Nurse call system

Abstract

To provide a nurse call system for enabling a preservation destination of a patient image to be captured upon receiving a call by a nurse call slave unit to be continuously preserved in a group being the same as a preservation group of the patient image before a movement of a bed even when the bed is moved.SOLUTION: A nurse call system comprises: an image display part 51a arranged in a master unit 5 and displaying a captured image of a camera 6; and a recording device CPU 72 for performing preservation in a recording device 7 by attaching an IP address given to hardware of the camera 6 in addition to bed position information, and performing recording control while grouping images depending on the IP address. When a display request to the image display part 51a is received based on bed number information from the control device 7 or the master unit 5, the recording device CPU 72 causes the image display part 51a to display a preservation image of the group identified from the bed number information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a nurse call system, and more particularly to a nurse call system capable of displaying past images of patients on a nurse call master unit.

Background Art

[0002] A camera for imaging patients is installed in the patient room. When a call from a patient occurs, a nurse call master unit notifies the call and displays an imaging image of the camera that has imaged the calling patient, allowing the responding nurse to communicate while confirming the patient in the image. Such a nurse call system has become widespread. Also, in such a system, while the imaging image is displayed on the nurse call master unit, it is stored in a predetermined storage unit so that it can be confirmed later. For example, in Patent Document 1, using a web camera, the imaging image of the camera captured in conjunction with the call operation of the nurse call slave unit is displayed on the nurse call master unit, while a file name with a bed number and patient name attached is formed and recorded. Therefore, it was possible to easily find the patient to be viewed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a nurse call system capable of displaying an imaging image of a patient on a nurse call master unit, since cameras are not installed for all beds, it is possible to change the installation position of the camera to change the bed to be imaged. And when the connection destination of the camera is changed, it is associated with a new bed number, so the recorded images before and after the change are stored in separate files. On the other hand, there are cases where the camera is moved together with the patient on the bed. In this case, since the patient is the same patient, it is desired that the recorded images be stored in the same group so that past images can be easily confirmed. However, as described above, since the connection destination of the camera changes and the images are stored in different files, it requires troublesome setting changes to store them in the same file (group).

[0005] Therefore, in view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a nurse call system in which when the camera is moved together with the patient, the storage destination of the patient image captured by the camera in response to a call from the nurse call sub-unit continues to be stored in the same group as the storage group of the patient image before the bed movement.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a nurse call system including a nurse call sub-unit for a patient to call a nurse, a nurse call main unit for receiving and making a call in response to the call, a camera for imaging the bed and the periphery of the bed, a recording device for storing the captured image of the camera with the position information of the bed attached, and a control device for controlling the call and the image line, wherein an image display unit for displaying the captured image of the camera is provided in the nurse call main unit, and the storage in the recording device is carried out by attaching camera ID information for identifying the hardware of the camera in addition to the position information of the bed, and an image control unit for performing recording control by grouping images with the camera ID information, and the image control unit, when receiving a display request to the image display unit based on the bed position information from the control device or the nurse call main unit, causes the image display unit to display the stored images of the group specified from the bed position information. According to this configuration, since the camera ID information unique to the camera is attached to the bed position information and the images are stored and grouped and managed by the camera ID information, when an image request is made based on the bed position information, the group to which the bed belongs, that is, the past images of the same camera, can be selected and retrieved. Therefore, even if a patient's bed movement occurs, if the camera is also moved with the patient, the image of the same patient before the bed movement can be easily retrieved without any separate setting operations, which is useful for accurate patient care.

[0007] The invention according to claim 2 is the configuration according to claim 1, wherein when the bed position information attached to the captured image of the camera transmitted is different from the bed position information of the image with the same camera ID information stored in the recording device, the image control unit recognizes this and sends an inquiry notification to the nurse call master unit. On the other hand, the nurse call master unit is provided with an operation unit for answering the inquiry. When the image control unit receives an answer from the nurse call master unit that the camera has moved in accordance with the patient's bed movement, it continuously stores the transmitted camera captured image without changing the group. When it receives an answer that only the camera has moved without the patient moving, it stores the transmitted captured image by creating a new group. According to this configuration, when the combination of the camera ID information and the bed position attached to the image changes, an inquiry notification is generated, and based on the response received, the storage destination group is determined. Therefore, it is possible to reliably separate the case where the patient's bed has moved and the case where only the camera has moved, and different patients will not be stored in the same group.

[0008] The invention according to claim 3 is the configuration according to claim 2, wherein the image display unit of the nurse call master unit displays the patient list according to the bed position during standby. When the operation unit of the nurse call master unit is operated and the image control unit receives an answer that the patient has moved the bed, it deletes the patient name display at the display position of the patient before the bed movement in the display of the patient list, and has a display control unit that displays the patient name at the display position of the patient after the bed movement based on the bed position information attached to the captured image of the camera. According to this configuration, when the patient's bed movement occurs, since the patient position displayed in the patient list is also changed, there is no need for a separate display change operation.

[0009] The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that, in the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the camera ID information is the IP address assigned to the hardware of the camera. According to this configuration, since the IP address initially assigned to the camera is used as the ID information for identifying the camera and grouped, there is no need to assign a new address.

[0010] The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that, in the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the nurse call master unit has a switching operation unit for switching the image displayed on the image display unit between the current captured image of the camera and the image stored in the recording device. According to this configuration, since the captured image of the calling patient displayed on the image display unit can be switched between the current image and the past image, the nurse who responds can easily grasp the patient's condition.

Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, since the camera ID information unique to the camera is attached to the bed position information and the image is stored, and the images are grouped and managed by the camera ID information unique to the camera, when an image request is made based on the bed position information, the group to which the bed belongs, that is, the past images of the same camera can be selected and retrieved. Therefore, even if the patient moves the bed, if the camera also moves with the patient, the image of the same patient before the bed movement can be easily retrieved without any separate setting operation, which is useful for accurate care of the patient.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a nurse call system according to the present invention. The nurse call system 1 includes a nurse call sub-unit 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as "sub-unit") installed for each bed for a patient to call a nurse, a corridor light 3 for notifying the occurrence of a call in front of the ward, a control device 4 for controlling the call and video lines, a nurse call main unit 5 (hereinafter simply referred to as "main unit") installed at the nurse station to respond to calls from patients, a camera 6 for imaging the bed and its surroundings, a recording device 7 for storing the imaging images of the camera 6, and the like. Also, 11 indicates a LAN trunk line arranged in the hospital, and each device is connected to the LAN via a HUB 12. Note that "image" includes "video", and the images captured by the camera 6 also include moving images.

[0014] The sub-unit 2 is composed of a call grip button 2a that a patient operates for a call and a plate sub-unit 2b having a staff call button 2c that a nurse operates for a call in addition to the call function. The call grip button 2a is connected to the plate sub-unit 2b. When the call grip button is operated, a nurse call signal is sent out and a nurse call is carried out. When the staff call button 2c is operated, a staff call signal is sent out and a staff call is carried out.

[0015] The main unit 5 has a call section consisting of a handset 5a, a first display section 51 for displaying a list of patient information, a second display section 52 for displaying call source information, and the like. The first display section 51 is provided with an image display section 51a for displaying the imaging images of the camera 6.

[0016] The slave unit 2 is connected to the corridor light 3 via the transmission line L1. The corridor light 3, the master unit 5, and the recording device 7 are each connected to the control device 4 via LAN. The camera 6 is connected to the corridor light 3 via the transmission line L2. Also, M indicates a hospital room. When there are multiple beds in the hospital room M, the slave units 2 are installed in the number corresponding to the number of beds. Note that the camera 6 may be connected to the HUB 12 via LAN, receive only the contact signal for interlocking with the call signal from the corridor light 3, and transmit the video signal to the control device 4 via the HUB 12.

[0017] Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the control device 4. The control device 4 includes a patient-related information storage unit 41 in which patients are associated with bed numbers and the camera 6, a control device CPU 42 that controls the call and image lines and controls the control device 4, a control device communication IF 43 for LAN connection, and the like. In addition to call path control, the control device CPU 42 discriminates the type of call signal and performs control to transmit a preset image to the master unit 5 according to the type. Note that the call signals include a nurse call signal transmitted when a patient performs a call operation as described above, a staff call signal transmitted when a nurse performs a call operation to request support, and the like. Also, the bed number represents the position information of the bed and includes the hospital room number and the information on the position within the hospital room.

[0018] Figure 3 shows a block diagram of the recording device 7. The recording device 7 includes an image storage unit 71, a recording device CPU 72 that controls the recording device 7, a recording device communication IF 73 for LAN connection, and the like. The recording device CPU 72 attaches and stores the IP address assigned to the hardware of the camera 6 as the camera ID information for identifying the bed number and the hardware of the camera 6 in the image. Also, the recording device CPU 72 has the function of an image control unit, groups and stores images by IP address, and has a function of monitoring whether the combination of the IP address of the camera 6 and the bed number has changed during storage. The IP address of the camera 6 is registered at the shipping stage or registered by a DHCP server (not shown) when it is first connected to the LAN. Also, the captured images sent from the camera 6 are given bed numbers in the corridor lights 3 and transmitted to the master unit 5 and the recording device 7 via the control device 4.

[0019] The nurse call system configured as described above operates as follows. However, the operation in which a nurse call is made by operating the slave unit 2, the master unit 5 is notified of the call, the camera 6 that captures the calling patient starts capturing, and the captured image is displayed on the master unit 5 is the same as the conventional one, so the description thereof is omitted. Here, the recording control of the captured image of the camera 6, particularly the recording operation when the camera 6 is relocated and the bed to be captured is changed, and the operation of performing display control in response to a display request for the recorded image will be mainly described.

[0020] For example, when the slave unit 2 is operated and a nurse call is generated, a bed number is added to the captured image in addition to the IP address and transmitted to the master unit 5 and the recording device 7 via the control device 4. When the camera 6 is relocated according to the movement of the patient's bed, the combination of the IP address and the bed number of the captured image transmitted to the control device 4 is changed. The recording device 7 manages images in groups of the IP addresses of the camera 6 and attaches and stores the IP address and the bed number to the images. Therefore, the recording device CPU 72 detects that the combination of the IP address and the bed number of the transmitted captured image does not match the previous one.

[0021] By detecting this inconsistency, the recording device CPU 72 recognizes that the camera 6 has been moved. The recording device CPU 42 that has detected the movement of the camera 6 infers the source and destination of the patient's bed movement based on the bed number attached to the recorded image and the newly received bed number, and makes an inquiry to the master unit 5 as to whether a bed movement has occurred. The master unit 5 that has received this inquiry displays the operation unit 53 on the first display unit 51.

[0022] Figure 4 shows the first display unit 51 of the master unit 5 that displays the operation unit 53 in response to this inquiry. As shown in Figure 4, while the captured image transmitted is displayed on the image display unit 51a of the master unit 5, the operation unit 53 is pop-up displayed on the first display unit 51, and the inquiry is made. The operation unit 53 has operation buttons 53a and 53b for "Yes" and "No", and the nurse operates the displayed operation unit 53 to answer whether there is bed movement.

[0023] If there is bed movement, that is, if the patient also moves together with the camera 6, "Yes" is operated. Upon receiving this operation, the control device CPU72 performs the same operation as when there is a registration operation for bed movement (not described in detail) from the master unit 5. That is, in the future, when there is a call from the same camera 6, control for storing in the same group is implemented. As a result, even for images with the same attached IP address, images with different bed numbers exist within the group.

[0024] Also, as shown in Figure 4, when a list of patient information is displayed on the first display unit 51 according to the bed position, upon receiving a "Yes" answer, the display of this patient information list is changed. Specifically, in Figure 4, the same patient is displayed at two patient display positions B1 and B2 before and after movement according to the bed position, but after responding with "Yes", the patient name at the patient display position B1 before movement is erased, and the display of the patient name at the patient display position B2 after movement continues. Figure 5 shows the display of the patient information list after "Yes" is operated. As shown in Figure 5, the patient name at the patient display position B1 before movement is erased. This display change is implemented under the control of the control device CPU42.

[0025] If there is no bed movement (for example, when the camera 6 is used for another patient), "No" is operated. Upon receiving this operation, the recording device CPU72 performs control to store in a new group in the future when there is a call from the same camera 6 based on the bed number associated with the slave unit 2 that made the call. Further, the display at the patient display position B2 is returned to the name before the change.

[0026] Next, a case where the past image of the patient is displayed on the master unit 5 upon receiving a call signal will be described. Here, a case will be described where, when the staff call button 2c is operated to make a staff call, instead of the current captured image of the patient, the past image is set to be displayed on the master unit 5. Incidentally, when receiving a staff call, there are many requests to check the treatment performed on the patient, and there is such a request to display the past image.

[0027] Upon receiving a staff call, the latest image among the past images of the patient is displayed on the master unit 5 according to the setting. Specifically, the control device 4 that has received the call signal (staff call signal) issues an image acquisition request to the recording device 7 based on the bed number information attached to the call signal. The recording device 7 that has received the image acquisition request identifies the group from the bed number and transmits the latest image in that group to the master unit 5. The image thus transmitted is displayed on the master unit 5.

[0028] Incidentally, even for a staff call that displays a past image, the captured image of the camera 6 activated upon receiving the call operation is saved. At this time, if the combination of the IP address and the bed number of the newly captured image is different from the saved combination, as described above, the operation unit 53 is displayed on the first display unit 51, and after a predetermined operation, image storage control according to the operation is performed.

[0029] Here, the display of the image display unit 51a will be described. The image switching button B3 displayed together with the captured image of the patient on the image display unit 51a shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is a button for switching the displayed image, and the displayed image can be switched by operating this button. When this button B3 is touched while the current captured image of the camera 6 is being displayed, an image acquisition request based on the bed number information is sent to the recording device 7 via the control device 4. Upon receiving this request, the recording device 7 identifies the group from the bed number and sends the latest image in that group to the master unit 5. In this way, the latest image among the patient's past images is displayed. Also, when this button is operated while a past image is being displayed, the current captured image of the camera 6 is displayed.

[0030] Also, in the standby state, a request for displaying the recorded image can be made from the master unit 5, and the display of the past images of the specified patient can be implemented. When the master unit 5 makes a display request (not detailed here) with a predetermined operation, the control device 4 determines the bed number from the patient name attached to the display request, and an image display request is made to the recording device 7 based on the bed number. The recording device 7 sends the recorded image of the bed number for which the request was received to the master unit 5. In addition, by the same display request operation of the master unit 5, any past images such as the image of the previous day, the image before the bed movement, etc. can be retrieved and displayed.

[0031] In this way, since the IP address unique to the camera 6 is attached to the bed number as the bed position information and the images are saved, and they are grouped and managed by the IP address of the camera 6, when an image request is made by the bed number, the group to which the bed belongs, that is, the past images of the same camera 6, can be selected and retrieved. Therefore, even if the patient's bed is moved, if the camera 6 is also moved with the patient, the image of the same patient before the bed movement can be easily retrieved without any separate setting operation, which is useful for accurate patient care. Also, if the combination of the IP address of the camera 6 and the bed number attached to the image changes, an inquiry notification occurs, and in response to that, the storage destination group is determined. Therefore, it is possible to surely separate the case where the patient's bed is moved and the case where only the camera 6 is moved, and different patients will not be saved in the same group. Furthermore, when the patient's bed is moved, the patient position displayed in the patient list is also changed, so there is no need for a separate display change operation. In addition, since the IP address initially assigned to the camera 6 is used as ID information for identifying the camera 6 for grouping, there is no need to assign a new address. In addition, since the calling source patient imaging image displayed on the image display unit 51a can be switched between the current image and the past image, the responding nurse can easily grasp the patient's condition.

[0032] Note that in the above embodiment, the recording device 7 performs the control of grouping and storing by IP address, and the control of inquiring the master unit 5 when the bed numbers are different, but the control device 4 may perform it. Also, instead of the IP address, a MAC address may be used as the ID information for identifying the camera 6. Furthermore, although the bed number attached to the bed is used as the position information of the bed, the slave unit ID information attached for identifying the slave unit 2 may be used as the position information of the bed.

Explanation of Signs

[0033] 1 ·· Nurse call system, 2 ·· Nurse call slave unit, 3 ·· Corridor light, 4 ·· Control device, 5 ·· Bedroom master unit, 7 ·· Recording device, 42 ·· Control device CPU (display control unit), 51a ·· Image display unit, 53 ·· Operation unit, 71 ·· Image storage unit, 72 ·· Recording device CPU (image control unit), B1, B2 ·· Patient display positions, B3 ·· Image switching button (switching operation unit).

Claims

1. A nurse call system comprising a nurse call sub-unit for a patient to call a nurse, a nurse call main unit for receiving and making a call, a camera for imaging the bed and its surrounding area, a recording device for saving the captured image of the camera with the position information of the bed attached thereto, and a control device for controlling the call and image lines, wherein an image display unit for displaying the captured image of the camera is provided in the nurse call main unit, and the saving to the recording device is carried out by attaching camera ID information for identifying the camera in addition to the position information of the bed, and an image control unit for grouping images by the camera ID information and performing recording control is provided, when the image control unit receives a display request to the image display unit based on the bed position information from the control device or the nurse call main unit, the image control unit causes the saved images of the group specified from the bed position information to be displayed on the image display unit. The nurse call system is characterized by this.

2. When the position information of the bed attached to the captured image of the transmitted camera is different from the bed position information of the images of the same camera ID information stored in the recording device, the image control unit recognizes this and sends an inquiry notification to the nurse call main unit. On the other hand, the nurse call main unit is provided with an operation unit for answering the inquiry, when the image control unit receives an answer from the nurse call main unit that the camera has moved in accordance with the movement of the patient's bed, the image control unit continues to save the transmitted captured image of the camera without changing the group, when the patient has not moved and the image control unit receives an answer that only the camera has moved, the nurse call system according to Claim 1 is characterized in that the transmitted captured image is saved by creating a new group.

3. The image display unit of the nurse call main unit displays a patient list according to the bed position during standby, when the operation unit of the nurse call main unit is operated and the control device receives an answer that the patient has moved the bed, the control device has a display control unit for deleting the display of the patient name at the display position of the patient before the bed movement in the display of the patient list and displaying the patient name at the display position of the patient after the bed movement based on the bed position information attached to the captured image of the camera. The nurse call system according to Claim 2 is characterized by this.

4. The nurse call system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the camera ID information is an IP address assigned to the hardware of the camera.

5. The nurse call master unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a switching operation unit configured to switch an image displayed on the image display unit between a current captured image of the camera and an image stored in the recording device.

Images