JP3538906B2 - Monitoring device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a monitoring apparatus for recording and reporting the presence or absence of an abnormal condition and the state of health of a user at home or the like, and for maintaining and improving the health of the user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional monitoring apparatus of this kind. Reference numeral 1 denotes a biological signal detecting unit that detects a biological signal of the user such as a pulse, a respiration, and a body temperature at a bedside, and is connected to a display unit 2 that displays a waveform of the obtained biological signal. In order to detect the presence or absence of an abnormality, the allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value of the biological signal are set in advance by the upper and lower limit value setting means 3, and the comparison means 4 compares the output with the output of the biological signal detecting means 1. When the biological signal obtained by the biological signal detecting means 1 exceeds the allowable upper limit set by the upper and lower limit setting means 4 or when the biological signal falls below the allowable lower limit,
The comparison means 4 outputs a notification signal to the notification means 5. The notification means 5 is configured to, upon receiving the notification signal, issue an emergency notification to a monitoring person by using an alarm buzzer (for example, JP-A-4-56561, JP-A-4-57161, JP-A-4-327832, Kaihei 4-236
No. 938, Koji Okajima, "Diagnosis and ME"-Measuring the Human Body and Thinking about Diagnosis-, Corona, 1989 and Hironori Kubota, "Measure Health", Kodansha Bluebacks, 199
3 years).

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the judgment of the physical condition such as normal or abnormal had to be made by a specialist afterwards by visual inspection. Alternatively, when the condition for determining the physical condition is always constant and the user to be monitored changes, it is difficult to appropriately set the condition for determining the physical condition each time. When judging whether it is normal or abnormal using only the signal obtained from the biological signal detection means, if the physical condition judgment conditions are fixedly set within a range applicable to all users, an uncertain region that can not be completely judged will be unclear Widening, the anomaly detection capability remains low. In other words, the user's condition suddenly changes, and the user cannot make a report / report while the emergency condition is occurring, or conversely, the user does not need to call the monitor (such as a caregiver) unnecessarily, but the malfunction is ceaseless. Absent.

[0004] Even if the condition for judging the physical condition can be set by an adjusting operation, it is difficult to adjust the condition unless it is a specialist, and it is impossible to attach it to daily necessities (for example, a toilet seat or a bathtub) where the user changes frequently. Further, even for the same user, the physical condition determination condition varies depending on the time zone, season, age, environmental condition, presence / absence of diet / exercise / medication, and mental state.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem. The present invention is based on the history of biosignals collected and stored for each user and the current physical condition judgment conditions appropriately set for the user. The purpose of this study is to actively support health management by determining the physical condition, such as making an emergency call (critical care), preventing a disease, and early detection (primary care).

[0006]

A biological signal detecting means for detecting a body temperature of a biological signal of a user, a setting means for individually setting upper and lower limits of a normal body temperature as physical condition determination conditions for each user; And determining means for determining whether the user's physical condition is in a normal range based on the physical condition determining condition,
A time measuring means for measuring the current date, month, day, hour, minute and second; and an environment detecting means for detecting a surrounding environment of the user, wherein the setting means determines the periodicity of the time measuring means and the circadian rhythm or hormone secretion rhythm of the user. The present invention is characterized in that a physical condition determination condition corresponding to a living rhythm, an environment detecting means, and a physical condition determination condition corresponding to a user's ability to react to environmental changes are set.

A user profile input means for inputting a user profile such as gender, age and weight ;
There is provided a setting means for setting a condition for judging the physical condition of the user according to the profile of the user.

[0008] Further, there is provided a notifying means for sounding a notifying sound based on the output of the judging means.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the physical condition of the user is determined based on the set conditions for determining the physical condition of the user, whether or not there is an abnormality, the degree of health, and the like. Since the upper limit and the lower limit of the normal body temperature are set as the conditions, when a plurality of users use the same device, it is determined whether the physical condition is in the normal range based on the optimum determination conditions different for each user. Regarding the biological signal, the threshold value of normal or abnormal is usually different for each user even for the same data, and when the physical condition determination condition is set for each user, the determination accuracy in the determination unit is improved. It also leads to early detection and notification of certain diseases. Since the time measuring means for measuring the current date, month, day, hour, minute, and second is provided, the physical condition determination condition also varies depending on the season, every month, or time of day. Each person has a biological rhythm having a peculiar circadian rhythm and a hormone secretion rhythm, and the body temperature of a biological signal fluctuates with a periodicity. The physical condition is determined with higher accuracy by changing the physical condition determination condition in accordance with the biological rhythm.

[0010] In addition, since a user profile input means for inputting a user's profile such as sex, age and weight is provided, the physical condition determination conditions set by the setting means as basic data of the user can be constructed with higher accuracy.

Further, the provision of the notification means for sounding the notification sound enables immediate and reliable notification in the event of an emergency. The alarm can be notified even when the observer is sleeping.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, the same numbers are assigned to the same functional blocks as in the conventional example. Reference numeral 1 denotes a biological signal detection unit that detects a user's biological signal such as pulse, respiration, and body temperature at a bedside. Reference numeral 6 denotes time measuring means for measuring the current date, month, day, hour, minute, and second. This is an environment detecting means for detecting. Also 8
Indicates the gender, date of birth, pre-existing conditions, preferences, height,
User profile input means for inputting a profile such as weight. The biological signal detecting means 1, the timing means 6, the environment detecting means 7, and the user profile inputting means 8 are connected to the setting means 9, respectively. The setting means 9 comprises a user identifying means 9a, a history updating means 9b, a user-specific data memory 9c, and a judgment threshold adjusting means 9d. The user identification means 9a identifies who the user is from the output of the biological signal detection means 1 and outputs it to the history update means 9b. In the user-specific data memory 9c, the user profile input by the user profile input means 8 and the output histories of the biological signal detecting means 1, the timing means 6, and the environment detecting means 7 are separately stored for each user. . The history updating means 9b sequentially updates the past output histories of the biological signal detecting means 1, the clocking means 6, and the environment detecting means 7 and outputs the updated data and the profile of the identified user to the determination threshold adjusting means 9d. I do. The judgment threshold value adjusting means 9d is provided with a ruled database and a recurrent neural network, and automatically generates an abnormality judgment condition as a function of a biological signal, a calendar (current time), and a surrounding environment. The abnormality determination means 10 includes the current biological signal detection means 1, the current timekeeping means 6,
Whether the output of the environment detecting means 7 meets the abnormality determination condition set by the setting means 9 is discriminated, and when it is determined that there is an abnormality, an emergency buzzer of the notifying means 5 issues an emergency notification. The determination threshold adjusting means 9d is based on the reference range of a healthy person defined by the profile (age, sex, etc.) of the user, and based on the biological signal of the past user, the time at which the biological signal was obtained, and the surrounding environment information. The normal range of the biological signal of the user is corrected for each time zone and each surrounding environment. The display unit 11 is connected to the user-specific data memory 9c, and the display unit 11 is configured to graphically display a past trend of the biometric signal for each user.

A specific description will be given taking body temperature as an example of a biological signal. The body temperature keeps the body heat production and dissipation in the body almost constant while corresponding to the surrounding environment, but usually fluctuates by about 1 ° C. in one day. There are also individual differences as shown in FIG. This is thought to be due to differences in the degree of autonomic nervousness. In women, the effects of progesterone secretion increase metabolism and increase body temperature. That is, FIG.
As shown in the figure, it rises after ovulation and falls with the start of the next menstruation. However, the rise in body temperature may not be clear for some people. Also, the body temperature of the elderly is generally low. This is said to be due to the low thermal conductivity of the elderly skin. Further, when comparing the body temperature of the old man with the body temperature of the adult, in the circadian variation, the body temperature of the old man generally increases early in the morning and decreases early in the night as shown in FIG. This is thought to be one of the causes of the elderly getting up early and sleeping early, but there are individual differences. In addition, there is a tendency for disturbances in the pattern of daily fluctuation to occur easily due to insomnia at night and the like. Older people also do not work well in adapting to the surrounding environment like younger people. As shown in FIG. 5, when taking a bath, an elderly person does not easily warm up, and is difficult to cool down after bathing. This is because the ability of the elderly to maintain a constant body temperature has declined.
This is why they are more susceptible to heat stroke and frost death than adolescents. Even during colds and other fever disorders, fever tends to be lower than in adolescents. In particular, heat generation of 39 ° C. or higher is rare. Older people often have heart disease, diabetes, and cerebrovascular disease, and thus show even worse effects from fever and the surrounding high-temperature environment. On the other hand, children under the age of 10 who do not have a complete body temperature regulation function are more susceptible to ambient temperature or season than adults.

By the way, a healthy person has a circadian rhythm of about 24 hours in which the body temperature is high in the daytime, starts to decrease before going to bed, and reaches a minimum during sleep. It is not caused by daytime activities or night sleep, but survives all day in bed or all night. Although the form and phase of the rhythm may change due to day and night changes, indoor lighting, social activity cycles, meals, etc., it is not a biological response to periodic changes in the environment, but a natural rhythm inherent to the living body is there.

FIG. 6 shows a human body heat system model in an electric equivalent circuit based on these medical knowledges. Temperature T (K), heat flow Q (J / s), thermal resistance R in the thermal system model
(S · K / J) and heat capacity C (J / K) can be replaced by voltage V (V), current I (A), resistance R (Ω), and capacitor capacity C (F) in the electric system model. In FIG. 6, Vs (V) corresponds to the skin temperature on the surface of the human body, and DC voltage source Es1 (V) and AC voltage source Es2 are used as parameters of the human body.
(V), a resistor Rs1 (Ω), a resistor Rs2 (Ω), and a capacitor Cs (F). Es1 + Es2 (V) is a heat generated inside the human body of the user, and is a macro model of a lumped constant system in which the heat is in contact with the outside via Rs1, Cs, and Rs2. Es2 (V) is a periodic vibration wave having an amplitude of about 1 to 2 ° C., synchronized with the circadian rhythm and the hormone secretion rhythm of the user, and is not necessarily a sine wave. On the other hand, as the surrounding environment, all elements that exchange heat with the human body by conduction, convection, and radiation are involved.
The items that can directly measure the temperature are shown below. For example, in a highly airtight indoor environment, a DC voltage source E corresponding to the indoor temperature is used.
a (V) and a DC voltage source Eb (V) corresponding to the temperature of the daily necessities in contact with the human body are respectively provided with resistances Ra (Ω) and Rb.
(Ω) and connected to the human body surface.
Also provided is feedback for finely adjusting the output voltage of Es1 (V) according to the skin temperature Vs (V) on the human body surface.
For setting and updating of Es1, Es2, Rs1, Rs2, and Cs, a standard value is generated using the profile of the user, and then corrected in real time based on the history of the biological signal for each user. For example, the older the elderly, the lower Es1 is Rs1,
By increasing the value of Rs2, the normal body temperature is slightly lower, and the response time constant to a sudden change in the ambient temperature is increased (the response becomes slower). Also, the feedback amount of the fine adjustment of Es1 with respect to the Vs change is reduced. A person with a heavy weight thinks that the heat capacity is large, and has increased Cs. In the case of an adult woman, the amplitude of Es2 is set large. The setting of Es2 is a low frequency component of about one month cycle tuned to the body temperature fluctuation curve detected by the biological signal detecting means 1 in the case of an adult woman, in addition to the general (high daytime) daily fluctuation curve. Has been synthesized. Furthermore, the constants of Es1, Es2, Rs1, Rs2, and Cs are not always constant (the human body model is not static and fixed), but fluctuate irregularly or by a predetermined amount with 1 / f fluctuation. It is to be gained. In other words, Vs has a certain width and a slight variation even when the surrounding environment is unchanged.
Although the thermal system equivalent model shown in FIG. 6 is simplified, the surrounding environment rarely changes drastically if the installation locations of the biological signal detecting means 1 and the environment detecting means 7 are fixed to a bedroom, a toilet, a bathroom, or the like. . Living goods such as clothes and futons interposed between the room temperature detected by the environment detecting means 7 and the skin temperature of the user detected by the biological signal detecting means 1 are also factors that influence the thermal system model. You can think that there is no sudden change in your life.

That is, the judgment threshold adjusting means 9d determines Es1, Es2, Rs1, Rs2, and Cs as characteristic parameters for each user based on the user's average body temperature and fluctuation cycle including the user's age, gender, and time. The normal lower limit Tmin (° C.) and the upper normal limit Tmax (° C.) of the user are generated at the current time C (date and time) and the indoor temperature Ta.
(° C.) and a function of the temperature Tb (° C.) of the daily necessities and output. Here, the current time C (year / month / day) is the output of the clock unit 6, and the room temperature Ta (° C.) and the temperature Tb (° C.) of the daily necessities are the outputs of the environment detecting unit 7.
Although Tmin <Tmax, the normal range width of (Tmax-Tmin) is determined according to the past temperature fluctuation amount of the user.

The abnormality judging means 10 comprises a user's body temperature (skin temperature) T (° C.) detected by the biological signal detecting means 1, a normal body temperature lower limit Tmin (° C.) set by the setting means 9, and a normal body temperature upper limit. Tmax (° C), T <Tmin to T> T
In the case of max, the alarm buzzer of the notification means 5 is used for emergency notification.

Although the body temperature has been described as a biological signal, any biological signal such as heart rate, pulse, respiration, blood pressure, blood flow, blood oxygen saturation, electromyogram, electrocardiogram, electroencephalogram, body fat percentage, and body weight can be used. The same is true for For example, a case in which the user's pulse, respiration, and body temperature are detected as vital signs in the near-dead period will be described with reference to FIG. Near death, especially death 2
From 3 days ago, the body temperature of the patient with high fever often rapidly drops, while the pulse becomes more tachycardic. Therefore, a death sign crossing (point C1 in FIG. 7) occurs in the body temperature-pulse correspondence table as shown in FIG. Since the respiratory rate also has the same tendency as the pulse rate, it also crosses (point C2 in FIG. 7). However, both tachycardia and tachypnea eventually slow down. Therefore, such a temperature-pulse / respiration correspondence table is prepared for each user by the setting means 9 (even though the surrounding environment is not suddenly changed), and when a death sign crossing or a respiration / body temperature crossing occurs, an abnormality is determined. You may make it.

Alternatively, not only the presence / absence of abnormalities but also an analog index such as a health level may be output. Further, the biological signal may be subjected to pattern analysis using a waveform of time-series data instead of one digitized data. The presence or absence of an abnormality may be determined by combining a plurality of biological signals (multivariate). Further, in order to reduce measurement errors and fluctuation factors at the time of detecting a biological signal, detection data may be averaged a plurality of times during a day, or a large number of determination results may be used to enhance the determination accuracy. The user is not limited to a person. It may be adapted to animals such as pets that emit biological signals. In general, an animal cannot appeal to an owner who takes care of an abnormality in its own health condition, and therefore, the effect of monitoring by setting a judgment condition matching the specified animal is great.

The normal body temperature lower limit value Tmin and the normal body temperature upper limit value Tmax may be calculated by an expert system or by a method of referring to a predetermined table. A fuzzy membership function may be used.

The biological signal detecting means 1 and the environment detecting means 7 may be configured to be worn by the user, or may be provided in plural in each room or household article. Biological signals and data on the surrounding environment detected from a plurality of locations may be unified and determined by network construction.

In the above configuration, the presence or absence of an abnormality is determined based on the determination threshold (normal temperature upper and lower limit values, etc.) for each user set by the setting means 9, so that malfunctions are reduced.
In other words, a monitor (such as a caregiver) is not called when there is no abnormality, and no notification is made even if the abnormality is abnormal, and the notification time is not delayed. As a result, watchers (caregivers, etc.)
This will save the trouble of regular patrols and assist in the correct handling of emergencies. Since the setting means 9 sets the judgment threshold individually for each user, even when a plurality of users use the same device, the optimum judgment threshold which is different for each user is automatically set, and the user himself / herself does not know what the threshold is. The physical condition will be accurately determined without being conscious. In turn, this can lead to early detection and notification of certain diseases. By operating this apparatus continuously, there is also an effect that health data for each user is stored in the user-specific data memory 9c even if a medical professional does not attend the place.
This is particularly effective for unhealthy elderly people, persons with disabilities, infants, and other persons who have difficulty in complaining about their own health condition (living body), or those who have reduced sensation. Alternatively, it is effective for discovering a disease that is hardly accompanied by subjective symptoms.

Also, the presence or absence of the abnormality can be determined with higher accuracy by providing the timing means 6 and changing the determination threshold in accordance with the biological rhythm unique to the user. Furthermore, since the environment detecting means 7 for detecting the surrounding environment of the user is provided, it is possible to perform the determination with higher accuracy by changing the determination threshold value with respect to a change in the surrounding environment such as a sudden change in room temperature. Also, since the user profile input means 8 for inputting the user's profile such as gender, age, pre-existing illness, and preferences is provided, the setting threshold 9 sets the basic data of the user which cannot be detected by the biological signal detecting means 1 alone. Can be reflected. In addition, the provision of the notification means 5 for sounding the notification sound makes it possible to immediately and surely report the occurrence of an emergency by sound. There is an effect that the observer can be notified even while sleeping.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same functional blocks as those shown in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.
In FIG. 8, reference numeral 12 denotes an ingested matter detecting means for measuring and analyzing the amount and components of the food taken by the user. Reference numeral 13 denotes excrement detection means for measuring and analyzing the amount and components of excretion or urine excreted by the user in the toilet facility 19. Excretions such as defecation and urination are representative of metabolites of the user. The setting unit 14 includes the past biological signal detecting unit 1,
The conditions of the user's physical condition determination are automatically set based on the outputs of the ingested material detecting means 12 and the excrement detecting means 13 and output to the physical condition determining means 15. The physical condition judging unit 15 compares the current user's biological signal detected by the biological signal detecting unit 1 with the physical condition judging condition set by the setting unit 14 and outputs the user's health degree to the notifying unit 5. I do. The notification unit 5 includes a wireless transmission unit 5a and a pager 5b. The wireless transmission means 5a is connected to the pager 5b by a wireless communication line. Radio uses specific low power of 400MHz band, 2
It is assumed that data is transmitted in one direction at a transmission rate of 400 bps. The pager 5b is configured to emit a beep sound when updating the health level data as a result of the determination and to notify the user of the content on a liquid crystal display. Here, the biological signal detecting means 1 is built in a mattress in the bed 16 and non-invasively and non-invasively detects the pulse, respiration and body temperature of the user on the bed 16. The ingested food detecting means 12 is incorporated in the cooking utensil 17 and the dishwasher 18, and detects a meal menu, the components of the ingested food, the ingested amount, the calories, and the like. The ingested food detecting means 12 is provided with an image processing device for detecting the type and amount of food and a chemical sensor for analyzing the components of the food. Is estimated. The excrement detecting means 13 is a toilet facility 19
It directly detects the amount and components of urination and defecation.

In the above configuration, since the intake detecting means 12 for detecting an intake in the user's diet is provided, fine physical condition determination conditions corresponding to the intake and the intake of the user are set, and higher accuracy is achieved. The physical condition is determined. Furthermore, since the excrement detecting means 13 for detecting the excrement of the user in the toilet equipment 19 is provided, detailed physical condition judgment conditions corresponding to the excrement and excretion amount of the user are set, and the physical condition is judged with higher accuracy. Is done. The biological signal detecting means 1 is placed on the bed 16, and the ingested food detecting means 12 is placed on the cooking utensil 17 or the dishwasher 1.
In addition, since the excrement detecting means 13 is built in the toilet equipment 19, it is equivalent to the user being unconsciously receiving a medical examination in his daily life, and the user can easily know his or her own health condition. Can be.

There is a great difference between individual biological signals. It is also greatly affected by gender, age, pre-existing conditions, preferences, and lifestyle. Even among individuals, it fluctuates depending on the season, every month, or time of day. Respond to and adapt to changes in the surrounding environment. Even if the surrounding environment is constant, it fluctuates due to ingestion of food, water, medicine and the like and metabolites such as urination, defecation, and sweating. Therefore, the physical condition determination accuracy is drastically improved by reflecting these factors that change the biological signal in the physical condition determination condition.

Since the notifying means 5 is provided with the pager 5b, it is easy to carry around, and it is easy for the user to be aware of the current health condition. In addition, there is no need for installation work, and repair or replacement in the event of a failure is easy. In the case of an emergency call system, it is possible to call immediately, regardless of where the observer is, but there is an effect that the observer is portable and does not interfere at all.

Here, only the wireless transmission means 5a and the pager 5b are connected by a wireless communication line, but the biological signal detection means 1 (or the ingested food detection means 1) is connected.
2. The excrement detecting means 13) and the setting means 14 (or the physical condition judging means 15) may be connected by a wireless LAN line.

[0029]

As is clear from the above description, according to the monitoring apparatus of the present invention, the physical condition determination condition is set for each user in accordance with the biological rhythm or the ability to react to environmental changes, and the like. Based on the information, the user's physical condition, the presence or absence of an abnormality, the degree of health, and the like can be accurately determined. This can lead to early detection of certain diseases. It is particularly effective for unhealthy elderly people, persons with disabilities, infants, and other people who have difficulty in complaining about their own health condition, or those who have reduced sensation. It is also effective for finding diseases without subjective symptoms.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a monitoring device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows individual differences in body temperature.

FIG. 3 shows the basal body temperature of an adult woman

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the daily fluctuation of body temperature.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a decrease in body temperature after body heating by bathing;

FIG. 6 is an electrical equivalent circuit diagram of a human body thermal system model.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing pulse rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature fluctuation at the time of death.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a monitoring device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a conventional monitoring device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Biological signal detection means 5 Notification means 6 Timekeeping means 7 Environment detection means 8 User profile input method 9 Setting means 10 Abnormality judgment means 12 Intake detection means 13 Excretion detection means 14 Setting means 15 Physical condition judgment means

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A biological signal detecting means for detecting a body temperature of a biological signal of a user, a setting means for setting an upper limit and a lower limit of normal body temperature as physical condition determination conditions individually for each user, the biological signal and the physical condition determination Determining means for determining whether or not the user's physical condition is in a normal range based on a condition; and timing means for timing the current date, month, day, hour, minute, and second, wherein the setting means includes the timing means and the user's circadian rhythm or hormone. A monitoring device characterized in that physical condition determination conditions are set in accordance with a biological rhythm having a periodicity of a secretory rhythm. Wherein setting means, gender, and the user profile input means age, and inputs the user's profile, such as body weight, according to claim 1 for setting a physical condition decision condition of the user by the user's profile Monitoring device. 3. The monitoring device according to claim 1, further comprising a notifying unit that sounds a notifying sound based on an output of the determining unit.