CN115267062A

CN115267062A - Auxiliary nursing method

Info

Publication number: CN115267062A
Application number: CN202210832692.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 苏星; 肖云龙; 许海波; 周国其; 刘国建
Original assignee: Qisi Semiconductor Hangzhou Co ltd
Current assignee: Qisi Semiconductor Hangzhou Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-15
Filing date: 2022-07-15
Publication date: 2022-11-01

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method of assisted care. Acquiring smell data, wherein the smell data is used for representing the smell characteristics of a cared person, or the smell data is used for representing the smell characteristics of a space where the cared person is located; obtaining an odor analysis result obtained by analyzing the odor data; judging whether the nursed person needs nursing service based on the odor analysis result; if the nursing service is needed by the nursing staff, the prompt information is output in a manner that the nursing staff can sense, and/or a nursing instruction is sent to the intelligent nursing equipment. From this, when the circumstances such as defecation, vomiting appear by the nursing staff, can discover the peculiar smell through smell detection, inform nursing staff or intelligent nursing equipment to carry out the investigation and handle, improve by nursing staff's nursing experience.

Description

Auxiliary nursing method

Technical Field

The disclosure relates to the technical field of odor detection, in particular to an auxiliary nursing method based on an odor detection technology.

Background

Some people (especially the elderly) have a decreased or even lost olfactory function, which makes them less sensitive to smell, and in their living environment, there is a lack of effective means for monitoring their abnormal conditions (such as defecation and vomiting).

For example, in a nursing home/nursing facility, the elderly who need nursing care may be affected by physical health and increased complaints if the elderly cannot get timely nursing care after defecation.

For example, the old and children living alone are mostly out of the way, and the life conditions of the elders are difficult to know.

In addition, no matter whether the infant wears the diaper or not, the infant needs to be nursed in time after defecating.

Therefore, there is a need for an assisted care solution that can provide timely care to the care-giver (e.g., the elderly, infants, etc.).

Disclosure of Invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to provide an auxiliary nursing scheme capable of nursing care-givers (such as the elderly and infants) in time.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of assisted care, comprising: acquiring smell data, wherein the smell data is used for representing the smell characteristics of a cared person, or the smell data is used for representing the smell characteristics of a space where the cared person is located; obtaining an odor analysis result obtained by analyzing the odor data; judging whether the nursed person needs nursing service based on the odor analysis result; and if the cared person is judged to need the nursing service, outputting prompt information in a manner of being sensed by the cared person.

Optionally, the step of obtaining scent data comprises: setting a first scanning temperature or a scanning temperature interval corresponding to the gas sensor based on the environmental information; generating a plurality of second scanning temperatures through the first scanning temperature, wherein the first scanning temperature and the plurality of second scanning temperatures form a plurality of scanning temperatures, or generating a plurality of scanning temperatures through a scanning temperature interval; forming a temperature adjustment model based on a plurality of scanning temperatures, regulating and controlling the active material in the gas sensor to the corresponding scanning temperature based on the temperature adjustment model, and collecting response signals of the gas sensor at different scanning temperatures.

Optionally, setting a first scanning temperature or a scanning temperature interval corresponding to the gas sensor based on the environmental information includes: setting a first scanning temperature based on a drift amount of a scanning temperature corresponding to a peak value of a response signal of the gas sensor caused by a difference between the current environmental information and the reference environmental information, and a reference start scanning temperature, the difference between the reference start scanning temperature and the first scanning temperature being equal to or substantially equal to the drift amount, the reference start scanning temperature being a start scanning temperature of the gas sensor under the reference environmental information, a plurality of second scanning temperatures being generated by the first scanning temperature, including: and generating a plurality of second scanning temperatures by taking the first scanning temperature as an initial scanning temperature.

Optionally, the step of obtaining an odor analysis result obtained by analyzing the odor data includes: and comparing the odor data with standard odor data in a standard odor database to obtain an odor analysis result, wherein the gas type and the concentration of the standard odor data are known, and the odor analysis result is used for representing the gas type and the concentration of the cared person or the space where the cared person is located.

Optionally, the step of determining whether the cared person needs a care service based on the result of the odor analysis comprises: judging whether peculiar smell exists according to the gas type and concentration represented by the odor analysis result; and if the abnormal odor is judged to exist, determining that the cared personnel needs nursing service.

Optionally, the method is performed by a first device located in the same space as the caretaker, or the method is performed by a server connected to the first device, and the step of outputting the prompt message in a manner perceptible by the caretaker includes: the reminder is sent to a second device used by the caregiver for output by the second device.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of assisted care, comprising: acquiring smell data, wherein the smell data is used for representing the smell characteristics of a cared person, or the smell data is used for representing the smell characteristics of a space where the cared person is located; obtaining an odor analysis result obtained by analyzing the odor data; and outputting the odor analysis result in a manner that can be perceived by the caregiver.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computing device comprising: a processor; and a memory having executable code stored thereon, which when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the method of the first or second aspect as described above.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program product comprising executable code which, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes the processor to perform the method of the first or second aspect as described above.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon executable code which, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes the processor to perform the method of the first or second aspect as described above.

From this, when the circumstances such as defecation, vomiting appear by the nursing staff, can discover the peculiar smell through smell detection, inform nursing staff or intelligent nursing equipment to carry out the investigation and handle, improve by nursing staff's nursing experience.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in greater detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which like reference numerals generally represent like parts throughout.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method of assisted care according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 shows a graphical representation of odor data for several different types of analytes exposed to different MOS-active materials.

FIG. 3 shows a data collection flow diagram according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram of a method of assisted care according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic structural diagram of a computing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

The present disclosure provides that the odor detection can be performed on the cared person or the space where the cared person is located, and whether the cared person needs to take care is determined according to the odor detection result. If the nursing-care-receiving person is judged to need nursing, the nursing-care-receiving person is notified, and the nursing-care-receiving person is timely nursed. Therefore, when the nursing staff defecate and vomit, the odor can be found through odor detection, the nursing staff is informed to conduct investigation, and the nursing experience of the nursing staff is improved.

The method shown in fig. 1 may be performed by a device (for convenience of distinction, may be referred to as a first device) located in the same space as the caretaker, may be performed by the cloud server, and may be performed by a device (for convenience of distinction, may be referred to as a second device) used by the caretaker. Alternatively, the method shown in fig. 1 may be cooperatively executed by a first device, a second device and a server, wherein the first device is responsible for collecting smell data, the server is responsible for analyzing the smell data and generating the prompt message, and the second device is responsible for outputting the prompt message.

Referring to fig. 1, in step S110, smell data is acquired.

The acquired scent data is used to characterize the scent characteristics of the cared person or of the space in which the cared person is located. Therefore, when the gas sensor is used for collecting smell data, the smell can be collected for the nursed person, and the smell can also be collected for the space where the nursed person is located. In other words, the gas sensor may be provided on a device worn or used by the caregiver, or may be provided at a suitable location in the space in which the caregiver is located.

In the present disclosure, odor may refer to any vaporized or vaporized compound or volatile, which is those gas phase molecules that can diffuse in air and be sensed by biological or artificial sensors.

The gas sensor is a sensor that converts a physical or chemical quantity change generated by a physical or chemical reaction between detected gas molecules and a gas sensitive material (hereinafter, referred to as an active sensing material) into an electrical signal, an optical signal, an acoustic signal, and the like that can be effectively measured, thereby measuring the type and concentration of a gas.

In step S120, an odor analysis result obtained by analyzing the odor data is acquired.

The odor data may be compared to standard odor data in a standard odor database to obtain an odor analysis result. The standard odor data has known gas types and concentrations, and the odor analysis result is used for representing the types and concentrations of the gas of the cared person or the space where the cared person is located.

In step S130, it is determined whether the care-receiver needs a care service based on the odor analysis result.

Whether or not an odor (having a concentration exceeding a predetermined threshold) is present can be judged from the odor analysis results (such as the gas type and concentration). If an off-note (at a concentration above a predetermined threshold) is present, the care-giver may be considered to require care services. Conversely, if no off-notes (at concentrations above a predetermined threshold) are present, the care-giver may be deemed to be not in need of care services. The odor can refer to the gas species contained in the excrement, such as ammonia gas, methane, skatole, and the like.

In step S140, if it is determined that the care-receiver needs a care service, a prompt message is output in a manner perceivable by the care-receiver, and/or a care instruction is sent to the smart care device. For example, the reminder information may be sent to a device used by the caregiver and the second device to output the reminder information by the second device. The prompt message may be a message for prompting the caregiver to attend to the cared person. The output mode of the prompt message can include but is not limited to text, image and audio. The nursing staff may refer to nursing workers in hospitals and nursing homes, and may also refer to relatives of the nursed staff.

The intelligent nursing equipment refers to equipment capable of automatically nursing a nursed person, such as an intelligent robot. And the nursing instruction is sent to the intelligent nursing equipment and used for instructing the intelligent nursing equipment to nurse the nursed person. The specific care content is related to the odor analysis result. For example, if it is determined that the cared person currently needs to clean the bed sheet or change the clothes based on the odor analysis result, an instruction for performing an operation of cleaning the bed sheet or changing the clothes may be sent to the smart care device.

The nursing care system can send out a notice and/or an instruction when the peculiar smell is detected by detecting the smell condition of the nursed person or the environment where the nursed person is located so as to check the nursed person or the environment where the nursed person is located in time.

Data collection process

In order to acquire a sufficient amount of data on a limited basis of sensing material, the acquisition may be performed using a temperature scanning method.

The temperature scanning method is to set a gas sensor (i.e. an active sensing material in the gas sensor) on a series of temperature values within a certain temperature range and keep the temperature values for a certain time respectively so as to collect a group of response signals corresponding to different temperature values.

The gas sensor used in the temperature scanning method is sensitive to temperature (i.e. has different responses at different temperatures), and may be a Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) sensor using a Metal Oxide as an active sensing material. The active sensing material (i.e., metal oxide) of the gas sensor may be selected from any one or combination of more of the following: snO₂、V₂O₅、WO₃、ZnO、TeO₂、TiO₂、CuO、CeO₂、 Al2O₃、ZrO₂、V₂O₃、Fe₂O₃、Mo₂O₃、Nd₂O₃、La₂O₃、Nb₂O₅、Ta₂O₅、In₂O₃、GeO₂And ITO. The active sensing material, which may also be referred to as an active material.

The active sensing material of the gas sensor can be a metal oxide heterostructure. The metal oxide heterostructure takes a metal oxide as a main material, a second phase substance is added to form a heterojunction on a physical interface between two different materials, and the gas-sensitive performance of the metal oxide is effectively improved by utilizing the synergistic effect of different components.

The metal oxide heterostructure may be classified into a metal-metal oxide heterostructure, a metal oxide composite structure, and a functional material composite structure according to the kind of the second phase material.

The second phase material in the metal-metal oxide heterostructure is generally located on the surface of the host material of the metal oxide in the form of metal nanoparticles, and comprises a noble metal doped (such as Au, ag, pt, pd, etc.) metal oxide and a transition metal doped (such as Cu, ni, co, etc.) metal oxide. The sensitization mechanism of the gas-sensitive material of the noble metal doped metal oxide (depending on whether the work function of the main metal oxide is changed) is divided into chemical sensitization effect and electronic sensitization effect. The transition metal doping is to dope impurity ions into crystal lattices of the oxide semiconductor, change original crystal parameters and introduce impurity energy levels, and simultaneously generate a large amount of surface defects to improve the activity of the oxide surface, thereby being beneficial to the adsorption or reaction of target gas.

The metal oxide composite structure refers to a heterostructure formed at an interface by compounding different types of metal oxide semiconductor materials, carriers can migrate at the interface due to different Fermi levels of different semiconductor materials to form a space charge layer, and meanwhile, energy bands of a semiconductor are bent, and meanwhile, the surface of the metal oxide can be changed to a certain extent, such as surface defects, active sites and the like. The synergistic effect between different metal oxides can promote the reaction between target gas and the oxygen ion adsorbed on the surface of the metal oxide, and improve the gas-sensitive performance of the composite metal oxide.

The functional material composite structure is formed by compounding a metal oxide semiconductor material with functional materials such as graphene, carbon nano tubes, conductive polymers, porous silicon and the like, and is beneficial to improving the conductivity and gas adsorption capacity of the semiconductor material, so that the working temperature of the sensor can be effectively reduced while the sensitive characteristic of the semiconductor material is improved.

The active sensing material of the gas sensor may also be a photo-assisted gas sensitive material. The light-assisted gas-sensitive material is used for adding excitation of an external light source to the gas-sensitive material (metal oxide). When the energy of the light source is more than or equal to the forbidden bandwidth of the metal oxide, the conductivity of the material can be effectively improved through photo-generated electron-hole pairs generated by illumination. Research shows that the light excitation can not only improve the sensitivity of the sensing material, but also obviously improve the response-recovery speed. Further researching the mechanism of the photo-excitation gas-sensitive material proves that the improvement of the gas-sensitive performance of the material under illumination is due to the enhancement of the activity of oxygen anions on the surface of the material under illumination and the reduction of the activation energy of the gas-sensitive reaction after illumination. However, the light-assisted sensing means that an integrated light source element and additional energy input are required in the sensor, and the practical application of the sensor is limited.

The gas sensor may be a sensor cell, i.e. a sensor pixel, in a sensor array. Typically, a sensor is a device comprising a sensing unit (e.g. a sensor array) and a control circuit or electronic processing unit (processor). A sensor array refers to a sensing unit having different sensing elements or pixels in a single substrate or a single device. A sensor pixel refers to an element of a sensor or sensor array. Since the sensor pixel is an essential element of the sensor, the terms "sensor" and "sensor pixel" are interchangeable, the exact meaning of which depends on the context.

Odor data that characterizes the odor characteristics of an analyte (analyte) can be generated for an analyte of known identity and concentration using a temperature scanning method and stored in a standard database. The temperature scanning method can also be used for generating odor data capable of characterizing the odor characteristics of an analyte with respect to the analyte of which the identity or concentration is unknown, and comparing the odor data with the odor data in the standard database to identify the identity or concentration of the analyte.

Analyte refers to any molecule, compound, substance, reagent, material, etc., for which detection is sought. In one aspect, the analyte may be capable of being detected by a gas sensor. In another aspect, the analyte is capable of reacting with the active material of the gas sensor to produce a detectable change in the active material. In some cases, the "analyte" may be present in a gas phase environment. Non-limiting examples may include gases, inorganic molecules in air, organic molecules in air, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter in air, fumes, vaporized or vaporized solids or liquids, and the like, including combinations thereof.

The response signal is a measurable response of a sensing element or MOS pixel in the sensor, including a change in an electrical characteristic (resistance or impedance). It is an analog signal that can be converted and recorded to digital form. The unit of the response signal is typically the resistance (R) ratio. For example, rg/Ra, where "R" is the resistance of the active material at a given temperature; "Rg" represents the resistance of the sensor when exposed to a target gas (e.g., VOC); "Ra" is the resistance of the sensor pixel when exposed to air (as baseline information). Ra/Rg can also be used depending on the MOS material type (N-type or P-type).

Odor data refers to data that reflects the odor characteristics of the care-receiver or the space in which the care-receiver is located. One or more gas sensors of different active materials may be exposed to the space in which the caregiver is located and one or more sets of response signals obtained using a temperature scanning method may be used as the odor data. The data after further processing of the one or more sets of response signals may also be used as smell data. For example, the odor data may refer to data in the form of one or more curves having at least one peak shape as shown in fig. 2. Wherein the different sets of response signals are obtained by temperature scanning of the gas sensors for different active materials.

FIG. 2 shows indium oxide (In)₂O₃) Tin dioxide (SnO)₂) Zinc oxide (ZnO) and tungsten oxide (WO)₃) These four MOS active materials. Wherein each of the four MOS active materials may be comprised in one gas sensor, such as may be comprised in a different sensor cell in one MOS sensor array.

Four sensors, each containing one of these four MOS-active materials, can be exposed to seven different food products and then each MOS-active material is controlled to be temperature scanned in a range between 200-400 c to generate four sets of response signals. These four sets of response signals are then combined into the data format shown in fig. 2.

It can be seen that each of the seven different analytes reacts differently with the four different MOS-active materials. For example, none of the seven different analytes reacted as strongly with ZnO, an active material, and the resulting odor data plots for the seven different analytes did not differ much from each other. In contrast, seven different analytes were compared to SnO₂This active material reacts more aggressively and the odor data profiles for different analytes are quite different.

Thus, it can be concluded that SnO is responsible for the analytes shown in the figures, in contrast to ZnO₂Is a better MOS active material. And, the set of response signals resulting from the temperature scan for each analyte forms an odor data curve having at least one peak shape and/or an overall curve over the entire temperature range. The peak shape or profile of each unique analyte is unique. Thus, a database or standard database may be established to identify the analyte. The criteria database may be stored in memory associated with the MOS sensors or in remote memory, such as in the cloud, and accessed by components associated with the MOS sensors. In practice, the MOS sensor pixels may be exposed to the analyte and then the MOS sensor pixels scanned through a series of predetermined temperatures to generate the response signals. The response signals are then combined into odor data, e.g., a graph, that characterizes the odor characteristics of the analyteThe data forms depicted in (a). The odor data is then compared to a standard database to determine the identity and concentration of the analyte.

In some embodiments, the peak shape or profile of each particular MOS active material may be considered in conjunction with the peak shape or profile generated by one or more other MOS active materials over the same or different temperature ranges. Such a combination may generate an overall signature or curve that may be compared to the same combination in the standard database. In some embodiments, such processing may provide greater analysis accuracy, sensitivity, or complexity.

In the conventional temperature scanning method, the temperature interval for temperature scanning and the specific scanning temperature are fixed values which are set in advance, and the change of environmental conditions and the active sensing material of the gas sensor are not considered at the beginning of the setting. That is, the temperature interval and the scanning temperature are set independently of both the ambient conditions and the active sensing material of the gas sensor.

If a series of scanning temperatures (or a temperature interval formed by a series of scanning temperatures) used for executing a temperature scanning method is the same and fixed for gas sensors with different active sensing materials in all environmental conditions without considering the change of the environmental conditions and the active sensing materials of the gas sensors, then due to the influence of the environmental conditions on the gas sensors, a difference will occur between response signals obtained by using the temperature scanning method and response signals acquired in a standard environment, and further, the acquired data needs to be calibrated to eliminate the influence of the environment on the readings of the gas sensors and ensure the usability of the data, which inevitably increases unnecessary performance consumption.

In addition, due to the influence of the environment on the gas sensor readings, if temperature scans are performed using the same scanning temperature interval in different environments, the resulting set of response signals is not necessarily representative and is not suitable as smell data or smell fingerprints. For example, snO for the active material under ambient conditions as shown in FIG. 2₂Can form the most representative (i.e. the most identification or discrimination) gas sensorThe response signal is scanned over a temperature interval of 200-400 c and if the environmental conditions change, the response signal may not be representative if the scanning is still performed over the interval of 200-400 c, i.e. the response signal is no longer suitable for use as odour data or odour fingerprints.

In order to improve the accuracy and usability of the acquired data from the source, the data acquisition scheme realized by the temperature scanning method based on the conditioning is provided.

The present disclosure proposes that a plurality of scanning temperatures corresponding to the gas sensor may be set based on the environmental information; collecting response signals of the gas sensor at each scanning temperature to obtain a group of response signals; based on one or more sets of response signals, odour data is derived which is capable of characterizing the odour characteristics of the cared person or the space in which the cared person is located.

Setting a plurality of scanning temperatures corresponding to the gas sensor based on the environmental information means that a plurality of scanning temperatures can be set for the gas sensor according to the influence of the environmental information (i.e., current environmental information) at the time of collection on the reading (i.e., response signal) of the gas sensor, so that the reading of the gas sensor at the set scanning temperature can eliminate the environmental influence or compensate the environmental influence.

The sensing of gas sensors can be affected by environmental conditions such as humidity, pressure, temperature, barometric pressure, airflow rate, light, time, etc., and prior solutions have calibrated the readings of the sensors based on these environmental conditions. To eliminate the calibration step, the technical idea of the present disclosure is to use these environmental conditions (i.e., environmental information) before the gas sensor collects data. That is, a series of temperature points for performing a temperature scan (i.e., scan temperatures) are set according to these environmental conditions prior to acquiring data.

In other words, the present disclosure controls the operation of the gas sensor according to the environmental conditions, rather than correcting the operation results.

By setting a plurality of scanning temperatures corresponding to the gas sensor based on the environmental information, the influence of environmental changes on the gas sensor can be reduced or even eliminated from the source, so that the acquired data can be directly used for odor analysis or stored as standard odor data under ideal conditions without calibrating the acquired data (or simply calibrating the acquired data).

The present disclosure enables the use of raw data collected by a gas sensor to accurately characterize the scent characteristics of a care-receiver or of the space in which the care-receiver is located.

The present disclosure may set the scan temperature based on environmental information to address drift issues.

The present disclosure may also set the scanning temperature based on the environmental information to collect a representative set of response signals such that the set of response signals is suitable as scent data or scent fingerprints.

First embodiment, setting a plurality of scanning temperatures based on environmental information to solve the drift problem

In setting a plurality of scanning temperatures corresponding to the gas sensor based on the environmental information, one piece of reference environmental information may be set in advance, and then the scanning temperature may be set based on the influence of the difference between the current environmental information and the reference environmental information on the reading (i.e., the response signal) of the gas sensor such that the response signal obtained by temperature scanning based on the set scanning temperature is the reading from which the influence is eliminated or substantially eliminated. Taking the example that the reference environment information includes temperature and humidity, the reference environment information may be that the temperature (ambient temperature) is 25 ℃ and the humidity (ambient humidity) is 50%.

The inventor of the present disclosure found that, in the process of using the temperature scanning method, a change in environmental conditions (particularly humidity) may cause a shift in scanning temperature corresponding to a peak of a response signal in a set of response signals obtained by temperature scanning, that is, a shift in the position of the peak in the curve shown in fig. 2.

To this end, the present disclosure proposes that, when a plurality of scanning temperatures corresponding to the gas sensor are set based on the environmental information, the first scanning temperature may be set based on a drift amount of the scanning temperature corresponding to a peak value of a response signal of the gas sensor caused by a difference between the current environmental information and the reference environmental information, and the reference start scanning temperature. The difference between the reference start scanning temperature and the first scanning temperature is equal to or substantially equal to the drift amount, and the reference start scanning temperature is the start scanning temperature of the gas sensor under the reference environmental information. Then, the first scanning temperature is used as the initial scanning temperature, and a plurality of second scanning temperatures are set. The finally set plurality of scanning temperatures includes a first scanning temperature and a plurality of second scanning temperatures.

For example, if the scanning start point (i.e., the reference start scanning temperature) is 200 ℃ based on 50% humidity, and if the peak position shifts (shifts to the right) by 5 ℃ for every 10% humidity increase on the reference humidity, when the current acquisition environment is 60% humidity, the peak position shifts by 10 ℃ due to 20% humidity increase compared to the reference humidity, and then the scanning start point may be set to 210 ℃ by moving 10 ℃ in the direction of the peak position shift based on the reference start scanning temperature.

The range size of the temperature scanning interval formed by the first scanning temperature and the plurality of second scanning temperatures may be the same as or substantially the same as the preset temperature scanning range size. The preset temperature scanning range may refer to a predefined temperature range, such as a temperature range of 200-400 ℃.

The number of second scanning temperatures may also be the same or substantially the same as a preset number. The preset number may be a predefined value. It should be noted that, theoretically, the larger the preset number is, the larger the data amount obtained by temperature scanning is, the better the scanning performance is, but the more time is consumed by scanning. Therefore, the number of the second scanning temperatures can be set according to actual conditions.

The present disclosure proposes that the first scanning temperature interval may be further set based on a drift amount of a scanning temperature corresponding to a peak value of a response signal of the gas sensor caused by a difference between the current environmental information and the reference environmental information, and a reference scanning temperature interval of the gas sensor under the reference environmental information, a temperature range of the first scanning temperature interval and a temperature range of the reference scanning temperature interval are equal or substantially equal in size, and a difference between a starting temperature value of the first scanning temperature interval and a starting temperature value of the reference scanning temperature interval is equal or substantially equal to the drift amount. A plurality of scanning temperatures are generated based on the first scanning temperature interval. The plurality of scanning temperatures may be generated (e.g., randomly generated) as a function of a temperature range characterized by the first scanning temperature interval.

For example, based on 50% humidity, the reference scanning temperature range corresponding to the reference is 200-400 ℃, the peak position will drift (drift rightward) by 5 ℃ every time 10% humidity is added to the reference humidity, when the current acquisition environment is 60% humidity, 20% humidity is added to the reference humidity, 10 ℃ peak position drift will occur, and at this time, the scanning temperature range can be moved 10 ℃ toward the peak position drift, so that a new scanning temperature range can be obtained, which is 210-410 ℃.

Second, to obtain a representative set of response signals, a plurality of scanning temperatures are set based on environmental information

The second scanning temperature interval corresponding to the gas sensor can be set based on the influence of the current environmental information on the response signals of the gas sensor at different scanning temperatures, so that the response signals of the gas sensor at different scanning temperatures in the second scanning temperature interval are a representative group of response signals.

The term "representative" as used herein refers to a group of response signals acquired by the gas sensor at different scanning temperatures in the second scanning temperature interval, which have a distinction or identification degree in terms of value, rather than a series of response signals with little difference in value and no or poor identification degree. Whether a set of response signals is representative may be determined based on a distribution of magnitudes of values of the set of response signals. For example, a representative set of response signals may refer to a set of response signals in which the difference between the maximum value of the response signals and the minimum value of the response signals is greater than a predetermined threshold.

The second scanning temperature interval, i.e. the scanning temperature interval that can be considered as being determined based on the current environmental information to form a representative set of response signals.

Based on the second scanning temperature interval, a plurality of scanning temperatures needed to be used in the temperature scanning process can be generated. For example, a plurality of scan temperatures may be generated (e.g., randomly generated) within the second scan temperature interval. The scanning temperatures can be gradually increased or gradually decreased or randomly selected. Therefore, the temperature can be gradually raised or raised to the highest temperature and gradually lowered in the temperature scanning process, and can also be randomly selected, or the initial scanning temperature can be determined based on the second scanning temperature interval, and then the subsequent scanning temperature can be determined around the initial scanning temperature sequence.

The scanning temperature (or scanning temperature interval) in the prior art is predetermined, i.e. the same temperature scanning strategy is performed under different environmental conditions. However, in practice, different environmental conditions are applied to the same scanning temperature (or scanning temperature interval), which may cause drift of the response signal of the odor fingerprint, and if the sensor is heated to a predetermined temperature and then the response signal value is calibrated, it will cause waste of energy/energy, and it is difficult to ensure that the most representative response signal (or response signal set) is obtained quickly within a predetermined scanning temperature (or scanning temperature interval).

On the premise that the scanning temperature interval can be calibrated in advance based on the environmental information and the response drift compensation after temperature scanning is replaced, the optimal scanning temperature starting point, the subsequent scanning temperature point or the scanning temperature interval under the current environmental condition can be obtained dynamically, so that the performance consumption is saved and the scanning efficiency is improved.

The difference from the setting of the scanning temperature (i.e., the first embodiment) for solving the drift problem is that the present embodiment sets the scanning temperature interval based on the environmental information, so as to efficiently obtain the scanning temperature interval most favorable for identifying the odor information under the current environmental condition, so as to conveniently obtain the most representative response signal characteristic map, improve the validity of the data, and enable quick comparison when subsequently used for comparing with the odor database, thereby saving energy consumption and improving efficiency.

For example, the scanning temperature range set by the prior art is 200 ℃ -500 ℃, the scanning task is executed under any condition, but based on the current environmental information, it can be known (through processing of the environmental information and some algorithms) that the scanning temperature interval (i.e. the second scanning temperature interval) capable of forming the most representative response signal (or odor fingerprint) under the environmental condition is 300 ℃ -600 ℃, so the instruction to the sensor is to perform temperature scanning in the temperature interval of 300 ℃ -600 ℃. When the environmental information changes, the scanning temperature interval can be determined again, for example, the scanning temperature interval can be set to 200 ℃ -450 ℃ again.

The influence of the environmental information on the gas sensor reading is related not only to the environmental information but also to the target gas type to be detected and the sensing material of the gas sensor, so that the second scanning temperature interval can be set based on the current environmental information, the target gas type and the sensing material of the gas sensor.

In other words, in addition to determining the scanning temperature based on environmental information, a target gas or a sensor material may be additionally incorporated. For example, one application scenario is that after the target gas species desired to be detected and/or the sensing material of the gas sensor used are predetermined, the current environmental information can be combined to find the optimal scanning temperature.

In order to save energy and reduce the loss of the gas sensor, the present disclosure may also acquire (real-time acquisition or periodic acquisition) current environmental information, and determine the update frequency of the scanning temperature based on the current environmental information. For example, the change rate of the environmental information at different times of the day is different, and the change rate of the current environmental information may be determined according to the time information in the current environmental information, and the update frequency of the scanning temperature may be determined accordingly. For another example, the change rate of the environmental information may also be predicted based on the current environmental information, for example, the change rate of the environmental information may be comprehensively predicted based on the temperature, humidity, air pressure, air flow rate, light, time, and other factors in the current environment, and the update frequency of the scanning temperature may be determined according to the prediction result. For example, a day may be divided into a plurality of time periods (for example, day and night), different scanning temperature update frequencies may be set for different time periods, a current time period may be determined according to the time information in the current environment information, and the scanning temperature may be updated according to the scanning temperature update frequency corresponding to the current time period. That is, after the update frequency is determined, a plurality of scanning temperatures may be reset in accordance with the update frequency. The setting process of the plurality of scanning temperatures can be referred to the above related description. And when the scanning temperature is updated, data acquisition can be carried out again according to the updated scanning temperatures.

In determining multiple scan temperatures, a random or conditional approach may be used to generate a series of different scan temperatures in order to avoid systematic errors that may occur each time data is collected under predetermined temperature conditions. For example, the generated plurality of scanning temperatures may be ordered such that there is at least one scanning temperature, such that the scanning temperature is greater than or less than two adjacent scanning temperatures, and/or there is at least a portion of the scanning temperatures in the plurality of scanning temperatures, and the portion of the scanning temperatures are arranged in an order of a temperature value from small to large or from large to small.

When response signals of the gas sensor at various scanning temperatures are collected, the active sensing material of the gas sensor can be sequentially heated to different scanning temperatures according to the sequence among the scanning temperatures, and the response signals of the gas sensor at different scanning temperatures are collected.

In the above-mentioned case of setting the first scanning temperature and then setting the second scanning temperature, when the first scanning temperature is used as the initial scanning temperature to set a plurality of second scanning temperatures, in order to avoid systematic errors that may occur each time data is collected under the predetermined temperature condition, a random or conditional method may be used to generate a series of different second scanning temperatures. The plurality of generated second scanning temperatures have a predetermined sequence, which may be a generation sequence of the second scanning temperatures, or an arrangement sequence obtained by sorting the plurality of second scanning temperatures by a certain arrangement (e.g., a random arrangement). The order between the plurality of second scanning temperatures is set such that there is at least one second scanning temperature, such that the second scanning temperature is greater than two scanning temperatures adjacent thereto, or less than two scanning temperatures adjacent thereto. In other words, the second scanning temperatures are not arranged in such a manner that the temperatures monotonically increase or monotonically decrease.

When response signals of the gas sensor at each scanning temperature are collected, the active sensing material of the gas sensor can be heated to a first scanning temperature, the response signals of the gas sensor at the first scanning temperature are collected, then the active sensing material of the gas sensor is sequentially heated to different second scanning temperatures in sequence, the active sensing material is kept for a preset time period, and the response signals of the gas sensor at the different second scanning temperatures are collected.

Since the order between the second scanning temperatures is not the order of monotonically increasing or decreasing temperatures, when the temperature scanning is performed in this order, "directionality" errors due to continuous heating or continuous cooling of the sensor can be reduced compared to the manner of performing temperature scanning in a fixed direction of increasing or decreasing temperatures.

Further, the interval between adjacent scanning temperatures may also be unfixed.

FIG. 3 shows a data collection flow diagram according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Odour data which characterises the characteristics of the person being cared or the space in which the person being cared is located can be collected by performing the steps shown in figure 3.

Referring to fig. 3, in step S310, a first scanning temperature or a scanning temperature interval corresponding to the gas sensor is set based on the environmental information. For the first scanning temperature, see the above description, and no further description is provided here. The scanning temperature interval may be the first scanning temperature interval mentioned above, or may be the second scanning temperature interval mentioned above.

The specific implementation process of setting the first scanning temperature or the scanning temperature interval (the first scanning temperature interval or the second scanning temperature interval) based on the environment information may refer to the above related description, and is not repeated here.

In step S320, a plurality of second scanning temperatures are generated from the first scanning temperature, and the first scanning temperature and the plurality of second scanning temperatures form a plurality of scanning temperatures, or a plurality of scanning temperatures are generated from the scanning temperature interval.

The specific implementation process of generating the plurality of second scanning temperatures by the first scanning temperature can be referred to the above related description.

The scanning temperature interval may be the first scanning temperature interval mentioned above, or may be the second scanning temperature interval mentioned above. The process of generating a plurality of scanning temperatures by the first scanning temperature interval or the second scanning temperature interval may also be referred to above in relation to the description. The generation of the plurality of scanning temperatures in the first scanning temperature interval is mainly for solving the drift problem, and the generation of the plurality of scanning temperatures in the second scanning temperature interval is mainly for obtaining representative response signals.

In step S330, a temperature adjustment model is formed based on the plurality of scanning temperatures, the active material in the gas sensor is adjusted to the corresponding scanning temperature based on the temperature adjustment model, and response signals of the gas sensor at different scanning temperatures are collected.

The temperature adjustment model may be configured to adjust an order among the plurality of scanning temperatures, to sequentially adjust active materials (i.e., active sensing materials) in the gas sensor to corresponding scanning temperatures in the order indicated by the temperature adjustment model, and to collect response signals of the gas sensor at different scanning temperatures to obtain a set of response signals corresponding to the different scanning temperatures.

The temperature adjustment model may set the order between the plurality of scan temperatures to: at least one scanning temperature exists, so that the scanning temperature is larger than two adjacent scanning temperatures or smaller than two adjacent scanning temperatures; and/or at least partial scanning temperatures exist, and the partial scanning temperatures are arranged according to the sequence of temperature values from small to large or from large to small.

In general, the scanning temperature is generated by energizing the sensor with a power supply to heat the sensor, but under different environmental conditions, the same electrical parameter (e.g., power supply voltage) is applied to the sensor, and the obtained temperature value has a drift, and at this time, the electrical parameter (e.g., power supply voltage) needs to be adjusted so that the sensor can still be heated to the required scanning temperature under different environmental conditions. Thus, the present disclosure may also set the electrical parameters used to generate the scanning temperature in the gas sensor based on environmental information. When the environmental information changes, the electrical parameters are regulated, so that the regulated electrical parameters act on the gas sensor to still generate the expected scanning temperature. The electrical parameter may include, but is not limited to, a combination of one or more of a voltage value, a current value, a resistance value, an impedance value, a capacitance value, and an inductance value.

As an example, one start scan temperature (i.e., the first scan temperature mentioned above) may be reset for the start temperature reference value (i.e., the baseline start scan temperature mentioned above) based on environmental conditions to account for peak drift during the temperature scan. Based on the set starting scanning temperature, the scanning temperature (i.e. the plurality of second scanning temperatures mentioned above) for subsequent temperature scanning can be generated according to the temperature scanning range definition (i.e. the size of the defined temperature scanning range) and an increasing or decreasing reference amount.

The reference amount for increasing or decreasing may be a coefficient set comprising a plurality of coefficients, which may comprise a plurality of randomly generated coefficients comprising positive and negative numbers, such as 1.0, -0.9, 2.0, -1.5, \ 82301.5. The number of coefficient group coefficients may be greater than, equal to, or less than the number of scanning points other than the start scanning point (i.e., the number of second scanning temperatures). If the number of the coefficients in the coefficient group is larger than the number of the scanning points except the initial scanning point, part of the coefficients can be randomly selected from the coefficient group to participate in generating the scanning temperature, and if the number of the coefficients in the coefficient group is smaller than the number of the scanning points except the initial scanning point, the coefficients can be repeatedly selected from the coefficient group to participate in generating the scanning temperature.

When the subsequent scanning temperature is generated on the basis of the initial scanning temperature by using the coefficients in the coefficient group, an increment can be preset, and the increment can be a fixed value (such as 10 ℃) or a variable. In generating the first scanning temperature, a coefficient may be randomly selected from the coefficient group, and the temperature value of the first scanning temperature may be equal to the starting scanning temperature + the increment x the selected coefficient. When generating the second scanning temperature, a coefficient may again be randomly selected from the set of coefficients, and the temperature value for the second scanning temperature may be equal to the first scanning temperature + the increment x the selected coefficient. By analogy, the temperature value of the latter scanning temperature may be equal to the former scanning temperature + the increment x the selected coefficient.

In summary, the data acquisition scheme of the present disclosure can be regarded as implemented by a temperature scanning method based on conditioning.

The existing temperature scanning scheme is to preset the scanning temperature. Unlike the existing scheme, the present disclosure does not preset the scanning temperature, but can set the scanning temperature based on any condition at the time of data acquisition. For example, the scanning temperature may be set based on natural environmental conditions, or may be set based on artificial environmental conditions (e.g., an algorithm set by an operator).

The present disclosure further provides a data acquisition scheme, including: providing a computing processor functionally coupled to the gas sensor; setting a calculation program in the calculation processor to make the calculation processor accept or generate one or more parameters; setting a plurality of scanning temperatures corresponding to the gas sensor based on the parameter; and collecting response signals of the gas sensor at each scanning temperature to obtain a group of response signals. The parameter may be randomly generated by the calculation process, or may be environment information.

As an example, a start scanning temperature may be set based on the environment information, and a plurality of scanning temperatures (i.e., the above-mentioned second scanning temperatures) located after the start scanning temperature may be generated based on a randomly generated numerical value (such as the above-mentioned coefficient group).

Based on the data acquisition scheme of the present disclosure, one or more gas sensors may be exposed to a conditioned temperature scan of the space in which the caregiver is located, resulting in one or more sets of response signals. Based on the one or more sets of signals, odour data can be derived which is capable of characterising the characteristics of the person being cared or the space in which the person being cared is located.

Odor data refers to data that reflects the odor characteristics of the care-receiver or the space in which the care-receiver is located. One or more sets of response signals obtained from data acquisition using a conditioned temperature scanning method may be used as the odor data. The data after further processing of the one or more sets of response signals may also be used as smell data. For example, the smell data may refer to data in the form of one or more curves having at least one peak shape as shown in fig. 2. Wherein different sets of response signals are obtained by temperature scanning of the gas sensors for different active materials.

Referring to fig. 4, in step S410, scent data is acquired. The acquired scent data is used to characterize the scent characteristics of the cared person or of the space in which the cared person is located.

In step S420, an odor analysis result obtained by analyzing the odor data is acquired.

In step S430, the odor analysis result is output in a manner that can be perceived by the caregiver.

The difference from the embodiment described above with reference to fig. 1 is that, in this embodiment, after the odor analysis result is obtained, the odor analysis result may be directly output in a manner that can be perceived by the caregiver, and the caregiver determines whether to care the caregiver according to the odor analysis result.

Details related to the present embodiment, such as the odor data acquisition process and the odor analysis result acquisition process, can be referred to the related description above with reference to fig. 1, and are not described herein again.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic structural diagram of a computing device that can be used to implement the above-described assisted care method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 5, computing device 500 includes memory 510 and processor 520.

The processor 520 may be a multi-core processor or may include a plurality of processors. In some embodiments, processor 520 may include a general-purpose host processor and one or more special coprocessors such as a Graphics Processor (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), or the like. In some embodiments, processor 520 may be implemented using custom circuitry, such as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

The memory 510 may include various types of storage units, such as system memory, read Only Memory (ROM), and permanent storage. Wherein the ROM may store static data or instructions for the processor 520 or other modules of the computer. The persistent storage device may be a read-write storage device. The persistent storage may be a non-volatile storage device that does not lose stored instructions and data even after the computer is powered off. In some embodiments, the persistent storage device employs a mass storage device (e.g., magnetic or optical disk, flash memory) as the persistent storage device. In other embodiments, the permanent storage may be a removable storage device (e.g., floppy disk, optical drive). The system memory may be a read-write memory device or a volatile read-write memory device, such as a dynamic random access memory. The system memory may store instructions and data that some or all of the processors require at runtime. Further, the memory 510 may include any combination of computer-readable storage media, including various types of semiconductor memory chips (DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, flash memory, programmable read-only memory), magnetic and/or optical disks, may also be employed. In some embodiments, memory 510 may include a removable storage device that is readable and/or writable, such as a Compact Disc (CD), a read-only digital versatile disc (e.g., DVD-ROM, dual layer DVD-ROM), a read-only Blu-ray disc, an ultra-density optical disc, a flash memory card (e.g., SD card, min SD card, micro-SD card, etc.), a magnetic floppy disc, or the like. Computer-readable storage media do not contain carrier waves or transitory electronic signals transmitted by wireless or wired means.

The memory 510 has stored thereon executable code that, when processed by the processor 520, causes the processor 520 to perform the above-mentioned assisted care methods.

The method of assisted care according to the present disclosure has been described in detail hereinabove with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Furthermore, the method according to the present disclosure may also be implemented as a computer program or computer program product comprising computer program code instructions for performing the above-mentioned steps defined in the above-mentioned method of the present disclosure.

Alternatively, the present disclosure may also be embodied as a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium (or computer-readable storage medium, or machine-readable storage medium) having stored thereon executable code (or a computer program, or computer instruction code) that, when executed by a processor of an electronic device (or computing device, server, etc.), causes the processor to perform the various steps of the above-described method according to the present disclosure.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems and methods according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Having described embodiments of the present disclosure, the foregoing description is intended to be exemplary, not exhaustive, and not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or improvements made to the technology in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method of assisted care comprising:

acquiring smell data, wherein the smell data is used for representing the smell characteristics of a cared person or representing the smell characteristics of a space where the cared person is located;

obtaining an odor analysis result obtained by analyzing the odor data;

judging whether the cared person needs nursing service based on the odor analysis result;

if the cared person is judged to need nursing service, prompt information is output in a manner of being sensed by the cared person, and/or a nursing instruction is sent to the intelligent nursing equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining scent data comprises:

setting a first scanning temperature or a scanning temperature interval corresponding to the gas sensor based on the environmental information;

generating a plurality of second scanning temperatures through the first scanning temperature, wherein the first scanning temperature and the second scanning temperatures form a plurality of scanning temperatures, or generating a plurality of scanning temperatures through the scanning temperature interval;

forming a temperature adjustment model based on the plurality of scanning temperatures, regulating and controlling the active material in the gas sensor to the corresponding scanning temperature based on the temperature adjustment model, and collecting response signals of the gas sensor at different scanning temperatures.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein,

setting a first scanning temperature or a scanning temperature interval corresponding to the gas sensor based on the environmental information, including: setting a first scanning temperature based on a drift amount of a scanning temperature corresponding to a peak value of a response signal of the gas sensor caused by a difference between current environmental information and reference environmental information, and a reference start scanning temperature, the difference between the reference start scanning temperature and the first scanning temperature being equal to or substantially equal to the drift amount, the reference start scanning temperature being a start scanning temperature of the gas sensor under the reference environmental information,

generating a plurality of second scanning temperatures from the first scanning temperature, including: and generating a plurality of second scanning temperatures by taking the first scanning temperature as an initial scanning temperature.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining an odor analysis result from analyzing the odor data comprises:

and comparing the odor data with standard odor data in a standard odor database to obtain an odor analysis result, wherein the gas type and the concentration of the standard odor data are known, and the odor analysis result is used for representing the gas type and the concentration of the cared person or the space where the cared person is located.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining whether the care-giver needs a care service based on the odor analysis result comprises:

judging whether peculiar smell exists or not according to the gas type and concentration represented by the smell analysis result;

and if the abnormal odor is judged to exist, determining that the cared personnel needs nursing service.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a first device located in the same space as the cared person or by a server connected to the first device,

the step of outputting the prompt in a manner perceptible to the caregiver includes: sending a reminder to a second device used by the caregiver for output by the second device.

7. A method of assisted care comprising:

acquiring smell data, wherein the smell data is used for representing the smell characteristics of a cared person, or the smell data is used for representing the smell characteristics of a space where the cared person is located;

obtaining an odor analysis result obtained by analyzing the odor data; and

outputting the odor analysis result in a manner that can be perceived by a caregiver.

8. A computing device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having executable code stored thereon which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A computer program product comprising executable code which, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes the processor to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 7.

10. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon executable code, which when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes the processor to perform the method of any of claims 1-7.