Nurse call system

Abstract

We provide a nurse call system that can assess the health status of patients. [Solution] The nurse call system 100 comprises a sound collection device 8 configured to collect sounds associated with patients in a hospital room, and a control unit 7 configured to control the sound collection device 8. The sound collection device 8 is installed at least where the patient is located in the hospital room and is configured to collect sounds at all times. The control unit 7 includes an analysis unit 74 capable of analyzing sounds and determines that the patient is in a predetermined state based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 74.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a nurse call system.

Background Art

[0002] In hospitals and the like, a nurse call sub-unit is installed as a device for calling medical staff from the patient himself / herself, such as when the patient's physical condition deteriorates. Further, Patent Document 1 discloses a nurse call system that emits an alarm sound when detecting that a patient has left the bed.

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 are patients who hesitate to call medical staff using the nurse call sub-unit and cannot convey their poor physical condition to the medical staff. Also, in a system that detects a patient's leaving the bed and makes a call to the patient from the medical staff, it is difficult to quickly detect the discomfort of a patient without leaving the bed. If medical staff can always patrol the wards, they can discover the discomfort of patients without leaving the bed during the patrol. However, it is difficult to always patrol all patients' wards during busy medical operations, and it may happen that the medical staff fails to notice the patient's poor physical condition until they patrol the ward. Therefore, improvement of the nurse call system has been desired.

[0005] An object of this disclosure is to provide a nurse call system capable of constantly and simply determining a patient's health condition.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the nurse call system of this disclosure is: A sound collection device configured to collect sounds associated with patients in a hospital room, A control unit configured to control the sound collection device, A nurse call system equipped with, The sound-collecting device is installed at least in the area where the patient is located within the hospital room and is configured to continuously collect sound. The control unit, Includes an analysis unit capable of analyzing the aforementioned sound, Based on the analysis results from the analysis unit, it is determined that the patient is in a predetermined state.

[0007] According to the nurse call system described above, the control unit determines whether a patient is in a predetermined state based on the analysis results of sounds continuously collected by a sound collection device installed in the patient's room. For example, if a patient who normally does not speak suddenly cries out in pain, the system can analyze the collected cries and determine that the patient's condition has worsened. This allows for a constant and easy assessment of the patient's health status. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide a nurse call system that can continuously and easily determine the health status of patients. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing a nurse call system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of a part of the nurse call system's configuration. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of a nurse call system according to an embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the nurse call system 100 according to this disclosure. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the nurse call system 100. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the nurse call system 100 includes a nurse call sub-unit 1, a corridor light 2, a nurse call master unit 3, a terminal device 4, a base station 5, a switching unit 6, a control unit 7, an imaging device 8, and a sound collection device 9.

[0011] The corridor lights 2, the nurse call master unit 3, and the exchange 6 are connected to the control unit 7 via LAN line L1. The nurse call slave units 1 are connected to the corridor lights 2 in each patient room via transmission line L2. The imaging device 8 is connected to the corridor lights 2 in the patient rooms via transmission line L3. The sound collection device 9 is connected to the corridor lights 2 in the patient rooms via transmission line L4. Base station 5 is connected to exchange 6 via a transmission line.

[0012] The nurse call sub-unit 1 is a device used by patients to call medical professionals such as nurses, and is installed at each bedside. The nurse call sub-unit 1 comprises a call button 1a for the patient to call a nurse, a plate sub-unit 1b, and a sub-unit communication interface (IF) 13. The call button 1a is the button that the patient presses when calling a nurse. The plate sub-unit 1b is installed on the wall near the bed and is equipped with a microphone 11 and a speaker 12 for communication with the nurse. The microphone 11 is configured to pick up the voice of the patient calling a nurse by operating the call button 1a and transmit the picked-up voice of the patient to the control unit 7. The speaker 12 is configured to output the voice of the nurse who has been called by operating the call button 1a.

[0013] The corridor light 2 is installed in front of the ward, configured to display the patient information of the ward and notify the occurrence of a call from the nurse call sub-unit 1 by the patient. The corridor light 2 has an indicator light 21 and a patient information display unit 22. The indicator light 21 notifies, by flashing light emission, that a call has been made by a patient in the ward operating the nurse call sub-unit 1. The patient information display unit 22 is a display area for displaying the name etc. of the patient in the ward.

[0014] The nurse call master unit 3 is a device for notifying and responding to a call from a patient in the nurse station. The nurse call master unit 3 includes a handset 31 as a communication unit for responding to a call using the nurse call sub-unit 1, a first display 32 for displaying a list of patient information and a floor plan of the ward, a second display 33 for displaying call source information etc., and a speaker 34 for outputting an alert and a call voice from the patient.

[0015] The terminal device 4 is a device carried by medical staff such as nurses, and is a device capable of responding to a call from the nurse call sub-unit 1 by the patient. The terminal device 4 is, for example, a tablet or a smartphone etc., and has a display for displaying call information from the patient and alert information from the control device 7 etc. The terminal device 4 is associated with the patients in charge of the medical staff carrying the terminal device 4. For this reason, the terminal device 4 is configured to be able to respond to a call from the nurse call sub-unit 1 by the patient associated with the terminal device 4.

[0016] The base station 5 is an access point etc. that communicates with the terminal device 4. The switch 6 is a device for managing communication via the base station 5.

[0017] The control device 7 is a device that controls calls from the nurse call sub-unit 1 and calls between the nurse call sub-unit 1 and the nurse call main unit 3 or the terminal device 4. The control device 7 includes a control device CPU 71, a storage unit 72, and a control device communication IF 73. The control device CPU 71 has an analysis unit 74. The analysis unit 74 is configured to be able to analyze the sound received from the sound collection device 9. The storage unit 72 is configured to store the sound collected by the sound collection device 9. The storage unit 72 is configured to store the analysis result (analysis information) analyzed by the analysis unit 74 together with the sound received from the sound collection device 9. Further, the storage unit 72 may be configured to store analysis criteria used for analysis. The analysis criteria may be stored in the storage unit 72 in advance, or may be received from outside the control device 7 and stored in the storage unit 72. The control device communication IF 73 LAN-connects the control device 7 with other devices of the nurse call system 100.

[0018] The imaging device 8 is installed for each patient at the location where the patient is in the hospital room. Specifically, the imaging device 8 is installed on the wall surface or ceiling of the hospital room. The imaging device 8 includes an imaging unit 81, a recording unit 82, a storage unit 83 that stores various information, an imaging device CPU 84 that controls each part of the imaging device 8, and an imaging device communication IF 85 for LAN-connecting with other nurse call devices. The imaging unit 81 can image the patient and the surrounding area of the patient in the hospital room where the imaging device 8 is installed. The recording unit 82 can record the voice of the patient in the hospital room where the imaging device 8 is installed. The imaging by the imaging unit 81 and / or the recording by the recording unit 82 can be operated under the control of the imaging device CPU 84 and / or the control device 7.

[0019] The sound collection device 9 is installed for each patient at the location where the patient is in the hospital room. Specifically, the sound collection device 9 is installed on the wall surface or ceiling of the hospital room. Note that the sound collection device 9 may be provided integrally with the imaging device 8. The sound collection device 9 comprises a microphone 91, a memory unit 92, a sound collection device CPU 93, and a sound collection device communication IF 94. The microphone 91 is configured to collect sounds around the sound collection device 9, such as sounds associated with patients in the hospital room. The memory unit 92 is configured to store the sounds collected by the microphone 91. The sound collection device CPU 93 controls the sound collection by the microphone 91 and stores the sounds collected by the microphone 91 as sound data in the memory unit 92. The sound collection device CPU 93 also transmits the sound data stored in the memory unit 92 to the controller 7. The sound collection device communication IF 94 is connected to the controller 7 via a transmission line L4 connected to the corridor light 2. The sound collection device 9 is configured to collect sound at all times. This allows the sound collection device 9 to collect sounds that occur in its vicinity. The sounds collected by the sound collection device 9 include sounds caused by the patient's actions, such as the patient's voices, breathing sounds during sleep, and collision sounds when the patient bumps into the bed or floor.

[0020] (Analysis of collected sounds) The analysis unit 74 performs analysis based on the sound collected by the sound collection device 9. For example, the analysis unit 74 analyzes the collected sound based on the volume, pitch, frequency range, and duration (length of time the sound was emitted). The analysis performed by the analysis unit 74 may be based on analysis criteria stored in the analysis unit 74 in advance, or on analysis criteria received from outside the controller 7.

[0021] The controller 7 determines whether the patient is in a predetermined state based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 74. The predetermined state of the patient mainly indicates the patient's health condition. Specifically, the controller 7 determines whether the patient is in an abnormal state based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 74. An abnormal state of the patient includes, for example, a worsening of the patient's condition, such as a deterioration of the patient's illness or an injury the patient sustains. When the control unit 7 determines that a patient is in an abnormal state, it generates patient status information that includes information about the patient who has been determined to be in an abnormal state and information indicating that the patient is in an abnormal state. The control unit 7 transmits a signal containing the generated patient status information to the nurse call master unit 3. The control unit 7 also transmits a signal containing the patient status information to the nurse's terminal device 4 associated with the patient included in the patient status information.

[0022] (Example of determining a predetermined state) The following describes an example of determining a patient's condition based on the analysis results of collected sounds.

[0023] For example, the control unit 7 determines that the patient is in an abnormal state if the volume of sound collected by the sound collection device 9 exceeds a predetermined value, based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 74. In this case, it is possible that the patient has fallen or fallen out of bed, producing a collision sound or groaning sound exceeding the predetermined value. Alternatively, if the volume of the collected sound exceeds the predetermined value, it is possible that an abnormal situation has occurred, such as the patient being angry and shouting. In this case, the predetermined value is, for example, 60 decibels, which is said to be the volume of normal conversation, or 50-60 decibels, which is said to be the volume of typical snoring.

[0024] Alternatively, the control unit 7 may determine that a particular patient is in an abnormal state if the volume of the sound collected from that patient is below a predetermined value. For example, if respiratory sounds that should be collected from a particular patient are not collected, it is possible that the patient is experiencing an abnormality such as apnea or hypopnea. The predetermined value for determining apnea (for example, when respiratory sounds are not collected for 10 seconds to several tens of seconds continuously during sleep) is, for example, 30 decibels. 30 decibels is, for example, the quietest sound produced when writing with a pencil.

[0025] Furthermore, the control unit 7 may determine that an abnormal condition exists if the sound pattern of the collected sound differs from the normal pattern. Specifically, if the collected sound includes abnormal sound patterns such as abnormal snoring, wheezing, or hoarseness, the control unit 7 may determine that some kind of abnormality is occurring in the patient. More specifically, if abnormal snoring sounds such as "gwah" or "gagah" are collected, the control unit 7 may determine that an abnormal condition of apnea occurred for 10 to several tens of seconds immediately preceding the snoring sound. If abnormal snoring sounds such as "gugooo" are collected, the control unit 7 may determine that an abnormal condition of sputum accumulation is occurring. If wheezing sounds such as "zeeezee" or "hyuuhyuu" are collected as respiratory sounds, the control unit 7 may determine that an abnormal condition of exhalation or inhalation is occurring through a narrowed airway. If hoarseness is collected, the control unit 7 may determine that an abnormal condition of cerebral infarction is occurring.

[0026] Furthermore, the control unit 7 may determine that an abnormal condition exists if the collected sound contains a specific word or phrase. Examples of specific words / phrases include when a patient utters words indicating poor health, such as "it hurts," or when a patient utters abusive language towards a nurse, or when a nurse utters abusive language towards a patient, such as "grovel."

[0027] (Example of operation) Next, an example of the operation of the nurse call system 100 of this disclosure will be described with reference to Figure 3. Figure 3 is a flowchart of this example of operation. This example describes a case where patient A falls from the bed to the floor, and a collision sound is produced when the floor and the patient hit each other at the time of the fall, and patient A says "It hurts".

[0028] The sound collection device 9 continuously collects sound (step S01). The sound collection device 9 stores the collected sound as sound data in the storage unit 92. The sound collection device CPU 93 of the sound collection device 9 transmits the sound data stored in the storage unit 92 to the controller 7 (step S02). The sound collection device CPU 93 may store sound data for a certain period of time in the storage unit 92 and transmit this sound data for a certain period of time to the controller 7, or it may transmit the collected sound to the controller 7 in real time.

[0029] When the control unit 7 receives sound data transmitted from the sound collection device 9, the analysis unit 74 analyzes the sound data (step S03). For example, the analysis unit 74 analyzes the collision sound and the voice "it hurts" contained in the sound data and generates analysis information. Specifically, the analysis unit 74 generates analysis information that "Patient A fell" based on the analysis criteria stored in the memory unit 72.

[0030] The generation of analysis information is performed, for example, as follows: If the sound data includes a collision sound and the sound "ouch," the analysis unit 74 generates analysis information indicating that "a person fell." At this time, the analysis unit 74 may associate the characteristics of the collision sound (frequency, loudness and duration, etc.) and the characteristics of the sound "ouch" (frequency, loudness and duration, timbre, etc.) with the condition "a person fell" and store them in the memory unit 72.

[0031] Returning to the flow in Figure 3, the controller 7 determines whether the analysis information generated by the analysis unit 74 matches the abnormal condition of patient A (step S04). If the controller 7 determines that the analysis information does not match the abnormal condition (NO in step S04), it returns to step S01 and waits until new sound data is received.

[0032] In response, if the control unit 7 determines that the analysis information matches an abnormal state (YES in step S04), it determines that patient A is in an abnormal state (step S05), generates a signal containing information about patient A who has been determined to be in an abnormal state and patient status information indicating that patient A is in an abnormal state, and transmits it to the nurse call master unit 3 and the terminal device 4 of the nurse in charge of patient A. This signal may include information that patient A may have fallen as patient status information.

[0033] Upon receiving a signal from the control unit 7, the terminal device 4 and the nurse call master unit 3 output an alert (step S06). This alert may be expressed by displaying alert information on the display of the terminal device 4 or the second display 33 of the nurse call master unit 3, and / or by outputting an alert sound from the speaker of the terminal device 4 or the speaker 34 of the nurse call master unit 3. The alert information may include information that patient A may have fallen.

[0034] Next, the controller 7 determines whether or not an imaging device 8 is installed for the patient for whom analysis information has been generated (step S07). If an imaging device 8 is not installed for the patient (NO in step S07), the controller 7 returns to step S01 and waits until new sound data is received. On the other hand, if the imaging device 8 is installed for the target patient (YES in step S07), the control unit 7 instructs the imaging device 8 to start imaging (step S08). Subsequently, the control unit 7 transmits the image captured by the imaging device 8 to the assigned nurse's terminal device 4 and the nurse call master unit 3 (step S09). This makes the image of the patient (including the area around the patient) that has been determined to be in an abnormal state visible to the nurse call master unit 3 and terminal device 4. After this, the processing in this example returns to step S01, and the control unit 7 waits until it receives new sound data.

[0035] As described above, the nurse call system 100 comprises a sound collection device 9 configured to collect the voice of a patient in a hospital room, and a controller 7 configured to control the sound collection device 9. The sound collection device 9 is installed at least where the patient is located in the hospital room and is configured to collect sound at all times. The controller 7 includes an analysis unit 74 capable of analyzing sound, including voice, and determines that the patient is in a predetermined state based on the analysis results of the analysis unit 74. According to the nurse call system 100 with the above configuration, the control unit 7 determines that the patient is in a predetermined state based on the analysis results of sounds continuously collected by a sound collection device 9 installed in the patient's location within the hospital room. With such a nurse call system 100, for example, it is possible to collect and analyze loud cries of pain from a patient who normally does not speak, and determine that the patient is in an abnormal state (an example of a predetermined state). This makes it possible to determine the patient's health status at all times and in an easy manner.

[0036] Furthermore, in the nurse call system 100 of this disclosure, the predetermined state may include either the case where the volume of the collected sound is above or below a predetermined value, or the case where the type of collected sound indicates an abnormal state. According to the nurse call system 100 with the above configuration, it is possible to determine if the collected sound indicates an abnormal condition, and the specific health status of the patient can be constantly monitored.

[0037] Furthermore, the nurse call system 100 of this disclosure may further include a nurse call sub-unit 1 for patients to call medical personnel, and a nurse call master unit 3 for responding to calls from the nurse call sub-unit 1, wherein the controller 7 may be configured to transmit patient status information, including information about patients determined to be in a predetermined state and information indicating that the patient is in a predetermined state, to the nurse call master unit 3. According to the nurse call system 100 with the above configuration, the patient's predetermined status is transmitted to the nurse call master unit 3. This allows healthcare workers to know that the patient is in the predetermined status via the nurse call master unit 3, enabling them to take appropriate action for the patient. Therefore, while reducing the effort required for nurses and other healthcare workers to constantly patrol patient rooms, the health status of patients can be constantly monitored, thereby improving the quality of medical services.

[0038] Furthermore, the nurse call system 100 of this disclosure may further include a terminal device 4 carried by a healthcare professional, and the control unit 7 may be configured to transmit patient status information to the terminal device 4. According to the nurse call system 100 with the above configuration, the patient's predetermined condition is transmitted to a terminal device 4 carried by the medical professional. This allows the medical professional to know that the patient is in the predetermined condition via the terminal device 4 they carry, and to take appropriate action, such as quickly going to the patient's location. Therefore, while reducing the effort required for nurses and other medical professionals to constantly patrol patient rooms, the medical professional can keep track of the patient's health condition at all times, thereby improving the quality of medical services.

[0039] Furthermore, in the nurse call system 100 of this disclosure, the sound may include the patient's breathing sounds. According to the nurse call system 100 with the above configuration, it is possible to constantly determine whether or not the patient is in an abnormal condition based on the collected respiratory sounds.

[0040] Furthermore, in the nurse call system 100 of this disclosure, the sound may include a specific word or phrase, the analysis unit 74 may identify the speaker who uttered the specific word or phrase, and the controller 7 may generate speaker information associating the speaker identified by the analysis unit 74 with the specific word or phrase. For example, if a patient utters abusive language such as "Bow down and apologize" to a nurse, the analysis unit 74 can identify the speaker who uttered the abusive language from the sound data of the abusive language and generate speaker information associating the speaker with the abusive language. According to the nurse call system 100 configured as described above, appropriate medical procedures can be taken based on the fact that a specific word or phrase is uttered by a specific speaker. Specifically, the patient's specific condition can be determined by analyzing a specific word or phrase uttered by the patient. Furthermore, by analyzing a specific word or phrase uttered by a medical professional or patient, other medical professionals can learn that abusive language was uttered by a specific medical professional towards a patient in a hospital room, or that abusive language was uttered by a patient towards a specific medical professional, enabling them to take appropriate medical action, such as responding appropriately to the patient or cautioning the medical professional who uttered the abusive language.

[0041] Furthermore, the nurse call system 100 of this disclosure may further include an imaging device 8 that images at least the location of the patient, and the control unit 7 may start imaging by the imaging device 8 when it determines that the patient is in a predetermined state. According to the nurse call system 100 with the above configuration, when it is determined that a patient is in a predetermined state, the imaging device 8 takes an image of the patient near the location where the sound was collected. This allows for the determination of the patient's predetermined state based on the analysis of the patient's voice, as well as obtaining the patient's condition as a video, enabling healthcare professionals to confirm the patient's condition more concretely.

[0042] (Machine Learning) Machine learning may be used in the analysis performed by the analysis unit 74 described above. Specifically, as shown in step S10 indicated by the dashed line in Figure 3, when sound data is received from the sound collection device 9 in step S02, the controller 7 may use machine learning to analyze the sound data. The machine learning may be supervised learning, unsupervised learning, or reinforcement learning, using the sound collected by the sound collection device 9 and the disease / patient condition corresponding to that sound as training data.

[0043] Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be freely modified, improved, etc. as appropriate. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, numerical values, form, number, placement, etc. of each component in the embodiments described above are arbitrary and not limited as long as they can achieve the disclosure.

[0044] In the embodiments described above, an example was given in which the sound collection device 9 is installed on the wall or ceiling of the patient's room. However, the installation location of the sound collection device 9 in this disclosure is not limited to the above example. For example, the sound collection device 9 may be provided integrally with the nurse call sub-unit 1, or it may be provided as the recording unit 82 of the imaging device 8. Alternatively, the sound collection device 9 may be installed in a location where it can reliably collect sound, for example, on the bed near the patient's head.

[0045] Furthermore, while this disclosure describes a configuration in which the control unit 7 performs the analysis of sound data, the analysis described in this disclosure is not limited to the example described above. For example, the sound collection CPU 93 of the sound collection device 9, the imaging device CPU 84 of the imaging device 8, or the nurse call master unit 3 may be configured to perform the analysis of sound data. Alternatively, the nurse call system 100 may include a cloud server that can be connected via a public communication line, and the sound data analysis may be performed by this cloud server.

[0046] Furthermore, although this disclosure uses wheezing as an example of a respiratory sound, the respiratory sounds described in this disclosure are not limited to the above example. If abnormalities appearing in respiratory sounds during various diseases are included in the collected sound, it may be determined that an abnormality in that disease is occurring. Information on abnormalities appearing in respiratory sounds during various diseases may be stored in advance in the analysis unit 74 along with information other than respiratory sounds of the disease in question, or it may be received from outside the controller 7 and used for analysis by the analysis unit 74.

[0047] Furthermore, while this disclosure describes a configuration for determining whether a patient is in an abnormal state based on a predetermined patient condition, it is not limited to the above example. For example, the system may collect sounds associated with the patient's actions and breathing sounds to determine if the patient is in remission (normal state), and send a signal containing information that the patient is in a normal state to the nurse call master unit 3 and the terminal device 4 of the healthcare worker associated with the patient to reduce the frequency of patrols in the patient's room. Alternatively, the system may detect when sounds associated with the patient's actions or breathing sounds are not collected for a certain period of time or longer to determine if the patient is absent from the patient's room, and send an alert containing absence information to the nurse call master unit 3 and the terminal device 4 of the healthcare worker associated with the patient.

[0048] Furthermore, although this disclosure describes the predetermined value of the volume of sound collected by the sound collection device 9 in decibels, the example of the predetermined value is not limited to decibels. The predetermined value can be any criterion related to sound that allows for the determination of whether or not the patient is in an abnormal state, and may be a predetermined value in terms of sound frequency or voiceprint, for example. For example, in human voice, the frequency range of 2000 Hz to 3000 Hz is significantly weakened when the use of abdominal muscles decreases due to poor physical condition, so the predetermined value may be a frequency below 2000 Hz or a frequency above 3000 Hz.

[0049] As described above, this disclosure includes the following aspects: (1) A sound collection device configured to collect sounds associated with a patient in a hospital room, A control unit configured to control the sound collection device, A nurse call system equipped with, The sound-collecting device is installed at least in the area where the patient is located within the hospital room and is configured to continuously collect sound. The control unit, Includes an analysis unit capable of analyzing the aforementioned sound, A nurse call system that determines whether the patient is in a predetermined state based on the analysis results of the analysis unit.

[0050] (2) The nurse call system described in item (1), wherein the predetermined state includes either the case in which the volume of the collected sound is above or below a predetermined value, or the case in which the type of collected sound indicates an abnormal state.

[0051] (3) A nurse call handset for the patient to call a medical professional, The system further comprises a nurse call master unit for responding to calls from the nurse call sub-unit, The nurse call system according to item (1) or (2), wherein the control unit transmits patient status information, including information about the patient determined to be in the predetermined state and information indicating that the patient is in the predetermined state, to the nurse call master unit.

[0052] (4) Further equipped with terminal devices to be carried by medical personnel, The nurse call system according to any one of items (1) to (3), wherein the control unit transmits patient status information, including information about the patient determined to be in the predetermined state and information that the patient is in the predetermined state, to the terminal device.

[0053] (5) The nurse call system described in any of items (1) to (4), wherein the sound includes the patient's breathing sounds.

[0054] (6) The sound includes a specific word or phrase, The analysis unit identifies the speaker who uttered the specific word or phrase, The nurse call system according to any one of items (1) to (4), wherein the control unit generates speaker information in which the speaker identified by the analysis unit is associated with the specific word or the specific phrase.

[0055] (7) Further comprising an imaging device that captures at least the location of the patient, The nurse call system according to any one of items (1) to (6), wherein the control unit determines that the patient is in a predetermined state and starts imaging with the imaging device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1. Nurse call handset 2. Corridor light 3. Nurse call master unit 4 Terminal devices 5 base station 6 exchange machine 7. Control Unit 8. Imaging device 9 Sound collection device 31 Handsets 32. First Display 33. Second display 34 speakers 72 Memory section 74 Analysis Department 91 Mike 92 Memory section 93 Sound collection device CPU 100 Nurse Call System

Claims

1. A sound collection device configured to collect sounds associated with patients in a hospital room, A control unit configured to control the sound collection device, A nurse call system equipped with, The sound-collecting device is installed at least in the area where the patient is located within the hospital room and is configured to continuously collect sound. The control unit, Includes an analysis unit capable of analyzing the aforementioned sound, A nurse call system that determines whether the patient is in a predetermined state based on the analysis results of the analysis unit.

2. The nurse call system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined state includes either the case in which the volume of the collected sound is above or below a predetermined value, or the case in which the type of collected sound indicates an abnormal state.

3. The aforementioned patient has a nurse call handset to summon a medical professional, The system further comprises a nurse call master unit for responding to calls from the nurse call sub-unit, The nurse call system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit transmits patient status information, including information about a patient determined to be in a predetermined state and information indicating that the patient is in a predetermined state, to the nurse call master unit.

4. Further equipped with terminal devices carried by healthcare workers, The nurse call system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit transmits patient status information, including information about a patient determined to be in a predetermined state and information indicating that the patient is in a predetermined state, to the terminal device.

5. The nurse call system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the sound includes the patient's breathing sounds.

6. The aforementioned sound includes a specific word or phrase, The analysis unit identifies the speaker who uttered the specific word or phrase, The nurse call system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit generates speaker information in which the speaker identified by the analysis unit is associated with the specific word or the specific phrase.

7. The imaging device further comprises at least an imaging device that images the location of the patient, The nurse call system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit determines that the patient is in a predetermined state and starts imaging with the imaging device.

Images