JP5284705B2 - Disease diagnosis system, terminal device, and server device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a disorder diagnostic system, terminal unit, and server device, which achieve early detection and treatment of a disease by analyzing whether a subject is developing the disease or not based on various information detected from its exhalation and presenting the result to the subject and a doctor or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The disorder diagnostic system 100 is connected to the terminal unit 106A, 106B, 106C or the like to analyze whether a user is developing the disease or not based on concentrations of plural chemical substances measured from the exhalation through the Internet 104, and includes the server device 102 to receive the result mainly administered by the doctor, nurse, or the like and output by the terminal unit 106A or the like from the terminal unit 106A or the like for administration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a disease diagnosis system, and in particular, a disease diagnosis that detects the concentration of a plurality of specific chemical substances from a user's breath and diagnoses whether or not the patient suffers from a disease from the detected concentrations of the plurality of specific chemical substances. The present invention relates to a system, a terminal device, and a server device.

  This modern society is a so-called health boom. Among them, in relation to methods such as disease prevention and health management, there is an increasing interest in a system that allows individuals to check their health status easily and quickly. In particular, breath sensing, which is simple in sampling and work, has attracted attention. Expiratory sensing is the state of poor physical condition, a sign of something that is likely to cause illness, or the flow rate of exhaled air that occurs or changes due to a disease that is already suffering, the concentration of a specific substance , And their changes etc. from the exhalation. The possibility of being able to grasp an individual's health status based on the measurement result is very high. Expiratory sensing is useful for early detection of disease, early treatment, and health care.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a system for collecting the state of a patient suffering from asthma with electronic data, analyzing the collected data, and quickly feeding back the analysis result to a doctor, a patient, and the like.

  The system described in Patent Document 1 is connected to a peak flow meter that is held by a patient and measures the data of the breath flow rate when the patient exhales vigorously, and the peak flow meter via the Internet. A respiratory information processing apparatus for collecting data measured by a meter, analyzing the collected data for each patient, and presenting the analysis result to a nurse, a doctor, and the like.

  The peak flow meter is particularly for grasping the condition of a patient suffering from asthma. When suffering from asthma, the patient's airway is narrowed, making it difficult for air to pass through the airway. Therefore, when such a patient exhales, the exhaled breath will have a lower than normal flow rate. Therefore, a doctor or the like can diagnose how much the patient suffers from asthma using a peak flow meter that measures the flow rate of exhaled breath.

  The respiratory information processing apparatus analyzes data collected as follows. The respiratory information processing apparatus calculates, as a score for each patient, how dangerous the patient is from the collected data. The respiratory information processing apparatus refers to the score and presents appropriate medical measures to nurses, doctors, and the like in order from patients at risk.

  With the above system, even if the patient does not bother to go to the hospital, using the peak flow meter at home, data for evaluating how much the patient suffers from asthma is transmitted to the respiratory information processing device. . Nurses, doctors, and the like can refer to the data collected in the respiratory information processing device and take some measures for the patient if there is an urgent patient. As a result, doctors and the like can detect and treat diseases earlier than usual.

  Note that Patent Document 1 states that, in the above-described system, a spirometer that measures the flow rate of a patient's breath at predetermined time intervals may be used instead of the peak flow meter. Similarly, the spirometer is used to make a doctor or the like diagnose whether or not the patient suffers from asthma.

  In Patent Document 2, a method of measuring a carbon monoxide (hereinafter referred to as CO) concentration from a pregnant woman's breath, analyzing the measured CO concentration, and determining what kind of disease the pregnant woman suffers from. Disclosure.

  Specifically, it is determined as follows about what kind of disease the pregnant woman suffers from.

Diseases that occur during pregnancy include hypertension, pre-eclampsia, and HELLP (Hemolytic anemia, Elevated Liver enzymes, Low Platelet count) syndrome. In the method described in Patent Document 2, for each of the above-mentioned diseases that occur during pregnancy, whether or not the CO concentration measured from the breath of a pregnant woman is lower than the reference concentration determined for each disease. Determine if you have or have not.
JP2002-95650 JP2002-122592A

  The technique described in Patent Document 1 measures only the flow rate of exhalation and presents the state of a patient suffering from asthma to a nurse, a doctor, or the like, thereby enabling early treatment of the disease or the like. However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is intended only for patients suffering from asthma, and is not intended for patients suffering from other diseases.

  The method described in Patent Document 2 determines whether or not the patient suffers from various diseases that occur during pregnancy from CO measured from the breath of a pregnant woman. However, the technique described in Patent Document 2 specifies a disease that occurs during pregnancy and determines whether or not the patient is affected only by the specified disease.

  In view of the technologies described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, in order to conduct early detection, early treatment, and health management of diseases, in addition to asthma and diseases that occur during pregnancy specified in Patent Document 2 In addition, it is desirable that various diseases can be diagnosed from information detected from exhaled breath.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to analyze how much a subject suffers from a disease from various information detected from exhaled breath, present the analysis result to the subject, a doctor, etc., and early detection and early treatment of the disease. A disease diagnosis system, a terminal device, and a server device are provided.

  Another object of the present invention is to analyze how much a subject suffers from a disease from various information detected from exhalation, present the analysis result to the subject, etc., and perform voluntary disease prevention activities by the subject. To provide a disease diagnosis system, a terminal device, and a server device that enable promotion.

  The disease diagnosis system according to the first aspect of the present invention is a disease diagnosis system in which a terminal device and a server device are connected via a network. The terminal device includes: a first communication device that communicates with the server device via a network; a sensing device that detects a plurality of specific chemical substance concentrations from a breath of a user of the terminal device and outputs a plurality of concentration signals; And transmitting means for transmitting diagnostic data obtained based on a plurality of concentration signals output by the sensing device to the server device via the first communication device. The server device includes a second communication device that communicates with the terminal device via the network, a receiving means for receiving diagnostic data from the terminal device via the second communication device, and a user of the server device. Presenting means for presenting to the user of the server device disease evaluation information for evaluating whether or not the patient suffers from a disease, generated from the diagnostic data received by the receiving means in response to the instruction Including.

  The sensing device of the terminal device measures the concentration of a plurality of specific chemical substances from the exhaled breath, and the transmission means transmits diagnostic data obtained based on the plurality of concentration signals output by the sensing device to the server device. The server device receives the diagnostic data from the terminal device and presents the disease evaluation information generated from the diagnostic data to the user of the server device. The user of the server device can evaluate whether or not the user of the terminal device suffers from a disease from the concentrations of a plurality of specific chemical substances measured from the breath of the user of the terminal device.

  Therefore, when the user of the server device is a doctor, the doctor can detect a disease that can be comprehensively diagnosed from the measured concentrations of a plurality of chemical substances based on the disease evaluation information presented by the presentation means. Can diagnose whether or not. The doctor can detect disease early, treat it early, etc. according to the diagnosis result. Therefore, even if the user of the terminal device visits the hospital, the doctor can grasp the medical condition before the user goes to the hospital, and can shorten the examination time. In addition, waiting time for many patients can be reduced. As a result, disease that enables early detection and treatment of disease by analyzing how much the subject suffers from the disease from various information detected from exhalation and presenting the analysis results to the subject and doctor, etc. A diagnostic system can be provided.

  Preferably, the server device further includes a diagnosis result input unit that causes a user of the server device to input a diagnosis result related to the disease evaluation information presented by the presenting unit, and a terminal device via the second communication device. Diagnostic result transmission means for transmitting the diagnostic result input by the diagnostic result input means. The terminal device further includes a diagnosis result receiving unit that receives the diagnosis result transmitted from the server device via the first communication device by the diagnosis result transmitting unit, and a diagnosis result received by the diagnosis result receiving unit. And means for presenting to the user.

  The server device causes a user of the server device to input a diagnosis result related to the disease evaluation information, and transmits the input diagnosis result to the terminal device. The terminal device presents the diagnosis result from the server device to the user of the terminal device. When the user of the server device is a doctor, the diagnosis result by the doctor can be quickly transmitted to the user of the terminal device via the server device and the terminal device, unlike telephone and letter mailing. Therefore, the user of the terminal device can immediately know his / her health condition by referring to the diagnosis result. In addition, it is possible to immediately consider and execute what actions should be taken next, such as disease prevention, medical examination, work-up, and hospitalization procedures. As a result, disease that enables early detection and treatment of disease by analyzing how much the subject suffers from the disease from various information detected from exhalation and presenting the analysis results to the subject and doctor, etc. A diagnostic system can be provided.

  A terminal device according to a second aspect of the present invention is a terminal device connected to a server device via a network. The terminal device includes a communication device that communicates with a server device via a network, a sensing device that detects a concentration of a plurality of specific chemical substances from a user's breath and outputs a plurality of concentration signals, and a communication device. The server device includes transmission means for transmitting diagnostic data obtained based on the plurality of concentration signals output by the sensing device.

  Preferably, the terminal device further transmits, via the communication device, a diagnostic result related to the disease evaluation information for evaluating whether or not the patient has a disease, which is generated from the diagnostic data transmitted by the transmission unit. The diagnostic result receiving means received from the server device and the terminal device further include means for presenting the diagnostic result received by the diagnostic result receiving means to the user of the terminal device.

  More preferably, the terminal device is further output by the sensing device in response to an instruction from the user and a determination means for determining whether or not the patient is suffering from a plurality of concentration signals output by the sensing device. A plurality of density signals and a presenting means for presenting the determination result by the determining means to the user. The transmission means includes means for transmitting diagnostic data including a plurality of concentration signals output by the sensing device and a determination result by the determination means to the server device via the communication device.

  The determining means determines whether or not the user is suffering from a disease, and the presenting means presents the determination result to the user. Therefore, if the user keeps the terminal device at home, the user can easily diagnose his / her medical condition at home and immediately determine whether or not to go to a medical facility such as a hospital. Can be judged. This increases the potential for terminal users to prevent illness. As a result, it analyzes how much the subject suffers from the disease from various information detected from exhalation, and presents the analysis result to the subject, etc., enabling the subject to promote voluntary disease prevention activities. A terminal device can be provided.

  A server device according to a third aspect of the present invention is a server device connected to a terminal device via a network. The server device receives communication data that communicates with the terminal device via the network, and diagnostic data that is obtained from the terminal device via the communication device based on the concentration signals of a plurality of specific chemical substances detected from exhaled breath. And a disease evaluation information for evaluating whether or not the patient suffers from a disease, which is generated from the diagnostic data received by the reception unit in response to an instruction from the user. Presenting means for presenting.

  Preferably, the server apparatus further inputs a diagnosis result related to the disease evaluation information presented by the presenting means to the user, and inputs the diagnosis result input means to the terminal device via the communication device. Diagnostic result transmission means for transmitting the diagnostic result.

  More preferably, the presenting means includes a storage means for storing disease evaluation information for evaluating whether or not the patient suffers from a disease generated from the diagnostic data received by the receiving means, and a user. Means for presenting the disease evaluation information stored in the storage means to the user in response to the instruction.

  The storage means stores the disease evaluation information, and the presenting means presents the disease evaluation information stored in the storage means to the user of the server device. Therefore, if the storage means has a large capacity, it is possible to store disease evaluation information for many users of the terminal device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description of the embodiments, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their functions and names are also the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated.

[Network configuration]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a simplified configuration of a disease diagnosis system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a disease diagnosis system 100 includes terminal devices 106A, 106B, and 106C that analyze whether or not a user suffers from a disease from the concentrations of a plurality of chemical substances measured from exhaled breaths, It is connected to the terminal devices 106A, 106B, 106C, etc. via the Internet 104, is managed mainly by doctors and nurses, etc., and receives and manages the analysis results output by the terminal device 106A, etc. from the terminal device 106A, etc. And a server device 102.

  Hereinafter, the terminal devices 106A, 106B, 106C and the like may be simply referred to as the terminal device 106.

[Functional configuration of server apparatus 102]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the server apparatus 102. Referring to FIG. 2, the server apparatus 102 includes a control unit 130 that is substantially a computer that controls the control center of the server apparatus 102, and a terminal apparatus 106 that is connected to the control unit 130 via the Internet 104. A communication device 134 that transmits and receives data, a storage device 132 that stores various information, and a display device 136.

  The storage device 132 includes an exhalation information DB 138 for storing information such as concentrations of a plurality of chemical substances detected from exhalation.

  The functions executed by the control unit 130 mainly include an analysis result receiving function for receiving, from the terminal device 106, analysis result data indicating whether or not the user of the terminal device 106 has a disease, and reception of the analysis result. The presenting function for presenting the analysis result received by the function to the user of the server apparatus 102 and the diagnosis result data based on the analysis result presented by the presenting function are input to the user of the server apparatus 102 and the diagnosis entered There is a diagnostic result transmission function for transmitting result data to the terminal device 106.

  The analysis result data received by the analysis result receiving function is an analysis result output by the terminal device 106. The diagnosis result data input by the user of the server apparatus 102 by the diagnosis result transmission function is data as described below. The diagnosis result data is a result of diagnosis by a user of the server apparatus 102, which is mainly a doctor and a nurse, based on the analysis result presented by the presentation function based on specialized knowledge and experience. For example, the diagnosis result data includes specific health conditions, medical conditions, disease prevention methods, hospitalization instructions, prescriptions, and the like.

[External configuration of terminal device 106]
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an external configuration of the terminal device 106. Here, the configurations of the terminal devices 106A, 106B, and 106C are all the same as those of the terminal device 106. Referring to FIG. 3, terminal device 106 is a mobile phone, and includes a casing 150 having a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, a display 152 disposed on the upper half of the upper surface of casing 150, and a display on display 152. A cursor key 154 that is a key that is operated when moving the cursor up, down, left and right, a function key 156 that is a key that is operated when a user performs a predetermined function, and a telephone number And a numeric keypad 158 which is a key operated when inputting an access code such as an e-mail address and characters, and a gas sensing device built in the lower left side of the housing 150 and capable of measuring the concentration of a plurality of chemical substances in exhaled breath 160.

  The gas sensing device 160 includes a hollow, substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 162 and a pipe-shaped exhalation introduction portion 164 that is provided at the lower end of the housing 162 and introduces exhalation into the internal space of the housing 162.

  4 shows a cross-sectional view of the gas sensing device 160 cut along a plane parallel to the paper surface of FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, gas sensing device 160 is provided on the left side surface of casing 162, and exhaust parts 202, 204, 206 provided with check valves that exhaust gas in the internal space of casing 162. And 208, a partition member 224 having openings 240, 228, and 222 formed in order from the top for forming a small chamber 194 in the interior space of the housing 162, and the housing 162 162, a partition member 238 and 226 for separating a space obtained by removing the small chamber 194 from the internal space into three small chambers 200, 198, and 196 in order from the top, and the small chambers 200, 198 of the openings 240, 228, and 222. , And 196, and selectively permeable membranes 248, 236, and 214 that selectively permeate only specific gas components in exhaled breath, respectively. The exhalation introduction part 164 and the exhaust part 208 are opened in the small chamber 194. The exhausts 206, 204, and 202 open into the small chambers 200, 198, and 196, respectively.

  Specifically, the selectively permeable membranes 248, 236 and 214 are made of polysulfone, cellulose acetate, polyimide, poly-4-methylpentene, silicon rubber, a polymer material such as polycarbonate, a metal that adsorbs a specific component such as palladium, and Among these composite materials, those that improve the sensitivity and accuracy of specific gas component detection by the gas sensor element 270 described later are selected. For example, a material that transmits a specific gas component detected by the gas sensor element 270 or a material that does not transmit a substance that hinders detection of the specific gas component.

In this embodiment, the selectively permeable membranes 248, 236, and 214 are respectively nitrogen monoxide (hereinafter referred to as NO), CO, and hydrogen peroxide (hereinafter referred to as H ₂ O ₂ ) in expired air. Shall be transmitted. Note that these selectively permeable membranes 248, 236, and 214 may transmit normal gas (nitrogen, oxygen, etc.) in exhaled air in addition to the above-described specific gas components.

The gas sensing device 160 further includes a sensor substrate 246 disposed between the opening 240 and the exhaust unit 206 in the small chamber 200, a heater 244 provided on a surface facing the opening 240 of the sensor substrate 246, and the heater 244. A sensor 242 for measuring the NO concentration, disposed on the right side, that is, at a position facing the opening 240, a sensor substrate 234 disposed between the opening 228 and the exhaust unit 204 in the small chamber 198, and the sensor substrate 234 The heater 232 provided on the surface facing the opening 228, the sensor 230 for measuring the CO concentration, disposed on the right side of the heater 232, that is, the position facing the opening 228, the opening 222 and the exhaust in the small chamber 196 A sensor board 216 disposed between the sensor board 202 and the heater 220 provided on the surface facing the opening 222 of the sensor board 216; Right data 220, i.e. arranged at a position facing the opening _222, a sensor 218 for measuring the concentration of H 2 _{O 2,} the small chamber 194 is provided between the opening 240 and the exhaust portion 208, the breath injection A reflecting plate 210 for reflecting the exhaled air introduced into the small chamber 194 from the unit 164, and a flow rate sensor 192 for measuring the exhaled flow rate provided in the vicinity of the check valve inside the exhaled gas introducing unit 164. .

  The sensors 242, 230, and 218 used in the gas sensing device 160 can selectively adsorb specific gas components. Each of the sensors 242, 230, and 218 includes a gas sensor element made of a carbon nanotube (hereinafter referred to as “CNT”).

  FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration of the gas sensor element 270. Referring to FIG. 5, the gas sensor element 270 generally includes a sensing unit 272 made of a carbon nanostructure that is surface-modified with a specific molecule, and electrodes 274 and 276 disposed at both ends of the sensing unit 272. Including.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows the surface modification in the sensing unit 272.

  Referring to FIG. 6, sensing unit 272 includes a CNT structure 290 and a molecule 292 of a specific substance corresponding to the detection target gas fixed on the surface of CNT structure 290 (here, as molecule 292). Although the molecular structure of metal phthalocyanine is illustrated, molecule 292 is not limited to metal phthalocyanine).

  For example, when the surface of the carbon nanostructure is modified with a complex having a cobalt atom (hereinafter referred to as Co) as a central metal, NO in the breath is adsorbed to the complex. As a result, as described above, the electrical resistance of the carbon nanostructure changes. The amount of change varies depending on the amount of NO molecules adsorbed on the carbon nanostructure surface. Therefore, the concentration of NO in exhaled breath can be detected by looking at the change in resistance value when a current is passed through the sensing unit 272.

In this embodiment, the sensor 242 has a surface modified with a complex having Co as a central metal, which selectively adsorbs NO, and the sensor 230 has a CO that selectively adsorbs CO. As the sensing part of the sensor 218, the surface modified by the one that selectively adsorbs H ₂ O ₂ is used.

  FIG. 7 shows a configuration of a measurement circuit 300 for measuring a resistance change of the gas sensor element 270 provided in each of the sensors 242, 230, and 218. Referring to FIG. 7, measurement circuit 300 includes constant voltage source 302, gas sensor element 270 and load resistor 304 connected in series between both ends of constant voltage source 302, and contact points of gas sensor element 270 and load resistor 304. And an amplifier 306 for amplifying the potential change at this contact. The electrode 274 of the gas sensor element 270 shown in FIG. 5 is connected to the positive terminal of the constant voltage source 302, and the electrode 276 is connected to the load resistor 304 and the amplifier. The resistance value of the load resistor 304 is known. By measuring the potential at the connection point between the gas sensor element 270 and the load resistor 304, it is possible to know the change in the electrical resistance of the gas sensor element 270, and thus the concentration of the specific gas component adsorbed on the gas sensor element 270 can be known. .

[Functional Configuration of Terminal Device 106]
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the terminal device 106. Referring to FIG. 8, the terminal device 106 includes a control unit 340 that is essentially a computer that controls the control center of the terminal device 106, and the server device 102 via the Internet 104 that is connected to the control unit 340. Can be connected to the first communication device 344 that transmits and receives data, and is connected to a telephone line network (not shown), and during a call with another mobile phone connected to the telephone line network, voice wireless communication The second communication device 356 for performing the operation, the operation device 348 used when the user operates the terminal device 106, the storage device 342 for storing various information, the time measuring device 352 for measuring the date and time, the gas sensing device 160, the sound An input / output device 358 and a display device 346.

  Each of the first communication device 344 and the second communication device 356 includes an antenna (not shown), an RF (Radio Frequency) unit, a modulation unit, a demodulation unit, and the like. The operating device 348 includes a cursor key 154, a function key 156, a numeric keypad 158, and the like shown in FIG. The display device 346 includes the display 152 shown in FIG. The voice input / output device 358 includes a microphone, a voice input data processing unit, a speaker, a voice output data processing unit, and the like.

  The storage device 342 stores information such as concentrations of a plurality of chemical substances detected from the exhalation of the user of the terminal device 106, and includes an exhalation information DB 354 having the same configuration as the exhalation information DB 138 of the server device 102.

The functions executed by the control unit 340 include, in addition to normal cellular phone functions such as a call function, an expiration measurement function that measures NO concentration, CO concentration, and H ₂ O ₂ concentration from the user's expiration. A breath information display function for displaying a history of the concentrations of these chemical substances on the display 152, a server transmission function for transmitting the concentrations of those chemical substances to the server apparatus 102, and chemical substances transmitted by the server transmission function There is a diagnosis result receiving function for receiving and presenting diagnosis result data from the server apparatus 102 based on the density of the server apparatus 102 and the like. Hereinafter, the exhalation measurement function, the exhalation information display function, and the server transmission function are collectively referred to as an exhalation-related function.

[DB configuration]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of the exhalation information DB 138 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 9, each record of expiration information DB 138 includes a user ID field for storing the user name of terminal device 106, a birth date field for storing the birth date of each user, Registration date field and registration time field for storing the date and time each record was registered in the expiration information DB 138, NO concentration field for storing NO concentration, and CO concentration field for storing CO concentration When _the concentration of _H 2 _{O 2} fields for storing the concentration of H 2 _{O 2,} at the time the record is registered, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease user (called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or less, and COPD.) COPD format for memorizing whether it suffers from 0 or 1 Consisting of a flag field. When suffering from COPD, 1 is stored in the COPD determination flag field, and when not suffering from COPD, 0 is stored in the COPD determination flag field.

  The configuration of the exhalation information DB 354 of the terminal device 106 shown in FIG. 8 is substantially the same as the configuration of the exhalation information DB 138, except that only the name of the user of the terminal device 106 is stored in the user ID field of the exhalation information DB 354. However, the configuration of the exhalation information DB 138 is different.

[Packet configuration]
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a packet 380 transmitted from the terminal device 106 to the server device 102. Referring to FIG. 10, packet 380 includes a user ID that is the user name of terminal device 106 and the date of birth of the user. The packet 380 further includes a registration date field, a registration time field, a NO concentration, a record in which the values of the user ID field and date of birth field of the breath information DB 354 match the user ID and date of birth of the packet 380, respectively. Registration date (1) to registration date (n), registration time (1) to registration time (n), NO concentration (for storing the CO concentration, H ₂ O ₂ concentration, and COPD determination flag field values, respectively. 1) to NO concentration (n), CO concentration (1) to CO concentration (n), H ₂ O ₂ concentration (1) to H ₂ O ₂ concentration (n), and COPD determination flag (1) to COPD determination flag (N). If variable I is any number from 1 to n, registration date (I), registration time (I), NO concentration (I), CO concentration (I), H ₂ O ₂ concentration (I), and In the COPD determination flag (I), data included in one record of the expiration information DB 354 is stored.

[Screen structure]
Hereinafter, an example of a screen displayed on the display 152 of the terminal device 106 will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a top menu screen 390 displayed on the display 152 when the user starts using the breath related function. Referring to FIG. 11, on the top menu screen 390, the breath measurement button 392 and the breath information display button 394 for allowing the terminal device 106 to execute the breath measurement function, the breath information display function, and the server transmission function, respectively. , And a server transmission button 396 and an end button 398 for ending the use of the breath related function are arranged.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a history display screen 391 that is displayed when the user presses the breath information display button 394 while the top menu screen 390 is displayed. Referring to FIG. 12, history display screen 391 includes an area for displaying each history of NO concentration, CO concentration, and H ₂ O ₂ concentration, and an area for displaying a word indicating whether or not COPD is suffering. A return button 398 for deleting the history display screen 391 from the display 152 and displaying the top menu screen 390 is arranged.

Software configuration
(Software configuration of server apparatus 102)
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a control structure of a program executed by the server apparatus 102. The function of the server apparatus 102 is realized by the control unit 130 that is substantially a computer executing this program.

  Referring to FIG. 13, this program receives a packet 380 from terminal device 106, an instruction for presenting information related to expiration from the administrator of server device 102, and a diagnosis result by the administrator of server device 102. Step 400 waits until any data input is received.

  In step 400, when receiving an instruction for presentation from the administrator in step 400, the program refers to the exhalation information DB 138 and extracts all user IDs without duplication. In step 406 for displaying the list of user IDs extracted in 402 on the display device 136, and after step 406, the administrator of the server apparatus 102 selects any one user ID from the list of user IDs displayed in step 406. Waiting 408 until it is selected. In step 408, when one user ID is selected, the program refers to the breath information DB 138, and extracts all records that match the user ID selected in step 408. After that, from the record extracted in Step 410, whether or not the patient suffers from COPD due to the value of the line graph showing the history of the concentration of each chemical substance and the record date and the date and time when the registration date and time is the latest. And 412 which displays the sentence which shows or on the display device 136, and returns control to step 400.

  The program further stores the data contained in the packet 380 in the expiration information DB 138 when the packet 380 is received in step 400, and returns the control to step 400. In step 400, the program performs diagnosis from the administrator. Step 414 which transmits the input diagnostic result data to the terminal device 106 when the result data is input, and returns the control to Step 400.

  Note that the diagnosis result data from the administrator input in step 400 is diagnosis result data conceived by the administrator of the server apparatus 102 based on the information displayed in step 412 described above.

(Software configuration of terminal device 106)
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a control structure of a program executed by the control unit 340 when the terminal device 106 is activated. Referring to FIG. 14, this program determines whether or not diagnostic result data has been received from server apparatus 102, and the determination result of step 446 for branching the control flow according to the determination result is YES. In this case, the diagnostic result data received in step 446 is displayed on the display 152 and the control is returned to step 446.

  This program further determines whether or not an instruction for causing the terminal device 106 to execute the breath-related function is received from the user when the determination result in step 446 is NO, and the flow of control according to the determination result Branching 430, and when the determination result in step 430 is NO, a normal cellular phone function such as a call function is executed, and the control is returned to step 430.

  The program further includes a step 432 for displaying the top menu screen 390 on the display 152 when the determination result in step 430 is YES, and any of the buttons displayed on the top menu screen 390 after the step 432 is received from the user. Step 436 that waits until it is pressed, and step 438 that deletes the top menu screen 390 from the display 152 and returns control to step 430 if the end button 398 is pressed in step 436.

The program further measures NO, CO, and H ₂ O ₂ concentrations from the user's breath when the breath measurement button 392 is pressed in step 436, and suffers from the measured concentrations and COPD. Is stored in the expiration information DB 354, and the control returns to step 436. When the expiration information display button 394 is pressed in step 436, the value of the user ID field is obtained from the expiration information DB 354. History display screen for extracting all records that match the user ID of the person, and displaying the history of each concentration of NO, CO, and H ₂ O ₂ and the wording indicating whether or not the patient has COPD from the extracted records Step 411 is generated, the history display screen 391 is displayed on the display 152, and the control is returned to Step 436. And a 2.

  The program further extracts a record in which the value of the user ID field matches the user ID of the user from the breath information DB 354 when the server transmission button 396 is pressed in step 436, and packet 380 from the extracted record. And a step 444 of transmitting the generated packet 380 to the server apparatus 102 and returning the control to step 436.

FIG. 15 is a detailed flow of step 440 in FIG. Referring to FIG. 15, this routine includes steps 450 for waiting until the user blows the gas sensing device 160, and the CO concentration measured from the breath when the user blows in step 450, Step 452 for determining whether or not the patient suffers from COPD by the COPD diagnosis process described later from the NO concentration and the H ₂ O ₂ concentration. After step 452, the user ID field, the date of birth field, and the registration date of the breath information DB 354 Field, registration time field, NO concentration field, CO concentration field, H ₂ O ₂ field, and COPD determination flag field, respectively, the user ID of the user, date of birth, current date, current time, step the measured concentration of NO at 450, the concentration of _{CO, H} 2 O Concentration, and the determination result record in step 452, in addition to expiration information DB 354, and a step 454 to end the routine.

<COPD diagnosis processing>
In the COPD diagnosis process, first, the breath information DB 354 is referred to, and a record of the current user's user ID, in which the values of the registration date field and the registration time field are the latest date and time, is extracted. The NO concentration measured in step 450 (hereinafter referred to as a new NO concentration) is greater than 120% of the NO concentration in the extracted record (hereinafter referred to as the immediately preceding NO concentration), and in step 450 The measured CO concentration (hereinafter referred to as a new CO concentration) is between 80% and 120% of the CO concentration of the extracted record (hereinafter referred to as the immediately preceding CO concentration), and the step the measured concentration of _H 2 _{O 2} at 450 (hereinafter, referred to as a new concentration of _H 2 _{O 2.)} is, the concentration of _H 2 _{O 2} in the extracted record (hereinafter, referred to as concentration of _H 2 _{O 2} immediately before.) It is determined whether or not it is larger than 120%. Based on whether the determination result is YES or NO, it is determined that the user is suffering from COPD or not suffering from COPD.

Note that “determining whether or not the new NO concentration is greater than 120% of the immediately preceding NO concentration” means that “the new NO concentration is different from the immediately preceding NO concentration. This is one method for determining whether or not the value is large enough to be considered. Therefore, in order to determine whether or not the value is large enough to be regarded as having a difference, the method is not limited to the method of determining whether or not the value is greater than 120%, and other determination methods may be used. The same can be said for the H ₂ O ₂ concentration.

  Further, the above-mentioned “determining whether or not the new CO concentration is between 80% and 120% of the immediately preceding CO concentration” means that the “new CO concentration is about the same as the immediately preceding CO concentration. This is one method for determining whether or not it is a value. Therefore, in order to determine whether or not the values are the same, it is not limited to the method of determining whether or not the value is between 80% and 120%, and other determination methods may be used.

The basis for explaining why it is possible to determine whether or not COPD is suffering from changes in the concentrations of NO, CO, and H ₂ O ₂ by the above-described COPD diagnostic processing is based on the field of clinical chemistry. Since it is well known in research results, I will not explain the details here.

[Operation]
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 15, disease diagnosis system 100 according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration operates as follows. Prior to this, it is assumed that the exhalation information DB 138 and the exhalation information DB 354 previously store information as shown in FIG.

  When the server apparatus 102 is activated, the server apparatus 102 receives the packet 380 from the terminal apparatus 106, an instruction for presenting information related to expiration by the administrator of the server apparatus 102, and a diagnosis by the administrator of the server apparatus 102. Wait until one of the input of result data is received (step 400 shown in FIG. 13).

  When the terminal device 106 is activated, the terminal device 106 always determines whether there is any of reception of diagnostic result data from the server device 102 and an instruction for executing a breath related function from the user. (Steps 446 and 430 shown in FIG. 14). If there is no reception of diagnostic result data and no instruction to execute the breath related function (NO in step 446 and NO in step 430 shown in FIG. 14), terminal device 106 executes the function of a normal mobile phone. (Step 434 shown in FIG. 14).

  When there is an instruction to execute the exhalation-related function, the terminal device 106 displays the top menu screen 390 shown in FIG. 11 on the display 152 (step 432 shown in FIG. 14), and any one of the top menu screen 390 is displayed. Wait until the user presses the button (step 436 shown in FIG. 14).

  In step 436, it is assumed that the user presses the breath measurement button 392.

The terminal device 106 waits until the user blows on the gas sensing device 160 (step 450 shown in FIG. 15). When the user blows exhaled gas on the gas sensing device 160, the gas sensing device 160 measures each concentration of NO, CO, and H ₂ O ₂ from the exhaled breath. The terminal device 106 refers to the breath information DB 354 and is a record in which the value of the user ID field matches the user ID of the current user, and the registration date field and the registration time field have the latest date and time respectively. Extract records that are The terminal device 106 determines whether or not the user is suffering from COPD by the above-described COPD diagnosis process, using the concentration of each chemical substance in the extracted record and the measured concentration of each chemical substance. (Step 452 shown in FIG. 15). Here, it is assumed that the user is determined to have COPD by the COPD diagnosis process. The terminal device 106 sets the values of the user ID field, date of birth field, registration date field, registration time field, NO concentration field, CO concentration field, H ₂ O ₂ field, and COPD determination flag field of the expiration information DB 354, respectively. Record of current user ID, date of birth, current date, current time, NO concentration measured in step 450, CO concentration, H ₂ O ₂ concentration, and determination result in step 452 Is added to the expiration information DB 354 (step 454 shown in FIG. 15), and control is shown in step 436.

  In step 436, it is assumed that the user presses the breath information display button 394.

  The terminal device 106 refers to the breath information DB 354, extracts all records whose user ID field values match the user ID of the current user, generates a history display screen 391, and generates the generated history display screen 391. Is displayed on the display 152 (step 442 shown in FIG. 14). The terminal device 106 returns the control to step 436.

  The history display screen 391 indicates whether or not the user has COPD. Therefore, if a result indicating that the patient does not have COPD is displayed, the user will try to maintain his / her health in the future. However, if the result indicating that the patient is suffering from COPD is displayed, the user can immediately determine whether or not to receive a diagnosis from a doctor or the like.

  In step 436, it is assumed that the user presses the server transmission button 396.

  The terminal device 106 extracts a record in which the value of the user ID field matches the user ID of the current user from the breath information DB 354, generates a packet 380 from the extracted record, and sends the generated packet 380 to the server device 102. Transmit (step 444 shown in FIG. 14). The terminal device 106 returns the control to step 436.

  In step 436 described above, when the user of the terminal device 106 presses the end button 398, the terminal device 106 deletes the top menu screen 390 from the display device 346 and returns control to step 446 (step 438 shown in FIG. 14). ).

  When the server apparatus 102 receives the packet 380 from the terminal apparatus 106, the server apparatus 102 stores the data stored in the packet 380 in the expiration information DB 138 (step 404 shown in FIG. 13), and returns the control to step 400.

  In step 400, when the server apparatus 102 receives an instruction for presenting information related to expiration from the administrator of the server apparatus 102, the server apparatus 102 refers to the expiration information DB 138 and is stored in the expiration information DB 138. All user IDs are extracted (step 402 shown in FIG. 13). The server apparatus 102 displays the extracted list of user IDs on the display apparatus 136 (step 406 shown in FIG. 13), and waits until the administrator of the server apparatus 102 selects any one from the list of user IDs. (Step 408 shown in FIG. 13). When one user ID is selected by the administrator, the server apparatus 102 refers to the breath information DB 138 and extracts all records that match the selected user ID (step 410 shown in FIG. 13). The server apparatus 102 indicates whether or not it suffers from COPD based on the value of the COPD determination flag field of the record that displays the history of the concentration of each chemical substance from the extracted record and the registration date and the registration time are the latest. The text is displayed on the display device 136, and the control is returned to step 400 (step 412 shown in FIG. 13).

  The doctors and nurses who are administrators of the server apparatus 102 refer to the concentration history of each chemical substance displayed in step 412 and the COPD diagnosis result to determine what the user of the terminal apparatus 106 is. You can see if you are in good health. If the user's medical condition is in a dangerous state, the user can be notified immediately, and preparations for hospitalization can be made or a close examination should be presented. .

  What the administrator of the server apparatus 102 has input to the server apparatus 102 is diagnostic result data including contents such as specific diagnosis contents, hospitalization instructions, and detailed examination reception instructions based on the information displayed in step 412 And The server apparatus 102 transmits the input diagnosis result data to the terminal apparatus 106 (step 414 shown in FIG. 13).

  When terminal device 106 receives the diagnosis result data (YES in step 446 shown in FIG. 14), the received data is displayed on display 152 (step 448 shown in FIG. 14).

  The user of the terminal device 106 can grasp what kind of health he / she is by referring to the displayed diagnosis result data. You can immediately consider and implement what actions should be taken.

[Effects of the present embodiment]
As is clear from the above description, by using the disease diagnosis system 100 according to the present embodiment, the terminal device 106 measures the concentrations of NO, CO, and H ₂ O ₂ from the breath of the user. Whether or not the user suffers from COPD is determined from the concentrations of these chemical substances. Therefore, if the user places the terminal device 106 at home, the user can easily diagnose his / her medical condition regarding COPD at home, and whether or not to go to a medical facility such as a hospital. Can be determined immediately. This increases the possibility for the user of the terminal device 106 to prevent illness.

  Further, the server apparatus 102 can manage the concentration history of each chemical substance detected from the exhalation of the user of the terminal apparatus 106 connected to the Internet 104. The server device 102 presents the history of the concentration of each chemical substance of the user of the terminal device 106 and whether or not each user suffers from COPD to doctors and nurses who are administrators of the server device 102. Therefore, doctors, nurses, and the like can immediately instruct the user of each terminal device 106 what kind of action should be taken with reference to the presented content. In addition, doctors can refer to the history of the concentration of multiple chemical substances, so if they have specialized medical knowledge held by each doctor, the disease history can be more accurately determined from the history of each concentration. You will be able to judge the degree.

[Modification]
In the embodiment described above, the terminal device 106 is a mobile phone. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and the terminal device 106 may be a personal portable information terminal such as PHS (Personal Handyphone System) and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and may be a desktop type or a notebook type. PC (Personal Computer).

Further, in the embodiment described above, those gas sensing device 160 is measured, NO, CO, and were concentrations of _H 2 _{O 2.} However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and the chemical substance concentration measured by the gas sensing device 160 may be anything as long as the concentration is measured from exhaled breath. For example, in addition to the chemical substances described in this embodiment, ethane, pentane, hydrogen, ammonia, acetone, methyl mercaptan, and the like may be used.

  Further, in the present embodiment, COPD is the only disease for which it is determined whether or not the terminal device 106 is affected. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and any disease can be used as long as it can be determined based on the concentration of a plurality of chemical substances measured from a user's breath. Such a disease may be used.

Generally, it is said that the lower the concentration of NO, CO, H ₂ O _{2 and the} like detected from exhaled breath, the healthier the subject. Therefore, in the present invention, a threshold value for determining whether each of the concentrations of NO, CO, H ₂ O _{2 and the} like detected from exhalation is smaller than a predetermined threshold value for each chemical substance. Using the processing, the terminal device 106 may determine how much the disease is affected at a plurality of levels.

  For example, when the concentrations of all chemical substances detectable from exhalation are well below a threshold value, the terminal device 106 presents to the user “You are healthy”. Further, when the concentrations of all chemical substances detectable from exhalation are slightly below the threshold value, the terminal device 106 presents to the user “You are generally healthy” or the like. Furthermore, if the concentration of some chemical substances is close to the threshold value but is below the threshold value for all the chemical substances, the terminal device 106 informs the user that “the patient is suffering from a disease. I can't say that, but I need to be careful. " Furthermore, when the concentrations of all chemical substances detectable from exhalation are close to the threshold value, the terminal device 106 tells the user "Some measures are necessary because the physical condition does not deteriorate." To present. Furthermore, when the concentration of a large number of chemical substances detectable from exhalation exceeds a threshold value, the terminal device 106 tells the user that “the patient is comprehensively determined to be ill. Necessary to consult a doctor. ”And so on.

  In the present invention, the terminal device 106 may transmit determination results based on a plurality of levels to the server device 102, and the server device 102 may present the determination results to the user of the server device 102.

  By presenting it in such a manner that it is divided into a plurality of levels, the user of the terminal device 106 can immediately determine how he / she should act next. As a result, the user of the terminal device 106 can act so as to prevent the disease. In addition, the user of the server device 106 can make a more detailed diagnosis by referring to the determination results based on a plurality of levels.

  However, there are individual differences in the concentration of a chemical substance detected from exhaled breath, and in a certain chemical substance, the concentration detected from the breath of another healthy person rather than the concentration detected from the breath of a person suffering from a disease. It is also assumed that is higher. Therefore, it is difficult for a certain chemical substance to determine one threshold value for a large number of unspecified users and to let the device determine how much the disease is affected by whether or not the threshold value is smaller than the threshold value. It is.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the terminal device 106 may always cause the storage device 342 to accumulate concentrations of a plurality of chemical substances when a user is healthy. When the terminal device 106 newly takes in the breath of the user, the concentration data of the user stored in the storage device 342 is compared with the concentration data that is shared to a certain extent among many users. Then, how many diseases are affected may be determined at a plurality of levels.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the server device 102 displays the history of the concentration of each chemical substance measured from the breath of the user of the terminal device 106 and the determination result indicating whether or not the patient suffers from COPD. And presented to the user of the server apparatus 102. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and any method of presentation may be used. For example, in addition to the method of displaying on the display device 136, a printing device may be installed in the server device 102, and a density history or the like may be printed by the printing device and presented to the user of the server device 102. Further, a sound output device such as a speaker may be installed in the server device 102, and a concentration history or the like may be automatically output from the sound output device.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the terminal device 106 determines whether or not the user of the terminal device 106 suffers from COPD. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and whether or not the user of the terminal device 106 suffers from COPD may be determined by the server device 102.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the gas sensing device 160 is composed of a plurality of gas sensor elements including carbon nanostructures whose surface is modified with a substance that selectively adsorbs a specific chemical substance. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and any gas sensing device may be used as long as the concentrations of a plurality of specific chemical substances can be detected simultaneously.

  The embodiment disclosed herein is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The scope of the present invention is indicated by each claim of the claims after taking into account the description of the detailed description of the invention, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the wording described therein are included. Including.

It is a figure which shows the network structure of the disease diagnosis system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the server apparatus 102 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the terminal device 106 shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing in the horizontal cut surface of the gas sensing apparatus 160 shown in FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a gas sensor element 270. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the surface modification of the gas sensor element 270 shown in FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a measurement circuit 300 for measuring the amount of change in electrical resistance of a gas sensor element 270. FIG. It is a block diagram of the terminal device shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the expiration information DB138 shown in FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a packet 380 transmitted from the terminal device 106 to the server device 102. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a top menu screen 390 displayed on a display device 136. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the log | history display screen 391 displayed on the display apparatus 136. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control structure of the computer program which implement | achieves the function of the control part. It is a flowchart which shows the control structure of the computer program which implement | achieves the function of the control part 340. It is a figure which shows the detailed flow of step 440 shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Disease diagnosis system 102 Server apparatus 104 Internet 106 Terminal apparatus 130,340 Control part 132,342 Storage apparatus 134 Communication apparatus 136,346 Display apparatus 138,354 Breath information DB
160 Gas sensing device 344 First communication device 348 Operation device 352 Timing device 356 Second communication device 358 Voice input / output device

Claims (5)

A disease diagnosis system in which a terminal device and a server device are connected via a network,
The terminal device
A first communication device that communicates with the server device via the network;
A sensing device that detects the concentration of a plurality of specific chemical substances from the breath of a user of the terminal device, and outputs a plurality of concentration signals;
Transmitting means for transmitting diagnostic data obtained based on a plurality of concentration signals output by the sensing device to the server device via the first communication device;
The server device
A second communication device that communicates with the terminal device via the network;
Receiving means for receiving the diagnostic data from the terminal device via the second communication device;
In response to an instruction from a user of the server device, the server device receives disease evaluation information for evaluating whether or not the patient has a disease, which is generated from the diagnostic data received by the receiving unit. Presenting means for presenting to users of
The plurality of specific chemical substances include NO, CO, and H ₂ O ₂ ,
The sensing device includes a carbon nanostructure whose surface is modified with a complex having Co as a central metal for selectively adsorbing NO. The server device further includes:
Diagnostic result input means for causing a user of the server device to input a diagnostic result related to the disease evaluation information presented by the presenting means;
Diagnostic result transmission means for transmitting the diagnostic result input by the diagnostic result input means to the terminal device via the second communication device;
The terminal device further includes
A diagnostic result receiving means for receiving a diagnostic result transmitted by the diagnostic result transmitting means from the server device via the first communication device;
The disease diagnosis system according to claim 1, further comprising means for presenting a diagnosis result received by the diagnosis result receiving means to a user of the terminal device. A terminal device connected to a server device via a network,
The terminal device
A communication device that communicates with the server device via the network;
A sensing device that detects the concentration of a plurality of specific chemical substances from a user's breath and outputs a plurality of concentration signals;
Transmitting means for transmitting diagnostic data obtained based on a plurality of concentration signals output by the sensing device to the server device via the communication device;
The plurality of specific chemical substances include NO, CO, and H ₂ O ₂ ,
The sensing device includes a carbon nanostructure surface-modified with a complex having Co as a central metal for selectively adsorbing NO. The terminal device further includes
A diagnostic result related to the disease evaluation information for evaluating whether or not the patient has a disease, which is generated from the diagnostic data transmitted by the transmission means, is received from the server device via the communication device. Diagnostic result receiving means;
The terminal device according to claim 3, further comprising means for presenting a diagnosis result received by the diagnosis result receiving means to a user of the terminal device. The terminal device further includes
A determination means for determining whether or not the patient suffers from a disease from a plurality of concentration signals output by the sensing device;
In response to an instruction from the user, including a plurality of density signals output by the sensing device, and a presentation unit for presenting the determination result by the determination unit to the user,
The transmission unit includes a unit for transmitting diagnostic data including a plurality of concentration signals output by the sensing device and a determination result by the determination unit to the server device via the communication device. The terminal device according to claim 3 or claim 4.

Images