Nursing support device and program

Abstract

To solve such problem that there is need for a medical worker to infer the condition and behavior of a patient and provide nursing care in a medical facility, however, the nursing care requires much routine work, and there may be cases where inquiry and advice to a patient cannot be properly carried out due to the long working hours of the medical worker who provides the nursing care in the trend of the labor shortage caused by the declining birthrate and aging population and the work style reform.SOLUTION: A nursing care support device includes: an acquisition part that acquires sensor information through sensors attached to a patient's room or body; an estimation part that estimates the patient's condition or behavior on the basis of the sensor information; and a provision part that provides advice or inquiry to the patient on the basis of the estimated condition or behavior.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a nursing support device and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a system for monitoring a monitored person that allows multiple caregivers to easily share information. This system uses multiple devices to monitor a monitored person, who is the target of monitoring, and has an electronic message board function and a function that allows the user to select whether to share information about the care record with other caregivers, depending on the content of the care record, if necessary.

[0003] Patent Document 2 discloses a hospital support system that can easily grasp the location where information about a subject is acquired by a wearable device. This hospital support system is characterized by associating subject information with its identification information and controlling storage of the information in a storage device for each subject based on the location information transmitted from the wearable device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-194910 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-197494 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In medical facilities, medical staff need to provide nursing care by inferring the patient's condition and behavior. However, much of this nursing is routine work, and with the labor shortage caused by the declining birthrate and aging population and the trend toward work style reform, medical staff who provide this nursing care are working long hours, and there are cases where they are unable to properly interview patients and provide advice in a timely manner. An object of the present invention is to provide a nursing support device and a program that solve the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The nursing support device of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires sensor information through a sensor attached to the patient's hospital room or the patient's body, an estimation unit that estimates the patient's condition or behavior based on the sensor information, and a provision unit that provides advice or medical interviews to the patient based on the estimated condition or behavior. The program of the present invention causes a computer of a nursing support device to execute steps of acquiring sensor information through sensors attached to the patient's hospital room or the patient's body, estimating the patient's condition or behavior based on the sensor information, and providing advice or questioning to the patient based on the estimated condition or behavior. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to at least one of the above aspects, medical professionals can appropriately and routinely interview and give advice to patients. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the equipment configuration of an intensive care unit according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a nursing support device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the nursing support device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of a computer according to at least one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] First Embodiment <Configuration of nursing support device> The configuration of the nursing support device 10 according to the embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The nursing support device 10 is a device that estimates the state or behavior of a patient and provides appropriate advice or medical interviews according to the estimated state or behavior of the patient.

[0010] FIG. 1 shows the equipment configuration of a typical intensive care unit 1 (hereinafter also referred to as ICU1). As shown in Figure 1, the ICU 1 consists of multiple patient rooms and a staff station. The multiple patient rooms and the staff station are arranged so that medical staff can move smoothly between them via a corridor. Although an intensive care unit 1 is shown in FIG. 1, it may also be a general ward in a hospital, a rehabilitation facility, or the like.

[0011] One nurse is in charge of, for example, two patients (two hospital rooms). A nurse is an example of a medical professional. A medical professional who uses the nursing support device 10 may be a doctor, a physical therapist, or the like. A window (not shown) is installed in the partition between the hospital rooms, allowing one patient to see the other from the other.

[0012] Each hospital room is equipped with a monitor M. Monitor M not only displays vital sign monitor information (such as an electrocardiogram) of the patient in that room, but also displays a list of vital sign monitor information of multiple patients in other hospital rooms. In this embodiment, a nursing support device 10, a microphone 11, a speaker 12, a camera 13, a cuff 14, and a respiratory volume measuring device 15 are installed in each hospital room.

[0013] The nursing support device 10 is a device that displays electronic medical records and progress charts, and also supports nursing care for the patient in the hospital room. The detailed configuration of the nursing support device 10 will be described later. The microphone 11 is a normal microphone that can capture voice and environmental sounds. The microphone 11 is an example of a sensor. The microphone 11 may be attached to the patient's body. The speaker 12 is a normal speaker that can reproduce sounds and the like for patients and staff. The nursing support device 10, microphone 11, and speaker 12 may be integrated into a so-called smart speaker. The speaker 12 may be attached to the patient's body. The camera 13 is a device that captures images of the patient and the surroundings of the patient. The camera 13 is an example of a sensor.

[0014] The cuff 14 is composed of an elastic pump (not shown) filled with air and an air pressure measuring device (not shown). The cuff 14 captures the movement of the patient by measuring the air pressure inside the cuff 14, which rises when the patient squeezes the pump. The cuff 14 is an example of a sensor. The respiratory volume measuring device 15 is a device that is attached to the face of the patient and measures the respiratory volume of the patient.

[0015] That is, the sensors in the first embodiment are a microphone 11, a speaker 12, a cuff 14, and a respiratory volume measuring device 15. The sensors are attached to the patient's hospital room or to the patient's body.

[0016] <Configuration of nursing support device> The configuration of the nursing support device 10 will be described in detail below. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the nursing support device 10. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the nursing support device 10 includes a CPU 100, a connection interface 101, and a storage unit .

[0017] The CPU 100 operates in accordance with pre-prepared programs to perform various functions, which will be described later. The connection interface 101 is a connection interface for the microphone 11 , the speaker 12 , the camera 13 , the cuff 14 , and the respiratory rate measuring device 15 . The storage unit 102 is a storage device that stores information related to the microphone 11, the speaker 12, the camera 13, the cuff 14, and the respiratory rate measuring device 15. Examples of the storage unit 102 include a hard disk drive (HDD) and a solid state drive (SSD).

[0018] The CPU 100 operates according to a program to function as an acquisition unit 1001, an estimation unit 1002, a provision unit 1003, and an emergency call processing unit 1004.

[0019] The acquisition unit 1001 acquires sensor information through the microphone 11 , the camera 13 , the cuff 14 , and the respiratory rate measuring device 15 . The estimation unit 1002 estimates the state or behavior of the patient based on the sensor information acquired by the acquisition unit 1001. The providing unit 1003 provides advice or a medical interview to the patient based on the state or behavior of the patient estimated by the estimating unit 1002.

[0020] The emergency call processor 1004 executes an emergency call in response to the result of the medical interview by the provider 1003. The emergency call is an emergency nurse call, which is a call for urgently summoning a medical professional to the hospital room related to the emergency call. The emergency call processor 1004 is connected to a mobile terminal (not shown) of the medical professional. Examples of the mobile terminal include a tablet terminal and a smartphone. The emergency call processor 1004 executes the emergency call to the connected mobile terminal. The detailed configurations of the acquisition unit 1001, estimation unit 1002, provision unit 1003, and emergency call processing unit 1004 will be described below.

[0021] For example, the nursing support device 10 may estimate whether a patient is in a delirium state, provide information about the patient's delirium state to medical personnel, and make an emergency call. Delirium is a temporary mental disorder in which a patient is unable to maintain necessary rest due to confusion, delusions, etc.

[0022] A medical professional using the nursing support device 10 records in advance in the memory unit 102 a question (medical interview) and the timing (time) at which the question is to be asked by the speaker 12. The speaker 12 asks the question to the patient at a timing based on the information recorded in the memory unit 102 and receives an answer from the patient. The acquisition unit 1001 acquires the patient's response from the microphone 11 or the cuff 14. The microphone 11 acquires the patient's voice, and the cuff 14 acquires the response by being gripped by the patient.

[0023] The estimation unit 1002 estimates whether the patient is in a state of delirium or not based on the "answer" acquired by the acquisition unit 1001. Here, the "answer" is not limited to a YES / NO answer to a question, but may also be any information that can be read from natural language, such as the time required to answer a question or the volume of the voice. The providing unit 1003 provides advice or further questioning to the patient via the speaker 12 based on the state of the patient estimated by the estimating unit 1002 (whether the patient is in a state of delirium or not).

[0024] When the estimation unit 1002 estimates that the patient is in a state of delirium, the emergency call processor 1004 makes an emergency call to a medical professional.

[0025] The above-described configuration allows medical personnel to recognize a patient's delirium, thereby preventing the patient from removing the catheter themselves or engaging in violent behavior due to the delirium.

[0026] Furthermore, for example, the nursing support device 10 may encourage the patient to perform regular breathing exercises or limb exercises, and estimate changes in the patient's condition based on the patient's breathing information and movements. A medical professional using the nursing support device 10 records information related to breathing exercises and limb exercises in the memory unit 102 in advance. An example of the information is information that the speaker 12 prompts the patient to perform breathing exercises or limb exercises at regular intervals according to the patient's schedule. For example, the speaker 12 prompts the patient to perform breathing exercises or limb exercises once every 15 minutes based on the information recorded in the memory unit 102. The camera 13 acquires the patient's exercise pattern through image recognition. The respiratory rate measuring device 15 measures the patient's respiratory rate. The respiratory rate is an example of respiratory information. In addition to or instead of the respiratory rate, the frequency of breathing and the degree of roughness of breathing may also be used as respiratory information. The acquisition unit 1001 acquires the exercise pattern or respiratory rate from the camera 13 or the respiratory rate measuring device 15. The estimation unit 1002 estimates a change in the patient's condition based on the patient's exercise pattern and respiratory rate, based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 1001. The providing unit 1003 provides the patient with medical questions and advice via the speaker 12 based on the change in the condition of the patient estimated by the estimating unit 1002 .

[0027] The emergency call processor 1004 makes an emergency call based on the change in medical condition estimated by the estimation unit 1002. Alternatively, the emergency call processor 1004 makes an emergency call based on the advice or medical interview result provided by the provision unit 1003. The result is the patient's response to the advice or medical interview. For example, if the patient's respiratory volume falls below a threshold or if the respiratory frequency falls below a threshold, the emergency call processor 1004 makes an emergency call based on the change in medical condition estimated from information from the respiration volume measurement device 15.

[0028] Instead of the camera 13, a receiver may be used to receive signals from a device attached to the patient's body to obtain information about the patient's movements.

[0029] With the above configuration, medical personnel can encourage patients to exercise their limbs and perform breathing exercises, and can receive emergency calls due to changes in respiratory volume, allowing them to provide appropriate care to patients.

[0030] Furthermore, for example, a medical professional may utilize the nursing support device 10 for monitoring changes in a patient's condition and for safety management. For example, the medical professional may record in advance in the storage unit 102 questions regarding the patient's pain and discomfort, the timing of asking the questions, and information regarding the timing of patient safety management. The speaker 12 asks questions to the patient based on the above information. Examples of questions include questions regarding the patient's pain and whether the patient is eating. The microphone 11 also captures sounds made by the patient based on the above information. The camera 13 also captures images of the patient eating based on the above information. The acquisition unit 1001 acquires sounds made by the patient. The sounds are not limited to those made at the time when the speaker 12 uttered a question. That is, the sounds may be the sounds made by the patient answering the question from the speaker 12, or may be sounds made by the patient unrelated to the question from the speaker 12. Examples of the sounds include sounds made by the patient breathing, sounds made by the patient choking, sounds made by the patient in an apneic state, sounds made by a patient suffering from asthma, and sounds made by the patient eating. An example of a sound made by eating is the sound made by the patient moving tableware such as a spoon. The acquisition unit 1001 may also be connected to a heart rate monitor (not shown) and acquire the patient's heart rate from the heart rate monitor. The acquisition unit 1001 also transmits the acquired sounds to a medical professional. The medical professional can understand the patient's condition from the sounds transmitted from the acquisition unit 1001. The acquisition unit 1001 may compare the acquired sounds with information previously recorded in the storage unit 102 by the medical professional, and if the sound corresponds to choking, apnea, or asthma, transmit a message to that effect to the medical professional.

[0031] The estimation unit 1002 estimates information related to changes in the patient's condition and safety management based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit 1001. For example, the estimation unit 1002 acquires from the acquisition unit 1001 the patient's response regarding whether or not the patient is eating, and estimates whether or not the patient is eating. If the value acquired by the acquisition unit 1001 as an input variable, which is the sound acquired from the microphone 11, exceeds a threshold value, which is an objective variable, the estimation unit 1002 estimates that the patient is eating. Furthermore, if the value acquired as an input variable, which is the distance between the patient and the dishes or the number of times the patient has come into contact with the dishes, based on information obtained by image recognition of the patient's state, exceeds a threshold value, which is an objective variable, the estimation unit 1002 estimates that the patient is eating. The estimation unit 1002 also acquires the patient's response regarding pain from the acquisition unit 1001 and estimates the degree of pain of the patient. For example, the estimation unit 1002 may acquire, as input variables, terms related to the body such as "foot," "head," "neck," and "eye," terms expressing pain such as "ouch," "painful," and "difficult," and terms expressing degree such as "very," "intense," and "ultra," and estimate the patient's condition as a response variable. The estimation unit 1002 also estimates the patient's condition based on the heart rate and the degree of heavy breathing.

[0032] The providing unit 1003 provides the patient with a medical interview or advice via the speaker 12 based on the patient's condition estimated by the estimating unit 1002. Examples of advice include advice to encourage the patient to visit a staff station, advice to encourage the patient to eat slowly, and advice to encourage the patient to eat. The microphone 11 or the like acquires the results of the medical interview or advice. The emergency call processing unit 1004 makes an emergency call based on the results of the advice or medical interview by the providing unit 1003 or the estimated patient's condition.

[0033] With the above-described configuration, medical personnel can estimate information relating to changes in the patient's condition and safety management, and can provide appropriate care to the patient based on the estimated information.

[0034] The estimation unit 1002 may perform estimation by machine learning. That is, the estimation unit 1002 may perform machine learning to improve the accuracy of the objective variable using the information acquired by the acquisition unit 1001 and information input by a medical professional as input variables. An example of the information input by the medical professional is the patient's medical condition. By performing estimation by machine learning, it is possible to perform estimation customized for the patient and also to improve the accuracy of the estimation.

[0035] <<Operation of the nursing support device>> The operation of the nursing support device 10 will be described below. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the nursing support device 10.

[0036] Before using the nursing support device 10, a medical professional stores predetermined information in advance in the storage unit 102. For example, the information includes questions to be asked to the patient via the speaker 12 and the timing for checking the patient's heart rate.

[0037] Sensors (such as the speaker 12 and the respiratory rate measuring device 15) connected to the nursing support device 10 acquire information from the patient based on the information recorded in the memory unit 102 (step S1). For example, a question is uttered to the patient via the speaker 12, and the respiratory rate measuring device 15 acquires respiratory information of the patient.

[0038] The acquisition unit 1001 acquires the sensor information acquired by the sensor in step S1 (step S2). The estimation unit 1002 estimates information such as changes in the patient's condition based on the sensor information acquired by the acquisition unit 1001 in step S2 (step S3).

[0039] The providing unit 1003 provides advice and medical interviews to the patient via the speaker 12 or the like based on information such as changes in the patient's condition estimated in step S3 (step S4). The microphone 11 or the like acquires the patient's responses to the medical interviews and advice.

[0040] The emergency call processor 1004 makes an emergency call based on the information estimated in step S3 or the advice or results of the medical interview in step S4 (step S5).

[0041] The above operation allows medical personnel to estimate changes in the patient's condition and receive emergency calls with information such as the estimated changes in the patient's condition, allowing medical personnel to provide appropriate care to the patient at the appropriate time.

[0042] Actions and Effects The nursing support device 10 of the present invention includes an acquisition unit 1001 that acquires sensor information through a sensor attached to the patient's hospital room or the patient's body, an estimation unit 1002 that estimates the patient's condition or behavior based on the sensor information, and a provision unit 1003 that provides advice or medical interviews to the patient based on the estimated condition or behavior.

[0043] The nursing support device 10 estimates the patient's condition or behavior from sensor information and provides appropriate advice and medical interviews based on the estimation results, allowing medical professionals to provide appropriate nursing care to the patient as needed.

[0044] In addition, the estimation unit 1002 acquires the patient's respiratory information as sensor information and estimates the change in the patient's condition based on the respiratory information, and the providing unit 1003 interviews the patient based on the estimated result of the change in the patient's condition.

[0045] The nursing support device 10 estimates changes in the patient's condition from the patient's respiratory information and provides appropriate advice and medical interviews based on the estimation results, thereby enabling medical professionals to provide appropriate nursing care to the patient at appropriate times.

[0046] The nursing support device 10 further includes an emergency call processor 1004 that executes an emergency call depending on the estimated condition or behavior of the patient or the result of the provided medical interview. This allows the medical staff to receive the emergency call made by the nursing support device 10 and provide appropriate nursing care to the patient as needed.

[0047] In addition, the nursing support device 10 has an estimation unit 1002 that estimates whether the patient is performing the exercise that should be performed regularly, and a provision unit 1003 that urges the patient to perform the exercise if it is estimated that the patient is not performing the exercise.

[0048] The nursing support device 10 estimates the patient's exercise state and provides appropriate advice and medical interviews based on the estimation results, thereby enabling medical professionals to provide appropriate nursing care to the patient at appropriate times.

[0049] In addition, in the nursing support device 10, the estimation unit 1002 estimates whether or not the patient is eating, and the providing unit 1003 provides advice regarding eating when it is estimated that the patient is eating.

[0050] The nursing support device 10 estimates the patient's dietary condition and provides appropriate advice and medical interviews based on the estimation results, thereby enabling medical professionals to provide appropriate nursing care to the patient as needed.

[0051] The program of the present invention causes the computer of the nursing support device 10 to execute the steps of acquiring sensor information through sensors attached to the patient's hospital room or the patient's body, estimating the patient's condition or behavior based on the sensor information, and providing advice or questioning to the patient based on the estimated condition or behavior.

[0052] Medical professionals using the program can estimate the patient's condition or behavior from sensor information and provide appropriate advice and interviews based on the results of that estimation, allowing them to provide appropriate care to the patient at the appropriate time.

[0053] <Computer Configuration> FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of a computer according to at least one embodiment. The computer 1100 includes a processor 1110 , a main memory 1120 , storage 1130 , and an interface 1140 . The nursing support device 10 described above is implemented in a computer 1100. The operations of the above-described processing units are stored in the storage 1130 in the form of a program. The processor 1110 reads the program from the storage 1130, loads it into the main memory 1120, and executes the above-described processing in accordance with the program. The processor 1110 also allocates storage areas in the main memory 1120 corresponding to the above-described storage units in accordance with the program.

[0054] The program may be for realizing some of the functions to be performed by the computer 1100. For example, the program may be combined with other programs already stored in the storage 1130 or other programs implemented in other devices to perform the functions. In other embodiments, the computer 1100 may include a custom LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) in addition to or instead of the above configuration. Examples of PLDs include a PAL (Programmable Array Logic), a GAL (Generic Array Logic), a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). In this case, some or all of the functions realized by the processor 1110 may be realized by the integrated circuit.

[0055] Examples of storage 1130 include a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, and a semiconductor memory. Storage 1130 may be an internal medium directly connected to the bus of computer 1100, or an external medium connected to the computer via interface 1140 or a communication line. Furthermore, when this program is distributed to computer 1100 via a communication line, computer 1100 that receives the program may load the program into main memory 1120 and execute the above-described processing. In at least one embodiment, storage 1130 is a non-transitory tangible storage medium.

[0056] The program may also be a program for realizing part of the above-described functions. Furthermore, the program may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that realizes the above-described functions in combination with another program already stored in storage 1130. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1 ICU 10 Nursing support equipment 11. Mike 12 speakers 13 Camera 14 Cuff 15 Respirometry device 100 CPU 101 Connection Interface 102 Storage section 1001 Acquisition Department 1002 Estimation section 1003 Provision Department 1004 Emergency call processing unit 1100 Computer 1110 processor 1120 main memory 1130 Storage 1140 Interface M Monitor

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires sensor information through a sensor attached to a patient's hospital room or the patient's body; an estimation unit that estimates a state or behavior of a patient based on the sensor information; a providing unit that provides advice or a medical interview to the patient based on the estimated condition or behavior; Equipped with The acquisition unit acquires, as the sensor information, a patient's response to a question uttered from a speaker, and acquires respiratory information of the patient in addition to information that can be read from natural language as the sound of the patient's response; The estimation unit estimates whether the patient is in a delirium state based on at least a YES / NO answer result to the question and a measurement result of the time required to answer the question, When the acquisition unit acquires a response in the patient's natural language to a question uttered from a speaker as sound, the estimation unit extracts, as information, specific terms contained in the sound that indicate a body part, pain, and its degree; When the acquisition unit acquires a sound unrelated to the question issued from the speaker, it determines whether or not the sound corresponds to at least one of choking, apnea, and asthma, and when the sound indicates at least one of choking, apnea, and asthma, it transmits a message to that effect to a medical professional. Nursing support equipment.

2. the estimation unit acquires respiratory information of the patient as the sensor information and estimates a change in the patient's condition based on the respiratory information; The providing unit conducts a medical interview with the patient according to the estimated result of the change in the disease condition. The nursing support device according to claim 1 .

3. an emergency call processor that executes an emergency call in response to the estimated state or behavior of the patient or the provided result of the medical interview; Further equipped The nursing support device according to claim 2.

4. the estimation unit estimates whether the patient is performing an exercise that should be performed regularly; The provision unit prompts the patient to perform the exercise when it is estimated that the patient is not performing the exercise. The nursing support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. the estimation unit estimates whether the patient is eating; The providing unit provides advice regarding meals when it is estimated that the patient is eating. The nursing support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The computer in the nursing support device acquiring sensor information through sensors attached to the patient's room or on the patient's body; estimating a state or behavior of a patient based on the sensor information; providing advice or a consultation to the patient based on the estimated condition or behavior; A program for executing In the acquiring step, the patient's response to the question uttered from the speaker is acquired as the sensor information, and respiratory information of the patient is acquired in addition to information that can be read from natural language as the sound of the patient's response, In the step of estimating, it is estimated whether the patient is in a delirious state based on at least a YES / NO answer result to the question and a measurement result of the time required to answer the question, In the acquiring step, when a response in natural language of the patient to the question uttered from the speaker is acquired as sound, in the estimating step, specific terms that are included in the sound and indicate a body part, pain, and its degree are extracted as information; In the acquiring step, if a sound unrelated to the question uttered from the speaker is acquired, it is determined whether or not the sound corresponds to at least one of choking, apnea, and asthma, and if the sound indicates at least one of choking, apnea, and asthma, a message to that effect is sent to a medical professional. program.

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