JP2003123170A - Method and system for informing of abnormality of home medial instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inform a supporting company of a home medical instrument of an abnormality of the instrument from the residence of a user while reducing the burden on the user and the supporting company, concerning a method and system for informing the supporting company of abnormality of the home medical instrument. SOLUTION: The system has the medical instrument having a radio communication module for giving information by radio to commutation equipment of the supporting company of treatment-at-home through a network according to the detection of the abnormality with the medical instrument and the communication equipment which receives the information of abnormality, stores the information on an abnormality to a table and specifies an abnormal medical instrument from the stored information of abnormality. Since the information is given by radio and the line of a portable telephone set in used, the automatic abnormality informing function of the home medical instrument can be imparted without requiring line construction and extension construction as of conventional communication lines. Further, since the radio communication module used in the portable telephone set can be utilized, the abnormality informing function can inexpensively imparted to the medical instrument. Since receiving operation is performed for storing the information on abnormality to the table, the information of abnormality of a large number of medical instruments can reliably be received.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a home medical device abnormality notification method and system for supporting home medical care of a user who uses a medical device at home, and in particular,
The present invention relates to a home medical device abnormality notification method and system for detecting an abnormality of an individual home medical device by a simple system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the number of home medical patients receiving medical treatment at home is increasing. In home medical care, it is not necessary to frequently go to a facility such as a hospital, and for example, it is sufficient to have a diagnosis once a month at the facility. Therefore, it is an effective medical method for patients who have difficulty going out or who are annoyed (for example, the elderly). In such home medical care, a medical device provided by a facility or the like is usually installed at home, and a patient (medical device user) uses the medical device to perform treatment.

[0003] For example, oxygen therapy to be supplied from an oxygen cylinder has been performed for patients with respiratory diseases, and recently, a respiratory gas supply device for separating and concentrating oxygen in the air to obtain an oxygen-concentrated gas has been provided. Oxygen therapy using it has been developed and is becoming increasingly popular. Such a breathing gas supply device is increasingly used not only in hospitals but also at home for home medical care. The medical device is a device for applying medical therapy.

Since such a medical device affects a patient's illness, it is indispensable to support the medical device such as inspection, replacement of parts, and response when the device is abnormal. Therefore, a company that sells, manufactures, or services medical devices requires an administrator or supporter who has knowledge of medical devices and manages them. In home medical care, this manager or supporter is responsible for checking medical equipment, replenishing and replacing parts, and handling equipment abnormalities.
It is necessary to go to the patient (user) home and inspect medical equipment.

As a case where such an administrator or supporter goes to the patient's house, there are not only regular maintenance and inspection of the equipment, but also parts of the equipment, replacement and replacement, and abnormality of the equipment. When an abnormality occurs in such a medical device, it affects the illness of the patient, and therefore prompt action is required. Therefore, the medical device has an abnormality detection function, and when the abnormality is detected, the abnormality is notified to the medical device company where the device manager or the supporter is located.

As a conventional method, a medical device issues an abnormal alarm to a patient, the patient informs a medical device company by communication means such as a telephone, and requests a response.

As another method, a method of providing a monitoring system for monitoring medical equipment and detecting an abnormality of the medical equipment by this monitoring system is used. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a conventional medical device monitoring system. As shown in FIG. 6, the breathing gas supply device 1-1 is individually arranged in a hospital or home 1. The telephone line network 4 is used to connect the telephone 6-1 of the home 1 to the center 2 of the medical equipment company.

In order to monitor the medical equipment 1-1 at the center 2 by using the communication network 4, a branching device 6-2 is provided in front of the telephone 6-1 of the home 1 to provide the medical equipment 1
The branching device 6-2 was connected to the -1 communication unit 6-3. As a result, the state of the medical device 1-1 can be transmitted to the center 2 via the communication unit or the telephone line 4. For example, the state of the medical device 1-1 (oxygen concentration, flow rate, pressure, usage time, etc. in the oxygen device) is transmitted to the center 2 once a day and is monitored by the center 2. Also, when an abnormality is detected in the medical device, the communication unit 6-3 notifies the center 2 via the telephone line 4. As a result, the center 2 can take appropriate measures. A system for grasping and managing the operating condition of the respiratory device is described in detail, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-52495.

[0009]

In the first prior art, there is a case where the patient himself / herself using the medical device has to call when the medical device is abnormal. For example, this is the case when an abnormality occurs while a patient living alone or his family is away. In such a case, the patient may be using the medical device in which the abnormality has occurred, or may have stopped using the medical device because of the abnormality. In such cases, home medical care is not performed normally,
The patient may not be able to accurately report the abnormality by telephone or the like.

In the second prior art, since automatic monitoring is performed,
Anomalies can be detected without the patient's notification, but communication infrastructure is required in addition to medical devices. That is, since the home telephone line is used, telephone line charges, telephone line construction, and branching equipment are required. Under the current health insurance system, home medical devices are covered by insurance, but others are not covered by insurance. Therefore, such a communication infrastructure will be borne by the medical device company or the patient. In particular,
In the case of home medical care, there is a possibility that these machines will not be a permanent facility because of healing and changes in prescription. For this reason,
The burden of construction and equipment required only for the home medical care period is a reason to hesitate to introduce such an automatic monitoring system, which makes it difficult to spread the system.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for notifying an abnormality of a home medical device that can easily and automatically notify an abnormality of the home medical device without requiring the construction of communication infrastructure. is there.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a home medical device abnormality notification method and system capable of automatically reporting an abnormality of a home medical device with a simple system configuration.

[0013]

According to the present invention, there is provided an abnormality notifying method for notifying an in-home medical support company of an abnormality of a medical device which uses a medical device at home, in accordance with the detection of the abnormality of the medical device. A step of wirelessly notifying a communication device of the home medical support company via a network by a wireless communication module provided in the medical device; a step of receiving the abnormality notification by the communication device and storing the abnormality notification in a table And a step of identifying the abnormal medical device from the stored abnormality notification.

Further, according to the present invention, an abnormality notification system for notifying an in-home medical support company of an abnormality of a medical device that uses a medical device at home is used to detect the abnormality of the medical device via a network. A medical device having a wireless communication module that wirelessly reports to a communication device of a home medical support company, receives the abnormality notification, stores the abnormality notification in a table, and identifies the abnormal medical device from the stored abnormality notification. And a communication device that operates.

In the present invention, since the wireless notification is used and the line of the mobile phone is used, the automatic abnormality notification function of the home medical device is not required without the line construction or the extension work such as the wired line. Can be given. Moreover, since the wireless communication module used in the mobile phone can be used, the abnormality notification function can be added to the medical device at low cost. Moreover, since the notification is made only when an abnormality occurs, the communication cost can be reduced even if a large number of medical devices are remotely supported. Moreover, since the reception operation of storing the abnormality notification in the table is performed, the abnormality notification of a large number of medical devices can be reliably received.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. It should be noted that the following is for showing a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited by these descriptions and may have other forms as long as it matches the gist of the present invention. It goes without saying that it is included.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an abnormality notification system for home medical equipment according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a home medical method of the system of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a respiratory gas supply apparatus of FIG. 4 is a model diagram of the configuration of FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the abnormality notification signal of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart of abnormal device detection processing of the server of the system of FIG.

In FIG. 1, home medical devices 1-1 and 1-2 are installed in the home 1 of each home patient B. As an example of home medical care, the home medical oxygen therapy for the above respiratory diseases will be described as an example. The home medical devices are an oxygen supply (concentrator) 1-1 and a portable oxygen supply device 1-2.
Before describing this system, home oxygen therapy will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, in home oxygen therapy, a patient B diagnosed with respiratory illness by a doctor of a medical facility (hospital, etc.) 5 has a home oxygen device under the prescription of a doctor of a hospital or the like. (Oxygen concentrator) Oxygen inhalation treatment is performed using 1-1 and 1-2. These home medical devices 1-1 and 1-2
Is lent to the patient B from the medical equipment provider 3 through the medical facility 5 based on the examination by the doctor of the medical facility 5. The medical equipment provider 3 has the home oxygen equipment 1-1, 1- for the patient B.
2 is managed and home medical support such as installation and inspection of devices 1-1 and 1-2 and replacement of oxygen cylinders is performed.

The oxygen supply (concentrator) 1-1 will be described with reference to FIG. The oxygen concentrator 1-1 is a breathing gas supply device that supplies oxygen to assist the patient in breathing. The oxygen concentrator 1-1 normally includes a compressor 14 for sending compressed air to the oxygen concentrator, a cooling fan 20 for removing heat generated by the compression of air, and a flow path switching valve 15. Adsorption-type or membrane-type oxygen concentrators 12, 13, a pressure sensor 21 for detecting the pressure in the oxygen concentrator, and a flow sensor for measuring the flow rate of the breathing gas supplied to the user (patient) of the breathing gas supply device. 22 and the surge tank 16
A flow rate setter 17, a humidifier 18, a concentration sensor 23 for measuring the oxygen concentration in the respiratory gas to be supplied, and a temperature / humidity sensor 24 for measuring the temperature and humidity of the supplied gas are provided.

The device 1-1 is also provided with a computer (MPU) 25 for controlling the entire device, and an operator panel 26 for operating the device externally and displaying the device status externally. The computer 25 determines that an abnormality occurs when the pressure in the oxygen concentrating means, the flow rate of the breathing gas, and the oxygen concentration in the breathing gas deviates from a predetermined range, and a sound, a lamp, etc. when the abnormality is detected. The alarm means (operator panel 26) and the operating conditions of the breathing gas supply device are controlled. The oxygen concentrating means of the oxygen concentrator is composed of one or more adsorbing cylinders 13 filled with an adsorbent 12 capable of selectively adsorbing nitrogen, and separates oxygen-enriched gas having an increased oxygen concentration from air. To do.

Next, the operation of this device will be described. Compressed air is supplied from the compressor 14 to the adsorption cylinder 13 via the flow path switching valve 15. The gas containing oxygen that has not been adsorbed by the adsorption column 13, that is, oxygen-enriched air, is stored in the surge tank 16, the oxygen supply amount is adjusted to be constant by the flow rate setting unit 17, and then humidified by the humidifier 18, and the nasal cannula is then used. It is supplied to the breathing gas supply device user B via 19.

Further, if necessary, a cooling fan 20 for producing cooling air for cooling pump means such as a compressor is provided. Breathing gas supply device 1
At -1, the pressure in the oxygen concentrating means is at the X position, the flow rate of the breathing gas, the oxygen concentration in the breathing gas, the temperature and humidity of the breathing gas are at the Y position, and the sensors 21, 22, 23,
It can be detected at 24. As the supply means 19 for supplying the breathing gas to the user of the breathing gas supply device,
Examples include those equipped with a conduit means, a nasal cannula and a mask.

In the breathing gas supply device 1-1, it is important for home medical care to supply a gas having a predetermined oxygen concentration at a set flow rate. To detect these abnormalities,
Various sensors and computers are provided to automatically detect abnormalities.

Among the cases where the pressure inside the oxygen concentrating means is out of the predetermined range, the case where the pressure inside the oxygen concentrating means falls below the lower limit corresponds to, for example, the case where something abnormal occurs in the compressor itself, and the upper limit. The case where the amount of water exceeds the value corresponds to the case where water is excessively adsorbed by the adsorbent in the oxygen concentrating means.

As a case where the flow rate of the breathing gas deviates from the predetermined range, there is a case where the flow rate set by the doctor's instruction is lower than the allowable lower limit flow rate.
Specifically, if the allowable range is 50% or more with respect to the set value of 2 L / min, an abnormality alarm will be issued when the set value is less than 50%. When the oxygen concentration in the breathing gas is out of the predetermined range, for example, if the oxygen concentration of 90% or more is set and the lower limit is 75%, an abnormality alarm will be issued when the oxygen concentration is less than 75%.

When the computer 25 detects such an abnormality, the computer 25 gives an alarm to the user of the breathing gas supply device by voice and display through the operator panel 26.
When receiving the alarm, the breathing gas supply device user can contact the breathing gas supply device manager by means such as a telephone and request the dispatch of a breathing gas supply device technical supporter.

Further, according to the present invention, a computer (MP
U) 25 has a radiotelephone module circuit 27 connected to it. The wireless telephone module circuit 27 is a wireless communication module circuit used in a mobile telephone, for example, the well-known PHS.
It is composed of a communication circuit, and performs a calling operation to a set destination (telephone number, communication address) according to the detection of an abnormality of the computer 25. In the system of FIG. 1, the transmission destination is the server 2, and the telephone number or communication address of the server 2 is set.

The portable oxygen supplier 1-2 is a device for carrying and inhaling oxygen when the home patient B goes out, and is composed of an oxygen cylinder or the like. This oxygen cylinder
It is filled with oxygen and its content decreases with the use of the user. Therefore, it is also necessary to replace the oxygen cylinder. Also in this case, the user requests the administrator or the like to replace the cylinder by telephone or the like.

Returning to FIG. 1, the abnormality notification system for home medical equipment is provided by the center (server) 2 of the home medical support company.
And the wireless communication module circuit 27 of the home medical device 1-1 of each patient's home 1 and the communication network 4. The server (communication device) 2 has a relay abnormality table 2 in which an abnormality flag column is provided in the device address of each patient's medical device.
-1, and a reception function unit 2-2 that receives an abnormality notification signal from the communication network 4 and sets an abnormality flag to the medical device address of the abnormality table 2-1 that issued the abnormality notification signal, and the abnormality table 2 -1 is scanned, and an abnormality detection process 2-3 for identifying an abnormal device is included. The communication network 4 is composed of a communication line network, and a public line, a dedicated line, or the like can be used.

The abnormality notification processing operation of the medical device of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the MPU
As described above, the (microprocessor) 25 detects an abnormality of the medical device 1-1 from the outputs of the sensors 21-24. Further, from the outputs of the sensors 21 to 24, it can be detected that the patient is not breathing for a certain period of time, which is also detected as abnormal.
Furthermore, it detects the power off other than the disconnection of the power switch,
Detect as abnormal. The abnormality detecting operation of these MPUs 25 is the same as the conventional one.

When the MPU 25 detects an abnormality, it instructs the wireless communication module circuit 27 to wirelessly communicate with the server 2. The wireless communication module circuit 27 issues the telephone number or communication address of the server 2 to the network 4,
The abnormality notification signal is transmitted to the server 2. In digital communication, the abnormal communication signal is transmitted in the form of an abnormal notification code. Further, the source address is communicated as in the case of the mobile phone. In this abnormality notification processing, as shown in FIG. 4, only in the case of an abnormality, a notification is made every 30 minutes until the abnormality is canceled.
Repeat for about 3 hours. As a result, the server 2 can reliably receive the abnormality notification. That is, one notification may cause a reception error or the server 2 may not receive it when the line is congested. Therefore, the server 2 can be surely notified even if a public line or a mobile phone line is used.

In the server 2, the reception function unit 2-2 receives the abnormality notification signal and sets an abnormality flag in the device address corresponding to the source address of the abnormality storage table 2-1. By doing so, the abnormality notification is surely received by the server 2 of the medical device company even if a public line or a mobile phone line is used. In particular, in a system for detecting abnormalities in a large number of patients (for example, nationwide) at a center of a medical device company, one server 2 is in charge of thousands or tens of thousands of patients. ,It is valid.

The abnormality identification processing 2-3 of the server 2 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
1 is checked (S1), it is checked whether there is an abnormality flag (S2), and if there is an abnormality flag, the target device is specified from the address. Then, an alarm is displayed on the monitor of the server 2 and an alarm is issued (S3). Then, the abnormality flag of this address is cleared (S4).

Due to this alarm, the person in charge of the server 2 is in charge of the device, the sales office 3-A or the person in charge C.
Call. Thereby, the person in charge C can deal with the abnormality by contacting or going to the patient of the device.

As described above, since the wireless communication is used and the line of the mobile phone is used, the automatic abnormality notification function of the home medical device is provided without requiring the line construction or the extension work such as the wired line. it can. Moreover, since the wireless communication module used in the mobile phone can be used, the abnormality notification function can be added to the medical device at low cost. Moreover, since the notification is made only when an abnormality occurs, the communication cost can be reduced even if a large number of medical devices are remotely supported.

Further, since the abnormality memory table 2-1 is provided and the abnormality flag is set to the device address corresponding to the source address to receive the abnormality, the abnormality notification can be made even if a public line or a mobile phone line is used. It is surely received by the server 2 of the medical device company.

In the above-mentioned system, the center has been described as supporting patients all over the country, but it is also possible to provide a server for each regional unit. Further, the alarm to the sales office or person in charge can be automated by using IT technology.

Further, although the home medical equipment has been described as the home oxygen therapy equipment, it can be applied to other breathing gas supply apparatus, rehabilitation equipment and the like. The present invention is summarized in the following supplementary notes.

(Supplementary Note 1) In an abnormality reporting method for reporting an abnormality of a medical device that uses a medical device at home to a home medical support company, the medical device is provided in response to the detection of the abnormality of the medical device. A wireless communication module that wirelessly reports to a communication device of the home-medical support company via a network; a step of receiving the abnormal report by the communication device and storing the abnormal report in a table; And a step of identifying the abnormal medical device from the abnormal notification.

(Appendix 2) The method for reporting an abnormality of a home medical device according to Appendix 1, wherein the storing step comprises a step of storing the abnormality notification in an abnormality notification storage column for each medical device in the table.

(Supplementary Note 3) The method for reporting an abnormality in a home medical device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the wireless communication step comprises a step of performing wireless communication only when the medical device is abnormal.

(Supplementary Note 4) The wireless communication step comprises the step of wirelessly communicating the communication address of the communication device, the abnormality information, and the identification address of the self device. How to report.

(Supplementary Note 5) In the wireless communication step, in response to an instruction from a processor that detects an abnormality in the medical device,
The method for reporting an abnormality of a home medical device according to appendix 1, further comprising the step of wirelessly reporting to the communication device of the home medical support company via a network by the wireless communication module.

(Supplementary Note 6) In an abnormality reporting system for reporting an abnormality of a medical device that uses a medical device at home to a home-medical support company, in response to detecting an abnormality of the medical device, the at-home service is sent via a network. A medical device having a wireless communication module that wirelessly reports to a communication device of a medical support company, receives the abnormality notification, stores the abnormality notification in a table, and identifies the abnormal medical device from the stored abnormality notification. An abnormality notification system for home medical equipment, comprising a communication device.

(Supplementary Note 7) The communication device has a table for storing the abnormality notification in the abnormality notification storage column for each medical device, and refers to the table to identify the abnormal medical device. Anomaly reporting system for home medical equipment according to appendix 6.

(Supplementary Note 8) The home-use medical device abnormality notification system according to Supplementary Note 6, wherein the medical device wirelessly communicates only when the medical device is abnormal.

(Supplementary note 9) The abnormality notification system for a home medical device according to Supplementary note 6, wherein the wireless communication module wirelessly communicates the communication address of the communication device, the abnormality information, and its own identification address.

(Supplementary Note 10) The medical device includes a processor for detecting an abnormality in the medical device, and a wireless communication module for wirelessly notifying a communication device of the home medical support company via a network according to an instruction from the processor. An abnormality notification system for a home medical device according to appendix 6, comprising:

[0050]

As described above, in response to the detection of the abnormality of the medical device, the medical device having the wireless communication module for wirelessly notifying the communication device of the home medical support company via the network, and the abnormality notification Since it has a communication device that receives and stores the abnormality notification in a table and identifies the abnormal medical device from the stored abnormality notification,
First, since the wireless notification is used and the line of the mobile phone is used, the automatic abnormality notification function of the home medical device can be added without requiring line construction or extension work such as a wired line.

Further, since the wireless communication module used in the mobile phone can be used, the abnormality notification function can be added to the medical device at low cost. Moreover, since it reports only when there is an abnormality,
Communication costs can be reduced even if many medical devices are remotely supported. Moreover, since the reception operation of storing the abnormality notification in the table is performed, the abnormality notification of a large number of medical devices can be reliably received.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a home medical device abnormality notification system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the home care method of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a model diagram illustrating the configuration of the home medical device in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an abnormality notification signal of FIG.

5 is a flow chart of abnormal medical device identification processing of the communication device of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 user's house 1-1 Oxygen concentrator (medical equipment) 1-2 Portable oxygen supply 2 centers (communication equipment) 2-1 Abnormal memory table 2-2 Reception function section 2-3 Abnormal device identification processing 3-A Sales Office 4 network 11 Breathing gas supply device 12 Adsorbent 13 adsorption cylinder 14 Compressor 15 flow path switching valve 16 surge tank 17 Flow rate setting device 18 Humidifier 19 nose cannula 20 cooling fan 21-24 sensors 25 processors 27 wireless communication module circuit

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Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An abnormality reporting method for reporting an abnormality of a medical device that uses a medical device at home to a home medical support company, wherein the medical device is provided in response to detection of the abnormality of the medical device. A step of wirelessly reporting to the communication device of the home medical support company via a network by a wireless communication module; a step of receiving the abnormality report by the communication device and storing the abnormality report in a table; and the stored abnormality. And a step of identifying the abnormal medical device from the notification. 2. An abnormality reporting system for reporting an abnormality of a medical device that uses a medical device at home to a home medical support company, wherein in response to detecting an abnormality of the medical device, the home medical support is provided via a network. A medical device having a wireless communication module that wirelessly reports to a communication device of a company, and a communication device that receives the abnormal message, stores the abnormal message in a table, and identifies the abnormal medical device from the stored abnormal message. An abnormality reporting system for home-use medical equipment, comprising: