Monitoring system

Abstract

This system provides a monitoring system that reduces implementation costs by minimizing changes from existing nurse call systems and the introduction of new equipment. [Solution] The monitoring system 1 of this disclosure comprises a nurse call system 3 and a first portable information terminal 2. The nurse call system 3 includes a camera 4, a nurse call sub-unit 5, a storage unit 38 for storing multiple patient information J, a second portable information terminal 10, a nurse call master unit 6, and a control unit 7 for controlling the nurse call system 3. The first portable information terminal 2 includes an acquisition unit 25 for acquiring video E from the camera 4 via the control unit 7, and a monitor 23 for displaying the video E.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a monitoring system formed by linking a nurse call system and a mobile information terminal.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technology of a nurse call system in which a camera is provided in a hospital room and the state of a patient in the hospital room can be confirmed remotely. For example, in Patent Document 1, a technology of a nurse call in which a camera is provided near a bed and an image of the camera is displayed on a nurse call master unit has been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, there is a demand to display an image of a camera on a mobile information terminal such as a smartphone and check the state of a patient at a desired timing. However, in order to introduce a mobile information terminal capable of reproducing a patient's image into a nurse call system, changes to an existing system and installation of new equipment are required, resulting in a problem of high cost.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a monitoring system that can suppress changes from an existing nurse call system and installation of new equipment and reduce the introduction cost.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, the monitoring system of this disclosure comprises a nurse call system and a first portable information terminal, wherein the nurse call system includes a camera, a nurse call sub-unit, storage means for storing multiple patient information, a second portable information terminal, a nurse call master unit, and control means for controlling the nurse call system, and the first portable information terminal includes acquisition means for acquiring camera images via the control means and display means for displaying the images. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the monitoring system disclosed herein, camera footage is displayed on a mobile information terminal using the existing nurse call system, thus reducing the costs of system changes and the introduction of new equipment. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a system diagram of a monitoring system showing one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram of the monitoring system. [Figure 3] (a) A schematic diagram showing the relative positions of the camera and the bed, and (b) a diagram showing the camera's image. [Figure 4] (a) A schematic diagram showing the selection screen and (b) the video screen. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the operation of the monitoring system. [Figure 6] This is a system diagram of a modified version of the monitoring system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The following describes embodiments of this disclosure implemented in a monitoring system, based on the drawings.

[0010] As shown in Figure 1, the monitoring system 1 is comprised of a nurse call system 3 and a first mobile information terminal 2, such as a smartphone, carried by medical personnel.

[0011] The nurse call system 3 comprises a camera 4, a nurse call sub-unit 5, a nurse call server 8, a second portable information terminal 10 such as a PHS carried by medical personnel, a nurse call master unit 6, a control unit 7 that controls the nurse call system 3, and corridor lights 11 installed in each patient room. Here, the second portable information terminal 10 has been incorporated into the nurse call system 3 for the purpose of voice wireless communication and is unsuitable for image or video communication. The control unit 7 and the camera 4 are connected via the corridor lights 11. The control unit 7 and the corridor lights 11 are connected via an internal network. The control unit 7, the first portable information terminal 2, and the nurse call server 8 are connected via the Internet N.

[0012] As shown in Figure 2, the nurse call server 8 comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 87, a storage unit 88 for storing multiple patient information J, and a communication interface 89.

[0013] Patient information J includes personal information such as the patient's name, the patient's medical record, room number, identification information for the nurse call sub-unit 5, and identification information for the corridor light 11. In other words, patient information J links the patient with the room, nurse call sub-unit 5, corridor light 1, etc. Furthermore, the storage unit 88 stores the identification information of the camera 4 and the identification information of the nurse call sub-unit 5 in association. Therefore, the video E from camera 4 can be acquired based on patient information J.

[0014] The control unit 7 includes a CPU 77, a memory unit 78, a call control unit 71 that controls calls to the nurse call master unit 6 by the nurse call sub-unit 5, a call control unit 72 that controls communication between the nurse call sub-unit 5 and the nurse call master unit 6, an event detection unit 73 that detects events V that occur to the patient, and a communication interface 79. Event V includes the patient's health status and the patient's actions.

[0015] The call control unit 71 is a program stored in the memory unit 78 and executed by the CPU 77 to function as the call control unit 71. Similarly, the call control unit 72 and the event detection unit 73 are programs stored in the memory unit 78 and executed by the CPU 77 to function as the call control unit 72 and the event detection unit 73, respectively. The call control unit 71 holds the call state S1, the call control unit 72 holds the call state S2, and the event detection unit 73 holds the event V.

[0016] The event detection unit 73 detects the patient's health status and behavior based on the video E from camera 4. Events V include, for example, "waking up, sleeping, getting out of bed, returning to bed, falling, needing confirmation." The event detection unit 73 can be configured to detect abnormalities using known video analysis methods or through AI collaboration. Conventional video analysis methods that can be selected include, for example, SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform) and SURF (Speeded-Up Robust Features).

[0017] The first personal information terminal 2 includes a CPU 27, a memory unit 28, an acquisition unit 25 that acquires video E from the camera 4 via the control unit 7, a monitor 23 as a display means for displaying a video screen G2 including video E, a selection unit 26 (selection screen G1) that allows the user to select one patient information J from multiple patient information J displayed on the monitor 23, a call unit 24 such as a microphone and speaker, a camera 22, and an interface 29 for communicating with the outside. The monitor 23 can be a touch panel monitor. The first personal information terminal 2 can also be configured to access the control unit 7 via an existing authentication service on the Internet N to enhance security. Furthermore, the first personal information terminal 2 can also be configured to log in to the control unit 7 using an ID and password to enhance security.

[0018] The acquisition unit 25 acquires, from the control unit 7, a plurality of pieces of patient information J, and a call state S1, a call status S2, and an event V associated with the patient information J. The acquisition unit 25 is a program that is stored in the storage unit 28 and functions as the acquisition unit 25 when executed by the CPU 27.

[0019] Also, the acquisition unit 25 acquires the video E via the control unit 7 based on the patient information J selected by the selection unit 26. The acquisition unit 25 acquires the video E of the camera 4 based on the identification information of the camera 4 associated with the identification information of the nurse call sub-device 5 included in the patient information J.

[0020] The storage units 28, 78, and 88 are composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM is a non-volatile memory or the like and stores various programs, files, and parameters used in the programs. The RAM temporarily stores data used when executing various programs.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3(a), the camera 4 is arranged near the patient's bed. The camera 4 is assigned to at least one patient. As shown in FIG. 3(b), when the video E' includes a plurality of patients, it is also possible to divide the video E' for each patient and generate the video E. The division process of the video E can be performed in the camera 4, the control unit 7, the first mobile information terminal 2, or the like.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 4(a), the monitor 23 displays a selection screen G1. The selection screen G1 includes a plurality of pieces of patient information J. The selection screen G1 displays the call state S1, the call status S2, and the event V together with the patient information J. A medical staff member can select one piece of patient information J from the plurality of pieces of patient information J by tapping the video playback button B on the selection screen G1. The selection screen G1 can also be configured to be sortable in descending or ascending order by ward, patient, event V, call state S1, or call status S2.

[0023] For example, when a medical professional taps the video playback button B for "Patient A in Room 101," the monitor 23 displays a video screen G2 containing video E of patient A, as shown in Figure 4(b). In this way, the medical professional can check the patient's call status S1 and play video E of the patient currently on the call. The medical professional can also check the patient's call status S2 and play video E of the patient currently on the call. Furthermore, the medical professional can check the patient's event V and play video E of the patient in which event V occurred.

[0024] Next, the operation of the monitoring system 1 with the above configuration will be explained with reference to Figure 5.

[0025] First, the first mobile information terminal 2 transmits authentication information to the authentication service (S1). If authentication fails, the process terminates. If authentication is successful (S1: Yes), the acquisition unit 25 of the first mobile information terminal 2 acquires patient information J from the control unit 7 (S2). At this time, the control unit 7 reads multiple patient information J from the nurse call server 8 and transmits them to the first mobile information terminal 2. In addition, along with the multiple patient information J, the control unit 7 transmits to the first mobile information terminal 2 the call status S1 of the nurse call sub-unit 5 associated with each patient information, the call status S2 of the nurse call sub-unit 5, and the event V.

[0026] Upon receiving patient information J, etc., the first mobile information terminal 2 displays a selection screen G1 containing the patient information J, etc., on the monitor 23 (S4). When a medical professional taps the video playback button B and selects a patient information J (S5), the acquisition unit 25 acquires video E based on the selected patient information J (S6). At this time, the control unit 7 acquires video E from the camera 4 and transmits it to the first mobile information terminal 2. Upon receiving video E, the first mobile information terminal 2 displays a video screen G2 containing video E on the monitor 23 (S7).

[0027] With the monitoring system 1 configured as described above, the conventional nurse call system 3 and the first portable information terminal 2 are linked, and the video E from the camera 4 is displayed on the monitor 23 of the first portable information terminal 2. Therefore, there is no need to make major changes to the nurse call system 3 or to introduce new equipment, which helps to reduce costs.

[0028] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and it is possible to implement the invention by arbitrarily changing the configuration of each part without departing from the spirit of the invention. In the following modifications, components similar to those in the above embodiments will be denoted by the same reference numerals. For example, the monitoring system 1a can be configured by linking the intercom system 3a of an apartment building for the elderly with the first portable information terminal 2 carried by the care staff.

[0029] As shown in Figure 6, the modified monitoring system 1a is a combination of the intercom system 3a of an apartment building for the elderly and a first portable information terminal 2 carried by the care staff.

[0030] The intercom system 3a comprises multiple entrance units 13, multiple room master units 14, a main entrance unit 16, an auto-lock system 19, a management room master unit 6a, a control unit 7 that controls the entire intercom system 3a, a call button (call device 15) for residents to call the management room master unit 6a, and a base station 9 for a second mobile information terminal 10 such as a PHS carried by care staff. Each dwelling unit R is equipped with a camera 4. The control unit 7 and the first mobile information terminal 2 are connected via the internet N. The camera 4 and the control unit 7 are connected via an intercom line L through a dwelling unit adapter 10.

[0031] With the monitoring system 1a configured as described above, the conventional intercom system 3a and the first mobile information terminal 2 are linked, and the video E from the camera 4 is displayed on the monitor 23 of the first mobile information terminal 2. Therefore, there is no need to introduce new equipment, and costs can be kept down. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0032] 1. Monitoring System 2. First mobile information terminal 3. Nurse call system 4 cameras 5. Nurse call handset 6. Nurse call master unit 7. Control Unit 8. Nurse call server 9 base station 10. Second mobile information terminal 11. Corridor light 13. Door station 14. Room master unit 15 Paging device 16. Entrance panel for the main building 17. Apartment Adapter 19. Automatic locking system 22 cameras 23 monitors 24 Telephone section 25 Acquisition Department 26 Selection Section 27, 77, 87 CPU 28, 78, 88 storage section 29, 79, 89 Interfaces 71 Call Control Unit 72 Call Control Unit 73 Event Detection Unit J Patient information S1 Calling state S2 Call status V Event G1 Selection Screen G2 video screen B Video Playback Button E Video L Intercom Line

Claims

1. Equipped with a nurse call system and a first portable information terminal, The nurse call system includes a camera, a nurse call sub-unit, storage means for storing multiple patient information, a second portable information terminal, a nurse call master unit, and control means for controlling the nurse call system. A monitoring system comprising: a first portable information terminal, an acquisition means for acquiring images from the camera via the control means, and a display means for displaying the images.

2. The acquisition means acquires a plurality of patient information from the control means, The display means displays multiple patient information, The first portable information terminal includes a selection means that causes the user to select one of the patient information from a plurality of patient information displayed on the display means, The monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition means acquires the video based on the patient information selected by the selection means.

3. The acquisition means acquires the call status of the nurse call sub-unit from the control means, The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the display means displays the call status along with a plurality of patient information.

4. The acquisition means acquires the call status of the nurse call sub-unit from the control means, The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the display means displays the call status along with a plurality of patient information.

5. The acquisition means acquires events that occurred to the patient from the control means, The monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the display means displays the event along with a plurality of patient information.

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