Ophthalmic system

Abstract

To provide an ophthalmic system capable of surely preventing nosocomial infection such as ophthalmic infectious disease.SOLUTION: The ophthalmic system 1 includes a face image capture device 10 installed at a hospital entrance and an terminal 20 installed in the hospital. The face imaging device 10 includes an imaging unit 11 that captures a face image Q of a patient P, a detection unit 12 that detects a sign of an eye disorder from the face image Q, a communication unit 14 that transmits and receives information to and from the terminal 20, and an instruction notification unit 15 that notifies the patient P of an instruction S from the terminal 20. The communication unit 14 transmits the face image Q to the terminal 20 at least when there is a sign of an eye disorder. When the presence or absence of an eye disorder is determined on the terminal 20 side, the instruction S is transmitted to the instruction notification unit 15, and the instruction notification unit 15 notifies the patient P of an action based on the instruction S.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an ophthalmic system capable of preventing hospital-acquired infections such as ophthalmic infections. [Background technology]

[0002] Many hospitals and healthcare facilities now use temperature cameras and other devices to screen patients for signs of infectious diseases when they arrive at the hospital. These devices often use thermal imaging technology to capture a patient's temperature and detect abnormal temperature patterns that may indicate infection. The data captured by these devices is then analyzed using image data processing and analytics techniques.

[0003] For example, the response device described in Patent Document 1 can quickly guide people suspected of having a fever to a response area, thereby reducing the risk of infection. Specifically, the emergency control unit determines whether the body temperature of a user in the temperature measurement area is normal. If the emergency control unit determines that the user's body temperature is normal, it repeatedly performs the process of determining whether the body temperature of the user in the temperature measurement area is normal.

[0004] Meanwhile, the emergency control unit controls the character to indicate the direction to the testing area as a response to a user whose body temperature is determined to be abnormal. The emergency control unit references the action table and acquires the action, voice, and volume associated with the determination result of "body temperature is abnormal." The emergency control unit then controls the character to perform the acquired action, and displays the second guidance screen on the first display unit (see Patent Document 1 / paragraphs 0069 to 0071, Figures 1 and 4). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-7216 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The reception device in Patent Document 1 can guide patients with fever to a separate area and isolate them from healthy patients without fever. However, when determining whether or not an ophthalmic infection is present and isolating a patient at an ophthalmology clinic, automatic determination is not as simple as taking a temperature. Furthermore, if the symptoms are not communicated to a doctor or nurse, there is a risk that the receptionist or other staff member may come into contact with the patient.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an ophthalmologic system that can reliably prevent hospital infections such as ophthalmologic infections. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides an ophthalmology system having a face imaging device installed at the entrance of a hospital and a terminal device installed within the hospital, wherein the face imaging device comprises an imaging unit that captures a face image of a patient, a detection unit that detects signs of eye disease from the face image, a communication unit that transmits and receives information to the terminal device, and an instruction notification unit that notifies the patient of instruction information from the terminal device, wherein the communication unit transmits the face image to the terminal device when at least the signs of eye disease are detected, and when the presence or absence of the eye disease is determined on the terminal device side, the instruction information is transmitted to the instruction notification unit, and the instruction notification unit notifies the patient of an action based on the instruction information.

[0009] The ophthalmology system of the present disclosure includes a face image capturing device installed at the entrance of a hospital and a terminal device installed inside the hospital. The image capturing unit of the face image capturing device captures a face image of a patient who visits the hospital, and the detection unit detects signs of eye disease from the face image.

[0010] If the detection unit detects a symptom of eye disease, the communication unit transmits a facial image to a terminal device. At the terminal device, for example, a doctor determines whether or not an eye disease is present based on the received facial image. When the terminal device transmits instruction information based on the determination result to the face imaging device, the instruction notification unit notifies the patient of an action based on the instruction information. If the ophthalmologic system disclosed herein determines that a patient has an eye disease such as an ophthalmic infection, the patient is guided to a separate room to be isolated from other patients, thereby preventing hospital infections.

[0011] In the ophthalmologic system of the present disclosure, it is preferable that the face imaging device includes a face authentication unit capable of identifying the patient from the face image, and the communication unit transmits patient information to the terminal device when the face authentication unit identifies the patient.

[0012] The face imaging device may include a face authentication unit that can identify a patient from a face image. If the face authentication unit successfully identifies the patient, the communication unit transmits the face image and patient information to the terminal device. Based on the patient information, the terminal device can prepare the patient's past diagnostic results, image data, etc., which can be used by a doctor to determine whether or not the patient has an eye disease.

[0013] In addition, in the ophthalmological system disclosed herein, it is preferable that the system has a server device connected to the terminal device and storing ophthalmological diagnostic data of a large number of patients, and the terminal display unit displays the ophthalmological diagnostic data of the patients obtained from the server device based on the patient information.

[0014] The ophthalmology system may include a server device connected to a terminal device and storing ophthalmological diagnostic data of a large number of patients. When the face authentication unit successfully identifies a patient through face authentication, the terminal device queries the server device and requests patient diagnostic data of the patient information. At this time, the ophthalmological diagnostic data of the patient acquired from the server device is displayed on the terminal display unit. This allows a doctor to determine whether or not the patient has an eye disease while also referring to the patient diagnostic data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the ophthalmologic system of the present disclosure, hospital infections such as ophthalmologic infections can be reliably prevented. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall view of an ophthalmologic system (first embodiment) according to the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the interior of an ophthalmology hospital. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an ophthalmologic system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4A] 10 is a flowchart of a patient reception process by the face photographing device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4B] 4 is a flowchart of a terminal determination process by the terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is an overall view of an ophthalmologic system (second embodiment) according to the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an ophthalmologic system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart of a patient reception process by a face photographing device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the display contents of the terminal display unit (electronic medical record). [Figure 9A] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display on the terminal display unit (face authentication successful). [Figure 9B] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of displays on the terminal display unit (face authentication failed, face authentication not performed). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, an example of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment described here, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Furthermore, when multiple upper and lower limit values ​​are described for a specific parameter, any of these upper and lower limit values ​​can be combined to form a suitable numerical range.

[0018] [First embodiment] FIG. 1 is an overall view of an ophthalmologic system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] The ophthalmology system 1 is composed of a face imaging device 10 installed at the entrance of a hospital and a terminal device 20 installed in an examination room or the like within the hospital. The face imaging device 10 and the terminal device 20 are connected via a network.

[0020] The face imaging device 10 captures a face image Q of a patient P who visits the hospital. The face image Q is transmitted to the terminal device 20 via a network. Therefore, a person (mainly a doctor) who uses the terminal device 20 can check the face image Q. Note that the number of terminal devices 20 is not limited to one. The ophthalmologic system 1 may have a configuration in which multiple terminal devices 20 can each check one face image Q transmitted from the face imaging device 10.

[0021] The face imaging device 10 is, for example, a temperature measuring camera, and when it recognizes the patient P, it outputs a voice such as "Please bring your face closer and align it with the white frame." In response to this instruction, the face imaging device 10 captures a face image Q of the patient P. The face imaging device 10 can also perform a simple check for ophthalmic infections (epidemic conjunctivitis, adenovirus, etc.), and if any signs of an infection are detected, the face image Q is transmitted to the terminal device 20.

[0022] As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the facial image Q is output in a short time by the AI ​​(Artificial Intelligence) judgment of the terminal device 20, and instructions S for the patient P are returned to the face imaging device 10. Thereafter, the patient P acts in accordance with the instructions from the face imaging device 10, such as "Please proceed to the waiting room Rb on the right." If the AI ​​judgment of the terminal device 20 determines that the patient P has an infectious disease, the patient P is guided to a special waiting room such as waiting room Rb, thereby isolating the patient P from other patients. This makes it possible to prevent other patients from becoming infected.

[0023] Next, the interior of the ophthalmology hospital of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The layout of the ophthalmology hospital C shown in Fig. 2 is only an example, and in addition to waiting room Ra (normal waiting room), which is a regular waiting space, there are waiting rooms Rb and Rc (special waiting rooms) separated from waiting room Ra.

[0024] In the eye clinic C, a face imaging device 10 is installed near the entrance E. After entering the eye clinic C from the entrance E, a patient P acts according to the instructions of the face imaging device 10. If no signs of infection are found in the patient P's eyes, the patient P is guided to the reception desk Rd. That is, the patient P goes through the procedures at the reception desk Rd and then proceeds to the waiting room Ra, where he or she waits for a while.

[0025] On the other hand, if it is determined that the patient P has an eye infection, the patient P is guided to waiting room Rb or waiting room Rc in accordance with the instructions of the face imaging device 10. Since waiting room Rb and waiting room Rc are isolated from waiting room Ra, it is possible to prevent the infection from spreading to other patients.

[0026] 2, eye clinic C has examination rooms Rx and Ry, where doctors Dx and Dy conduct examinations, respectively. Terminal devices 20x and 20y are installed in examination rooms Rx and Ry, respectively. Terminal devices 20x and 20y are each connected to a face imaging device 10 via a network, and at least a face image Q is transmitted from face imaging device 10.

[0027] 3 is a diagram illustrating the components of the ophthalmologic system 1 of the present disclosure. The internal configurations of the face imaging device 10 and the terminal device 20 will be described in detail below.

[0028] The face imaging device 10 is a device installed at the entrance of the eye clinic C, and specifically, is a temperature camera, a camera-equipped PC, a tablet terminal, etc. owned by the eye clinic C. If the face imaging device 10 is a temperature camera, it may acquire body temperature data, but this is not required.

[0029] The face imaging device 10 includes an imaging unit 11, a detection unit 12, a storage unit 13, a communication unit 14, and an instruction notification unit 15. The imaging unit 11 is a camera that captures an image of the face of a patient P who visits the hospital and acquires a facial image Q. The detection unit 12 is a device that detects signs of eye disease from the facial image Q. In particular, because typical symptoms of ophthalmic infections are redness (flushing) of the eyeball and eye discharge, the detection unit 12 refers to sample data for each infection stored in the storage unit 13 and performs a simple infection test.

[0030] The communication unit 14 is a communication device that transmits and receives information to and from the terminal device 20. When a symptom of an infectious disease is detected in a facial image Q, the communication unit of this embodiment transmits the facial image Q to the terminal device 20. All facial images Q, including facial images Q in which no symptom of an infectious disease is detected, may be transmitted to the terminal device 20 with, for example, information on the image capture date and time added. By such processing, even if the face imaging device 10 does not have a face authentication function, it is possible to associate the patient P with the facial image Q to some extent.

[0031] The instruction notification unit 15 notifies the patient P of instruction information (instructions S) from the terminal device 20, and is, for example, a speaker (audio output means) or a display (display means). When the instruction notification unit 15 is a speaker, it outputs audio to the patient P based on the instructions S from the terminal device 20. When the instruction notification unit 15 is a display, it notifies the patient P of the instructions S from the terminal device 20 using text or graphics. A character may be displayed on the display, and the patient P may be guided by its movements.

[0032] The terminal devices 20 (20x, 20y) are PCs, notebook PCs, tablet terminals, etc. owned by the eye clinic C. The terminal devices 20 include a terminal control unit 21, a terminal display unit 22, and a terminal storage unit 23 therein.

[0033] The terminal control unit 21 (determination unit) is a device that can determine the presence or absence of an eye disease such as an infection. The terminal control unit 21 is also connected to a machine learning model 30, and performs AI determination (determination based on a similarity score) of the presence or absence of an eye disease through processing such as image comparison. Furthermore, the terminal control unit 21 transmits instructions S to the face imaging device 10, including information on the determination result and information on whether to guide the patient P to the reception desk Rd or a special waiting room.

[0034] The machine learning model 30 is a database that has undergone machine learning by inputting images of multiple types of eye diseases. The machine learning model 30 is prepared in advance by inputting a large number of images of ophthalmic infectious diseases such as epidemic conjunctivitis and performing supervised learning or deep learning.

[0035] The terminal display unit 22 is a display that displays the results of the examination or image diagnosis. The terminal display unit 22 can also display the facial image Q transmitted from the face imaging device 10. However, in this embodiment, the terminal control unit 21 automatically determines the presence or absence of an eye disease, so there is no need to display the facial image Q on the terminal display unit 22. The type of the terminal display unit 22 may be any type of display, such as a liquid crystal, plasma, or organic electroluminescence (EL), and may also be a touch panel type.

[0036] The terminal storage unit 23 is a storage medium such as a data-writable semiconductor memory, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, etc. Since the facial image Q is stored in the terminal storage unit 23, the doctor Dx (or doctor Dy) can check the facial image Q later.

[0037] Next, a flowchart of each process performed by the face imaging device 10 and the terminal device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

[0038] 4A is a flowchart of the patient reception process performed by the face imaging device 10. First, the imaging unit 11 captures an image of the face of the patient P to obtain a face image Q (step S01). Then, the process proceeds to step S02.

[0039] Next, it is determined whether or not there are any signs of an infectious disease (step S02). This is performed by the detection unit 12 by comparing the face image Q with the disease image stored in the storage unit 13. If there are any signs of an infectious disease, the process proceeds to step S03, and if there are no signs, the process proceeds to step S07.

[0040] If there is a symptom of an infectious disease ("YES" in step S02), the communication unit 14 transmits the face image Q to the terminal device 20 (step S03). After that, the process proceeds to step S04, but first, the terminal device 20 executes a terminal determination process.

[0041] Here, a flowchart of the terminal determination process by the terminal device 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 4B.

[0042] First, the terminal control unit 21 determines whether or not a face image Q has been received from the face imaging device 10 (step S11). If a face image Q has been received, the process proceeds to step S12, and if not, the process loops until a face image Q is received.

[0043] Next, the presence or absence of an infectious disease is determined (step S12). The terminal control unit 21 performs AI determination of an infectious disease for the facial image Q using the machine learning model 30. If it is determined that there is an infectious disease, the process proceeds to step S13, and if it is determined that there is no infectious disease, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0044] If it is determined that there is an infectious disease ("YES" in step S12), an instruction S of "quarantine required" is transmitted (step S13). The terminal control unit 21 creates an instruction S including a comment of "quarantine required" and transmits it to the face imaging device 10.

[0045] On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no infectious disease ("NO" in step S12), an instruction S of "no need to quarantine" is transmitted (step S14). The terminal control unit 21 creates an instruction S including the comment "no need to quarantine" and transmits it to the face imaging device 10. This completes the terminal determination process.

[0046] Returning to Fig. 4A, the face imaging device 10 determines whether or not it has received an instruction S from the terminal device 20 (step S04). If it has received an instruction S, it proceeds to step S05, and if it has not received an instruction S, it loops until it is received.

[0047] If the instruction S is received ("YES" in step S04), it is determined whether the instruction S is "isolation required" (step S05). If the instruction S is "isolation required", the process proceeds to step S06, and if the instruction S is not "isolation required" (if it is "isolation not required"), the process proceeds to step S07.

[0048] If the instruction S is "isolation required" ("YES" in step S05), a notification is made to guide the patient P to a special waiting room (step S06). Specifically, the instruction notification unit 15 guides the patient P to the special waiting room by text, voice, etc. If the instruction S includes information about an available special waiting room, for example, a message saying "Please proceed to waiting room Rb on the right" is displayed on the display. Thereafter, the patient reception process is terminated.

[0049] On the other hand, if the instruction S is not "isolation required" ("NO" in step S05), a notification is made to guide the patient P to the reception desk Rd (step S07). Specifically, the instruction notification unit 15 guides the patient P to the reception desk Rd by text, voice, etc. Note that this step is also executed if there are no signs of an infectious disease ("NO" in step S02). This completes the patient reception process.

[0050] In this way, the result of the determination by the terminal device 20 is notified to the patient P by the face imaging device 10, and the waiting room is separated depending on whether or not the patient has an infectious disease. Therefore, even if the patient P is found to have an infectious disease, it is possible to prevent infection within the ophthalmology clinic C.

[0051] [Second embodiment] 5 is an overall view of an ophthalmologic system 100 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions of overlapping components may be omitted.

[0052] The ophthalmology system 100 is composed of a face imaging device 40 installed at the entrance of an ophthalmology hospital, a terminal device 20 installed in an examination room or the like within the hospital, and a server device 50 that stores past examination results, etc. The face imaging device 40 and the terminal device 20, and the terminal device 20 and the server device 50 are each connected via a network.

[0053] The face imaging device 40 is a device similar to a thermometer camera and has a face authentication function. When the face imaging device 40 recognizes the patient P, it outputs a voice message such as, "Please bring your face close and align it with the white frame. We are authenticating your face." In response to this instruction, the face imaging device 40 captures a face image Q of the patient P, and then performs a simple check for ophthalmic infections (epidemic conjunctivitis, adenovirus, etc.) and face authentication.

[0054] If a symptom of an infectious disease is detected and facial authentication is successful, the facial image Q and patient information I are transmitted to the terminal device 20. Furthermore, when facial authentication is completed, the facial imaging device 40 outputs a voice message such as "Facial authentication is complete." On the other hand, if a symptom of an infectious disease is detected in a patient but facial authentication fails due to the patient's first visit to the hospital or other reasons, only the facial image Q is transmitted to the terminal device 20. Furthermore, even if facial authentication fails, it is preferable that the facial imaging device 40 outputs a voice message indicating completion.

[0055] The patient information I is, for example, the name of the patient P, the consultation number of the ophthalmology clinic, etc. The terminal device 20 can identify the patient P by receiving the patient information I. Since the terminal device 20 has software dedicated to the ophthalmology system 100 installed therein, the terminal device 20 queries the server device 50 and acquires ophthalmological diagnosis data T consisting of the patient P's past examination results, image data, etc.

[0056] For example, the facial image Q of the patient P and the ophthalmologic diagnostic data T (mainly an anterior eye image) are displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 20. Furthermore, the doctor D can check the records of the electronic medical record in addition to the test results etc. obtained at other medical institutions, so that he can judge the presence or absence of a disease in the examined eye by comprehensively taking into account all the information.

[0057] In this embodiment, doctor D mainly checks the facial image Q and the ophthalmologic diagnosis data T to determine whether or not an infectious disease is present. Doctor D then inputs the determination result into the terminal device 20 and transmits instructions S regarding the waiting room to the face imaging device 40. Thereafter, patient P acts in accordance with instructions from the face imaging device 40, such as "Please proceed to the waiting room Rc on the right." If doctor D determines that patient P has an infectious disease, patient P can be isolated from other patients by guiding him or her to a special waiting room such as waiting room Rc, thereby preventing the spread of infection.

[0058] The server device 50 stores the examination results and image data transmitted from ophthalmic devices (OCT device, fundus camera, slit lamp microscope, etc.) not shown. In addition, since the terminal device 20 is connected to the server device 50, the terminal device 20 can access the examination results, etc. (ophthalmic diagnosis data T) stored in the server device 50 at any time.

[0059] 6 is a diagram illustrating each component of the ophthalmologic system 100 of the present disclosure. Since the terminal device 20 has the same configuration as in the first embodiment, the internal configurations of the face imaging device 40 and the server device 50 will be described in detail below.

[0060] The face imaging device 40 is installed at the entrance of the eye clinic C and is a temperature camera, a camera-equipped PC, a tablet terminal, etc. owned by the eye clinic C. The face imaging device 40 includes an imaging unit 41, a detection unit 42, a memory unit 43, a communication unit 44, an instruction notification unit 45, and a face authentication unit 46.

[0061] The imaging unit 41, detection unit 42, storage unit 43, communication unit 44, and instruction notification unit 45 have the same configuration as those in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. The face authentication unit 46 has a function of identifying patient P from face image Q. For example, for those who regularly visit ophthalmology clinic C or those who can access electronic medical records on terminal device 20, full face images and iris data are recorded in storage unit 43. Therefore, face authentication by face authentication unit 46 is successful, and patient P can be identified.

[0062] If the facial authentication unit 46 is successful in authenticating the face of the patient P, the communication unit 44 transmits the facial image Q and the patient information I to the terminal device 20. On the other hand, if the patient P is visiting the eye clinic C for the first time, the memory unit 43 does not store an image of the entire face of the patient P. For this reason, the facial authentication unit 46 fails to authenticate the face of the patient P. In this case, the communication unit 44 transmits only the facial image Q to the terminal device 20.

[0063] When the terminal device 20 receives the face image Q of the patient P, the terminal display unit 22 displays the face image Q transmitted from the face imaging device 40. Furthermore, if the face authentication by the face authentication unit 56 is successful, the terminal control unit 21 transmits patient information I to the server device 50 and requests ophthalmologic diagnosis data T of the patient P. Then, the terminal display unit 22 displays the diagnosis results, image data, etc. of the patient P included in the ophthalmologic diagnosis data T together.

[0064] The terminal control unit 21 may be configured to perform AI-based determination of the presence or absence of an eye disease by image comparison or other processing, as in the first embodiment, based on the facial image Q and the ophthalmologic diagnosis data T. However, in this embodiment, it is preferable that the doctor D determines the presence or absence of an eye disease based on various images displayed on the terminal display unit 22, past diagnosis results, etc.

[0065] The server device 50 includes an internal server storage unit 51. The server device 50 stores the examination results of an ophthalmic device (not shown), image data, etc. (ophthalmic diagnostic data T) transmitted via a network. The server storage unit 51 is a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory, an optical disk, or a magnetic disk to which data can be written.

[0066] Furthermore, since the server device 50 is connected to the terminal device 20 via a network, the terminal device 20 can constantly access the ophthalmologic diagnostic data T stored in the server storage unit 51. There are no particular limitations on the type of server device 50, and it may be, for example, a cloud-type server. In this embodiment, a cloud-type server is assumed and the server device 50 is located outside (outside) the ophthalmology clinic C, but it may also be a conventional server installed inside (inside) the ophthalmology clinic C.

[0067] Since the ophthalmic diagnostic data T is updated as appropriate, it is preferable that the latest ophthalmic diagnostic data T be stored in the server storage unit 51 of the server device 50 and be always accessible from any of the terminal devices 20. However, the ophthalmic diagnostic data T may be downloaded by the examiner, for example, at the end of each month, stored in the terminal storage unit 23 of the terminal device 20, and used when necessary.

[0068] Next, a flowchart of each process performed by the face imaging device 40 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0069] First, the image capturing unit 41 captures an image of the face of the patient P to obtain a face image Q (step S21). Then, the process proceeds to step S22.

[0070] Next, it is determined whether or not there are any signs of an infectious disease (step S22). This is performed by the detection unit 42 by comparing the face image Q with the disease image stored in the storage unit 43. If there are any signs of an infectious disease, the process proceeds to step S23, and if there are no signs, the process proceeds to step S29.

[0071] If there are signs of an infectious disease ("YES" in step S22), it is determined whether or not patient P has been identified (step S23). Specifically, face authentication unit 46 identifies patient P from face image Q. If patient P has been identified, the process proceeds to step S24, and if patient P has not been identified, the process proceeds to step S25.

[0072] If the patient P can be identified ("YES" in step S23), the communication unit 44 transmits the facial image Q and the patient information I to the terminal device 20 (step S24). After that, the process proceeds to step S26, but first, a terminal determination process is executed in the terminal device 20. In this embodiment, the doctor D himself determines whether or not there is an infectious disease and operates the terminal device 20 to transmit the instruction S, so the flowchart of the terminal determination process is omitted.

[0073] On the other hand, if the patient P cannot be identified ("NO" in step S23), the communication unit 44 transmits the face image Q to the terminal device 20 (step S25). After that, the process proceeds to step S26, but first, a terminal determination process of the terminal device 20 is executed.

[0074] Next, the face imaging device 40 determines whether or not an instruction S has been received from the terminal device 20 (step S26). If an instruction S has been received, the process proceeds to step S27, and if not, the process loops until an instruction S is received.

[0075] If the instruction S is received ("YES" in step S26), it is determined whether the instruction S is "isolation required" (step S27). If the instruction S is "isolation required", the process proceeds to step S28, and if the instruction S is not "isolation required" (if it is "isolation not required"), the process proceeds to step S29.

[0076] If the instruction S is "isolation required" ("YES" in step S27), a notification is made to guide the patient to a special waiting room (step S28). After that, the patient reception process is terminated.

[0077] On the other hand, if the instruction S is not "isolation required" ("NO" in step S27), a notification is issued to guide the patient to reception desk Rd (step S29). This step is also executed if there are no signs of infectious disease ("NO" in step S22). Thereafter, the patient reception process is terminated.

[0078] In this way, the determination result of the terminal device 20 is notified to the patient P by the face imaging device 40, and the waiting room is separated depending on whether or not the patient has an infectious disease. Therefore, even if the patient P is found to have an infectious disease, it is possible to prevent infection within the ophthalmology clinic C.

[0079] Next, the display contents of the terminal display unit 22 of the terminal device 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0080] 8 is a screen of the electronic medical record of the ophthalmology system 100 displayed on the terminal display unit 22. Area 22a is an area for patient information, and displays information such as the patient's (subject's) name, age, sex, and address. Area 22b is an area for visit history, and displays information such as the medical institution where the examination was performed, the date and time, and the medicine prescribed at the time. Area 22c is room information, and displays the status of the waiting room.

[0081] Area 22d is a data panel (Data Panel 1) that displays the test results when a certain test date is specified. Area 22d displays information such as visual acuity, intraocular pressure, and any diseases detected during the test on that day. It may also be configured to display the patient's surgical history.

[0082] Area 22e is also a data panel (Data Panel 2) that displays test results, and displays test results other than those displayed in area 22d. Area 22e may display information such as visual acuity and intraocular pressure values ​​from a day different from that of area 22d for comparison, or may display other test results from the same day as area 22d.

[0083] The area 22f is an area where the contents of the electronic medical record (Medical Record Content) are displayed. The area 22f is a relatively large area, so that it is also possible to display the results of image data (Image View).

[0084] Area 22g is an area where the name of the eye disease is displayed. Area 22h is an area for a function button panel that switches between various displays. Note that, since there may be cases where multiple image data or progress graphs need to be compared side by side, it is also possible to display image data, etc., superimposed on areas 22a to 22h.

[0085] Next, the terminal display unit 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B.

[0086] 9A shows an example of the display of the electronic medical record on the terminal display unit 22 when face authentication of patient P is successful. Eye clinic C has three waiting rooms Ra, Rb, and Rc, and the display in area 22c allows doctor D to see the number of patients currently waiting (the number in parentheses).

[0087] In addition, various image data are displayed in the area 22f. The window Wa includes a face image Q of the patient P captured by the face imaging device 40. The window Wa also displays the name of the patient P and the date of visit.

[0088] The window Wb contains ophthalmologic diagnostic data T acquired from the server device 50. The ophthalmologic diagnostic data T is, for example, an anterior eye image of the patient P. The window Wb also displays the name of the hospital where the anterior eye image was taken and the date. A sample image of another person with an infectious disease may be displayed in the area 22f so that it can be compared with the facial image Q.

[0089] Using this configuration of the terminal display unit 22, doctor D determines whether or not the face image Q has an infectious disease. If doctor D determines that there is an infectious disease, doctor D operates the terminal device 20 to send an instruction S of "isolation required" to the face imaging device 40. In this example, since it is clear that there is currently no patient in the waiting room Rc, doctor D may click on the waiting room Rc portion of the area 22c, and the instruction S including information about the waiting room may be sent.

[0090] On the other hand, if doctor D determines that patient P does not have an infectious disease, doctor D operates terminal device 20 to send an instruction S of "no isolation required" to face imaging device 40. Doctor D may click on the waiting room Ra portion of area 22c, which is the normal waiting room, to send instruction S to proceed to reception desk Rd and then to waiting room Ra.

[0091] FIG. 9B shows an example of the display of the electronic medical record on the terminal display unit 22 when face authentication of the patient P has failed (or when the authentication function is not available).

[0092] A window Wc is displayed in an area 22f of the terminal display unit 22. In the upper part of the window Wc, a facial image Q (Compared Image) of the patient P captured by the facial imaging device 40 and a sample image U (Most Similar Image) of the same symptom acquired from the server device 50 are displayed side by side. This allows the doctor D to compare the facial image Q with the sample image U and determine whether or not the patient has an infectious disease.

[0093] The middle section of window Wc displays the AI's similar score. In this example, a high score is shown for the possibility of EKC (epidemic conjunctivitis). Doctor D will take this score into consideration when making his final decision.

[0094] The lower section of window Wc displays information about the availability of the waiting room (Vacant Room). In this example, it is clear that there are no patients in waiting room Rc, so Doctor D may click on this section to input "Waiting Room Rc" in the box at the bottom. Doctor D may confirm his / her own judgment (isolation required) and the information about the waiting room, and click the OK button to send an instruction S to that effect to face imaging device 40.

[0095] Note that the AI ​​judgment in the first embodiment does not require displaying various images on the terminal display unit 22, but is an internal judgment process of the similarity score as shown in Figure 9B, and is performed automatically up to the transmission of instruction S.

[0096] As described above, in the ophthalmologic system 100 of the second embodiment, doctor D basically determines whether or not there is an infectious disease. For this reason, it takes longer for instruction S to be transmitted to the face imaging device 40 than in the ophthalmologic system 1 of the first embodiment. However, the ophthalmologic system 100 has the advantage of being more accurate than the ophthalmologic system 1 in determining whether or not there is an infectious disease.

[0097] [Other embodiments] In the first and second embodiments, the face imaging device 10 (40) was installed near the entrance of the eye clinic C, but the patient P may also capture his or her own face image Q with a smartphone, tablet terminal, or the like. Then, by using a communication tool (mainly SNS) such as a smartphone, email, or an online reservation system or online medical interview system to send the face image Q to the terminal device 20 of the eye clinic C, the patient can receive the above-mentioned AI judgment or the judgment result (instructions S) by the doctor D.

[0098] Furthermore, if the patient P transmits the face image Q together with the name and the patient card number of the eye clinic C, the patient P can be identified on the terminal device 20 side. Therefore, as in the second embodiment, the doctor D can obtain the ophthalmologic diagnosis data T of the patient P from the server device 50 and examine the symptoms.

[0099] If the result of the judgment is that patient P does not have an infectious disease, instruction S will be "Please come to reception desk Rd." On the other hand, if patient P has an infectious disease, instruction S will be "When you arrive at the hospital, please proceed to waiting room Rb." or "When you arrive, please contact us by phone or email just before the entrance."

[0100] With this type of ophthalmology system, patient P can check instructions S from home, so they won't have to wait for long periods of time or be refused entry to the hospital. Furthermore, if patient P comes to the hospital with an infectious disease, they can be isolated from other patients, ensuring the prevention of hospital-acquired infections.

[0101] That is, another embodiment is an ophthalmology system having an information terminal device owned by a patient and a terminal device installed in a hospital, wherein the information terminal device is equipped with an imaging unit that captures an image of the patient's face, a communication unit that sends and receives information to the terminal device, and an instruction notification unit that notifies the patient of instruction information from the terminal device, wherein the communication unit transmits the facial image captured by the imaging unit to the terminal device, and when the presence or absence of the eye disease is determined on the terminal device side, the instruction information is transmitted to the instruction notification unit, and the instruction notification unit notifies the patient of an action based on the instruction information.

[0102] In another embodiment, the instruction notification unit of the information terminal device may be a speaker or a display unit. Also, the instruction information (instruction S) may include an instruction to guide the patient P to a special waiting room or an instruction for the date and time of visit.

[0103] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The above description has mainly focused on ophthalmic infections as an example. However, the technology of the present disclosure can be applied to any anterior eye disease that can be detected by capturing a facial image Q using a thermometer camera or the like.

[0104] Smaller hospitals often do not have a separate waiting room in addition to the regular waiting area. In this case, an empty examination room can be used as a special waiting room. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 1,100 ophthalmology systems 10,40 Facial imaging device 11,41 Imaging unit 12,42 Detector 13,43 Storage part 14,44 Communications Department 15,45 Instruction and notification section 20, 20x, 20y terminal equipment 21 Terminal control unit 22 Terminal display 23 Terminal memory section 30 Machine Learning Models 46 Face Recognition Unit 50 Server device 51 Server storage unit C Eye clinic D,Dx,Dy Doctor Entrance E I. Patient Information P patient Q Facial image T Ophthalmological diagnosis data S instructions U Sample Image Wa, Wb, Wc windows

Claims

1. An ophthalmology system having a face imaging device installed at a hospital entrance and a terminal device installed in the hospital, the face imaging device includes an imaging unit that captures a face image of a patient, a detection unit that detects signs of eye disease from the face image, a communication unit that transmits and receives information to and from the terminal device, and an instruction notification unit that notifies the patient of instruction information from the terminal device; the communication unit transmits the facial image to the terminal device when at least the sign of the eye disease is detected; When the presence or absence of the eye disease is determined on the terminal device side, the instruction information is transmitted to the instruction notification unit, and the instruction notification unit notifies the patient of an action to be taken based on the instruction information. Ophthalmology system.

2. the terminal device includes a determination unit for determining whether or not the eye disease is present, The determination unit makes the determination by referring to a machine learning model that has been machine-learned by inputting images of a plurality of types of eye diseases. The ophthalmic system of claim 1 .

3. The instruction information includes instructions to guide the patient to a special waiting room separated from a normal waiting room. The ophthalmology system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The instruction notification unit has a voice output means and issues instructions to the patient by voice. The ophthalmology system according to claim 1 or 2.

5. the instruction notification unit has a display means and gives instructions to the patient by at least one of characters, figures, and character movements. The ophthalmology system according to claim 1 or 2.

6. the face imaging device includes a face authentication unit capable of identifying the patient from the face image; the communication unit transmits patient information to the terminal device when the face authentication unit identifies the patient. The ophthalmic system of claim 1 .

7. the terminal device includes a terminal display unit and a terminal storage unit for storing ophthalmologic diagnostic data of a large number of patients; the terminal display unit acquires the ophthalmologic diagnosis data of the patient from the terminal storage unit based on the patient information and displays the data. The ophthalmic system of claim 6 .

8. a server device connected to the terminal device and storing ophthalmologic diagnostic data of a large number of patients; the terminal display unit displays the ophthalmologic diagnostic data of the patient acquired from the server device based on the patient information. The ophthalmic system of claim 7 .

9. The terminal display unit displays the number of patients waiting in each of the regular waiting room and the special waiting room separated from the regular waiting room. The ophthalmic system of claim 7 .

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