Information processing device, information processing method and computer program

Abstract

To obtain an information processing device that collects genome information from a larger number of people.SOLUTION: An information processing device comprises: storage means for storing a user's genomic information and user information; output request acquisition means for acquiring an output request including an output condition; identification means for identifying the genomic information and user information stored in the storage means based on the output request; output means for deleting information unrelated to the output request from the identified genomic information and user information and outputting it; and compensation calculation means for calculating compensation to the user who provided the genomic information and user information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer program.

Background Art

[0002] Acquisition of a patient's SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) gene information has been performed when a doctor determines it is necessary together with a blood test or a biochemical test. An example of a medical information system that utilizes gene information in medical treatment is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). When the SNP gene information of a patient is registered in the medical information system of Patent Document 1, medical information such as risk analysis of suffering from a disease, effect analysis on a therapeutic drug, allergy analysis to a drug component, and infection risk analysis to a virus is created and stored in association with the ID (Identifier) number of the SNP gene information.

[0003] A doctor can obtain medical information by inputting the ID number of the SNP gene information into the medical information system and selecting a desired analysis. A doctor or a patient pays a fee for obtaining the medical information.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Genetic information is said to be ultimate personal information, and it is difficult to obtain the genomic information of a healthy person. In order to encourage the provision of genomic information by a healthy person, it is necessary to improve the consideration that the provider obtains by providing the genomic information.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and aims to collect genomic information from more people.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] To achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention is storage means for storing genomic information and user information of a user; output request acquisition means for acquiring an output request including output conditions; specification means for specifying the genomic information and the user information stored in the storage means based on the output request; output means for deleting and outputting information not related to the output request among the specified genomic information and user information; consideration calculation means for calculating consideration for the user who provided the genomic information and the user information; and an information processing apparatus having the above.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, every time a user who provided genomic information has their genomic information and user information related to the output request output, they can obtain consideration for providing the information. Therefore, the number of users who want to effectively utilize their own genomic information to obtain consideration increases, and it becomes possible to collect genomic information from many users. In addition, since not all the information provided by the user is output, but only the information related to the output request is output, the more information related to the output request a user has, the more opportunities they have to obtain consideration.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

Figure 24

Figure 25

Figure 26

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] [Embodiment] [Overview] Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a genomic information trust system applied to an information processing apparatus according to this embodiment. The overview of the genomic information trust system of this embodiment will be described.

[0011] In recent years, the analysis of human genomic information has advanced, and genomic information is being used not only for disease prevention and treatment but also for the development of beverages and foods for health promotion and in the apparel industry. If a person can know in advance the diseases with a high risk of onset for themselves, they can take preventive measures so as not to contract those diseases. Therefore, the number of people who want to know their own genomic information, such as what kind of constitution they have and what diseases with a high risk of onset they have, is increasing. There are companies that provide personal genomic analysis services for testing genomic information for such people. A person who uses this service puts saliva into the tube of the test kit sent from the service company, puts the sample into the envelope enclosed with the test kit, and returns it to the service company. Then, they can view the test results on a web page at a later date.

[0012] However, among the entire human genome of about 3 billion base pairs, only a part of the base pairs that have been clarified to be related to diseases, and most of the genomic information is unknown about what kind of influence it has on a person's health condition. A person who has obtained their own genomic information only knows the risk of developing a specific disease and cannot be said to be effectively using the genomic information. On the other hand, for example, a company developing drugs may want to develop new drugs by investigating the relationship between genomic information and diseases, but since genomic information is personal information, it is difficult to obtain genomic information from many people. To solve this problem, the genomic information trust system of this embodiment enables the acquisition of genomic information from many people and attempts to utilize the acquired genomic information.

[0013] A person who permits an external organization such as a company or medical institution that needs genomic information to use their own genomic information becomes a user of the genomic information trust system. Instead of entrusting the management of their own genomic information to a genomic information trust institution, the user receives a consideration when their genomic information is used.

[0014] The genomic information trust institution 200 shown in FIG. 1 mediates between a user Ur who provides their own genomic information and an external organization 210 that needs genomic information. The genomic information trust institution 200 acquires genomic information and user information from many users Ur. User information is information that is referred to when analyzing the genomic information of a user. User information is, for example, information on the results of health-related tests and the results of health-related questionnaires. A genomic database (DataBase) for managing the acquired genomic information is constructed in the genomic information trust institution 200. External organizations A to D belonging to the external organization 210 shown in FIG. 1 are companies or medical institutions that need genomic information and user information, and are output destination organizations to which information is output from the genomic information trust institution 200. For example, external organization A is an insurance company, external organization B is a pharmaceutical company, external organization C is a food company, and external organization D is a company related to apparel.

[0015] (Information management method) A method of information management by the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining obtaining genome information from a user. Here, the case where user information includes both test results and questionnaire results will be described, but the user information may be only one of the test results and questionnaire results. The user sends his / her genome information to the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 (step S1 in FIG. 1). The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 stores the genome information obtained from the user in the Genome DB. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 holds a genome hash value which is a hash value calculated by a predetermined hash function for the genome information. In addition, when receiving the genome information from the user, the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 generates a user ID which is unique identification information for the user, and stores the genome hash value and the user ID. When receiving the genome information, the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 generates a questionnaire ID and a test ID for each user.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining obtaining test results and questionnaire results from a user. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 sends the generated questionnaire ID and test ID to the user. After filling in a predetermined questionnaire, the user attaches the questionnaire ID to the questionnaire result and sends it to the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 (step ST1 in FIG. 1). The user attaches the test ID to the result of the test received at the hospital regarding the health condition and passes it to the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 (step ST1 in FIG. 1). The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 receives the questionnaire result with the questionnaire ID attached and the test result with the test ID attached from the user. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 calculates a hash value of the combination of the user ID and the questionnaire ID, and manages the obtained hash value as a questionnaire hash value. In addition, the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 calculates a hash value of the combination of the user ID and the test ID, and manages the obtained hash value as a test hash value.

[0017] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information managed by the genomic information trustee 200. The genomic information trustee 200 holds a list of test hash values, a list of questionnaire hash values, and a list of genomic hash values. The genomic information trustee 200 holds a correspondence table between test IDs and test results, a correspondence table between questionnaire IDs and questionnaire results, and a correspondence table between user IDs and genomic hash values. The genomic information trustee 200 holds the above three types of hash value lists and the correspondence tables for the three types of IDs separately. Even if an external person reads one piece of data from the above correspondence tables and lists, the information related to the read data cannot be pieced together. For example, even if the correspondence table between test IDs and test results can be used to link the test ID assigned to a user and the test result, the test ID cannot be linked to the genomic information of the target user. Also, the test ID and the questionnaire ID are sent to the user, but the user ID associated with the genomic information is not output externally, so the confidentiality of the genomic information is improved. As described above, in this embodiment, even if all the data tables in FIG. 4 are fraudulently obtained, if the calculation formula of the hash function and the like are not stolen, the connections between the tables cannot be reconstructed, and the user's information can be managed more securely.

[0018] (Consideration payment procedure) If the user only has their genomic information managed securely, there is no incentive to entrust the management of their genomic information to the genomic information trustee 200. The genomic information trust system of this embodiment aims to provide genomic information to more users as follows.

[0019] Any one of the external institutions 210 of external institutions A to D sends an output request including output conditions for receiving necessary genomic information to the genomic information trustee 200 (step ST2 in FIG. 1). Here, for example, the case where external institution B sends an output request including output conditions necessary for the development of a new drug to the genomic information trustee 200 will be described.

[0020] When the genomic information trustee 200 receives an output request from external institution B, it searches for genomic information and user information that match the output conditions based on three types of lists and three types of correspondence tables. This search method will be described later. The genomic information trustee 200 provides the genomic information and user information obtained by the search to external institution B (step ST3 in FIG. 1). The genomic information trustee 200 receives consideration for the information provision from external institution B (step ST4 in FIG. 1). The genomic information trustee 200 pays the consideration for the provision of genomic information and user information to external institution B to user Ur (step ST5 in FIG. 1).

[0021] When user Ur's genomic information is provided to external institution 210, the user can obtain consideration. Therefore, the genomic information trustee 200 can collect genomic information from more users Ur. In addition, each of the plurality of external institutions 210 utilizes a large amount of genomic information for product development or precision medicine, thereby suppressing the number of people suffering from diseases and reducing the medical expenses borne by the health insurance association 220, which is a public medical insurance institution. The hospital 230, which is a non-profit organization, can use the genomic information stored in the genomic DB for medical purposes.

[0022] (Search method) When the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 receives an output request from an external institution 210, it reconstructs the correspondence relationships of the three types of IDs by performing arithmetic processing on a plurality of data based on the three types of lists and the three types of correspondence tables shown in FIG. 4. For example, when calculating a hash value using the correct combination of the inspection ID and the user ID, this hash value matches one of the inspection hash values described in the list of retained inspection hash values. Using this arithmetic operation, the correspondence relationships of the three types of IDs can be confirmed. A specific example of the search method will be described.

[0023] (Search Case 1) FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a search case. When confirming the correspondence relationship between the genomic information and the questionnaire results of a specific user, the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 processes as follows. Assume that the user ID is specified. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 reads out the questionnaire ID one by one from the correspondence table of the questionnaire ID and the questionnaire results, and calculates the hash value of the combination of the read questionnaire ID and the user ID. When the calculated hash value matches the questionnaire hash value in the list of questionnaire hash values, the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 determines that the questionnaire ID and the user ID that are the source of the calculated hash value are the correct combination. In this way, the correspondence relationship between the user ID and the questionnaire ID can be confirmed. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 specifies the genomic information corresponding to the user ID by referring to the correspondence table between the user ID and the genomic hash value, and specifies the questionnaire results corresponding to the questionnaire ID by referring to the correspondence table between the questionnaire ID and the questionnaire results.

[0024] (Search Case 2) FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining another example of a search case. When wanting to check the inspection ID of a specific user, the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 processes as follows. The user ID is specified. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 reads out inspection IDs one by one from the correspondence table of inspection IDs and inspection results, and calculates the hash value of the combination of the read inspection ID and the user ID. When the calculated hash value matches the inspection hash value in the list of inspection hash values, the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 determines that the inspection ID and user ID that are the source of the calculated hash value are the correct combination. In this way, the correspondence relationship between the user ID and the inspection ID can be confirmed.

[0025] (Method for managing information related to output) FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for managing information related to output. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 records information related to output in chronological order for each user in order to grasp the external institutions to which the genomic information and user information are output. This record is referred to as history information. Also, when the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 receives a deletion request to the effect that the user requests deletion of genomic information, it deletes the target genomic information and records information indicating that the genomic information has been deleted in the history information. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 manages the history information using a blockchain. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 endeavors to clearly calculate the consideration to be paid to the user. Also, each user can, by referring to the history information, conduct a trace investigation of when and by which external institution 210 their information was used. Also, when a user requests deletion of genomic information, each user can, by referring to the history information, conduct a trace investigation of whether the deletion process has been carried out in response to the request.

[0026] (Information providing process) FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of information provision to an external institution. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 provides user information in response to an output request from an external institution 210 that needs genome information (step ST11), and provides genome information (step ST12). When the Genome Information Trust Institution 200 provides information to the external institution 210, it assigns an output number, which is identification information unique to the output, to the information to be output. The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 performs encryption processing on the information to be output and the information of the assigned output number using a public-key encryption method and transmits it. Since the information output to the external institution 210 is encrypted, the confidentiality of the information provided to the external institution 210 can be enhanced.

[0027] The Genome Information Trust Institution 200 comprehensively manages genome information, user information, and key information for decrypting ciphertext documents. In the Genome Information Trust System, by performing encryption processing on genome information and user information at any time, the correspondence relationship is encrypted, so a correspondence table is not created and high security is ensured. The details of the genome information trust system to which this embodiment is applicable will be described below.

[0028] <System Configuration> The configuration of the genome information trust system of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an overview of the system configuration of the genome information trust system to which this embodiment is applicable. The genome information trust system includes an information processing device 1 operated by the Genome Information Trust Institution 200, a user terminal 2 used by a user, and external institution terminals 3-1 to 3-n used by an external institution 210 such as a company or a research institution that is the output destination of genome information. n is an arbitrary integer of 1 or more. The information processing device 1 has a storage unit 22. A financial processing terminal 4 is connected to the network 100. The financial processing terminal 4 is operated by a financial institution such as a bank. The information processing device 1 is communicably connected to each of the user terminal 2, the financial processing terminal 4, and the external institution terminals 3-1 to 3-n via the network 100. However, the external institution terminals 3-1 to 3-n cannot communicate with the user terminal 2. The network 100 is a network including, for example, the Internet.

[0029] The information processing apparatus 1 is, for example, a server. The user terminal 2 is an information processing apparatus such as a smartphone or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). The external institution terminals 3-1 to 3-n are information processing apparatuses such as a server or a PC (Personal Computer). The financial processing terminal 4 is, for example, a server. When the financial processing terminal 4 receives payment data including information on the consideration, the account from which the consideration is to be withdrawn, and the account to which the consideration is to be transferred, it performs a process of transferring the consideration from the designated withdrawal account to the transfer account.

[0030] <Hardware Configuration> FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input / output interface 15, an output unit 16, an input unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20. The CPU 11 is connected to the storage unit 22 shown in FIG. 9 via a signal line (not shown).

[0031] The CPU 11 executes various processes according to a program recorded in the ROM 12 or a program loaded from the storage unit 18 into the RAM 13. The RAM 13 also appropriately stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes. The CPU 11, the ROM 12, and the RAM 13 are interconnected via the bus 14. The input / output interface 15 is also connected to this bus 14.

[0032] An output / input interface 15 is connected to an output unit 16, an input unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20. The output unit 16 is composed of a display, a speaker, or the like, and outputs various information as images or sounds. The input unit 17 is composed of a keyboard, a mouse, or the like, and inputs various information. The storage unit 18 is composed of an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or the like, and stores various data. The communication unit 19 communicates with other devices via a network 100.

[0033] A removable medium 21 made of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is appropriately mounted on the drive 20. A program read from the removable medium 21 by the drive 20 is installed in the storage unit 18 as necessary. Further, the removable medium 21 can also store various data stored in the storage unit 18 in the same manner as the storage unit 18.

[0034] <Functional Configuration> FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0035] In the information processing apparatus 1, when the CPU 11 executes processing according to a program, the functions of a management unit 51, a selection unit 33, an output request acquisition unit 34, a specifying unit 35, an output unit 36, a price calculation unit 37, a payment data generation unit 38, a payment data output unit 39, a deletion request acquisition unit 40, a determination unit 41, and a deletion unit 42 are executed.

[0036] FIG. 12 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the management unit 51 shown in FIG. 11. The management unit 51 includes the functions of an information acquisition unit 31, an identification information adding unit 32, a second identification information generation unit 65, a combination unit 66, a hash value calculation unit 67, a comparison unit 68, a control unit 69, and a first hash value acquisition unit 70. The information acquisition unit 31 includes the functions of a first identification information acquisition unit 61, a first information acquisition unit 62, a second identification information acquisition unit 63, and a second information acquisition unit 64. The hash value calculation unit 67 includes the functions of a first hash value calculation unit 67a and a second hash value calculation unit 67b.

[0037] The configurations of the storage unit 18 and the storage unit 22 will be described. The storage unit 18 and the storage unit 22 store, in a shared manner, as information related to the user, (1) genomic information, (2) user information, (3) contract information, (4) consideration calculation conditions, and (5) output-related information. Specifically, the storage unit 22 stores the genomic information, and the storage unit 18 stores the user information, the contract information, the consideration calculation conditions, and the output-related information for the purpose of managing a plurality of types of information of the user. Hereinafter, each of the information of (1) genomic information to (5) output-related information will be described in detail.

[0038] (1) Genomic Information Genomic information is base sequence information that varies from person to person. The amount of information of one person's genomic information is said to be approximately 750 MB, for example, when the information of four types of bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, is represented by 2-bit information. The genomic information of each user stored in the storage unit 18 does not have to be all of the genomic information, and may be a part including a main part of the whole genomic information.

[0039] (2) User Information User information is information related to the user and is information referred to when analyzing the genomic information. User information is, for example, information on test results or questionnaire results. User information may include both test results and questionnaire results.

[0040] The examination result is the result of an examination on the user's health condition. The examination on the health condition includes, for example, a general health checkup examination and a special health checkup examination that companies are required to carry out. The general health checkup is an examination that is required to be carried out regardless of the industry and occupation, and the special health checkup is an examination for people engaged in legally designated harmful work. The general health checkup includes a health checkup at the time of employment and a regular health checkup. The general health checkup examination and the special health checkup have multiple examination items, but the examination on the health condition may be a single examination such as vision, hearing, blood pressure, gastroscopy, and blood tests. Furthermore, the examination on the health condition may be an examination on motor function such as grip strength. Furthermore, the examination result is not limited to the latest examination result, and may include past examination results.

[0041] The questionnaire result is the result of a questionnaire administered to the user. The questionnaire includes, for example, items related to the user's attributes and lifestyle habits. The attributes are the user's age and sex. The items related to lifestyle habits are, for example, drinking frequency, smoking frequency, and average hours of sleep per day. The questionnaire may include items related to the user's hobbies or preferences, such as favorite colors. The items in the questionnaire can be set arbitrarily. The questionnaire result can be obtained at the time of acquiring genome information, as well as after acquiring genome information.

[0042] In addition, a questionnaire before a user undergoes a health checkup may include items such as medical history, family medical history, allergies, alcohol consumption, sleep time, exercise time, or stress check. These items may be included in the health condition test or questionnaire.

[0043] In addition, when the user wears a wearable terminal such as a wristwatch that measures biological information such as heart rate, the measurement results of the change over time of the biological information by the wearable terminal may be included in the examination results or in the questionnaire results. Further, when the wearable terminal has a function of measuring the user's wake-up time and bedtime, the measurement results of the wake-up time and bedtime may be included in the examination results or in the questionnaire results. If the wearable terminal transmits the measurement results to the information processing device 1 via the user terminal 2, the measurement results are included in the examination results. If the user operates the user terminal 2 to input the measurement results into the questionnaire, the measurement results are included in the questionnaire results.

[0044] In addition, when the user measures their own blood pressure using an automatic blood pressure monitor installed at home, at work, or in a sports gym, etc., the measured blood pressure value may be included in the examination results. Also, a test kit for the user to collect their own blood is sold at pharmacies. After the user collects their blood using the test kit, the user may obtain the results of the blood test by sending the test kit to a test service company. The results of the blood test obtained by the user using the test kit may be included in the examination results of the user information.

[0045] Furthermore, the user information may include identification information unique to the user terminal 2 that is necessary for the information processing device 1 to communicate with the user terminal 2. The identification information unique to the user terminal 2 is, for example, the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the user terminal 2, or an email address, etc. Hereinafter, the identification information unique to the user terminal 2 is referred to as the terminal ID. The terminal ID may be included in the questionnaire results or examination results and stored in the storage unit 18.

[0046] (3) Contract information The contract information stipulates the handling of deletion of genomic information and user information from the storage unit 18 in response to a deletion request from the user.

[0047] Among the above five pieces of information, genomic information, user information, and contract information are provided to the information processing apparatus 1 from the user terminal 2, for example. The storage unit 18 stores, for each user, information indicating the payment destination of the consideration for the user, in addition to these three types of information, as information regarding the user. The information indicating the payment destination of the consideration is, for example, the user's bank account or the account of a fund transfer operator. The user information may include information indicating the payment destination of the consideration. For example, the inspection result or questionnaire result may include information indicating the payment destination of the consideration. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which the information indicating the payment destination of the consideration is stored in the storage unit 18 included in the inspection result or questionnaire result.

[0048] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of information for associating user information stored by the storage unit 18. The storage unit 18 stores an inspection hash value list 113 and a questionnaire hash value list 114. The storage unit 18 stores a genome correspondence table 112, an inspection correspondence table 115, and a questionnaire correspondence table 116. The inspection hash value list 113 is a list of inspection hash values of all users. The questionnaire hash value list 114 is a list of questionnaire hash values of all users.

[0049] The genome correspondence table 112 is a correspondence table between user IDs and genome hash values. The inspection correspondence table 115 is a correspondence table between inspection IDs and storage addresses indicating the locations where the inspection results corresponding to the inspection IDs are stored in the storage unit 18. The questionnaire correspondence table 116 is a correspondence table between questionnaire IDs and storage addresses indicating the locations where the questionnaire results corresponding to the questionnaire IDs are stored in the storage unit 18.

[0050] The storage unit 18 stores, using the genome correspondence table 112, the user ID in association with the genome hash value, which is the hash value of the genome information. The user ID is an example of the first identification information. The genome information is an example of the first information. The genome hash value is an example of the first hash value. The genome hash value serves as the identification information of the genome information. The genome hash value is calculated from the genome information by a predetermined hash function. The hash function is, for example, SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm)-2 or SHA-3. The hash value is represented by a hexadecimal value combining numbers from 0 to 9 and Roman letters from a to f.

[0051] The storage unit 18 stores, using the inspection correspondence table 115, the inspection result in association with the inspection ID. The storage unit 18 stores, using the questionnaire correspondence table 116, the questionnaire result in association with the questionnaire ID. The inspection result and the questionnaire result are examples of the second information. When the second information is the inspection result, the inspection ID corresponds to the second identification information, which is an identifier assigned corresponding to the user's inspection result. When the second information is the questionnaire result, the questionnaire ID corresponds to the second identification information, which is an identifier assigned corresponding to the user's questionnaire result.

[0052] When the second information is the inspection result, the storage unit 18 stores, in a list, the inspection hash value, which is the hash value of the combination of the inspection ID and the user ID. The inspection hash value is an example of the second hash value, and this list corresponds to the inspection hash value list 113. When the second information is the questionnaire result, the storage unit 18 stores, in a list, the questionnaire hash value, which is the hash value of the combination of the questionnaire ID and the user ID. The questionnaire hash value is an example of the second hash value, and this list corresponds to the questionnaire hash value list 114.

[0053] Genomic information is not stored in the storage unit 18, but is stored in the storage unit 22, which is another storage means physically different from the storage unit 18. Since genomic information contains a lot of information related to genetic factors such as the user's personality, intelligence, and susceptible diseases, it is called "ultimate personal information". Therefore, it is desirable that genomic information be stored in a storage means different from the storage unit 18 that stores information associating multiple types of information for each user. In this embodiment, the genomic information is stored in the storage unit 22. In the storage unit 22, a database is constructed so that the genomic information can be read out using the genomic hash value as a key. This database is referred to as the genomic DB.

[0054] Note that FIG. 9 shows the case where the information processing apparatus 1 has the storage unit 22, but the installation location of the storage unit 22 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 9. For example, the storage unit 22 may be provided in another server (not shown) connected to the network 100. In this case, the CPU 11 is communicatively connected to the storage unit 22 via the communication unit 19 and the network 100.

[0055] (4) Calculation conditions for consideration The storage unit 18 stores a plurality of calculation conditions as calculation conditions for consideration to the user. The plurality of calculation conditions are stored in the storage unit 18 in advance, but may be updated by the administrator of the information processing apparatus 1. The plurality of calculation conditions include (a) the type of genomic information, (b) the acquisition of at least one of the genomic information and the user information, and (c) the number of times the genomic information and the user information are output to the external institution terminal 3-k (k is an arbitrary integer from 1 to n).

[0056] (a) Type of genomic information The type of genomic information is, for example, the type of SNPs scattered at 3 million to 10 million locations among about 3 billion base pairs. Also, the type of genomic information may be genomic information of a part that is different compared to that of a person with a general DNA base sequence. When this calculation condition is selected, if the type of genomic information is a rare type, the possibility of an output request from an external institution increases, and the consideration paid to the user increases. (b) Acquisition of at least one of genomic information and user information This calculation condition is a condition for prompting the user to actively provide genomic information and user information to the genomic information trust institution 200. When this calculation condition is selected, when at least one of the genomic information and the user information is acquired from the user, a predetermined consideration is calculated as the consideration paid to the user. For example, when one of the genomic information and the user information is acquired from the user, C1 is calculated as the consideration. In this case, when the genomic information and the user information are acquired from the user, a consideration twice that of C1 may be calculated. (c) Number of times genomic information and user information are output to external institution terminals 3-1 to 3-n This condition is a condition in which the consideration increases in proportion to the number of times the genomic information and the user information are output to the external institution terminals 3-1 to 3-n.

[0057] (5) Output-related information The output-related information is information including a user ID, an output date and time, an external institution 210 of the output destination, and the presence or absence of payment of consideration, which is associated with an output number that is a unique number different for each output.

[0058] FIG. 14 is a table showing an example of the history of the output-related information stored in the storage unit 18. The external institution A shown in FIG. 7 means, for example, an external institution terminal 3-1 operated by the external institution A. The storage unit 18 stores the output-related information for each output of the genomic information and the user information.

[0059] The output-related information is accumulated in the storage unit 18 each time the genomic information and the user information are output from the information processing apparatus 1 to the external institution terminal 3-k.

[0060] Next, each function executed by the CPU 11 will be described. The information acquisition unit 31 acquires the genomic information and the user information of the user from the user terminal 2. The identification information assigning unit 32 assigns a user ID to the genomic information and user information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31. When the identification information assigning unit 32 acquires user information in multiple parts, it associates the divided user information with each other and assigns one user ID.

[0061] When the first information acquisition unit 62 acquires a genome from the user terminal 2, it stores the genomic information in the storage unit 22. When the first information acquisition unit 62 acquires a genome, the identification information assigning unit 32 generates a user ID and passes the generated user ID to the first identification information acquisition unit 61. When the first identification information acquisition unit 61 acquires a user ID from the identification information assigning unit 32, it stores the user ID in the storage unit 18 in association with the genomic hash value. The second identification information generation unit 65 generates a questionnaire ID and an inspection ID in association with the user ID. The second identification information generation unit 65 transmits the generated questionnaire ID and inspection ID to the user terminal 2. When the second information acquisition unit 64 acquires an inspection result with an attached inspection ID from the user terminal 2, it stores the inspection result in the storage unit 18 in association with the inspection ID. When the second information acquisition unit 64 acquires a questionnaire result with an attached questionnaire ID from the user terminal 2, it stores the questionnaire result in the storage unit 18 in association with the questionnaire ID.

[0062] The combination unit 66, the hash value calculation unit 67, the comparison unit 68, and the control unit 69 serve to create an ID correspondence table for associating multiple types of information of each user when necessary. When the combination unit 66 receives correspondence relationship request information, which is information indicating a request to create an ID correspondence table, from the selection unit 33, it generates a combination of an arbitrary user ID and an arbitrary inspection ID. When the combination unit 66 receives the correspondence relationship request information from the output request acquisition unit 34, it generates a combination of an arbitrary user ID and an arbitrary questionnaire ID.

[0063] The hash value calculation unit 67 includes the functions of a first hash value calculation unit 67a and a second hash value calculation unit 67b. The first hash value calculation unit 67a calculates genomic information using a predetermined hash function to obtain a genomic hash value. The second hash value calculation unit 67b calculates a combination of an inspection ID and a user ID using a predetermined hash function to obtain an inspection hash value. The second hash value calculation unit 67b calculates a combination of a questionnaire ID and a user ID using a predetermined hash function to obtain a questionnaire hash value. For example, the second hash value calculation unit 67b calculates a questionnaire hash value by calculating, using a predetermined hash function, a character string obtained by concatenating one of the character strings of the user ID and the questionnaire ID after the other. When obtaining the questionnaire hash value, the second hash value calculation unit 67b may obtain the questionnaire hash value from a character string obtained by adding an arbitrary symbol such as a comma between the character string of the user ID and the character string of the questionnaire ID.

[0064] When the user ID and the inspection ID are combined by the combination unit 66, the hash value calculation unit 67 calculates a combination of the inspection ID and the user ID using a predetermined hash function to obtain a third hash value. When the user ID and the questionnaire ID are combined by the combination unit 66, the hash value calculation unit 67 calculates a combination of the questionnaire ID and the user ID using a predetermined hash function to obtain a third hash value.

[0065] The comparison unit 68 compares the third hash value calculated by the hash value calculation unit 67 with the inspection hash value in the inspection hash value list 113 or the questionnaire hash value in the questionnaire hash value list 114 stored in the storage unit 18.

[0066] When the control unit 69 determines that the user ID and the inspection ID combined by the combination unit 66 are a correct combination and associates the user ID and the inspection ID when the inspection hash value matches the third hash value as a result of the comparison by the comparison unit 68. When the control unit 69 determines that the user ID and the questionnaire ID combined by the combination unit 66 are a correct combination and associates the user ID and the questionnaire ID when the questionnaire hash value matches the third hash value as a result of the comparison by the comparison unit 68. The control unit 69 creates an ID correspondence table based on the associated user ID, questionnaire ID, and inspection ID and the genome correspondence table 112, and stores it in the storage unit 18. The ID correspondence table is a table in which a genome hash value, a questionnaire ID, and an inspection ID are described in association with the user ID. The control unit 69 transmits correspondence relationship construction information for notifying that the construction of the ID correspondence table is completed to the specifying unit 35. The control unit 69 specifies a combination of a genome hash value and an inspection result based on the associated user ID and inspection ID. The control unit 69 specifies a combination of a genome hash value and a questionnaire result based on the associated user ID and questionnaire ID. The control unit 69 specifies genome information based on the genome hash value. The control unit 69 transmits correspondence relationship information indicating information on correct combinations of a plurality of types of information of each user to the specifying unit 35. The correspondence relationship information is information indicating, for each user, a combination of a genome hash value and an inspection result, a combination of a genome hash value and a questionnaire result, and a combination of a genome hash value and genome information.

[0067] When the selection unit 33 receives an output request from an arbitrary external institution terminal 3-k, it reads out the output conditions and related conditions selected by the external institution 210 from the output request for one or both of the genome information and the user information. The selection unit 33 transfers an output request including the read output conditions and related conditions to the output request acquisition unit 34. The output condition is a condition for extracting necessary genome information from the genome DB. The output condition is, for example, a diabetic patient aged 20 to 39. The related conditions are conditions for extracting necessary information from user information for the user of genomic information extracted according to the output conditions. When the user information includes inspection results, the related conditions are, for example, blood tests. When the user information includes questionnaire results, the related conditions are, for example, diet content.

[0068] When the output request acquisition unit 34 acquires an output request including output conditions and related conditions from the selection unit 33, it transfers the output request including output conditions and related conditions to the specifying unit 35. When the specifying unit 35 receives an output request including output conditions and related conditions from the output request acquisition unit 34 and receives correspondence relationship construction information from the control unit 69, it reads out the ID correspondence table from the storage unit 18. When the specifying unit 35 receives correspondence relationship information from the control unit 69, it refers to the ID correspondence table and specifies genomic information and user information that match the output conditions and related conditions.

[0069] The output unit 36 deletes information that was not selected as an output condition or a related condition from the genomic information and user information specified by the specifying unit 35 and outputs it to the external institution terminal 3-k that is the transmission source of the output request. The output unit 36 registers output-related information in the blockchain. After the output unit 36 registers the output-related information in the blockchain, it deletes the ID correspondence table stored by the storage unit 18. The output unit 36 calculates the number of times of output of genomic information and user information for each user based on the output-related information stored in the storage unit 18 at a predetermined cycle.

[0070] The consideration calculation unit 37 calculates the consideration for the user based on at least one of a plurality of calculation conditions stored in the storage unit 18.

[0071] The payment data generation unit 38 generates payment data that designates the user's bank account or the account of a fund transfer operator based on the calculated consideration. Specifically, the payment data generation unit 38 generates payment data including information on the consideration, the account from which the consideration is to be withdrawn, and the account to which the consideration is to be transferred. The payment data output unit 39 outputs the payment data generated by the payment data generation unit 38 to the financial processing terminal 4.

[0072] When the deletion request acquisition unit 40 acquires a deletion request for genomic information and user information from the user terminal 2, it outputs the deletion request to the determination unit 41. The deletion request acquisition unit 40 identifies the genomic information to be deleted by the terminal ID indicating the source of the deletion request. The determination unit 41 determines whether deletion is possible based on the contract information of the user stored in the storage unit 18. The determination unit 41 outputs the determination result of whether deletion is possible, determined based on the contract information of the user who requested deletion, to the deletion unit 42. The deletion unit 42 deletes the genomic information stored in the storage unit 22 and the user information stored in the storage unit 18 based on the deletion request.

[0073] <Processing content> (Information storage process) FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of the information acquisition process. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the information acquisition process. In step S11, the first information acquisition unit 62 acquires genomic information from the user terminal 2. In step S12, the first information acquisition unit 62 stores the genomic information in the storage unit 22. In step S13, the identification information assignment unit 32 generates a user ID for the genomic information. For example, the identification information assignment unit 32 may use a timestamp indicating the date and time when the first information acquisition unit 62 acquired the genomic information from the user terminal 2 as the user ID. When there is no possibility that the first information acquisition unit 62 acquires genomic information from a plurality of user terminals 2 simultaneously, the timestamp is unique information and serves as identification information different for each user. In step S14, the second identification information generation unit 65 generates an inspection ID and a questionnaire ID in association with the user ID. In step S15, the second identification information generation unit 65 transmits the inspection ID and the questionnaire ID to the user terminal 2.

[0074] In step S16, the second information acquisition unit 64 acquires from the user terminal 2 the inspection result with the inspection ID attached and the questionnaire result with the questionnaire ID attached. In step S17, the second information acquisition unit 64 causes the storage unit 18 to store the inspection ID and the inspection result, and the questionnaire ID and the questionnaire result. In step S18, the first hash value calculation unit 67a calculates a first hash value, which is the hash value of the genomic information acquired from the user. In step S19, the first identification information acquisition unit 61 associates the genomic hash value with the user ID and stores the result in the storage unit 18. In step S20, the first identification information acquisition unit 61 combines the inspection ID and the user ID, and combines the questionnaire ID and the user ID.

[0075] In step S21, the second hash value calculation unit 67b calculates an inspection hash value, which is the hash value of the inspection ID and the user ID. The second hash value calculation unit 67b calculates a questionnaire hash value, which is the hash value of the questionnaire ID and the user ID. In step S22, the second hash value calculation unit 67b stores the two hash values calculated in step S21 in the storage unit 18. Specifically, the second hash value calculation unit 67b stores in the storage unit 18 an inspection hash value list, which is a list in which the inspection hash values of all users are described. The second hash value calculation unit 67b stores in the storage unit 18 a questionnaire hash value list, which is a list in which the questionnaire hash values of all users are described.

[0076] (Basic processing) A procedure for the information processing apparatus 1 to provide user information to the external organization 210 in response to a request from the external organization 210 will be described. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram showing an example of basic processing by the information processing apparatus 1.

[0077] In step S31, the external institution terminal 3-k makes an output request including output conditions to the information processing apparatus 1. In step S32, the output request acquisition unit 34 acquires the output request from the external institution terminal 3-k. In step S33, the specifying unit 35 specifies the user information stored in the storage unit 18 and the genomic information stored in the storage unit 22 based on the output request.

[0078] In step S34, the output unit 36 deletes information that is not related to the output request from among the genomic information and user information specified by the specifying unit 35. In step S35, the output unit 36 outputs the genomic information and user information after the processing of step S17 to the external institution terminal 3-k. In step S36, the consideration calculation unit 37 calculates the consideration for the user who provided the genomic information and user information.

[0079] Note that in step S35, the output destination of the genomic information and user information output from the output unit 36 may be the display unit of the external institution terminal 3-k. In this case, the external institution terminal 3-k does not temporarily store the genomic information and user information. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the secondary use of these information without permission from the genomic information trust institution 200.

[0080] (Specific processing) Next, a specific processing procedure from when the information processing apparatus 1 acquires genomic information from a user to when the genomic information is provided to an external institution will be described.

[0081] FIG. 18 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of processing from information provision by the information processing apparatus 1 to consideration calculation. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the processing procedure from information provision to consideration calculation.

[0082] In step S41, the selection unit 33 determines whether there is an output request including output conditions from the external institution terminal 3-k. If there is no output request from the external institution terminal 3-k, the selection unit 33 repeats the determination in step S41.

[0083] As a result of the determination in step S41, when the selection unit 33 receives an output request including output conditions from the external institution terminal 3-k, it transmits the correspondence relationship request information to the management unit 51. In step S42, when the management unit 51 receives the correspondence relationship request information from the selection unit 33, the combination unit 66, the hash value calculation unit 67, the comparison unit 68, and the control unit 69 construct an ID correspondence table. Further, based on the constructed ID correspondence table, the control unit 69 transmits correspondence relationship information indicating the correspondence relationship of multiple types of information for each user to the specifying unit 35. A specific example of the process in step S42 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 20 to 23.

[0084] In step S43, the selection unit 33 reads out the output conditions and related conditions selected by the external institution 210 from the output request. Then, the selection unit 33 transfers the output request including the output conditions and related conditions to the output request acquisition unit 34. When the output request acquisition unit 34 acquires the output request including the output conditions and related conditions from the selection unit 33, it transfers the output request including the output conditions and related conditions to the specifying unit 35. In step S44, when the specifying unit 35 receives the output request including the output conditions and related conditions from the output request acquisition unit 34 and receives the correspondence relationship construction information from the control unit 69, it reads out the ID correspondence table from the storage unit 18. When the specifying unit 35 receives the correspondence relationship information from the control unit 69, it refers to the ID correspondence table and specifies the genomic information and user information that match the output conditions and related conditions.

[0085] In step S45, the output unit 36 determines whether the genomic information and user information specified by the specifying unit 35 include information unrelated to the output request. Specifically, the output unit 36 determines whether the genomic information and user information specified by the specifying unit 35 include information other than the output conditions included in the output request and information other than the related conditions.

[0086] As a result of the determination in step S45, if the identified genomic information and user information include information unrelated to the output request, the output unit 36 deletes the information unrelated to the output request from the identified genomic information and user information (step S46). After step S46, the output unit 36 proceeds to the process of step S47.

[0087] As a result of the determination in step S45, if the identified genomic information and user information do not include information unrelated to the output request, the output unit 36 proceeds to the process of step S47. In step S47, the output unit 36 outputs the genomic information and user information to the external institution terminal 3-k. In step S48, the output unit 36 specifies the user ID of the user corresponding to the genomic information and user information output in step S47 with reference to the ID correspondence table, and stores output-related information in the storage unit 18 for each output. In step S49, the output unit 36 registers the output-related information in the blockchain. Thereafter, the output unit 36 deletes the ID correspondence table stored in the storage unit 18.

[0088] Note that in step S46, when the output unit 36 outputs the genomic information and user information to the external institution terminal 3-k, it may generate in advance the output number of the output-related information to be stored in the storage unit 18 in step S47 and attach it to the information to be output. In this case, the genomic information trust institution 200 and the external institution 210 can confirm the presence or absence of payment of the consideration for the provided information using the output number as a key. Further, the output unit 36 may perform a confidentiality process on the genomic information, user information, and output number information to be output using a public key encryption method and transmit it to the external institution terminal 3-k. In this case, since the information output to the external institution terminal 3-k is encrypted, the confidentiality of the output information can be enhanced.

[0089] In addition, when the deletion unit 42 deletes the genomic information and user information stored in the storage unit 18 based on a deletion request from the user terminal 2, the deletion unit 42 may include the information obtained by deleting the genomic information and user information in the output-related information. In this case, it is registered in the blockchain that each user's genomic information and user information have been deleted. In the table shown in FIG. 14, instead of the output date and time, the deletion unit 42 may record the date and time of deletion, and may not record anything in the columns of the output destination institution and the payment of consideration. When each user requests deletion of genomic information, the user can track whether the deletion process has been performed in response to the request by referring to the history of the output-related information registered in the blockchain.

[0090] (Specific example of the process of step S42) An example of a method for constructing the ID correspondence table in step S42 shown in FIG. 19 will be described. After the management unit 51 identifies the correspondence between the user ID and the inspection ID for each user, the process until the combination of the genomic information and the inspection result is obtained will be described. FIG. 20 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of the process for obtaining the correspondence. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for obtaining the correspondence. FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining the procedure for creating a correspondence table of the user ID and the inspection ID.

[0091] In step S51, the combination unit 66 generates a combination of an arbitrary inspection ID and an arbitrary user ID. In step S52, the hash value calculation unit 67 calculates a third hash value, which is the hash value of the combination of the inspection ID and the user ID, using the combined inspection ID and user ID. In step S53, the comparison unit 68 searches for the third hash value in the inspection hash value list. In this case, the second hash value list is the inspection hash value list 113. In the inspection hash value list 113, let the number of data of the second hash value to be compared be Un, and let the number assigned to an arbitrary second hash value be S. If the S-th second hash value is denoted as (second hash value)S, the comparison unit 68 compares (second hash value)S with the third hash value in order from S = 1 to S = Un. In step S54, the comparison unit 68 determines whether there is a second hash value that matches the third hash value calculated in step S53 in the inspection hash value list 113.

[0092] In step S54, when the comparison unit 68 determines that there is a second hash value that matches the third hash value in the inspection hash value list 113, the control unit 69 determines that the combination of the inspection ID and the user ID selected in step S51 is the correct combination (step S55). In step S56, the control unit 69 enters the correct combination of the user ID and the inspection ID into the correspondence table of the user ID and the inspection ID.

[0093] With reference to FIG. 22, the processing from steps S51 to S56 will be described. Here, consider the case where the user ID is "20071011". The hash value calculation unit 67 reads one inspection ID from the inspection correspondence table 115, and calculates a third hash value for the combination of the user ID "20071011" and the read inspection ID using a predetermined hash function. This hash function is represented by H[ ]. For example, the hash value calculation unit 67 calculates a third hash value "4f1···de1" for the combination of the user ID "20071011" and the first inspection ID "ER29151200". The comparison unit 68 compares the third hash value "4f1···de1" one by one with the Un inspection hash values described in the inspection hash value list 113, and determines whether there is an inspection hash value that matches the third hash value.

[0094] As a result of the determination, if there is no inspection hash value that matches the third hash value "4f1···de1", the hash value calculation unit 67 calculates a third hash value based on the combination of the user ID "20071011" and another inspection ID. The comparison unit 68 compares the second third hash value one by one with the Un inspection hash values listed in the inspection hash value list 113 to determine whether there is an inspection hash value that matches the third hash value. As a result of the determination, if there is no inspection hash value that matches the third hash value, the hash value calculation unit 67 and the comparison unit 68 repeat the above process.

[0095] Assuming that m (for example, 2 ≤ m ≤ Un) is an arbitrary integer, the hash value calculation unit 67 calculates a third hash value "23c···9b2" based on the combination of the user ID "20071011" and the m-th inspection ID "ER20522010". The comparison unit 68 compares the first third hash value "23c···9b2" one by one with the Un inspection hash values listed in the inspection hash value list 113 to determine whether there is an inspection hash value that matches the third hash value. When it is determined by the comparison unit 68 that the third hash value matches the j-th inspection hash value "23c···9b2" of S, the control unit 69 determines that the user ID "20071011" and the inspection ID "ER20522010" are the correct combination. The control unit 69 enters the inspection ID "ER20522010" in the correspondence table 121 of the user ID and the inspection ID in association with the user ID "20071011" (step S56 in FIG. 21).

[0096] Returning to the description of the flow shown in FIG. 21. In step S57, the control unit 69 combines the genomic hash value associated with the user ID and the inspection result associated with the inspection ID. In step S58, the control unit 69 identifies genomic information from the genomic hash value. For example, in step S58, the control unit 69 executes the following processing. The storage unit 18 stores a genomic correspondence table 112 in which a genomic hash value calculated based on the user ID and genomic information is associated. The control unit 69 reads arbitrary genomic information from the plurality of genomic information stored in the storage unit 22, and calculates a genomic hash value that is the hash value of the read genomic information. When the control unit 69 identifies the same genomic hash value as the calculated genomic hash value in the genomic correspondence table 112, it determines that the combination of the genomic information of the calculation source and the user ID of the genomic hash value identified in the genomic correspondence table 112 is correct. In this way, by calculating the hash value of arbitrary genomic information by the control unit 69, the genomic information associated with the genomic hash value registered in the genomic correspondence table 112 can be identified. In step S59, the control unit 69 combines the genomic information and the test result. Based on the information of these combinations, the control unit 69 generates correspondence relationship information of one user.

[0097] Assuming the number of users is Nsum, the information processing apparatus 1 repeats the procedure shown in FIG. 21 (Nsum - 1) times as described above, thereby creating a correspondence table 121 of user IDs and test IDs for all users. Also, in the genomic correspondence table 112 shown in FIG. 13, the user ID and the genomic hash value are associated. In the test correspondence table 115, the test ID and the test result are associated. Therefore, when the number of users is Nsum, the information processing apparatus 1 can identify the correspondence relationship between the genomic information and the test result for each of the Nsum users by repeating the procedure shown in FIG. 21 (Nsum - 1) times. Each time the correspondence relationship between the genomic information and the test result of one user is identified, the value of Un in step S53 becomes smaller. Therefore, as the number of identified correspondence relationships increases, the arithmetic processing in steps S54 to S58 by the information processing apparatus 1 is reduced.

[0098] Referring to FIG. 21, the management unit 51 has been described as identifying the correspondence between the user ID and the test ID for each user and obtaining the combination of genomic information and test results. Similarly, the correspondence between the user ID and the questionnaire ID can be identified, and the combination of genomic information and questionnaire results can be obtained.

[0099] FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the method of constructing the ID correspondence table. Assuming the number of users is Nsum, the management unit 51 repeats the procedure shown in FIG. 21 (Nsum - 1) times for the test ID, and the control unit 69 creates the correspondence table 121 of the user ID and the test ID. The management unit 51 repeats the procedure shown in FIG. 21 (Nsum - 1) times for the questionnaire ID, and the control unit 69 creates the correspondence table 122 of the user ID and the questionnaire ID. The control unit 69 constructs the ID correspondence table 123 shown in FIG. 23 in combination with the genomic correspondence table 112 shown in FIG. 13, the correspondence table 121 of the user ID and the test ID, and the correspondence table 122 of the user ID and the questionnaire ID (step S42 in FIG. 19).

[0100] In step S42 shown in FIG. 19, the ID correspondence table 123 shown in FIG. 23 is constructed, and the correspondence between the genomic information, test results, and questionnaire results of all users is identified. In step S43, when the output condition is that the test result contains "diabetes", in step S44, the specifying unit 35 can specify the users whose test results contain "diabetes" and the genomic information with "diabetes" as the search condition.

[0101] Incidentally, with reference to FIG. 19, the case of the procedure where after the information processing apparatus 1 constructs the ID correspondence table (step S42), it extracts information that matches the output request (steps S43 to S44) has been described, but it is not limited to this procedure. For example, the procedures of the process of step S42 and the process of step S43 shown in FIG. 19 may be reversed. That is, the specifying unit 35 may obtain search conditions from the output request, and the management unit 51 may construct an ID correspondence table for obtaining information that matches the search conditions obtained by the specifying unit 35. In this case, since it is not necessary to construct an ID correspondence table for all users, the information processing apparatus 1 can obtain the effect of reducing the load of arithmetic processing for searching for information corresponding to the output request.

[0102] A specific example of the case where the procedures of the process of step S42 and the process of step S43 shown in FIG. 19 are reversed will be described. Assume that the output condition included in the output request is "systolic blood pressure is 140 mmHg or higher", and the "systolic blood pressure value" is entered in the test results of each user stored in the storage unit 18. When the specifying unit 35 receives the information of the output condition from the output request acquisition unit 34, the specifying unit 35 specifies the test results that match the search condition "systolic blood pressure is 140 mmHg or higher" among the test results of each user stored in the storage unit 18. The specifying unit 35 refers to the test correspondence table 115 and specifies the test ID of the specified test result. Subsequently, the management unit 51 creates a correspondence table 121 of user ID and test ID according to the procedure described with reference to FIG. 22 for the test ID specified by the specifying unit 35. For example, consider the case where the number of registered users is 100, and among the 100 users, 10 users have "systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg or higher". In this case, since the information processing apparatus 1 only needs to create a correspondence table 121 of user ID and test ID for 10 users, it is not necessary to obtain the correspondence relationship between the user IDs and test IDs for 90 users. Incidentally, since the processes after step S44 shown in FIG. 19 are the same as the contents described with reference to FIG. 19, the detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0103] Another specific example will be described. A case will be described where the output requirements include "systolic blood pressure is 140 mmHg or higher" and "age is between 30 and 40 years" as output conditions. Assume that the "systolic blood pressure value" is entered in the test results of each user stored in the storage unit 18, and the "age" is entered in the questionnaire results of each user stored in the storage unit 18. When the specifying unit 35 receives the information on the output conditions from the output requirement acquisition unit 34, it specifies the test ID of the test results that match the search condition "systolic blood pressure is 140 mmHg or higher" in the same manner as the above-described specific example. The management unit 51 creates a correspondence table 121 of user IDs and test IDs in the same manner as the above-described specific example. Also, the specifying unit 35 specifies the questionnaire results that match the search condition "age is between 30 and 40 years" among the questionnaire results of each user stored in the storage unit 18. The specifying unit 35 refers to the questionnaire correspondence table 116 and specifies the questionnaire ID of the specified questionnaire results. Subsequently, the management unit 51 creates a correspondence table 122 of user IDs and questionnaire IDs in the same procedure as described with reference to FIG. 22 for the questionnaire IDs specified by the specifying unit 35. Further, the management unit 51 extracts the user IDs belonging to the intersection of the correspondence table 121 of user IDs and test IDs and the correspondence table 122 of user IDs and questionnaire IDs. Then, the management unit 51 creates an ID correspondence table 123 shown in FIG. 23 for the extracted user IDs. For example, consider a case where the number of registered users is 100, and among the 100 users, 10 users have "systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg or higher" and 10 users have "age between 30 and 40 years". In this case, the information processing apparatus 1 only needs to create a correspondence table 121 of user IDs and test IDs for 10 users and create a correspondence table 122 of user IDs and questionnaire IDs for 10 users, so there is no need to obtain the correspondence relationship between user IDs, test IDs, and questionnaire IDs for 80 users. Note that the processing after step S44 shown in FIG. 19 is the same as the content described with reference to FIG. 19, so the detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0104] (Registration Process of Output-Related Information) An example of a method for registering output-related information in a blockchain will be described. FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a method for registering output-related information in a blockchain.

[0105] When the output unit 36 records the output-related information for a predetermined period or number of cases in the storage unit 18, it summarizes them in one table. The unit of this table is referred to as an output information block. The output information block 1 shown in FIG. 24 is a table in which the output-related information for a predetermined period or a predetermined number of cases has been recorded since the genomic information trust system of this embodiment was activated.

[0106] The output unit 36 calculates the hash value h1 of the output information block 1 and adds it to the header of the next output information block 2. Subsequently, the output unit 36 calculates the hash value h2 of the output information block 2 including the hash value h1 and adds it to the header of the next output information block 3. In this way, the output unit 36 sequentially adds the hash value of the previous output information block to the header of the next output information block.

[0107] In this way, the information processing apparatus 1 functions as a node of a distributed ledger (Hyper ledger)-type blockchain network with respect to the output-related information. By registering the output-related information in the blockchain, all users can monitor the history of payment of consideration, and it is possible to prevent the output-related information from being tampered with.

[0108] (Specific examples of the processing in steps S11 to S16) A specific example of a method for acquiring genomic information and user information from a user will be described. FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method by which the information processing apparatus 1 acquires genomic information and user information from a user. FIG. 25 shows an example of an image displayed on the display unit 2a of the user terminal 2. A touch panel (not shown) for the user to perform input operations is provided on the display unit 2a of the user terminal 2.

[0109] The storage unit 18 stores in advance the data of the questionnaire web page including the information of the questionnaire provided with a plurality of items for the user to fill in. The output unit 36 transmits a direct mail including a message prompting registration with the Genome Information Trust Organization 200 to the user terminal 2. When the user terminal 2 receives the mail from the information processing apparatus 1, it displays the message of the mail on the display unit 2a as the image img1 in FIG. 25. In the image img1 in FIG. 25, as an example of the message, an inquiry message "Don't you want to use your genome information for new product development etc.?" is displayed. When the user operates the user terminal 2 to select a button indicating "Agree" in response to the inquiry message displayed in the image img1, the user terminal 2 transmits an approval signal, which is a signal indicating approval, to the information processing apparatus 1.

[0110] When the information acquisition unit 31 receives the approval signal from the user terminal 2, the identification information assignment unit 32 generates a user ID, a questionnaire ID, and an inspection ID. The output unit 36 transmits the questionnaire ID and inspection ID generated by the identification information assignment unit 32 and the data of the questionnaire web page to the user terminal 2. When the user terminal 2 receives the questionnaire ID, the inspection ID, and the data of the questionnaire web page from the information processing apparatus 1, it displays the questionnaire web page on the display unit 2a. The image img2 in FIG. 25 is an image showing a part of an example of the questionnaire displayed on the display unit 2a of the user terminal 2. After the user operates the user terminal 2 to enter information in each item of the questionnaire and then presses the send button, the user terminal 2 transmits the questionnaire result information with the questionnaire ID attached to the information processing apparatus 1.

[0111] When the information acquisition unit 31 receives the questionnaire result information from the user terminal 2, it stores the questionnaire result in the storage unit 18 in association with the questionnaire ID. When the information acquisition unit 31 receives the questionnaire result information from the user terminal 2, the output unit 36 transmits the data of the web page for registering the genome information, the inspection result, and the contract information to the user terminal 2.

[0112] When the user terminal 2 receives the web page data received from the information processing apparatus 1, it displays the received web page on the display unit 2a. The image img3 in FIG. 25 is an example of an image for registering genomic information, test results, and contract information. When the user operates the user terminal 2 to register genomic information, test results, and contract information in order, the user terminal 2 transmits this information to the information processing apparatus 1. The user terminal 2 transmits test result information with a test ID attached to the test results to the information processing apparatus 1.

[0113] In this way, the information processing apparatus 1 may acquire user information in accordance with the timing of acquiring genomic information. Also, the information processing apparatus 1 may acquire user information from the user terminal 2 at a plurality of timings. For example, the information processing apparatus 1 may acquire from the user terminal 2 the latest results of a test with the same test content as the test results acquired in the past, and may acquire from the user terminal 2 the latest results of a questionnaire with the same content as the questionnaire results acquired in the past. When the information processing apparatus 1 acquires the latest results of a test with the same test content as the test results acquired in the past, it may store the latest test results and delete the past test results, or may add the latest test results to the past test results. When the information processing apparatus 1 acquires the latest results of a questionnaire with the same content as the questionnaire results acquired in the past, it may store the latest questionnaire results and delete the past questionnaire results, or may add the latest questionnaire results to the past questionnaire results.

[0114] Also, the information processing apparatus 1 may acquire, for example, the results of a test with different test content from the test results acquired in the past from the user terminal 2, and may acquire the results of a questionnaire with different content from the questionnaire results acquired in the past from the user terminal 2. When the information processing apparatus 1 newly acquires the results of a test with different test content from the test results acquired in the past, it may add the newly acquired test results to the test results acquired in the past. When the information processing apparatus 1 newly acquires the results of a questionnaire with different content from the questionnaire results acquired in the past, it may add the newly acquired questionnaire results to the questionnaire results acquired in the past.

[0115] (Specific examples of the processes in steps S42 to S46) A specific example of the case where the output unit 36 deletes information unrelated to the output request from the user information will be described. For example, consider the case where in step S42 shown in FIG. 19, the output request acquisition unit 34 acquires an output request that includes information on "diabetic patients aged 20 to 39 years" as an output condition and where "blood test and diet content" is selected as a related condition. The specifying unit 35 specifies user information that matches the output condition, and specifies it from among the plurality of genomic information stored in the storage unit 22 by the storage unit 22. Among the user information specified by the specifying unit 35, the output unit 36 has not selected information other than "blood test and diet content" as a related condition. Therefore, the output unit 36 deletes information that has not been selected as a related condition from the user information. The output unit 36 outputs genomic information on "diabetic patients aged 20 to 39 years" and user information including information on "blood test and diet content".

[0116] (Consideration payment process) Next, the procedure for the information processing apparatus 1 to pay consideration to the user will be described. FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing an example of the consideration payment process to the user.

[0117] In step S61, the consideration calculation unit 37 determines whether there is a consideration claim from the user terminal 2. If there is a consideration claim, the process proceeds to the process of step S63. If there is no consideration claim, the consideration calculation unit 37 proceeds to the process of step S62. In step S62, the consideration calculation unit 37 determines whether the consideration calculation time has been reached. If the consideration calculation time has not been reached, the consideration calculation unit 37 returns to the process of step S61. If the consideration calculation time has been reached, the consideration calculation unit 37 proceeds to the process of step S63. In step S63, the consideration calculation unit 37 acquires the consideration calculation conditions from the storage unit 18.

[0118] In step S64, the consideration calculation unit 37 calculates the consideration for the user who provided the genomic information and the user information based on the output-related information and the calculation conditions. The consideration calculation unit 37 may identify the user based on the terminal ID of the user terminal 2. Further, when the user terminal 2 makes a consideration claim to the information processing apparatus 1, the inspection ID or the questionnaire ID may be included in the consideration claim. For example, the consideration calculation unit 37 can receive the information of the user ID associated with the inspection ID from the control unit 69 by transmitting the correspondence request information including the inspection ID to the combination unit 66. In step S65, the payment data generation unit 38 generates payment data that designates the user's bank account or the account of the fund transfer operator as the transfer destination of the calculated consideration based on the calculated consideration. For example, the payment data generation unit 38 refers to the user information of the specified user ID. In step S66, the payment data output unit 39 outputs the payment data generated by the payment data generation unit 38 to the financial processing terminal 4. In step S67, the payment data output unit 39 records that the consideration has been paid in the output-related information.

[0119] Note that in this embodiment, the case where the financial processing terminal 4 is provided for the payment process of the consideration to the user has been described with reference to FIG. 9, but the financial processing terminal 4 may not be provided. For example, the payment data output unit 39 may transmit the information of the digital currency corresponding to the consideration to be paid to the user to the user terminal 2.

[0120] Also, in this embodiment, the case where the first information is genomic information and the second information is one or both of the inspection result and the questionnaire result has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this case. The first information may be one or both of the inspection result and the questionnaire result, and the second information may be genomic information. In this case, the first identification information is one or both of the inspection ID and the questionnaire ID, and the second identification information is the genomic hash value.

[0121] <Advantageous Effects of the Present Embodiment> According to the above-described embodiment, every time the genomic information and user information related to the output request of a user who has provided genomic information are output, the user can obtain a consideration for the information provision. Therefore, the number of users who want to effectively utilize their own genomic information to obtain a consideration increases, and it becomes possible to collect genomic information from many users. In addition, since not all the information provided by the user is output, but only the information related to the output request is output, the more information related to the output request a user has, the more opportunities the user has to obtain a consideration.

[0122] Further, according to the above-described embodiment, since the genomic information trust institution 200 grasps the usage status of genomic information by the external institution 210 using a blockchain, it can explain the clear payment status of rewards according to the request of the user.

[0123] Further, according to the above-described embodiment, by dividing and managing a plurality of types of information related to a user so that personal information such as the genomic information of the user cannot be specified, a single correspondence table for connecting the divided information is not provided. Therefore, there is no risk that the correspondence table in the case of managing a plurality of pieces of information related to a user with a single correspondence table will be leaked to the outside. As a result, strong security measures can be taken regarding the personal information of the user.

[0124] The effect of the information management method according to the above-described embodiment will be described by comparing the ID correspondence table 123 shown in FIG. 23 with the correspondence table shown in FIG. 13. In the ID correspondence table 123 shown in FIG. 23, for each user, a genomic hash value, a questionnaire ID, and an inspection ID are described in association with the user ID. Referring to the ID correspondence table 123 shown in FIG. 23, a plurality of types of information can be easily associated for each user. On the other hand, when an external person refers to the ID correspondence table 123 shown in FIG. 23 by improper means, the genomic information, questionnaire results, and inspection results can be easily associated for each user. If the storage unit 18 maintains the state of storing the ID correspondence table 123 shown in FIG. 23, the risk of leakage of the ID correspondence table 123 to the outside increases. In contrast, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the genomic information, test results, and questionnaire results are managed in separate correspondence tables. Therefore, even if an external person can refer to the correspondence table shown in FIG. 13 by improper means, the genomic information cannot be associated with the test results or questionnaire results for each user. As a result, as described above, strong security measures can be taken regarding the personal information of the user.

[0125] Further, according to the above-described embodiment, by managing genomic information with a large amount of data using hash values, the processing of information management becomes easy. Also, by not storing genomic information in the storage unit 18 that stores information for information management, stronger information security measures can be taken.

[0126] As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

[0127] [Modification Example] The storage unit 18 may store genomic information in addition to the correspondence tables and lists for managing a plurality of types of information of the user shown in FIG. 13. The information processing apparatus 1 outputs the test ID and questionnaire ID to the user terminal 2 via the network 100, but the user ID is not output to the outside. Therefore, even if an external person reads the genomic information from the storage unit 18 by improper means and refers to the genomic correspondence table 112 stored in the storage unit 18 by improper means, the genomic information cannot be associated with the test results, questionnaire results, and the user. As a result, not only can an external person not utilize the genomic information, but also cannot identify the user of the read genomic information.

[0128] In the above-described embodiments, for example, the above-described series of processes can be executed by hardware or by software. In other words, the above-described functional configurations are merely illustrative and are not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient that the information processing system is provided with a function capable of executing the above-described series of processes as a whole, and the functional blocks used to realize this function are not particularly limited to the above examples. Further, the location of the functional blocks is not particularly limited to FIG. 9 and may be arbitrary. For example, the functional blocks of the server may be transferred to other devices (terminals), etc. Conversely, the functional blocks of other devices may be transferred to the server, etc. Further, one functional block may be configured by hardware alone, by software alone, or by a combination thereof.

[0129] When the series of processes are executed by software, the program constituting the software is installed in a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium. The computer may be a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. Further, the computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, for example, a general-purpose smartphone or personal computer other than a server.

[0130] A recording medium containing such a program is not only constituted by a removable medium (not shown) distributed separately from the apparatus main body in order to provide the program to a user or the like, but also constituted by a recording medium or the like provided to a user or the like in a state pre-installed in the apparatus main body. Note that the recording medium may be mounted on or accessible from a server or the like.

[0131] Note that in this specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium includes not only processes performed in time series according to the order thereof, but also processes executed in parallel or individually even if they are not necessarily processed in time series. Further, in this specification, the term "system" shall mean an overall apparatus constituted by a plurality of devices, a plurality of means, etc.

[0132] [Others] In other words, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied can take various embodiments having the following configurations. That is, storage means (for example, storage unit 18) for storing the user's genomic information and user information, output request acquisition means (for example, output request acquisition unit 34) for acquiring an output request including output conditions, specification means (for example, specification unit 35) for specifying the genomic information and the user information stored in the storage means based on the output request, output means (for example, output unit 36) for deleting and outputting information not related to the output request among the specified genomic information and user information, consideration calculation means (for example, consideration calculation unit 37) for calculating the consideration for the user who provided the genomic information and the user information, and is an information processing apparatus having the above.

[0133] Also, the storage means may store output-related information for each output of the genomic information and the user information. Thereby, by storing output-related information, which is information related to the output, each time the genomic information and the user information are output, the output-related information can be used for calculating the consideration for the user.

[0134] Also, the storage means stores a plurality of calculation conditions as the calculation conditions for the consideration, the consideration calculation means calculates the consideration based on at least one of the plurality of calculation conditions stored in the storage means, the plurality of calculation conditions include the type of the genomic information, acquisition of at least one of the genomic information and the user information, and the number of times the genomic information and the user information are output to the information processing terminal that is the transmission source of the output request, and may include the above. As a result, depending on various calculation conditions, the user can increase the opportunities to obtain compensation.

[0135] Furthermore, it further has selection means (for example, selection unit 33) that enables selection of the output conditions and related conditions from among the genomic information or the user information. The output request acquisition means acquires the output request including the output conditions and the related conditions. The output means may output by deleting information that was not selected as the output condition or the related condition from among the genomic information or the user information. As a result, the more information corresponding to the output request, the more the compensation paid to the user increases. On the other hand, by deleting information that does not correspond to the output request from the output information, it is possible to prevent the output of information that is not requested to the outside.

[0136] Furthermore, it further has identification information providing means (for example, identification information providing unit 32) that provides identification information for identifying the acquired genomic information and user information. The identification information providing means may provide the identification information by associating the user information acquired in multiple times with each other. As a result, even if the user information is acquired in a divided manner from the user, it can be managed with unique identification information different for each user.

[0137] Furthermore, the output means may register the output-related information in a blockchain. As a result, by registering the output-related information in a blockchain and managing the history, it is possible to prevent falsification of the output-related information. The reliability of this system for users is improved.

[0138] Furthermore, deletion request acquisition means (for example, deletion request acquisition unit 40) that acquires a deletion request for the genomic information and the user information, Deletion means (for example, deletion unit 42) that deletes the genomic information and the user information stored in the storage means based on the deletion request. may further have. Thereby, when the user wants to cancel the entrustment of the management of their genomic information, they can request deletion at any time.

[0139] Further, there is further provided a determination means (for example, determination unit 41) for determining whether or not to delete the genomic information and the user information based on the contract information of the user stored in the storage means. The storage means stores the contract information including information on the handling of deletion of the genomic information and the user information. The deletion request acquisition means outputs the deletion request to the determination means. The determination means may output to the deletion means whether deletion is possible or not determined based on the contract information of the user who requested deletion. Thereby, the user can more smoothly delete their information by registering contract information in advance regarding the deletion of genomic information and user information.

[0140] Further, there is provided a payment data generation means (for example, payment data generation unit 38) for generating payment data for designating the bank account or the account of a funds transfer operator of the user based on the calculated consideration, a payment data output means (for example, payment data output unit 39) for outputting the generated payment data. may further have. Thereby, the user can receive the consideration in the account they specified.

[0141] Further, it may be an information processing method including a request acquisition step of acquiring an output request including output conditions, a specifying step of specifying the stored genomic information and user information based on the output request, an output step of deleting and outputting information not related to the output request among the specified genomic information and user information, a calculation step of calculating the consideration for the user who provided the genomic information and the user information. and having.

[0142] Also, a request acquisition step of acquiring an output request including output conditions, a specification step of specifying stored genomic information and user information based on the output request, an output step of deleting and outputting information not related to the output request among the specified genomic information and user information, a calculation step of calculating a consideration for the user who provided the genomic information and the user information, It may be a computer program for causing a computer to execute.

Explanation of Signs

[0143] 1: Information processing apparatus 2: User terminal 3-k: External institution terminal 11: CPU 18: Storage unit 19: Communication unit 22: Storage unit 31: Information acquisition unit 32: Identification information adding unit 33: Selection unit 34: Output request acquisition unit 35: Specification unit 36: Output unit 37: Consideration calculation unit 38: Payment data generation unit 39: Payment data output unit 40: Deletion request acquisition unit 41: Judgment unit 42: Deletion unit 51: Management unit

Claims

1. Storage means for storing the genomic information and user information of the user; Output request acquisition means for acquiring an output request including output conditions; Specification means for specifying the genomic information and the user information stored in the storage means based on the output request; Output means for deleting and outputting information not related to the output request among the specified genomic information and user information; Consideration calculation means for calculating the consideration for the user who provided the genomic information and the user information; An information processing apparatus having the above.

2. The storage means stores output-related information for each output of the genomic information and the user information. The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

3. The storage means stores a plurality of calculation conditions as the calculation conditions for the consideration; The consideration calculation means calculates the consideration based on at least one of the plurality of calculation conditions stored in the storage means; The plurality of calculation conditions include: The type of the genomic information; The acquisition of at least one of the genomic information and the user information; The number of times the genomic information and the user information are output to the information processing terminal that is the transmission source of the output request. The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

4. Further comprising selection means for enabling selection of the output conditions and related conditions from among the genomic information or the user information; The output request acquisition means acquires the output request including the output conditions and the related conditions; The output means deletes and outputs information that was not selected as the output condition or the related condition among the genomic information or the user information. The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

5. Further comprising identification information imparting means for imparting identification information for identifying the acquired genomic information and user information; The identification information imparting means imparts the identification information by associating the user information acquired in multiple times with each other. The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

6. The output means registers the output-related information in a blockchain. The information processing apparatus according to Claim 2.

7. Deletion request acquisition means for acquiring a deletion request for the genomic information and the user information; Deletion means for deleting the genomic information and the user information stored in the storage means based on the deletion request; Further comprising the above. The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

8. Determination means for determining whether or not to delete the genomic information and the user information based on the contract information of the user stored in the storage means. The storage means stores the contract information including information on the handling of deletion of the genomic information and the user information. The deletion request acquisition means outputs the deletion request to the determination means. The determination means outputs to the deletion means the determination result of whether or not deletion is possible, which is determined based on the contract information of the user who requested the deletion. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7.

9. Payment data generation means for generating payment data for designating the user's bank account or the account of a funds transfer operator based on the calculated consideration. Payment data output means for outputting the generated payment data. Furthermore having The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

10. A request acquisition step of acquiring an output request including output conditions. An identification step of identifying the stored genomic information and user information based on the output request. An output step of deleting and outputting information not related to the output request among the identified genomic information and user information. A calculation step of calculating the consideration for the user who provided the genomic information and the user information. An information processing method having

11. A request acquisition step of acquiring an output request including output conditions. An identification step of identifying the stored genomic information and user information based on the output request. An output step of deleting and outputting information not related to the output request among the identified genomic information and user information. A calculation step of calculating the consideration for the user who provided the genomic information and the user information. A computer program for causing a computer to execute.

Images