JP3470608B2 - Home care terminal - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication technology for a home care system comprising a home care center and a home care terminal. 2. Description of the Related Art In Japan, the aging of society is rapidly progressing toward the 21st century, and there is an urgent need to solve the problem of nursing care in the medical and welfare fields, especially for elderly people. In order to solve this problem, a facility care service for accommodating a cared person in a predetermined facility to provide care as a group and a home care service for individual care at home are being promoted in parallel. [0004] In the case of institutional care, there is almost no problem because a specialized caregiver is always provided at the institution and face-to-face communication can be performed as needed, but in the case of home care, essentially privacy is maintained. On the other hand, face-to-face communication between caregiver and cared person (communication)
Can not be performed easily, and the care recipients have great anxiety. Therefore, in the home care service, a home care system using multimedia communication has conventionally been devised in order to alleviate the anxiety of the care-receiver as much as possible and to reduce the number of experienced caregivers and to increase the cost efficiency. , Have been trialled and implemented. This home care system is generally connected to a center computer installed in a public or private home care support center, a visiting nursing station, a medical institution, or the like by a communication line such as a public line, ISDN, CATV, or wireless. It is composed of a plurality of home care terminals installed at the care-receiver's home connected via the Internet. [0007] However, the conventional approaches often utilize or improve general video communication terminals such as videophones.
For example, rehabilitation guidance is performed in a pseudo-face-to-face manner while watching the image on the screen. From the viewpoint of nursing care mainly for the elderly, it is difficult to say that this is a home-friendly care system that is easy on patients in terms of operability or function. [0008] That is, as a phenomenon generally observed in the elderly, forgetfulness is severe, and in the rehabilitation instruction or the like described above, the same picture cannot be remembered unless it is seen and heard many times. Further, when the care receiver requests care, for example, the user can see the face of the care giver but cannot remember the name. In addition, it is often necessary to forget the actions to be taken at a prescribed time and type, such as taking a medicine. In such a case, a home care system that provides a detailed service that calls attention or prompts from the caregiver is required. However, there is no system that satisfies these issues at present. In view of the above, the present invention provides a home care system in which a home care center and a home care terminal are connected by a communication line. It is an object of the present invention to provide means for improving communication skills between cared persons. [0010] The above-mentioned problems are solved by a home care system configured as follows. That is, FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present invention. In a home care system in which a home care center and a home care terminal are connected via a communication line, schedule creation means for scheduling an action to be performed by a patient, Monitoring means for monitoring the patient's action information input based on the received schedule information, and message sending means for outputting a caution or reminder message when the monitoring means detects an abnormality. The situation can be monitored efficiently at the home care center. [0011] In addition, during a videophone call at the home care terminal, frame capture information is collected and stored together with the other party's telephone number from the moving image information of the other party at an arbitrary time.
By selecting the frame exchange information, it automatically connects to the other party's telephone number, transmits the frame exchange information to the home care center, and displays the screen with a specific ringing sound at the home care center that has received it, so that, for example, only the face is stored. If this is the case, a dialogue with the desired caregiver such as a public health nurse can be made, leading to a sense of security for the patient. [0012] Furthermore, during a videophone call at the home care terminal, video and audio information of the other party are collected and stored for an arbitrary time from an arbitrary time, and while the terminal is disconnected, the screen is displayed by selecting the video and audio information. By doing so, it becomes possible to repeatedly reproduce moving image and audio information at an arbitrary time desired by the patient. FIG. 1 schematically shows a system configuration of the present invention. In the present invention, a home care center 100 composed of a personal computer or the like and a plurality of dedicated home care terminals 101 as shown in FIG.
They are connected by a communication line 102 such as a TV or a radio. The home care center 100 has a camera input device 110 for capturing and inputting a moving image of a caregiver such as a public health nurse,
Similarly, a voice input / output device 111 for inputting voice from the caregiver and outputting voice from the care receiver such as a patient, various information at the home care center side, and various information transmitted from the home care terminal (care receiving A display device 112 for displaying a moving image of a patient) and a general input device (keyboard, mouse, etc.) 113 having a function of a dedicated keyboard connected to a home care terminal described later are connected. Further, a text / image file 120 for storing general text or image information as files stored in a storage device such as a magnetic disk, and an audio / image file for storing information requiring compression / decompression processing described later. 121 are connected. On the other hand, the home care terminal 101 has a camera input device 110 for capturing and inputting a moving image of a care receiver such as a patient.
Similarly, a voice input / output device 111 for inputting the voice of the care receiver and outputting the voice from the caregiver, various information on the home care terminal side, and various information transmitted from the home care center (caregiver). A display device 112 for displaying a moving image on the side and a dedicated keyboard 114 having a function unique to the home care terminal of the present invention in addition to a standard numeric keypad, incoming / outgoing call and disconnection keys are connected. The devices having the same number in the home care center and the home care terminal are the same device. As for the files, a text / image file 123 for storing general text or image information and an audio / image file 122 for storing information requiring compression / decompression processing are connected. Next, a mechanism in which a caregiver monitors a daily schedule operation determined for each care receiver based on these system configurations will be described with reference to FIG. First, at the home care center, a daily medication schedule as shown in FIG. 3 is created for each cared person such as a patient by a schedule creating means, for example, taking medication, and stored and stored in the text / image file 120. The telephone number table for automatic dialing is referred to and transmitted to the home care terminal. In this example, the "drink preparation" was prepared before breakfast at 8:00 in the morning.
Take 1 bottle and 3 "tablet A" and after breakfast "tablet B"
Take 2 tablets. Before lunch at 12:00 noon, "Powder X"
One dose, and one dose of “powder Y” after lunch. And at 18:00 in the evening, one "drink" and "powder X" before dinner
This is a schedule of taking one dose and taking two “Tablet B” tablets after dinner. These schedules may be changed or updated as necessary, but this schedule is not limited to medication and is the same for rehabilitation schedules and the like. There is no question of the content. The home care terminal that has received the schedule and stored and stored it in the text / image file 123 has a built-in timer that constantly monitors the time on the schedule. Is edited and displayed on a display together with a communication sound (voice is also possible) as a daily medication schedule as shown in FIG. When the care receiver receives the notification and takes the medicine in accordance with the schedule, the care receiver places the cursor on a predetermined confirmation column on the display screen by using the up and down "cursor" keys of the dedicated keyboard shown in FIG. By pressing the "#" key of the dedicated keyboard by means, the execution check is made and the text / image file 123 is updated and stored. The “V” mark in the confirmation column before breakfast in FIG. 3 indicates that one “drink” and three “tablets A” were taken. In this case, the check input of the action to be performed at this time is described by a method using a dedicated keyboard in this example, but the input method is not limited to this, and for example, a mouse click or a touch panel method may be used. good. Next, the monitoring means of the home care center, like the home care terminal, when the predetermined time is reached by the built-in timer which constantly monitors the time on the schedule, updates the schedule information (confirmation column) on the home care terminal side. In order to collect the information, the home care terminal is called and connected by an automatic dial, and the updated schedule information is received. Then, the schedule information of the patient stored and held at the home care center is compared with the received updated schedule information, and if there is no “V” mark to be present in the confirmation column at a predetermined time, it is determined that there is an abnormality. After referring to and considering the past logging data of the patient, a caution or reminder message for the appropriate conduct is created, and the message is transmitted to the home care terminal by the message sending means. If the schedule is normal according to the schedule, the process ends only by logging the patient data. In the home care terminal that has received the caution or dunning message, the message processing means displays this on a display together with a specific communication sound (a voice is also acceptable) to call attention of the patient. As described above, by transmitting and receiving predetermined schedule information and execution information of the schedule by the easy operation between the home care center and the home care terminal to communicate with each other, the care receiver can perform the routine routine. It is possible to monitor efficiently so as not to forget a common act. Next, a function for communicating between the home care center and the home care terminal using moving images and voices will be described. During a videophone call, the camera input device 1 connected to the other
The moving image and sound of the other party input by the device 10 and the sound input / output device 111 are output to the display device 112 and the sound input / output device 111. Therefore, at the home care terminal side, a moving image (a face, a hand gesture, etc.) and a voice of a caregiver such as a public health nurse at the home care center are displayed and voices are output, and voices are output, and communication is performed face-to-face. It can be said that there is a form. Since the mutually transmitted and received moving image and voice information has an extremely large amount of information as compared with text information and the like, the original information input by the camera and voice is compressed by the voice / image processing means, and the communication control is performed. It is sent out on the communication line via the means. When outputting the compressed information to the display and the audio input / output device, the audio / image processing means that has received the compressed information via the communication control means performs a restoration process for restoring the compressed information and outputs the compressed information. That is, the audio / image processing means performs input / output of moving images and audio information, and also performs compression / decompression processing (CODEC processing). When a filing instruction is issued for such audio / image information, the audio / image file 121 (or 12
It is input and output to 2). Therefore, in a home care terminal during a videophone call utilizing these basic functions, if it is desired to collect and store a moving image showing the other person's face as frame information, the "snap" of the dedicated keyboard is required. Is pressed, the instruction is notified to the audio / image processing means. At that time, the moving image single-frame information (of which there is a lot of face photograph information) is identified together with the identification index and the other party's telephone number.
22. If the care receiver later wants to respond again to the care giver who has only the face to whom he or she previously responded, the user presses the "snap" key while the home care terminal is disconnected. The instruction is notified to the audio / image processing means, and the frame information (a plurality of pieces) collected during the previous call is displayed on the screen in a list. Then select the necessary frame information with the "cursor" key of the dedicated keyboard,
Pressing the "snap" key again automatically dials the other party's telephone number stored together with the frame information, waits for a connection, and transmits the frame information to the home care center. At the home care center receiving this, the frame information is displayed on a display together with a specific ringing sound (a voice is also possible) on a screen, and a caregiver corresponding to the frame information waits. By having this function, even if the name and telephone number are not known, if only the face projected on the screen is memorized, it is possible to talk with a caregiver such as a desired public health nurse, and to consult with the patient on his / her will. Can be selected, which leads to a sense of security for the patient. Next, as another function of the home care terminal side, if the moving image and voice information of the other party during the call are collected and stored as needed by the cared person, and the user wants to see and hear the information again later, first, When the "record" key of the dedicated keyboard is pressed at any time during a videophone call, the instruction is notified to the audio / image processing means, and the collection and storage of the moving image and audio information together with the identification index is started. The collection and storage of the moving image and the audio information are continued until the “record” key of the dedicated keyboard is pressed again. If the user wants to view and listen to the previously captured and stored moving image and voice information while the terminal is disconnected, the user presses the "record" key on the dedicated keyboard and the instruction is sent to the voice / image processing means. The notification is performed, and the moving image (there may be a plurality of moving images) collected during the previous call is displayed on the screen together with the identification index. Therefore, a necessary identification index is selected by a “cursor” key of the dedicated keyboard, and when the “record” key is pressed again, the corresponding moving image and audio information are reproduced. As a result, it is possible to collect only the moving image and audio information at an arbitrary time desired by the patient, so that not only the storage capacity can be saved but also those can be calm down and repeatedly reproduced later. This function can also be used in a home care center. Incidentally, the computer processing in the present invention is as follows.
The computer program is executed on the main storage device of the computer. The computer program is provided in the form of an auxiliary storage device connected to the computer, a portable storage device such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM, or a network. It is provided by being stored in a recording medium such as a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device of another connected computer, and is loaded and executed on the main storage device of the computer when executing the computer program. Things. As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, caregiving in a home care service can be performed by a fine communication technology between a caregiver and a care receiver using multimedia communication. There is a remarkable industrial effect that it can alleviate the anxiety of the elderly and at the same time compensate for the shortage of experienced caregivers and provide efficient services.

[Brief description of the drawings] FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a monitoring technique according to the present invention. [Figure 3] Example of a medication schedule screen FIG. 4 is an example of a dedicated keyboard of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols] 100 Home care center 101 Home care terminal 102 communication line 110 Camera input 111 voice input / output 112 Display 113 General input device 114 Dedicated keyboard 120 Text / Image file (Home care center side) 121 Voice / image file (home care center side) 122 Voice / image file (home care terminal side) 123 Text / Image File (Home Care Terminal)

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-9-83630 (JP, A) JP-A-9-331385 (JP, A) JP-A-2-113657 (JP, A) Table 2001-515620 (JP, A) A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 17/60 H04M 1/00 JICST file (JOIS)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] Claims 1. A home care terminal for functioning a camera input device, a voice input / output device, and a display device as a videophone, wherein the camera input device, the voice input / output device of the home care center, Means for connecting via a communication line with a video phone including a display device, at any time during a call with the home care center and the video phone, collecting frame-taking information from the other party's moving image information,
Means for storing this together with the other party's telephone number, means for displaying the collected and stored frame capture information at an arbitrary time after the end of the communication, and one of the plurality of frame capture information displayed. A home care terminal comprising: means for selecting a call target; and means for automatically connecting to the other party's telephone number stored in the selected call target and transmitting the frame information.