Monitoring system and monitoring method

Abstract

CONSTITUTION: Setting data is transmitted from a communication terminal of a watching person to a cloud server, and the cloud server stores the setting data. two icons, namely, an icon for indicating a good condition and an icon for indicating a bad condition, are displayed on a communication terminal of a person being watched over periodically at a time designated by the setting data, and a tapped icon is transmitted to the communication terminal side of the watching person and the cloud server side. An assignment text and an answer form are sent from the cloud server to the communication terminal of the person being watched over, and the answer is scored by this cloud server. The assignment text and the answer form are configured so that numbers or keywords in the assignment text are extracted and the answer form is answered.EFFECT: It is possible to train a brain of a person being watched over.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and method for watching over elderly people and the like by family members and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] A monitoring system using smartphones and the like has been proposed (Patent Document 1: Patent No. 6362183, etc.). According to settings made by family members or the like, a call is periodically sent from a cloud server to the smartphone of the elderly person or the like. The elderly person's response to the call is forwarded to the family, allowing the family to periodically check the status of the elderly person they are monitoring. Furthermore, if there is no repeated response, the family member or the like will know that they need to check on their safety. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent 6362183 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The inventor came up with the idea of ​​using a monitoring system to send brain training tasks when calling on elderly people, etc. Brain training tasks are effective in maintaining and improving the cognitive functions of elderly people and are thought to stimulate intellectual curiosity.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring system and a monitoring method that can provide brain training for the person being monitored. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The monitoring system of the present invention includes a communication terminal of a person monitoring, a communication terminal of a person being monitored, and a cloud server. The setting data is sent from the communication device of the person watching over to the cloud server, and the cloud server stores the setting data. At a time specified by the setting data, two icons are displayed on the communication device of the person being watched, one representing that the person is in good health and the other representing that the person is not in good health. Of the two icons, the icon tapped on the communication device of the person being watched over is transmitted from the communication device of the person being watched over to the communication device of the person watching over and the cloud server, The cloud server sends the assignment and answer form to the communication device of the person being watched. Here, the task sentence and the answer form are configured so that numbers or keywords in the task sentence are extracted and entered as answers in the answer form, The answers entered in the answer form are sent from the communication terminal of the person being watched to a cloud server, and the answers are graded by the cloud server.

[0007] The monitoring method of the present invention uses a communication terminal of a person watching over, a communication terminal of a person being watched over, and a cloud server. The setting data is sent from the communication device of the person watching over to the cloud server, and the cloud server stores the setting data. At a time specified by the setting data, two icons are displayed on the communication device of the person being watched, one representing that the person is in good health and the other representing that the person is not in good health. Of the two icons, the icon tapped on the communication device of the person being watched over is transmitted from the communication device of the person being watched over to the communication device of the person watching over and the cloud server, The cloud server sends the assignment and answer form to the communication device of the person being watched. Here, the task text and answer form are configured so that numbers or keywords in the task text are extracted and entered as answers in the answer form, The answers entered in the answer form are sent from the communication terminal of the person being watched to a cloud server, and the answers are graded by the cloud server.

[0008] In this invention, two types of icons are displayed on the communication device of the person being watched over, and when the person being watched over taps one of the icons, the person watching over the person can know which icon was tapped. This allows for a simple exchange of messages to graphically call out to the person being watched over and have them notify them of their status. The icon tapped by the person being watched over is sent to the cloud server, making it possible for the cloud server to support safety confirmation.

[0009] In this invention, numbers or keywords in the task text are extracted, and the task text and answer form are sent to the communication device of the person being watched, so that the person can fill out an answer form. If the task text is an interesting sentence and the task is to extract numbers such as 1 to 0 or keywords such as "1541" or "Spain" from the task text, it is easy to continue brain training without getting bored. The scoring results by the cloud server are valuable as data indicating the cognitive function and motivation of the person being watched.

[0010] Preferably, the cloud server stores multiple task sentences and answer forms of different difficulty levels, and the cloud server increases or decreases the difficulty of the task sentences sent to the communication device of the person being watched according to the scoring results. In this way, task sentences of a difficulty level appropriate for the person being watched can be sent, making it easier for the person being watched to tackle the task. In other words, it is less likely that the person will lose motivation because the task is too difficult, or get bored because it is too easy.

[0011] Particularly preferably, the cloud server estimates the state of the person being watched based on the scoring results (correct answer rate), the difficulty of the assignment text, and the frequency of responses to the sent assignment text, and notifies the communication device of the person watching over of the estimated result. For example, if the response frequency is high, the motivation for life of the person being watched over should be high. If the fluctuation in the correct answer rate is small and the difficulty is almost constant, the intellectual ability of the person being watched over should be stable. Therefore, the cognitive ability and motivation for life of the person being watched over are estimated from the above three factors, and notified to the communication device of the person watching over. The person watching over can know the objective state of the person being watched over.

[0012] The cloud server of this invention is not limited to a single server, but may also be servers distributed across the cloud. To "display two icons, one representing good health and one representing bad health, on the communication device of the person being watched," two types of icons may be sent from the cloud server, for example. Alternatively, the two types of icons may be stored in the communication device of the person being watched, and the icons may be displayed in response to a notification from the cloud server or the communication device of the watcher. "Transmitting from the communication device of the person being watched to the communication device of the watcher and the cloud server" also includes transmitting to the cloud server and transferring from the cloud server to the communication device of the watcher. "Extracting numbers or keywords" means counting numbers in the assignment text or extracting words from the assignment text. A questionnaire form, in which the person being watched selects topics of interest, may be attached to the assignment text and answer form. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] Configuration diagram of a monitoring system according to an embodiment [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart showing an algorithm of a cloud server in a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a problem in an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below. [Example]

[0015] 1 to 3 show a monitoring system 1 and a monitoring method according to an embodiment. The description of the monitoring system 1 also applies to the monitoring method, and conversely, the description of the monitoring method also applies to the monitoring system 1.

[0016] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a monitoring system 1 according to an embodiment. Two types of icons 5, 6, consisting of an icon 5 indicating that the person is feeling well and an icon 6 indicating that the person is feeling unwell, are periodically transmitted from a cloud server 10 or from the communication terminal 2 of the person monitoring the person to the communication terminal 4 of the person being monitored. The transmission of the two types of icons 5, 6 is referred to as "calling out" to the person being monitored via the communication terminal 4. When the person being monitored taps on either icon 5, 6 on the screen of the communication terminal 4, the tapped icon is transmitted to the communication terminal 2, the cloud server 10, etc. This is referred to as the person being monitored "responding."

[0017] In this invention, in addition to the call, a task 24 for the purpose of brain training is sent to the communication terminal 4 of the person being watched. The task 24 consists of three elements: a task statement 25, an answer form 26, and a questionnaire form 27, although the questionnaire form 27 is optional. In this specification, the act of the person being watched filling in the answer form 26 with an answer to the task and sending it is referred to as "answering." The answer is sent to the cloud server 10, and also to the communication terminal 2, etc. according to the settings.

[0018] In the embodiment, the person being watched over is, for example, a single elderly person or a married couple, and the person watching over is, for example, a family member of the person being watched over. Furthermore, terminals 2 and 4 are, for example, smartphones, and cloud server 10 is, for example, a server for the entire system 1. If the person being watched over lives in an apartment building, rental house, etc., a communication terminal 13 of a caretaker of the apartment building, rental house, etc. is preferably also included in system 1. If there is a care manager in charge of the person being watched over, a communication terminal 14 of the care manager is preferably also included in system 1. The communication terminal 13 of the caretaker and the communication terminal 14 of the care manager are, for example, smartphones, personal computers, etc.

[0019] The configuration of the cloud server 10 will be described. The memory 21 stores, for each pair of a watcher and a person being watched (a pair of communication terminals 2, 4), the time of calling, frequency, level of difficulty of the task, task genre, etc., and also stores data on the response status of the person being watched (type of response, frequency of response, and their transitions, etc.) and answer status (frequency of answering tasks, correct answer rate, task level, and their transitions, etc.). Of this data, the time of calling, frequency of calling (e.g., daily to every other day), task level, genre, etc. are referred to as setting data.

[0020] The time and frequency of the calls are set by the person watching over via the communication terminal 2, and can be changed as appropriate, for example, via the communication terminal 2, depending on the convenience of the person watching over and the person being watched over. The level and genre of the tasks in the setting data are set from appropriate initial settings, and are changed by the cloud server 10 according to the response status. The memory 21 also stores, for each person being watched over, the type of response and whether or not there was one, the progress of the response status, the frequency of responses to the tasks and its progress, the percentage of correct answers and its progress, the level of the tasks and its progress, etc.

[0021] The analysis device 22 infers the motivation for life, state of cognitive function, etc. of the person being watched over from the response and answer status of the person being watched over. For example, if the response "I'm feeling good" is repeated, the frequency of responses to tasks is high, and the rate of correct answers is also high, it can be inferred that the motivation for life is high, the health condition is good, and there is no sign of decline in cognitive function. If the response "I'm not feeling well" is frequent, there may be a problem with motivation for life or health, and if there is a continued lack of response, there is a high possibility that the person being watched over is experiencing a serious problem.

[0022] If the frequency of answers decreases, or the rate of correct answers decreases, or the level of the tasks decreases, there is a high possibility that the cognitive function or motivation for life is declining. If the analysis device 22 determines that there is a problem with the motivation for life or the state of cognitive function of the person being watched over, the cloud server 10 notifies the family member's communication terminal 2, the apartment building manager's communication terminal 13, the care manager's communication terminal 14, etc., according to the settings.

[0023] The task database 23 stores a plurality of tasks 24 (plural for each genre) with different levels of difficulty in a plurality of genres (genres to which task sentences belong). The cloud server 10 selects a task from the task database 23 according to the response status of the person being watched, selecting the task genre according to the response to a questionnaire form 27, for example, and selecting a level of difficulty that is just right for the person being watched in terms of the rate of correct answers.

[0024] The operation of the monitoring system 1 will be described. First, personal information such as the telephone number and email address of the person being monitored is set, for example, from the communication terminal 2, and the frequency and time of the call (for example, once a day at 10:00 AM) are set. The email addresses and telephone numbers of relevant parties, such as the communication terminal 13 of the apartment building manager and the communication terminal 14 of the care manager, are also set, and the range of data to be notified to each communication terminal is set according to the situation of the person being monitored. For example, each time the person being monitored responds, the communication terminal 2 is notified of the response result, which includes the time of the response, etc., in the icons 5 and 6. The response result is also notified to the communication terminals 13 and 14 according to the settings. The analysis device 22 estimates the progress of motivation for living and the progress of cognitive function based on the response status to the calls and the response status to the tasks, and notifies the communication terminal 2, for example, once a week to once a month.

[0025] The processing in the cloud server 10 is shown in Figure 2, and an example of task 24 is shown in Figure 3. When a pair of a watcher and a person being watched joins the system 1, they set the time and frequency (daily, every other day, etc.) at which they will be called via, for example, communication terminal 2. When the set time arrives (step 1), an icon 5 indicating they are feeling well and an icon 6 indicating they are feeling unwell are sent to the communication terminal 4 of the person being watched, along with task 24 (step 2).

[0026] When the person being watched over taps either icon 5 or 6 on the screen of communication terminal 4, the tapped icon is sent to the communication terminal 2 of the person watching over and cloud server 10, etc., according to the settings. This allows the person watching over (for example, a family member) to know the status of the person being watched over (steps 3 and 4). Note that tapping either icon 5 or 6 by the person being watched over is called a response, and answering the question is called a reply.

[0027] An example of Task 24 is shown in Figure 3. The task is to extract keywords such as numbers, names of people, places, and events from the task text. In Figure 3, the task is to find out how many of each of the 10 numbers from 1 to 0 are used in the biography of St. Francis Xavier. In order to create a task that will interest the person being watched, a survey is conducted to find out their favorite genre.

[0028] Cloud server 10 scores the answers from the person being watched and returns a correct / incorrect judgment to the communication terminal 4 of the person being watched. Furthermore, the scoring results and responses are stored in memory 21 (step 5). Based on the frequency and content of responses, the frequency and accuracy of responses, and the level of tasks over the past week to month, analysis device 22 estimates the progress of the person being watched over in terms of cognitive function and motivation for life (step 6). Depending on this estimation, particularly the accuracy rate, the level of the tasks is increased or decreased, and the task genre is changed according to the questionnaire, etc. (steps 7 and 8).

[0029] The results of the assessment, such as the progress of cognitive function and motivation for daily living, are notified to the person watching over them periodically, such as once a week to once a month (Step 9). In response to the notification, the person watching over them can take action such as calling the person being watched over, visiting them, consulting with a care manager, or asking the manager of an apartment building or other property to check on them. The person watching over them will also be notified if there is a prolonged lack of response or if the frequency of responses decreases. These results are also notified to communication terminals 13, 14, etc., according to the settings.

[0030] In this embodiment, tasks are sent along with the call, which serves as brain training for the person being watched. The task is to extract numbers and keywords from the task text so that it can be completed without deep attention or interest. The level of the task is then adjusted depending on the rate of correct answers and the frequency of answers, so that tasks that are difficult or too easy are not sent. In addition, a questionnaire is used to ensure that task texts that are of interest are sent.

[0031] The cognitive function and motivation of the person being looked after can be estimated from the percentage of correct answers to the tasks, the level of the tasks, and the frequency of answers.These estimation results can then be sent to the family, allowing them to understand the objective condition of the person being looked after. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 1. Monitoring system 2. Communication device of the person watching over (family member) 4. Communication device of the person being monitored 5 Good health icon 6 Bad Icon 10 Cloud Server 13 Apartment manager's communication terminal 14 Care manager's communication terminal 21 Memory 22 Analyzer 23 Issue Database 24 Challenges 25 Assignment text 26 Answer Form 27 Questionnaire Form

Claims

1. A monitoring system comprising a smartphone of a person being monitored, a smartphone of a family member of the person being monitored, and a cloud server, The setting data is transmitted from the family member's smartphone to a cloud server, and the cloud server stores the setting data. Two icons, one representing a good state of mind and the other representing a bad state of mind, are displayed on the smartphone of the person being watched periodically at a time designated by the setting data; Of the two icons, the icon tapped on the smartphone of the person being watched over is transmitted from the smartphone of the person being watched over to the smartphone of the family member and the cloud server, The cloud server sends the task text and answer form to the smartphone of the person being watched, Here, the task text and the answer form are configured to extract numbers or keywords from the task text and enter them as answers in the answer form, The answers entered in the answer form are sent from the smartphone of the person being watched to the cloud server, which then scores the answers. The cloud server stores multiple assignments of different difficulty levels and answer forms, The cloud server then adjusts the difficulty of the assignment text sent to the smartphone of the person being watched depending on the grading results. The monitoring system is configured such that the cloud server estimates the state of the person being watched over based on the scoring results, the difficulty of the assignment text, and the frequency of responses to the submitted assignment text, and notifies the family member of the estimated state of the person being watched over.

2. A monitoring method using a smartphone of a person being monitored, a smartphone of a family member of the person being monitored, and a cloud server, comprising: The setting data is transmitted from the family member's smartphone to a cloud server, and the cloud server stores the setting data. Two icons, one representing a good state of mind and the other representing a bad state of mind, are displayed on the smartphone of the person being watched periodically at a time designated by the setting data; Of the two icons, the icon tapped on the smartphone of the person being watched over is transmitted from the smartphone of the person being watched over to the smartphone of the family member and the cloud server, The cloud server sends the task text and answer form to the smartphone of the person being watched, Here, the task text and the answer form are configured so that numbers or keywords in the task text are extracted and entered as answers in the answer form, The answers entered in the answer form are sent from the smartphone of the person being watched to the cloud server, which then scores the answers. The cloud server stores multiple assignments of different difficulty levels and answer forms, The cloud server then adjusts the difficulty of the assignment text sent to the smartphone of the person being watched depending on the grading results. In addition, the cloud server estimates the state of the person being watched over based on the scoring results, the difficulty of the assignment text, and the frequency of responses to the submitted assignment text, and notifies the family member's smartphone of the estimated state of the person being watched over.

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