Excretion detection system, excretion detection method, detection device, excretion detection device, and excretion detection program

Abstract

To provide an excretion detecting system, a detector, an excretion detecting device, method and program for detecting an object's excretion state.SOLUTION: An excretion detecting system comprises: a detecting part 10 for detecting wave motion generated on the basis of an object; a wave motion processing part for processing the wave motion detected by the detecting part 10; and a determining part for determining an object's excretion state on the basis of a processing result of the wave motion processing part. The wave motion detected by the detecting part 10 includes at least one of vibration data and sound data based on motion in a body of the object, and vibration data and sound data based on motion on a body surface of the object. The detecting part 10 and the wave motion processing part may be realized as, a detector 1, and the determining part is realized as, an excretion detecting device 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an excretion detection system, an excretion detection method, a detection device, an excretion detection device, and an excretion detection program that detect the excretion state of a subject. [Background technology]

[0002] In facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, and care facilities, nurses, caregivers, and other staff members are tasked with checking the condition of patients, residents, and other people requiring care. Checking the condition includes checking the status of excretions such as urination and defecation. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a diaper sensor that detects the occurrence of excretions such as urination and defecation, which is expected to improve the work of staff members checking the excretion status of people requiring care. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-294762 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology in Patent Document 1 incorporates a sensor into a diaper, which may impose a physical or psychological burden on the care recipient since the diaper must be worn. In addition, the diaper sensor must be replaced or adjusted every time the diaper is changed.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its main object is to provide an excretion detection system that can detect the excretion state of a subject even when the subject is not wearing a diaper.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide an excretion detection method using the excretion detection system according to the present invention.

[0007] A further object of the present invention is to provide a detection device and an excretion detection device used in the excretion detection system according to the present invention.

[0008] A further object of the present invention is to provide an excretion detection program for realizing the excretion detection device according to the present invention. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the excretion detection system described in the present application is an excretion detection system that detects the excretion status of a subject, and is equipped with a detection unit that detects waves generated by the subject, a wave processing unit that processes the waves detected by the detection unit, and a judgment unit that judges the excretion status of the subject based on the processing results of the wave processing unit, and is characterized in that the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the subject's body, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the surface of the subject's body.

[0010] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the wave processing section includes an extraction section that extracts waves in a frequency band to be extracted from the detected waves.

[0011] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the extraction unit extracts waves in a frequency band to be extracted based on a result of frequency conversion of the waves detected by the detection unit.

[0012] Furthermore, in the excretion detection system described in the present application, the extraction unit extracts waves including a frequency band of 100 to 2000 Hz as waves in the frequency band to be extracted, and the judgment unit judges the subject's urination status based on the processing results of the waves in the frequency band of 100 to 2000 Hz extracted by the extraction unit.

[0013] Furthermore, in the excretion detection system described in the present application, the extraction unit extracts waves including a frequency band of 1 to 200 Hz as waves in the frequency band to be extracted, and the judgment unit judges the subject's defecation status based on the processing results of the waves in the frequency band of 1 to 200 Hz extracted by the extraction unit.

[0014] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the determination unit determines the excretion state of the subject based on at least one wave of the subject's pulse and breathing.

[0015] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the determination unit determines the excretion state of the subject based on the body movement of the subject.

[0016] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the extraction unit includes a band-pass filter.

[0017] Furthermore, in the excretion detection system described in the present application, the extraction unit includes a conversion unit that frequency converts the waves detected by the detection unit, and is characterized in that the conversion unit extracts waves in the frequency band to be extracted based on the results of the frequency conversion.

[0018] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the determination unit determines the excretion state of the subject based on the intensity of each frequency band of the waves frequency-converted by the conversion unit.

[0019] In addition, the excretion detection system described in the present application is characterized in that it includes a trained model for judgment that has undergone supervised learning using information based on the results of frequency conversion of waves generated by the subject as input values, and the judgment unit judges the excretion status of the subject based on the trained model for judgment.

[0020] In addition, in the excretion detection system described in the present application, the trained model for judgment is characterized in that it includes at least one of power spectrum, cepstrum, wave amplitude, fundamental frequency, formant coefficients, and Mel-frequency cepstrum coefficients as information based on the result of the frequency conversion.

[0021] In addition, the excretion detection system described in the present application is characterized in that it includes a trained model for judgment that has undergone supervised learning using information based on the waves detected by the detection unit as input values, and the judgment unit judges the excretion status of the subject based on the trained model for judgment.

[0022] In addition, in the excretion detection system described in the present application, the trained model for judgment is characterized in that the input value includes information including the gender of the subject.

[0023] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the waves detected by the detection unit include waves caused by organ movements as movements within the body of the subject.

[0024] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the excretion state determined by the determination unit includes at least one of an excretion act and a sign of an excretion act.

[0025] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the detection unit includes a piezoelectric sensor.

[0026] In the excretion detection system described in the present application, the piezoelectric sensor is formed using electret foam.

[0027] The excretion detection system described in the present application may further include bedding, and the detection unit may detect the waves generated by the subject through the bedding.

[0028] Furthermore, in the excretion detection system described in the present application, the detection unit has a plurality of detection areas that detect waves at different positions, the waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of the subject's heart rate, breathing, and body movement, and is characterized by including a posture determination unit that determines the posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas.

[0029] In addition, in the excretion detection system described in the present application, the posture determination unit is characterized by determining at least one of the following postures as the specific posture of the subject: right lateral position, left lateral position, supine position, prone position, and sitting position.

[0030] Furthermore, in the excretion detection system described in the present application, when the posture determination unit determines that the subject is in a specific posture, a selection unit is provided which selects a detection area from the plurality of detection areas to detect waves to be used for the determination by the determination unit, and the determination unit determines the excretion state of the subject based on the waves detected from the detection area selected by the selection unit.

[0031] The excretion detection system described in the present application is characterized by further comprising an amplifier that performs an amplification process for each of the plurality of detection regions when the posture determination unit determines that the excretion detection system is in a specific posture.

[0032] Furthermore, in the excretion detection system described in the present application, the detection unit has a plurality of detection areas that detect waves at different positions, the waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on the subject's heartbeat, and the system is equipped with an excretion position determination unit that determines the position of the subject's excretion site based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas.

[0033] Furthermore, the excretion detection system described in the present application is characterized in that it includes a heart position determination unit that determines the position of the subject's heart based on the waves detected by each of the multiple detection areas, and the excretion position determination unit determines the position of the subject's excretion site based on the position of the heart determined by the heart position determination unit and the waves detected by each of the multiple detection areas.

[0034] Furthermore, the excretion detection system described in the present application is characterized in that it includes a selection unit that selects a detection area from the plurality of detection areas to detect waves to be used for the judgment by the judgment unit, depending on the position of the excretion site determined by the excretion position determination unit, and the judgment unit determines the excretion state of the subject based on the waves detected from the detection area selected by the selection unit.

[0035] The excretion detection system described in the present application is characterized by further comprising an amplifier that performs amplification processing for each of the plurality of detection regions in accordance with the position of the excretion site determined by the excretion position determination unit.

[0036] Furthermore, the excretion detection method described in the present application is characterized by including a step of detecting waves generated by a subject, which include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the subject's body, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the surface of the subject's body, and a step of determining the excretion status of the subject based on the detected waves.

[0037] Furthermore, the detection device described in the present application is a detection device that includes a detection unit that detects waves generated by a subject, a wave processing unit that processes the waves detected by the detection unit, and an output unit that outputs the processing results processed by the wave processing unit, wherein the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the subject's body, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the surface of the subject's body, and the wave processing unit processes the waves detected by the detection unit to create a result signal that can determine the excretory status of the subject, and the output unit outputs the processing result to a device that determines the excretory status of the subject based on the processing result by the wave processing unit.

[0038] Furthermore, the excretion detection device described in the present application is an excretion detection device that detects the excretion status of a subject, and is equipped with a judgment means that judges the excretion status of the subject based on the detection results of waves generated by the subject, and is characterized in that the waves include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements within the subject's body, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the surface of the subject's body.

[0039] Furthermore, the excretion detection program described in the present application is an excretion detection program that causes a computer to execute a procedure for detecting the excretion status of a subject, and is characterized in that it causes the computer to execute a procedure for determining the excretion status of the subject based on the detection results of waves generated by the subject, which include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements within the subject's body, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the surface of the subject's body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0040] The excretion detection system, excretion detection method, detection device, excretion detection device, and excretion detection program according to the present invention determine the state of a subject based on waves generated by the subject, thereby achieving excellent effects such as being able to grasp the excretion-related state of the subject. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0041] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of an excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a device such as a detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 3A] 1 is a schematic diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a piezoelectric sensor used in a detection unit of a detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 3B] 1 is a schematic diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a piezoelectric sensor used in a detection unit of a detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 4]1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of devices such as an excretion detection device and a communication device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a detection process of a detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a determination process of the excretion detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 7] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a first determination process of the excretion detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a second determination process of the excretion detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a third determination process of the excretion detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a fourth determination process of the excretion detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 11] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 12] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 13] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a detection process of a detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a determination process of the excretion detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a determination process of the excretion detection device included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 17] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 18] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 19] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 20] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an excretion detection system described in the present application. [Figure 21] 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an excretion detection system described in the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0042] <Application example> The excretion detection system described in the present application is a system using various devices such as a detection device and an excretion detection device, and is used for purposes such as detecting the excretion status of a subject. Specific examples of the detection device 1, excretion detection device 2, etc. illustrated in the drawings will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiment is an example of realizing the present invention and is not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0043] <Excretion detection system> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the excretion detection system described in the present application. The excretion detection system described in the present application is installed in a facility such as a hospital, a nursing home, or a care facility. The facility is provided with rooms such as hospital rooms and care rooms where patients, residents, and other care-requiring persons (subjects) stay, and beds 3 for the care-requiring persons are placed in the rooms. The facility is also provided with a waiting area such as a nurse's station where staff such as nurses, caregivers, and doctors who provide care such as nursing and nursing care for the care-requiring persons are on standby.

[0044] A bed 3 used by a person requiring care includes a floorboard 30. A mat 31 is placed on the floorboard 30 as bedding, and bedding such as a sheet is laid on the mat 31 as needed. A detection device 1 is attached to the bed 3. The detection device 1 includes a detection unit 10 using a sheet-shaped piezoelectric sensor 10a (see FIG. 2, etc.). The detection unit 10 of the detection device 1 is placed, for example, under the bedding such as the mat 31 and sheets of the bed 3 used by the person requiring care. That is, the detection unit 10 detects the subject through the bedding such as the mat 31 and sheets. FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the detection unit 10 is placed on the floorboard 30 of the bed 3, and the mat 31 is placed on top of that. The detection unit 10 may also be placed on the sheets so that it comes into direct contact with the person requiring care.

[0045] An excretion detection device 2 is connected to the detection device 1, and an electrical signal output from the detection device 1 is input to the excretion detection device 2 via a communication line. Note that communication between the detection device 1 and the excretion detection device 2 can also be performed by wireless communication based on a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0046] Various communication devices 4, such as a nurse call receiving device carried by a nurse, a monitor installed at a nurse's station, and a mobile phone carried by an external party, are used as devices capable of communicating with the excretion detection device 2. The excretion detection device 2 and the communication device 4 are communicatively connected via a communication network NW, such as a wireless local area network (LAN), a wired LAN, a wide area network (WAN), or a dedicated communication line. The excretion detection device 2 transmits various information, such as information indicating a determination result obtained by processing such as a determination result output process (to be described later), to the communication device 4 via the communication network NW. Transmission of various information from the excretion detection device 2 to the communication device 4 may be a push type in which information is transmitted in approximately real time, or a pull type in which information is stored in a data server on the communication network NW and the stored information is retrieved by the communication device 4 as needed. Furthermore, various forms are possible, such as a combination of the push type and the pull type.

[0047] <Configuration of various devices> Next, the hardware configuration of various devices included in the excretion detection system described in the present application will be described. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of devices such as the detection device 1 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. The detection device 1 includes various components such as the detection unit 10 described above using a sheet-like piezoelectric sensor 10a, an amplitude amplification unit 11, a wave processing unit 12, and an output unit 13.

[0048] The detection unit 10 has a function of detecting waves such as sound and vibration using a piezoelectric sensor 10a, converting the detected waves into an analog electrical signal, and outputting the signal to the amplitude amplifier 11. FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams conceptually illustrating an example of a piezoelectric sensor 10a used in the detection unit 10 of the detection device 1 included in the excretion detection system described herein. FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic cross-sectional views of the piezoelectric sensor 10a, with FIG. 3A showing the sensor in an unpressured state and FIG. 3B showing the sensor in a pressurized state. The piezoelectric sensor 10a is formed in a sheet-like shape using electret foam made of a polyolefin-based material with an ultra-fine foam structure. When pressure is applied, the piezoelectric sensor 10a transitions from the state shown in FIG. 3A to the state shown in FIG. 3B, deforming the internal bubbles and generating a potential difference. The generated potential difference is output as an analog electrical signal to the amplitude amplifier 11. An electret sheet used in such a piezoelectric sensor 10a may be, for example, an electret sheet developed by the applicant and described in Japanese Patent No. 5,926,860. The sizes of the detection unit 10 and the piezoelectric sensor 10a are not particularly limited. An embodiment in which only a part of the body of the care recipient is placed on the detection unit 10 and the piezoelectric sensor 10a is also possible. For example, the excretion detection system described in the present application may be configured in such a way that only the back of the care recipient is placed on the detection unit 10 and the piezoelectric sensor 10a, and the lower abdomen of the care recipient is not placed on the detection unit 10 and the piezoelectric sensor 10a. Even in a configuration in which only the back of the care recipient is placed on the detection unit 10 and the piezoelectric sensor 10a, the excretion detection system described in the present application can detect vibrations occurring during excretion, such as urination and defecation, by detecting waves propagating inside or on the body surface of the care recipient.

[0049] 2, the amplitude amplifier 11 is configured using, for example, a signal amplifier that amplifies the voltage of the electrical signal. The amplitude amplifier 11 amplifies the amplitude of the wave voltage input as an analog electrical signal from the detector 10 and passes the amplified signal to the wave processor 12.

[0050] The wave processing unit 12 includes components such as an extraction unit 120 that extracts waves of a frequency band to be extracted from the detected waves. The extraction unit 120 is configured with a semiconductor chip such as a VLSI (Very Large-Scale Integrated Circuit: Very Large-Scale IC), and includes components such as a frequency conversion unit 1200 and a filter unit 1201. The frequency conversion unit 1200 performs frequency conversion processing such as FFT (Fast Fourier Transformation) processing on the waves. The filter unit 1201 passes components of the frequency band to be extracted from the signal based on the frequency-converted waves and blocks components of other frequency bands. The wave processing unit 12 passes a signal indicating the components of the frequency band to be extracted extracted by the extraction unit 120 to the output unit 13 as a result signal representing the processed result. The wave processing unit 12 includes a plurality of extraction units 120 for each purpose, such as urination, defecation, pulse, breathing, and body movement, and each extraction unit 120 includes a frequency conversion unit 1200 and a filter unit 1201. For example, the extraction unit 120 for urination performs frequency conversion processing on the amplified wave received from the amplitude amplification unit 11 using the frequency conversion unit 1200, and passes components in the 100 to 2000 Hz band through the filter unit 1201 to the output unit 13.

[0051] The output unit 13 outputs a result signal indicating the processed result to the excretion detection device 2 via a connection line.

[0052] 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of devices such as the excretion detection device 2 and communication device 4 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. The excretion detection device 2 is a device that uses various types of computers such as a signal processing computer and a personal computer, and includes various components such as a control unit 20, an input unit 21, a recording unit 22, an operation unit 23, an output unit 24, and a communication unit 25.

[0053] The control unit 20 includes various circuits such as an information processing circuit, a clock circuit, and a register circuit, and is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes processes to control each unit in the device.

[0054] The input unit 21 is an interface device such as various communication adapters and control circuits that accept input of signals transmitted from the detection device 1 via a connection line.

[0055] The recording unit 22 is a circuit configured using nonvolatile memories such as a hard disk, a redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID), and a flash memory, and volatile memories such as various types of random access memories (RAM), and records various types of information. The recording unit 22 records programs such as a basic program (OS: Operating System) and application programs that run on the basic program. As application programs, various programs such as an excretion detection program 220 for implementing the excretion detection device 2 are recorded. The recording unit 22 also records various types of information such as a trained judgment model 221 used in the excretion detection program 220 and a reference value master 222 that describes various reference values ​​such as thresholds used for various judgments. The various reference values ​​recorded in the reference value master 222 are set based on the attributes of the subject, such as gender, age, height, and weight.

[0056] The trained model for determination 221 is a trained model generated by training using training data to which labels indicating the state of excretion are attached, using experimentally obtained data on excretion, data under normal circumstances (steady-state data), and attribute information such as the subject's gender, age, height, and weight as input values. The trained model for determination 221 uses a statistical machine learning model such as gradient boosting, but can also be designed as appropriate, for example, using deep learning such as CNN (Convolutional Neural Network).

[0057] The operation unit 23 is an operation device such as a touch panel or push buttons, and receives operation inputs for the excretion detection device 2. When the excretion detection device 2 is configured using a computer such as a personal computer, an operation device such as a keyboard or mouse may be used as the operation unit 23.

[0058] The output unit 24 is an output device such as a liquid crystal display, a speaker, etc. The operation unit 23 and the output unit 24 may be provided as a liquid crystal touch panel in which a thin plate-shaped liquid crystal display and a touch panel are stacked, for example.

[0059] The communication unit 25 is a communication device including various components such as an antenna, a LAN adapter, and a control circuit for wireless or wired communication with the communication device 4 via the communication network NW.

[0060] A computer having the various configurations exemplified above operates as the excretion detection device 2 by reading various programs such as the excretion detection program 220 recorded in the recording unit 22 under the control of the control unit 20 and executing various procedures such as judgment processing.

[0061] The communication device 4 includes a communication unit 40 that communicates with the excretion detection device 2 via the communication network NW, an output unit 41 that performs various outputs, etc. The output by the output unit 41 includes processing such as output of light, display of an image, output of sound, sound, vibration, etc.

[0062] Next, the processing of various devices in the excretion detection system described in the present application will be described. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the detection processing of the detection device 1 provided in the excretion detection system described in the present application. The detection unit 10 of the detection device 1 detects waves such as sound and vibration using the piezoelectric sensor 10a (S101), converts the detected waves into analog electrical signals, and outputs them to the amplitude amplification unit 11. The waves detected by the detection unit 10 include various waves such as vibration data and sound data based on the inside of the subject's body, vibration data and sound data based on movements on the subject's body surface, and body movement data.

[0063] The amplitude amplifier 11 amplifies the wave detected by the piezoelectric sensor 10a and converted into an analog electrical signal (S102), and outputs a wave signal indicating the amplified wave to the wave processor 12. The intensity of the wave detected by the piezoelectric sensor 10a varies significantly depending on measurement conditions such as the thickness and material of the mat 31. Therefore, the amplification level in the amplification process of step S102 is initially adjusted so that the intensity of the amplified wave falls within a predetermined target range. Thereafter, fine adjustment is made automatically or manually while comparing the intensity of the wave detected during actual operation with the target range. By performing this reference adjustment of the amplification level, the amplitude amplifier 11 can output a wave signal with an intensity suitable for various analysis processes, such as the determination process described below. The amplification level can also be adjusted in subsequent processes.

[0064] The wave processing unit 12 extracts waves of a frequency band to be extracted from the input wave signal using the extraction unit 120, which is configured with a semiconductor chip such as a VLSI. Specifically, the frequency conversion unit 1200 of the extraction unit 120 performs frequency conversion using a conversion method such as FFT (S103), and the filter unit 1201 of the extraction unit 120 passes components of a specific frequency band to be extracted from the frequency-converted wave signal (S104). The wave processing unit 12 passes the signal, which has passed the components of the frequency band to be extracted, to the output unit 13 as a result of processing. An example of processing by the wave processing unit 12 will be described. The extraction unit 120 samples the wave signal, which is an analog electrical signal, at predetermined time intervals and generates frames of a predetermined time unit from the sampled wave signal. For example, the extraction unit 120 generates frames with a frame length of 5 seconds and a frame period (shift width) of 1 second. The frame length and frame period are set based on the assumption that vibration lasts at least 5 seconds, based on the research results of "PJ Yang, J. Pham, J. Choo, and DL Hu, co-authored, 'Duration of urination does not change with body size,' Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, vol. 111, no. 33, pp. 11932-7, Aug. 2014, doi: 10.1073 / pnas.1402289111.", which states that urination time is 21±13 seconds regardless of body size. In step S103, the frequency conversion unit 1200 converts the frame-by-frame wave signal into a signal of components on the frequency axis. In step S104, the filter unit 1201 passes components of a predetermined frequency band to be extracted from the frame-by-frame wave signal and removes components outside the frequency band to be extracted. For example, the filter unit 1201 passes components in a frequency band such as 100 to 2000 Hz or 1 to 200 Hz from the wave signal in frame units as components in a specific frequency band to be extracted depending on the purpose such as urination or defecation.

[0065] The output unit 13 outputs a result signal indicating the result of the processing of the wave by the wave processing unit 12 to the excretion detection device 2 (S105).

[0066] In this manner, the detection process of the detection device 1 is carried out.

[0067] 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the determination process of the excretion detection device 2 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. The excretion detection device 2, which uses a computer such as a signal processing computer or a personal computer, executes the determination process under the control of a control unit 20 that executes an excretion detection program 220 recorded in a recording unit 22. The excretion detection device 2 receives a result signal indicating the result of processing the wave output from the detection device 1 at an input unit 21, and executes the determination process.

[0068] The control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2 detects a period during which waves (vibrations) based on body movement are generated based on the result signal received from the input unit 21 (S201). In step S201, the magnitude of the wave output (amplitude) is compared with the body movement reference value shown in the reference value master 222, and if it exceeds the body movement reference value, it is determined that waves based on body movement are generated. Then, the time period during which waves based on body movement continue is detected as the period during which waves based on body movement are generated.

[0069] The control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2 determines the period during which waves based on the body movement detected in step S201 are generated as a noise generation period and excludes it from the subsequent determination of the excretion state (S202). When body movement occurs, large vibrations are generated and the output is saturated, so by excluding the period during which body movement is generated from the determination of the excretion state, the accuracy of the state determination is improved. Furthermore, since there is no body movement or the body movement is small during excretion, it is considered that there is little possibility of missing the excretion state even if the period during which large body movement is generated is excluded from the target of determination.

[0070] The control unit 20 removes waves due to pulse and breathing (S203). In step S203, waves due to pulse and breathing are excluded from the waves to be determined because they constitute noise when determining the excretion state. In step S203, the control unit 20 detects waves in the frequency band of 0.8 to 2.5 Hz, which is the frequency band of pulse, and the frequency band of 0.1 to 0.6 Hz, which is the frequency band of breathing, as noise, and removes the waves detected as noise. To detect noise, the control unit 20 determines that the waves in the target frequency band are noise when the power spectrum obtained by integrating the intensity of the waves in the target frequency band is greater than the noise threshold value indicated in the reference value master 222.

[0071] The control unit 20 removes noise from the result signal received from the input unit 21 in steps S201 and S202.

[0072] The control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2 determines the excretion state of the subject based on the result signal from which noise has been removed (S204). In step S204, the excretion state is determined based on the components of the frequency band to be extracted, which are indicated as the result signal. For example, in step S204, the control unit 20 determines the subject's urination state based on the processing result of waves in the frequency band of 100 to 2000 Hz, and determines the subject's defecation state based on the processing result of waves in the frequency band of 1 to 200 Hz. The determination of excretion such as urination and defecation based on waves in these frequency bands is described, for example, in non-patent documents [Tim Idzenga, Johan JM Pel, and Ron van Mastrigt, "Perineal sound recording for diagnosis of bladder outlet obstruction", INDIAN JOURNAL of UROLOGY, 2009 Jan-Mar, 25(1):92-98, Internet<URL: https: / / www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov / pmc / articles / PMC2684325 / > ] is based on the research results described in

[0073] Furthermore, when making the determination in step S204, the control unit 20 accesses information such as the trained model for determination 221 and the reference value master 222 recorded in the recording unit 22, and refers to the recorded information.

[0074] The control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2, which has determined the excretion state of the subject, performs a determination result output process to output the determination result (S205). The determination result output process in step S205 is a process of transmitting information indicating the determination result from the communication unit 25 to the communication device 4 via the communication network NW. The determination result output process may be configured to transmit information indicating the determination result regardless of the determination result, or may be configured to transmit the information only when the determination result is determined to be an excretion state or a state in the pre-excretion stage.

[0075] In this manner, the determination process of the excretion detection device 2 is performed.

[0076] The communication device 4 receives information indicating the determination result transmitted from the excretion detection device 2 via the communication network NW at the communication unit 40, and outputs the received information indicating the determination result from the output unit 24. The output of the determination result is performed as notification processing such as light output, image display, audio output, ringing, vibration, etc. from various communication devices 4 such as a nurse call receiving device carried by the nurse, a monitor installed at the nurse's station, or a mobile phone carried by an external person. Persons involved, such as nurses, caregivers, and doctors, as well as family members, who confirm the determination result output from the communication device 4, can take appropriate action depending on the condition of the subject.

[0077] <Example of determination process> Next, a specific example of the determination process executed by the excretion detection device 2 will be described.

[0078] <Processing example 1> 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a first determination process of the excretion detection device 2 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. The first determination process is an example of a process for determining the excretion state of the subject, which was explained as step S204 of the determination process explained using Fig. 6. As the first determination process, the excretion detection device 2 performs processing on frequency-converted result information in units of frames that is input as result information from the detection device 1.

[0079] The control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2 derives a power spectrum by integrating the intensity for each frequency divided into predetermined frequency intervals, such as 1 Hz intervals, for frame-by-frame data indicating waves received as a result signal (S301). The control unit 20 calculates the sum of the outputs of predetermined target frequencies from the power spectrum (S302). In step S302, the control unit 20 determines, for example, a frequency band of 400 to 1000 Hz, where signals in a frequency band related to urination are prominent, as the target frequency, and calculates the sum of the outputs of that frequency band. Note that the optimal frequency band for detection varies depending on measurement conditions such as the thickness and material of the mat 31, and therefore the target frequency is appropriately adjusted based on prior experiments or actual results.

[0080] The control unit 20 compares the calculated sum of the outputs of the target frequencies with the threshold value indicated in the reference value master 222 recorded in the recording unit 22 (S303), and determines the state of excretion based on the comparison result (S304). In step S304, if the sum is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the control unit 20 determines that the subject is in an excretion state or a state in the pre-excretion stage, and if the sum is less than the threshold value, it determines that the subject is in a steady state that is not in an excretion state. A pre-excretion state refers to a state in which the excretion act has not yet occurred, but a sign of an excretion act has occurred due to waves generated from the body, such as organs. The excretion determination is performed for each type of excretion, such as urination or defecation, and for each stage, such as an excretion state or a pre-stage state.

[0081] In this manner, the first determination process is executed.

[0082] <Processing example 2> Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a second determination process of the excretion detection device 2 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. The second determination process is an example of a process for determining the excretion state of the subject, which was explained as step S204 of the determination process explained using Fig. 6. As the second determination process, the excretion detection device 2 performs processing on frequency-converted result information in units of frames that has been input as result information from the detection device 1.

[0083] The control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2 derives a power spectrum based on frame-by-frame data indicating the wave motion received as the result signal (S401). The control unit 20 calculates the difference between the derived power spectrum and the average value of the power spectrum for the immediately preceding predetermined time period (S402). In step S402, the immediately preceding predetermined time period is set to, for example, one minute. In step S402, the difference between the power spectrum and the average value of the power spectrum for the immediately preceding predetermined time period is calculated for each frequency.

[0084] The control unit 20 calculates the sum of the differences for preset target frequencies among the calculated differences for each frequency (S403). The control unit 20 compares the calculated sum of the differences for the target frequencies with a threshold value indicated in the reference value master 222 recorded in the recording unit 22 (S404), and determines the excretion state based on the comparison result (S405). In step S405, if the sum is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the control unit 20 determines that the subject is in an excretion state or a state in the pre-excretion stage, and if the sum is less than the threshold value, the control unit 20 determines that the subject is in a steady state that is not an excretion state.

[0085] The second determination process is executed in the above manner. In the second determination process, the object of determination is the difference from the average value of the immediately preceding results, thereby making it possible to eliminate the influence of white noise.

[0086] <Processing example 3> 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a third determination process of the excretion detection device 2 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. The third determination process is an example of a process for determining the excretion state of the subject, which was explained as step S204 of the determination process explained using FIG. 6. As the third determination process, the excretion detection device 2 performs processing on frequency-converted result information in units of frames that has been input as result information from the detection device 1.

[0087] The control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2 derives a power spectrum based on frame-by-frame data indicating the wave received as a result signal (S501). The control unit 20 uses the power spectrum as a feature and determines the excretion state by referring to the trained model for determination 221 recorded in the recording unit 22 (S502). In step S502, the control unit 20 determines the excretion state, the state preceding the excretion state, the steady state (a state not in an excretion state), etc., by referring to the trained model for determination 221. The trained model for determination 221 used in the third determination process is a trained model obtained by assigning a label indicating the urination state to frame-by-frame data related to the urination state, such as data during urination, data immediately before urination, and data during normal times, and training the data as training data. In addition, information on the subject's attributes, such as gender, age, height, and weight, is used as a feature in training the trained model for determination 221.

[0088] In this manner, the third determination process is executed.

[0089] <Processing example 4> 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a fourth determination process of the excretion detection device 2 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. The fourth determination process is an example of a process for determining the excretion state of the subject, which was described as step S204 of the determination process using Fig. 6. As the fourth determination process, the excretion detection device 2 performs processing on frequency-converted result information in units of frames that has been input as result information from the detection device 1.

[0090] The control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2 derives the power spectrum, cepstrum, wave amplitude (average value of squared amplitude), fundamental frequency, formant frequency, and Mel frequency cepstrum coefficient for each frame based on frame-by-frame data indicating the wave received as the result signal (S601). The control unit 20 uses the derived power spectrum, cepstrum, wave amplitude, fundamental frequency, formant frequency, and Mel frequency cepstrum coefficient as features, and determines the excretion state by referring to the trained determination model 221 recorded in the recording unit 22 (S602). In step S602, the control unit 20 determines the excretion state, the state preceding the excretion state, the steady state, etc. by referring to the trained determination model 221. The trained model for judgment 221 used in the fourth judgment process is a trained model obtained by using the power spectrum, cepstrum, wave amplitude, fundamental frequency, formant frequency, and Mel frequency cepstrum coefficient as feature quantities, assigning labels indicating excretion states, and training them as training data.

[0091] In this manner, the fourth determination process is executed.

[0092] As the processing of the various devices in the excretion detection system described above, in the determination processing explained using Fig. 6, a form in which waves based on pulse and respiration are removed as noise in step S203 has been described. However, the excretion detection system described herein is not limited to a form in which waves based on pulse and respiration are removed as noise, and can be expanded into various forms, such as a form in which they are used in the determination processing of step S204.

[0093] A description will be given of a form in which waves based on pulse and respiration are used in the determination process of step S204. The pulse and / or respiration used in the determination process may have a significant correlation with the excretion state. For example, states such as exhaling and holding breath may occur during excretion. The same applies to the pulse, and a significant correlation may occur between changes in the pulse state and the excretion state. The excretion detection system described in the present application can be expanded to a form in which data based on target frequencies related to pulse and / or respiration is used to determine the excretion state in the determination process of step S204, i.e., in process examples 1 to 4 described using Figures 7 to 10. In particular, the form in which data based on pulse and / or respiration is used to determine the excretion state is effectively applied to the process of determining the excretion state using the trained model for determination 221 shown in process examples 3 and 4. When the excretion detection system described in the present application is deployed in the form shown in processing example 3 and processing example 4, it does not remove the waves based on pulse and respiration, and utilizes a trained model for judgment 221 that has been trained in advance based on pulse and / or respiration.

[0094] 1, etc., and the hardware configuration and software processing can be designed as appropriate. That is, the excretion detection system described in the present application can be realized as various configurations that include at least a detection function that detects waves generated by a subject, a wave processing function that processes the detected waves, and a determination function that determines the excretion state of the subject based on the wave processing results.

[0095] <Detection device configuration example 1> FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the detection device 1 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. FIG. 11 shows an outline of another configuration example of the detection device 1. The detection unit 10 of the detection device 1 shown in FIG. 11 has a detection area 10b formed as a surface for detecting wave motion, and the detection area 10b is arranged so as to cover substantially the entire bedding. The detection area 10b is configured by arranging the above-mentioned piezoelectric sensors 10a in a planar manner, and may be configured with one piezoelectric sensor 10a or multiple piezoelectric sensors 10a. The detection device 1 shown in FIG. 11 is configured so that the entire body of a care-requiring person in a position such as lying down or sitting on the bedding is located on the detection area 10b.

[0096] <Detection device configuration example 2> FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the detection device 1 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. FIG. 12 shows an outline of yet another configuration example of the detection device 1. The detection device 1 shown in FIG. 12 has multiple detection areas 10b arranged at different positions on the bedding, and detects waves at each different position. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 12, three detection areas 10b are arranged, which are divided into three by the short sides of the detection unit 10, which has a rectangular shape in a plan view. By using the multiple detection areas 10b arranged at different positions, information such as the position of the person requiring care can be obtained.

[0097] <Detection device configuration example 3> Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the detection device 1 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. Fig. 13 shows an outline of yet another configuration example of the detection device 1 including a plurality of detection areas 10b. The detection device 1 shown in Fig. 13 is a configuration example in which the detection unit 10, which is rectangular in plan view, is divided into four along the long side and into three along the short side, resulting in 12 detection areas 10b. As shown in Fig. 13, by increasing the number of divisions into the detection areas 10b and improving the accuracy of detecting the generation position of the wave, more detailed information such as the position, posture, heart position, and excretion site position of the care-requiring person can be obtained.

[0098] <Example 1 of processing multiple detection areas> Next, various processes using the detection device 1 having multiple detection areas 10b as illustrated in FIG. 13 will be described as Processing Example 1 for Multiple Detection Areas 10b. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the detection process of the detection device 1 provided in the excretion detection system described herein. The detection device 1 detects waves such as sound and vibration for each detection area 10b using the piezoelectric sensors 10a in each detection area 10b with the detection unit 10 (S701), and amplifies the waves for each detection area 10b with the amplitude amplifier 11 (S702). The detection device 1 performs frequency conversion for each detection area 10b with the wave processor 12 (S703), passes specific frequency components (S704), and outputs the resulting signal from the output unit 13 to the excretion detection device 2 (S705). That is, when using the detection device 1 having multiple detection areas 10b, the detection device 1 processes and outputs the waves detected in each detection area 10b.

[0099] In this manner, the detection process of the detection device 1 having the plurality of detection areas 10b is carried out.

[0100] Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the determination process of the excretion detection device 2 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. Fig. 15 shows the determination process of the excretion detection device 2 that receives input of a result signal based on the wave motion of each detection area 10b output from the detection device 1 that includes multiple detection areas 10b. As the determination process, the excretion detection device 2 extracts specific components from the wave motion of the result signal received by the input unit 21 and performs parallel processing for each component.

[0101] As a first process of the parallel processing, the control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2 extracts components in a frequency band caused by excretion from waves based on the result signal (S801). In step S801, extraction of components caused by excretion is performed for each detection area 10b.

[0102] As a second process of the parallel processing, the control unit 20 extracts components of frequency bands caused by heartbeat, breathing, and body movement from the waves based on the result signal (S802). In step S802, extraction of each component is performed for each detection area 10b.

[0103] The control unit 20 determines the posture of the subject based on each component extracted from each detection area 10b (S803). In step S803, the posture is determined based on the detection area 10b in which each component due to heartbeat, breathing, and body movement is strongly detected and the position where each detection area 10b is located. In step S803, right lateral position, left lateral position, supine position, prone position, and sitting position are set as specific postures that can be determined as the posture of the subject.

[0104] The control unit 20, which has obtained the results of the first process and the second process of the parallel processing, selects one or more detection areas 10b to be used for determining excretion from among the plurality of detection areas 10b based on the posture determined in step S803 (S804). In step S804, the control unit 20 selects, based on the posture, detection areas 10b arranged in positions where excretion can be easily detected.

[0105] The control unit 20 performs an amplification process (S805) to amplify the amplitude of the component due to excretion extracted in step S801 with an amplification factor for each detection area 10b based on the selection result of step S804. In step S805, the amplification process is performed with a different amplification factor for each detection area 10b, such as by setting the amplification factor of the amplitude of the component obtained from the detection area 10b located at a position where excretion is easily detected higher than the amplification factor of the amplitude of the component obtained from the other detection areas 10b.

[0106] The control unit 20 determines the excretion state of the subject based on the amplified components (S806), and performs a determination result output process to output the determination result (S807).

[0107] In this way, the excretion detection device 2 executes the determination process upon receiving the input of the result signal based on the waves of each detection area 10b output from the detection device 1 having the plurality of detection areas 10b. The determination process based on the detection results of the plurality of detection areas 10b arranged in different positions selects and amplifies the detection area 10b in which the waves emitted from the excretion site are easily detected in the processes of steps S804 and S805, thereby achieving excellent effects such as improving the accuracy of the determination.

[0108] <Processing example 2 using multiple detection areas> Next, another example of various processes using the detection device 1 having the multiple detection regions 10b as illustrated in Fig. 13 will be described as Processing Example 2 for the multiple detection regions 10b. Note that in Processing Example 2, the detection process of the detection device 1 is the same as Processing Example 1 described using Fig. 13, so reference should be made to Processing Example 1 and a description thereof will be omitted.

[0109] Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the determination process of the excretion detection device 2 included in the excretion detection system described in the present application. Fig. 16 shows the determination process of the excretion detection device 2 that receives input of a result signal based on the wave motion of each detection area 10b output from the detection device 1 that includes multiple detection areas 10b. As the determination process, the excretion detection device 2 extracts specific components from the wave motion of the result signal received by the input unit 21 and performs parallel processing for each component.

[0110] As a first process of the parallel processing, the control unit 20 of the excretion detection device 2 extracts components in a frequency band caused by excretion from waves based on the result signal (S901). In step S901, extraction of components caused by excretion is performed for each detection area 10b.

[0111] As a second process of the parallel processing, the control unit 20 extracts components in a frequency band caused by the heartbeat from the wave motion based on the result signal (S902). In step S902, extraction of components caused by the heartbeat is performed for each detection area 10b.

[0112] The control unit 20 determines the position of the subject's heart based on the components caused by the heartbeat detected from each detection area 10b (S903). In step S903, the position of the subject's heart relative to the detection areas 10b arranged on the bedding is determined based on the detection areas 10b in which the components caused by the heartbeat are strongly detected and the positions of the detection areas 10b.

[0113] The control unit 20 determines the position of the excretion site of the subject based on the position of the heart determined in step S903 and the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas 10b (S904).

[0114] The control unit 20, which has obtained the results of the first process and the second process of the parallel processing, selects one or more detection areas 10b to be used for determining excretion from the plurality of detection areas 10b according to the position of the excretion site determined in step S904 (S905). In step S905, based on the position of the excretion site, the control unit 20 selects a detection area 10b arranged in a position where excretion can be easily detected.

[0115] The control unit 20 performs an amplification process to amplify the amplitude of the component due to excretion extracted in step S901 by the amplification factor for each detection region 10b based on the selection result in step S905 (S906).

[0116] The control unit 20 determines the excretion state of the subject based on the amplified components (S907), and performs a determination result output process to output the determination result (S908).

[0117] In this way, the excretion detection device 2 executes the determination process upon receiving the input of the result signal based on the waves of each detection area 10b output from the detection device 1 having the plurality of detection areas 10b. The determination process based on the detection results of the plurality of detection areas 10b arranged at different positions selects and amplifies the detection area 10b that is easy to detect the waves emitted from the excretion site in the processes of steps S905 and S906, thereby achieving excellent effects such as improving the determination accuracy.

[0118] <System configuration example 1> FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram showing an example configuration of the excretion detection system described in the present application. FIG. 17 shows an outline of another example configuration of the excretion detection system. The excretion detection system shown in FIG. 17 includes various devices such as a detection device 1, an excretion detection device 2, and a communication device 4. The detection device 1 includes various components such as a detection unit 10, an amplitude amplification unit 11, a wave processing unit 12, and an output unit 13. The wave processing unit 12 includes various components such as an extraction unit 120. The extraction unit 120 includes bandpass filters 1202 for each purpose, such as urination, defecation, pulse, breathing, and body movement. Each bandpass filter 1202 extracts waves of a target frequency band from the detected waves. The bandpass filters 1202 are analog electrical circuits such as RLC circuits, and are designed to pass waves of a desired frequency band by appropriately setting the characteristic values ​​of the analog elements. The bandpass filter 1202 is configured by combining multiple filters, such as a high-pass filter (low-cut filter) that passes high-frequency components and removes low-frequency components, and a low-pass filter (high-cut filter) that passes low-frequency components and removes high-frequency components.

[0119] As described above, the excretion detection system according to the system configuration example 1 is configured such that the extraction unit 120 is formed using the band-pass filter 1202.

[0120] <System configuration example 2> Fig. 18 is a schematic block diagram showing an example configuration of the excretion detection system described in the present application. Fig. 18 shows an outline of yet another example configuration of the excretion detection system. The excretion detection system shown in Fig. 18 includes a detection device 1, an excretion detection device 2, and a communication device 4, and further includes a wave processing device 5. The wave processing device 5 is configured in such a way that a wave processing unit 12 is realized as an independent device, and is configured using a semiconductor chip such as a VLSI that performs frequency conversion processing.

[0121] As described above, the excretion detection system according to the system configuration example 2 has a configuration in which the wave processing section 12 is made independent as the wave processing device 5.

[0122] <System configuration example 3> FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the excretion detection system described in the present application. FIG. 19 shows an outline of yet another example of the configuration of the excretion detection system. The excretion detection system shown in FIG. 19 includes a detection device 1 and an excretion detection device 2, and further includes a recording device 6. The detection device 1 and the excretion detection device 2 are communicatively connected via a communication network NW, and the recording device 6 using a computer such as a data server is connected to the communication network NW. The detection device 1 is connected to the communication network NW via an output unit 13, and the excretion detection device 2 is connected to the communication network NW via an input unit 21. The excretion detection device 2 in system configuration example 3 is configured using a computer such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, or a high-function mobile phone (a so-called smartphone). The excretion detection device 2 has the functions of the communication device 4 described above and performs various analysis processes such as determination processes and input / output processes as a user interface. The detection device 1 transmits a result signal based on the detected wave to the recording device 6 via the communication network NW, and the recording device 6 records the received result signal as data. The excretion detection device 2 accesses the recording device 6, receives the result signal recorded as data, and performs various processes based on the received result signal.

[0123] <System configuration example 4> Fig. 20 is a schematic block diagram showing an example configuration of the excretion detection system described in the present application. Fig. 20 shows an outline of yet another example configuration of the excretion detection system. System configuration example 4 is a configuration in which system configuration example 3, which is configured as a pull type, is configured as a push type. The detection device 1 transmits a result signal based on the detected wave to the excretion detection device 2 via the communication network NW. The excretion detection device 2 performs various processes based on the received result signal.

[0124] <System configuration example 5> FIG. 21 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the excretion detection system described in the present application. FIG. 21 shows an outline of yet another example of the configuration of the excretion detection system. System configuration example 5 is configured using a server computer connected to the communication network NW to the excretion detection device 2. In system configuration example 5, the detection device 1 performs processing to transmit a result signal, which is the result of processing based on the detected wave, to the excretion detection device 2 on the communication network NW. The excretion detection device 2 performs various processes, such as a determination process, based on the received result signal to determine the excretion state and transmits information indicating the determination result to the communication device 4 via the communication network NW. The communication device 4, which is configured using devices such as a nurse call receiving device, a monitor, and a mobile phone, performs output processing, such as displaying information indicating the excretion state and outputting audio, based on the received information indicating the result.

[0125] The excretion detection system described in this application can be realized in various configuration examples, in addition to the configuration example described above, such as incorporating a semiconductor chip such as a VLSI that performs frequency conversion processing into the excretion detection device 2 and performing the frequency conversion processing in the excretion detection device 2.

[0126] As described above, the excretion detection system described in the present application determines the excretion state, such as urination or defecation, based on wave data such as vibrations and sounds generated based on movements inside the subject's body, movements on the subject's body surface, etc. As a result, the excretion detection system described in the present application has excellent effects, such as being able to detect the excretion state without imposing a burden on the subject.

[0127] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be embodied in various other forms. Therefore, these embodiments are merely illustrative in all respects and should not be interpreted as limiting. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and is not limited in any way by the text of the specification. Furthermore, all modifications and variations that fall within the equivalent range of the claims are within the scope of the present invention.

[0128] For example, the various configuration examples described above are not limited to being implemented independently, but can also be combined as appropriate. For example, in the above embodiment, a configuration example in which a wave in a frequency band to be extracted is extracted using frequency conversion processing, and a configuration example in which the band-pass filter 1202, which is an analog circuit, is used, have been described. The excretion detection system described in the present application can be developed into various forms by combining these, such as performing frequency conversion processing on the wave that has passed through the band-pass filter 1202, which is configured as an analog circuit.

[0129] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, processing examples 1 to 4 are given as examples of judgment processing, and processing examples 1 and 2 using multiple detection areas 10b are also given as examples, but these processing can be appropriately combined and implemented as judgment processing, and can be expanded into various forms.

[0130] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the frequency conversion process is configured using a semiconductor chip, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be implemented in various forms, such as software processing by a computer. When the frequency conversion process is implemented as software processing, the excretion detection device 2 is configured to include a wave processing unit 12 that processes waves and a determination unit that determines the excretion state. Furthermore, the determination unit described as software processing may also be configured as hardware, and the excretion detection system described herein can be implemented in various forms.

[0131] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the excretion detection device 2 removes noise such as body movement, pulse, and breathing, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be expanded to various forms, such as removing noise in the detection device 1, or in both the detection device 1 and the excretion detection device 2. In particular, it is preferable to remove body movement that is determined to be noise based on the magnitude of its amplitude in the detection device 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0132] 1. Detection device 10. Detection unit 10a Piezoelectric sensor 10b Detection area 11 Amplitude amplifier 12 Wave Processing Section 120 Extraction part 1200 Frequency conversion unit 1201 Filter section 1202 Bandpass Filter 13 Output section 2. Excretion detection device (judgment unit) 20 Control Unit 22 Recording section 220 Excretion Detection Program 221 Pre-trained model for judgment 222 Reference Value Master 3 beds 31 Mat (bedding) 4. Communications equipment 5 Wave Processing Device (Wave Processing Unit) 6. Recording Devices NW communication network

Claims

1. An excretion detection system that detects the excretion state of a subject, a detection unit that detects waves generated based on a subject; a wave processing unit that processes the wave detected by the detection unit; a determination unit that determines the excretion state of the subject based on the processing result of the wave processing unit; Equipped with the detection unit has a plurality of detection areas for detecting waves at different positions, the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; The waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of a heartbeat, breathing, and body movement of the subject, Further, a posture determination unit is provided that determines a posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas, The posture determination unit As the posture of the subject, at least one of a right-sided posture, a left-sided posture, a supine posture, a prone posture, and a sitting posture is determined as a specific posture; a selection unit that selects, when the posture determination unit determines that the posture is a specific posture, a detection area for detecting a wave to be used for determination by the determination unit from among the plurality of detection areas; The determination unit The excretion state of the subject is determined based on the wave motion detected from the detection area selected by the selection unit. An excretion detection system characterized by:

2. An excretion detection system for detecting the excretion state of a subject, comprising: a detection unit that detects waves generated based on a subject; a wave processing unit that processes the wave detected by the detection unit; a determination unit that determines the excretion state of the subject based on the processing result of the wave processing unit; Equipped with the detection unit has a plurality of detection areas for detecting waves at different positions, the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; The waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of a heartbeat, breathing, and body movement of the subject, Further, a posture determination unit is provided that determines a posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas, The posture determination unit As the posture of the subject, at least one of a right-sided posture, a left-sided posture, a supine posture, a prone posture, and a sitting posture is determined as a specific posture; an amplifier that performs amplification processing for each of the plurality of detection regions when the posture determination unit determines that the posture is a specific posture; An excretion detection system characterized by:

3. An excretion detection system for detecting the excretion state of a subject, comprising: a detection unit that detects waves generated based on a subject; a wave processing unit that processes the wave detected by the detection unit; a determination unit that determines the excretion state of the subject based on the processing result of the wave processing unit; Equipped with the detection unit has a plurality of detection areas for detecting waves at different positions, the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; the waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on the heartbeat of the subject, and an excretion position determination unit that determines the position of the excretion site of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas. An excretion detection system characterized by:

4. The excretion detection system according to claim 3, a heart position determination unit that determines the position of the subject's heart based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas; The excretion position determination unit determines the position of an excretion site of the subject based on the position of the heart determined by the heart position determination unit and the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas. An excretion detection system characterized by:

5. An excretion detection system according to claim 3, a selection unit that selects, from the plurality of detection areas, a detection area for detecting waves to be used for determination by the determination unit, in accordance with the position of the excretion site determined by the excretion position determination unit; The determination unit The excretion state of the subject is determined based on the wave motion detected from the detection area selected by the selection unit. An excretion detection system characterized by:

6. An excretion detection system according to claim 4, an amplification unit that performs amplification processing for each of the plurality of detection regions according to the position of the excretion site determined by the excretion position determination unit; An excretion detection system characterized by:

7. The excretion detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The wave processing unit includes: An extraction unit is provided that extracts waves in a target frequency band from the detected waves. An excretion detection system characterized by:

8. The excretion detection system according to claim 7, The extraction unit Extracting waves in a target frequency band based on the result of frequency conversion of the waves detected by the detection unit. An excretion detection system characterized by:

9. An excretion detection system according to claim 7 or claim 8, The extraction unit A wave including a frequency band of 100 to 2000 Hz is extracted as a wave of the frequency band to be extracted, The determination unit The urination state of the subject is determined based on the processing result of the waves in the frequency band of 100 to 2000 Hz extracted by the extraction unit. An excretion detection system characterized by:

10. An excretion detection system according to claim 7 or claim 8, The extraction unit A wave including a frequency band of 1 to 200 Hz is extracted as a wave of a frequency band to be extracted, The determination unit The defecation status of the subject is determined based on the processing result of the waves in the frequency band of 1 to 200 Hz extracted by the extraction unit. An excretion detection system characterized by:

11. An excretion detection system according to claim 7 or claim 8, The determination unit determines the excretion state of the subject based on at least one wave of the subject's pulse and breathing. An excretion detection system characterized by:

12. An excretion detection system as described in claim 11, The determination unit determines the excretion state of the subject based on the body movement of the subject. An excretion detection system characterized by:

13. An excretion detection system according to claim 7 or claim 8, The extraction unit Includes a bandpass filter An excretion detection system characterized by:

14. An excretion detection system according to claim 7 or claim 8, The extraction unit a conversion unit that converts the frequency of the wave detected by the detection unit; The conversion unit extracts waves in a target frequency band based on the frequency conversion result. An excretion detection system characterized by:

15. An excretion detection system as described in claim 14, The determination unit The excretion state of the subject is determined based on the intensity of each frequency band of the waves frequency-converted by the conversion unit. An excretion detection system characterized by:

16. The excretion detection system according to claim 14, A trained model for judgment is provided that has undergone supervised learning using information based on the results of frequency conversion of the waves generated by the subject as input values, The determination unit The excretion state of the subject is determined based on the trained model for determination. An excretion detection system characterized by:

17. The excretion detection system according to claim 16, The trained model for determination includes, as information based on the result of the frequency conversion, at least one of a power spectrum, a cepstrum, a wave amplitude, a fundamental frequency, a formant coefficient, and a Mel-frequency cepstrum coefficient. An excretion detection system characterized by:

18. The excretion detection system according to claim 16, a trained model for determination that has undergone supervised learning using information based on the wave detected by the detection unit as an input value; The determination unit The excretion state of the subject is determined based on the trained model for determination. An excretion detection system characterized by:

19. The excretion detection system according to claim 16, The trained model for determination includes information including the gender of the subject as an input value. An excretion detection system characterized by:

20. The excretion detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The waves detected by the detection unit include waves caused by the movement of organs as movements inside the body of the subject. An excretion detection system characterized by:

21. The excretion detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The excretion state determined by the determination unit includes at least one of an excretion act and a sign of an excretion act. An excretion detection system characterized by:

22. The excretion detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, The detection unit Includes a piezoelectric sensor An excretion detection system characterized by:

23. The excretion detection system according to claim 22, The piezoelectric sensor is formed using electret foam. An excretion detection system characterized by:

24. The excretion detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, Further bedding is provided, The detection unit detects a wave generated by the subject through the bedding. An excretion detection system characterized by:

25. An excretion detection system according to any one of claims 3 to 6, the detection unit has a plurality of detection areas for detecting waves at different positions, The waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of a heartbeat, breathing, and body movement of the subject, a posture determination unit that determines the posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas; An excretion detection system characterized by:

26. The excretion detection system according to claim 25, The posture determination unit As the posture of the subject, at least one of right-lying position, left-lying position, supine position, prone position, and sitting position is determined as the specific posture. An excretion detection system characterized by:

27. An excretion detection method for detecting an excretion state of a subject, comprising: a detection unit having a plurality of detection areas for detecting waves at different positions and detecting waves generated by a subject; a wave processing unit that processes the wave detected by the detection unit; Using a determination step of determining an excretion state of the subject based on the detected wave; the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; The waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of a heartbeat, breathing, and body movement of the subject, Further, a posture determination step of determining a posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas is included, The posture determination procedure includes: As the posture of the subject, at least one of a right-sided posture, a left-sided posture, a supine posture, a prone posture, and a sitting posture is determined as a specific posture; further comprising a selection step of selecting, when the posture determination step determines that the posture is a specific posture, a detection area for detecting a wave to be used for determination in the determination step from among the plurality of detection areas; The determination procedure includes: The excretion state of the subject is determined based on the wave detected from the detection area selected in the selection step. An excretion detection method characterized by:

28. An excretion detection method for detecting an excretion state of a subject, comprising: a detection unit having a plurality of detection areas for detecting waves at different positions and detecting waves generated by a subject; a wave processing unit that processes the wave detected by the detection unit; Using a determination step of determining an excretion state of the subject based on a processing result of the wave processing unit, the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; The waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of a heartbeat, breathing, and body movement of the subject, Further, a posture determination step of determining a posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas is included, The posture determination procedure includes: As the posture of the subject, at least one of a right-sided posture, a left-sided posture, a supine posture, a prone posture, and a sitting posture is determined as a specific posture; When the posture determination procedure determines that the posture is a specific posture, an amplification process is performed for each of the plurality of detection regions. An excretion detection method characterized by:

29. An excretion detection method for detecting an excretion state of a subject, comprising: a detection unit having a plurality of detection areas for detecting waves at different positions and detecting waves generated by a subject; a wave processing unit that processes the wave detected by the detection unit; Using a determination unit that determines an excretion state of the subject based on a processing result of the wave processing unit, the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; the waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on the heartbeat of the subject, and an excretion position determination step for determining the position of an excretion site of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas. An excretion detection method characterized by:

30. An excretion detection device that detects the excretion state of a subject, a determination means for determining the excretory state of the subject based on the detection results of waves generated by the subject, which are received from a detection unit having a plurality of detection areas that detect waves at different positions; a posture determination means for determining the posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas; Equipped with the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; The waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of a heartbeat, breathing, and body movement of the subject, The posture determination means As the posture of the subject, at least one of a right-sided posture, a left-sided posture, a supine posture, a prone posture, and a sitting posture is determined as a specific posture; Further, a selection means is provided for selecting, when the posture determination means determines that the posture is a specific posture, a detection area for detecting a wave to be used for determination by the determination means from among the plurality of detection areas, The determination means The excretory state of the subject is determined based on the wave motion detected from the detection area selected by the selection means. An excretion detection device characterized by:

31. An excretion detection device for detecting the excretion state of a subject, comprising: a determination means for determining the excretory state of the subject based on the detection results of waves generated by the subject, which are received from a detection unit having a plurality of detection areas that detect waves at different positions; a posture determination means for determining the posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas; Equipped with the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; The waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of a heartbeat, breathing, and body movement of the subject, The posture determination means As the posture of the subject, at least one of a right-sided posture, a left-sided posture, a supine posture, a prone posture, and a sitting posture is determined as a specific posture; When the posture determination means determines that the posture is a specific posture, an amplification process is performed for each of the plurality of detection areas. An excretion detection device characterized by:

32. An excretion detection device for detecting the excretion state of a subject, comprising: a determination means for determining the excretory state of the subject based on the detection results of waves generated by the subject, which are received from a detection unit having a plurality of detection areas that detect waves at different positions; an excretion position determination means for determining the position of an excretion site of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas; Equipped with the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; the waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on the heartbeat of the subject, and an excretion position determination unit that determines the position of the excretion site of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas. An excretion detection device characterized by:

33. An excretion detection program that causes a computer to execute a procedure for detecting an excretion state of a subject, On the computer, a determination step of determining the excretion state of the subject based on the detection results of waves generated by the subject, which are received from a detection unit having a plurality of detection areas that detect waves at different positions; a posture determination step of determining the posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas; It is designed to execute the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; The waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of a heartbeat, breathing, and body movement of the subject, The posture determination procedure includes: As the posture of the subject, at least one of a right-sided posture, a left-sided posture, a supine posture, a prone posture, and a sitting posture is determined as a specific posture; Furthermore, when the posture determination procedure determines that the posture is a specific posture, a selection procedure is executed to select a detection area for detecting a wave to be used for determination in the determination procedure from the plurality of detection areas, The determination procedure includes: The excretion state of the subject is determined based on the wave detected from the detection area selected in the selection step. An excretion detection program characterized by:

34. An excretion detection program that causes a computer to execute a procedure for detecting the excretion state of a subject, On the computer, a determination step of determining the excretion state of the subject based on the detection results of waves generated by the subject, which are received from a detection unit having a plurality of detection areas that detect waves at different positions; a posture determination step of determining the posture of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas; It is designed to execute the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; The waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on at least one of a heartbeat, breathing, and body movement of the subject, The posture determination procedure includes: As the posture of the subject, at least one of a right-sided posture, a left-sided posture, a supine posture, a prone posture, and a sitting posture is determined as a specific posture; When the posture determination procedure determines that the posture is a specific posture, an amplification process is performed for each of the plurality of detection regions. An excretion detection device characterized by:

35. An excretion detection program that causes a computer to execute a procedure for detecting the excretion state of a subject, On the computer, a determination step of determining the excretion state of the subject based on the detection results of waves generated by the subject, which are received from a detection unit having a plurality of detection areas that detect waves at different positions; an excretion position determination step of determining the position of an excretion site of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas; It is designed to execute the waves detected by the detection unit include at least one of vibration data and sound data based on movements inside the body of the subject, and vibration data and sound data based on movements on the body surface of the subject; the waves detected by the detection unit include waves based on the heartbeat of the subject, An excretion position determination procedure is executed to determine the position of the excretion site of the subject based on the waves detected by each of the plurality of detection areas. An excretion detection program characterized by:

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