Nurse call system
The integration of camera and millimeter-wave radar systems in a nurse call system enhances patient state detection accuracy by verifying analysis results, addressing the unreliability of conventional video-based systems.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- AIPHONE CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2024-12-27
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-09
Smart Images
Figure 2026115415000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a nurse call system having a function of confirming the state of a patient based on imaging by a camera and detection by a millimeter-wave radar device.
Background Art
[0002] As a conventional nurse call system, there is one having a function of confirming the state of a patient by a camera that images the patient on the bed. For example, in the nurse call system described in Patent Document 1, when a situation where a patient gets up on the bed or leaves the bed is detected by the camera, the occurrence of the situation is notified to the nurse call master unit, and it is configured to be notified in the nurse call master unit.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] However, in the nurse call system described in Patent Document 1, since the state of the patient is confirmed only based on the video imaged by the camera, there is room for improvement in terms of reliability.
[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a nurse call system capable of more accurately confirming the state of a patient than before.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] To achieve the above objective, the invention described in claim 1 of the present invention comprises a nurse call sub-unit for a patient to call a nurse, a nurse call master unit for responding to calls from the nurse call sub-unit, a control unit for controlling communication between the nurse call sub-unit and the nurse call master unit, notification means, and control means, wherein the control means performs a notification operation to activate the notification means according to the patient's condition, and comprises a camera equipped with an imaging unit for imaging the area around the bed, including the bed, and an image analysis unit for analyzing the images captured by the imaging unit, and a millimeter-wave radar device equipped with a millimeter-wave antenna for inputting and outputting wireless signals toward the area around the bed, including the bed, and a millimeter-wave analysis unit for analyzing the signals input via the millimeter-wave antenna, wherein the control means confirms the patient's condition based on the analysis results from the image analysis unit and the analysis results from the millimeter-wave analysis unit. According to the invention described in claim 1, the invention comprises a camera equipped with an imaging unit that images the area around the bed, including the bed itself, and an image analysis unit that analyzes the images captured by the imaging unit; a millimeter-wave radar device equipped with a millimeter-wave antenna that inputs and outputs wireless signals toward the area around the bed, including the bed itself, and a millimeter-wave analysis unit that analyzes the signals input via the millimeter-wave antenna. The control means confirms the patient's condition based on the analysis results from the image analysis unit and the analysis results from the millimeter-wave analysis unit, thus enabling more accurate confirmation of the patient's condition than in the conventional method which relied solely on images captured by the camera.
[0007] The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, the patient's position is detected by a millimeter-wave radar device, and the control means detects a predetermined action by the patient based on the analysis results of the video analysis unit, detects the patient's position based on the analysis results of the millimeter-wave analysis unit, and performs a notification action when the patient's position is in a position corresponding to the action. The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention described in claim 1, the patient's movements are detected by a millimeter-wave radar device, and the control means performs a notification operation when a predetermined movement by the patient is detected in both the analysis results by the video analysis unit and the analysis results by the millimeter-wave analysis unit. [Effects of the Invention]
[0008] According to the present invention, the system includes a camera equipped with an imaging unit that images the area around the bed, including the bed itself, and an image analysis unit that analyzes the images captured by the imaging unit; a millimeter-wave radar device equipped with a millimeter-wave antenna that inputs and outputs wireless signals to and from the area around the bed, including the bed itself, and a millimeter-wave analysis unit that analyzes the signals input via the millimeter-wave antenna. The control means confirms the patient's condition based on the analysis results from the image analysis unit and the analysis results from the millimeter-wave analysis unit, allowing for a more accurate confirmation of the patient's condition than in the conventional system which relied solely on images captured by the camera. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0009] [Figure 1] This is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the nurse call system. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram of the camera. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram of a millimeter-wave radar system. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart illustrating the process of checking a patient's condition using a nurse call system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0010] The following describes in detail, based on the drawings, a nurse call system that is one embodiment of the present invention.
[0011] Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the nurse call system. Figure 2 is a block diagram of camera 8. Figure 3 is a block diagram of millimeter-wave radar device 9. Figure 4 is a flowchart related to checking the patient's condition in the nurse call system.
[0012] The nurse call system comprises nurse call sub-units 1, 1... installed at each bedside for patients to call a nurse, corridor lights 2, 2... installed near the entrance to the patient room that notify the patient of a call operation by the nurse call sub-unit 1 by flashing, etc., and display patient information in the patient room, a nurse call master unit 3 installed at the nurse station, etc., that notifies the patient of a call operation from the nurse call sub-units 1, 1... and responds to such calls, mobile terminals 4, 4... such as smartphones carried by each nurse to respond to calls from patients, base stations 5, 5... such as access points that communicate with the mobile terminals 4, 4..., a switch 6 for managing communication via the base station 5, a controller 7 for controlling calls / communications between each device, and cameras 8, 8... and millimeter-wave radar devices 9, 9... installed at each bedside to check the condition of the patient on or around the bed. Furthermore, the corridor lights 2, 2, ..., the nurse call master unit 3, and the exchange unit 6 are connected to the control unit 7 via LAN line L1, each nurse call slave unit 1 is connected to the corridor light 2 via transmission line L2, and each camera 8 is connected to the corridor light 2 via transmission line L3.
[0013] Here, we will describe in detail how to check the patient's condition using the camera 8 and millimeter-wave radar device 9, which are the essential components of the present invention. Camera 8 includes a camera CPU 11 that controls its own movements, an imaging unit 15 that images the bed and its surroundings, an image analysis unit 12 that analyzes the images captured by the imaging unit 15, a determination unit 18 that determines the patient's movements based on the analysis results from the image analysis unit 12 and the analysis results from the millimeter-wave radar device 9, as described later, a communication interface 14 to which the transmission line L3 is connected, a speaker 16 that emits a predetermined alarm sound, a storage unit 13 that stores various thresholds, etc., and an interface 17 for connecting the millimeter-wave radar device 9.
[0014] The millimeter-wave radar device 9 includes a radar CPU 21 that controls its own operation, a millimeter-wave antenna 24 that inputs and outputs millimeter waves for object detection, a millimeter-wave analysis unit 22 that analyzes the signals input to the millimeter-wave antenna 24, a storage unit 23 that stores various thresholds, etc., and an interface 25 for connecting the camera 8.
[0015] The process of checking the patient's condition using the camera 8 and millimeter-wave radar device 9 as described above will be explained using the flowchart shown in Figure 4. First, the camera 8 continuously captures images of the bed and its surroundings using the imaging unit 15, and the images are analyzed by the video analysis unit 12. Based on the analysis results, the camera detects predetermined attention-raising actions performed by the patient. Specifically, when a patient in bed gets up from a prone position, the camera detects the patient's movement as a getting-up action, which is one of the attention-raising actions. Similarly, when a patient moves from the bed to outside the bed, the camera detects the patient's movement as an exit from bed, which is another attention-raising action.
[0016] Meanwhile, the millimeter-wave radar device 9 constantly outputs a wireless signal from the millimeter-wave antenna 24 toward the bed and its surroundings, and also inputs the reflected signal, which is then analyzed by the millimeter-wave analysis unit 22. Based on the analysis results, the device detects the patient's position. In other words, it detects whether or not the patient is on the bed, and the patient's position on the bed, or in other words, the patient's posture.
[0017] Then, when camera 8 detects the aforementioned warning activation action based on the analysis results of the video analysis unit 12 (determining YES in S1), it transmits a position request signal to the millimeter-wave radar device 9. When the millimeter-wave radar device 9 receives the position request signal, it returns patient position information, including the patient's position based on the analysis results of the millimeter-wave analysis unit 22, to camera 8. Then, based on the received patient position information, the determination unit 18 determines whether the millimeter-wave radar device 9 has also detected the patient's position corresponding to the warning activation action (S2). Specifically, if a sitting motion is detected in S1, S2 determines whether the patient's posture on the bed is in a predetermined sitting posture. Also, if a bed exit motion is detected in S1, S2 determines whether the patient's position is outside the bed. Then, when camera 8 determines that the patient's position corresponds to the alert activation (determined as YES in S2), it notifies the nurse call master unit 3 of the determination result, causing the nurse call master unit 3 to make an announcement, and also performs an alarm operation by sounding a predetermined alarm sound from speaker 16 (S3). However, if camera 8 detects an alert activation but the millimeter-wave radar device 9 determines that the patient's position does not correspond to the alert activation (determined as NO in S2), it is considered a false detection by camera 8, and no alarm operation such as notification to nurse call master unit 3 or sounding an alarm is performed. Furthermore, to silence the alarm sound being sounded from speaker 16, one can operate a button (not shown) provided on nurse call sub-unit 1. In addition, the announcement operation on nurse call master unit 3 can also be stopped by operating a button on nurse call master unit 3.
[0018] According to the nurse call system having the above-described configuration, there is provided a camera 8 including an imaging unit 15 that images the periphery of the bed including the area on the bed, and a video analysis unit 12 that analyzes the video imaged by the imaging unit 15, and a millimeter-wave radar device 9 including a millimeter-wave antenna 24 that inputs and outputs wireless signals toward the periphery of the bed including the area on the bed, and a millimeter-wave analysis unit 22 that analyzes the signals input via the millimeter-wave antenna 24. Also, in the millimeter-wave radar device 9, the position of the patient can be detected based on the analysis result by the millimeter-wave analysis unit 22. Then, in the determination unit 18 of the camera 8, when a patient's attention-arousing action such as a sitting-up action or a getting-out-of-bed action is detected based on the analysis result in the video analysis unit 12, the analysis result in the millimeter-wave analysis unit 22 is referred to, and it is determined whether or not the position of the patient is at a position corresponding to the attention-arousing action. Then, when it is determined that the position of the patient is at a position corresponding to the attention-arousing action, the determination result is notified to the nurse call master unit 3 to cause the nurse call master unit 3 to give an alarm, and an alarm operation of sounding a predetermined alarm sound from the speaker 16 is executed. Therefore, the state of the patient can be confirmed more accurately than in the past based only on the video imaged by the camera.
[0019] Note that the nurse call system according to the present invention is not limited to the aspects of the above-described embodiment, and not only the overall configuration of the nurse call system but also the configuration related to the confirmation of the patient's state in the millimeter-wave radar device and the like can be appropriately changed as needed without departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0020] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the position of the patient can be detected by the millimeter-wave radar device, but the movement of the patient may also be detected by the millimeter-wave radar device. When a millimeter-wave radar device capable of detecting the movement of the patient is adopted in this way, the control related to the confirmation of the patient's state becomes the following control.
[0021] First, in the millimeter-wave radar device, a radio signal is constantly output from the millimeter-wave antenna toward the bed and the surrounding area of the bed, and the reflected signal is input and analyzed by the millimeter-wave analysis unit. It is assumed that the movement of the patient is detected based on the analysis result. Regarding the detection of a person's movement using this millimeter-wave radar, it can be performed by a method as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2024-109538. Also, the determination unit provided in the camera in the above embodiment shall be provided in the millimeter-wave radar device.
[0022] Here, when a patient's attention-arousing action is detected by the camera as in the above embodiment, the camera transmits an operation confirmation signal including the content of the detected attention-arousing action to the millimeter-wave radar device. On the other hand, when the millimeter-wave radar device receives the operation confirmation signal, within a predetermined time before and after (for example, within 5 seconds) including the time when the operation confirmation signal is received, the determination unit determines whether the same action as the attention-arousing action detected by the camera is detected based on the analysis result of the millimeter-wave analysis unit. And when it is determined that the same action as the attention-arousing action detected by the camera is also detected in the millimeter-wave radar device, an attention-arousing signal is returned from the millimeter-wave radar device to the camera. Also, the camera executes an alarm operation of notifying the nurse call master unit 3 upon receiving the attention-arousing signal and causing the nurse call master unit 3 to give an alarm, and sounding a predetermined alarm sound from the speaker 16. On the other hand, when it is determined in the millimeter-wave radar device that the same action as the attention-arousing action detected by the camera is not detected, a clear signal is returned from the millimeter-wave radar device to the camera, and the above-described alarm operation is not executed by the camera.
[0023] In the nurse call system in which the movement of the patient can be detected by the millimeter-wave radar device as described above, similar to the nurse call system of the above embodiment, in order to confirm the patient's state based on the analysis result by the video analysis unit and the analysis result by the millimeter-wave analysis unit, the patient's state can be confirmed more accurately than in the past based only on the video captured by the camera.
[0024] Furthermore, while the above embodiments and modified examples are configured to refer to the analysis results of the millimeter-wave radar system based on the analysis results of the video captured by the camera, the opposite configuration is also possible, where the video analysis results from the camera are referred to based on the analysis results from the millimeter-wave radar system. That is, when a warning activation is detected in the millimeter-wave radar system, the video analysis results from the camera are referred to, and if a corresponding warning activation is detected in the camera, an alarm operation is performed. In such a nurse call system, as with the nurse call system of the above embodiments, the patient's condition is confirmed based on the analysis results from the millimeter-wave analysis unit and the analysis results from the video analysis unit, so the patient's condition can be confirmed more accurately than in the conventional system which relied solely on video captured by the camera.
[0025] Furthermore, as another example of modification, in the above embodiment, the speaker installed on the camera is configured to function as a notification means, but the speaker on the nurse call sub-unit could also be used as a notification means, or the corridor light could be turned on / flashed as a notification means, and the specific structure of the notification means can be modified as appropriate.
[0026] Furthermore, the video analysis unit and millimeter-wave analysis unit may be installed in corridor lights or control units instead of cameras or millimeter-wave radar equipment. Furthermore, although the above embodiment provides control means to the camera, the control means may also be provided to the millimeter-wave radar device, or to the corridor light or control unit. In addition, instead of configuring the camera and millimeter-wave radar system as separate devices, it is also possible to configure them as an integrated device, that is, a device that includes both an imaging unit and a millimeter-wave antenna. [Explanation of Symbols]
[0027] 1. Nurse call sub-unit, 2. Corridor light, 3. Nurse call master unit, 7. Control unit, 8. Camera, 9. Millimeter-wave radar device, 11. Camera CPU (control means), 12. Video analysis unit, 16. Speaker (notification means), 18. Judgment unit (control means), 21. Radar CPU, 22. Millimeter-wave analysis unit, 24. Millimeter-wave antenna.
Claims
1. It comprises a nurse call sub-unit for patients to call a nurse, a nurse call master unit for responding to calls from the nurse call sub-unit, a control unit for controlling communication between the nurse call sub-unit and the nurse call master unit, notification means, and control means. The control means is a nurse call system that performs a notification operation to activate the notification means according to the patient's condition, A camera equipped with an imaging unit that captures images of the area around the bed, including the bed itself, and an image analysis unit that analyzes the images captured by the imaging unit, The system includes a millimeter-wave antenna that inputs and outputs wireless signals toward the area surrounding the bed, including the bed itself, and a millimeter-wave radar device that includes a millimeter-wave analysis unit for analyzing the signals input via the millimeter-wave antenna. The control means is characterized by confirming the patient's condition based on the analysis results from the video analysis unit and the analysis results from the millimeter-wave analysis unit.
2. The position of the patient is detected by the aforementioned millimeter-wave radar device. The nurse call system according to claim 1, characterized in that when a predetermined action by the patient is detected based on the analysis results of the video analysis unit, the control means detects the patient's position based on the analysis results of the millimeter-wave analysis unit, and when the patient's position is in a position corresponding to the action, it executes the notification action.
3. The millimeter-wave radar device detects the patient's movements. The nurse call system according to claim 1, characterized in that the control means executes the notification operation when a predetermined action by the patient is detected in both the analysis results by the video analysis unit and the analysis results by the millimeter-wave analysis unit.