Excretion Care Assistance Device Using Sensor-Based Defecation Timing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current excretion care systems in medical/nursing facilities often result in unnecessary group excretion care for care-receivers who have not excreted, leading to waste and increased burden on caregivers, as existing technologies do not effectively reduce the frequency of individual excretion care.

Innovation Solution

An excretion care assistance device and method that utilize sensor terminals worn by care-receivers to track defecation times and generate a frequency distribution, allowing for optimized timing of group excretion care to minimize misses and reduce caregiver burden by scheduling care after more care-receivers have excreted.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If group excretion care is provided at fixed times for all care-receivers, then the care schedule is simple to manage, but many care-receivers receive unnecessary care while others may miss their care needs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of care schedulingVSAvoidreliability of excretion care timing

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by collecting and analyzing defecation time data from sensor terminals before determining the group excretion care schedule. The processor accumulates defecation time information over multiple days and uses this data to predict optimal care timing, thereby avoiding unnecessary care while ensuring timely intervention when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring actual defecation times through sensor terminals and comparing them with the scheduled group excretion care times. This feedback loop enables the system to refine and adjust the care schedule based on actual patterns, improving both reliability and efficiency over time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If individual excretion care is provided for every care-receiver who needs care, then all care needs are met, but the caregiver burden increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvereliability of meeting care needsVSAvoidproductivity of caregiver

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges individual care needs into group care sessions by identifying care-receivers who have similar defecation patterns and timing. By combining multiple individual care tasks into coordinated group care activities, the system maintains reliable care delivery while reducing the total number of separate care interventions required.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary analysis of defecation patterns to predict which care-receivers will need care at specific times. This allows caregivers to prepare and coordinate group care sessions in advance, transforming reactive individual care into proactive group-based care delivery.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of operation

If group excretion care is provided irrespective of whether care-receivers have excreted, then the care schedule is simple to implement, but diapers and caregiver effort are wasted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of care implementationVSAvoidwaste of diapers and effort

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses real-time feedback from sensor terminals that detect when care-receivers have defecated. This feedback information is used to dynamically adjust or cancel scheduled group excretion care sessions, ensuring that care is only provided when actually needed and eliminating waste of diapers and caregiver effort on unnecessary care.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary data collection and pattern recognition to establish predicted defecation times. By having this information available before care sessions, the system can make informed decisions about whether to proceed with group care or postpone it, avoiding unnecessary resource consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20240261163A1Excretion care assistance device and excretion care assistance method

Publication Date: 2024.08.08 SINTOKOGIO LTD

AI summary

An excretion care assistance device includes a processor. The processor is configured to carry out a first specification process of specifying defecation times of care-receivers on the basis of sensor terminals and a second specification process of specifying a time at which group excretion care is to be started for at least one care-receiver group, in accordance with a frequency distribution indicative of a total number of times of defecation in each of a plurality of time periods, the frequency distribution being determined from the defecation times that have been specified in the first specification process.