JP2003271737A - Medical examination assisting system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a doctor to faithfully observe physiological data of a patient through a graph with not a dedicated machine, but a general terminal device and to improve the usability by shortening the wait time needed for communication. <P>SOLUTION: A doctor's terminal device 2 receives physiological data and a graph drawing program from a server 3 and executes the received graph drawing program to draw the physiological data received from the server as a graph. Through this constitution, no image data are received and the deterioration of picture quality due to compression does not occur. Further, the doctor can examine the patient by observing the graph of the physiological data by using not the dedicated machine already having the graph drawing program, but the general terminal device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention treats and treats a patient having a condition requiring long-term observation of physiological data and a patient having a condition requiring observation of a graph instead of numerical data such as an electrocardiogram. The present invention relates to a medical examination support device for supporting a doctor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, etc., doctors should consult by measuring physiological data such as blood pressure, blood sugar level, and body weight over a long period of time and observing the tendency of changes in the measured values. To do. For that purpose, we sometimes look at a table in which the measured values are entered, and to make it more understandable, we graph it to observe the trend of changes quickly. In order to save the trouble of making this graph, the measured value is recorded in a computer and the graph is automatically drawn. In addition, it is very difficult to see the electrocardiogram and the like by simply looking at the numerical data of the electrocardiographic potential, and the output of the graph assists the doctor's examination.

In recent years, the importance of measuring and managing physiological data on a daily basis has been emphasized in the prevention and treatment of these lifestyle-related diseases, and patients measure physiological data at home and establish a communication network. A system has been proposed in which a doctor remotely observes the measured physiological data via the system. With this system, the patient can collect physiological data in more detail by saving the time and effort of going to the doctor. Furthermore, a system has been proposed in which a doctor can easily examine by drawing the measured physiological data on a graph and viewing it by the doctor.

An example of the medical examination support device of US Pat. No. 6,122,351 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 1 is a personal terminal device placed in a patient's home or the like, 2 is a doctor terminal device placed by a doctor, and 3 is a main computer, which are connected by a communication network 4 such as a telephone line. . A measuring device 5 for measuring physiological data can be connected to the personal terminal device 1.

When the patient measures his or her physiological data using the measuring device 5, the measuring device 5 causes the personal terminal device 1,
Measurement data is stored in the main computer 3 via the communication network 4. Then, the main computer 3 creates a graph image based on the accumulated physiological data.
The doctor terminal device 2 can receive and view this graph image from the main computer 3 via the communication network 4.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the graph image is created by the main computer,
Since the system is a system in which the graph image is received and viewed by the doctor terminal device, there is a problem that communication takes a long time. That is, image data generally has a large capacity, and it takes a long time to transmit / receive a large amount of data via a communication network.

On the other hand, although a method of compressing image data is generally known, the capacity is reduced but the image quality is deteriorated. In the case of a graph of physiological data, poor image quality means that the data is not faithfully reproduced. In particular, when the number of physiological data is large and the measured values are adjacent to each other, the compressed image data may not be able to be read in detail as a graph.

For this purpose, there is also a method of preliminarily incorporating a graph drawing program into a doctor's terminal device and receiving only physiological data from the main computer to quickly receive data and faithfully draw a graph. Has a problem that it cannot be observed by a graph unless it is a dedicated terminal device in which a graph drawing program is installed in advance. In order for doctors to carry out medical examinations from anywhere such as hospitals, homes, and business trip destinations, it is desirable to be able to browse graphs with a general-purpose terminal device rather than a dedicated machine.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and enables a doctor to faithfully observe physiological data of a patient as a graph with a general-purpose terminal device rather than a dedicated machine, and wait for communication. The purpose is to reduce time and improve usability.

[0010]

In order to solve the conventional problems, a medical examination support apparatus of the present invention has a server and a doctor terminal device connected to the server via a communication network, The server has physiological data storage means for storing individual physiological data, and graph drawing program storage means for storing a graph drawing program executed by the doctor terminal device. It is configured to have an executing means for receiving the physiological data and the graph drawing program via the communication network, executing the graph drawing program, and a displaying means for displaying a graph.

As a result, the doctor terminal device can execute the graph drawing program received from the server and draw the physiological data received from the server as a graph, so that the image data is not received but compressed by compression. Image quality does not deteriorate. Further, the doctor can use a general-purpose terminal device to observe and examine the physiological data of the patient in a graph without using a dedicated machine having a graph drawing program in advance.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention according to claim 1 has a server and a doctor terminal device connected to the server via a communication network to display physiological data of an individual in the form of a graph. Communication means for sending and receiving data,
It has a physiological data storage means for storing personal physiological data and a graph drawing program storage means for storing a graph drawing program executed by the doctor terminal device, and the communication means for the physiological data and the graph drawing Communication means for transmitting a program to the doctor's terminal device via the communication network, the doctor's terminal device transmitting and receiving data, executing means for executing the program, and display means for controlling display by the executing means The communication means receives the physiological data and the graph drawing program from the server via the communication network, the graph drawing program is executed by the executing means, and the graph of the physiological data is displayed by the displaying means. Is displayed.

With this configuration, the doctor terminal device can execute the graph drawing program received from the server and draw the physiological data received from the server as a graph, so that it does not receive image data. ,
Communication does not require a long waiting time, deterioration of image quality due to compression does not occur, and physiological data can be faithfully reproduced in a graph. Further, a doctor can use a general-purpose terminal device to observe and examine individual physiological data in a graph without using a dedicated machine having a graph drawing program in advance, which improves usability.

The invention as defined in claim 2 is particularly defined by claim 1.
The program storing means for storing the graph drawing program in the doctor's terminal device described in (1), and whether the graph drawing program can be executed by the executing means and is not saved. A transmission instruction program for instructing to transmit the graph drawing program, and the server transmits the graph drawing program when a transmission instruction is received from the doctor terminal device by the transmission instruction program. It was done.

With this configuration, the doctor terminal device saves the graph drawing program received from the server in the program saving means, and only when the graph drawing program is not saved in the program saving means, the transmission instruction program draws the graph. Program for receiving from the server. Therefore, the graph drawing program is received only once at the first time, so that the communication waiting time can be further shortened and the usability can be improved.

The invention as defined in claim 3 is particularly defined by claim 2.
The server has transmission instruction program storage means for storing the transmission instruction program, and the doctor terminal device is configured to acquire the transmission instruction program from the server via the communication network by the communication means.

With this configuration, the doctor terminal device receives the transmission instruction program from the server, and receives the graph drawing program from the server only when necessary by the transmission instruction program, so that the waiting time for communication can be shortened and the general purpose The transmission instruction program can be executed by a typical terminal device, and usability is improved.

The invention described in claim 4 is a program for causing a computer to function as the doctor terminal device according to claim 1. Then, the doctor terminal device can be easily realized by using a computer in the doctor's home or hospital, and the program can be changed by a recording medium or Internet distribution.

The invention as defined in claim 5 is particularly defined by claim 1.
A personal terminal device connected to a server via a communication network, the personal terminal device communicating means for transmitting and receiving information, physiological data input means for inputting personal physiological data, and the physiological data. It has a storage means for storing the physiological data input by the data input means, and transmits the physiological data stored in the storage means to the server via the communication network by the communication means.

With this configuration, the physiological data input means of the personal terminal device connected to the server via the communication network inputs the physiological data of the individual and transmits the data to the server. It can be installed remotely from the terminal device or server, individuals can enter physiological data into their personal terminal devices at home, and doctors can easily observe and examine individual physiological data on a graph remotely from the individual. You can

The invention described in claim 6 is particularly characterized by claim 5.
By configuring the physiological data input means of the above to have a measuring means for measuring the physiological data of an individual, the measured physiological data is automatically input to the personal terminal device, and an error at the time of input is prevented. Therefore, the reliability of the physiological data collected can be improved.

The invention described in claim 7 is a program for causing a computer to function as the personal terminal device according to claim 5. Then, a personal terminal device can be easily realized by using a computer in an individual's home or the like, and the program can be changed by a recording medium or Internet distribution.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a medical examination support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a personal terminal device, 2 is a doctor terminal device, 3 is a server, and these are provided with communication means 6, 7, and 8, respectively, which are connected to a communication network 4 for transmitting and receiving data, programs and the like. can do.

The personal terminal device 1 is, for example, placed in a patient's home or the like and used by a patient. The personal terminal device 1 inputs physiological data of the patient and transmits the physiological data to the server 3. Therefore, the personal terminal device 1 includes a communication unit 6, a physiological data input unit 9, a physiological data input program 10,
A display unit 11 and a memory 12 as a storage unit are provided. Here, the display means 11 is a liquid crystal display, and the physiological data input means 9 includes a touch panel 13 provided on the liquid crystal display 11.

The operation of the personal terminal device 1 is controlled by the physiological data input program 10. Display means 11
The input method is displayed to the patient, and the patient inputs his / her own physiological data using the physiological data input means 9. This input method may be a manual operation input from the touch panel 13 or a physiological data measuring means 1 having a communication function.
The automatic input from 4 may be used. The input physiological data is held in the memory 12. Next, the physiological data input program 10 takes out the physiological data stored in the memory 12 and transmits it from the communication means 6 to the server 3 via the communication network 4.

The doctor's terminal device 2 is a general-purpose terminal device such as a personal computer placed remotely from the personal terminal device 1 such as a hospital or a doctor's home, and is used by a doctor for medical examination. Then, the patient's physiological data is displayed in a graph. Therefore, the doctor terminal device 2 includes a communication unit 7, an execution unit 14 for executing a program,
It comprises an input means 15 controlled by the execution means 14, a display means 16, a program storage means 17 for storing a program executed by the execution means 14, and a data storage means 18 for storing data. Here, the input means 15 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and the display means 16 is, for example, a CRT monitor.

As for the operation of the doctor terminal device 2, the transmission instruction program is first received from the server 3 via the communication network 4 from the communication means 8 and stored in the data storage means 17. Then, the execution means 14 executes the transmission instruction program. The transmission instruction program checks whether or not the graph drawing program is stored in the program storage means, and if it is not stored, sends an instruction requesting the graph drawing program to the server 3 and receives the graph drawing program from the server 3. Then, the program is stored in the program storage means 17. If the graph drawing program is already stored in the program storage means 17, this procedure is not performed.

Next, the executing means 14 executes the graph drawing program. The graph drawing program displays on the display means 16 a screen for selecting which patient's physiological data graph is to be drawn. The doctor or the like uses the input means 15 according to this screen to select the patient and the physiological data item. The selected patient code and physiological data code are transmitted to the server 3, and the corresponding physiological data is received from the server 3. Then, this physiological data is displayed on the display means 16 as a graph such as a line graph.

The server 3 stores the physiological data of the patient, the graph drawing program, and the transmission instruction program, is connected to the personal terminal device 1 and the doctor terminal device 2 via the communication network 4, and It receives personal physiological data from the medical terminal device 1 and transmits the physiological data, the graph drawing program, and the transmission instruction program to the doctor terminal device 2. Therefore, the server 3 includes a communication unit 7, a physiological data storage unit 19 that stores physiological data received from the patient terminal device 1, and a graph drawing program that stores a graph drawing program executed by the doctor terminal device 2 and a transmission instruction program. And a transmission instruction program storage means 21 for storing the transmission instruction program.

When the server 3 is connected to the personal terminal device 1 via the communication network, it receives physiological data and stores it in the physiological data storage means 29. When the doctor terminal device 2 is connected through the communication network 4, the transmission instruction program stored in the transmission instruction program storage means 20 is first transmitted to the doctor terminal device 2. This transmission instruction program is executed in the doctor terminal device 2, and if the graph drawing program is not stored in the doctor terminal device 2, the transmission request is received. When the server 3 receives the transmission request for the graph drawing program from the doctor terminal device 2, the server 3 executes the graph drawing program stored in the graph drawing program storage means 20.
Send to.

Next, the personal terminal device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The operation method of will be described. The personal terminal device 1 includes a touch panel 13 on the liquid crystal display 11, and
4 to 4 are screens displayed on the liquid crystal display 11, respectively, and are operated by touching a corresponding portion of the liquid crystal display 11 with a touch panel on the screen.

FIG. 2 shows a menu screen displayed when the personal terminal device 1 is activated. This menu screen is composed of a measurement item group 22 of physiological data, a manual button group 23 and an automatic button group 24 corresponding to each measurement item. The measurement items include body temperature, blood pressure, body weight, blood sugar, blood oxygen concentration, and electrocardiogram. The manual button group 23 is a button for numerically inputting corresponding physiological data, and the automatic button group 24 is a button for automatically inputting corresponding physiological data from a physiological data measuring instrument. It is difficult to manually enter the electrocardiogram, and only an automatic input button is provided. The user inputs physiological data by pressing any button.

FIG. 3 is a screen for manually inputting a body temperature, which will be described as an example of a manual input screen for physiological data. This screen is displayed when the user presses the manual body temperature button on the menu screen of FIG. The manual input screen for body temperature is
Numerical value input button group 25, cancel button 26, enter button 2
7. A numerical value display unit 28 is provided. Then, the user inputs a numerical value by pressing the button of the numerical value input button group 25 while checking the numerical value display section 28. If there is an incorrect input, the input can be canceled by pressing the cancel button 26, and if there is no error, the input numerical value is fixed by pressing the confirm button 27. Then, the confirmed numerical value is transmitted to the server 3 as physiological data. When the confirm button is pressed, the screen returns to the menu screen shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a screen for automatically inputting body temperature, which will be described as an example of the screen for automatically inputting physiological data. This screen is displayed when the user presses the automatic body temperature button on the menu screen of FIG. The automatic body temperature input screen includes a cancel button 26, a confirm button 27, a numerical value display section 28, and an operation method display section 29. The user can operate the method shown on the operation method display unit 29 to automatically display the body temperature, which is physiological data, on the numerical value display unit 28 without inputting a numerical value. If there is an error in this numerical value, the cancel button 26 is pressed to perform the measurement again, and if there is no error, the confirm button 27 is pressed to confirm the numerical value. Then, the confirmed numerical value is transmitted to the server 3 as physiological data. When the confirm button is pressed, the screen returns to the menu screen shown in FIG.

Next, a method of operating the doctor terminal device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The doctor terminal device 2 is a general-purpose personal computer used in a doctor's home or hospital, and executes a graph drawing program received from the server 3 to control the display with respect to the input. FIG. 5 shows a screen displayed on the display means 16. The screen of the doctor terminal device 1 is a personal selection box 3 for selecting a patient.
0, a physiological data item selection frame 31 for selecting a physiological data item to be displayed as a graph, a graph drawing frame 32 for drawing a graph, and an end button 33. A year selection box 34 for selecting a time period, a month selection box 35, and a scroll bar 36 for moving the displayed graph are provided.

When the doctor selects a patient in the individual selection box 30 and selects a physiological data item in the physiological data item selection frame, the latest physiological data is displayed in the graph drawing frame 32 as a line graph as shown in FIG. To be done.
Further, to browse the graph of physiological data retroactively, by selecting a desired time from the year selection box 34 and the monthly selection box 35, the physiological data of the selected month is displayed in a graph. Since a graph for 10 days is displayed, the graph can be moved forward or backward by operating the scroll bar 36.

Next, the flow of operation of the personal terminal device 1 including communication with the server 3 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. First, the user inputs a personal code and a password to prove that he is a registered person (S-101). Here, the personal terminal device 2 authenticates with the entered personal code and password (S-10).
2). If there is a problem with the authentication, the process returns to step (S-101) and the personal code and password are requested again. If there is no problem in authentication, the menu screen shown in FIG. 2 is displayed, so the user presses any button to select the measurement item of physiological data and the input method of manual or automatic (S).
-103). Here, the liquid crystal display 11 of the personal terminal device 1
Is switched to FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, so the user manually or automatically inputs physiological data (S-104). The entered physiological data is temporarily stored in the memory 12 (S-10
5).

When physiological data is input, the personal terminal device 1 connects to the server 3 via the communication network 4 in order to send the data to the server 3 (S-10).
6). At this time, the server 3 receives access from the personal terminal device 1 and connects to the personal terminal device 1 (S-30).
1). When the connection with the server 3 is established, the personal terminal device 1 transmits the personal code and the physiological data of the measured and input personal information to the server 3 (S-107). Server 3
Receives this personal code and physiological data (S-30
2). When the personal terminal device 1 finishes transmitting the personal code and the physiological data, it disconnects from the server 3 (S-10).
8). The server 3 also disconnects the connection (S-303).
Then, the server 3 associates the received personal code with the physiological data and stores them in the physiological data storage means 19 (S-
304).

Next, the flow of operation of the doctor terminal device 2 including communication with the server 3 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The doctor terminal device 2 first connects to the server 3 via the communication network 4 (S-201). At this time, the server 3 receives access from the doctor terminal device 2 and connects to the doctor terminal device 2 (S-311). When the communication is established, the server 3 transmits the transmission instruction program stored in the transmission instruction program storage means 21 to the doctor terminal device 2 (S-312). The doctor terminal device 2 receives the transmission instruction program and stores it in the program storage means 17 (S-202). From here, it operates according to the transmission instruction program. The doctor terminal device 2 checks whether or not the graph drawing program is stored in the program storage means 17, and if it is stored, it will be described later (S-20).
The process moves to step 6) (S-203). If not stored, a signal requesting a graph drawing program is transmitted to the server 3 (S-204). When the server 3 receives the request signal for the graph drawing program from the doctor terminal device 2 (S-313), the graph drawing program stored in the graph drawing program storage means 20 for the doctor terminal device 2 is received. Is transmitted (S-314).
If the request signal is not received, this step (S-314) is omitted.

From this point, the doctor terminal device 2 operates according to the graph drawing program. The screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display means 16, and the doctor operates it. The doctor selects an individual and a physiological data item (S-206). The doctor terminal device 2 transmits the code of the individual and the physiological data item selected by the doctor to the server 3 (S-207). The server 3 receives the code of the individual and the physiological data item from the doctor terminal device 2 (S-315). Then, the corresponding physiological data is extracted from the physiological data storage means, and the doctor terminal device 2 is used.
(S-316). The doctor terminal device 2 receives the physiological data transmitted from the server 3 and stores it in the data storage means 18 (S-208). Then, the physiological data is displayed as a line graph (S-209). When the end button 33 is pressed (S-210), the connection with the server 3 is disconnected (S-211). The server 3 similarly disconnects the connection (S-317). When browsing other physiological data or data of other patients, the process returns to the step (S-206) and the above operation is repeated.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the doctor terminal device 2 can execute the graph drawing program received from the server 3 and draw the physiological data received from the server 3 as a graph. Since no image data is received, a long waiting time is not required for communication, deterioration of image quality due to compression does not occur, and physiological data can be faithfully reproduced in a graph. Further, a doctor can use a general-purpose terminal device to observe and examine individual physiological data in a graph without using a dedicated machine having a graph drawing program in advance, which improves usability.

In this embodiment, the physiological data includes body temperature, blood pressure, body weight, blood sugar, blood oxygen concentration, and electrocardiogram, but this does not restrict the present invention, and any one of them may be used. It may be good or physiological data other than these may be used. Further, even if the numerical data of lifestyle such as the number of steps, the number of cigarettes, and the amount of alcohol are registered in the server as physiological data and the doctor browses the graph, the same effect is exhibited.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, image data is not received, a long waiting time is not required for communication, and image quality is not deteriorated by compression.
You can faithfully reproduce physiological data in a graph. Further, a doctor can use a general-purpose terminal device to observe and examine individual physiological data in a graph without using a dedicated machine having a graph drawing program in advance, which improves usability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of a medical examination support device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a menu screen of a personal terminal device of the medical examination support device in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a manual input screen of a personal terminal device of the medical examination support device in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an automatic input screen of a personal terminal device of the medical examination support device in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a graph screen of a doctor terminal device of the medical examination support device in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the personal terminal device of the medical examination support device in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the doctor terminal device of the medical examination support device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a configuration of a conventional examination support device.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 Personal terminal device 2 Terminal device for doctors 3 servers 4 Communication network 5 Measuring means 6 Communication means (of personal terminal device) 7 Communication means (of terminal device for doctors) 8 Communication means (of server) 9 Physiological data input means 12 storage means 14 Execution means 16 Display means 17 Program storage means 19 physiological data storage means 20 Graph Drawing Program Storage Means 21 Transmission instruction program storage means

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A server, a doctor's terminal device which is connected to the server via a communication network and displays the physiological data of an individual in the form of a graph, the server having communication means for transmitting and receiving data, and an individual's physiological condition. It has a physiological data storage means for storing data, and a graph drawing program storage means for storing a graph drawing program executed by the doctor terminal device, and the communication means stores the physiological data and the graph drawing program. The communication device transmits to the doctor terminal device via a communication network, and the doctor terminal device has communication means for transmitting and receiving data, executing means for executing a program, and display means for controlling the display by the executing means. , The physiological data and the graph drawing program from the server via the communication network by the communication means And a graph drawing program that is executed by the execution unit and the graph of the physiological data is displayed by the display unit. 2. The doctor's terminal device is a program storage means for storing a graph drawing program, and a server which can be executed by the executing means and which is executable if the graph drawing program is not saved. A transmission instruction program for instructing to transmit the graph drawing program to the server, and the server transmits the graph drawing program when receiving a transmission instruction from the doctor terminal device by the transmission instruction program. The medical examination support device according to claim 1. 3. The server according to claim 2, wherein the server has a transmission instruction program storage means for storing the transmission instruction program, and the doctor terminal device acquires the transmission instruction program from the server via a communication network by the communication means. Medical examination support device. 4. A program for causing a computer to function as the doctor terminal device according to claim 1. 5. A personal terminal device connected to a server via a communication network, the personal terminal device communicating means for transmitting and receiving information, and physiological data input means for inputting personal physiological data. And a storage unit that stores the physiological data input by the physiological data input unit, and the physiological data stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the server via the communication network by the communication unit. The medical examination support device described. 6. The medical examination support apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the physiological data input means has a measuring means for measuring individual physiological data. 7. A program for causing a computer to function as the personal terminal device according to claim 5.