Excretion information processing device, program, and system

Abstract

To provide an excretion information processing device, a program, and a system capable of improving ease of handling of information on excretion of a user.SOLUTION: An excretion information processing device (14) includes: a first acquisition unit 90 for acquiring excretion data D1 including excretion information on excretion of a user; a second acquisition unit 94 for acquiring medication data D2 including medication information on medicine related to the excretion of the user; and a data processing unit 96 for performing data processing for associating the excretion data D1 with the medication data D2. The second acquisition unit 94 acquires the medication data D2 through communication with an external device (16).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an excretion information processing device, a program, and a system. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, an excretion information processing system has been developed that uses an image sensor installed in a toilet device to capture images of the inside of the toilet bowl and analyzes the excrement by performing analysis processing on the image data obtained. For example, it is envisioned that the system will be operated in such a way that a screen including the defecation history is displayed on a terminal device so that observers, including the user, can view the defecation history as necessary.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a determination system that displays the properties or amount of excrement for each user and issues alert information indicating that the properties or amount meet a predetermined alert condition. The document also describes that an operator of the aggregation server inputs information related to excretion (i.e., medication information) through an input operation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-051449 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the operator must directly operate the aggregation server to input medication information, which creates physical and geographical constraints. In addition, for example, if a user lives in an elderly care facility, there is a need to effectively utilize the medication information electronically managed in the elderly care facility.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and has an object to provide an excretion information processing device, program, and system that can improve the ease of handling information related to a user's defecation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the excretion information processing device according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a first acquisition unit that acquires defecation data including defecation information regarding a user's defecation, a second acquisition unit that acquires medication data including medication information for medication related to the user's defecation, and a data processing unit that performs data processing to associate the defecation data acquired by the first acquisition unit with the medication data acquired by the second acquisition unit, and the second acquisition unit acquires the medication data by communication with an external device.

[0008] By configuring in this manner, even if medication data is managed in an external device other than the excretion information processing device, defecation information and medication information can be associated and centrally managed by acquiring medication data via communication, thereby improving the ease of handling information regarding the user's defecation.

[0009] The excretion information processing device according to a second aspect of the present invention may further include a transmission request unit that requests the external device to transmit the medication data, and the second acquisition unit may acquire the medication data from the external device that has accepted the request by the transmission request unit. This allows the medication data to be acquired in a timely manner.

[0010] In the excretion information processing device according to the third aspect of the present invention, the transmission request unit may request transmission of the medication data when a predetermined manual operation is received or when a predetermined timing arrives. This makes it possible to obtain the medication data at a timing requested manually or automatically.

[0011] In the excretion information processing device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the defecation data and the medication data each may include identification information of the user, and the second acquisition unit may acquire the medication data from the external device when the identity of the user is confirmed by checking the identification information. This makes it possible to provide the medication data only when the identity of the user is confirmed, and makes it possible to protect the medication information, which is largely personal information.

[0012] In the excretion information processing device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the data processing may include a name matching process for the medication data. This makes it possible to correctly match the defecation information and the medication information even if there is a variation in the notation of the medication information managed by each external device.

[0013] In the excretion information processing device according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the defecation information may include a judgment result obtained by performing a judgment process on image data showing an image of the stool excreted by the user. This makes it possible to manage the objective judgment result by the judgment process in association with medication information.

[0014] The excretion information processing program according to the seventh aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute a first acquisition step of acquiring defecation data including defecation information related to the defecation of a user, a second acquisition step of acquiring medication data including medication information of a medicine related to the defecation of the user, and a processing step of performing data processing to associate the defecation data acquired by the first acquisition unit with the medication data acquired by the second acquisition unit, and in the second acquisition step, the medication data is acquired by communication with an external device different from the computer. This makes it possible to improve the ease of handling information related to the defecation of a user, as in the case of the excretion information processing device according to the first aspect.

[0015] The excretion information processing system according to an eighth aspect of the present invention includes the excretion information processing device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects described above, and an external device configured to be able to communicate with the excretion information processing device and storing the medication information in association with the user. This can improve the ease of handling information related to the user's defecation, as in the case of the excretion information processing device according to the first aspect.

[0016] The excretion information processing device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention comprises a first acquisition unit that acquires defecation data including defecation information regarding a user's defecation, a second acquisition unit that acquires medication data including medication information for medication related to the user's defecation, and a data processing unit that performs data processing to associate the defecation data acquired by the first acquisition unit with the medication data acquired by the second acquisition unit, and the first acquisition unit acquires the defecation data by communication with an external device.

[0017] By configuring in this manner, even if defecation data is managed in an external device other than the excretion information processing device, defecation information and medication information can be associated and managed centrally by acquiring the defecation data via communication, thereby improving the ease of handling of information regarding the user's defecation.

[0018] The excretion information processing program according to the tenth aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute a first acquisition step of acquiring defecation data including defecation information related to the defecation of a user, a second acquisition step of acquiring medication data including medication information of a drug related to the defecation of the user, and a processing step of performing data processing to associate the defecation data acquired by the first acquisition unit with the medication data acquired by the second acquisition unit, and in the first acquisition step, the defecation data is acquired by communication with an external device different from the computer. This makes it possible to improve the ease of handling information related to the defecation of a user, as in the case of the excretion information processing device according to the ninth aspect.

[0019] An excretion information processing system according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention includes the excretion information processing device according to the ninth aspect described above, and an external device configured to be able to communicate with the excretion information processing device and to store the defecation information in association with the user. This can improve the ease of handling information related to the user's defecation, as in the case of the excretion information processing device according to the ninth aspect. Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the ease of handling information relating to a user's defecation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an excretion information processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a toilet room in which the toilet device of FIG. 1 is installed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the toilet device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a server device shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a first sequence diagram relating to a collection operation by the excretion information processing system. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a second sequence diagram regarding the collection operation by the excretion information processing system. [Figure 7] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of defecation data, medication data, and integrated data. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a defecation history screen displayed on a display unit of the terminal device. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is an overall configuration diagram of an excretion information processing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10 is a sequence diagram regarding a collection operation by the excretion information processing system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate understanding of the description, the same reference numerals are used to refer to the same components in each drawing as much as possible, and duplicated description will be omitted.

[0023] [First embodiment] <Overall composition> 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an excretion information processing system 10 in a first embodiment of the present invention. The excretion information processing system 10 is configured to be able to provide an "analysis service" for analyzing a user's excretion and presenting the obtained analysis results to the user. Specifically, this excretion information processing system 10 includes one or more toilet devices 12, a server device 14 (corresponding to an "excretion information processing device"), a first terminal device 16 (corresponding to an "external device"), and a second terminal device 18.

[0024] The toilet device 12 is provided in the toilet room R, and has an imaging function for acquiring image data by photographing excrement, and a communication function for transmitting collected data including image data to the outside. The specific device configuration of the toilet device 12 will be described in detail later with reference to Figs. 2 and 3.

[0025] The server device 14 is a computer that performs overall control over the above-mentioned analysis service, and may be either a cloud type or an on-premise type. Here, the server device 14 is illustrated as a single computer, but the server device 14 may instead be a group of computers that configure a distributed system. The specific device configuration of the server device 14 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0026] The first terminal device 16 is a computer owned or managed by a user of the above-mentioned analysis service (e.g., a caregiver at an elderly care facility). The first terminal device 16 is composed of, for example, a portable device including a tablet, laptop, smartphone, or wearable device, or a stationary device including a personal computer. Specifically, the first terminal device 16 is composed of a processor 21, a memory 22, an input device 23, a display device 24 (corresponding to "display means"), and a communication unit 25. A graphical user interface (GUI) is constructed by combining the input function of the input device 23 and the display function of the display device 24.

[0027] The second terminal device 18 is a computer owned or managed by a user of the above-mentioned analysis service (e.g., a caregiver at an elderly care facility). The second terminal device 18 is composed of, for example, a portable device including a tablet, laptop, smartphone, or wearable device, or a stationary device including a personal computer. The second terminal device 18 may have the same device configuration as the first terminal device 16, or may have a device configuration different from that of the first terminal device 16.

[0028] The relay device 20 is a communication device for connecting computers to the network NT, and is composed of, for example, a router, a gateway, or a base station. The network NT may be the Internet, an intranet, or a combination of these. The server device 14 can acquire various data including the defecation data D1 transmitted from the toilet device 12 via the relay device 20 and the network NT. In addition, the server device 14 can acquire various data including the medication data D2 transmitted from the first terminal device 16 via the relay device 20 and the network NT. In addition, the second terminal device 18 can acquire various data including the display data transmitted from the server device 14 via the relay device 20 and the network NT.

[0029] <Configuration of the toilet device 12> Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a toilet room R in which the toilet device 12 of Fig. 1 is installed. A toilet bowl 30 is installed on the floor surface F of the toilet room R. The toilet bowl 30 is a large toilet bowl, and has a toilet bowl 32 that receives the user's feces, and a rim 34 that stands around the toilet bowl 32. For example, when a flushing operation unit (not shown) provided in the toilet room R is operated by a user, flushing water is supplied to the toilet bowl 32, flushing the toilet bowl 32 and discharging feces from the toilet bowl 32. The flushing operation unit can take various forms, such as an operation lever provided in the toilet room R or a button 64 provided on an operation panel 60 described later.

[0030] A toilet device 12 is applied to this toilet bowl 30. The toilet device 12 includes a toilet seat device 40 and an operation panel 60. In the following description, when viewed from a user seated on a toilet seat 44 (described later), the front is referred to as "front", the rear is referred to as "rear", the left is referred to as "left", and the right is referred to as "right". Additionally, the upper side in the vertical direction is referred to as "up", and the lower side in the vertical direction is referred to as "down".

[0031] The toilet seat device 40 is attached to the top of the toilet bowl 30 in an openable and closable manner, and includes a main body 42, a toilet seat 44, and a toilet lid 46. The toilet seat device 40 may be attached to the toilet bowl 30 in a detachable manner, or may be attached to the toilet bowl 30 so as to be integrated therewith. A user detection sensor 52, a seating detection sensor 54, and an opening / closing detection sensor 56 are provided on the front surface of the main body 42.

[0032] The user detection sensor 52 is provided to detect the presence of a user near the toilet bowl 30. This user detection sensor 52 is, for example, a pyroelectric infrared sensor, and is configured to transmit a signal at a predetermined cycle and to cause a change in the signal when it receives infrared rays of a specific wavelength emitted by a user.

[0033] The seating detection sensor 54 is provided to detect that a user is seated on the seating surface 44b of the toilet seat 44. The seating detection sensor 54 is, for example, a distance measuring sensor that uses infrared rays, and is configured to transmit a signal at a predetermined cycle and to cause a change in the signal according to a change in the distance between the object and the seating detection sensor 54.

[0034] The open / close detection sensor 56 is provided to detect the open / closed state of the toilet seat 44. This open / close detection sensor 56 is, for example, a micro button, and detects the open state of the toilet seat 44 when the toilet seat 44 is opened from the toilet bowl 30 by more than a certain angle.

[0035] The toilet seat 44 is annular with an opening 44a formed in the center. This opening 44a opens the toilet bowl 32 when the toilet seat 44 is placed on the rim 34. The rear end of the toilet seat 44 is pivotally supported by the main body 42, which allows the toilet seat 44 to rotate between a position in which it is placed on the rim 34 and a position in which it is separated from the rim 34 to widely open the toilet bowl 32. An image sensor 58 is provided on the underside of the toilet seat 44.

[0036] The image sensor 58 is a line sensor in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged in a line, or an area sensor in which a plurality of light receiving elements are arranged in a plane, and is configured to transmit an image signal representing a one-dimensional or two-dimensional image. Examples of light receiving elements include a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). The image sensor 58 is provided so that its imaging surface faces the inside of the toilet bowl 32. The imaging surface means the light receiving surface formed by a light receiving lens provided in the image sensor 58. Image data representing an image of the stool excreted by the user is obtained through the image sensor 58. When the image sensor 58 is a line sensor, a two-dimensional image is generated by arranging a plurality of one-dimensional images in chronological order.

[0037] The toilet lid 46 is pivotally supported on the main body 42 so as to be openable and closable relative to the toilet bowl 30. This allows the toilet lid 46 to rotate between a position in which it covers the toilet bowl 30 and a position in which it is separated from the toilet bowl 30 and leaves the toilet bowl 32 wide open.

[0038] The operation panel 60 is installed, for example, on a wall surface of the toilet room R. The operation panel 60 includes a display unit 62 and a plurality of buttons 64. The display unit 62 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel provided on the outer surface of the operation panel 60, and displays various visible information. The plurality of buttons 64 are provided corresponding to a plurality of operations of the toilet seat device 40, respectively. The plurality of buttons 64 include, for example, a photographing button for photographing the inside of the toilet bowl 32, or a discharge button for discharging foam into the toilet bowl 32.

[0039] Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the toilet device 12 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The toilet device 12 includes a sensor group 50, an operation panel 60 (Fig. 2), and a controller 70 incorporated in the toilet seat device 40 (Fig. 2).

[0040] The sensor group 50 includes a sensor that detects the intention to excrete feces or a sensor that detects the dropping of feces. Examples of the former include [1] the above-mentioned user detection sensor 52, seating detection sensor 54, and open / close detection sensor 56, as well as [2] a gesture detection sensor that detects a specific gesture by the user and [3] a voice sensor that detects a specific voice by the user. Examples of the latter include [1] the above-mentioned image sensor 58, as well as [2] a sound sensor that detects the sound of dropping feces and [3] a vibration sensor that detects the shaking of accumulated water.

[0041] The operation panel 60 includes controls for communicating the intention to defecate or the fact that defecation has been completed. Examples of the controls include [1] a button 64 for instructing the user to start continuous shooting, [2] a button 64 for instructing the user to end continuous shooting, [3] a button 64 for instructing the user to take a temporary photo, and [4] other function buttons including a cleaning button.

[0042] The controller 70 is a computer for controlling each part of the toilet device 12. Specifically, the controller 70 includes a toilet communication unit 72, a toilet control unit 74, and a toilet storage unit 76.

[0043] The toilet communication unit 72 is an interface that transmits and receives electric signals to and from internal or external devices. This enables the controller 70 to transmit control signals to an electric unit provided inside the toilet device 12 and transmit various data to the server device 14.

[0044] The toilet control unit 74 is configured with a processor including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). By reading and executing the programs and data stored in the toilet storage unit 76, the toilet control unit 74 functions as: [1] a normal toilet function; [2] an imaging control unit that controls the imaging operation by the image sensor 58; [2] an object detection unit that performs object detection processing on image data obtained through imaging; [3] a determination processing unit that performs determination processing on the presence or absence or properties of stool in the image based on the detection result of stool; and [4] a transmission processing unit that transmits determination data including the determination result of stool to the server device 14. The object detection unit described above may be configured to include, for example, a trained neural network in which a so-called "object detection model" is constructed.

[0045] The toilet storage unit 76 stores programs and data necessary for the toilet control unit 74 to control each component. The toilet storage unit 76 is non-transient and is configured from a computer-readable recording medium. Here, the computer-readable storage medium is a storage device such as a magneto-optical disk, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM, a portable medium such as a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD) built into a computer system, or a solid state drive (SSD).

[0046] <Configuration of server device 14> Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server device 14 shown in Fig. 1. The server device 14 is configured to include a server-side communication unit 80, a server-side control unit 82, and a server-side storage unit 84.

[0047] The server-side communication unit 80 is an interface for transmitting and receiving electrical signals to and from an external device. This allows the server device 14 to receive the defecation data D1 from the toilet device 12 or the medication data D2 from the first terminal device 16, and to transmit display data to the second terminal device 18.

[0048] The server-side control unit 82 is configured with a processor including a CPU and a GPU. The server-side control unit 82 reads and executes programs and data stored in the server-side storage unit 84, thereby functioning as a first acquisition unit 90, a transmission request unit 92, a second acquisition unit 94, a data processing unit 96, and a display instruction unit 98.

[0049] The first acquisition unit 90 acquires information related to the user's defecation (hereinafter referred to as "defecation information") in association with the time of excretion. The first acquisition unit 90 may directly acquire the defecation data D1 received from the toilet device 12, or may acquire the defecation data D1 by reading it out from the server-side memory unit 84 in advance. The above-mentioned "time of excretion" may be the time of defecation when defecation actually occurred, or may be a time highly related to the time of defecation. Examples of the "time highly related" include the time of capturing an image, the time of performing a determination process, or the time of generating and transmitting the defecation data D1.

[0050] The transmission request unit 92 requests the external device including the first terminal device 16 to transmit the medication data D2. For example, the transmission request unit 92 may request the transmission of the medication data D2 when a predetermined manual operation (for example, an operation of a specific user control displayed on the first terminal device 16) is received. Alternatively, the transmission request unit 92 may request the transmission of the medication data D2 when a predetermined timing arrives (for example, when a predetermined time has passed since the previous transmission or when a predetermined amount of data has been accumulated).

[0051] The second acquisition unit 94 acquires medication information related to the user's bowel movements in association with the administration time point. The second acquisition unit 94 may directly acquire the medication data D2 received from the first terminal device 16, or may acquire the medication data D2 by reading out the medication data D2 pre-stored in the server-side storage unit 84. The above-mentioned "administration time point" may be the administration time point when the medication is actually administered, or may be a time point highly related to the medication time point. Examples of the "highly related time point" include the scheduled administration time point, the recommended administration time point, or the generation / transmission time point of the medication data D2.

[0052] Furthermore, the second acquisition unit 94 may be configured to acquire the medication data D2 from an external device including the first terminal device 16 when the identity of the user is confirmed. The identity of the user may be determined, for example, by an authentication process of matching a user ID linked to the defecation information with a user ID linked to the medication information. The authentication process may be performed by the requester of the medication data D2 (here, the server device 14) or by the requestee of the medication data D2 (here, the first terminal device 16).

[0053] The data processing unit 96 performs various data processing related to the excrement DB 100 and medication DB 102 described below. Specifically, the data processing unit 96 performs database update processing (adding, editing, deleting records, etc.) or database search processing. This search includes, for example, keyword search or similarity search using keywords. The update processing includes [1] a "name matching process" that integrates information by correcting similar or incorrect notations, or [2] a "matching process" that matches the defecation data D1 and medication data D2. Various methods related to database technology may be used to match the data.

[0054] The display instruction unit 98 generates display data including various screen information related to the above-mentioned analysis service, and instructs the display means to display various screens indicated by the display data. When a Web application is used, the display data includes text data described according to HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) or CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), or image data indicating a captured image or a thumbnail. This "display means" may be a device directly connected to the server device 14, or may be a device connected to a computer other than the server device 14 (here, the second terminal device 18).

[0055] The server-side storage unit 84 stores programs and data necessary for the server-side control unit 82 to control each component. The server-side storage unit 84 is a non-transient and computer-readable recording medium. In the example shown in the figure, the server-side storage unit 84 has a database related to excrement (hereinafter, excrement DB 100) and a database related to drug administration (hereinafter, medication DB 102) constructed therein, and also stores network information 104, defecation data D1, and medication data D2.

[0056] The excrement DB 100 associates various pieces of information, including: (1) user information about the user; (2) toilet information about the toilet device 12; (3) terminal information about the first terminal device 16 or the second terminal device 18; (4) the user's bowel movement information; and (5) the user's medication information.

[0057] The medication DB102 associates various pieces of information, including (1) identification information including drug name and manufacturer, (2) action information including main action and side effects, (3) history information including the history of medication effects, and (4) types of variations in the spelling of drug names.

[0058] The network information 104 includes information necessary for communication with an external device. Examples of the network information 104 include a host name, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, a Media Access Control (MAC) address, and an email address.

[0059] The defecation data D1 includes information on the user's defecation (i.e., defecation information). Examples of defecation information include [1] image data showing an image of stool, or [2] a judgment result obtained by a judgment process on the image data. The judgment result relates to the presence or absence of defecation, or the properties (properties or state) of the stool. The "presence" of defecation includes the determination result of whether or not stool is shown in the image, or the actual result of whether or not defecation occurred at least once within a specified period (for example, from 0:00 to 24:00 every day). The "properties" of the stool include the shape, color, hardness, contents, or changes in these over time. The "state" of the stool includes the amount, size, or changes in these over time. The Bristol scale is an example of an index indicating the properties of the stool.

[0060] The medication data D2 includes information on medication related to the user's bowel movements (i.e., medication information). Examples of medication information include [1] identification information including the name of the medication and the manufacturer, [2] administration information including the administration time, dosage, and administration frequency, and [3] action information including the main action and side effects. Note that "medicines related to bowel movements" may be medications that can directly affect the user's bowel movements (e.g., laxatives, antidiarrheal agents) or medications that can indirectly affect the user's bowel movements (e.g., drugs that cause side effects such as loose stools and constipation).

[0061] [Operation of excretion information processing system 10] The excretion information processing system 10 in the first embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the operations of the excretion information processing system 10, more specifically, [1] the operation of collecting defecation data D1, [2] the operation of collecting medication data D2, and [3] the operation of viewing history will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 5 to 8.

[0062] <1. Collection of defecation data D1> First, the operation of collecting defecation data D1 by the excretion information processing system 10 will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 5. This sequence is performed through the cooperation of the toilet device 12 and the server device 14.

[0063] In step SP10 of FIG. 5, the toilet apparatus 12, triggered by the use of the toilet 30 by the user, acquires defecation information in association with the excretion time point.

[0064] In step SP12, the toilet device 12 checks whether the timing to transmit the defecation data D1 (i.e., the transmission timing) has arrived. If the transmission timing has not yet arrived (step SP12: NO), the toilet device 12 returns to step SP10 and repeats steps SP10 and SP12 until the transmission timing arrives. On the other hand, if the transmission timing has arrived (step SP12: YES), the toilet device 12 proceeds to the next step SP14.

[0065] In step SP14, the toilet device 12 transmits to the server device 14 the defecation data D1 including the accumulated defecation information and the excretion time point.

[0066] In step SP16, the server device 14 (more specifically, the first acquisition unit 90) receives the defecation data D1 transmitted in step SP14, thereby acquiring the defecation data D1 including defecation information.

[0067] In step SP18, the server device 14 (more specifically, the data processing unit 96) performs desired data processing on the defecation data D1 acquired in step SP16.

[0068] In step SP20, the data processing unit 96 of the server device 14 stores the defecation information obtained through the data processing in step SP18 in the server-side storage unit 84. This updates the excretion DB 100. In this way, the excretion information processing system 10 ends the collection operation of the defecation data D1 shown in FIG.

[0069] <2. Collection of medication data D2> First, the collection operation of the medication data D2 by the excretion information processing system 10 will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. This sequence is performed through the cooperation of the server device 14 and the first terminal device 16.

[0070] In step SP30 of Fig. 6, the first terminal device 16 accumulates medication information for each user. The medication information is manually input by an operator through a native application such as a spreadsheet software. As a result, the defecation information for each user is updated sequentially in a file format.

[0071] In step SP32, the server device 14 (more specifically, the server-side control unit 82) checks whether the timing to perform data processing (i.e., processing timing) has arrived. If the processing timing has not arrived yet (step SP32: NO), the server device 14 remains in step SP30 until the processing timing arrives. On the other hand, if the processing timing has arrived (step SP32: YES), the server device 14 proceeds to the next step SP34.

[0072] In step SP34, the server device 14 (more specifically, the transmission request unit 92) requests the first terminal device 16 to transmit the medication data D2. Specifically, the server device 14 transmits request data including the user's identification information and data search conditions to the first terminal device 16.

[0073] In step SP36, the first terminal apparatus 16 collates the user ID provided at the time of the request in step SP34 and performs user authentication processing. When user authentication is complete, the first terminal apparatus 16 proceeds to the next step SP38.

[0074] In step SP38, the first terminal device 16 performs a search process on a database (here, a data file) under its management, extracts medication data D2 that meets the given search criteria, and transmits the medication data D2 to the server device 14.

[0075] In step SP40, the server device 14 (more specifically, the second acquisition section 94) receives the medication data D2 transmitted in step SP38, thereby acquiring the medication data D2 including the medication information.

[0076] In step SP42, the server device 14 (more specifically, the data processing unit 96) performs data processing (that is, name matching processing) to match the medication information included in the medication data D2 acquired in step SP40.

[0077] In step SP44, the data processing unit 96 of the server device 14 performs data processing (i.e., association processing) to associate the medication data D2 that has been subjected to the name matching processing in step SP42 with the corresponding defecation data D1, thereby generating integrated data D3.

[0078] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the defecation data D1, the medication data D2, and the integrated data D3. The defecation data D1 is, for example, table-format data showing the correspondence between "first identification information" consisting of a user ID and a toilet ID, and "defecation information" consisting of an excretion time, image data, and a judgment result. The medication data D2 is, for example, table-format data showing the correspondence between "second identification information" consisting of a user ID and an affiliation ID, and "medication information" consisting of an administration time, a drug name, and a dosage. The integrated data D3 is, for example, table-format data showing the correspondence between "identification information" in which the first identification information and the second identification information are integrated, the "defecation information" of the defecation data D1, and the "medication information" of the medication data D2.

[0079] 6, the data processing unit 96 of the server device 14 stores the medication information obtained through the association process in step SP44 in the server-side storage unit 84. This updates the excretion DB 100 or the medication DB 102. In this way, the excretion information processing system 10 ends the collection operation of the medication data D2 shown in FIG.

[0080] <3. Example of use of integrated data D3> Next, a usage example of the integrated data D3 including the defecation information and medication information will be described. When the second terminal device 18 receives an instruction operation to start displaying the defecation history, it provides the display conditions requested by the observer including the user to the server device 14. Then, the server device 14 extracts the corresponding integrated data D3, generates image information using the integrated data D3, and transmits display data including the image information to the second terminal device 18. As a result, a defecation history screen 120 showing the defecation history of the user is displayed on the display unit (not shown) of the second terminal device 18.

[0081] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a defecation history screen 120 displayed on the second terminal device 18. The defecation history screen 120 displays a calendar 122 consisting of a two-dimensional array partitioned by day of the week and by week. The calendar 122 is composed of a day of the week column 124 indicating the day of the week, and a plurality of week information columns 126 indicating information on a weekly basis. Furthermore, the week information column 126 is composed of a date information column 128, a defecation information column 129, and a medication information column 130.

[0082] In each defecation information field 129, symbols 132 indicating the shape of stool are displayed in a one-dimensional array. In each medication information field 130, symbols 134 indicating the shape of medicine are displayed in a one-dimensional array. In the example of the defecation history screen 120, changes in medication information are expressed by differences in size of the symbols 134. Symbol 136 is larger in size than symbol 134.

[0083] Specifically, after the patient had a "hard stool" on February 6, he had no bowel movements for two days (February 7-8), so he started taking medication to improve his constipation on February 9. After that, as no improvement was seen even after taking the medication for two days (February 9-10), the medication was changed on February 11, and he had a "hard stool" on February 13. After the medication was returned to its original state on February 13, he had a "normal stool" on February 14, so the medication was discontinued on February 15. In this way, when the administration of medicine related to defecation is changed midway, observers including the user can visually check the defecation history screen 120 and at a glance grasp the relationship between the change in administration and defecation.

[0084] <Summary of the First Embodiment> As described above, the server device 14 as the excretion information processing device in the first embodiment includes a first acquisition unit 90 that acquires defecation data D1 including defecation information related to the user's defecation, a second acquisition unit 94 that acquires medication data D2 including medication information related to the user's defecation, and a data processing unit 96 that performs data processing to associate the acquired defecation data D1 with the acquired medication data D2. The second acquisition unit 94 acquires the medication data D2 by communicating with an external device (here, the first terminal device 16).

[0085] In the excretion information processing method and program in this embodiment, one or more computers execute a first acquisition step (SP16 in FIG. 5) of acquiring defecation data D1 including defecation information related to the user's defecation, a second acquisition step (SP40 in FIG. 6) of acquiring medication data D2 including medication information related to the user's defecation, and a processing step (SP44 in FIG. 6) of performing data processing to associate the acquired defecation data D1 with the acquired medication data D2. Then, in the second acquisition step, the medication data D2 is acquired by communication with an external device (here, the first terminal device 16).

[0086] Moreover, the excretion information processing system 10 in this embodiment includes the above-mentioned server device 14, and an external device (here, the first terminal device 16) that is configured to be able to communicate with the server device 14 and that stores medication information in association with a user.

[0087] By configuring in this manner, even if the medication data D2 is managed in a first terminal device 16 different from the server device 14, the defecation information and medication information can be associated and managed centrally by acquiring the medication data D2 via communication, thereby improving the ease of handling of information regarding the user's defecation.

[0088] In addition, when the server device 14 further includes a transmission request unit 92 that requests the first terminal device 16 to transmit the medication data D2, the second acquisition unit 94 may acquire the medication data D2 from the first terminal device 16 that has accepted the request by the transmission request unit 92. This allows the medication data D2 to be acquired in a timely manner.

[0089] In addition, the transmission request unit 92 may request transmission of the medication data D2 when a predetermined manual operation is received or when a predetermined timing arrives. This allows the medication data D2 to be acquired at the timing requested manually or automatically.

[0090] In addition, when the defecation data D1 and the medication data D2 each include the user's identification information, the second acquisition unit 94 may acquire the medication data D2 from the first terminal device 16 when the identity of the user is confirmed by checking the identification information. This makes it possible to provide the medication data D2 only when the identity of the user is confirmed, and thus makes it possible to protect the medication information, which has a strong aspect of personal information.

[0091] The data processing may also include a name matching process for the medication data D2. This allows the defecation information and the medication information to be correctly associated with each other even if there is a variation in the notation of the medication information managed by each external device including the first terminal device 16.

[0092] The defecation information may also include a result of a determination process performed on image data showing an image of feces excreted by the user. This allows the objective result of the determination process to be managed in association with the medication information.

[0093] [Second embodiment] <Configuration> 9 is an overall configuration diagram of an excretion information processing system 150 in a second embodiment of the present invention. This excretion information processing system 150 specifically includes one or more toilet devices 12, a server device 152 (corresponding to an "external device"), a first terminal device 154 (corresponding to an "excretion information processing device"), and a second terminal device 18.

[0094] The server device 152 has a device configuration that is the same as or different from the server device 14 (FIG. 4) of the first embodiment. Here, the server device 152 has at least a function of collecting defecation data D1 from one or more toilet devices 12 and managing defecation information for each user.

[0095] The first terminal device 154 includes a processor 21, a memory 22, an input device 23, a display device 24, and a communication unit 25, similar to the first embodiment (FIG. 1). In the second embodiment, the processor 21 reads and executes programs and data stored in the memory 22, thereby functioning as a first acquisition unit 90, a transmission request unit 92, a second acquisition unit 94, and a data processing unit 96, similar to the server-side control unit 82 in FIG. 4. In the memory 22, similar to the server-side storage unit 84 in FIG. 4, an excrement DB 100 and a medication DB 102 are constructed, and network information 104, defecation data D1, and medication data D2 are stored.

[0096] <Operation> The excretion information processing system 150 in the second embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the operation of the excretion information processing system 150, more specifically, the operation of collecting the defecation data D1 and the medication data D2, will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 10. This sequence is performed through the cooperation of the first terminal device 154 and the server device 152.

[0097] In step SP50 of Fig. 10, the server device 152 accumulates defecation information for each user. For example, the server device 152 can accumulate defecation information by performing the same operation as in the first embodiment (sequence diagram of Fig. 5).

[0098] In step SP52, the first terminal apparatus 154 (more specifically, the processor 21) checks whether the timing to perform data processing (i.e., processing timing) has arrived. If the processing timing has not arrived yet (step SP52: NO), the first terminal apparatus 154 remains in step SP52 until the processing timing arrives. On the other hand, if the processing timing has arrived (step SP52: YES), the first terminal apparatus 154 proceeds to the next step SP54.

[0099] In step SP54, the first terminal device 154 (more specifically, the transmission request unit 92) requests the server device 152 to transmit the defecation data D1. Specifically, the first terminal device 154 transmits to the server device 152 request data including the user's identification information and data search conditions.

[0100] In step SP56, the server device 152 checks the user ID provided at the time of the request in step SP54 and performs user authentication processing. When user authentication is complete, the server device 152 proceeds to the next step SP58.

[0101] In step SP58, the server device 152 performs a search process on the database under its management (here, the excrement DB 100), extracts the defecation data D1 that meets the given search criteria, and transmits the defecation data D1 to the first terminal device 154.

[0102] In step SP60, the first terminal device 154 (more specifically, the first acquisition section 90) receives the defecation data D1 transmitted in step SP58, thereby acquiring the defecation data D1 including defecation information.

[0103] In step SP62, the first terminal device 154 (more specifically, the data processing unit 96) performs data processing (that is, name matching processing) to match the defecation information included in the defecation data D1 acquired in step SP60.

[0104] In step SP64, the data processing unit 96 of the first terminal device 154 performs data processing (i.e., matching processing) to match the defecation data D1 that has been subjected to the name matching processing in step SP62 with the corresponding medication data D2, thereby generating integrated data D3 (FIG. 7).

[0105] In step SP66, the data processing unit 96 of the first terminal device 154 stores the defecation information obtained through the association process in step SP64 in the memory 22. This updates the excretion DB 100 or the medication DB 102. In this way, the excretion information processing system 150 ends the collection operation of the medication data D2 shown in FIG.

[0106] <Summary of the second embodiment> As described above, the first terminal device 154 as the excretion information processing device in the second embodiment includes a first acquisition unit 90 that acquires defecation data D1 including defecation information related to the user's defecation, a second acquisition unit 94 that acquires medication data D2 including medication information related to the user's defecation, and a data processing unit 96 that performs data processing to associate the acquired defecation data D1 with the acquired medication data D2. The second acquisition unit 94 acquires the defecation data D1 by communicating with an external device (here, the server device 152).

[0107] In the excretion information processing method and program in this embodiment, the computer executes a first acquisition step (SP60 in FIG. 10) of acquiring defecation data D1 including defecation information related to the user's defecation, a second acquisition step (SP30 in FIG. 6) of acquiring medication data D2 including medication information related to the user's defecation, and a processing step (SP64 in FIG. 10) of performing data processing to associate the acquired defecation data D1 with the acquired medication data D2. Then, in the first acquisition step, the defecation data D1 is acquired by communication with an external device (here, the server device 152).

[0108] Moreover, the excretion information processing system 150 in this embodiment includes the above-mentioned first terminal device 154, and an external device (here, a server device 152) that is configured to be able to communicate with the first terminal device 154 and that stores the defecation data D1 in association with a user.

[0109] By configuring in this manner, even if the defecation data D1 is managed in a server device 152 different from the first terminal device 154, the defecation information and medication information can be associated and managed in a centralized manner by acquiring the defecation data D1 via communication, thereby improving the ease of handling of information regarding the user's defecation.

[0110] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and modified examples, and can be freely modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Alternatively, the respective configurations may be combined in any manner without causing any technical inconsistency. Alternatively, the order of execution of each step constituting the flowchart or sequence may be changed without causing any technical inconsistency.

[0111] In the above embodiment, the toilet device 12 is described as being responsible for a part of the image processing function in edge computing, but the method of allocating the image processing function is not limited to this configuration. For example, the server device 14 (more specifically, the server-side control unit 82 in FIG. 4) may be responsible for the [1] automatic determination function, or the [2] object detection function and the automatic determination function.

[0112] In the above embodiment, the first terminal device 16 holds and manages the medication information, but instead, a management server provided in a facility, such as a nursing home, a care facility, or a hospital, may hold and manage the medication information. In this case, the management server may collect and manage the medication information input from another terminal device (for example, the second terminal device 18).

[0113] In the above embodiment, the integrated data D3 is generated by data processing that associates the defecation data D1 with the medication data D2, but the data processing is not limited to this. For example, the server device 14 may display the defecation data D1 and the medication data D2 side by side on the display device of the first terminal device 154 or the second terminal device 18. [Explanation of symbols]

[0114] Reference Signs List 10,150...excretion information processing system, 12...toilet device, 14...server device (excretion information processing device), 16...first terminal device (external device), 18...second terminal device, 90...first acquisition unit, 92...transmission request unit, 94...second acquisition unit, 152...server device (external device), 154...first terminal device (excretion information processing device), D1...defecation data, D2...medication data

Claims

1. A first acquisition unit that acquires defecation data including defecation information related to a user's defecation; A second acquisition unit that acquires medication data including medication information of a medicine related to defecation of the user; a data processing unit that performs data processing to associate the defecation data acquired by the first acquisition unit with the medication data acquired by the second acquisition unit; Equipped with The excretion information processing device, wherein the second acquisition unit acquires the medication data through communication with an external device.

2. A transmission request unit that requests the external device to transmit the medication data, The excretion information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the second acquisition unit acquires the medication data from the external device that has accepted a request from the transmission request unit.

3. The excretion information processing device according to claim 2 , wherein the transmission request unit requests transmission of the medication data when a predetermined manual operation is received or when a predetermined timing arrives.

4. Each of the bowel movement data and the medication data includes identification information of the user; The excretion information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the second acquisition unit acquires the medication data from the external device when the identity of the user is confirmed by checking the identification information.

5. The excretion information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the data processing includes a name matching process for the medication data.

6. The excretion information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the defecation information includes a determination result obtained by performing a determination process on image data showing an image of feces excreted by the user.

7. A first acquisition step of acquiring defecation data including defecation information related to a user's defecation; A second acquisition step of acquiring medication data including medication information of a medicine related to defecation of the user; a processing step of performing data processing to associate the defecation data acquired by the first acquisition unit with the medication data acquired by the second acquisition unit; on the computer, The excretion information processing program, wherein the second acquisition step acquires the medication data through communication with an external device different from the computer.

8. An excretion information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, An external device configured to be able to communicate with the excretion information processing device and storing the medication information in association with the user; An excretion information processing system comprising:

9. A first acquisition unit that acquires defecation data including defecation information related to a user's defecation; A second acquisition unit that acquires medication data including medication information of a medicine related to defecation of the user; a data processing unit that performs data processing to associate the defecation data acquired by the first acquisition unit with the medication data acquired by the second acquisition unit; Equipped with The excretion information processing device, wherein the first acquisition unit acquires the defecation data through communication with an external device.

10. A first acquisition step of acquiring defecation data including defecation information related to a user's defecation; A second acquisition step of acquiring medication data including medication information of a medicine related to defecation of the user; a processing step of performing data processing to associate the defecation data acquired by the first acquisition unit with the medication data acquired by the second acquisition unit; on the computer, The excretion information processing program, wherein in the first acquisition step, the defecation data is acquired by communication with an external device different from the computer.

11. The excretion information processing device according to claim 9 , an external device configured to be able to communicate with the excretion information processing device and to store the defecation information in association with the user; An excretion information processing system comprising:

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