KR101336925B1 - Walking Support Robot for Efficient Electronic Health Record - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a walk aid robot mode and wheelchair mode through the walking aid robot to enable a safe and comfortable walking aid for users with physical disabilities, such as elderly people, using the various bio-signal measuring instruments attached to it easily or not It can support your daily life by measuring your health status, manage your bio-related information efficiently, and assist you to check and treat the health status of the elderly without the help of nurses. It is about a walking aid robot.

Description

Walking Support Robot for Efficient Electronic Health Record

The present invention relates to a walking aid robot, and in particular, through the walking aid robot to enable a safe and comfortable walking aid for users with physical discomfort, such as elderly people in the walking aid mode and wheelchair mode, various biological signals mounted thereon By using measuring instruments, it is possible to easily measure the state of health, such as the presence of abnormalities in the body, to support daily life, to efficiently manage the information related to the living body as described above, and to check and treat the health status of the elderly without the help of nurses. The present invention relates to a walking aid robot that assists to ensure high quality medical services.

Today, due to the development of medicine and the improvement of quality of life, the elderly population is rapidly increasing, and accordingly, the silver industry and various institutions for the elderly are being developed.

In order to live the daily life of the elderly should be basically no inconvenience to walking. Most elderly people who have lowered muscle strength live with the help of walker in the form of a four-point cane or stroller in their daily lives. However, these walkers do not provide enough convenience for the elderly to go out, and the functions provided by the device do not satisfy the needs of the elderly at present. In order to solve the problems related to convenience and function improvement, the necessity of engineering technology is increasing. The walking aid robot developed to support the daily life of the elderly should basically support the elderly walking, assist the sitting and standing motion, and the ability to move the elderly safely and comfortably should be the best. Although there are pedestrian-assisted robot-related technologies, such as the Power Assisted Walking Support System developed by Hitachi, Japan, and the Robotic Walker developed by Camegie Mellon University in the United States, there is a need for improvements to be used conveniently and safely.

In addition, biosignal information such as ECG, EEG EMG, blood pressure, PPG, and body temperature has been measured for medical activities and health care. In order to measure the biosignal information, the subject's restraint was inevitable. However, with the development of science and technology, a ubiquitous healthcare service is provided in which patients or users can receive medical services anytime and anywhere. However, as the number of elderly people continues to increase, the number of nurses to help care for the elderly is decreasing. Elderly people with illnesses should always check their health by checking for abnormalities. In addition, these biometric devices are difficult to use, and because of their large volume, they have a lot of inconveniences to carry when they go out, which makes it difficult to check the health status of the elderly.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention, through the walking aid robot to enable a safe and comfortable walking aid for users with physical discomfort, such as the elderly in the walking aid mode and wheelchair mode In addition, it supports the daily life by easily measuring the state of health such as the presence of abnormality of the body by using various bio-signal measuring instruments attached to it, and the measured bio-related information is quickly collected on the walking aid robot. Through the terminal, it is notified to the monitoring computer or the web server on the Internet through wired and wireless, so that the user can improve the efficiency of electronic health record (EHR) for the user and to check and treat the health status of the elderly without the help of a nurse. Providing a walking aid robot to enable medical services There used.

First, to summarize the features of the present invention, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention for achieving the object of the present invention, in the walking aid mode and wheelchair mode to determine the direction of travel according to the user's joystick operation and the user's grip force According to the sensor signal generated by the sensing force sensor, the walking aid robot that proceeds at a corresponding speed and assists walking of the user may include one or more walking aids installed around the walking aid mode joystick to measure the user's biological signal in the walking aid mode. A plurality of biosignal measuring instruments including a mode measuring mechanism and at least one wheelchair mode measuring mechanism installed in a storage space for measuring a user's biosignal in a wheelchair mode; It is connected to the pedestrian mode measuring device by a cable to control the start of measurement of the pedestrian mode measuring device to collect the biological signal outputted from the pedestrian mode measuring device, and is connected to the wheelchair mode measuring device by wireless communication An information collection terminal for collecting bio signals output from the wheelchair mode measuring device; And receiving, by wire or wireless communication, the bio-signal collected and transmitted by the information collection terminal, generating, storing and managing bio-related information of the user for visual display on a display means through processing of the bio-signal. An information processing apparatus is included.

The walk assist mode measuring apparatus may include a sensor for measuring SPO2 through a user's finger, a sensor for measuring ECG through a user's hand or finger, a sensor for measuring body temperature through a user's hand or finger, or a user. It includes a sensor for measuring the pulse through the hand or finger.

The wheelchair mode measuring device includes a blood glucose meter for measuring a user's blood sugar, or a blood pressure monitor for receiving the air pressure from the air pressure generating means for measuring blood pressure mounted on the walking assistance robot. The storage space may include a low frequency massage stimulator for low frequency massage stimulation of the user.

The information processing apparatus may transmit the biometric information of the user to a monitoring server on the Internet by wire or wireless communication, and the monitoring server may store and manage the biometric information of the received user for each user. .

An indicator including an operator, a manager, or a doctor inquires the user's biometric information through a display means of the monitoring server, inputs an opinion of an indicator or prescription information, and transmits the information to the information processing apparatus, thereby processing the information. The device may be stored in correspondence with one or more pieces of relevant bio-related information and may be viewed and viewed by the user through the display means.

According to the walking aid robot according to the present invention, in addition to enabling the safe and comfortable walking assistance of users with physical discomfort, such as elderly people in the walking aid mode and wheelchair mode, by using a variety of bio-signal measurement instruments mounted on the walking aid robot Easily measure the state of health, such as the presence of abnormalities in the body can support the user's daily life.

In addition, the bio-related information measured as described above can be promptly communicated to a monitoring computer or a web server on the Internet through a data collection terminal mounted on a walking aid robot, thereby managing the efficiency of an electronic health record (EHR) for a user. It is possible to increase the quality of health care services by assisting them to check and treat the health of the elderly without the help of nurses.

1 is a view for explaining a walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view for explaining a walking aid mode of the walking aid robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view for explaining a handle portion in the walking aid mode of the walking aid robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view for explaining a measuring method of the SPO2 sensor in the walking aid mode of the walking aid robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining a wheelchair mode of the walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view for explaining the relationship between the walking aid robot and the Internet server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout.

1 is a view for explaining a walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a walking assistance robot according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include an information processing device such as an information collection terminal 110 and a computer (eg, a laptop, a desktop, a tablet PC, etc.) for measurement and biosignal collection. And a plurality of biosignal measuring instruments (111, 112, 113 of FIG. 1, 141, 142, and 143 of FIG. 5) installed or provided around the joystick and the storage space 140.

First, the walking assistance operation of the walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, the walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, the user's joystick (or handle) in the walking aid mode and wheelchair mode 150 (160, 190) drive control device including a processor for controlling to proceed at a corresponding speed according to the sensor signal generated from the force sensor (installed under the joystick) to determine the direction of movement according to the operation of the user's grip (not shown) The front, rear, left, and right movements can be made through the control of the control panel.

When the user who is inconvenient to physical activity as shown in FIG. 2 uses the walking assistance robot in walking aid mode, the user may stand and hold the joystick (or handle) 150 and 160 and push forward manually, or the user's grip The user applies a force to the force sensor (installed at the bottom of the joystick) to sense the movement speed to maintain a constant speed, and manipulates the joystick (or the handle) 150, 160 to adjust the forward, backward, left and right directions. Walking can be assisted by moving slowly in the direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, when a user who is uncomfortable with physical activity uses the walking assistance robot in a wheelchair mode, a force sensor for detecting a user's grip force sitting on the chair 130 after the chair 130 is opened to allow the user to sit down ( The joystick 190 is installed under the user) to apply the force by hand to maintain the traveling speed at a constant speed, and to operate the joystick (or handle) 190 on the armrest side to adjust the forward and backward, left and right direction in the corresponding direction By moving slowly, walking can be assisted. The force sensor may be configured using a plurality of Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR).

As described above, when the user drives the walking aid robot to proceed with the vehicle, the joysticks 150, 160, and 190 installed around the armrests are operated to move forward, backward, left and right or press the force sensor to proceed at a desired speed. Can be. The force sensor is preferably attached to the bottom of the joystick, so that the force is not transmitted to the force sensor even when the user relies on the walking aid robot. If the user tries to support the walking aid robot without moving forward, no force is transmitted to the force sensor. Therefore, if the user wants to advance the walking aid robot, when the user uses the grip force by lightly pressing the force sensor under the handle, the wheel is driven by supplying power to the motor according to the magnitude of the force. In addition, when the folding chair is opened, it can be recognized automatically and can be used in wheelchair mode.

At this time, the walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of acceleration sensors for detecting a speed change, and the control device detects an uphill or downhill using these signals to reduce or increase the wheel speed. In addition, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors for detecting obstacles around the walking aid robot can be used to control the motor to reduce or stop the wheel speed by detecting obstacles around them using these signals. have.

As described above, the walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention may operate to assist walking in safety and comfort for users who are inconvenient to physical activity, such as the elderly in the walking aid mode and the wheelchair mode, and in addition to the walking assistance robot. Various bio-signal measuring instruments (111, 112, 113 of Figure 1, 141, 142, 143 of Figure 5) to easily measure the state of health, such as the presence or absence of the body to support the daily life of the user. In addition, the bio-related information measured as described above can be quickly and wirelessly through the information collection terminal 110 mounted on the walking aid robot of the present invention, the information processing device 120 or monitoring server on the Internet ( By being informed and managed (see FIG. 6), the quality of electronic health records (EHR) for the user is improved and the quality of medical services are supported by assisting the identification and treatment of the health status of the elderly without the help of nurses.

In the walking aid mode of the walking aid robot according to an embodiment of the present invention one or more walking aid mode measuring mechanism 111 installed around the walking aid mode joystick (or handle) (150/160) to measure the user's biological signal 112 and 113 may be used to measure the biosignal required by the user. In addition, in the wheelchair mode of the walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, one or more wheelchair mode measuring devices (141, 142, and 143 of FIG. 5) installed in the accommodation space 140 to measure a user's biosignal. The user can measure the required biosignal.

First, in the walking aid mode of the walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 2, a user 111 measures an SPO2 (Oxygen Saturation by Pulse Oximetry) through a user's finger. A sensor 112 for measuring ECG through a user's hand or finger, a sensor 113 for measuring body temperature through a user's hand or finger, or a pulse for measuring pulse through a user's hand or finger A sensor (not shown) may be used to measure the required biosignal.

Such measuring instruments are installed around the joystick (or handle) 150/160 as shown in FIG. 3, so that the user can conveniently measure the walking assistance robot during use. The user can measure the body temperature simply by holding the joystick (or handle) 150/160 through the body temperature sensor 113 installed in the joystick (or handle) 150/160, and the joystick (or handle) ( 150/160 Electrocardiogram by simply grasping the joystick (or handle) 150/160 through the ECG sensor 112 (or pulse detection sensor) installed on the bottom of the lower armrest or on the body of the joystick (or handle) (150/160). You can measure it.

In addition, the user only grabs the joystick (or handle) 150/160 via the SPO2 sensor 111 installed at the top end of the joystick (or handle) 150/160 and only inserts a finger between the open top and bottom of the instrument. SPO2 can be measured. As shown in FIG. 4, the SPO2 sensor 111 transmits light emitted from two light sources (for example, red light and infrared light) having different wavelength bands installed at the upper end, through a finger, and then passes through a light receiving unit (eg, photodiode) installed at the lower end. Each electrical signal for the emitted light, i.e., a volume pulse wave (PTG) signal, is detected. The PTG signal can be detected by this optical method because oxygen (0 ₂ ) in the blood absorbs light. Oxygen hemoglobin (Hb0 ₂ ) and pure hemoglobin (Hb) of red blood cells in the blood have different absorption coefficients. The oxygen saturation is measured using this characteristic, and the PTG signal appearing during the measurement has a heartbeat period. By processing such a signal, a waveform similar to the signal appearing when measuring blood pressure can be obtained.

On the other hand, the information collecting terminal 110 is provided with a plurality of buttons / switches for controlling the start of the measurement of the measuring instrument to be used in the walk aid mode as shown in Figure 6, the walk aid mode measuring device (111, 112, 113, etc.) ) And a wired cable (in some cases, wireless communication such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, etc.), and when the user controls the start of measurement by controlling the above buttons / switches, The bio signals that are generated can be collected. Accordingly, the information collecting terminal 110 transmits the biological signal collected by the walking aid mode measuring device (111, 112, 113, etc.) through a short range communication unit (see FIG. 6) or wired (RS232 serial communication) or wireless communication (Bluetooth, Zigbee). , Wi-Fi, etc.) may be transmitted to the information processing device 120. The information processing apparatus 120 may display the biosignal received from the information collecting terminal 110 through the short range communication unit (see FIG. 6) by the data processing unit (see FIG. 6) and visually display the biosignal through the display means. Related information can be created and stored in memory for management. At the same time as the measurement, the user can visually check the relevant bio-related information through a real-time or later data inquiry and check the change of the bio-signal by date or time as a graph.

In addition, in the wheelchair mode of the walking assistance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIG. 5, the user may measure the blood glucose measurement 141 of the user, or the air pressure generating means for measuring blood pressure mounted in the walking assistance robot (FIG. 1) can be used to measure the necessary bio-signal through a blood pressure monitor 142 for measuring the blood pressure of the user. In addition, the accommodation space 140 may include a low frequency massage stimulator 143 for stimulating a low frequency massage of the user so that the user may use it when necessary, thereby improving convenience.

Such wheelchair mode measuring instruments are installed in the storage space 140 of the touched position so that the user can conveniently take out and use them when driving by sitting on the chair 130 as shown in FIG. It can be conveniently measured during the test.

Such wheelchair mode measuring instruments are used when necessary by the user, and may be connected to the information collecting terminal 110 by wireless communication (Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, etc.) (when RS232 wired serial communication is possible in some cases). Accordingly, the information collection terminal 110 may wirelessly collect each biosignal measured and generated by the wheelchair mode measuring instrument. Accordingly, the information collection terminal 110 is a wired (RS232 serial communication) or wireless communication (Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, etc.) through the short-range communication unit (see Fig. 6) the biological signal collected from the wheelchair mode measuring instruments (141, 142, etc.) ) Can be transmitted to the information processing apparatus 120 in the following manner. The information processing apparatus 120 may display the biosignal received from the information collecting terminal 110 through the short range communication unit (see FIG. 6) by the data processing unit (see FIG. 6) and visually display the biosignal through the display means. Related information can be created and stored in memory for management. Accordingly, the user can visually check the change in the biosignal by date or time by graph or the like by visually searching the relevant biometric information through real-time or later data inquiry.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 6, an information processing device 120 such as a computer (eg, a laptop, a desktop, a tablet PC, etc.) may be connected to a wireless server through a local area communication unit such as Wi-Fi, and connected with a monitoring server on the Internet. have. The information processing apparatus 120 may transmit the biometric information of the user stored and managed in the memory to the monitoring server on the Internet through the local area communication unit as described above. Accordingly, the monitoring server transmits the received biometric information of the user to each user. It can be classified and stored in the database and managed.

The monitoring server on the Internet as described above may be operated in a center operated for the management, treatment, or counseling of persons with physical disabilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, public health centers, and ward offices. The indicator, such as a manager, a doctor, or the like, may check the biometric information received and feedback the feedback or prescription information corresponding to the user (patient) to the information processing device 120 so that the user may view it.

For example, an operator, an administrator, or a doctor may query a database of monitoring servers and display one or more biometric information (ecg, SPO2, body temperature, pulse rate, blood sugar, blood pressure, etc.) of a user as a graph through display means. It can be checked by time / date, and when an opinion or prescription is required, the necessary opinion or prescription information can be inputted through the monitoring server to be transmitted to the information processing apparatus 120. Accordingly, the information processing device 120 may store and manage the received comments, prescription information, etc. in correspondence with one or more corresponding biometric information corresponding thereto, and thus the user may store the information in the information processing device 120. At any time, the managed data can be retrieved and the opinion of the indicator corresponding to one or more of the relevant bio-related information (e.g. not going out for a few days, checking blood glucose every hour), or prescription information can be viewed and displayed on the display means. It becomes possible.

As such, the present invention can increase the efficiency of electronic health records (EHR) for users such as elderly people, and assists to check and treat the health status of elderly people, patients with discomfort, and the like without the help of nurses. Can be enabled.

As described above, the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains various modifications and variations from such descriptions. This is possible. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined by the equivalents of the claims, as well as the claims.

Information collecting terminal 110
Information Processing Device 120
Biosignal measuring instruments (111, 112, 113, 141, 142, 143)

Claims (6)

In the walking assistance robot and the walking aid mode, the walking assistance robot which determines the direction of travel according to the user's joystick operation and proceeds at a corresponding speed according to the sensor signal generated by the force sensor detecting the user's grip force,
One or more pedestrian aid mode measuring instruments installed around the pedestrian aid mode joysticks to measure the user's vital signs in pedestrian aid mode and one or more wheelchair mode measurement devices installed in the storage space to measure the user's vital signs in wheelchair mode. A plurality of biosignal measuring instruments comprising;
It is connected to the pedestrian mode measuring device by a cable to control the start of measurement of the pedestrian mode measuring device to collect the biological signal outputted from the pedestrian mode measuring device, and is connected to the wheelchair mode measuring device by wireless communication An information collection terminal for collecting bio signals output from the wheelchair mode measuring device; And
Information for generating, storing and managing biometric information of a user for visually displaying on a display means through the processing of the biosignal by receiving the biosignal collected and transmitted by the information collecting terminal through a wired or wireless communication method. Processing unit
Walking assistance robot comprising a. The method of claim 1,
The walk aid mode measuring mechanism,
A sensor for measuring SPO2 through a user's finger, a sensor for measuring ECG through a user's hand or finger, a sensor for measuring body temperature through a user's hand or finger, or a pulse through the user's hand or finger A walking assistance robot comprising a sensor for measuring. The method of claim 1,
The wheelchair mode measuring mechanism,
And a blood pressure monitor for measuring blood pressure of a user by receiving an air pressure from a blood glucose meter for measuring blood glucose of a user or an air pressure generating means for measuring blood pressure mounted on the walking assistance robot. The method of claim 1,
The walk assistance robot, characterized in that the storage space is provided with a low-frequency massage stimulator for low-frequency massage stimulation of the user. The method of claim 1,
The information processing apparatus transmits the user's biometric information to a monitoring server on the Internet through a wired or wireless communication method, and the monitoring server stores and manages the user's biometric information for each user. Walking aid robot. The method of claim 5,
An indicator including an operator, a manager, or a doctor inquires the user's biometric information through a display means of the monitoring server, inputs an opinion of an indicator or prescription information, and transmits the information to the information processing apparatus, thereby processing the information. A walk assistance robot, characterized in that the device is stored in correspondence with one or more relevant bio-related information and the user can inquire and view the information through the display means.

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