Therapeutic inhaler

Abstract

To provide a therapeutic inhaler that enables stable transmission of required information to an external device.SOLUTION: A nebulizer control unit 71 includes a processor that, triggered by operation of an atomization unit 73, performs transmission control for transmitting operation history information of the atomizing unit 73 relating to the operation from a communication interface 74 to a management server 6. The processor transmits at least a part of the operation history information to the management server 6 at a timing after the atomizing unit 73 stopped.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to therapeutic inhalers. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 describes a system that includes a nebulizer and a computer, which, when a start key is pressed, starts administering a drug by the nebulizer unit and sends a start notification to the computer, and which, when a stop key is pressed, sends a stop notification to the computer.

[0003] Patent Document 2 describes an asthma treatment support system suitable for transmitting, managing, and displaying the usage status of aerosol-type (pressurized metered dose type) portable inhalers. In this system, when a transmitter attached to the inhaler detects manipulation of the medicine canister by the user's finger, it calculates the number of times the inhaler has been used and sends this information to a management server. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-000322 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-092418 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Treatment using a therapeutic inhaler such as a nebulizer configured to allow inhalation of atomized liquid medicine is required to be performed at a frequency specified by a doctor. Here, one treatment using a therapeutic inhaler means inhaling the same type of medicine for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 5 minutes). For example, if a doctor could later check the operation history of the atomizing unit of the therapeutic inhaler, it would be possible to determine whether treatment was performed at an appropriate frequency, which would be useful in determining a treatment plan.

[0006] In order to manage such operation history, it is conceivable to transmit information regarding operation from the therapeutic inhaler to an external management device, as exemplified in Patent Documents 1 and 2. In this case, since the therapeutic inhaler has an atomization unit, it is necessary to reduce the impact of the operation of this atomization unit on the information transmission function.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a therapeutic inhaler that can stably transmit necessary information to an external device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] (1) A therapeutic inhaler configured to allow a patient to inhale a medicinal solution atomized by an atomizing unit, a communication unit capable of communicating with an external device; a processor that, when the nebulization unit is activated, performs transmission control to cause the communication unit to transmit operation history information of the nebulization unit related to the operation to an external device; The processor transmits at least a portion of the operation history information to the external device at a timing after the nebulization unit stops.

[0009] According to (1), at least a portion of the operation history information can be transmitted to the external device while the nebulizer is stopped. This allows for stable transmission of at least a portion of the information, and ensures that all necessary information is transmitted to the external device without omission. This allows the external device to use this information to appropriately manage treatment.

[0010] (2) The therapeutic inhaler according to (1), The processor causes the therapeutic inhaler to transmit all of the operation history information to the external device at the timing.

[0011] According to (2), the operation history information that can be used to manage treatment using the therapeutic inhaler can be transmitted to an external device without any loss.

[0012] (3) The therapeutic inhaler according to (2), The timing at which a start operation is performed to instruct the atomizing unit to start operating is set as the operation start timing, The timing at which an end operation is performed to instruct the end of the operation of the atomizing unit is set as the operation end timing, The time from the start timing of the operation to the end timing of the operation is defined as an operation time. The therapeutic inhaler, wherein the operation history information includes the operation start timing and the operation duration, the operation end timing and the operation duration, the operation start timing and the operation end timing, or the operation duration.

[0013] According to (3), at least the timing of treatment using a therapeutic inhaler and the duration of treatment can be managed by an external device, which makes it possible to determine whether treatment is being performed at an appropriate frequency and with an appropriate amount of medicinal liquid.

[0014] (4) The therapeutic inhaler according to (3), The therapeutic inhaler, wherein the operation history information further includes information on the type of medicinal liquid atomized by the atomization unit.

[0015] According to (4), when a patient undergoing treatment using multiple medicinal solutions uses a therapeutic inhaler, it becomes possible to determine whether the patient is inhaling the medicinal solutions appropriately.

[0016] (5) The therapeutic inhaler according to (1), The processor causes first information of the operation history information to be transmitted to the external device at the timing, and causes second information other than the first information of the operation history information to be transmitted to the external device at the timing when a start operation is performed to instruct the start of operation of the nebulization unit.

[0017] According to (5), the operation history information can be efficiently transmitted to the external device. The first information can be transmitted stably to the external device without being affected by the operation of the nebulizer, so by including high-priority information as the first information, it becomes possible to manage treatment. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the present invention, necessary information can be stably transmitted to an external device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a treatment management system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the nebulizer shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the nebulizer shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the right side (the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2). [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the nebulizer shown in FIG. 1 in use. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a block configuration of the nebulizer shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the nebulizer control unit when treatment is completed by one operation of the atomization unit. [Figure 7] 10 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the nebulizer control unit when treatment is completed by two activations of the atomization unit (when treatment is interrupted once). [Figure 8] 10 is a timing chart illustrating a modified example of the operation of the nebulizer control unit when treatment is completed by two activations of the atomization unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] (overview) An overview of a treatment management system including a nebulizer, which is one embodiment of the therapeutic inhaler of the present invention, is described below. The nebulizer transmits operation history information of the nebulization unit to a server when the nebulization unit is activated. The server generates information that can manage treatment performed by the nebulizer based on the operation history information obtained from the nebulizer. When transmitting the operation history information, the nebulizer transmits the operation history information after the nebulization unit has stopped. This reduces the impact of operational noise from the nebulization unit on information transmission, and ensures that the operation history information is transmitted to the server. Below, details of an embodiment of a treatment management system including a nebulizer are described.

[0021] (Embodiment)

[0022] (Configuration of treatment management system) 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a treatment management system 100. The treatment management system 100 includes a nebulizer 1 as a therapeutic inhaler that treats respiratory diseases by inhaling a sprayed medicinal liquid, an electronic device 3 carried by a user of the nebulizer 1 or a person related to the user (e.g., the user's parent), and a management server 6 as a management device.

[0023] The electronic device 3 is an electronic device with a communication function, such as a personal computer, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal. The electronic device 3 is configured to be able to communicate with a management server 6 via a network 4, such as the Internet. The electronic device 3 is configured to be able to communicate with the nebulizer 1 based on a short-range communication standard, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi.

[0024] A treatment management app provided by the operator of the treatment management system 100 is installed in the electronic device 3. The functions of this treatment management app enable the transmission and reception of information between the nebulizer 1 and the electronic device 3, the transmission of information from the electronic device 3 to the management server 6, and the viewing of display data generated by the management server 6 by the electronic device 3.

[0025] (Block configuration of management server) 1, the management server 6 includes a communication interface (IF) 61 (communication unit) for communicating with devices connected to the network 4, a server control unit 62, and a database 63. The database 63 may be a storage external to the management server 6, or may be a network storage connected to the network 4.

[0026] The server control unit 62 controls the entire management server 6, and includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes programs and performs processing, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the programs and the like executed by this processor, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) as a work memory. Specifically, the structure of the processor described in this specification is an electric circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0027] Server control unit 62 acquires information sent from nebulizer 1 to electronic device 3 and transferred from electronic device 3 via communication interface 61, and records the acquired information in database 63. Server control unit 62 processes the information recorded in database 63 to generate display data for displaying treatment results, such as the timing of treatment performed using nebulizer 1 (treatment timing) and the time during which the treatment was performed (treatment time). When server control unit 62 receives a request to view this display data from electronic device 3 or another electronic device connected to network 4 (for example, an device operated by a doctor who examines the user of nebulizer 1), server control unit 62 controls the requesting electronic device to display an image based on this display data.

[0028] (Nebulizer structure) Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of nebulizer 1 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of nebulizer 1 shown in Fig. 2 as viewed from the right side (the direction indicated by arrow A in Fig. 2).

[0029] 2 and 3, nebulizer 1 comprises a main body 10 consisting of a lower main body portion 11 having a substantially elliptical cylindrical outer shape and an upper main body portion 12 attached to lower main body portion 11 by being removably fitted from above, an attachment member 20 attached to upper main body portion 12, and a cap member 30 configured to be openable and closable relative to upper main body portion 12. A front half portion 12F of upper main body portion 12 has a substantially cylindrical outer shape, and a rear half portion 12R of upper main body portion 12 has a substantially trapezoidal cylindrical outer shape.

[0030] As shown in Figure 2, the front of the lower part of the main body 11 is provided with an operating member 50 including a start / end button 51 and a liquid medicine selection button 52, and light-emitting units 81, 82, and 83 for indicating the type of liquid medicine being selected by the liquid medicine selection button 52.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the front half 12F of the upper body 12 is provided with a recess 16 having a generally circular planar shape that opens upward to receive the mounting member 20. The recess 16 has a bottom surface 16b that is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis direction (vertical direction) of the body 10, and a side surface 16c that is connected to the bottom surface 16b and gradually opens upward. Protuberances 19f, 19r are provided in specific directions (the front and rear sides in this example) on the edge 15 around the recess 16. The protuberance 19f on the front side has a planar shape that protrudes in an arc shape toward the center of the recess 16. The protuberance 19r on the rear side has a planar shape that is recessed in an arc shape when viewed from the center of the recess 16. The protuberances 19f, 19r are intended to fit into the flange portion 24 of the mounting member 20. Furthermore, a packing 29 made of an annular elastic body is provided on the side surface 16c of the recess 16 so as to surround and contact the side wall portion 23 of the mounting member 20 in the circumferential direction.

[0032] As shown in Fig. 3, a vibration unit 40 is provided inside the front half 12F of the upper main body 12 at a position corresponding to the recess 16. The vibration unit 40 includes an ultrasonic vibrator 41 arranged at a position spaced downward from the recess 16, a vibration surface 43 arranged horizontally at a position corresponding to the bottom surface 16b of the recess 16, and a horn 42 arranged between the ultrasonic vibrator 41 and the vibration surface 43 to amplify the vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator 41 and transmit it to the vibration surface 43. A drive voltage for the ultrasonic vibrator 41 is supplied from the lower main body 11 via a contact electrode provided between the upper main body 12 and the lower main body 11.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 2, a liquid storage section 17 having a substantially semicircular planar shape is provided in the rear half 12R of the upper main body 12. As shown in Fig. 3, this liquid storage section 17 has a bottom surface 17b that gradually becomes shallower toward the front side. A liquid supply path 18 is provided that is connected to the front side of the liquid storage section 17 and that supplies liquid (medicinal liquid) from the liquid storage section 17 toward the vibration surface 43 of the vibration section 40. In the disassembled state shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the liquid storage section 17 is open toward the top. Therefore, a user can pour liquid such as a medicinal liquid into the liquid storage section 17 from above.

[0034] A cap member 30, which forms a lid, is rotatably connected to the upper edge of the rear end of the rear half 12R of the upper body 12 via a hinge 38. The cap member 30 includes a rear half 30R located closer to the hinge 38 and having a generally trapezoidal planar shape, and a front half 30F connected to the rear half 30R and having an annular, generally circular planar shape. Two cylindrical protrusions 33 protrude from the front half 30F of the cap member 30 on the side facing the upper surface of the upper body 12, corresponding to the left and right portions 15b and 15c of the edge 15 around the recess 16. A mesa portion 34, which has a generally trapezoidal planar shape corresponding to the planar shape of the liquid storage portion 17, is provided on the side facing the upper surface of the upper body 12 on the rear half 30R of the cap member 30. When the cap member 30 is closed to the upper body 12 and the nebulizer 1 is assembled, the protrusions 33 function to position the mounting member 20. Furthermore, mesa portion 34 closes the top of reservoir 17, preventing the liquid medicine from overflowing from reservoir 17. The center of front half 30F of cap member 30 forms opening 30o to which a mouthpiece or the like is to be attached.

[0035] An inwardly protruding engagement protrusion 31 is provided on the front edge 30Fe (opposite the hinge 38) of the front half 30F of the cap member 30. Meanwhile, an outwardly protruding engagement protrusion 14 is provided on the front half 12F of the upper body 12 from the front end. When the cap member 30 is closed on the upper body 12, the engagement protrusion 31 of the cap member 30 engages vertically with the engagement protrusion 14 of the upper body 12.

[0036] Mounting member 20 is attached to recess 16 of upper body 12 when nebulizer 1 is used. Mounting member 20 includes a flat film-like sheet 21 that faces vibration surface 43, a bottom plate 22 that supports sheet 21, an annular side wall 23 that connects to the outer edge of bottom plate 22 and faces side surface 16c of recess 16, a flange 24 that connects to the upper edge of side wall 23 and extends radially outward around the upper edge, and a tab 25 that connects to a portion of the outer edge of flange 24 and extends downward. Sheet 21 is attached to the underside of bottom plate 22 by adhesive or welding. A substantially central region of sheet 21 forms mesh portion 21a.

[0037] (Nebulizer assembly) A user intending to use nebulizer 1 attaches mounting member 20 having mesh portion 21a to recess 16 of main body 10, which opens upward, as shown by arrow D in FIG. 3, with cap member 30 open relative to main body 10. With mounting member 20 attached, the user rotates cap member 30 to main body 10 (upper main body 12) via hinge 38 to close it. This causes engagement protrusion 31 of cap member 30 to vertically engage with engagement protrusion 14 of upper main body 12. This secures cap member 30 in a closed state relative to upper main body 12. In this manner, nebulizer 1 can be easily assembled. This state is referred to as the assembled state.

[0038] (Use of a nebulizer) When using the nebulizer 1, the user first places a liquid medicine in the liquid storage section 17 of the upper body 12. Then, as shown in Fig. 4, the user attaches, for example, a mouthpiece 80 to the opening 30o of the cap member 30 in the assembled state. Instead of the mouthpiece 80, an inhalation mask that covers the face of the user 99 may be attached.

[0039] As shown in Figure 4, when nebulizer 1 is tilted slightly forward, the medicinal liquid is supplied from liquid storage section 17 through liquid supply path 18 onto vibration surface 43 of vibration section 40. In other words, the medicinal liquid is supplied between vibration surface 43 and mesh section 21a. In this state, when a drive voltage is applied to ultrasonic vibrator 41 of vibration section 40 to vibrate vibration surface 43, medicinal liquid 90 is atomized and ejected through mesh section 21a (more precisely, through the multiple through-holes that penetrate sheet 21). In this way, vibration section 40 and mesh section 21a of mounting member 20 form an atomization section (atomization section 73, described below) that atomizes the liquid, such as the medicinal liquid, stored in liquid storage section 17.

[0040] (Nebulizer block configuration) 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of nebulizer 1. Nebulizer 1 includes an operating member 50, a nebulizer control unit 71, an oscillation frequency generating unit 72, an atomizing unit 73, a communication interface 74 constituting a communication unit for communicating with electronic device 3, and a notification unit 75.

[0041] Start / stop button 51 included in operation member 50 is an operation member that can perform a start operation that instructs nebulizer control unit 71 to start operation of atomization unit 73, and a stop operation that instructs nebulizer control unit 71 to stop operation of atomization unit 73. For example, a short press of start / stop button 51 when atomization unit 73 is not operating is considered to be the start operation, and a short press of start / stop button 51 after the start operation is considered to be the stop operation. Note that start / stop button 51 may be configured as two separate buttons: one for performing the start operation and one for performing the stop operation.

[0042] The liquid medicine selection button 52 included in the operation member 50 is an operation member that allows the user to select the type of liquid medicine to be used in treatment using the nebulizer 1.

[0043] The notification unit 75 is composed of light-emitting units 81, 82, and 83 shown in FIG. 2. Each of the light-emitting units 81, 82, and 83 includes a light-emitting element such as an LED (light emitting diode). A function of the treatment management app installed in the electronic device 3 allows information on different types of medicinal liquid to be registered in association with the light-emitting units 81, 82, and 83. The user operates the medicinal liquid selection button 52 to sequentially switch between a state in which the light-emitting unit 81 is lit, a state in which the light-emitting unit 82 is lit, and a state in which the light-emitting unit 83 is lit. The type of medicinal liquid corresponding to the lit light-emitting unit is recognized by the nebulizer control unit 71 as the medicinal liquid selected by the user.

[0044] Oscillation frequency generation unit 72 applies an AC drive voltage to ultrasonic vibrator 41 of vibration unit 40 based on a control signal from nebulizer control unit 71. In this specification, a state in which a drive voltage is applied to ultrasonic vibrator 41 is referred to as a state in which atomization unit 73 is operating, and a state in which a drive voltage is not applied to ultrasonic vibrator 41 is referred to as a state in which atomization unit 73 is stopped.

[0045] Nebulizer control unit 71 includes a processor such as a CPU, RAM as work memory, and ROM for recording various information, and performs various processes using this processor. Nebulizer control unit 71 activates atomization unit 73 when it detects a start operation while atomization unit 73 is not operating, and stops atomization unit 73 when it detects a stop operation while atomization unit 73 is operating. When nebulizer control unit 71 activates atomization unit 73, it controls the transmission of operation history information of atomization unit 73 related to that operation to management server 6 via electronic device 3.

[0046] In the following description, nebulizer control unit 71 treats the timing (specifically, date and time) at which the start operation is detected as the operation start timing of atomization unit 73. Nebulizer control unit 71 also treats the timing (specifically, date and time) at which the end operation is detected as the operation end timing of atomization unit 73. Nebulizer control unit 71 also treats the time from the operation start timing to the operation end timing immediately thereafter as the operation time of atomization unit 73. The operation start timing, operation end timing, and operation time each constitute operation history information of atomization unit 73.

[0047] FIG. 6 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of nebulizer control unit 71 when treatment is completed by one operation of nebulization unit 73.

[0048] When nebulizer control unit 71 detects a start operation at timing t1, it activates nebulization unit 73, and when it detects a stop operation at timing t2, it stops the operation of nebulization unit 73. Furthermore, when nebulizer control unit 71 detects a stop operation at timing t2, it generates operation history information J1 regarding the operation of nebulization unit 73 that started at timing t1. Operation history information J1 is composed of three types of information: timing t1 (operation start timing), the time between timing t1 and timing t2 (operation time of nebulization unit 73), and the type of liquid medicine nebulized by nebulization unit 73. Nebulizer control unit 71 transmits operation history information J1 to electronic device 3 at timing t3 after nebulization unit 73 has stopped.

[0049] The electronic device 3 receives the operation history information J1 from the nebulizer 1 and transfers the operation history information J1 to the management server 6. The management server 6 stores the operation history information J1 in a database 63.

[0050] FIG. 7 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of nebulizer control unit 71 when treatment is completed by two activations of nebulization unit 73 (when treatment is interrupted once).

[0051] When nebulizer control unit 71 detects a start operation at timing t4, it activates nebulization unit 73. When nebulizer control unit 71 detects a stop operation at timing t5, it stops the operation of nebulization unit 73 and generates operation history information J2 related to the operation of nebulization unit 73 that started at timing t4. Operation history information J2 is composed of three types of information: timing t4 (operation start timing), the time between timing t4 and timing t5 (operation time of nebulization unit 73), and the type of liquid medicine nebulized by nebulization unit 73. At timing t6 after nebulization unit 73 has stopped, nebulizer control unit 71 transmits operation history information J2 to electronic device 3.

[0052] Thereafter, when nebulizer control unit 71 detects a start operation at timing t7, it activates nebulization unit 73. When nebulizer control unit 71 detects a stop operation at timing t8, it stops the operation of nebulization unit 73 and generates operation history information J3 related to the operation of nebulization unit 73 that started at timing t7. The operation history information J3 is composed of three types of information: timing t7 (operation start timing), the time between timing t7 and timing t8 (operation time of nebulization unit 73), and the type of liquid medicine nebulized by nebulization unit 73. At timing t9 after nebulization unit 73 has stopped, nebulizer control unit 71 transmits operation history information J3 to electronic device 3.

[0053] The electronic device 3 receives the operation history information J2, J3 from the nebulizer 1 and transfers the operation history information J2, J3 to the management server 6. The management server 6 records the operation history information J2, J3 in the database 63.

[0054] At regular intervals, such as when the date changes, the server control unit 62 of the management server 6 executes a process of analyzing an operation history group consisting of multiple pieces of operation history information for the past day (multiple pieces of operation history information including the same date) recorded in the database 63. For example, if the operations shown in Fig. 6 and the operations shown in Fig. 7 were performed on a certain day, a process of analyzing an operation history group consisting of operation history information J1, operation history information J2, and operation history information J3 is executed.

[0055] Specifically, the server control unit 62 selects one piece of operation history information from the operation history group and sets it as the first operation history information. Then, it selects the operation history information acquired (recorded in the database 63) immediately after the first operation history information from the operation history group and sets it as the second operation history information. The server control unit 62 determines whether the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information obtained when the atomizing unit 73 was operated for the same treatment based on the time between the end of the operation period of the atomizing unit 73 based on the first operation history information (referred to as the first operation period) and the start of the operation period of the atomizing unit 73 based on the second operation history information (referred to as the second operation period) (the interval between two consecutive operations of the atomizing unit 73; hereinafter, referred to as time T). The server control unit 62 derives the end of the first operation period corresponding to the first operation history information from the operation start time and operation duration included in the first operation history information, and derives the aforementioned time T from the derived end time and the operation start time included in the second operation history information.

[0056] The server control unit 62 repeats the above-described process so that each piece of operation history information except for the newest operation history information included in the operation history group becomes the first operation history information. The age of each piece of operation history information can be determined by referring to the information on the operation start timing included therein or by referring to the date and time when each piece of operation history information was recorded in the database 63. When the operation history group consists of operation history information J1, operation history information J2, and operation history information J3, the server control unit 62 makes the above-described determination by using operation history information J1 as the first operation history information and operation history information J2 as the second operation history information, and by using operation history information J2 as the first operation history information and operation history information J3 as the second operation history information.

[0057] If a treatment using nebulizer 1 is interrupted midway, time T (the time between timing t5 and timing t7 in the example of FIG. 7) will not be very long. Therefore, if time T is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold TH, server control unit 62 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when atomization unit 73 was operated for different treatments. If time T is less than threshold TH, server control unit 62 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when atomization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment.

[0058] The server control unit 62 associates and records common identification information with each of multiple pieces of operation history information that it has determined are operation history information when the atomization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment. For example, if the operation history group consists of operation history information J1, operation history information J2, and operation history information J3, the server control unit 62 associates and records common identification information with the operation history information J2 and operation history information J3.

[0059] The server control unit 62 performs a combining process to combine multiple pieces of operation history information that have common identification information added thereto among the operation history groups recorded in the database 63. In the example of Fig. 7, the server control unit 62 calculates the sum of the operation time included in the operation history information J2 and the operation time included in the operation history information J3, and generates operation history information J2A that includes this sum, the operation start timing of the nebulization unit 73 included in the operation history information J2, and information on the type of liquid medicine included in the operation history information J2. The server control unit 62 then deletes the operation history information J2 and J3 and records this operation history information J2A in the database 63 instead.

[0060] Note that, instead of the above-described combining process, the server control unit 62 may perform a deletion process in which only one of the plurality of pieces of operation history information to which common identification information is added is retained and the others are deleted. In the example of Fig. 7, for example, the server control unit 62 may delete the operation history information J2 or the operation history information J3 from the operation history information J2 and the operation history information J3.

[0061] (Effects of treatment management system) According to the treatment management system 100, based on two chronologically adjacent pieces of operation history information acquired by the management server 6, it is determined whether these two pieces of operation history information relate to the operation of the atomization unit 73 for the same treatment. If it is determined that these two pieces of operation history information relate to the operation of the atomization unit 73 for the same treatment, the two pieces of operation history information are corrected (the above-mentioned combining process or deleting process). With this configuration, after the analysis process, one piece of operation history information is always recorded in the database 63 for each treatment. Therefore, by referring to the operation history information recorded in the database 63, for example, a doctor or the like can accurately determine the frequency of treatments using the nebulizer 1, which can be useful in determining a treatment plan.

[0062] Furthermore, when the combining process is performed, the operation time included in the operation history information after the combining process can be used to roughly determine the amount of medicinal liquid inhaled in one treatment. This allows doctors to determine whether the user is performing appropriate treatment, which can be useful in determining a treatment plan.

[0063] Nebulizer 1 of treatment management system 100 transmits operation history information at the timing after operation of atomization unit 73 stops (timing t3 in FIG. 6, timings t6 and t9 in FIG. 7). In this way, by transmitting operation history information while ultrasonic vibrator 41 of atomization unit 73 is not operating, transmission can be performed stably without being affected by operation noise from atomization unit 73. Therefore, operation history information can be transmitted to management server 6 without omission, allowing treatment to be managed accurately.

[0064] (First Variant of Treatment Management System) The server control unit 62 may be configured not to perform the above-described combining process or deleting process. Even in this case, the operation history information for each treatment can be identified by the identification information added to each piece of operation history information recorded in the database 63. In other words, by looking at multiple pieces of operation history information to which common identification information is added, a doctor can recognize that these pieces of information were generated for a single treatment. Therefore, even in this modified example, a doctor can determine whether the user is performing an appropriate treatment, which can be useful in determining a treatment policy.

[0065] (Second Variant of Treatment Management System) The server control unit 62 may request a user terminal (electronic device 3 or other device connected to the network 4) to confirm whether or not correction (performing either the above-mentioned combining process or deletion process) is necessary for multiple pieces of operation history information associated with common identification information, and if it determines that correction is necessary based on the response to this request, it may execute the above-mentioned combining process or the above-mentioned deletion process. In this way, by performing correction after receiving confirmation from the user, it is possible to prevent multiple pieces of operation history information from being erroneously corrected with a high degree of certainty. As a result, it is possible to provide a doctor with more accurate information on the frequency of treatments performed.

[0066] (Third Variant of Treatment Management System) The server control unit 62 may determine whether the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment based on the time T, the medicinal liquid type information included in the first operation history information, and the medicinal liquid type information included in the second operation history information.

[0067] Even if the time T, which is the interval between two consecutive operations of the nebulization unit 73, is short, if the types of liquid medicine atomized in each of these two operations are different, it can be said that the nebulization unit 73 was operated for different treatments. Therefore, if the time T is less than the threshold value TH and the liquid medicine type information included in the first operation history information and the second operation history information are different, the server control unit 62 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for different treatments. On the other hand, if the time T is less than the threshold value TH and the liquid medicine type information included in the first operation history information and the second operation history information are the same, the server control unit 62 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment.

[0068] In this way, by taking into account not only the interval between each operating period when the nebulization unit 73 is operated continuously, but also the type of medicinal liquid nebulized during each operating period, it is possible to more accurately determine whether treatment has been interrupted.

[0069] (Fourth Variant of Treatment Management System) Up to this point, the server control unit 62 has been assumed to acquire operation history information from the nebulizer 1, record it in the database 63, and analyze the operation history information recorded in the database 63. However, the functions of the server control unit 62 may be provided in the nebulizer control unit 71 of the nebulizer 1. The configuration of the treatment management system of this modified example is such that the management server 6 is removed from the treatment management system 100. In this modified example, the nebulizer control unit 71 constitutes the management device.

[0070] In the treatment management system of this modified example, nebulizer control unit 71 of nebulizer 1 generates operation history information for nebulization unit 73 each time it operates nebulization unit 73 and records the information in the built-in ROM. At regular intervals, such as when the date changes, nebulizer control unit 71 executes a process to analyze an operation history group consisting of multiple pieces of operation history information for the past day that are recorded in ROM. This process is the same as the process executed by server control unit 62 described above.

[0071] In this way, by determining whether or not treatment has been interrupted in nebulizer 1, one piece of operation history information is always recorded for each treatment in the ROM of nebulizer 1. Therefore, by reading the operation history information recorded in ROM after analysis processing using, for example, electronic device 3 and referring to this information, a doctor or the like can accurately grasp the frequency of treatments using nebulizer 1, which can be useful in determining a treatment policy. Note that, even in this modified example, nebulizer control unit 71 can be configured not to perform combining or deleting processing.

[0072] (Fifth Variant of Treatment Management System) In the fourth modified example described above, the nebulizer control unit 71 determines whether treatment has been interrupted and corrects the operation history information in accordance with the result of that determination. In this modified example, the nebulizer control unit 71 may determine whether treatment has been interrupted and, in accordance with the result of that determination, control the transmission of the operation history information to the management server 6. The configuration of the treatment management system of this modified example is the same as that of the fourth modified example, except that a management server 6 is added. The management server 6 in this modified example records the operation history information transmitted from the nebulizer 1 in database 63, generates data based on the recorded information, and provides it to a user terminal, etc.

[0073] When the nebulizer control unit 71 generates operation history information, it designates the most recent operation history information as the second operation history information, and designates the operation history information generated immediately before the most recent operation history information as the first operation history information. The nebulizer control unit 71 then determines whether the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information obtained when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment. This determination method is the same as the determination method performed by the server control unit 62 in the above embodiment. The nebulizer control unit 71 transmits the second operation history information to the electronic device 3 only if it determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are not information obtained when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment. In other words, if the nebulizer control unit 71 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information obtained when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment, it omits transmitting the second operation history information to the electronic device 3.

[0074] FIG. 8 is a timing chart illustrating a modified example of the operation of nebulizer control unit 71 when treatment is completed with two activations of nebulization unit 73. The difference between FIG. 8 and FIG. 7 is that the transmission of operation history information J3 after timing t8 is omitted. The time T derived from operation history information J2 generated at timing t5 and operation history information J1 generated immediately before that and shown in FIG. 6 is greater than or equal to the threshold. Therefore, operation history information J2 generated at timing t5 is transmitted to electronic device 3 at the subsequent timing t6. On the other hand, the time T derived from operation history information J3 generated at timing t8 and operation history information J2 generated immediately before that is less than the threshold. Therefore, operation history information J3 generated at timing t8 is not transmitted to electronic device 3.

[0075] According to this modification, when treatment is interrupted, only operation history information (operation history information J2 in the example of FIG. 8) relating to the operation of atomization unit 73 from the start of treatment to the interruption of treatment is transmitted to electronic device 3. Therefore, one piece of operation history information is always recorded for each treatment in database 63 of management server 6. As a result, it becomes possible to accurately grasp the frequency of treatments using nebulizer 1.

[0076] Furthermore, this modification reduces the frequency of data transmission from nebulizer 1, which can extend the continuous use time of a battery-operated nebulizer. It also eliminates the need for management server 6 to determine whether treatment has been interrupted or to correct operation history information. This reduces the processing load on management server 6. It also reduces the required capacity of database 63.

[0077] (Modification of operation history information) In the explanation so far, the operation history information (J1, J2, J3) includes the operation start timing of the nebulization unit 73 (the timing when the start operation was detected), the operation time of the nebulization unit 73, and the type of liquid medicine nebulized by the nebulization unit 73. However, the following operation history information IF1 to IF3 may also be used as the operation history information.

[0078] The operation history information IF1 is composed of the operation start timing of the nebulization unit 73, the operation end timing of the nebulization unit 73 (the timing when the end operation is detected), and the type of medicinal liquid. When the operation history information IF1 is used, the operation time of the nebulization unit 73 can be calculated based on the operation start timing and operation end timing, thereby making it possible to manage the timing when the treatment was performed and the treatment time.

[0079] The operation history information IF2 is composed of the operation end timing of the nebulization unit 73, the operation time of the nebulization unit 73, and the type of liquid medicine. When the operation history information IF2 is used, the operation start timing of the nebulization unit 73 can be calculated based on the operation end timing and the operation time, thereby deriving the above-mentioned time T.

[0080] Operation history information IF3 is composed of the operation time and type of liquid medicine of nebulization unit 73. When operation history information IF3 is used, the timing when management server 6 receives operation history information IF3 or the timing when nebulizer 1 records operation history information IF3 can be used to derive the above-mentioned time T.

[0081] The operation history information (J1, J2, J3) described in the embodiment and the operation history information IF1 to IF3 in the modified example do not need to include the type of medicinal liquid. Even in this case, as long as treatment is performed using a single type of medicinal liquid, the timing and duration of treatment can be managed.

[0082] It is also possible that the treatment management system only manages the frequency of treatment and the type of medicinal liquid, and does not need to manage the treatment time. In such cases, operation history information IF4 consisting of the operation start timing of nebulization unit 73 and the type of medicinal liquid may be used. When operation history information IF4 is used, the time T described above can be derived by treating the timing when operation history information IF4 is received by management server 6 or the timing when operation history information IF4 is recorded by nebulizer 1 as the operation end timing of nebulization unit 73. When management of the type of medicinal liquid is not necessary, the type of medicinal liquid can be omitted from operation history information IF4.

[0083] (Modification of the timing of transmitting operation history information) In the above description, in a configuration in which nebulizer 1 has the function of transmitting operation history information to electronic device 3, the timing for transmitting the operation history information is the timing after the operation of atomization unit 73 has stopped. As a variation of this, nebulizer control unit 71 may transmit part of the operation history information to electronic device 3 when the start operation is detected, and transmit the remainder of the operation history information to electronic device 3 after the operation of atomization unit 73 has stopped in response to the end operation.

[0084] For example, when transmitting operation history information J1, nebulizer control unit 71 may transmit information on the operation start timing to electronic device 3 when a start operation is detected, and transmit information on the operation time and liquid medicine type to electronic device 3 when the nebulization unit 73 is stopped in response to a stop operation. Even in this case, if the transmission of the operation start timing is unsuccessful, the management server 6 can derive the above-mentioned time T by treating the timing at which it received the information on the operation time and liquid medicine type from the operation history information J1 as the operation end timing. This configuration allows operation history information to be transmitted to an external device efficiently.

[0085] In the treatment management system 100 of the embodiment and its modified examples, the electronic device 3 may be omitted, and the nebulizer 1 and management server 6 may communicate via the network 4. Also, the management server 6 may be omitted, and the functions of the management server 6 may be realized by a treatment management app installed in the electronic device 3. In other words, the electronic device 3 may be configured to record and analyze operation history information. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 100 Treatment Management System 1 nebulizer 50 Operating member 51 Start / Stop button 71 Nebulizer control unit 73 Atomization section 3 Electronic equipment 4 Network 6 Management Server 62 Server control unit

Claims

1. A therapeutic inhaler configured to allow a patient to inhale a medicinal solution atomized by an atomizing unit, an operating member capable of performing a treatment start operation to instruct the start of treatment and a treatment end operation to instruct the end of treatment; a communication unit capable of communicating with an external device; a processor that performs a first process of activating the atomization unit in response to the treatment start operation and a second process of stopping the operation of the atomization unit in response to the treatment end operation, the processor stores operation history information of the atomizing unit operated by the first process, and causes the communication unit to transmit the operation history information to the external device at a timing after the atomizing unit stops operating by the second process; The timing at which a start operation is performed to instruct the start of operation of the atomizing unit is set as the operation start timing, The timing at which an end operation is performed to instruct the end of the operation of the atomizing unit is set as the operation end timing, When the time from the operation start timing to the operation end timing is defined as the operation time, the operation history information transmitted to the external device at a timing after the atomization unit has stopped operating includes information on either the operation start timing and the operation time, the operation end timing and the operation time, or the operation start timing and the operation end timing, so that both the operation start timing and the operation end timing can be identified in the external device; The processor analyzes an operation history group including a plurality of pieces of operation history information; the processor selects one piece of operation history information from the operation history group as first operation history information, and selects operation history information obtained next to the first operation history information from the operation history group as second operation history information; The processor determines whether the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the nebulizer unit was operated for the same treatment based on the time between the end timing of the first operation period of the nebulizer unit based on the first operation history information and the start timing of the second operation period of the nebulizer unit based on the second operation history information.

2. 10. The therapeutic inhaler of claim 1, The therapeutic inhaler, wherein the operation history information further includes information on the type of medicinal liquid atomized by the atomization unit.

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