shown in the fourth and fifth lines of FIG. 16. Then, when the surgical instrument 30 is detached from the first arm, the operation log does not include the surgical instrument ID as shown in the seventh and eighth lines of FIG. 16. Then, when another surgical instrument 30 is attached to the first arm, the operation log including the surgical instrument ID of the other surgical instrument 30 is transmitted as shown in the tenth and eleventh lines of FIG. 16. As shown in the first to third lines from the bottom of FIG. 16, the transmission of the operation log continues even after the surgery is completed. Then, when an instruction to turn off the power supply of the surgical robot system 11 is input, the transmission of the operation log is terminated.

[0098] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the process of updating the status to collected by the information management system 40.

[0099] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the surgery end information transmitted from the control device 130 in step S105 of Fig. 15 (step S111: YES), in step S112, it acquires the surgical instrument ID of the surgical instrument 30 used in the surgery. Here, the surgery end information includes the surgical robot system ID and the date and time when the surgery ended. The control unit 141 reads out from the database DB an operation log corresponding to the surgical robot system ID included in the surgery end information and for the period corresponding to the surgery end date and time included in the surgery end information, and acquires the surgical instrument ID of the surgical instrument 30 used in the surgery based on the read operation log.

[0100] In step S113, the control unit 141 updates the status corresponding to the surgical instrument ID acquired in step S112 to “recovered.” Specifically, the control unit 141 updates the value of the status ID corresponding to the surgical instrument ID acquired in step S112 to D in the surgical instrument table shown in the upper part of FIG.

[0101] The surgical instrument table shown in the upper part of FIG. 12 may further include an item of a use flag indicating that the surgical instrument 30 was used in surgery. The initial value of the use flag is, for example, "0". In this case, for the surgical instrument 30 whose surgical instrument ID was acquired in step S112, the control unit 141 sets the use flag corresponding to the surgical instrument ID to "1". Furthermore, when the status is set to "A: In stock" on an update screen 210 (see FIG. 19) described later and the information is transmitted to the information management system 40, the control unit 141 sets the use flag to "0". This allows the operator of the device center 20 to know whether the collected surgical instrument 30 was used in surgery when performing maintenance on the surgical instrument 30 in the maintenance process, thereby making the maintenance work more efficient.

[0102] FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the processing of the work terminal 21 and the information management system 40 in the maintenance process of the device center 20.

[0103] An operator in charge of the maintenance process at the device center 20 operates the work terminal 21 to update the status of the surgical instrument 30 to be processed. Specifically, the operator operates the input unit 174 of the work terminal 21 to input an instruction to display an update screen 210 (see FIG. 19) for updating the status. Upon receiving the display instruction, the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 causes the display unit 173 to display the update screen 210 in step S201.

[0104] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the update screen 210. As shown in FIG.

[0105] The update screen 210 includes a text box 211 , a pull-down menu 212 , and an update button 213 .

[0106] The operator reads the tag 35 of the surgical instrument 30 using the reading unit 175 of the work terminal 21, and inputs the surgical instrument ID into the text box 211. Alternatively, the operator refers to the character string of the surgical instrument ID written on the surface of the tag 35, and inputs the surgical instrument ID into the text box 211 using the input unit 174 of the work terminal 21. The operator also selects the updated status of the surgical instrument 30 using the pull-down menu 212. The pull-down menu 212 is configured to allow the selection of "in stock" or "under maintenance" as the status. When the operator operates the update button 213, the status ID corresponding to the surgical instrument ID input into the text box 211 is updated to the status ID selected in the pull-down menu 212.

[0107] The operator normally causes the update screen 210 to be displayed on the display unit 173 when the operator receives the surgical instrument 30 collected from the facility 10 and when the maintenance process for the surgical instrument 30 is completed. The operator selects "E: Under maintenance" from the pull-down menu 212 when the operator receives the surgical instrument 30 collected from the facility 10, and selects "A: In stock" from the pull-down menu 212 when the maintenance process for the surgical instrument 30 is completed.

[0108] In addition, if the work terminal 21 is configured to allow voice input, for example, the operator may give a voice instruction to the input unit 174, which is a microphone, such as "Update status to stock," thereby updating the status ID to "A: Stock."

[0109] Returning to Figure 18, when the operator operates the update button 213 (step S202: YES), in step S203, the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 sends update instruction information including the status ID of the surgical instrument ID entered in the text box 211 and the status ID selected in the pull-down menu 212 to the information management system 40.

[0110] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the update instruction information from the work terminal 21 (step S211: YES), in step S212, it updates the status ID in the surgical instrument table (see FIG. 12) corresponding to the surgical instrument ID included in the update instruction information to the status ID included in the update instruction information. This makes it possible to set the status of the surgical instrument 30 collected from the facility 10 to "under maintenance" and to set the status of the surgical instrument 30 for which maintenance has been completed to "in stock."

[0111] FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing the operations of an operator in the maintenance process of the device center 20. As shown in FIG.

[0112] The maintenance process includes a cleaning process consisting of steps S301 to S305, and a sterilization process consisting of steps S306 and S307. Each process is performed by an operator in charge of the maintenance process.

[0113] In step S301, the operator connects the hose 39 to the cleaning liquid supply ports 36a, 36b and supplies cleaning water under water pressure to the cleaning liquid supply ports 36a, 36b. This causes the inside of the surgical instrument 30 to be cleaned, as described with reference to FIG.

[0114] In step S302, the operator washes the entire tip portion (shaft 32 and end effector 33) of the surgical instrument 30 while the surgical instrument 30 is immersed in cleaning water. In step S303, the operator brushes the surgical instrument 30 with a soft nylon brush while the surgical instrument 30 is immersed in cleaning water or while cleaning water is being poured onto the surgical instrument 30. In step S304, the operator uses a magnifying glass to check whether or not there is any residue on the surgical instrument 30, and repeats the processes of steps S301 to S303 if there is any residue. In step S305, the operator automatically washes the surgical instrument 30 using a cleaning device such as a washer-disinfector.

[0115] As shown in steps S301 to S305, the cleaning process is comprised of multiple steps because the surgical instrument 30 has a complex structure and is prone to retaining blood, body fluids, tissue, and the like that adheres during surgery. According to the cleaning process comprised of steps S301 to S305, cleaning of the surgical instrument 30 can be performed reliably.

[0116] In step S306, the operator seals and packs the cleaned surgical instruments 30 in a tray or the like under conditions that ensure sterility. In step S307, the operator performs heat sterilization using high-pressure steam. The heat sterilization is performed under sterilization conditions such as a sterilization temperature of 134°C, an exposure time of 3 minutes, and a drying time of 30 to 60 minutes. Note that in step S307, gas sterilization using ethylene oxide gas, plasma sterilization, or the like may be performed instead of high-pressure steam sterilization.

[0117] As described above, since the maintenance process consists of multiple steps, when the maintenance of the surgical instrument 30 is performed at the facility 10, the burden of maintaining the surgical instrument 30 is large for the facility 10. In contrast, in the first embodiment, since the maintenance is performed at the device center 20, the burden of maintaining the surgical instrument 30 can be reduced for the facility 10 that uses the surgical robot system 11.

[0118] FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the processing of the work terminal 21 and the information management system 40 in the selection process of the device center 20.

[0119] An operator in charge of the selection process at the device center 20 inputs an instruction to display the delivery decision screen 220 (see FIG. 22). When the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 receives the instruction to display the delivery decision screen 220 (step S401: YES), in step S402, the control unit 171 transmits a request instruction for the demand information and the surgical instrument information of the selectable surgical instruments 30 to the information management system 40.

[0120] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the request instruction transmitted in step S402 (step S411: YES), in step S412, it transmits the demand information and surgical instrument information to the work terminal 21 that transmitted the request instruction.

[0121] Specifically, the control unit 141 generates demand information indicating the type and number of surgical instruments 30 that need to be delivered to each facility 10 based on the demand information table (see FIG. 13). The demand information includes a facility ID, a facility name, a type ID of the surgical instrument 30, a surgical instrument name, and the number of surgical instruments 30. The control unit 141 also generates surgical instrument information indicating surgical instruments 30 that can be selected as a delivery target, i.e., surgical instruments 30 whose status ID value is A (in stock), based on the surgical instrument table (see FIG. 12). The surgical instrument information includes a surgical instrument ID, a type ID of the surgical instrument 30, a surgical instrument name, a status ID, and the last update date and time. Note that if the surgical instrument table (see the upper part of FIG. 12) further includes a registration date item, the surgical instrument information may further include the registration date. Then, the control unit 141 transmits the generated demand information and surgical instrument information to the work terminal 21.

[0122] In step S403, when the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 receives the demand information and the surgical instrument information from the information management system 40, the control unit 171 displays the delivery decision screen 220 on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21.

[0123] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery decision screen 220 displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 in the device center 20. As shown in FIG.

[0124] The delivery decision screen 220 includes a demand list 221, a surgical instrument list 222, and a decision button 223.

[0125] The demand list 221 is displayed based on the demand information transmitted from the information management system 40. The demand list 221 includes the same items as the demand information table shown in FIG.

[0126] The surgical instrument list 222 is displayed based on the surgical instrument information transmitted from the information management system 40. The surgical instruments 30 displayed in the surgical instrument list 222 are surgical instruments 30 that can be selected as delivery targets, i.e., surgical instruments 30 whose status ID value is A (in stock). The surgical instrument list 222 includes items indicating a facility ID and a facility name in addition to the same items as the surgical instrument table shown in FIG. 12. If the surgical instrument table (see the upper part of FIG. 12) further includes an item of the registration date, the surgical instrument list 222 may further include the registration date. In the items indicating the facility ID and the facility name, a pull-down menu 222a is arranged for each surgical instrument 30. The pull-down menu 222a is configured to allow the selection of any one of all the facilities 10, or a state in which no facility 10 is selected (blank).

[0127] The operator of the device center 20 refers to the demand list 221 to confirm the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required at each facility 10, and operates the pull-down menu 222a of the surgical instrument list 222 to associate the surgical instruments 30 to be delivered with the delivery destination facility 10. After completing the operation of the pull-down menu 222a, the operator operates the decision button 223.

[0128] Returning to Figure 21, when the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 accepts operation of the decision button 223 on the delivery decision screen 220 (step S404: YES), in step S405, it transmits the decision contents, including the correspondence between the surgical instruments 30 and the facility 10 set in the surgical instrument list 222 on the delivery decision screen 220, to the information management system 40.

[0129] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the decision content from the work terminal 21 (step S413: YES), in step S414, it updates the value of the status ID in the surgical instrument table (see FIG. 12) corresponding to the surgical instrument ID included in the decision content to B (delivery decided). In addition, in step S415, the control unit 141 adds a record associating the surgical instrument 30 with the delivery destination facility 10 based on the received decision content to the delivery information table (see FIG. 14). At this time, the delivery status field of the added record is set to not delivered.

[0130] The demand information table (see FIG. 13) may be updated after the surgical instrument 30 and the delivery destination facility 10 are associated with each other by the process shown in FIG. 21. In this case, a notification indicating that a new demand for the surgical instrument 30 has arisen may be transmitted from the information management system 40 to the work terminal 21 via a web browser or a predetermined application.

[0131] 22, the demand list 221 corresponding to the demand information is displayed on the delivery decision screen 220, but the demand list 221 may be omitted. In this case, for example, as shown in the modified example of FIG. 23, a surgical instrument list 222 partially modified from that of FIG. 22 is displayed.

[0132] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a modified example of the delivery decision screen 220. As shown in FIG.

[0133] In this modified example, the demand list 221 is omitted, and the pull-down menu 222a is configured so that only the facility 10 corresponding to the type of the surgical instrument 30 can be selected based on the demand information. For example, if only forceps A and forceps B are needed at facility A, the pull-down menu 222a corresponding to forceps A and forceps B is configured so that facility A can be selected, but the pull-down menu 222a corresponding to other surgical instruments 30 such as forceps C is configured so that facility A cannot be selected. This allows the operator to associate the surgical instruments 30 with the facilities 10 without referring to the demand information.

[0134] 23, the rows of the surgical instrument list 222 are automatically arranged in the order of the oldest last update date and time. That is, the surgical instruments 30 are arranged in the surgical instrument list 222 in the order of the date and time when the status was set to "in stock". In general, it is not desirable for surgical instruments 30 to be stored in a warehouse for a long period of time. With this configuration, the operator can easily determine that surgical instruments 30 that have been stored for a long period of time are to be delivered by associating the surgical instruments 30 with the facilities 10 from the top of the surgical instrument list 222, and therefore it is possible to prevent the surgical instruments 30 from being stored in a warehouse for a long period of time.

[0135] 23, the facility 10 is pre-selected in the pull-down menu 222a based on the demand information and the surgical instrument information. This allows the operator to associate the surgical instrument 30 with the facility 10 by simply operating the decision button 223, without having to select the facility 10 for each surgical instrument 30.

[0136] As shown in FIG. 23, the configuration and automatic selection of the pull-down menu 222a and the sorting of the surgical instrument list 222 may be performed by the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 based on the received demand information and selectable instrument information, or the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 may generate information for displaying the delivery decision screen 220 in advance, and the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 may then display the delivery decision screen 220 based on that information.

[0137] FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the processing of the work terminal 21 and the information management system 40 in the delivery process of the device center 20.

[0138] An operator in charge of the delivery process at the device center 20 inputs an instruction to display the delivery screen 230 (see FIG. 25). When the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 receives the instruction to display the delivery screen 230 (step S421: YES), in step S422, the control unit 171 transmits an instruction to request delivery information to the information management system 40.

[0139] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the request instruction transmitted in step S422 (step S431: YES), in step S432, it transmits delivery information to the work terminal 21 that transmitted the request instruction. Specifically, the control unit 141 generates delivery information including the delivery status of the surgical instruments 30 for which delivery to each facility 10 has been decided, based on the delivery information table (see FIG. 14). Then, the control unit 141 transmits the generated delivery information to the work terminal 21.

[0140] In step S423, when the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 receives the delivery information from the information management system 40, the control unit 171 displays the delivery screen 230 on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21.

[0141] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery screen 230 displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 in the device center 20. As shown in FIG.

[0142] The delivery screen 230 includes a delivery list 231 and a decision button 232 .

[0143] The delivery list 231 is displayed based on the delivery information transmitted from the information management system 40. The surgical instruments 30 displayed in the delivery list 231 are those with a status ID value of B (delivery decided) or C (delivery). The delivery list 231 includes items similar to those in the delivery information table shown in FIG. 14. In the items to be delivered, a check box 231a is placed for each surgical instrument 30. If the status of the surgical instrument 30 is "delivery decided," the check box 231a is unchecked, and if the status of the surgical instrument 30 is "delivery," the check box 231a is checked.

[0144] The operator of the device center 20 changes the check box 231 a of the surgical instrument 30 for which the delivery procedure is to be carried out, among the surgical instruments 30 for which the check box 231 a is unchecked, to checked, and operates the decision button 232 .

[0145] Note that only surgical instruments 30 whose status is "Delivery confirmed" may be displayed in the delivery list 231. However, when surgical instruments 30 whose status is "Delivery" are displayed as in Fig. 25, the operator can check which surgical instruments 30 have already been delivered within a specified delivery period.

[0146] Returning to Figure 24, when the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 accepts operation of the decision button 232 on the delivery screen 230 (step S424: YES), in step S425, it transmits the decision content, including the surgical instrument ID that has been newly checked in the delivery list 231 on the delivery screen 230, to the information management system 40.

[0147] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the decision content from the work terminal 21 (step S433: YES), in step S434, it updates the value of the status ID in the surgical instrument table (see FIG. 12) corresponding to the surgical instrument ID included in the decision content to C (delivery). Also, the control unit 141 updates the delivery status corresponding to the surgical instrument ID included in the decision content in the delivery information table to delivery.

[0148] FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the processing of the work terminal 21 and the information management system 40 during inventory management in the device center 20.

[0149] An operator in charge of the delivery process at the device center 20 inputs an instruction to display the inventory screen 240 (see FIG. 27). Upon receiving the instruction to display the inventory screen 240 (step S441: YES), the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 transmits an instruction to request inventory quantity information to the information management system 40 in step S442.

[0150] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the request instruction transmitted in step S442 (step S451: YES), in step S452 it transmits stock quantity information to the work terminal 21 that transmitted the request instruction. Specifically, the control unit 141 calculates, for each type ID of the surgical instruments 30, the number of surgical instruments 30 whose status ID value is A (in stock) and the number of surgical instruments 30 whose status ID value is B (delivery decided) based on the surgical instrument table (see FIG. 12). Then, the control unit 141 transmits the above-mentioned numbers for each type ID of the surgical instruments 30 thus generated to the work terminal 21 as stock quantity information.

[0151] In step S443, when the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 receives the stock quantity information from the information management system 40, the control unit 171 displays the stock screen 240 on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21.

[0152] FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an inventory screen 240 displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 in the device center 20. As shown in FIG.

[0153] The inventory screen 240 includes an inventory quantity list 241, a message area 242, and a close button 243.

[0154] The inventory quantity list 241 is displayed based on inventory information transmitted from the information management system 40. The inventory quantity list 241 includes items such as the type ID of the surgical instrument 30, the surgical instrument name, the actual inventory quantity, the allocated quantity, and the effective inventory quantity. The actual inventory quantity item indicates the total number of surgical instruments 30 whose status ID value is A (in stock) and the number of surgical instruments 30 whose status ID value is B (delivery decided). The allocated quantity item indicates the number of surgical instruments 30 whose status ID value is B (delivery decided). The effective inventory quantity item indicates the number obtained by subtracting the allocated quantity from the actual inventory quantity. The inventory quantity list 241 displays the actual inventory quantity, the allocated quantity, and the effective inventory quantity for each type of surgical instrument 30.

[0155] A warning message regarding the stock quantity is displayed in message area 242. In the example of Fig. 27, a message is displayed indicating that the effective stock quantity of forceps C is below a preset lower limit (e.g., 50 pieces) and a message urging the user to replenish with new forceps C. Note that the message displayed in message area 242 may be output as sound via a speaker instead of or in addition to being displayed.

[0156] By referring to the inventory list 241 and the message area 242, an operator at the device center 20 can understand, for example, that the available inventory is decreasing due to a sudden increase in the number of surgical instruments 30 discarded or reserved, or that new surgical instruments 30 need to be replenished.

[0157] Returning to FIG. 26, when the close button 243 is operated (step S444: YES), the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 closes the inventory screen 240 in step S444.

[0158] <Effects of the surgical instrument management method and information management system according to embodiment 1> As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the surgical instrument management system 1 manages surgical instruments 30 that have been used in a surgical robot system 11 installed in each of a plurality of facilities 10, collected, subjected to maintenance including at least cleaning and sterilization, and delivered to one of the facilities 10. As shown in the surgical instrument table of Figure 12, a status ID (status information related to the status of the surgical instrument 30) is stored for each of the plurality of surgical instruments 30 in association with the surgical instrument ID (identification information) of each of the plurality of surgical instruments 30. As shown in Figure 4, the status ID (status information) corresponding to a surgical instrument 30 that has become deliverable through maintenance is updated to a status ID (status information, specifically A (inventory)) indicating that the surgical instrument 30 can be selected as a target for delivery to the facility 10.

[0159] According to this configuration, maintenance such as cleaning and sterilization of the surgical instruments 30 used in the surgical robot system 11 does not need to be performed at the facility 10 where the surgical robot system 11 is installed, thereby reducing the burden on the facility 10 that uses the surgical robot system 11. In addition, since it is possible to manage whether or not the surgical instrument 30 can be selected as a delivery target to the facility 10 based on the status ID of the surgical instrument 30, it is possible to identify from among multiple surgical instruments 30 a surgical instrument 30 that has become deliverable through maintenance and provide it to the facility 10 for reuse.

[0160] The status ID (status information) corresponding to the surgical instrument 30 selected for delivery to the facility 10 is updated to a status ID (status information, specifically B (delivery decided)) indicating that the surgical instrument 30 cannot be selected for delivery to the facility 10 (step S414 in Figure 21).

[0161] According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent surgical instruments 30 corresponding to the same surgical instrument ID from being selected as a delivery target more than once.

[0162] The surgical instrument 30 is shared by the surgical robot systems 11 installed in each of the multiple facilities 10.

[0163] According to this configuration, the surgical instruments 30 corresponding to the same surgical instrument ID are not owned by a specific facility 10 and used repeatedly only at that facility 10, but are shared between different facilities 10, so the facility 10 where the surgical robot system 11 is installed does not need to purchase the surgical instruments 30 or manage the inventory of the surgical instruments 30. Furthermore, the device center 20 or the like that stores the surgical instruments 30 does not need to store the surgical instruments 30 for each facility 10 where the surgical robot system 11 is installed, so an increase in the number of stored surgical instruments 30 can be suppressed.

[0164] The demand information table shown in FIG. 13 stores demand information regarding the type and number of surgical instruments 30 that need to be delivered to the facility 10, and the demand information is provided to the device center 20 for selecting the surgical instruments 30 to be delivered to the facility 10 (step S412 in FIG. 21).

[0165] According to this configuration, the device center 20 or the like responsible for storing the surgical instruments 30 can smoothly grasp the type and number of surgical instruments 30 that need to be delivered to the facility 10.

[0166] Based on the status ID (status information), surgical instrument information indicating the surgical instruments 30 that can be selected for delivery to the facility 10 is generated (step S412 in FIG. 21), and the surgical instrument information together with demand information is provided to the device center 20 (step S412 in FIG. 21).

[0167] According to this configuration, the device center 20 or the like responsible for storing the surgical instruments 30 can smoothly grasp the type and number of surgical instruments 30 that need to be delivered to the facility 10, as well as the surgical instruments 30 that can be selected as items for delivery.

[0168] Based on the status ID (status information), the type and number of surgical instruments 30 that can be selected for delivery to the facility 10 are output (step S443 in FIG. 26).

[0169] According to this configuration, the device center 20 or the like that is responsible for storing the surgical instruments 30 can manage the inventory of the surgical instruments 30 in the facility 10.

[0170] 1 and 2, the information management system 40 manages surgical instruments 30 that have been used in surgical robot systems 11 installed in multiple facilities 10, collected, subjected to maintenance including at least cleaning and sterilization, and delivered to one of the facilities 10. The information management system 40 includes a storage unit 152 (see FIG. 10) that stores a status ID (status information related to the status of the surgical instrument 30) for each of the multiple surgical instruments 30 in association with a surgical instrument ID (identification information) of each of the multiple surgical instruments 30, and a control unit 141 (see FIG. 10) that updates the status ID (status information) corresponding to a surgical instrument 30 that has become deliverable due to maintenance to a status ID (status information) indicating that the surgical instrument 30 can be selected as a target for delivery to the facility 10.

[0171] According to this configuration, maintenance such as cleaning and sterilization of the surgical instruments 30 used in the surgical robot system 11 does not need to be performed at the facility 10 where the surgical robot system 11 is installed, thereby reducing the burden on the facility 10 that uses the surgical robot system 11. In addition, since it is possible to manage whether or not the surgical instrument 30 can be selected as a delivery target to the facility 10 based on the status ID of the surgical instrument 30, it is possible to identify from among multiple surgical instruments 30 a surgical instrument 30 that has become deliverable through maintenance and provide it to the facility 10 for reuse.

[0172] <Modification 1 of Embodiment 1> In the first embodiment, in step S412 of FIG. 21, the demand information and the surgical instrument information are transmitted, but only the demand information may be transmitted.

[0173] FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the processing of the work terminal 21 and the information management system 40 in the selection step of the device center 20 according to this modified example.

[0174] In Fig. 28, steps S461 and S462 are added instead of steps S402 and S412, respectively, in comparison with the first embodiment shown in Fig. 21. In step S461, the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 transmits an instruction to request demand information. In step S462, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 generates demand information and transmits the generated demand information to the work terminal 21. Then, in step S403, upon receiving the demand information from the information management system 40, the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 displays the delivery decision screen 220 shown in Fig. 29 on the display unit 173.

[0175] FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery decision screen 220 displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 in the device center 20 according to this modified example.

[0176] 29, a text box 224 and an add button 225 are added to the delivery decision screen 220 in FIG. 29 compared to the first embodiment shown in FIG.

[0177] When the delivery decision screen 220 is displayed, the surgical instrument list 222 does not display information corresponding to the surgical instruments 30. That is, in the initial state, the surgical instruments 30 that can be selected as the delivery target are not displayed.

[0178] The operator in the selection process of the device center 20 refers to the demand list 221 to determine the type and number of surgical instruments 30 that need to be delivered, and picks up the surgical instruments 30 to be delivered from the inventory. Then, the operator inputs the surgical instrument ID of the picked up surgical instrument 30 in the text box 211, and operates the add button 225. The control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 displays information about the surgical instrument ID input in the text box 224 in the surgical instrument list 222. At this time, the control unit 171 queries the information management system 40 based on the surgical instrument ID, acquires information about the surgical instrument 30 from the information management system 40, and displays the acquired information in the surgical instrument list 222. When there are multiple surgical instruments 30 to be delivered, the operator performs a similar operation to add information about the surgical instruments 30 to the surgical instrument list 222.

[0179] Thereafter, similarly to the first embodiment, the operator operates the pull-down menu 222a to select the delivery destination facility 10, and then operates the decision button 223. In this case as well, the surgical instrument 30 in stock and the delivery destination facility 10 are associated with each other, and the status of the surgical instrument 30 for which the delivery destination facility 10 has been selected is updated to "delivery confirmed."

[0180] 29, when the add button 225 is operated, information about the surgical instrument ID entered in the text box 224 is obtained from the information management system 40, but information about the surgical instrument ID does not have to be obtained. In this case, for example, only the items of the surgical instrument ID and the facility 10 are displayed in the surgical instrument list 222.

[0181] <Modification 2 of Embodiment 1> In the first embodiment, the value of the status ID of the surgical instrument 30 can be set to any one of five types A to E as shown in Fig. 12, but other status values ​​may be set. For example, the value of the status ID may be further set to F (discarded) as shown in Fig. 30.

[0182] As shown in Fig. 30, when discard is set as the status of the surgical instrument 30, the pull-down menu 212 of the update screen 210 shown in Fig. 19 is configured to further allow selection of F (discard). The process for setting the status of the surgical instrument 30 to discard is performed in the same manner as in Fig. 18.

[0183] According to this modification, it is possible to prevent the surgical instrument 30 that has been set as the one to be discarded from being erroneously reused thereafter.

[0184] <Embodiment 2> In the second embodiment, compared to the first embodiment, information regarding the schedule of surgeries to be performed at each facility 10 is stored in the database DB.

[0185] FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a surgery schedule table and a surgical instrument number table stored in a database DB according to the second embodiment.

[0186] As shown in the upper part of Fig. 31, the surgery schedule table includes items for surgery schedule ID, facility ID, facility name, scheduled surgery date and time, and delivery decision status. The surgery schedule ID item indicates an ID that can individually identify a surgery performed at each facility 10. The scheduled surgery date and time item indicates the date and time of the surgery indicated by the surgery schedule ID. The delivery decision status item indicates whether delivery has been decided for all surgical instruments 30 required for the surgery indicated by the surgery schedule ID.

[0187] As shown in the lower part of Fig. 31, the surgical instrument count table includes a surgery schedule ID and an item for the number of surgical instruments 30 corresponding to each type of surgical instrument 30. The item for the surgery schedule ID corresponds to the surgery schedule ID in the surgery schedule information table. The item for the number of surgical instruments 30 by type indicates the number of surgical instruments 30 of that type that are scheduled to be used in the surgery corresponding to the surgery schedule ID.

[0188] FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a demand information table stored in the database DB according to the second embodiment.

[0189] Compared to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the demand information table of this modified example further includes items of scheduled surgery ID and scheduled surgery date and time.

[0190] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives surgery schedule information (see FIG. 3) transmitted from the work terminal 13 of the facility 10, it adds records to the surgery schedule table and the number of surgical instruments table shown in FIG. 31 based on the surgery schedule information. In addition, the control unit 141 adds records to the demand information table based on the information added to the surgery schedule table and the number of surgical instruments table.

[0191] FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram for explaining the shipping confirmation at the device center 20. As shown in FIG.

[0192] In the selection process of the device center 20, the operator uses the work terminal 21 to perform shipment confirmation of the surgical instruments 30 required at each facility 10 at a predetermined time interval. For example, the shipment confirmation is performed at 8:00 a.m. every day. The upper part of FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of shipment confirmation performed on August 1, 2023, and the lower part of FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of shipment confirmation performed the following day.

[0193] As shown in the upper part of Fig. 33, when shipment confirmation is made on August 1, 2023, a target delivery period is determined. The target delivery period is set to a period from when delivery is decided on the day of shipment confirmation, during which the surgical instruments 30 arrive at the delivery destination facility 10 not too early or later than the scheduled surgery date. For example, if it takes up to three days from when delivery is decided to when the surgical instruments 30 arrive at the facility 10, the target delivery period is set to three days from the day after shipment confirmation.

[0194] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the shipment confirmation from the work terminal 21 of the device center 20, it sets the delivery target period to August 2nd to August 4th, and sets the surgery schedule set in the delivery target period as the delivery target with reference to the surgery schedule table. Then, the control unit 141 refers to the surgical instrument number table to obtain the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required for the surgery schedule to be delivered, and transmits request information including the obtained surgery schedule and the type and number of surgical instruments 30 to the work terminal 21. Thereafter, based on the request information from the information management system 40, the operator of the device center 20 proceeds with the delivery procedure for the surgical instruments 30 required for the three surgery schedules scheduled from August 3rd to August 4th.

[0195] As shown in the lower part of Fig. 33, the surgical instruments 30 required for the delivery period of the previous day are already in a delivery state. As with the previous day, when the shipment is confirmed on August 2, 2023, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 sets the delivery period to August 3 to August 5, and sets the surgery schedule set in the delivery period as the delivery target. Then, based on the request information from the information management system 40, the operator of the device center 20 proceeds with the delivery procedure for the surgical instruments 30 required for one surgery scheduled for August 5.

[0196] FIG. 34 is a flow chart showing the processing of the work terminal 13 and the information management system 40 in the facility 10 when inputting a surgery schedule.

[0197] An operator in charge of inputting a surgery schedule at the facility 10 operates the input unit 164 of the work terminal 13 to input an instruction to display a surgery schedule input screen 310 (see FIG. 35) for inputting a surgery schedule. Upon receiving the display instruction, the control unit 161 of the work terminal 13 causes the display unit 163 to display the surgery schedule input screen 310 in step S501.

[0198] FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgery schedule input screen 310 displayed on the display unit 163 of the work terminal 13 in the facility 10. As shown in FIG.

[0199] The surgery schedule input screen 310 includes display areas 311 and 312, text boxes 313 and 314, a surgical instrument count list 315, and a registration button 316.

[0200] Display areas 311 and 312 display the facility ID and facility name of the facility 10, which are stored in advance in the memory unit 162 of the work terminal 13. Text boxes 313 and 314 are text boxes for inputting the scheduled surgery date and scheduled surgery time, respectively.

[0201] The surgical instrument number list 315 includes items for the type ID of the surgical instrument 30, the surgical instrument name, and the number of surgical instruments 30. The surgical instrument number list 315 displays the type ID and surgical instrument name corresponding to all type IDs of the surgical instruments 30 on a row-by-row basis. The item for the number of surgical instruments 30 includes a text box 315a with a button for increasing or decreasing the number.

[0202] The operator of the facility 10 uses the input unit 164 of the work terminal 13 to input the scheduled date and time of surgery in the text boxes 313 and 314, and inputs the number of each type of surgical instrument 30 required for the surgery in the text box 315a. After completing the input, the operator operates the registration button 316.

[0203] Returning to FIG. 34, when the registration button 316 is operated (step S502: YES), in step S503, the control unit 161 of the work terminal 13 transmits surgery schedule information, including the facility ID and facility name entered in the display areas 311, 312, the scheduled surgery date and time entered in the text boxes 313, 314, and the number of surgical instruments 30 by type entered in the text box 315a, to the information management system 40.

[0204] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the surgery schedule information from the work terminal 13 (step S511: YES), in step S512, it adds the surgery schedule information to the surgery schedule table and the surgical instrument number table shown in FIG. 31. Specifically, the control unit 141 adds one record to the surgery schedule table, which is made up of the automatically assigned surgery schedule ID and the facility ID, facility name, and scheduled surgery date and time included in the surgery schedule information. At this time, the delivery decision status item is set to "not yet" as the initial value. The control unit 141 also adds one record to the surgical instrument number table, which is made up of the surgery schedule ID and the number of surgical instruments 30 of each type included in the surgery schedule information.

[0205] In step S513, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 adds a record including the information added to the database DB in step S513 to the demand information table shown in FIG.

[0206] In the second embodiment, the same processing as in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 21 is performed based on the demand information table updated as described above. However, in the second embodiment, in step S412 in Fig. 21, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 sets the delivery target period as shown in Fig. 33, and acquires surgery schedule IDs whose delivery decision status is "not yet" by referring to the surgery schedule table (see Fig. 31). Then, based on the acquired surgery schedule IDs and the demand information table (see Fig. 32), the control unit 141 generates demand information including the types and numbers of surgical instruments 30 required for the surgery schedules for which delivery has not yet been decided among the surgery schedules in the delivery target period.

[0207] In the second embodiment, the delivery decision screen 220 displayed on the work terminal 21 in step S403 in Fig. 21 is configured as shown in Fig. 36. Compared to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 22, the delivery decision screen 220 in Fig. 36 has additional items for a scheduled surgery ID and a scheduled surgery date and time in the demand list 221. In the second embodiment, the demand list 221 displays the types and numbers of surgical instruments 30 required for scheduled surgeries in the delivery period based on the demand information transmitted from the information management system 40.

[0208] FIG. 37 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an inventory screen 240 displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 in the device center 20 according to the second embodiment.

[0209] In comparison with the first embodiment shown in FIG. 27, the inventory screen 240 of the second embodiment has an item for planned allocation quantity added to the inventory quantity list 241.

[0210] The item of planned allocation quantity indicates the number of surgical instruments 30 for which delivery has not yet been decided (not yet allocated) among the surgical instruments 30 required for all scheduled surgeries. The planned allocation quantity is the number of surgical instruments 30 that will be delivered from inventory in the future, together with the allocated quantity. If the sum of the allocated quantity and the planned allocation quantity exceeds the actual inventory quantity, in other words, if the planned allocation quantity exceeds the effective inventory quantity, a situation may occur in the future where there is a shortage of surgical instruments 30. For this reason, a warning message is displayed in the message area 242 indicating that the planned allocation quantity of forceps C is approaching the effective inventory quantity.

[0211] By referring to the inventory list 241 and the message area 242, the operator of the device center 20 can see the number of surgical instruments 30 (planned allocation number) that have not yet been decided for delivery but are required for future surgeries, and can understand that there is a risk of a shortage of inventory of surgical instruments 30.

[0212] In the second embodiment, the inventory screen 240 is displayed by the same process as in the first embodiment shown in Fig. 26. In this case, in step S452 in Fig. 26, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 acquires, for each type of surgical instrument 30, the number of surgical instruments 30 for which delivery has not yet been decided and which are required for future surgeries as the planned allocation number, based on the surgery schedule table (see Fig. 31) and the demand information table (see Fig. 32). Then, the control unit 141 transmits inventory information including the planned allocation number to the work terminal 21.

[0213] <Effects of the surgical instrument management method and information management system according to the second embodiment> As shown in the demand list 221 of FIG. 36, the demand information transmitted from the information management system 40 to the operator terminal 21 includes surgery schedule information regarding the schedule of surgeries using the surgical robot system 11 in the facility 10.

[0214] According to this configuration, the types and number of surgical instruments 30 that need to be delivered to a facility 10 such as a medical facility can be provided to the facility 10 based on the surgery schedule.

[0215] In the second embodiment, the surgery schedule input screen 310 in Fig. 35 has a surgical instrument number list 315 for inputting the number of surgical instruments 30, but the surgical instrument number list 315 may be omitted. In this case, the types and numbers of surgical instruments 30 required for one surgery are stored in the database DB, and the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 transmits demand information including the types and numbers of surgical instruments 30 previously stored in the database DB to the work terminal 21 of the device center 20.

[0216] According to this configuration, the operator of the facility 10 does not need to input the type and number of required surgical instruments 30 based on the surgery schedule, which further reduces the burden on the facility 10.

[0217] As shown in the demand list 221 of FIG. 36, the surgery schedule information included in the demand information includes information regarding the scheduled surgery date when surgery using the surgical robot system 11 will be performed.

[0218] This configuration allows an operator at the device center 20 to manage the delivery of the surgical instruments 30 in time for the scheduled surgery date.

[0219] In the second embodiment, the demand list 221 in Fig. 36 displays only information about surgeries scheduled to be performed during the target delivery period. As described with reference to Fig. 33, the target delivery period is a period from when delivery is determined on the day of shipment confirmation during which the arrival of the surgical instrument 30 at the delivery destination facility 10 is not too early or later than the scheduled surgery date. This allows the operator of the device center 20 to smoothly deliver the surgical instrument 30 to the delivery destination facility 10 at a timing appropriate for the scheduled surgery date.

[0220] As shown in the demand list 221 of FIG. 36, demand information is provided at times according to the scheduled dates of surgeries.

[0221] According to this configuration, demand information can be provided to the device center 20 or the like that is responsible for managing the delivery of the surgical instruments 30 at a time corresponding to the scheduled date of surgery. Specifically, the demand list 221 in Fig. 36 displays information on surgeries scheduled to be performed during the delivery period corresponding to the scheduled date and time of surgery. This allows the appropriate type and number of surgical instruments 30 to be delivered smoothly according to the scheduled date of surgery.

[0222] <Embodiment 3> In the second embodiment, the demand information table in Fig. 32 is updated based on the surgery schedule table and the surgical instrument count table in Fig. 31. In contrast, in the third embodiment, the surgery schedule table further includes other items, and a combination table is stored in the database DB instead of the surgical instrument count table.

[0223] FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a surgery schedule table stored in the database DB according to the third embodiment.

[0224] The surgery schedule table of embodiment 3 further includes items of surgical procedure ID and surgical procedure name, compared to embodiment 2 shown in FIG. 31. The surgical procedure ID item indicates an ID that can individually identify the surgical procedure of the planned surgery. The surgical procedure name item indicates the name of the surgical procedure of the surgery indicated by the surgical procedure ID. In the example shown in FIG. 38, the surgery with a surgery schedule ID of SS0001 has a surgical procedure ID of TS001 and a surgical procedure name of radical prostatectomy. The surgery with a surgery schedule ID of SS0002 has a surgical procedure ID of TS002 and a surgical procedure name of partial nephrectomy. The surgery with a surgery schedule ID of SS0003 has a surgical procedure ID of TS003 and a surgical procedure name of sacral colpopexy.

[0225] FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a combination table stored in the database DB according to the third embodiment.

[0226] The combination table includes items of facility ID, facility name, surgical procedure ID, surgical procedure name, type ID of surgical instrument 30, surgical instrument name, and the number of surgical instruments 30. That is, in the third embodiment, the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required in each facility 10 are determined according to the surgical procedure of the surgery.

[0227] FIG. 40 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgery schedule input screen 310 displayed on the display unit 163 of the work terminal 13 in the facility 10 according to the third embodiment.

[0228] The surgery schedule input screen 310 of the third embodiment is different from that of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 35 in that a surgical procedure pull-down menu 317 is arranged instead of the surgical instrument count list 315.

[0229] The surgical procedure pull-down menu 317 is configured to allow selection of all combinations of surgical procedure IDs and surgical procedure names. The operator at the facility 10 inputs the scheduled date and time of surgery into text boxes 313 and 314, and operates the surgical procedure pull-down menu 317 to select the surgical procedure ID and surgical procedure name of the surgery. After completing the input, the operator operates the registration button 316.

[0230] In the third embodiment, the same process as that in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 34 is executed. However, in the third embodiment, in step S503 in FIG. 34, the control unit 161 of the work terminal 13 transmits surgery schedule information including the surgery method ID and surgery method name selected in the surgery method pull-down menu 317 shown in FIG. 40. Also, in step S512 in FIG. 34, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 adds one record including the surgery method ID and surgery method name in addition to the automatically assigned surgery schedule ID and the facility ID, facility name, and scheduled surgery date and time included in the surgery schedule information to the surgery schedule table in FIG. 38. Also, in step S513 in FIG. 34, the control unit 141 adds a record to the demand information table similar to that in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 32 based on the record including the information added to the database DB in step S513 and the combination table shown in FIG. 39.

[0231] In this way, in the third embodiment, the operator of the facility 10 inputs a surgical procedure ID and a surgical procedure name instead of inputting the type and number of surgical instruments 30 to be used in a scheduled surgery. This makes it possible to obtain the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required for each scheduled surgery from the demand information table (see FIG. 32), as in the second embodiment.

[0232] <Effects of the surgical instrument management method and information management system according to the third embodiment> The surgery schedule information includes items such as surgery procedure ID and surgery procedure name (content information regarding the content of the surgery).

[0233] According to this configuration, even if the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required vary depending on the content of the surgery, such as the surgical procedure, the surgical instruments 30 required for the surgery can be flexibly prepared and delivered.

[0234] A record is added to the demand information table based on the surgical procedure ID and surgical procedure name items (content information regarding the content of the surgery) and the combination table in Figure 39 (information regarding the combination of multiple surgical instruments 30 that need to be delivered to the facility 10).

[0235] According to this configuration, demand information is automatically generated based on the details of the surgery and the combination of surgical instruments 30, so that the person in charge at the facility 10 does not need to combine the surgical instruments 30 required for the surgery, thereby reducing the burden on the facility 10.

[0236] <Modification of the third embodiment> In the third embodiment, the surgery schedule table and combination table shown in Figures 38 and 39 may include other items in addition to or instead of the items of surgical procedure ID and surgical procedure name. In a modification of the third embodiment shown below, the surgery schedule table and combination table further include an item of surgeon.

[0237] 41 and 42 are diagrams showing schematic configurations of the surgery schedule table and the combination table according to this modified example.

[0238] Compared to the third embodiment shown in Figs. 38 and 39, the surgery schedule table and combination table of this modified example both further include a surgeon item. The surgeon item indicates the name of the surgeon, such as a doctor, who will perform the scheduled surgery. The surgeon item only needs to be configured to be able to individually identify the surgeon. The surgeon item may be, for example, a surgeon ID given to the surgeon, or a value in which other information is added to the surgeon's name. In the example of the combination table shown in Fig. 42, although the facility ID, facility name, surgical procedure ID, and surgical procedure name are the same, when the surgeons are Doctor A and Doctor B, the number of surgical instruments 30 required is different.

[0239] In this modified example as well, the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required for each scheduled surgery can be obtained based on the surgery schedule table and the combination table.

[0240] <Effects of the surgical instrument management method and information management system according to the modified example of the third embodiment> Compared to the third embodiment, the surgery schedule information further includes an item about the surgeon (surgeon information about the surgeon who operates the surgical robot system 11).

[0241] According to this configuration, even if the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required for surgery differ depending on the content of the surgery and the surgeon, the surgical instruments 30 required for surgery can be flexibly prepared and delivered. In addition, since a surgeon item is added to the third embodiment, the type and number of surgical instruments 30 can be determined in detail depending on the surgery.

[0242] In the third embodiment, the surgery schedule table and the combination table may include a field for the surgeon instead of the fields for the surgical procedure ID and the surgical procedure name. Even in this case, the surgical instruments 30 required for surgery can be flexibly prepared and delivered even if the types and numbers of the surgical instruments 30 required differ depending on the surgeon.

[0243] A record is added to the demand information table based on the surgical procedure ID and surgical procedure name fields (content information regarding the content of the surgery), the surgeon field (surgeon information regarding the surgeon operating the surgical robot system 11), and the combination table of Figure 41 (information regarding the combination of multiple surgical instruments 30 that need to be delivered to the facility 10).

[0244] According to this configuration, demand information is automatically generated based on the combination of the surgical content, surgeon, and surgical instruments 30, so that the operator of the facility 10 does not need to combine the surgical instruments 30 required for the surgery, thereby reducing the burden on the facility 10. Also, since the surgeon's items are used compared to the third embodiment, the demand information can be determined in detail.

[0245] In the third embodiment, a record may be added to the demand information table based on the surgeon item (surgeon information on the surgeon who operates the surgical robot system 11) and the combination table in Fig. 41 (information on a combination of a plurality of surgical instruments 30 that need to be delivered to the facility 10). In this case, too, demand information is automatically generated based on the combination of the surgeon and the surgical instruments 30, so the burden on the facility 10 can be reduced.

[0246] <Embodiment 4> In the fourth embodiment, compared to the second embodiment, a usage record table indicating which type and number of surgical instruments 30 were used in which facility 10 in the past is stored in the database DB.

[0247] FIG. 43 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a usage record table according to the fourth embodiment.

[0248] The usage history table includes fields for facility ID, facility name, surgical instrument ID, type ID of the surgical instrument 30, surgical instrument name, and date and time of use. The field for date and time of use indicates the date and time when the surgical instrument 30 was used at the facility 10.

[0249] When a surgical instrument 30 is used and the status of the surgical instrument 30 is set to recalled, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 adds a record to the usage history table, the record including the facility ID and facility name where the surgical instrument 30 was used, the surgical instrument ID, type ID and surgical instrument name of the surgical instrument 30, and the current date and time corresponding to the date and time when the surgical instrument 30 was used.

[0250] FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing the processing of the information management system 40 and the work terminal 13 when registering demand information according to the fourth embodiment.

[0251] When the current time becomes the batch processing time (step S601: YES), the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 starts the processing from step S602 onwards. The batch processing time is set to, for example, 4pm on the day before the shipment confirmation by the device center 20 so that the processing from step S602 to S605 is completed by the time of the shipment confirmation (see FIG. 33) performed by the device center 20. The interval of the batch processing is, for example, one month.

[0252] In step S602, the control unit 141 acquires the number of usage records of surgical instruments 30 expected to be used during the time span of the target delivery period (see FIG. 33) for each facility ID and type ID of surgical instruments 30 based on the usage record table shown in FIG. 43. The number of surgical instruments 30 expected to be used during the time span of the target delivery period is, for example, the average number of times that surgical instruments 30 have been used during the time span of the target delivery period, based on the entire usage record for the past year in the usage record table. In step S603, the control unit 141 sends an inquiry to each facility 10 as to whether or not the number of usage records can be registered in the demand information table similar to that in FIG. 13.

[0253] When the control unit 161 of the work terminal 13 of the facility 10 receives the inquiry sent in step S603 (step S611: YES), in step S612, the control unit 161 sends a response from the operator of the facility 10 regarding whether the actual usage count is acceptable to the information management system 40. Specifically, if the operator of the facility 10 determines that there is no problem with the received actual usage count, he / she inputs to the work terminal 13 a response indicating that registration of the actual usage count in the demand information table is permitted. On the other hand, if the operator of the facility 10 determines that there is a problem with the received actual usage count, he / she inputs to the work terminal 13 a response indicating that registration of the actual usage count in the demand information table is not permitted. Then, the control unit 161 transmits the input response to the information management system 40.

[0254] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives a permission response from the work terminal 13 (step S604: YES), it registers the usage record count acquired in step S602 in the subsequent delivery target period (see FIG. 33) in a demand information table similar to that in FIG. 13. As a result, the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required at each facility 10 are automatically registered in the demand information table, even if the operator of the facility 10 does not input a surgery schedule.

[0255] On the other hand, when the control unit 141 receives a non-permission response from the work terminal 13 (step S604: NO), it skips step S605. In this case, the operator of the facility 10 inputs, for example, the type and number of surgical instruments 30 to be used at the facility 10 via the work terminal 13. The control unit 141 of the information management system 40 registers the type and number of surgical instruments 30 received from the work terminal 13 in a demand information table similar to that in FIG.

[0256] In the fourth embodiment, the same process as in Fig. 21 is performed. At this time, the demand list 221 of the delivery decision screen 220 similar to that in Fig. 22 displays demand information based on the demand information table in which the number of actual usages is registered as described above.

[0257] In the process of Fig. 44, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 inquires of the facility 10 whether or not to register the number of actual uses, but this is not limiting, and the inquiry may be omitted and registration may be performed automatically. In this case, the control unit 141 notifies the corresponding facility 10 that the registration has been performed automatically.

[0258] <Effects of the surgical instrument management method and information management system according to the fourth embodiment> The information in the demand information table (demand information) is generated based on the information in the usage history table (usage history information regarding the usage history of the surgical instruments 30 in the facility 10) (steps S602 and S605 in FIG. 44).

[0259] With this configuration, even if the operator in charge of input at the facility 10 does not input the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required for the planned surgery, the operator at the device center 20 can understand the type and number of surgical instruments 30 required at the facility 10.

[0260] <Embodiment 5> In the third embodiment, fixed combination information is set in advance in the combination table shown in Fig. 39. In contrast to this, in the fifth embodiment, as compared with the third embodiment, the combination information in the combination table is updated based on the information in the usage record table shown in Fig. 43.

[0261] FIG. 45 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a usage record table according to the fifth embodiment.

[0262] The usage record table of the fifth embodiment further includes items of surgical procedure ID and surgical procedure name, as compared with the fourth embodiment shown in FIG.

[0263] Also in embodiment 5, when a surgical instrument 30 is used and the status of the surgical instrument 30 is set to recalled, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 adds a record to the usage history table, the record including the facility ID and facility name where the surgical instrument 30 was used, the surgical procedure ID and surgical procedure name where the surgical instrument 30 was used, the surgical instrument ID, type ID and surgical instrument name of the surgical instrument 30, and the current date and time corresponding to the date and time of use of the surgical instrument 30.

[0264] FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing the processing of the information management system 40 and the work terminal 13 when updating the combination information.

[0265] When the current time becomes the batch processing time (step S621: YES), the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 starts the processing from step S622 onwards. The batch processing time is set to, for example, 4pm on the day before the shipment confirmation by the device center 20 so that the processing from step S622 to S627 is completed by the time of the shipment confirmation (see FIG. 33) performed by the device center 20. The interval of the batch processing is, for example, one month.

[0266] In step S622, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 acquires the number of usage records of surgical instruments 30 expected to be used during the time span of the target delivery period (see FIG. 33) based on the usage record table shown in FIG. 45, for each facility ID, surgical procedure ID, and type ID of surgical instrument 30. The number of surgical instruments 30 expected to be used during the time span of the target delivery period is, for example, the average number of times that surgical instruments 30 have been used during the time span of the target delivery period, based on the entire usage record for the past year in the usage record table.

[0267] In step S623, the control unit 141 acquires the number of combination information pieces, which are the number of times the surgical instruments 30 are used during the time span of the delivery period, for each facility ID, surgical procedure ID, and type ID of the surgical instrument 30, based on the combination table shown in Fig. 39. In this case, the combination table specifies the number of times the surgical instruments 30 are used during the delivery period in the number field.

[0268] In step S624, the control unit 141 determines whether the number of usage records acquired in step S622 is greater than the number of combination information acquired in step S623 for each facility ID, surgical procedure ID, and type ID of the surgical instrument 30. If the number of usage records is less than or equal to the number of combination information in all determinations in step S624 (step S624: NO), the control unit 141 omits the processes in step S625 and thereafter and ends the process in FIG.

[0269] If the number of actual usage records is greater than the number of combination information records in one or more determinations in step S624 (step S624: YES), in step S625, the control unit 141 sends an inquiry to each facility 10 as to whether or not to update the number of actual usage records in the combination table similar to that in FIG.

[0270] When the control unit 161 of the work terminal 13 of the facility 10 receives the inquiry sent in step S625 (step S631: YES), in step S632, the control unit 161 sends a response from the operator of the facility 10 regarding whether or not the history of use count is acceptable to the information management system 40. Specifically, if the operator of the facility 10 determines that there is no problem with the received history of use count, he / she inputs to the work terminal 13 a response indicating that registration of the history of use count in the combination table is permitted. On the other hand, if the operator of the facility 10 determines that there is a problem with the received history of use count, he / she inputs to the work terminal 13 a response indicating that registration of the history of use count in the combination table is not permitted. Then, the control unit 161 transmits the input response to the information management system 40.

[0271] When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives a response of permission from the work terminal 13 (step S626: YES), in step S627, it updates the combination information in the combination table similar to that in FIG. 39 with the number of actual uses acquired in step S622.

[0272] On the other hand, when the control unit 141 receives a non-permission response from the work terminal 13 (step S626: NO), it skips step S627 and ends the processing in FIG.

[0273] 46, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 inquires of the facility 10 whether or not to update the combination table with the number of actual uses, but this is not limiting, and if the number of actual uses is greater than the number of combination information, the inquiry may be omitted and the update may be performed automatically. In this case, the control unit 141 notifies the corresponding facility 10 that the update has been performed automatically.

[0274] <Embodiment 6> In the sixth embodiment, compared to the first embodiment, a lead time is set for each status of the surgical instrument 30. The lead time is the expected number of days until the surgical instrument 30 becomes selectable (in stock).

[0275] FIG. 47 is a diagram showing the lead time set for each status ID.

[0276] When the value of the status ID is A (in stock), B (delivery confirmed), C (delivery), D (recall), or E (under maintenance), the expected number of days until the surgical instrument 30 becomes selectable (in stock), i.e., the lead time, is, for example, 0, 7.5, 7.0, 2.0, or 1.5, respectively. The lead time for each status ID is pre-stored in the database DB.

[0277] In the sixth embodiment, in step S412 in Fig. 21, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 transmits surgical instrument information including information on all surgical instruments 30 and a selectable date based on the lead time of the status ID of each surgical instrument 30 to the working terminal 21 of the device center 20. The selectable date is calculated, for example, by adding the lead time for each status ID shown in Fig. 47 to the last update date and time of the surgical instrument 30. As a result, a delivery decision screen 220 shown in Fig. 48 is displayed on the display unit 173 of the working terminal 21.

[0278] FIG. 48 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery decision screen 220 displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 in the device center 20 according to the sixth embodiment.

[0279] In the delivery decision screen 220 of the sixth embodiment, compared to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 22, the surgical instrument list 222 includes a field for selectable dates. If the surgical instrument 30 is selectable (in stock), the text "selectable" is displayed in the field for selectable dates, and a pull-down menu 222a is displayed in the fields for facility ID and facility name. On the other hand, if the surgical instrument 30 is not selectable, the field for selectable dates displays the selectable dates, and the fields for facility ID and facility name display "- ", indicating that the facility 10 cannot be selected.

[0280] <Effects of the surgical instrument management method and information management system according to the sixth embodiment> 47, the status ID (status information) is associated with a lead time (period information) indicating the period until the surgical instrument 30 becomes selectable as a target for delivery to the facility 10 due to maintenance. As shown in Fig. 48, a selectable date (period information) regarding the time when the surgical instrument 30 becomes selectable as a target for delivery to the facility 10 is provided based on the lead time (period information).

[0281] According to this configuration, the inventory number of surgical instruments 30 can be adjusted taking into consideration the time when the surgical instruments 30 become selectable for delivery to the facility 10, thereby preventing the inventory number of surgical instruments 30 from becoming excessive.

[0282] <Embodiment 7> In the seventh embodiment, compared to the first embodiment, six more values ​​indicating states are added to the status ID of the surgical instrument 30.

[0283] FIG. 49 is a diagram illustrating details of a status ID according to the seventh embodiment.

[0284] In the seventh embodiment, E1 to E6 are added as status ID values ​​compared to the first embodiment shown in the lower part of Fig. 12. The states indicated by the status ID values ​​E1 to E5 are included in the state indicated by the status ID value E in the first embodiment (under maintenance).

[0285] The status ID value E1 (cleaned) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is being cleaned in a maintenance process. The status ID value E2 (inspection) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is being inspected in a maintenance process. The inspection includes checking whether the surgical instrument 30 is damaged or broken, and whether the limit of use has been exceeded. The status ID value E3 (sterilized) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is being sterilized in a maintenance process. The status ID value E4 (repaired) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is being repaired in a maintenance process. Repair indicates that parts are replaced or adjustments are made without disassembling the surgical instrument 30. The status ID value E5 (refurbished) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is being refurbished in a maintenance process. Refurbishment indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is disassembled and reproduced by replacing parts, etc. The status ID value E6 (discarded) indicates that the surgical instrument 30 has been discarded.

[0286] FIG. 50 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgical instrument table stored in a database DB according to the seventh embodiment. As shown in FIG.

[0287] In the seventh embodiment, compared to the first embodiment shown in the upper part of FIG. 12, the surgical instrument table further includes an item of accumulated use time.

[0288] In the seventh embodiment, in step S113 of Fig. 17, when the surgery using the surgical instrument 30 is completed and the status of the surgical instrument 30 is updated to "recovered," the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 further calculates the accumulated usage time of the surgical instrument 30. Specifically, the control unit 141 calculates the accumulated usage time by accumulating the time that the surgical instrument 30 is attached based on the operation log exemplified in Fig. 16. Then, the control unit 141 updates the surgical instrument table with the calculated accumulated usage time.

[0289] FIG. 51 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of the maintenance process of the device center 20. As shown in FIG.

[0290] In the maintenance process of embodiment 7, cleaning and sterilization are performed in the cleaning area, inspection and detailed inspection are performed in the inspection area, and repair and refurbishment are performed in the repair area.

[0291] When the surgical instrument 30 is collected at the device center 20, a cleaning operator in the cleaning area (hereinafter referred to as the "cleaning operator") updates the status of the collected surgical instrument 30 to "cleaned" using the work terminal 21. The cleaning operator then cleans the collected surgical instrument 30 in accordance with the process shown in steps S301 to S305 of Fig. 20. When cleaning is complete, the cleaning operator updates the status of the surgical instrument 30 to "inspection" using the work terminal 21, and transports the surgical instrument 30 to the inspection area.

[0292] An operator in the inspection area (hereinafter referred to as the "inspection operator") inspects the surgical instrument 30 and determines whether to dispose of, repair, refurbish, conduct a detailed inspection, or continue to use (reuse) the surgical instrument 30. If the cumulative usage time of the surgical instrument 30 exceeds an upper limit, the inspection operator performs a detailed inspection and makes the above determination again.

[0293] When the inspection operator decides to discard the surgical instrument 30, he / she uses the work terminal 21 to update the status of the surgical instrument 30 to "discard" and discards the surgical instrument 30. When the inspection operator decides to repair or refurbish the surgical instrument 30, he / she uses the work terminal 21 to update the status of the surgical instrument 30 to "repair" or "refurbish", respectively, and transports the surgical instrument 30 to a repair area. When the inspection operator decides to continue using the surgical instrument 30, he / she uses the work terminal 21 to update the status of the surgical instrument 30 to "clean" and transports the surgical instrument 30 to a cleaning area.

[0294] An operator in the repair area (hereinafter referred to as the "repair operator") repairs a surgical instrument 30 whose status is repaired, and refurbishes a surgical instrument 30 whose status is refurbished. When the repair or refurbishment is completed, the repair operator uses the work terminal 21 to update the status of the repaired or refurbished surgical instrument 30 to cleaned, and transfers the surgical instrument 30 to the cleaning area.

[0295] When the surgical instrument 30 returns from the inspection area and the repair area to the cleaning area, the cleaning operator uses the work terminal 21 to update the status of the returned surgical instrument 30 to "cleaned" and cleans the surgical instrument 30. When cleaning of the surgical instrument 30 returned from the repair area is completed, the cleaning operator uses the work terminal 21 to update the status of the surgical instrument 30 to "inspection" and transports the surgical instrument 30 to the inspection area again. When cleaning of the surgical instrument 30 returned from the inspection area is completed, the cleaning operator uses the work terminal 21 to update the status of the surgical instrument 30 to "sterilized". Then, the cleaning operator sterilizes the surgical instrument 30 according to the process shown in steps S306 and S307 of FIG. 20. When sterilization is completed, the cleaning operator updates the status of the surgical instrument 30 to "inventory" and transports the surgical instrument 30 to the warehouse.

[0296] FIG. 52 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an inspection screen 510 displayed on a display unit 173 of a work terminal 21 in an inspection area according to the seventh embodiment.

[0297] The inspection screen 510 includes a text box 511, a display area 512, a selection area 513, and an OK button 514. The inspection screen 510 is displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 when the inspection operator inputs an instruction to display the inspection screen 510 to the work terminal 21.

[0298] The inspection operator reads the tag 35 of the surgical instrument 30 using the reading unit 175 of the working terminal 21, and inputs the surgical instrument ID into the text box 211. Alternatively, the operator refers to the character string of the surgical instrument ID written on the surface of the tag 35, and inputs the surgical instrument ID into the text box 511 using the input unit 174 of the working terminal 21. This causes the control unit 171 of the working terminal 21 to transmit an inquiry including the surgical instrument ID to the information management system 40. When the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 receives the inquiry, it reads out the cumulative usage time corresponding to the surgical instrument ID included in the received inquiry from the surgical instrument table (see FIG. 50), and transmits a response including the read cumulative usage time to the working terminal 21. The control unit 171 of the working terminal 21 displays the cumulative usage time included in the received response in the display area 512.

[0299] Here, when the cumulative usage time is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (upper usage limit), an inspection screen 510 shown in the upper part of FIG. 52 is displayed, and when the cumulative usage time exceeds the predetermined threshold (upper usage limit), an inspection screen 510 shown in the lower part of FIG. 52 is displayed. The upper usage limit of the cumulative usage time is, for example, 10 hours. In the inspection screen 510 in the upper part of FIG. 52, a selection area 513 includes radio buttons for determining which process to perform, disposal, repair, refurbishment, detailed inspection, and continued use. In the inspection screen 510 in the lower part of FIG. 52, the selection area 513 includes radio buttons for determining which process to perform, disposal, repair, refurbishment, and detailed inspection, and a message area 515 is added to indicate that the cumulative usage time exceeds the upper usage limit. Note that the message displayed in the message area 515 may be output as sound via a speaker instead of or in addition to a display.

[0300] When the inspection operator selects a radio button corresponding to repair, refurbish, or continue to use on the inspection screen 510 and operates the OK button 514, the status of the target surgical instrument 30 is updated to repair, refurbish, or cleaned. Specifically, the control unit 171 of the work terminal 21 transmits the surgical instrument ID and the status ID corresponding to the radio button to the information management system 40, and the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 updates the status ID in the surgical instrument table corresponding to the received surgical instrument ID with the received status ID.

[0301] When the inspection operator selects the radio button corresponding to discard on the inspection screen 510 and operates the OK button 514, a confirmation screen 520 including a selection area 521 and an OK button 522 is displayed, as shown in the upper part of FIG.

[0302] When the inspection operator discards the surgical instrument 30, he / she selects the radio button in the selection area 521 corresponding to "execute disposal" and operates the OK button 522. This causes the confirmation screen 530 to close, and the status of the target surgical instrument 30 is updated to "discarded". The inspection operator then discards the target surgical instrument 30. On the other hand, when the inspection operator does not discard the surgical instrument 30, he / she selects the radio button in the selection area 521 corresponding to "not execute disposal" and operates the OK button 522. This causes the confirmation screen 520 to close, and the inspection screen 510 in the upper or lower part of FIG. 52 is displayed again. When the confirmation screen 520 is displayed in this manner, it is possible to prevent the inspection operator from erroneously setting disposal.

[0303] When the inspection operator selects the radio button corresponding to detailed inspection on the inspection screen 510 and operates the OK button 514, a confirmation screen 530 including a message area 531 and an OK button 532 is displayed as shown in the lower part of FIG. 53. A message urging the inspection operator to perform a detailed inspection is displayed in the message area 531. The inspection operator checks this message, inspects the surgical instrument 30 to be inspected in detail, and operates the OK button 532. This causes the confirmation screen 530 to close, and the original inspection screen 510 shown in the upper or lower part of FIG. 52 is displayed again.

[0304] Here, if the accumulated usage time exceeds the upper usage limit, a radio button corresponding to continued use is placed in selection area 513 on inspection screen 510 that is displayed again. In this way, if the accumulated usage time exceeds the upper usage limit, the radio button for continued use is placed only if a detailed inspection is performed. This makes it possible to prevent continued use from being selected without a detailed inspection when the accumulated usage time exceeds the upper usage limit.

[0305] In addition, a message or button for confirming whether or not the detailed inspection has been passed may be provided on the confirmation screen 530 shown in the lower part of FIG. 53, and a message or button for confirming whether or not approval for continued use has been obtained from the person in charge at the device center 20 may be provided.

[0306] <Effects of the surgical instrument management method and information management system according to embodiment 7> As shown in FIG. 51, maintenance of the surgical instrument 30 includes inspection of the surgical instrument 30.

[0307] According to this configuration, the quality of the surgical instrument 30 can be confirmed, and the facility 10 can be provided with a surgical instrument 30 with guaranteed quality.

[0308] As described with reference to FIG. 51, the inspection of the maintenance process includes an inspection as to whether the surgical instrument 30 can be continuously used (reused).

[0309] According to this configuration, whether or not the surgical instrument 30 can be reused is determined after inspection, so that the quality of the surgical instrument 30 to be reused can be guaranteed.

[0310] As described with reference to Fig. 50, when the status of the surgical instrument 30 is updated to recalled, the accumulated usage time of the surgical instrument 30 (usage information related to the accumulated degree of usage) is obtained. Also, as described with reference to Figs. 52 and 53, the maintenance of the surgical instrument 30 includes an inspection of the surgical instrument 30 based on the accumulated usage time (usage information).

[0311] When the cumulative usage time of the surgical instrument 30 becomes long, the surgical instrument 30 may deteriorate and become unable to be reused. According to the above-described configuration, the surgical instrument 30 is inspected based on the cumulative usage time, so that the inspection accuracy of the surgical instrument 30 is improved.

[0312] As described with reference to Figures 52 and 53, the status ID (status information) of the surgical instrument 30 designated for disposal based on the disposal conditions is updated to a status ID (status information) indicating that it cannot be selected for delivery to the facility 10.

[0313] The disposal conditions include, for example, when the cumulative degree of use exceeds an upper usage limit, when a detailed inspection by an inspection operator determines that continued use is not possible, etc. For example, when a defect such as a scratch is found in the surgical instrument 30 during inspection after cleaning, according to the above configuration, the surgical instrument 30 can be selected as a target for disposal, thereby preventing the surgical instrument 30 from being reused.

[0314] <Modification 1 of the Seventh Embodiment> In the seventh embodiment, the accumulated usage time is the total time the surgical instrument 30 is attached, but it is not limited thereto, and may be the accumulated energization time obtained by accumulating the time during which an operation is performed on the surgical instrument 30 (e.g., energization time, etc.) as shown in the upper part of Fig. 54. The accumulated energization time can be calculated based on the operation flag for each type of operation described above. In this case, the operation log includes not only the attachment and detachment of the surgical instrument 30 but also the energization state of the surgical instrument 30.

[0315] In the seventh embodiment, the cumulative usage time is used as the usage information related to the cumulative degree of usage, but the cumulative number of uses may be used instead. The cumulative number of uses may be counted up each time the surgical instrument 30 is used in one surgery, or may be counted up each time the surgical instrument 30 is attached to the surgical robot system 11.

[0316] 54, the surgical instrument 30 is inspected based on the cumulative power-on time or cumulative number of uses (usage information related to the cumulative degree of use), thereby improving the inspection accuracy of the surgical instrument 30. The cumulative degree of use may be calculated based on two or more values ​​of the cumulative wearing time, the cumulative power-on time, and the cumulative number of uses.

[0317] <Modification 2 of the Seventh Embodiment> In the inspection of the maintenance process of the seventh embodiment, the operation of the surgical instrument 30 may be inspected using the surgical robot system 11.

[0318] FIG. 55 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a surgical instrument management system 1 according to this modified example.

[0319] The device center 20 of the seventh embodiment further includes a surgical robot system 11, as compared with the first embodiment shown in Fig. 2. The surgical robot system 11 in the device center 20 is placed in an inspection area (see Fig. 51) and is connected to an information management system 40 via a network 50. An inspection operator mounts a surgical instrument 30 to be inspected on the surgical robot system 11, and operates the surgical instrument 30 using the surgical robot system 11 to inspect the surgical instrument 30.

[0320] Here, the operating device 120 transmits a drive instruction corresponding to the operation to the control device 130. The control device 130 generates a command value based on the drive instruction received from the operating device 120, and transmits the generated command value to the patient-side device 110. The patient-side device 110 operates the surgical instrument 30 together with each unit of the patient-side device 110 according to the command value transmitted from the control device 130. Meanwhile, the patient-side device 110 transmits the drive amount output from the encoder of each operation unit as a current value to the control device 130. The control device 130 transmits the command value and the current value corresponding to the command value to the information management system 40 at a predetermined time interval (for example, 1 second).

[0321] FIG. 56 is a flowchart showing the processing of an examination using the surgical robot system 11 according to this modified example.

[0322] In the examination area of ​​the device center 20, the examination operator attaches the surgical instrument 30 to be examined to the patient-side device 110 of the surgical robot system 11, and operates the patient-side device 110 to operate the surgical instrument 30 on a standard object for examination such as a simulated organ. As a result, command values ​​and current values ​​are transmitted from the control device 130 of the surgical robot system 11 of the device center 20 to the information management system 40.

[0323] In step S701, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 acquires command values ​​and current values ​​from the surgical robot system 11 of the device center 20, and stores the acquired command values ​​and current values ​​in the database DB. When the operation of the surgical robot system 11 in the examination is completed, in step S702, the control unit 141 calculates the difference between the command value corresponding to the operation of the surgical instrument 30 and the current value for each pair, and in step S703, calculates the average value of each difference.

[0324] In step S704, the control unit 141 determines whether the average value of the differences calculated in step S703 is greater than a predetermined threshold value. For example, if the surgical instrument 30 operates normally, the average value of the differences is small, and if the surgical instrument 30 does not operate normally, the average value of the differences is large. Therefore, by comparing the average value of the differences with a predetermined threshold value, it is possible to determine whether the surgical instrument 30 is normal or not.

[0325] If the average value of the differences is greater than the predetermined threshold value (step S704: YES), in step S705, the control unit 141 transmits a notification to the surgical robot system 11 of the device center 20 to display a warning on the display unit of the operation unit 112 (see FIG. 6). When the warning is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 112, the inspection operator can know that the surgical instrument 30 to be inspected attached to the surgical robot system 11 is not operating normally.

[0326] The patient-side device 110 may transmit to the information management system 40 the current value including the current value applied to the surgical instrument 30 when the surgical instrument 30 is operated. In this case, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 calculates the difference between the current value and the value obtained by converting the command value to correspond to the current value for each pair. For example, when the surgical instrument 30 is a grasping forceps, the wire in the shaft 32 of the forceps may be stretched and loosened due to past use. In this case, when an operation is performed on a standard object for examination such as a simulated organ, a current value larger than usual is required, and the difference between the command value and the current value becomes large. Therefore, in this case as well, if a warning notification is transmitted when the average value of the difference is larger than a predetermined threshold, the examination operator can know that the grasping forceps for the specimen object is not operating normally.

[0327] <Embodiment 8> In the eighth embodiment, a usage state ID is further added to the status ID in the seventh embodiment (see FIG. 49).

[0328] FIG. 57 is a diagram showing a usage state ID added to a status ID according to the eighth embodiment.

[0329] The usage status ID includes three values: 100, 200, and 300. A usage status ID value of 100 indicates that the surgical instrument 30 is in a usable state. A usage status ID value of 200 indicates that the surgical instrument 30 has been set to unusable by an operator of the facility 10. A usage information ID value of 300 indicates that the surgical instrument 30 has been set to unusable by automatic determination. The automatic determination of unusability is set when usage information relating to the cumulative degree of use (e.g., cumulative wearing time, cumulative power-on time, and cumulative number of uses) exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0330] For example, when a surgical instrument 30 is stored in stock and in a usable state, the status ID of the surgical instrument 30 is "A-100," which is a combination of A, which indicates an in-stock state, and 100, which indicates a usable state. In this case, the surgical instrument list 222 shown in Fig. 22 displays a surgical instrument 30 with a status ID of A-100.

[0331] In addition, if the operator of facility 10 determines that there is a problem with the surgical instrument 30 used in the surgery, he or she uses the work terminal 13 to update the status ID of the surgical instrument 30 to "D-200" (recovered state and unavailable for use by the operator of facility 10).

[0332] The working terminal 13 may display a screen for receiving additional information regarding the problem with the surgical instrument 30, and may receive the additional information regarding the problem with the surgical instrument 30 from the operator. In this case, the received additional information may be transmitted from the working terminal 13 to the information management system 40, and the received additional information may be stored in the information management system 40 in association with the surgical instrument ID of the corresponding surgical instrument 30. The additional information may be any one of text, image, and sound, or a combination of these.

[0333] When a surgical instrument 30 that has been set to unusable by an operator of the facility 10 is transported to the inspection area, the status ID of the surgical instrument 30 is updated to "E2-200" (inspection state and unusable state by the operator of the facility 10). In this case, the inspection operator decides to repair or refurbish the surgical instrument 30. If the result of the inspection after repair or refurbishment indicates that the surgical instrument 30 can still be used, the status ID of the surgical instrument 30 is updated to "E1-100" (cleaned state and usable state) and the surgical instrument 30 is transported to the cleaning area.

[0334] In the eighth embodiment, when the inspection screen 510 shown in Fig. 52 is displayed, if the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 determines that the usage information (e.g., the cumulative wearing time, the cumulative power-on time, and the cumulative number of uses) relating to the cumulative degree of usage of the surgical instrument 30 to be inspected exceeds a predetermined threshold, the control unit 141 sets the status ID of the surgical instrument 30 to "E2-300" (inspection state and automatically determined unusable state). This makes it possible to prevent a surgical instrument 30 to which the usage status ID value 300 is added from being erroneously selected as a delivery target.

[0335] <Modification of the eighth embodiment> In the eighth embodiment, a usage state ID is added to the status ID in the seventh embodiment (see FIG. 49). However, as shown below, a refurbishment ID indicating the number of times the device has been refurbished may be added instead of the usage state ID.

[0336] FIG. 58 is a diagram showing a refurbishment ID added to a status ID in this modified example.

[0337] The refurbishment ID includes ten different values ​​R0 to R9. The subscripts (numeric portion) of the values ​​R0 to R9 indicate the number of times the surgical instrument has been refurbished. The refurbishment ID value R0 indicates that the surgical instrument 30 has never been refurbished. The refurbishments R1 to R9 indicate that the surgical instrument 30 has been refurbished one to nine times, respectively. The control unit 141 of the information management system 40 increments the subscript of the refurbishment ID assigned to the status ID of the surgical instrument 30 by 1 each time the status of the surgical instrument 30 in the repair area is updated to Refurbished.

[0338] When displaying the inspection screen 510 shown in Fig. 52 and the like, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 acquires the number of times the surgical instrument 30 has been refurbished by acquiring the subscript of the refurbishment ID added to the status ID. The control unit 141 transmits the acquired number of times the refurbishment has been performed to the work terminal 21 in the inspection area. As a result, the number of times the surgical instrument 30 to be inspected has been refurbished is displayed on the inspection screen 510 shown in Fig. 52. Therefore, the inspection operator can decide what to do with the surgical instrument 30 to be inspected by referring to the number of times the refurbishment has been performed.

[0339] When the use status ID of the seventh embodiment is used together with the refurbishment ID, if the number of refurbishments exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., 9 times), the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 may add the value 300 of the use status ID indicating that the surgical instrument 30 is unusable as determined automatically, to the status ID of the surgical instrument 30. A repair ID indicating the number of repairs may also be added to the status ID.

[0340] <Embodiment 9> In the ninth embodiment, compared with the first embodiment, the surgical instrument management system 1 includes a plurality of device centers 20 as shown in FIG.

[0341] FIG. 60 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a facility table and a device center table stored in the database DB according to the ninth embodiment.

[0342] As shown in the upper part of Fig. 60, the facility table includes items of facility ID, facility name, and location ID. As shown in the lower part of Fig. 60, the device center table includes items of device center ID, device center name, and location ID. The device center ID is an ID that can individually identify the device center 20. The device center name indicates the name of the device center 20 indicated by the device center ID.

[0343] The location ID is an ID capable of individually identifying an area where the device center 20 exists. In the example shown in FIG. 60, one device center ID corresponds to one location ID. Furthermore, when multiple facilities 10 exist in an area corresponding to one location ID, the location ID of these multiple facilities 10 is the same. For example, in the case of Japan, multiple location IDs correspond to two areas of eastern Japan and western Japan, or three areas of northern Japan, eastern Japan, and western Japan.

[0344] FIG. 61 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgical instrument table stored in a database DB according to the ninth embodiment. As shown in FIG.

[0345] The surgical instrument table of the ninth embodiment further includes a location ID field compared to the first embodiment shown in the upper part of FIG.

[0346] In the ninth embodiment, the same process as that shown in FIG. 21 is performed in the selection step. However, in the ninth embodiment, the location ID of the device center 20 that is the transmission source is added to the request instruction transmitted in step S402 in FIG. 21. In step S412 in FIG. 21, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 acquires a facility ID corresponding to this location ID based on the location ID of the device center 20 that is the transmission source and the facility table shown in the upper part of FIG. 60, and acquires demand information corresponding to the acquired facility ID from a demand information table similar to that shown in FIG. 13. In addition, the control unit 141 acquires surgical instrument information of a surgical instrument 30 that corresponds to this location ID and has a status ID value of A (in stock) based on the location ID of the device center 20 that is the transmission source and the surgical instrument table shown in FIG. 61.

[0347] FIG. 62 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery decision screen 220 displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 in the device center 20 according to the ninth embodiment.

[0348] In the delivery decision screen 220 of the ninth embodiment, compared to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 22, both the demand list 221 and the surgical instrument list 222 include a location ID item. The demand list 221 displays demand information of the facility 10 in the same location as the device center 20 where the delivery decision screen 220 is displayed. The surgical instrument list 222 displays the inventory of the surgical instruments 30 in the device center 20 where the delivery decision screen 220 is displayed. In this case, the surgical instruments 30 to be delivered to the facility 10 are delivered from the warehouse of the device center 20 in the same location as the facility 10.

[0349] The surgical instruments 30 delivered to the facility 10 may be delivered not only from the inventory of the device center 20 in the same location as the facility 10, but also from the inventory of a device center 20 in a location different from that of the facility 10. In this case, the demand list 221 displays demand information for all facilities 10, and the surgical instrument list 222 displays the inventory of surgical instruments 30 in all device centers 20. Furthermore, delivery time can be shortened by delivering the surgical instruments 30 to the facility 10 from a device center 20 in the same location as much as possible. Furthermore, when there is an imbalance in the inventory quantities of two device centers 20 in different locations, the surgical instruments 30 in the warehouses of the two device centers 20 may be transferred between each other's warehouses so as to eliminate the imbalance.

[0350] <Effects of the surgical instrument management method and information management system according to embodiment 9> As shown in FIG. 61, for each of the multiple surgical instruments 30, a location ID (location information regarding the current location of the surgical instrument 30) is stored in association with each of the multiple surgical instruments 30's surgical instrument ID (identification information).

[0351] According to this configuration, for example, a surgical instrument 30 located near a facility 10 can be delivered to the facility 10, so that the surgical instrument 30 can be delivered to the facility 10 efficiently.

[0352] <Embodiment 10> In the tenth embodiment, as compared with the first embodiment, in step S412 in Fig. 21, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 calculates the elapsed time since maintenance was completed for a surgical instrument 30 whose status is in stock, in other words, the elapsed time since the status became in stock. Specifically, the control unit 141 calculates the elapsed time from the last update date and time to the current time for a surgical instrument 30 whose status ID value is A (in stock). Then, the control unit 141 includes the elapsed time for each surgical instrument 30 in the surgical instrument information.

[0353] The control unit 141 of the information management system 40 may obtain the elapsed time since the completion of maintenance by referring to the elapsed time item provided in the surgical instrument table, instead of calculating the elapsed time each time in response to a request when displaying the delivery decision screen 220 as described above. In this case, the control unit 141 updates the elapsed time in the surgical instrument table, for example, every hour.

[0354] FIG. 63 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery decision screen 220 displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 in the device center 20 according to the tenth embodiment.

[0355] In the delivery decision screen 220 of the tenth embodiment, the surgical instrument list 222 includes an item of the time elapsed since the completion of maintenance, as compared with the first embodiment shown in Fig. 22. In this case, the operator in the selection process decides on the surgical instruments to be delivered in the order of the time elapsed since the completion of maintenance in the surgical instrument list 222. This makes it possible to prevent the surgical instruments 30 from being stored in the warehouse for a long period of time.

[0356] The control unit 141 of the information management system 40 may calculate the elapsed time since the completion of maintenance for the surgical instruments 30 in the inventory state at a predetermined timing (e.g., every hour), and when the calculated elapsed time exceeds a predetermined threshold value (e.g., 2500 hours), change the status of the surgical instruments 30 to under maintenance. Such surgical instruments 30 are washed and sterilized again.

[0357] Furthermore, when the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 updates the status of the surgical instrument 30 to inventory, the control unit 141 may calculate the date and time of the expiration date and time by adding a predetermined threshold value (for example, 2500 hours) to the update date and time.

[0358] In this case, the control unit 141 transmits the calculated date and time of the expiration date and the surgical instrument ID corresponding to the expiration date to the working terminal 21 of the device center 20. The operator of the device center 20 uses the working terminal 21 to store the received date and time of the expiration date in the memory unit 31 (see FIG. 5) of the corresponding surgical instrument 30. Then, when the surgical instrument 30 is attached to the patient-side device 110 of the surgical robot system 11 in the facility 10, the control unit 131 of the surgical robot system 11 reads out the date and time of the expiration date from the memory unit 31. If the current date and time is past the read expiration date, the control unit 131 displays a warning indicating that the expiration date of the surgical instrument 30 has passed on the display unit of the operation unit 112. This makes it possible to prevent the use of the surgical instrument 30 whose expiration date has passed.

[0359] <Embodiment 11> In the eleventh embodiment, compared to the first embodiment, a delivery possible flag item is added to the surgical instrument table.

[0360] FIG. 64 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a surgical instrument table stored in the database DB according to the eleventh embodiment. As shown in FIG.

[0361] The delivery availability flag is status information indicating whether the corresponding surgical instrument 30 is deliverable or not, i.e., whether the instrument is in "A: In stock" status in embodiment 1, with "0" indicating that the instrument is not deliverable and "1" indicating that the instrument is deliverable. The initial value of the delivery availability flag is "0." In embodiment 11, the control unit 141 of the information management system 40 updates the status ID and updates the delivery availability flag from "0" to "1" in step S212 (see FIG. 18).

[0362] FIG. 65 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery decision screen 220 displayed on the display unit 173 of the work terminal 21 in the device center 20 according to the eleventh embodiment.

[0363] The surgical instrument list 222 on the delivery decision screen 220 displays a list of surgical instruments 30 whose delivery availability flags are set to "1," and displays the delivery availability flags instead of the status IDs. Note that the display of the delivery availability flags on the surgical instrument list 222 may be omitted.

[0364] <Modification of embodiment 11> The status ID item may be deleted from the surgical instrument table, and the process of updating the status ID in the information management system 40 may be omitted.

[0365] <Effects of the surgical instrument management method and information management system according to the eleventh embodiment and its modified examples> As in the first embodiment, maintenance such as cleaning and sterilization of the surgical instruments 30 used in the surgical robot system 11 does not need to be performed at the facility 10 where the surgical robot system 11 is installed, thereby reducing the burden on the facility 10 that uses the surgical robot system 11. In addition, since it is possible to manage whether or not the surgical instrument 30 can be selected as a delivery target to the facility 10 based on the delivery availability flag of the surgical instrument 30, it is possible to identify from among multiple surgical instruments 30 a surgical instrument 30 that has become deliverable through maintenance, and provide it to the facility 10 for reuse.

[0366] <Other changes> In the first to eleventh embodiments, the status ID and the last updated date and time are stored in the surgical instrument table of the database DB, but this is not limiting and the status ID and the last updated date and time may be stored in the memory unit 31 (see FIG. 5) of the surgical instrument 30. In this case, the working terminals 13, 21 are provided with an interface for connecting the surgical instrument 30, and the working terminals 13, 21 read out the status ID and the last updated date and time from the memory unit 31 of the surgical instrument 30 via the interface, and update the status ID and the last updated date and time.

[0367] In the first to eleventh embodiments, the status of the surgical instrument 30 delivered to the facility 10 is updated to "collected" when the surgery is completed, but the status may be updated to, for example, "facility" at the time of delivery to the facility 10. In this case, an operator in charge of receipt at the facility 10 reads the surgical instrument ID from the surgical instrument 30 that has arrived at the facility 10 using the reading unit 165 of the work terminal 13. Then, the work terminal 13 transmits the read surgical instrument ID to the information management system 40, whereby the status of the surgical instrument 30 is updated to "facility".

[0368] The embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various ways as appropriate within the scope of the technical ideas defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0369] 10 Facilities 11 Surgical robot system 30 Surgical instruments 40 Information Management System 141 Control Unit 152 Storage section

Claims

1. A method for managing surgical instruments used in a surgical robot system installed in each of a plurality of facilities, collected, subjected to maintenance including at least cleaning and sterilization, and delivered to any of the facilities, comprising: storing status information relating to a status of the surgical instrument for each of the plurality of surgical instruments in association with identification information of each of the plurality of surgical instruments; updating the status information corresponding to the surgical instrument that has become deliverable through the maintenance to the status information indicating that the surgical instrument is selectable as a target for delivery to the facility; How to manage surgical instruments.

2. The surgical instruments that have become deliverable through the maintenance include the surgical instruments that have been completed and are in stock. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

3. and updating the status information corresponding to the surgical instrument selected for delivery to the facility to the status information indicating that the surgical instrument is not selectable for delivery to the facility. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

4. The surgical instrument is shared by the surgical robot systems installed in each of the multiple facilities. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

5. storing demand information regarding the types and numbers of the surgical instruments that need to be delivered to the facility; providing the demand information for selection of the surgical instruments for delivery to the facility. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

6. generating surgical instrument information indicating the surgical instruments that can be selected for delivery to the facility based on the status information; providing the surgical instrument information together with the demand information; The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 5.

7. The demand information includes surgery schedule information regarding a schedule of surgeries using the surgical robot system at the facility. A method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 5 or 6.

8. The surgery schedule information includes information regarding a scheduled surgery date on which the surgery using the surgical robot system will be performed. A method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 7.

9. Providing the demand information includes providing the demand information at a time corresponding to the scheduled surgery date. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 8.

10. The surgery schedule information includes at least one of content information regarding the content of the surgery and surgeon information regarding a surgeon who operates the surgical robot system. A method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 7.

11. Providing the demand information includes generating the demand information based on at least one of the content information and the surgeon information, and information regarding a combination of the plurality of surgical instruments that need to be delivered to the facility. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 10.

12. The status information is associated with period information indicating a period until the surgical instrument becomes selectable for delivery to the facility due to the maintenance, providing timing information regarding when the surgical instrument will be available for delivery to the facility based on the time period information. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

13. said maintenance including inspection of said surgical instrument; The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

14. The inspection includes inspecting whether the surgical instrument is reusable. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 13.

15. obtaining usage information regarding a cumulative degree of use of the surgical instrument; the maintenance includes inspecting the surgical instrument based on the usage information; The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

16. The usage information relates to at least one of a cumulative number of uses and a cumulative period of use of the surgical instrument, The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 15.

17. and updating the status information of the surgical instrument designated for disposal based on a disposal condition to the status information indicating that the surgical instrument is not selectable for delivery to the facility. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

18. The demand information is generated based on usage history information regarding the usage history of the surgical instrument in the facility. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 5.

19. and outputting the type and number of the surgical instruments that can be selected for delivery to the facility based on the status information. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

20. and storing, for each of the plurality of surgical instruments, location information relating to a current location of the surgical instrument in association with the respective identification information of the plurality of surgical instruments. The method for managing a surgical instrument according to claim 1.

21. An information management system for managing surgical instruments used in a surgical robot system installed in each of a plurality of facilities, collected, subjected to maintenance including at least cleaning and sterilization, and delivered to any of the facilities, A memory unit that stores status information regarding the status of each of the plurality of surgical instruments in association with identification information of each of the plurality of surgical instruments; and a control unit that updates the status information corresponding to the surgical instrument that has become deliverable through the maintenance to the status information indicating that the surgical instrument can be selected as a target for delivery to the facility. Information management system.

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