Nurse call system

Abstract

To enable a medical worker to perform a necessary response work by receiving an appropriate notification at appropriate timing.SOLUTION: An AI camera 1 analyzes a photographed image of an area in the periphery of a bed, so as to detect a lying state of a patient lying on a bed, a leaving state after the patient leaves the bed, and an intermediate state between the lying state and the leaving state, and then, outputs a call signal when the intermediate state or the leaving state is detected. At this time, the AI camera 1 outputs the call signal when an action state to be identified according to patient state information indicating a patient state related to a possibility or validity of the patient's solitary action is detected. An NC master unit 4 performs a notification operation when the call signal is received. Thus, it is determined for each patient that the notification operation is to be performed depending on which action state is detected. Then, a medical worker can perform a necessary response work by receiving an appropriate notification at appropriate timing for each patient.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a nurse call system, and is particularly suitable for use in a nurse call system that calls a patient in accordance with the patient's condition detected by analyzing an image captured by a camera. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, nurse call systems are known that analyze images captured by a camera and issue a call based on the patient's condition (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). In the nurse call system described in Patent Document 1, a hallway light is equipped with an image analysis unit that detects when a patient leaves bed based on the image captured by the camera. The image analysis unit sets a specific area within the camera's field of view to match the bed being imaged, and determines that the patient has left bed when it detects the patient lying down in bed, sitting up with their upper body raised on the bed, and moving out of the specific area in that order. The nurse call master unit issues an alert when the image analysis unit determines that the patient has left bed.

[0003] The monitoring support system described in Patent Document 2 comprises a regression unit that has been trained by machine learning to output a score indicating the state of the person in relation to the bed when an image showing a bed and a person is input; an image acquisition unit that acquires images from an imaging device installed to capture an image of a monitoring area including the subject's bed; a judgment unit that judges the subject's behavior (asleep, awake, or out of bed) based on the score obtained by inputting the image of the monitoring area obtained by the image acquisition unit into the regression unit; and an output unit that issues the necessary notification when it is determined that the subject has "woke up" or "left the bed." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6454506 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6822326 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the system described in Patent Document 1, regardless of whether or not at least one of a state of lying down on the bed and a state of sitting up with the upper body raised on the bed is set as a prerequisite for getting out of bed, the system determines that a person has left the bed and issues a warning when it detects a person moving out of the bed.In contrast, in the system described in Patent Document 2, the system issues a warning not only when it detects that the patient has left the bed but also when it detects that the patient has sat up.

[0006] However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, an alarm is sent only when it is detected that the patient has gotten out of bed, which means that medical personnel are unable to receive an alarm when it is detected that the patient has gotten up and take the necessary measures early on.

[0007] On the other hand, in the system described in Patent Document 2, an alarm is issued even when a patient's awake state is detected, so that necessary measures can be taken promptly upon receiving the alarm. However, because an alarm is issued both when an awake state is detected and when a patient is subsequently detected getting out of bed, there is a problem that multiple alarms may be issued by multiple patients, and medical personnel end up spending a lot of time responding to the alarms.

[0008] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims to enable medical personnel to receive appropriate notifications at the appropriate time and take the necessary response actions in a nurse call system that is configured to detect when a patient is lying down in bed, when they have left the bed, and when they are in an intermediate state between these states and perform an alarm action. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention analyzes captured images including the patient's bed and its surrounding area to detect a prone state in which the patient lies down on the bed, an out-of-bed state in which the patient leaves the bed, and one or more intermediate states between the prone state and the out-of-bed state, and issues a warning when an intermediate state or an out-of-bed state is detected. Here, the present invention is configured to issue a warning when a behavioral state specified in accordance with patient condition information indicating a patient condition related to the possibility or appropriateness of the patient's independent behavior is detected from among the intermediate states and the out-of-bed state. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention configured as described above, unlike conventional technologies that issue an alert only when a state of getting out of bed is detected, or conventional technologies that issue an alert all the time whether a state of sitting up or a state of getting out of bed is detected, the present invention determines for each patient which behavioral state will be detected and when an alert action will be issued, depending on the patient's condition related to the possibility or appropriateness of the patient's independent behavior, so that medical personnel can receive appropriate alerts at the appropriate time for each patient and perform the necessary response tasks. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a nurse call system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an AI camera installation. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the functional configuration of an AI camera according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an NC master unit according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of state-specific condition information stored in a state-specific condition information storage unit. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an AI camera according to a second modified example. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an AI camera according to a third modified example. [Figure 8]FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an NC master unit according to a third modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a nurse call system according to this embodiment. Note that, although the description here takes as an example a nurse call system installed in a hospital, the nurse call system of this embodiment is not limited to systems installed in hospitals. For example, it can also be applied to systems installed in nursing homes, etc.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the nurse call system 100 of this embodiment is configured with an AI camera 1, a camera controller 2, a nurse call server (hereinafter referred to as the NC server) 3, a nurse call master unit (hereinafter referred to as the NC master unit) 4, a control unit 5, a hallway light 6, a wall-mounted slave unit 7, and a handheld slave unit 8. The AI ​​camera 1 corresponds to a transmitting terminal installed near the patient's bed. The NC master unit 4 corresponds to a receiving terminal installed at a location away from the bed. Communication between the AI ​​camera 1 and the NC master unit 4 and between the NC server 3 and the control unit 5 is performed, for example, using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). Communication between the control unit 5 and the handheld slave unit 8 is performed via a nurse call trunk line.

[0014] AI camera 1 is a camera with a built-in computer that captures images of the patient's bed and the surrounding area. For example, as shown in Figure 2, AI camera 1 is installed for each bed on the wall in the direction where the patient's head will be positioned when sleeping. The wall on which AI camera 1 is installed should preferably be higher than the bed, as shown by the arrow in Figure 2(a), and its horizontal position should be within the range of the bed width plus a specified width, as shown by the arrow in Figure 2(b).

[0015] As will be described in detail later, the AI ​​camera 1 detects a prone state in which the patient lies down on the bed, a bed-out state in which the patient leaves the bed, and one or more intermediate states between the prone state and the bed-out state, and outputs a call signal when it detects an intermediate state or a bed-out state. In this embodiment, two intermediate states are detected: a roused state in which the patient sits upright on the bed, and a sitting-on-the-edge state in which the patient sits at the edge of the bed with their feet outside the bed. The sitting-on-the-edge state refers to, for example, a state in which the patient's back is at an angle of 45 degrees or more relative to the bed surface. Hereinafter, the prone state, roused state, sitting-on-the-edge state, and out-of-bed state are referred to as the patient's behavioral states. In this embodiment, it is determined for each patient which behavioral state among the roused state, sitting-on-the-edge state, and out-of-bed state will be detected and a call signal will be output.

[0016] The camera controller 2 transmits and receives data to and from the AI ​​camera 1. For example, the camera controller 2 receives a call signal from the AI ​​camera 1 and notifies the NC server 3. The camera controller 2 also receives patient condition information (described later) from the NC server 3 and transmits it to the AI ​​camera 1 for storage. Based on this patient condition information, the AI ​​camera 1 determines for each patient which behavioral state is detected and when that behavioral state is detected, a call signal will be output.

[0017] The NC server 3 is connected to the camera controller 2, the NC master unit 4, and the control unit 5, and transmits and receives data therebetween. For example, the NC server 3 notifies the NC master unit 4 of a call signal sent from the camera controller 2. The NC server 3 also transmits patient condition information stored in a patient information management database (not shown) to the camera controller 2. The NC server 3 can be linked with other systems used in the hospital other than the nurse call system (e.g., an electronic medical record system, a medical administration system, an ordering system, etc.). In this embodiment, the NC server 3 is connected to an electronic medical record system 200. The NC server 3 acquires patient condition information from the electronic medical record system 200 and stores it in the patient information management database. This patient information management database may be provided inside the NC server 3, or may be provided external to the NC server 3 and shared with the NC master unit 4.

[0018] The NC master unit 4 includes at least one of a fixed type installed in, for example, a nurse's station and a portable type such as a smartphone carried by each nurse, and receives a call signal sent from the NC server 3 and performs a predetermined notification operation. This notification operation, for example, displays information about the called patient on a display and outputs a ring tone from a speaker. When the medical professional responds by going off-hook in response to this notification operation, a call path is established, allowing the medical professional and the patient to talk.

[0019] In addition, the AI ​​camera 1 may further be equipped with a speaker, and may be configured to output the voice of the medical professional received via the call path formed in response to the response operation on the NC master unit 4 as described above from the speaker.

[0020] The control unit 5 is connected between the NC server 3 and the corridor light 6, and controls the transmission and reception of calls and data. The corridor light 6 is installed outside near the entrance of each hospital room. The corridor light 6 is equipped with a display device that displays the name of the patient in the room and also displays the fact that a call has been made when the patient in the room makes a call using the wall-mounted handset 7 or handheld handset 8. The corridor light 6 also transfers the call signal sent from the wall-mounted handset 7 or handheld handset 8 to the NC server 3 via the control unit 5.

[0021] The wall-mounted handset 7 is installed in the wall beside each bed in the hospital room. The wall-mounted handset 7 is equipped with a call button for the patient to call a medical professional, a microphone and speaker for the patient to use when talking with the medical professional, and a connection terminal for connecting the handheld handset 8. However, the configuration of the wall-mounted handset 7 is not limited to this. For example, it may not be equipped with a call button.

[0022] The handheld handset 8 is connected to the wall-mounted handset 7. The handheld handset 8 is equipped with a call button for the patient to call a medical professional, and a microphone and speaker for the patient to use when talking with the medical professional. However, the configuration of the handheld handset 8 is not limited to this. For example, it may be equipped without a microphone and speaker (a grip-type push button).

[0023] When a patient operates the call button on the wall-mounted handset 7 or handheld handset 8, a call signal is sent to the NC master unit 4 via the corridor light 6, the control unit 5, and the NC server 3. Hereinafter, the wall-mounted handset 7 and the handheld handset 8 will be collectively referred to as the nurse call handsets 7, 8.

[0024] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the AI ​​camera 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the AI ​​camera 1 of this embodiment is functionally configured to include a captured image acquisition unit 11, a behavioral state detection unit 12, a call processing unit 13, and a patient condition information recording unit 14. The AI ​​camera 1 of this embodiment also includes a patient condition information storage unit 15 and a condition-specific information storage unit 16 as storage media.

[0025] The functional blocks 11 to 14 can be configured by any of hardware, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and software. For example, when configured by software, the functional blocks 11 to 14 are actually configured with a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and are realized by the operation of a program stored in the RAM or ROM. The program may also be stored in other storage media such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0026] The patient condition information recording unit 14 receives patient condition information sent from the NC server 3 via the camera controller 2 and stores it in the patient condition information storage unit 15. As described above, an AI camera 1 is installed for each patient bed, and the patient condition information storage unit 15 of each AI camera 1 stores the patient condition information of the patient using that AI camera 1.

[0027] The patient condition information is information indicating the patient condition related to the possibility or appropriateness of the patient's independent action. In this embodiment, the information indicating the patient condition related to the possibility or appropriateness of the patient's independent action includes information on the rescue category indicating the degree of need for assistance when evacuating the patient, information on the nursing need level indicating the degree of need for nursing care for the patient, and information on the patient's medical condition.

[0028] There are three rescue categories: "walking alone," which indicates that the patient can evacuate on their own; "escorting," which indicates that one or more caregivers are required for evacuation; and "carrying along," which indicates that a stretcher is required for evacuation. These rescue categories are important information for evacuating hospitalized patients quickly and safely when a situation arises in which they must be evacuated. Each patient is assigned a rescue category: walking alone, escorting, or carrying along.

[0029] The nursing need level represents the degree of need for assistance for each item related to the patient's condition. In this embodiment, four items related to the patient's condition are used: "turning over," "transferring," "complying with medical and nursing care instructions," and "risky behavior." For "turning over," one of "able," "able if holding on to something," or "not able to" is set for each patient. For "transferring," one of "independent," "partial assistance," or "full assistance" is set for each patient. For "complying with medical and nursing care instructions," one of "yes" or "no" is set for each patient. For "risky behavior," one of "no" or "yes" is set for each patient.

[0030] The medical condition includes information such as the name of the disease, symptoms, condition, details of treatment performed, progress after treatment, etc. If surgery is performed as a treatment, information on the date and time of the surgery is also included.

[0031] The condition-specific condition information storage unit 16 pre-stores condition-specific condition information indicating, for each patient condition, the conditions under which a notification action is to be taken when a behavioral state, either an intermediate state or an out-of-bed state, is detected. This condition-specific information indicates the conditions under which a notification action is to be taken when a behavioral state, such as "walking independently," "escorting," or "carrying," is detected for each of the rescue categories. The condition-specific condition information also indicates the conditions under which a notification action is to be taken when a behavioral state, such as "turning over," "transferring," "complying with medical and therapeutic instructions," or "dangerous behavior," is detected for each of the nursing need levels. The condition-specific condition information also indicates the conditions under which a notification action is to be taken when a behavioral state is detected for each disease and when a notification action is to be taken depending on the time elapsed since surgery.

[0032] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of condition information by state stored in the condition information storage unit 16. Regarding rescue categories, as shown in Fig. 5(a), the following conditions are set: if "walking alone" is set, an alert action is made when a state of getting out of bed is detected; if "escorting" is set, an alert action is made when a state of sitting on the edge of the bed or a state of getting out of bed is detected; and if "carrying" is set, an alert action is made when a state of sitting up, a state of sitting on the edge of the bed, or a state of getting out of bed is detected.

[0033] Regarding the level of nursing care need, as shown in Figure 5(b), the conditions are set so that if the patient's condition is other than "able" for the "turning over" item, other than "independent" for the "transfer" item, if the patient's condition is "no" for the "can follow medical and therapeutic instructions" item, or if the patient's condition is "yes" for the "risky behavior" item, an alarm will be issued if the patient is detected as sitting up, on the edge of bed, or out of bed; otherwise, no alarm will be issued.

[0034] Regarding the condition, as shown in Figure 5(c), in the case of brain disease, an alarm is issued if an upright state, sitting on the edge of bed, or getting out of bed is detected; if it is within two days after surgery, an alarm is issued if an upright state or sitting on the edge of bed is detected; and if it is three days or more after surgery, an alarm is issued if it is sitting on the edge of bed.

[0035] In the above description, it is assumed that the state-specific condition information is stored in advance in the state-specific condition information storage unit 16 of each AI camera 1, but the state-specific condition information may be transmitted from the NC server 3 to the AI ​​camera 1 and stored in the state-specific condition information storage unit 16. In this case, the NC server 3 may be able to set the contents of the state-specific condition information.

[0036] The captured image acquisition unit 11 acquires captured images including the area on the patient's bed and the surrounding area. The AI ​​camera 1 constantly captures images of the area around the bed, and the captured images are constantly acquired by the captured image acquisition unit 11.

[0037] The behavioral state detection unit 12 detects whether the patient is in a prone state, a awake state, a sitting position on the edge of the bed, or an out-of-bed state by analyzing the photographed image acquired by the photographed image acquisition unit 11. The behavioral state detection unit 12 pre-sets a specific area within the photographed image to match the shape of the bed. The behavioral state detection unit 12 also extracts people appearing in the photographed image. The behavioral state detection unit 12 then detects whether the patient is in a prone state, a sitting state, a sitting position on the edge of the bed, or an out-of-bed state based on the posture of the extracted person and the relative positional relationship between the rectangular frame set within the person's range and the specific area.

[0038] Here, the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects the behavioral state of the patient at predetermined time intervals for the purpose of reducing the processing load, etc. Then, when the same behavioral state is detected multiple times in succession, it is determined that the patient is in that state. For example, the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects the behavioral state of the patient at one-second intervals, and when the same behavioral state is detected twice in succession (i.e., when the same behavioral state is detected for one second or more in succession), it is determined that the patient is in that state. In the following description, when "detecting the behavioral state" of the patient, it means detecting a confirmed behavioral state.

[0039] The behavioral state detection unit 12 can perform the above-described detection process of the patient's behavioral state using a machine-learned classification model. That is, multiple pieces of training data are prepared in which images of people or non-people objects on or around the bed are assigned correct labels—prone, awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, out of bed, or other states—and a classification model is machine-learned using this training data. The behavioral state detection unit 12 inputs the captured images acquired by the captured image acquisition unit 11 into the trained classification model, and obtains an output indicating a classification result—prone, awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, out of bed, or other states.

[0040] When the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects that the patient is awake, sitting on the edge of bed, or out of bed, the call processing unit 13 transmits a call signal to the NC master unit 4 via the camera controller 2 and the NC server 3. This call signal includes a terminal ID that identifies the AI ​​camera 1. The call signals transmitted from the nurse call slave units 7 and 8 include a slave ID that identifies the nurse call slave units 7 and 8.

[0041] In this embodiment, the call processing unit 13 determines whether the behavioral state detection unit 12 has detected a behavioral state specified in accordance with the patient condition information stored in the patient condition information storage unit 15 and the condition-specific condition information stored in the condition-specific condition information storage unit 16, and if it is determined that the behavioral state specified in accordance with the patient condition information has been detected, decides to proceed with the notification process and transmits a call signal. That is, when the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects that the patient is in an intermediate state or out of bed, the call processing unit 13 acquires the patient condition information of the patient from the patient condition information storage unit 15. Then, the call processing unit 13 refers to the condition-specific condition information storage unit 16 based on the acquired patient condition information and decides whether to proceed with the notification process.

[0042] Specifically, the call processing unit 13 determines to proceed with the notification operation and transmits a call signal when the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects a behavioral state specified based on the condition information for each condition related to the medical category shown in Fig. 5(a) in accordance with the medical category of the patient condition information stored in the patient condition information storage unit 15. Furthermore, the call processing unit 13 determines to proceed with the notification operation and transmits a call signal when the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects a behavioral state specified based on the condition information for each condition related to the medical category shown in Fig. 5(b) in accordance with the medical category of the patient condition information stored in the patient condition information storage unit 15. Furthermore, the call processing unit 13 determines to proceed with the notification operation and transmits a call signal when the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects a behavioral state specified based on the condition information for each condition related to the medical condition shown in Fig. 5(c) in accordance with the medical condition of the patient condition information stored in the patient condition information storage unit 15. Here, the call processing unit 13 transmits a call signal when the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects a behavioral state specified according to the patient condition information for at least one of the medical category, nursing need level, and medical condition.

[0043] Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the NC master unit 4. As shown in Fig. 4, the NC master unit 4 of this embodiment has, as its functional configuration, a call receiving unit 41 and a notification processing unit 42. These functional blocks 41 to 42 can be configured using any of hardware, DSP, and software. For example, when configured using software, the functional blocks 41 to 42 are actually configured with a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and are realized by the operation of a program stored in the RAM or ROM. Note that the program may also be stored in other storage media such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0044] The call reception unit 41 receives call signals transmitted from the AI ​​camera 1 and the nurse call handsets 7 and 8. When the call reception unit 41 receives a call signal (i.e., when the behavioral state detection unit 12 of the AI ​​camera 1 detects that the patient is in an intermediate state or out of bed, or when the call button of the nurse call handsets 7 and 8 is operated), the notification processing unit 42 performs the predetermined notification operation described above in response to the reception of the call signal transmitted thereby.

[0045] For example, the notification processor 42 identifies the patient registered in association with the ID transmitted by the call signal (the terminal ID of the AI ​​camera 1, the handset ID of the nurse call handset 7, 8) by referencing a patient information management database (not shown). The notification processor 42 then reads part of the patient information (e.g., name, room number, bed number, etc.) of the identified patient from the patient information management database, generates a pop-up screen for the patient information, and displays it on the display. The notification processor 42 also sounds a call tone from the speaker to notify the medical staff.

[0046] As described above, in this embodiment, the notification processing unit 42 performs a notification operation when a behavioral state specified according to the patient condition information, either the intermediate state or the out-of-bed state, is detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12 of the AI ​​camera 1. That is, the notification processing unit 42 receives a call signal and performs a notification operation when a behavioral state specified according to the rescue category is detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12, when a behavioral state specified according to the nursing need level is detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12, or when a behavioral state specified according to the medical condition is detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12.

[0047] Unlike conventional technologies that issue alerts only when a patient is detected getting out of bed, or that issue alerts both when a patient is awake and when a patient is awake, the nurse call system of this embodiment determines for each patient which behavioral state to issue an alert when detected, based on the patient's care category, level of nursing need, and condition. This allows medical personnel to receive appropriate alerts at the appropriate time for each patient and take the necessary action.

[0048] <First Modification> In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the AI ​​camera 1 includes the patient condition information storage unit 15 and the condition-specific condition information storage unit 16, and the call processing unit 13 acquires the patient's condition information from the patient condition information storage unit 15 and determines whether to proceed with the notification process by referring to the condition-specific condition information storage unit 16 based on the acquired patient condition information, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the NC server 3 may include the patient condition information storage unit 15 and the condition-specific condition information storage unit 16, and determine whether to proceed with the notification process as follows. In this case, the patient condition information storage unit 15 stores the patient condition information of each patient.

[0049] That is, every time the behavioral state of the patient is detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12, the call processing unit 13 transmits the terminal ID to make an inquiry to the NC server 3. The NC server 3 acquires the patient condition information of the patient corresponding to the terminal ID from the patient condition information storage unit 15, and based on the acquired patient condition information, refers to the condition-specific information storage unit 16 to determine whether the behavioral state specified in accordance with the patient condition information of the patient has been detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12, and returns the determination result to the call processing unit 13. Based on the determination result acquired from the NC server 3, the call processing unit 13 decides whether to proceed with the notification process.

[0050] The NC server 3 in this first modified example corresponds to an information management device in the claims. Note that, although the NC server 3 is used here as an example of an information management device, this is not limiting. For example, a separate dedicated device that does not have a call signal forwarding function may be used as the information management device. Alternatively, the NC master unit 4 may be used as the information management device.

[0051] <Second Modification> In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the decision on whether to proceed with the notification process was made based on the patient condition information and the condition-specific condition information, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, behavioral information specified as a notification target for each patient according to the patient condition information and the condition-specific condition information may be stored in advance in the AI ​​camera 1, and when the intermediate state or the out-of-bed state is detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12, it may be determined whether the detected state corresponds to the previously stored behavioral information and then whether to proceed with the notification process.

[0052] Figure 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an AI camera 1' according to a second modified example. In Figure 6, components with the same reference numerals as those in Figure 3 have the same functions, and therefore redundant explanations will be omitted here. The AI ​​camera 1' according to the second modified example has, as its functional configuration, a call processing unit 13' and a patient-specific condition information recording unit 17 instead of the call processing unit 13 and the patient condition information recording unit 14. The AI ​​camera 1' according to the second modified example also has, as a storage medium, a patient-specific condition information storage unit 18 instead of the patient condition information storage unit 15 and the condition-specific condition information storage unit 16.

[0053] The patient-specific condition information recording unit 17 receives the patient-specific condition information sent from the NC server 3 via the camera controller 2 and stores it in the patient-specific condition information storage unit 18. As described above, an AI camera 1' is installed for each patient's bed, and the patient-specific condition information storage unit 18 of each AI camera 1' stores patient-specific condition information set corresponding to the patient using the respective AI camera 1'. The patient-specific condition information is information that indicates, for each patient, the conditions under which a notification action is performed when a behavioral state, either an intermediate state or an out-of-bed state, is detected.

[0054] This patient-specific condition information is set by the NC server 3 based on, for example, the patient condition information of the patient transmitted from the electronic medical record system 200 to the NC server 3 and the condition-specific condition information as shown in Fig. 5 that is pre-stored in the NC server 3. The set patient-specific condition information is then transmitted from the NC server 3 to the AI ​​camera 1' of each patient via the camera controller 2, and is stored in the patient-specific condition information storage unit 18 by the patient-specific condition information recording unit 17.

[0055] When the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects the intermediate state or the out-of-bed state, the call processing unit 13' refers to the patient-specific condition information stored in the patient-specific condition information storage unit 18 and determines whether or not to proceed with the notification process. That is, the call processing unit 13' determines whether or not the behavioral state specified by the patient-specific condition information stored in the patient-specific condition information storage unit 18 has been detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12, and if it is determined that the behavioral state specified by the patient-specific condition information has been detected, the call processing unit 13' determines to proceed with the notification process and transmits a call signal.

[0056] Note that this second modified example may also be configured in the same manner as the first modified example described above. That is, the NC server 3 includes a patient-specific condition information storage unit 18. Then, every time the behavioral state of the patient is detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12, the call processing unit 13′ makes an inquiry to the NC server 3 using the terminal ID. The NC server 3 refers to the patient-specific condition information stored in the patient-specific condition information storage unit 18, determines whether or not the behavioral state specified in accordance with the patient condition information of the patient has been detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12, and returns the determination result to the call processing unit 13′. Based on the determination result obtained from the NC server 3, the call processing unit 13′ decides whether or not to proceed with the notification process.

[0057] <Third Modification> In the above embodiment, the AI ​​camera 1 determines whether to proceed with the notification process, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects an intermediate state or an out-of-bed state, the AI ​​camera 1 may always output a call signal, and the NC master unit 4 may determine whether to proceed with the notification process.

[0058] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an AI camera 1" according to the third modified example. In this Figure 7, components given the same symbols as those shown in Figure 3 have the same functions, so duplicate explanations will be omitted here. The AI ​​camera 1" according to the third modified example has a call processing unit 13" instead of the call processing unit 13 as its functional configuration. In addition, the AI ​​camera 1" according to the third modified example does not have the patient condition information recording unit 14, the patient condition information storage unit 15, and the condition-specific information storage unit 16.

[0059] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an NC master unit 4" according to the third modified example. In FIG. 8, components having the same reference numerals as those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 have the same functions, and therefore redundant explanations will be omitted here. The NC master unit 4" according to the third modified example is functionally equipped with a notification processing unit 42" instead of the notification processing unit 42, and further equipped with a patient condition information recording unit 14". Furthermore, the NC master unit 4" according to the third modified example is further equipped with a patient condition information storage unit 15" and a condition-specific information storage unit 16 as storage media.

[0060] The call processing unit 13'' of the AI ​​camera 1'' sends a call signal to the NC parent unit 4'' when the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects an intermediate state or an out-of-bed state.In the third variant, the call processing unit 13'' does not determine whether to perform an alarm operation based on the patient state information or patient-specific condition information, but always sends a call signal when an intermediate state or an out-of-bed state is detected.

[0061] The patient condition information recording unit 14" of the NC parent unit 4" receives the patient condition information of each patient sent from the NC server 3 and stores it in the patient condition information memory unit 15". The notification processing unit 42" receives a call signal from the AI ​​camera 1" received by the call receiving unit 41, and determines whether the behavioral state specified in accordance with the patient condition information stored in the patient condition information memory unit 15" and the condition-specific condition information stored in the condition-specific condition information memory unit 16 has been detected by the behavioral state detection unit 12. If it is determined that the behavioral state specified in accordance with the patient condition information has been detected, the notification processing unit 42" decides to proceed with the notification process and performs the notification operation.

[0062] That is, when the call receiving unit 41 receives a call signal from the AI ​​camera 1'', the notification processing unit 42'' acquires the patient condition information of the patient corresponding to the terminal ID indicated by the call signal from the patient condition information storage unit 15''. Then, based on the acquired patient condition information, the notification processing unit 42'' refers to the condition-specific information in the condition-specific information storage unit 16 and determines whether to proceed with the notification processing.

[0063] The contents of the second modified example may be applied to the NC master unit 4". That is, instead of the patient condition information recording unit 14", a function similar to that of the patient-specific condition information recording unit 17 of Figure 6 may be provided (however, it differs from the patient-specific condition information recording unit 17 which stores the patient-specific condition information of one patient in a memory unit in that the patient-specific condition information of each patient is stored in a memory unit), and instead of the patient condition information memory unit 15" and the condition-specific condition information memory unit 16, a memory unit similar to the patient-specific condition information memory unit 18 of Figure 6 may be provided, so that when the call receiving unit 41 receives a call signal, it may refer to the patient-specific condition information for the patient corresponding to the terminal ID indicated by the call signal to determine whether or not to proceed with the notification process.

[0064] In addition, when the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects an intermediate state or an out-of-bed state, a call signal may always be output from the AI ​​camera 1", and the NC server 3 may decide whether to proceed with the notification process. In this case, the NC server 3 has the same function as the call processing unit 13 in Figure 3 or the call processing unit 13' in Figure 6, and when the NC server 3 receives a call signal from the AI ​​camera 1 (or AI camera 1'), it determines whether to proceed with the notification process, and if it decides to proceed with the notification process, it transfers the call signal to the NC parent unit 4. In this case, the NC server 3 corresponds to the relay device in the claims.

[0065] <Other variations> In the above embodiment, the behavioral state detection unit 12 detects two intermediate states, a waking state and a sitting-on-the-edge state, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the behavioral state detection unit 12 may detect only one of the waking state and the sitting-on-the-edge state as the intermediate state.

[0066] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which three pieces of information, namely, rescue category, nursing need level, and medical condition, were used as patient condition information, but it is also possible to use any two or only one of these pieces.

[0067] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are merely examples of specific embodiments for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereby. In other words, the present invention can be carried out in various forms without departing from its spirit or main characteristics. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1,1',1" AI camera (transmitting device) 2 Camera Controller 3 Nurse call server (NC server) (relay device) 4,4" Nurse Call Base Unit (NC Base Unit) (Receiving Terminal) 11. Image acquisition unit 12 Behavioral state detection unit 13,13',13" Call Processing Unit 14 Patient condition information recording section 15,15” Patient condition information storage unit 16. State-specific condition information storage section 17 Patient condition information recording section 18 Patient-specific condition information storage unit 41 Call Reception Unit 42,42” Notification processing section

Claims

1. an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image including an area on the patient's bed and its surroundings; a behavioral state detection unit that analyzes the photographed images acquired by the photographed image acquisition unit to detect, as the behavioral state of the patient, a prone state in which the patient lies down on the bed, an out-of-bed state in which the patient leaves the bed, and one or more intermediate states between the prone state and the out-of-bed state; a notification processing unit that performs a notification operation when the intermediate state or the out-of-bed state is detected by the behavior state detection unit, The notification processing unit performs the notification operation when the behavioral state detection unit detects a behavioral state specified in accordance with information on a level of nursing need representing a level of nursing need of the patient, from the intermediate state and the out-of-bed state. A nurse call system characterized by:

2. The intermediate state includes two states: a sitting state in which the patient sits upright on the bed, and a sitting state in which the patient sits on the edge of the bed with his / her feet outside the bed, The notification processing unit performs the notification operation when the behavioral state detection unit detects a behavioral state specified according to the information on the level of nursing care need from the sitting state, the edge sitting state, and the getting out of bed state.

2. The nurse call system according to claim 1.

3. An image acquisition unit that acquires an image including an area on the patient's bed and its surroundings; a behavioral state detection unit that analyzes the photographed images acquired by the photographed image acquisition unit to detect, as the behavioral state of the patient, a prone state in which the patient lies down on the bed, an out-of-bed state in which the patient leaves the bed, and one or more intermediate states between the prone state and the out-of-bed state; a notification processing unit that performs a notification operation when the behavioral state detection unit detects a behavioral state specified in accordance with patient condition information indicating a patient condition related to the possibility or appropriateness of the patient's independent behavior, from the intermediate state and the out-of-bed state; and a state-specific condition information storage unit that stores state-specific condition information indicating a condition for performing the notification action when a behavioral state of the intermediate state and the out-of-bed state is detected for each content of the patient state, When the behavioral state detection unit detects the intermediate state or the out-of-bed state of the patient, the patient state information of the patient is acquired, and based on the patient state information, the state-specific condition information storage unit is referred to to determine whether to proceed with the notification process. A nurse call system characterized by:

4. The patient condition information includes information on the rescue category indicating the degree of need for assistance when evacuating the patient, information on the degree of nursing need indicating the degree of need for nursing of the patient, and information on the medical condition of the patient, The condition information storage unit stores condition information for each state, which indicates a condition for performing the notification action when a behavioral state between the intermediate state and the bed leaving state is detected, for each of the rescue category, the nursing need level, and the medical condition of the patient.

4. The nurse call system according to claim 3.

5. The nurse call system includes a transmitting terminal installed near the bed, a receiving terminal installed at a position away from the bed, and an information management device that stores condition information indicating conditions for proceeding with the notification process; The transmitting terminal is The captured image acquisition unit; The behavioral state detection unit; a call processing unit that transmits a call signal to the receiving terminal when the intermediate state or the out-of-bed state is detected by the behavior state detection unit, the call processing unit, when the behavioral state detection unit detects the intermediate state or the out-of-bed state, makes an inquiry to the information management device, and when it receives from the information management device a determination result that the behavioral state specified in accordance with the patient condition information has been detected by the behavioral state detection unit, decides to proceed with the notification process and transmits the call signal; the receiving terminal includes the notification processing unit, the notification processing unit receives the call signal transmitted from the transmitting terminal and performs the notification operation; When the information management device receives the inquiry from the transmitting terminal, it refers to the condition information and determines whether or not the behavioral state specified in accordance with the patient condition information satisfies the condition detected by the behavioral state detection unit, and responds with the determination result to the transmitting terminal.

5. The nurse call system according to claim 3 or 4.

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