JP7179399B1 - Eye drop aid - Google Patents

Abstract

The eye drop aid 100 includes an air fan 101, an air chamber 102 that serves as an air chamber for the air flow discharged from the air fan 101, a cylindrical air duct 104 communicating with the air chamber 102, and an eye drop container 106 that are replaceable. and an eyedropper fixing attachment 105 that fixes the nozzle of the eyedropper container 106 downward to the upper wall of the air duct 106 that is mounted in a horizontal state, and a predetermined position on the side surface of the eyedropper container 106 attached to the eyedropper fixing attachment 105. and a trigger arm 107 for controlling the operation of the eye drop container pressing mechanism 108 . With this configuration, the patient does not need to look upward when instilling the medicinal solution in the eyedrop container 106, and can instill an appropriate amount of the medicinal solution in a comfortable sideways posture. [Selection drawing] Fig. 2

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an eye drop aid for instilling a drug solution in an eye drop container onto the cornea of a patient's eye.

For many eye diseases, the first choice for treatment is instillation of a drug solution onto the corneal surface, and regular and continuous instillation of a prescribed amount leads to effective treatment.

Ordinary eye instillation is performed by dropping a drop of medicinal solution onto the cornea from an eye drop container containing the medicinal solution while the patient is in an upward posture.

However, even a healthy adult may fail to ensure that only one drop of the drug solution is dropped onto the correct position on the cornea. In addition, the number of eye drops is not limited to one, and it is not uncommon for three or four drugs to be applied to the eye.

In addition, despite the fact that eye drops are a complicated task for patients, they must continue to use eye drops at a fixed time every day for a long period of time. There are many cases in which the willingness to actively participate in treatment (adherence) cannot be maintained.

In order to solve such a problem, an eye-dropping assisting device has been disclosed which solves the problem of the stability of the dropping position and the dropping amount in the eye-dropping operation, and which allows easier and more reliable eye-dropping.

For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose eye drop aids that allow an eye drop container to be stably placed at a predetermined position in front of a patient's eye, and that allow eye drops to be applied from obliquely above the patient's eye. ing.

The eye-dropping aids described in Patent Documents 3 and 4 discharge a drug solution horizontally by a manual pump or a piezoelectric micropump, so that eye drops can be applied while the patient's line of sight is horizontal. A constant maintained configuration is disclosed.

The droplet generating device described in Patent Document 5 discloses a configuration in which a medicinal solution is made into a mist of fine particles and ejected horizontally, so that a fixed amount of medicinal solution can be instilled in the patient's eye in a horizontal line of sight.

Patent Literature 6 discloses a monitoring system that uses a wireless communication function such as WiFi to send eyedrop data obtained from a sensor of an eyedrop aid to an external smartphone, etc., and allows a doctor or patient to check the eyedrop history etc. via the Internet. It is

JP 2020-81321 JP 2019-118760 JP 2016-202584 JP 2018-196534 JP 2016-154868 WO2019-176902

However, the above conventional technology still has many problems. For example, in the configurations disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2, the eye drops fall from above the eyes, so the patient must look obliquely upward, which does not relieve the burden on the neck. Furthermore, there is a problem that the amount of instillation is determined by the operation of the patient and is not stable.

In the configurations disclosed in Patent Documents 3 and 4, in the case of Patent Document 3, the chemical solution is once held at a predetermined position in the auxiliary tool and then discharged, and in the case of Patent Document 4, the liquid medicine is discharged to the discharge pump. A tube is inserted into the eye drop container to introduce the drug solution, and the drug solution is sent to the micropump and discharged by the micropump. Therefore, in any configuration, there is a possibility that the medicinal solution will come into contact with the parts inside the auxiliary device and become contaminated, and if multiple eye drops are used, replacing and setting the eye drop containers will be a time-consuming task. There is

In the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 5, the drug solution must be stored in a tank housing within the eyedropper, and a normal eyedropper container cannot be used as it is. In addition, since the chemical liquid comes into contact with the tank housing and the piezoelectric ejector, the chemical liquid may be contaminated. Furthermore, when using multiple eyedrops, this droplet generation device is required for each, which poses a problem in terms of cost.

In the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 6, a monitoring system is disclosed in which a doctor or a patient confirms the history of instillation and calls attention to forgetting to instill instillation. In addition, no support means for the patient is disclosed, and there is a problem of how to support the patient and improve adherence.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is an eyedropping aid that allows a patient to instill an appropriate amount of liquid medicine in a comfortable sideways posture without the need to turn the line of sight upward when instilling the liquid medicine in the eyedropper container. intended to provide

In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an eye drop aid for administering a drug solution in an eye drop container to a patient's eye, comprising an air fan and an air chamber for the air flow discharged from the air fan. A chamber, a cylindrical air duct communicating with the air chamber, and the eye drop container are exchangeably mounted, and the eye drop container is fixed to the upper wall of the horizontal air duct with the nozzle of the eye drop container facing downward. a container fixing attachment; an eyedrops container pressing mechanism that presses a predetermined position on the side surface of the eyedrops container attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment; and a trigger arm that controls the operation of the eyedrops container pressing mechanism. One end of the opening of the shaped air duct serves as an inlet through which the air flow discharged from the air fan flows through the air chamber, while the other end of the opening serves as an eyepiece with which the eyelid circumference of the patient abuts. wherein the upper wall of the air duct is formed with a liquid medicine introduction hole for introducing into the air duct droplet droplets of medicine dripped from the nozzle of the eyedrops container attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment. do.

This eye drop aid further comprises an operating means for operating the air duct in a horizontal state or an inclined state in which the eyepiece is higher than the inflow port when the patient administers the medicine in the eye drop container. is preferred.

With these configurations, droplets of the liquid medicine moved in the horizontal direction by the air flow can move in the horizontal direction due to inertia and reach the cornea through the eyepiece. In addition, the air duct is arranged horizontally or so that the eyepiece side of the other end of the air duct is slightly higher than the inlet side of the air duct end. The angle can be determined by considering the proper placement of the air fan, air duct, and eyepiece.

In this eyedropping aid, it is preferable that at least one or more air outlets are formed in the side wall of the air duct in the vicinity of the eyepiece port.

ここで、Ｕ：エアダクト内の空気流の流速と薬液の滴下粒との相対速度、Ｌ：点眼容器の滴下口からエアダクト接眼口の中心（角膜）までの水平距離、Ｈ：点眼容器の滴下口からエアダクト接眼口の中心（角膜）までの垂直距離（滴下口と接眼口中心の高さの差）、ｍ：薬液滴下粒の質量、ρ：空気の密度、ｄ：薬液滴下粒の直径In this eyedropping aid, when the air duct has an opening height of 10 mm or more and 25mm or less, and a horizontal distance from the medicine droplet outlet of the eyedrop container to the eyepiece is 20mm or more and 50mm or less, Calculate the relative flow velocity of the air flow in the air duct with respect to the droplets of medicine, which is required to horizontally move the droplets of medicine dropped from the droplet outlet of the eyedrop container into the air duct, by the following (Equation 1): and air fan control means for controlling the air fan so that the flow velocity in the air duct is 10 m/sec or more and 40 m/sec or less based on the obtained relative flow velocity.
[Number 1]

Here, U is the relative velocity between the flow velocity of the air flow in the air duct and the droplet of the drug solution, L is the horizontal distance from the drip port of the eyedropper container to the center (cornea) of the eyepiece of the air duct, H is the drip port of the eyedropper container. to the center of the eyepiece of the air duct (cornea) (difference in height between the drip opening and the center of the eyepiece), m: mass of droplet of medicine, ρ: density of air, d: diameter of droplet of medicine

In this eye drop aid, the eye drop container fixing attachment includes a set plate to which the eye drop container can be attached facing downward, and a pressing position adjustment mechanism for adjusting the pressing position of the eye drop container. A support guide that presses and supports the side surface of the eye drop container is arranged in the lower end of the set plate, and the lower end of the set plate is detachably fitted into a set guide groove formed in the outer wall of the air duct, and is positioned under the set plate. It is preferable that the side region is provided with an open space that allows the cap of the eyedrops container to be opened and closed when the eyedrops container is attached.

With this configuration, the eye drop container fixing attachment is arranged on the upper surface of the air duct on the flow path between the inflow port and the exhaust port of the air duct. The eye drop container is attached to the eye drop container fixing attachment so that the eye drop container is fixed so that the eye drop opening is near the inner upper surface of the air duct, and the air duct is provided with a set plate provided at the bottom of the eye drop container fixing attachment. It is possible to have an attachment/detachment mechanism that can be easily fixed such as by inserting it into a fixed guide.

In this eyedropping aid, the eyedropper container pressing mechanism is connected to a trigger arm rotation shaft that serves as a rotation shaft of the trigger arm, and is connected to the trigger arm, and is pushed through the trigger arm rotation shaft when the trigger arm is pulled. and a push rod acting in the direction of pushing the eyedropper from the side.

In this eyedropper assisting device, the eyedropper pressing mechanism includes electric drive means that is electrically driven in conjunction with the trigger arm, and when the trigger arm is pulled, the eyedropper is pushed from the side using the electric drive means. and a push rod acting in the direction of pushing against the container.

With these configurations, the pressing mechanism that presses a part of the eye drop container is arranged so as to face the side surface of the eye drop container fixing attachment, and directly presses the side surface of the eye drop container fixed at a predetermined position of the eye drop container fixing attachment. However, in order to adjust the pressing position appropriately, it is pressed through a pressing position adjusting mechanism provided in the attachment for fixing the eyedropper container. A pressing rod or pressing cam is provided to press the side surface of the eye drop container or the pressing position adjusting mechanism of the eye drop container fixing attachment. The push rod is integrated with the trigger arm or driven by a link mechanism or the like. The pressing cam can be driven by converting the motion of the trigger arm into rotary motion of the cam by a gear or link interlocking with the trigger arm, or the pressing rod or the pressing cam can be driven by an electromagnetic actuator or motor.

In this eyedropping aid, the eyedropping aid further comprises an air flow inflow control valve disposed near the inflow port of the air duct, and the eyedropping container pressing mechanism interlocking with the trigger arm, and the maximum pressure within the pressing range. a valve drive mechanism that opens the inflow control valve when a near position is reached, and closes the inflow control valve when the trigger arm is released.

As in this configuration, an inflow control valve may be arranged between the air chamber and the chemical introduction hole of the air duct to control the inflow of the air flow. When the inflow control valve is closed, the inflow of unnecessary air is stopped, and the air pressure in the air chamber can be increased. When the inflow control valve is opened, the air pressure inside the plenum air chamber is high, so the air flow temporarily flows in at a high flow rate, but after a predetermined time, it reaches a steady flow rate, and this temporary high flow rate It is possible to increase the initial horizontal acceleration of the chemical solution, and even if the air fan has a small air volume, if the maximum static pressure is high, the flow velocity in the air duct rises in a short time immediately after opening the inflow control valve, and the chemical solution flows. It has the effect of accelerating the droplets and ensuring that the liquid medicine reaches the cornea of the patient's eye.

Also, with this arrangement, the inflow control valve is opened and closed in coordination with the movement of the trigger arm. When the trigger arm is pulled, the inflow control valve is opened in synchronism with the timing at which the medicinal solution is discharged from the eyedropper container as a droplet by the pressing mechanism and the drug drop mechanism which press the eyedropper container in conjunction with the movement of the trigger arm, The instantaneously high-speed airflow accelerates the liquid medicine in the horizontal direction while falling. When the horizontal acceleration is sufficiently faster than the drop acceleration, the liquid medicine moves substantially horizontally in the air duct, passes through the eyepiece of the air duct, and reaches the cornea of the patient's eye. When the trigger arm is returned to its original position, the inflow control valve is closed, the inflow of air is stopped, and unnecessary inflow of air is eliminated, which is preferable.

In this eyedropping aid, it is preferable that the eyedropping aid further comprises communication means capable of transmitting data to an external terminal via a wired/wireless network.

In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an eyedropping aid for administering a drug solution in an eyedropping container to a patient's eye, comprising an air fan, and air discharged from the air fan in communication with the air fan. a tubular air duct through which a flow flows; an eye drop container fixing attachment to which the eye drop container is replaceably attached and fixed to the upper wall of the horizontal air duct with the nozzle of the eye drop container facing downward; An eye drop container pressing mechanism for pressing a predetermined position on the side surface of the eye drop container attached to the container fixing attachment, and a trigger arm for controlling the operation of the eye drop container pressing mechanism, one end of the opening of the cylindrical air duct The other end of the opening serves as an eyepiece with which the periphery of the patient's eyelids abuts. A liquid medicine introduction hole is formed for introducing into the air duct liquid droplet droplets dropped from the nozzle of the eye drop container attached to the attachment.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is an eyedropper, characterized by comprising the above eyedropping aid and an eyedropper container.

An eyedropping aid according to the present invention includes an air fan, an air chamber serving as an air chamber for an air flow discharged from the air fan, a cylindrical air duct communicating with the air chamber, and an eyedropping container, which are exchangeably attached. and an eyedropper fixing attachment for fixing the nozzle of the eyedropper to the upper wall of the air duct in a horizontal state with the nozzle facing downward, and an eyedropper pressing mechanism for pressing a predetermined position on the side surface of the eyedropper attached to the eyedropper fixing attachment. , and a trigger arm that controls the operation of the eye drop container pressing mechanism. The upper side wall of the air duct is formed with a liquid medicine introduction hole for introducing into the air duct the droplets of medicine dropped from the nozzle of the eyedrops container attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment. With this configuration, the patient using the eyedropping aid according to the present invention does not need to look upward when instilling the liquid medicine in the eyedropper container, and can instill an appropriate amount of the liquid medicine in a comfortable sideways posture. can.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a usage state of an eyedropper provided with an eyedropping aid according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; It is sectional drawing of an eyedropper same as the above. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a fan air volume-static pressure characteristic graph; It is a figure which shows an example of an eyedrops container. (a) A sectional view taken along the line BB' of the eyedropping container fixing attachment provided in the eyedropping aid; (b) a sectional view taken along the line AA' of the eyedropping container fixing attachment; (a) A side view of the eyedropping aid with the eyedropping container fixing attachment removed, (b) A perspective view of the eyedropping aid with the eyedropping container fixing attachment removed. (a) An external view showing an example of a pressing mechanism for manually pressing the same eyedropper container, (b) A cross-sectional view showing an example of a pressing mechanism for manually pressing the same eyedropper container. It is a figure which shows an example of the press mechanism which electrically presses an eyedrops container same as the above. Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation of an air fan provided in the same eyedropping aid. (a) to (c) are diagrams showing an example of an inflow control valve for manually controlling the inflow of air into an air duct provided in the same eyedropping aid. (a) and (b) are diagrams showing an example of an inflow control valve that electrically controls the inflow of air into an air duct provided in the same eyedropping aid. (a) to (c) are diagrams showing an example of right and left eye detection means provided in the same eye drop aid. Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram of the same eye drop aid. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an eyedropper according to a modification of Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an external communication means and a network system connected to an eyedrop aid according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the patient support system by an external device. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a patient support system via a network system; FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of patient support software; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of an eye-drops instruction|indication screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of an encouragement message. It is a figure which shows an example of the graph showing the relationship between an inspection result, a score, and various events.

(Embodiment 1)
An eye drop aid according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13. FIG. In Embodiment 1, the eye drop aid drops droplets of an eye drop medicinal solution to be instilled into a patient for treatment of an eye disease or the like into an air current flowing horizontally or diagonally upward within 20 degrees with respect to the horizontal. Then, the droplets of the ophthalmic solution are moved substantially horizontally by the drag force of the air flow and delivered to the patient's eye.

Here, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described according to the following order.
(1) Basic configuration of drug solution delivery means for horizontally delivering eye drops dropped from eye drop containers to patient's eyes (2) Configuration of eye drop container fixing attachment (3) Configuration of eye drop container pressing mechanism (4) Air (5) Configuration and operation of a valve that controls the inflow of air into the air duct (6) Automatic detection of the patient's left and right eyes (7) Configuration of the electric system of the eyedropper aid (Functional block diagram of eye drop aid)

(1) Basic configuration of a drug solution delivery means for horizontally delivering an eye drop drug solution dropped from an eye drop container to a patient's eye The basic configuration of the means will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. In Embodiment 1, the state in which the eyedropper 106 is attached to the eyedropper 100 is referred to as the eyedropper 1, and the state in which the eyedropper 106 is removed from the eyedropper 1 is referred to as the eyedropper 100.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the eye dropper 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention when it is in use. When instilling eye drops, the patient grasps the grip 109 of the eye drop aid 100 with one of the left or right hand and holds the eye drop aid 100. Keep it almost horizontal. Next, the trigger arm 107 is pressed down with a finger to administer the drug solution in the eye drop container to the patient's eye at his/her own timing.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the eyedropper 1 according to the first embodiment, in which an air flow is generated, a drug solution is dropped, and the drug solution is moved by the combined force of the drag force of the air flow and gravity, and is applied to the patient's corneal surface. An example of a basic configuration to be reached is shown.

The air fan 101 shown in FIG. 2 is a fan driven by a motor, and the air flow blown from the air outlet 101a flows into the air chamber 102, and flows from the outlet 102a of the air chamber 102 into the inlet 104a of the air duct 104. The resulting airflow is discharged upward and laterally from an exhaust port 104b arranged in the vicinity of an eyepiece port 104d on the opposite side of the air duct 104 from the inlet port 104a. An inflow control valve 103 is arranged between the air chamber 102 and the air duct 104 to open and close the air flow. Furthermore, a liquid medicine introduction hole 104c is formed in the upper surface of the air duct 104 between the inlet 104a and the air outlet 104b of the air duct 104 to introduce into the air duct 104 droplet droplets dropped from the eyedrop container 106. An eyedrops container fixing attachment 105 is connected to the drug solution introduction hole 104c, and the eyedrops container 106 is fixed to the eyedrops container fixing attachment 105 so that the drug drop outlet 106a of the eyedrops container 106 faces downward. It is arranged so as to be near the chemical introduction hole 104 c of the air duct 104 . A droplet passing sensor may be arranged above the eyedropper 104d, and can detect whether or not the medicine droplets horizontally moving in the air duct 104 normally pass through the eyedropper 104d. The patient may fixate the patient's eye by looking at the fixation target LED 116 through the eyepiece 110 and the air duct 104 and through the half mirror 117 . If the camera 111 uses infrared light for photography, the half mirror 117 may be a cold mirror. It should be noted that the air fan 101 is not limited to the means for rotating the fan by a motor, and other air blowing means may be used.

The air chamber 102 has a sufficient volume to function as a plenum air chamber. It is preferable to consider the capacity of the air fan 101 and adjust the volume within the range of 5×10 ⁻⁵ m ³ to 40×10 ⁻⁵ m ³ as a problem-free volume.

The blowing performance of the air fan 101 is generally indicated by the maximum air volume and the maximum static pressure. The maximum static pressure is the air pressure when the As shown in FIG. 3, the characteristics of the air fan 101 are plotted on a graph in which the horizontal axis is the air volume and the vertical axis is the static pressure. It is shown as an air volume-static pressure characteristic (PQ characteristic) by a connecting curve.

Here, calculation of the flow velocity of the airflow in the air duct 104 will be described. The drug liquid dropped by the drug dropping mechanism is accelerated downward by gravity, and is also accelerated in the horizontal direction by the airflow in the air duct 104 . Since the gravitational acceleration is constant at 9.8 m/sec ² , the horizontal acceleration must be sufficiently higher than the gravitational acceleration in order for the liquid medicine to fly horizontally. It is necessary to act so that the drag force generated by the force horizontally accelerates the droplets of the chemical solution at an acceleration sufficiently higher than the gravitational acceleration. The flow velocity of the air flow for generating the drag required for acceleration by such an air flow can be calculated from the diameter of the droplet of the chemical solution and the relative speed of the air flow velocity to the droplet. It is preferable to calculate the air flow velocity by calculating CD and calculating from the coefficient of resistance CD and the force F required for acceleration.

The treatment of the drag force exerted by the particles in the fluid is usually divided into three areas. When the relative velocity between the fluid and particles is very small and the particle diameter is small, that is, when the Reynolds number is 2 or less, the Stokes region is treated. is treated as the Newton region, and the Reynolds number between 2 and 500 between the two regions is called the Allen region.

［数３］アレン域

［数４］ニュートン域

ここで、ＣＤ：抵抗係数、Ｒｅｐ：レイノルズ数The resistance coefficient CD of the drag force that the particles in the three regions receive from the fluid is expressed by the following [Equation 2] to [Equation 4].
[Formula 2] Stokes region

[Formula 3] Allene region

[Formula 4] Newton region

Here, CD: resistance coefficient, Rep: Reynolds number

ここで、Ｆ：粒子が受ける抗力、ＣＤ：抵抗係数、ρ：空気の密度１．２、Ｕ：流体と滴下粒の相対速度、Ｄｐ：滴下粒の直径
［数６］

ここで、Ｒｅｐ：レイノルズ数、Ｕ：流体と滴下粒の相対速度、Ｄｐ：滴下粒の直径、ρ：空気の密度１．２、μ：空気の粘性０．００００１８The drag force F and the Reynolds number Rep that the droplets of the chemical liquid moving in the air duct 104 are subjected to by the air flow are expressed by [Equation 5] and [Equation 6] below.
[Number 5]

Here, F: drag force applied to particles, CD: coefficient of resistance, ρ: density of air 1.2, U: relative velocity between fluid and droplet, Dp: diameter of droplet [Equation 6]

Here, Rep: Reynolds number, U: Relative velocity between fluid and droplet, Dp: Diameter of droplet, ρ: Density of air 1.2, μ: Viscosity of air 0.000018

In order to calculate the drag that sufficiently accelerates the droplet of the chemical solution horizontally, it is necessary to obtain the diameter and mass of the droplet assuming that the droplet is a sphere. The eye drop container 106 is commercially available in various shapes from eye drop manufacturers, but the average amount of one drop of liquid medicine dripped from the eye drop container 106 is generally about 0.04 ml. Calculating back from the formula for the volume of a sphere, the diameter of a droplet dropped from the eye drop container 106 is 4.24 mm. Assuming that the relative velocity between the air flow and the droplets is 2 m/sec, the Reynolds number is 565.3 from [Equation 6]. Become. In this case, since CD is a constant value of 0.44, the drag force F is F=1.49×10 ⁻⁵ N according to [Equation 5].

In order to make the droplets of the chemical liquid fly horizontally, it is necessary to accelerate the droplets with an acceleration higher than the gravitational acceleration of 9.8 m/sec ^2. Assuming that the density of the chemical liquid is 1000, which is almost the same as that of water, the mass of the droplets is greater than the volume of the droplets. is 4×10 ⁻⁵ kg, the drag force F is 3.92×10 ⁻⁴ N even if the acceleration is 9.8 m/sec, which is the same as the gravitational acceleration, and the relative velocity between the air flow and the droplets is 2 m/sec. A drag force larger than the 1.49×10 ⁻⁵ N obtained in . Therefore, the air flow requires a higher relative velocity, and the Reynolds number becomes higher, so the drag coefficient CD can be considered in the Newton range. Hereafter, the coefficient of resistance CD received by the droplet is treated as CD=0.44, which is the Newton region of [Equation 4].

ここで、ｘ：移動距離、ｖ０：初速、ａ：加速度、ｔ：時間For example, if the opening height of the air duct 104 is 14 mm, the horizontal distance from the liquid drop outlet 106a of the eyedrop container 106 to the eyepiece port 104d of the air duct 104 is 30 mm, and the angle of the air duct 104 is horizontal, the liquid medicine Dropped grains reach the corneal apex by horizontally moving 30 mm while falling 7 mm, which is half of the vertical dimension of 14 mm. When the medicinal solution is dripped from the eyedropper container 106, the initial velocity of the droplet is naturally 0 m/sec in ^both the falling direction and the horizontal direction. (a: acceleration, t: time). Since the horizontal movement distance is ^30/7 times the vertical movement distance, the acceleration in the horizontal direction is also 30/7 times. /sec ² is required.
[Formula 7] Uniform acceleration motion formula

Here, x: movement distance, v0: initial velocity, a: acceleration, t: time

ここで、Ｕ：エアダクト内の空気流の流速と薬液の滴下粒との相対速度、Ｌ：点眼容器の滴下口からエアダクト接眼口の中心（角膜）までの水平距離、Ｈ：点眼容器の滴下口からエアダクト接眼口の中心（角膜）までの垂直距離（滴下口と接眼口中心の高さの差）、ｍ：薬液滴下粒の質量、ρ：空気の密度、ｄ：薬液滴下粒の直径The effect of the air flow required to obtain a horizontal acceleration of 42 m/sec ² for the droplets of the chemical solution is 1.68 × 10 ^-3 N when the mass of the droplets is 4 × 10 ^-5 kg. 5] and calculating back the relative flow velocity U of the air flow is 21.2 m/sec. Since U in [Equation 5] is the relative velocity, the actual flow velocity in the air duct must be increased by the speed of the droplets of the chemical solution. Substituting 42 m/sec ² and calculating the time t gives about 0.0378 sec, and the horizontal moving speed vh of the droplet of the liquid chemical at that time is 1.59 m/sec. Therefore, it is preferable that the air velocity in the air duct 104 is adjusted in the range of 21.2 m/sec to 22.79 m/sec. Summarizing the equations above, the flow velocity of the air flow in the air duct 104 and the horizontal relative velocity U of the droplets of the chemical liquid can be obtained from the following [Equation 8].
[Number 8]

Here, U is the relative velocity between the flow velocity of the air flow in the air duct and the droplet of the drug solution, L is the horizontal distance from the drip port of the eyedropper container to the center (cornea) of the eyepiece of the air duct, H is the drip port of the eyedropper container. to the center of the eyepiece of the air duct (cornea) (difference in height between the drip opening and the center of the eyepiece), m: mass of droplet of medicine, ρ: density of air, d: diameter of droplet of medicine

The flow velocity required for the airflow in the air duct 104 to move the droplets of the liquid medicine to the cornea through the eyepiece opening 104d of the air duct 104 depends on the vertical dimension of the air duct 104 and the flow rate from the liquid medicine droplet opening 106a of the eye drop container 106 to the eyepiece opening 104d of the air duct 104. It changes depending on the distance to. The larger the vertical dimension, the smaller the acceleration, and the larger the distance to the eyepiece 104d, the larger the acceleration. The opening height of the air duct 104 as a component of the eyedropper aid 100 is about 10 mm to 25mm, and the horizontal distance from the medicine droplet outlet of the eyedropper container 106 to the eyepiece port 104d is about 20mm to 50mm. The size is applicable to the shape of the patient's face, etc. If the distance from the medicine drop outlet 106a of the eyedropper container 106 to the eyepiece 104d is 50 mm or more, the required flow velocity required for the air flow will be significantly increased, which is not preferable. From this size configuration range, the flow velocity of the air flow required to fly the droplets of the chemical solution to a predetermined position may be adjusted within the range of 12.97 m/sec to 32.42 m/sec. is also affected by the internal shape and angle of the air duct 104, the air temperature, the air pressure, etc., so it can be adjusted in the range of 10 m/sec to 40 m/sec.

ここで、Ｐ：圧力損失、Ｃ：圧力損失係数、Ｑ：風量Next, the air volume performance required for the air fan 101 will be described. The air flow blown by the air fan 101 flows into the air chamber 102. When the inflow control valve 103 is closed, the air flow stops and the air pressure in the air chamber 102 rises. , the air pressure in the air chamber 102 is increased to near the maximum static pressure of the air fan 101 . When the inflow control valve 103 is opened in accordance with the operation of the trigger arm 107, the air in the air chamber 102 flows into the air duct 104 at once, and the flow speed of the air flow rises to the maximum flow speed in a short time. and the pressure loss Q of the air flow inside the air chamber 102 and the air duct 104 converges to a steady air volume. The pressure loss P is expressed by the following [Equation 9] using the pressure loss coefficient C and the air volume Q.
[Number 9]

where P: pressure loss, C: pressure loss coefficient, Q: air volume

ここで、Ｒｅｐ：レイノルズ数、Ｕｍ：平均流速、ｄ：管の内径（エアダクトの内径）、ν：動粘性係数When the air duct 104 is cylindrical, the opening height is 14 mm, the inner diameter is 14 mm, and the air flow pressure loss of the air duct 104 is calculated assuming that the distance from the inlet 104a to the outlet 104b is 50 mm. The air flow velocity in the air duct 104 for delivering droplets of the liquid medicine to the cornea ranges from 21.2 m/sec to 22.79 m/sec assuming that the horizontal distance from the liquid droplet outlet 106a of the eyedrop container 106 to the cornea is 30 mm. It is mentioned above that the range is adjusted. Since the air chamber 102 has a large space, the pressure loss is ignored. Assuming that the average air velocity Um in the air duct 104 is 22 m/sec and the dynamic viscosity coefficient ν of the air is 1.582×10 ⁻⁵ (1 atm, 25 degrees C), the Reynolds number Rep of the air duct 104 is given by the following [number 10], Rep=19469. When the Reynolds number Rep is 2310 or more, the flow becomes a turbulent region.
[Number 10]

Here, Rep: Reynolds number, Um: average flow velocity, d: inner diameter of pipe (inner diameter of air duct), ν: kinematic viscosity coefficient

ここで、ΔＰ：圧力損失、μ：管の摩擦係数、ｌ：管の長さ、ｄ：管の径、γ：空気の密度、Ｕｍ：平均流速、ｇ：重力加速度Assuming that the friction coefficient μ of the air duct 104 is 0.025, the air density γ is 1.2 kg/m ³ , and the gravitational acceleration g is 9.8 m/sec ² , the pressure loss of the air duct 104 is approximately 103.0 m/s from the following [Equation 11]. 2 Pa (1.032×10 ⁻⁴ MPa).
[Number 11]

Here, ΔP: pressure loss, μ: friction coefficient of pipe, l: length of pipe, d: diameter of pipe, γ: density of air, Um: average flow velocity, g: acceleration of gravity

In order to set the average flow velocity of air in the air duct 104 to 22 m/sec, the amount of air flowing into the air duct 104 must be 0.203 m ³ /min. Since the pressure loss of the air duct 104 is 103.2 Pa, the required performance of the air fan 101 requires an air fan 101 with a wind pressure of 103.2 Pa or more at an air volume of 0.203 m ³ /min.

Assuming that the volume of the air chamber 102 of Embodiment 1 is about 7×10 ⁻⁵ m ³ , the air volume required to increase the air pressure in the air chamber 102 by 103.2 Pa within 0.1 second is 0.085 m. Although it is necessary to be ³ /sec or more, there is no problem because it is much smaller than the air volume of 0.203 m ³ /min for securing the required flow velocity in the air duct 104 .

Considering the appropriate size of the air duct 104 of Embodiment 1, the inner diameter is 10 mm to 25 mm, the movement distance from the medicine droplet outlet 106a of the eyedrop container 106 to the cornea is 20 mm to 50 mm, and the air duct 104 from the inlet 104a to the exhaust port is 20 mm to 50 mm. The distance to 104b is in the range of 40 mm to 70 mm, which is an appropriate size in consideration of the operation of the eye drop aid 100 or ease of holding. From this range, when the inner diameter of the air duct 104 is 25 mm and the horizontal movement distance from the medicine droplet outlet 106a to the cornea is 20 mm, the required average flow velocity in the air duct 104 is the lowest, which is about 12.97 m/sec. Similarly, when the inner diameter is 10 mm and the distance is 50 mm, the average flow velocity is the highest, which is approximately 32.4 m/sec. Furthermore, the required air volume for each case is 0.382 m ^{3 /min for a 20 mm horizontal movement distance to a cornea with an inner diameter of 25 mm, and 0.153 m 3 /} min for a 50 mm horizontal movement distance to a 10 mm inner diameter cornea. If the distance from the inlet 104a of the air duct 104 to the exhaust port 104b is 40 mm to 70 mm, the pressure loss is calculated. Assuming that the inner diameter is 10 mm and the horizontal movement distance of the dripping particles is 50 mm, the pressure is 483 Pa.

As described above, the air blowing capacity required for the air fan 101 must be equal to or greater than the air volume and pressure loss calculated from the average flow velocity in the air duct 104 and the cross-sectional area of the air duct 104 perpendicular to the air flow. The air pressure in the air chamber 102, which is increased to near the maximum static pressure of the air fan 101 by 103, temporarily obtains an air volume higher than the air blowing capacity of the air fan 101, so the air volume of the air fan 101 can be reduced. be. Although the air fan 101 of Embodiment 1 uses a sirocco fan (centrifugal fan), it may be an axial fan depending on the required air blowing capacity.

(2) Configuration of Eyedrops Container Fixed Attachment Next, the configuration of the eyedrops container fixed attachment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. The eyedrops container fixing attachment 105 is detachably attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment 105 and further detachably fixed at a predetermined position above the air duct 104 . By using this eye drop container fixing attachment 105 , the medicine droplet outlet 106 a of the eye drop container 106 is arranged at an appropriate position with respect to the air duct 104 , and the medicine solution can be dropped into the air duct 104 .

A plurality of types of eye drop container fixing attachments 105 may be prepared according to the shape and size of the eye drop container 106, but the drug droplet outlet 106a of the eye drop container 106 is arranged at the same position regardless of the eye drop container 106. The configuration is as follows. In addition, in order to press an appropriate position on the eyedropper container 106, it has a pressing position adjusting mechanism for causing the force acting from the pressing portion 108a of the pressing point adjusting arm 108 to act on the eyedropper container 106 at an appropriate position. there is

FIG. 4 is an example of a general eye drop container 106. As shown in FIG. An eye drop container 106 for general eye drops prescribed in an ophthalmic facility or the like includes a drug solution filling container 401 for filling the eye drop solution, a detachable cap 402, a screw portion 403 for screwing the cap, and an eye drop for dropping the eye drop solution. A nozzle 404 is provided. A drip port 405 is provided at the tip of the eyedropper nozzle 404 , and the drug solution filling container 401 is cylindrical or shaped with dimples on the side of the cylinder. ing. Each size varies depending on the manufacturer and the type of liquid medicine. has a diameter of 4 mm to 6 mm and a height of 9 mm to 11 mm.

FIG. 5 is an example of a configuration diagram of the eye drop container fixing attachment 105. As shown in FIG. The eye drop container fixing attachment 105 includes a side support guide 302 and a rear support guide 303 for supporting the side and rear surfaces of the eye drop container 106 inside the eye drop container insertion drum 301 (set plate 305). Left and right support guide pressing plate springs 302b and 302d press inward to fix the eyedrop container 306 from the side. The spring constants and deflection regions of the support guide pressing plate springs 302b and 302d are determined so that the side support guides 302a and 302c can be pressed from 18 mm to 24 mm according to the diameter of the drug solution filling container of the eye drop container 306. The rear surface support guide is adjusted to match the diameter of the eye drop container 306 filled with liquid medicine by the rear surface position adjustment plunger 303a. The eye drop container fixing attachment 105 fixes the eye drop container 306 by means of the side surface support guide 302 and the rear surface support guide 303, and is integrated. A lower opening 301a is opened in the lower part of the eyedropper insertion barrel 301, and the threaded portion 306a of the eyedropper 306 and the eyedropper nozzle 306b are inserted therein. The diameter of the lower opening 301 a is larger than the diameter of the cap of the eyedropper container 306 , and the cap can be attached to the eyedropper container 306 even when the eyedropper container 306 is attached to the eyedropper container fixing attachment 105 .

2, the eye drop container 106 is pressed by the pressing portion 108a of the pressing point adjusting arm 108 from the side of the air fan 101 of the eye drop container fixing attachment 105 to drop the drug solution. , the position of the pressing portion 108a must be set appropriately according to the eye drop container 106. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pressing rod pressing action point 107b of the pressing rod 107a integrated with the trigger arm 107 is fixed, and the pressing position adjusting mechanism 304 of the eyedropping container fixing attachment 105 is used to adjust the size of the eyedropping container 106 appropriately. position can be pressed. The pressing position adjusting mechanism includes first pressing means (309, 310, 311) capable of adjusting the vertical position of the pressing position of the eyedropper container 106 and the width of pressing the eyedropper container 106, and the first pressing means (309, 310, 311). and a second pressing means (303a) which is located opposite to and is capable of adjusting the pressing width of the eyedrop container 106. In the example of FIG. 5, a pressing plunger 309 is inserted into a slit 311 and fixed by a double nut 310 to a pressing point adjusting arm 108 that rotates about an adjusting arm rotating shaft 308 arranged above the eye drop container fixing attachment 105 . The rear nut 310b is stopped so as not to rotate, and the pressing plunger 309 is screwed into the rear nut 310b until the pressing amount is appropriate. The height position of the pressing plunger 309 is moved along the slit 311 so that the height position of the eye drop container 306 is appropriate, and the front nut 310a is tightened and fixed. When the pressing point 107b of the pressing rod 107a contacts and presses a predetermined position of the pressing point adjusting arm 108, the pressing plunger 309 connected to the pressing point adjusting arm 107 presses the eyedrop container 306 at a predetermined position. As a result, even if the shape and size of the eyedropper container 306 are different, the pressing position can be set at an appropriate position, and a constant amount of the drug solution can be reliably dripped from the eyedropper container 306 .

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the eye drop container fixing attachment 105 is removed. The eyedropper fixed attachment 105 is provided with a set plate 305 for easily exchanging the eyedropper fixed attachment 105 for a patient to be instilled with a plurality of medicines. As shown in FIG. 6( a ), simply inserting a set plate 305 for connecting the eye drop container fixing attachment 300 to the air duct 104 of the eye drop aid 100 into the set guide 312 for attachment set provided on the side of the air duct 104 allows eye drops to be applied. A container fixing attachment 105 is simply fixed to the upper part of the air duct 104 . Therefore, when another eye drop is to be used, the eye drops can be easily replaced by attaching the eye drop container 106 to another eye drop fixing attachment 105 in advance. Thus, the eye drop container fixing attachment 105 includes the set plate 305 on which the eye drop container 106 can be attached facing downward, and the pressing position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the pressing position of the eye drop container 106 . Support guides (side surface support guide 302 and rear surface support guide 303) are arranged on the inner surface of the set plate 305 to press and support the side surfaces of the eyedropper container 106, and the lower end of the set plate 305 is formed on the outer wall of the air duct 104. An open space S1 is detachably fitted to the guide 312, and an open space S1 is provided in the lower region of the set plate 305 so that the cap of the eyedrops container 106 can be opened and closed when the eyedrops container 106 is attached.

Further, the eye drop container fixing attachment 105 has a tag, an electronic chip such as RFID, a bar code, a QR code (registered trademark) for assigning a unique tag or ID (these are the types of the eye drop container 106 and the eye drop container). (identifier for identifying at least one of the types of the fixed attachment 105), or a means for determining the shape of the attachment 105, such as a notch. The eye drop aid 100 of FIG. 2 includes a tag reading sensor 114 such as a sensor for reading these tags and IDs, an RFID reading chip, and a camera. If these tags and IDs are provided with this discrimination means, the eye drop aid 100 reads the tags of the eye drop container fixing attachments 105, thereby preliminarily registering the tags of the eye drop container fixing attachments 105 and the types of eye drops attached. If so, it will be possible to record which eye drops have been instilled each time.

(3) Configuration of Eyedrops Container Pressing Mechanism Next, the configuration of the eyedrops container pressing mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. Although a configuration in which the pressing action point of the pressing rod of the eyedropping container pressing mechanism directly presses the eyedropping container may be employed, FIGS. An example of a pressing mechanism for pressing an eyedrops container via a pressing position adjusting mechanism of an eyedrops container fixing attachment to drop eyedrops into an air duct is shown. Here, FIG. 7 shows an example of manual pressing, and FIG. 8 shows an example of an eyedropper container pressing mechanism that electrically presses.

7, the trigger arm 107 rotates around the trigger arm rotating shaft 501 arranged above the air duct 104, and the trigger arm 107 applies force with the finger of the patient or eye drop assistant. When the manual point 502 is pulled toward the eyepiece opening 104d, the eyedrops are dropped from the eyedropping container 106, and the drops are moved substantially horizontally toward the eyepiece opening 104d by the drag force of the air flow in the air duct 104, and reach the cornea. eye drop.

In the case of FIG. 7, the eye drop container pressing mechanism has a trigger arm rotation shaft 501 that serves as the rotation shaft of the trigger arm 107, and is connected to the trigger arm 107 and moves laterally via the trigger arm rotation shaft 501 when the trigger arm 107 is pulled. and a push rod 107a acting in the direction of pushing the eye drop container 106 from the eye drop container 106. The pressing rod 107a is arranged at an appropriate height between the trigger arm rotating shaft 501 and the air duct 104, and the trigger arm 107 and the pressing rod 107a operate together. When the trigger arm 107 is pulled toward the eyepiece 104d, the pressing point 107b of the pressing rod 107a also moves toward the eyepiece. When the pressing point 107b comes into contact with the pressing rod pressing position of the pressing point adjusting arm 108 arranged on the eye drop container fixing attachment 105, the pressing rod 107a exerts a force in the side direction of the eyepiece opening 104d, through the pressing point adjusting arm 108. to press the eye drop container 106 . Since the operating range of the trigger arm 107 is mechanically limited, the integrated pressing point adjusting arm 108 also moves only up to the restricted position, and always presses the eyedropper container 106 up to a certain position and presses beyond that position. do not do. As a result, a constant amount of the drug solution is dropped from the eyedropper container 106 and applied to the patient's eye. When the push rod 107a returns, the pressure applied to the eyedrop container 106 is released and the eyedrop container 106 returns to its original shape. Since the eyedropper container 106 is always fixed facing downward, the drug solution in the eyedropper container 106 also accumulates in the lower portion of the eyedropper container 106 and the eyedropper nozzle, and the air in the container accumulates above the eyedropper container 106. A certain amount of the chemical solution (one drop of the chemical solution) is always dropped.

FIG. 8 shows driving of a pressing rod 605 by an electromagnetic solenoid 606 as a pressing mechanism for the eye drop container 106 by an electric mechanism. The eye drop container pressing mechanism in this case includes an electromagnetic solenoid (electrically driven means) 606 that is electrically driven in conjunction with the trigger arm 601, and the eye drop container is pressed from the side using the electromagnetic solenoid 606 when the trigger arm 601 is pulled. and a pressing rod 605 acting in the direction of pressing 609 . The electric drive of the pressing rod 605 can be configured by an electric motor, or by an electromagnetic actuator such as an electromagnetic solenoid or a voice coil motor. In the case of an electromagnetic actuator, linear motion is possible and the pressing rod 605 can be directly driven, but in the case of using a motor, a reduction gear is interposed and a link mechanism or cam mechanism is required to convert rotary motion into linear motion. FIG. 8 shows an example in which a pressing rod 605 is arranged on the shaft of an electromagnetic solenoid 606 and the pressing rod 605 directly drives the pressing point adjusting arm 610 of the attachment for fixing the eyedropper container.

A predetermined angular position of the trigger arm 601 is detected by a trigger arm position sensor 602 . The trigger arm position sensor 602 is a reflective photointerrupter and is arranged so as to detect a photointerrupter reflective tape 603 attached to the trigger arm 601, and is configured to detect a predetermined angular position of the trigger arm 601. It's becoming The initial angular position in which the trigger arm 601 is not operated is defined as a "trigger arm start position", and the trigger arm 601 is pulled to a predetermined position in the direction of the eyepiece opening 604a of the air duct 604, and pressed integrally with the trigger arm 601. The angular position at which the eyedropper container 609 starts to be pushed by the rod 605 via the eyedropper container pushing mechanism is defined as the "trigger arm pushing position". When the trigger arm 601 reaches the trigger arm pressing position, the electromagnetic solenoid 606 is turned on and the pressing rod 605 starts pressing. Since the stroke of the electromagnetic solenoid 606 is constant, the pressing amount is also constant. A pressing rod 605 driven by an electromagnetic solenoid 606 presses an eyedrop container 609 via a pressing point adjusting arm 610 to drip the liquid medicine. Since the operating range in which the pressing rod 605 operates is constant, the eyedropper container 609 is always pressed to a constant position, and the amount of liquid medicine to be dropped is also constant. When the operator releases the trigger arm 601, the trigger arm 601 is returned to the trigger arm start position by the trigger arm return spring 608 arranged coaxially with the trigger arm rotating shaft 607, and returned to the trigger arm start position by the trigger arm position sensor 602. When this is detected, the electromagnetic solenoid 606 is turned off to release the pressure on the eyedropper container 609 so that the eyedropper container 609 returns to its original shape.

In FIG. 8, a droplet passage sensor 611 is provided on the upper portion near the eyepiece port 604a, and detects whether or not the medicine droplet droplets dropped from the eyedrop container 609 normally pass through the eyepiece port 604a, and transmits data to the control unit. . With this droplet passage sensor 611, it is possible to confirm whether or not the pressing mechanism is properly operated and the eye drops have normally passed through the eyepiece port 604a. The droplet passing sensor 611 in FIG. 8 is composed of a reflective photointerrupter, and when the medicine droplet passes through, the reflected light from the lower surface of the air duct 604 is detected by not returning to the sensor due to the reflection and refraction of the surface of the droplet. . The droplet passage sensor 611 can also be detected by a transmissive photointerrupter, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like, and can be arranged on the side surface of the air duct 604 .

(4) Structure and Operation of Airflow Generating Means Using Air Fan Next, the structure and operation of the airflow generating means using an air fan will be described with reference to FIG. The air fan 101 shown in FIG. 9 is driven and voltage-controlled by a control unit 113. The control unit 113 receives a signal from a trigger arm position sensor 701, or a signal from a contact sensor 703 arranged at the operation portion of the trigger arm 107, or An eye contact detection contact sensor arranged near the eyepiece opening 104d of the air duct 104 detects whether the patient's eye has been brought into contact with the eye piece 110 of the eye drop aid 100. When the operator recognizes the start of the eye drop operation, the air fan 101 is turned off. make it work. After that, the air fan 101 continues to operate until the trigger arm 107 returns to its original position, at which point it stops. Since the trigger arm 107 always returns to its original position due to the spring force, when the operator of the eye drop aid 100 releases the trigger arm 107, the trigger arm 107 automatically returns to the starting position. 701 detects that the air fan 101 has returned to the starting position and stops the air fan 101 . Further, FIG. 13, which will be described later, shows an example of the electrical system configuration of the eye drop aid 100. The air fan 1804 is controlled by an air fan control section 1801a provided in the control unit 1801 to manually or automatically turn on/off the drive and change the drive voltage. controlled.

With the above configuration, the air fan 101 operates only when the eye is instilled, thereby preventing wasteful inflow of air into the air chamber 102 and the air duct 104, and controlling the driving voltage to provide optimum air for horizontally moving the medicine droplets. It is possible to reduce the amount of discharge, which has the effect of minimizing power consumption and extending the life of the motor. When the patient's eye comes into contact with the eyepiece 110 or when the operator begins to pull the trigger arm 107, the air fan 101 starts operating to send air to the air chamber 102, and the operator pulls the trigger arm 107 to apply eye drops. The air fan 101 has an air blowing capability to raise the air pressure in the air chamber 102 to a predetermined pressure within the time until the liquid is dripped from the eyedropper container 106 . In a normal operation, this operation elapsed time is 0.3 seconds or more, and sufficient time can be obtained to raise the pressure in the air chamber 102 to an appropriate pressure.

(5) Configuration and Operation Method of Valve for Controlling Air Inflow into Air Duct Next, referring to FIGS. to explain. 10 and 11 are views showing the configuration of an inflow control valve for controlling the inflow of air into the air duct 802. FIG. 10 is an example of the configuration of an inflow control valve with a manual mechanism, and FIG. 11 is an inflow control valve with an electric mechanism. It is an example of the structure of a valve.

In the configuration of the inflow control valve by the manual mechanism shown in FIG. 10, a swing type check valve 801 as an inflow control valve is arranged immediately after the inflow port 802a of the air duct 802 to control the inflow of air from the air chamber 803. ing. The swing type check valve 801 has a rotation reset arm 801 a and a rotation stop arm 801 b interlocked by a rotation shaft 806 and arranged outside the air duct 802 . When the swing check valve 801 is closed, the pawl portion 804a of the rotation stopper 804 is engaged with the rotation stop arm 801b, and the pawl portion 804a is pushed upward by the spring 804b, so that the valve is braked so as not to open. The swing-type check valve 801 is normally closed, and even if the air fan starts blowing air, the air flow remains in the air chamber, increasing the air pressure in the air chamber. The rotation stopper 804 operates in conjunction with the movement of the trigger arm 805. The operator pulls the trigger arm 805 toward the eyepiece opening 802b of the air duct 802, and presses the eyedrop container via the eyedrop container pressing mechanism to release the eyedrop medicine solution. When the trigger arm 805 moves to the dripping position, the claw portion 804a of the rotation stopper 804 is pushed downward by the release cam 805a attached to the trigger arm 805, and moves in the direction of releasing the braking. is released, and the high air pressure in the air chamber 803 causes the valve to open at once, allowing air to flow into the air duct. The airflow in the air duct 802 generated by this operation passes through the air duct 802 at a high flow velocity and scatters the droplets of medicine dropped from the eye dropper toward the patient's cornea.

A valve reset bar 805b is attached to the trigger arm 805 to return the swing check valve 801 to the closed position, and the valve reset bar 805b pushes the swing check valve 801 when the trigger arm returns to the starting position. The rotary reset arm 801a of the swing type check valve 801 acts in the closing direction. When the operator releases the trigger arm 805, the trigger arm 805 returns to the starting position due to the spring force, and the valve reset bar 805b pushes the cam 801c to return the swing type check valve 801 to the closed position via the rotary reset arm 801a. . The pawl portion 804a of the rotation stopper 804 has a gently tapered shape so as not to hinder the movement of the swing type check valve 801 to close. The upper side of the check valve 801 is caught and the swing check valve 801 maintains its closed state.

The inflow control valve of such a manual mechanism generates a high-speed air flow in the air duct 802 to reliably deliver droplets of the liquid medicine to the cornea, and when the eyedropping operation is completed, the inflow control valve is automatically closed, and the following steps are performed. The reset operation for eye drop operation is completed. In the example of FIG. 10, a swing type check valve is used, but a valve mechanism such as a butterfly valve, a ball valve, a reed valve, or a diaphragm may be used.

In the structure of the inflow control valve by the electric mechanism shown in FIG. ing. The swing type check valve 901 can detect the open/closed state of the swing type check valve 901 by a valve position sensor 904 that detects the open/closed state of the valve. The motor 902 is controlled by a control unit 906 to which are connected a valve position sensor 904 for detecting the open/closed state of the swing type check valve 901 and a trigger arm position sensor 905 for detecting the position of the trigger arm. When the trigger arm 805 is at the trigger arm start position, the swing type check valve 901 rotates the motor 902 until the swing type check valve 901 is closed to close the swing type check valve 901 . When the operator pulls the trigger arm 805 toward the eyepiece port of the air duct and moves it to the trigger arm pressing position for dripping eye drops, the motor 902 is driven by the control unit 906 to open the swing type check valve 901 . When the trigger arm 905 is released by the operator and returns to the trigger arm start position, the control unit 906 reverse drives the motor 902 to rotate the swing type check valve 901 to the closed position and maintains that position.

The inflow control valve of such a motorized mechanism generates a high-speed air flow in the air duct 802 to ensure delivery of droplets of the liquid medicine to the cornea. The reset operation for eye drop operation is completed. In the example of FIG. 11, a swing type check valve is used, but a valve mechanism such as a butterfly valve, ball valve, reed valve, or diaphragm may be used.

(6) Automatic detection of patient's left and right eyes (right and left eye detection means)
Next, automatic detection of the patient's left eye and right eye will be described with reference to FIG. Eye drops for patients are performed in various patterns depending on the type, degree, and symptoms of eye disease. Depending on the patient, multiple eye drops may be instilled, the prescription of the eye drops may differ between the left and right eyes, and the number of instillations may vary. However, forgetting or making a mistake in applying eye drops often occurs in daily life. Therefore, it is an effective means for the patient who manages the eye drops and the patient's caregiver to record which kind of eye drops were instilled in each of the left and right eyes and when, as an eye instillation history. By connecting the eye drop assisting device to an external device such as a mobile terminal or a personal computer and leaving the eye drop history on the external device, it is possible to effectively perform treatment management such as eye drops. Therefore, it is extremely important to automatically detect which of the right and left eyes is being instilled in order to keep and manage treatment records.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a detection method (right/left eye detection means) for automatically detecting to which eye the eye drop aid is brought into contact. Examples of methods often used to detect which eye is the right or left eye include analyzing the image of the patient's face or eyes captured by a camera to determine whether it is the left or right eye, or placing the patient's face on the chin rest. When the eyedropper is fixed, there is a method of detecting the position of the eyedropper relative to the chin base and making a determination. In the example of FIG. 12, when the patient contacts the eyelid of the patient's eye with the eyepiece of the eyedropper, the reflective optical sensor 1003 detects and determines which side of the eyedropper the patient's nose is located near. is shown.

When the eyepiece of the eyedropper is brought into contact with the eyelid of the patient's eye, the patient's nose is positioned slightly below the side surface of the air duct of the eyedropper aid that constitutes the eyedropper. In FIG. 12, a left reflective optical sensor 1003a and a right reflective optical sensor 1003b are arranged at the bottom of both side surfaces of the air duct 1001 of the eye drop aid. When the nose is present near these reflective optical sensors 1003, the infrared light emitted from the reflective optical sensors 1003 is reflected or scattered on the nose surface of the patient and returns to the reflective optical sensors 1003. The presence of the nose is detected by receiving incoming light.

Reflective optical sensor left 1003a and reflective optical sensor right 1003b are connected to control unit 1004 and transmit detected signals. If there is no nose detection signal from either sensor, or if detection signals are being sent from both sensors, the control unit 1004 detects that the eye drop aid is not in a predetermined position or is blocked by the operator's hand or the like. If the detection signal is transmitted only from the left reflective optical sensor 1003a, it is determined that the right eyelid is in contact with the eyepiece 1002, and the detection signal is transmitted only from the right reflective optical sensor 1003b. If so, it is determined that the left eyelid is in contact with the eyepiece 1002 .

The information on the left and right eyes determined by the control unit 1004 is transmitted to an external device such as a smart phone by communication means, and is effectively utilized as information on the evaluation of the instillation state and the instillation history. In addition, when the eyedropper container pressing mechanism and the inflow control valve of the eyedropper aid are electrically operated, it is determined whether or not to perform the eyedropping operation based on the determination information of this automatic left eye/right eye detection function, so that the eyedropping operation is performed reliably. It is possible to operate

With the left eye/right eye detection system described above, the present eye drop aid can easily detect the left and right of the eye being eyed, optimize the operation of the eye drop aid, and detect information transmitted by communication means. Therefore, the patient support software of the external device and the patient support system on the Internet can evaluate the state of instillation and record the history of instillation. In Embodiment 1, a reflective optical sensor is used as the nose detection sensor, but the sensor may be an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitance sensor, a pyroelectric sensor, or the like.

(7) Configuration of electrical system of eye drop aid (functional block diagram)
Next, the configuration (functional block diagram) of the electrical system of the eye drop aid will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 shows an example of an electrical system configuration in the case of an electrically driven pressing mechanism and an inflow control valve in the eye drop aid 100 . An electromagnetic solenoid 1803 is used as an electric eye drop container pressing mechanism, and a valve drive by a motor 1805 is used for inflow control.

A control unit 1801 provided in the eye drop aid 100 is configured to control the entire system and control the driving of an air fan 1804 , a solenoid 1803 and a motor 1805 . The sensor unit 1802 includes a sensor communication board 1802a, a trigger arm position sensor 1802b, a valve position sensor 1802c, an eyepiece sensor 1802d, a medicine droplet passage sensor 1802e, a contact sensor 1802f, a left and right eye detection sensor 1802g, and a tag reading sensor 1802h. The substrate 1802a is configured to convert the value of each sensor into a digital value and communicate with the control unit.

That is, the eye-dropping aid 100 has a droplet passing sensor 1802e that can detect droplets of medicine passing through the air duct 104 at a predetermined position in the air duct 104 to detect whether the medicine has normally reached the cornea. can be done. In addition, a trigger arm position sensor 1802b for detecting the position of the trigger arm 107, a valve position sensor 1802c for detecting the opening/closing angle of the inflow control valve, a G sensor for detecting the inclination and movement of the eyedropper aid 100, and one of the left and right eyes of the patient. By arranging the left and right eye detection sensor 1802g for detecting whether the eye is in contact with the eye, it is possible to detect whether the patient's operation of the eye drop aid 100 has been properly performed, whether eye drops have been appropriately applied to the patient, or whether the eye drop aid 100 has been operated properly. It is possible to evaluate whether there is any abnormality in Furthermore, if a camera 1809 (capturing means) capable of photographing the patient's eye is arranged in the air chamber 102 or near the inlet 104a of the air duct 104, the opening of the eyelid when the eye drops are delivered to the patient's eye can be detected. It is possible to evaluate the state, position, and adhesion state of the ophthalmic solution delivered to the cornea from the photographed images.

A medicine droplet passing sensor 1802e arranged in the air duct 104 detects by an optical transmissive or reflective sensor or an ultrasonic sensor. The trigger arm position detection sensor 1802b detects by a potentiometer or encoder interlocking with the trigger arm 107, an optical slit or reflector detection by an optical transmissive or reflective sensor, a magnetic sensor, or the like. The valve position sensor 1802c preferably detects a switch interlocked with the valve, a potentiometer or encoder interlocked with the rotary shaft of the valve, or directly detects the open/closed state by a transmissive or reflective optical sensor. In this electrical system, for example, when the eyedropping aid 100 is a manual eyedropping container pressing mechanism and an inflow control valve, it is possible to omit unnecessary functional units depending on the configuration of the system.

Further, the control unit 1801 is provided with an air fan control section 1801a. Calculate the flow velocity by the above (Equation 8), and control the voltage sent to the air fan 101 based on the obtained relative flow velocity so that the flow velocity in the air duct 104 is 10 m/sec or more and 40 m/sec or less. can be done.

In addition, the control unit 1801 can store image data transmitted from an anterior eye camera (imaging means) 1809, and can transmit data to a smartphone via short-range communication such as WiFi or Bluetooth (registered trademark) via a communication unit (communication means) 1808. , PCs, tablet PCs, and other external devices for data communication. A communication unit 1808 transmits various detection data to an external terminal via a wired/wireless network. A camera 1809 is arranged in the air chamber 102 or near the inlet 104a of the air duct 104, and photographs the eye surface through the air duct 104. FIG. Since the on-off valve disposed in the air duct 104 blocks the inlet 104a, the blocking wall is preferably made of a transparent material through which light passes so that the patient's eye can be photographed.

As described above, the eye drop aid 100 according to Embodiment 1 can constitute an external communication means, and the communication unit 1808 connects to an external device such as an external smartphone, personal computer, tablet PC, or Wi-Fi terminal. Then, the data detected by the above-described sensors 1802b to 1802h arranged in the eyedropping aid 100, the eyedropping state, the evaluation results, and the image of the patient's eye taken by the camera 1809 are transmitted. In addition, the transmitted data and images are sent to servers and cloud systems on the Internet via smartphones and personal computers, and these data are shared by patients, their families, caregivers and other supporters, and medical institutions for viewing and viewing. A home monitoring system that can be evaluated and support patient care can be realized.

The control unit 1801 controls the system based on the data values and image data sent from the sensor unit 1802 and the anterior eye camera 1809, and also provides the patient support system with external devices and a network system with information on the state of the eyedrop aid 100 and the patient's eyedrops. Status can be sent as data, thereby providing useful data and information to support patient care.

As described above, the invention according to the first embodiment is an eye drop aid 100 for administering a drug solution in an eye drop container to a patient's eye, and includes an air fan 101 and air discharged from the air fan 101. An air chamber 102 serving as a flow air chamber, a cylindrical air duct 104 communicating with the air chamber 102, and an eye drop container 106 are replaceably attached to the upper wall of the air duct 106 placed in a horizontal state. An eyedrops container fixing attachment 105 that fixes the nozzle downward, an eyedrops container pressing mechanism 108 that presses a predetermined position on the side surface of the eyedrops container 106 attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment 105, and the operations of the eyedrops container pressing mechanism 108 are controlled. and a trigger arm 107 to. One end of the opening of the cylindrical air duct 104 serves as an inflow port 104a into which the air flow discharged from the air fan 101 flows through the air chamber 102, while the other end of the opening contacts the patient's eyelid. It becomes the eyepiece port 104d. The upper wall of the air duct 104 is formed with a liquid medicine introduction hole 104c for introducing into the air duct 106 droplet droplets dropped from the nozzle of the eyedrops container 106 attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment 105.

With this configuration, when instilling the medicinal solution in the eyedrop container 106, the patient using the eyedropping aid 100 does not need to turn his/her line of sight upward, and the appropriate amount of medicinal solution is instilled into the patient's eye in a comfortable sideways posture. can be done. In other words, by simply pulling the trigger arm 107 of the eyedropping aid 100, the patient can apply eye drops while maintaining a horizontal view without looking up, and the eye drops pass through the parts of the eyedropping aid 100 without contact. Therefore, the eye drops can be delivered to the patient's eye without being contaminated by the parts of the eye drop aid 100, and the above-described drug dropping mechanism can reliably drop a certain amount of the eye drops, and the patient can easily and reliably operate in a comfortable posture. and can be safely instilled into the eye.

In addition, the eye drop container fixing attachment 105 can be easily attached to and detached from the eye drop aid 100, so that a patient who instills a plurality of eye drops can replace eye drops without complicated operations.

(Modification)
Next, referring to FIG. 14, an eye drop aid according to a modification of Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described. The eye drop aid 100 according to this modification has a configuration in which the air chamber 102 is omitted. In the eye-dropping aid 100 according to Embodiment 1, when the air flow is caused to flow into the air duct 104 via the air chamber 102, the air flow in the air duct 104 becomes uniformly smooth. , the air chamber 102 is arranged. However, in this modified example, the blower port of the air fan 101 is directly connected to the air duct 104, and this configuration can provide the same effects as those of the above-described first embodiment, and at the same time make the device more compact and lightweight. It is possible to achieve a reduction in cost and a reduction in price.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without changing the gist of the invention. For example, the example of use shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the eyedropping aid 100 may be fixedly placed on a height-adjustable support, and eyedrops may be applied while maintaining the horizontal position. In addition, for example, since the size of the eyedropper container 106 varies depending on the type of drug and the manufacturer, instead of using a complicated mechanism such as the eyedropper pressing mechanism and the pressing position adjusting mechanism as described above, special products that differ for each size of the eyedropper container are used. It is also conceivable to use the eyedropper fixed attachment 105 as an eye dropper. In this case, there is no need to finely adjust the pressing position of the eyedrops container fixing attachment 105 each time the eyedrops container 106 is attached, which is convenient. That is, if different eye drop containers 106 of different sizes are attached in advance to eye drop container fixing attachments 105 for exclusive use, and the caps are closed and stored, the eye drop container can be fixed even for a patient who uses a plurality of eye drops. The eye drops can be easily replaced only by replacing the attachment 105.例文帳に追加

(Embodiment 2)
A second embodiment of the eye drop aid according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 15 to 21. FIG. In the second embodiment, eye drops are applied from a medicinal solution droplet passing sensor, an anterior segment image capturing camera, a G sensor, a right and left eye detection sensor, an eyepiece sensor, etc. arranged in the eye drop aid 100 described in the first embodiment. Detection means for detecting state data, evaluation means for evaluating the state of instillation based on the obtained detection data, and communication for communicating the detection data and evaluation data by the evaluation means with smartphones, tablet PCs, personal computers, etc. A home monitoring system and a patient support system in which a doctor and a patient share the data to monitor the state of eye drop treatment and encourage the patient to continue the eye drop treatment. In addition, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected to the structure similar to the said Embodiment 1, and the detailed description is abbreviate|omitted.

Here, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described according to the following order.
(8) Configuration of external communication means and network system (9) Operation of patient support software that supports eye drops (10) Functions and operations of patient support software other than when eye drops are applied (11) Dedicated software executed on in-hospital terminal equipment (12) Operation of dedicated software executed on supporter's mobile terminal

(8) Configuration of External Communication Means and Network System FIG. 15 shows the overall configuration of a home monitoring system S for supporting patient treatment. Eyedropper 1101 is connected to Internet 1109 by one of a plurality of connection means. As connection means, means via a router 1102 connected to a wired local area network (LAN), means via a wireless router 1103 by short-range wireless such as a wireless LAN or Bluetooth, and mobile communication such as a mobile terminal 1104 such as a smart phone. It is connected to the Internet (WAN) by means such as an intermediary.

The data obtained from the droplet passing sensor, the anterior segment image capturing camera, the G sensor, the right and left eye detection sensor, etc. arranged in the eyedropper 1101, and the data obtained by evaluating the eyedropping state based on these data are sent to the connection means. It is accumulated in the mobile terminal 1104, the cloud service 1105 on the Internet, or the fixed server 1110 via. These instillation state data are stored together with information on the date and time of instillation, eyedrops information, and the like.

Information on the date and time when the eyedropper was applied is obtained from the clock provided in the eyedropper aid or the clock of the mobile terminal connected to the eyedropper. The eye drop information is obtained by a method such as the eye drop device 1101 automatically identifying the eye drop inserted in the eye drop container fixing attachment, or the user selecting the eye drop using the function of the software installed in the portable terminal 1104. Information is identified and stored with the data.

On the other hand, medical personnel such as doctors and pharmacists, and supporters 1108 such as family members and caregivers access the cloud service 1005 and the fixed server 1110 via terminal devices 1007 such as smartphones, personal computers, and tablet terminals connected to the Internet 1109. It is possible to view, evaluate, and analyze the data accumulated in the system at any time, and to support patient treatment.

Furthermore, the cloud service 1105 and the fixed server 1110 incorporate software for analyzing accumulated data, and analyze data by statistical processing, artificial intelligence (AI), data analysis by deep learning, future prediction, It is possible to determine and implement effective support methods for improving adherence of patients.

The data accumulated in the cloud service 1105 and the fixed server 1110 can be composed of data of a plurality of patients. It is possible to improve the accuracy of predictions and proposals.

These analysis data can be confirmed by the terminal device 1107 as data used by medical personnel 1108 for diagnosis and treatment policy determination. It is possible to confirm with the device 1107 or the like. It is also possible to change the operation of the software operating on the patient portable terminal 1104 using the analysis data in order to improve patient adherence.

FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a patient support system using an external device.
The eyedropping aid 1201 is provided with a dropping control unit 1201a that pressurizes a part of the eyedropping container in conjunction with the driving of the air fan by operating the trigger arm by the patient to drip one drop of the drug solution. An instillation state detection unit 1201b that detects data indicating the state of instillation from a droplet passage sensor, an anterior segment image capturing camera, a G sensor, a left and right eye detection sensor, etc., and an eye instillation evaluation that analyzes the data and evaluates the state of instillation. A unit 1201c and a communication unit 1201d for transmitting the data, analysis results, evaluation results, and the like to the mobile terminal and for receiving information, instructions, and the like from the mobile terminal. This communication unit is a module that enables wired connection such as USB and wired LAN, and short-range wireless connection such as Bluetooth, WiFi, and wireless LAN.

The patient portable terminal 1202 includes a control unit 1202a that controls the components of the patient portable terminal 1202 using a processor such as a CPU and memory to realize various functions, and a memory such as a RAM that accumulates data received from eye drop aids. a storage unit 1202b that performs the operation, a communication unit 1202c that realizes communication connection to a communication network such as the Internet and communication with eyedrop aids, a screen display unit 1202d such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL display, and an operation input unit 1202e such as a touch panel. etc. Furthermore, based on various data such as eye drop drug information and eye drop plan that the patient himself/herself entered and saved in the mobile terminal, eye drop implementation information received from the eye drop assisting device and accumulated, and various data including the eye drop situation, the patient is encouraged to continue the eye drop treatment. An adherence analysis support unit 1202f is provided.

In addition, the screen display unit, the operation input unit, and the storage unit are provided in the eye drop aid 1201 so that even when the eye drop aid 1201 is not connected to the mobile terminal 1202, the eye drop aid 1201 alone can encourage the continuation of the eye drop treatment. , and an adherence analysis support unit.

FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a patient support system via a network system.
The eyedropping aid 1301 is provided with a dropping control unit 1301a that pressurizes a part of the eyedropping container in conjunction with the driving of the air fan by operating the trigger arm by the patient to drip one drop of the drug solution. An instillation state detection unit 1301b that detects data indicating the state of instillation from a droplet passage sensor, an anterior segment image capturing camera, a G sensor, a left and right eye detection sensor, etc., and an instillation evaluation that analyzes the data and evaluates the state of instillation. A unit 1301c transmits the data, analysis results, evaluation results, etc. to the fixed server 1303 and portable terminals via the wide area network, and receives information, instructions, etc. from the fixed server 1303 and portable terminals via the wide area network. A communication unit 1301d is provided for the purpose. This communication unit is a module that enables wired connection such as USB and wired LAN, and short-range wireless connection such as Bluetooth, WiFi, and wireless LAN.

The patient portable terminal 1302 has a control unit 1302a that controls the components of the patient portable terminal 1302 using a processor such as a CPU and memory to realize various functions, and a memory such as a RAM that accumulates data received from the eye drop aid. a storage unit 1302b that performs the operation, a communication unit 1302c that realizes communication connection to a communication network such as the Internet and communication with eyedrop aids, a screen display unit 1302d such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL display, and an operation input unit 1302e such as a touch panel. etc. In addition, eye drop information, eye drop plan, and treatment plan provided by the patient directly into a portable terminal and stored by the patient or provided by a doctor or pharmacist via the Internet, and eye drop implementation received and accumulated from the eye drop assist device It has an adherence analysis support unit 1302f that encourages continuation of eye drop treatment based on various data including information and eye drop conditions.

In addition, even when the auxiliary eyedropper 1301 is not connected to the patient portable terminal 1302 but is directly connected to the fixed server via the Internet, the auxiliary eyedropper can encourage the continuation of the eyedrop treatment by itself. may include a screen display unit, an operation input unit, a storage unit, and an adherence analysis support unit.

Although FIG. 17 shows an example in which the patient's portable terminal 1302 is connected to the Internet via a home LAN, it is also possible to use the patient support system by connecting to an out-of-home LAN, such as a nursing home. .

The fixed server 1303 receives sensor data, analysis results, and evaluation results sent by the eye-dropping aid 1031, as well as eye-drop information and eye-dropping plans input from the patient's mobile terminal and from the terminal of the doctor/pharmacist. Communication unit 1303a that receives information such as eye instillation status data such as daily eye instillation status and eye instillation implementation status automatically recorded in the patient portable terminal; A control unit 1303b that returns information, analyzes various data received by the transmission/reception unit using statistical processing, AI, deep learning, etc., predicts disease progression, etc., or is effective for improving patient adherence an adherence analysis support unit 1303c that determines and executes various support methods, various data received by the transmission/reception unit, analysis results of the adherence analysis support unit 1303c, patient (contractor) information (contractor ID, password , responsible medical institution/medical worker, date of birth, gender, health care information, scheduled visit date and time, measurement results of various examination devices, etc.), etc., is provided. Although a fixed server is used in the example of FIG. 17, a cloud service or the like may be used.

The in-hospital terminal device 1304 includes an operation input unit 1304a such as a keyboard that accepts input from a doctor, a software execution unit 1304b that executes dedicated software on a Web browser, etc., and an operation input unit 1304a. A request generation unit 1304c that acquires analysis results, eye instillation plans, etc., receives patient data stored in the fixed server 1303, results of examinations performed by in-hospital examination devices, and eye instillation plans and treatment plans created by doctors. A communication unit 1304d for transmitting comments and the like to the fixed server, a screen display unit 1304e, a storage unit 1304f, and the like.

The supporter portable terminal 1305 includes an operation input unit 1305a such as a touch panel for inputting messages from the supporter to the patient, a software execution unit 1305b for executing dedicated software on a Web browser, etc., and an operation input unit 1305a. It includes a request generating unit 1305c for acquiring instillation status data, analysis results by AI, etc., an instillation plan, etc., a communication unit 1305d, a screen display unit 1305e such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL display, a storage unit 1305f, and the like.

(9) Operation of patient support software for supporting application of eye drops FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing an example of operation of patient support software for supporting application of eye drops. The patient support software supports the patient to continue eye drop treatment and functions as software to help maintain and improve adherence. As preprocessing for the flowchart, the user (patient, supporter, or medical staff) installs the patient support software via the Internet or the like on the patient portable terminal used for the patient support system.

When the patient support system is operated via the network system as shown in FIG. 17, the user acquires the subscriber ID from the fixed server, sets the password, etc., and records them in the storage units of both the patient portable terminal and the fixed server. In addition, other patient (usage contractor) information (name, date of birth, sex, race, supporter name, supporter's unique ID, medical institution/pharmacy in charge, doctor in charge, etc.) is also recorded. A supporter's unique ID is a unique ID assigned when patient support software is installed on a supporter's mobile terminal, etc. to provide support. Messages can be exchanged via the Internet, and patient data can be viewed by accessing a fixed server. It is used when performing The data recorded in the fixed server is recorded in association with the contracted user ID. Also, the patient support software and the eye drop aid are connected via WiFi or the like, and the unique ID of the eye drop aid is recorded in the storage unit of the patient portable terminal.

In S1401, registration of instillation basic information is performed. The eye drop basic information includes eye drop name, target eye (right eye, left eye, both eyes), number of drops per day, number of drops per drop, time of drop (time zone), date of prescription, doctor/pharmacist information, etc. There is As a method of acquiring these information, there is a method of reading a QR code provided by a pharmacy with the camera of the patient portable terminal or the camera of the eye drop aid, the camera of the patient portable terminal or the camera of the eye drop aid, or the eye drop container A method of reading the barcode printed on the eye drops with a camera or barcode reader installed in a fixed attachment and obtaining information on the corresponding eye drops via the Internet; A method of reading a QR code containing basic information on eye drops, etc., with the camera of the patient's portable terminal or the camera of the eye drop aid, or a method in which a doctor or pharmacist registers directly from dedicated software executed on an in-hospital terminal and registers it on a fixed server over the Internet. directly by the user using input functions of the patient support software; or a combination of these methods.

Furthermore, the eye drop container of the registered eye drop is attached to the eye drop container fixed attachment 105 and inserted into the eye drop aid, and the obtained information of the unique tag of the eye drop container fixed attachment is associated with the eye drop basic information of the eye drop. You can register. As a result, it becomes possible to automatically determine the type of the inserted eyedrops, and to prevent mistakes such as taking the wrong eyedrops.

In S1402, when the set time comes, an eye instillation plan for that day is created based on the basic eye instillation information, and displayed on the screen of the patient's portable terminal for notification. At that time, the user may be alerted by voice or alarm sound. It may be possible to temporarily or permanently change the setting of the instillation time on this screen.

In S1403, when it is time to instill the eye, in S1404, a message prompting the eye instillation is displayed on the screen of the patient portable terminal, and notification is given by voice or alarm sound. At this time, the message may be automatically sent to the registered supporters as well. In S1405, when the power of the eyedropping aid is turned on by the user and the communication between the eyedropping aid and the patient's portable terminal is established, the process proceeds to eyedrops support processing execution step S1406. During this time, the method of turning on the power of the eye drop aid is displayed on the screen, or the state of communication between the eye drop aid and the patient's portable terminal is established through illustrations, animations, sounds, etc. It is also possible to make the situation easier to understand and guide smooth operation. In addition, for the purpose of improving familiarity and motivating the patient for the eye drop treatment, the eye drop assisting device may be represented by anthropomorphic or biotic illustrations, animations, voices, and the like.

In S1406, support is provided for the patient to perform correct and effective eye instillation using the eye instillation aid. Information about the eye drops to be dropped and the target eye are displayed on the screen of the patient portable terminal in an easy-to-understand manner using images and illustrations, and the user is prompted to insert the eye drop container fixing attachment into the eye drop aid. If it is determined that the remaining amount of the eye drops to be instilled is low or absent from the volume of the eye drops or the results of instillation, the user is instructed to check the remaining amount of the eye drops or to replace the eye drop bottle with a new one. is also possible. If a plurality of eye drops are administered in the same time period, all eye drop information may be displayed. When the order of instillation has been decided, it is desirable to highlight the display of the eyedrop to be instilled in order to distinguish it from other eyedrops by color, size, icon display, or the like. When the user inserts the eye drops attached to the eye drop container fixing attachment into the eye drop aid, the RFID tag is read and compared with the eye drop basic information to identify the inserted eye drops, and the information of the inserted eye drops is obtained. may be displayed on the screen, or if the inserted eye drop is not the eye drop to be instilled, a warning may be provided to prompt the user to replace the eye drop with the correct eye drop. If the eye drop container fixing attachment is equipped with a camera for photographing eye drops and a bar code reader for identification, operation is performed using the eye drop information determined from the camera image and the bar code. can be determined.

When the patient support software confirms that the eye drops to be instilled are correctly set in the eye drop aid, the method of instilling eye drops using the eye drop aid is displayed on the screen using illustrations, animations, and the like. In particular, it is desirable to display an illustration of a face in which the eye drop aid is applied to the target eye so that the user does not mistake the eye (left or right eye) to which the eye is to be instilled.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of the instillation instruction screen. Here, an example of instilling a plurality of eye drops at the same time is shown. The eye drops 1501 to be instilled at present are displayed in a large and emphasized manner along with the name of the eye drops and a photograph, and information 1502 on other eye drops is displayed in a small and inconspicuous manner. In addition, the current number of eye drops to be instilled at the same time is displayed in 1503 so that the progress can be grasped. The front face illustration 1504 is arranged in a mirror-inverted manner so that when the patient looks at the screen, the patient's own face is reflected in the mirror. can be prevented from being mixed up. Instead of the front face illustration 1504, or so as to overlap with the front face illustration, a video of the patient's own face captured in real time by the front camera 1508 mounted on the screen side of the smartphone may be displayed. . At that time, the video is displayed in a mirror-inverted orientation, as if the patient were looking at the smartphone screen and seeing it in a mirror, that is, the right eye was on the right side of the screen and the left eye was on the left side of the screen. By arranging a target eye display 1505 with an arrow on the side of the target eye of the front face illustration 1504 and the real-time moving image of the patient's face, and further displaying an illustration 1506 of an eyedropper aid as if it is being applied to the target eye, the patient can clearly indicate at a glance to which eye the eye drop aid should be applied. A message column 1507 displays operation instructions to the patient, current progress, and the like.

When the patient approaches the eye drop aid, it is possible to detect whether the eye being eyed is the right or left eye by the left/right eye automatic detection function provided in the eye drop aid. If they do not match, the user is notified by means of a warning display or a warning sound that the eye to which the auxiliary eyedropper is being applied is incorrect, or if the eyedropper is incorrect, the eyedropping operation with the auxiliary eyedropper is automatically performed. You can stop. Since it is difficult to visually confirm the instructions on the screen of the portable terminal until the eye drop aid is applied to the 28 target eyes and the eyes are instilled, it is preferable to perform instruction guidance by voice guidance.

When the user instills eye drops in S1407, the patient support software collects data obtained from various sensors of the aid for eye drops, images of the anterior segment of the eye, and evaluation results of the state of eye drops obtained by analyzing these data. receives and analyzes, and determines in S1408 whether the instillation was successful.

Although the method for determining whether or not the eye instillation was successful is not limited, there is a method for determining by combining information from a plurality of sensors provided in the eye instillation aid and a plurality of time-series images of the anterior segment. For example, if there is no response from the droplet passage sensor within a certain period of time after the patient has applied the eye drops, it can be determined that the eye drops have failed. On the other hand, even if there is a reaction in the droplet passage sensor, if it is judged from the value of the G sensor that the eye drops do not reach the target eye, it can be determined that the eye drops have failed. When it is determined that the eye drops have reached the position of the target eye based on the values of the droplet passage sensor and the G sensor, the multiple time-series images (videos) of the anterior segment captured by the imaging means are analyzed, and the eye drops are detected. is delivered to the cornea and conjunctiva. For example, when preprocessing is performed using various image filters to identify the existence and position of the pupil and iris, it is determined whether the eyelid is opened correctly, and when eye drops are delivered to the target eye with the eyelid open. can be judged as successful instillation. In addition to the general filtering method using image processing such as contour extraction, a method of determining success or failure of eye instillation using artificial intelligence or deep learning that learns image patterns of eye instillation success/failure may be used. .

If it is determined that the instillation was successful, the process proceeds to S1409. If not successful, the user is notified to that effect and the process returns to S1406.

In S1409, when all the actions to be performed at the same time have been completed, the process proceeds to S1410, and information on the instillation performed in the flow (instillation date and time, instilled eyedrops, instillation status data, place of instillation, etc.) is entered. Record. If all eye drop actions have not been completed yet, the process returns to S1406 to instill the next eye drop. When instilling multiple eye drops in succession, if the eye drops are instilled continuously in a short period of time, the eye drops may flow out of the eye and the effect of the eye drops may not be sufficiently obtained. Then you can set an appropriate waiting time. In addition, in order to encourage the patient to close his/her eyes and wait for the effect of the applied eye drops to be exhibited, the method may be guided by using illustrations, animations, voices, or the like. In addition, illustrations, animations, or voices may be used to guide the patient through the process of removing the eyedropper fixing attachment from the eyedropper aid, closing the cap, and tidying up, each time one drug instillation is completed. .

In S1411, based on the accumulated daily eye drop implementation information, the eye drop situation is evaluated, such as whether or not the eye drops are being administered according to the eye drop plan. Advice is provided to improve the patient's health, messages are displayed, and information about the disease being treated and eye drop treatment is provided.

Furthermore, in the case of a patient support system via a network system, it is also possible to notify supporters such as registered family members and caregivers that eye drops have been applied. The method of notification is to install a dedicated application for the patient support software on the supporter's mobile terminal, etc., and automatically notify the patient that the eye drops have been administered from the patient's mobile terminal through the message function installed in the dedicated application. Alternatively, it is also possible to notify using a registered SNS. A supporter who has received the notification can reply to the message.

You may incorporate elements of gamification to motivate you to improve your score. The method is not limited as long as it is a method that leads to motivation for score improvement that leads to continued treatment. For example, by linking the score to the growth and condition of a character such as animals and plants, it is fun to see positive changes such as the character growing, getting healthier, and being happy if the eye drop treatment is continued correctly. It leads to motivation to continue eye drop treatment. Conversely, when the score drops, the plant withers and loses its vitality, which motivates the character to resume the eye drop treatment in order to raise the score so that the character can be revived. Also, the game may be operated so that the game progresses each time the score increases. For example, when the score or the number of consecutive days of instillation meets the criteria, the game can proceed to the next stage, or an item that can be used in the game can be obtained. Furthermore, it may be possible to share information such as the progress of the game and acquired items with registered supporter family members and friends. Also, the scores and accumulated points may be exchanged for goods and services in the real world. The content of the adherence analysis support processing that has been executed is recorded, and the relationship between the content of the processing and subsequent changes in the patient's behavior is analyzed, and it can be used to determine the method of more effective support processing. It is possible.

In S1412, it is automatically determined whether or not all eye drops scheduled for today have been completed. If completed, the process is terminated.

(10) Functions and operations of patient support software other than at the time of instillation Adherence analysis support processing is executed not only at the time of instillation as shown in FIG. provide motivational support.

One example of a support method is to provide a message of encouragement. FIG. 20 is an example of an encouragement message display screen. The screen displays a score 1601, an encouraging message 1602, and the like. The content of the message can be determined according to the score, eye instillation status, hospital visit status, etc., and it is desirable to use a positive expression as much as possible. In addition to text and voice messages, it is also possible to express friendliness by using expressions such as 1603 where a character speaks with an expression that matches the contents of the message. In addition, according to the score, the status of eye drops, the status of hospital visits, the elapsed time from the start of treatment, etc., we provide knowledge and information on the target disease that is effective for maintaining and improving adherence, such as 1604, and the patient taps a button. Then, after opening the content (detailed content) and confirming it, points may be given to raise the score. The content of 1604 also includes the patient's history of instillation, changes in test results such as intraocular pressure, treatment plans, etc., so that patients can understand their own medical conditions and disease characteristics, goals, etc., and maintain and improve adherence and motivation to continue treatment. The content is not limited as long as it is related to attachment.

As for the notification timing of the message, an effective timing may be determined based on the patient's response history to past messages. For example, the time and place where the probability of tapping 1604 and confirming the content is the highest may be analyzed from the past reaction history. As for the content 1602 of the encouragement message, it is possible to generate an effective message that leads to positive behavioral change toward the eye drop treatment based on past reaction history and the like.

In addition to confirming the detailed content, points are given when eye drops are applied, when a patient visits a hospital, and when medicine is received, so that the score increases. The size of the points may be changed according to importance and effect. Furthermore, if it is determined that the adherence is declining or the willingness to continue the eye drop treatment is declining, the score may be lowered. Decreased adherence and decreased motivation may be determined based on factors such as a decrease in the implementation rate of instillation, failure to keep the instillation time, and delay in visiting the hospital.

When the scheduled date and time for visiting the hospital is approaching, a message will be displayed to notify the date and time of the scheduled visit, the name of the hospital, the doctor in charge, etc., and it will function to prevent forgetting to visit the hospital. The appointment date and time for visiting the hospital can be set by reading a QR code containing a medical appointment issued from dedicated software executed on the hospital terminal at the time of the previous visit with the camera of the patient's mobile terminal or the camera of the eyedropper aid, or There is a method of registering directly from dedicated software running on a terminal and then registering on a fixed server over the Internet, and a method of direct input by the user using the input function of the patient support software.

Estimate the date when the eye drops will run out from the amount of eye drops in the eye drop information, the number of eye drops prescribed, and the actual number of eye drops. A message prompting the patient to visit the hospital may be displayed. At the same time, a function of setting a scheduled date of hospital visit and a function of making a reservation for a hospital visit via the Internet may be operated.

The patient support software on the patient's mobile terminal can be used to check the status of eye drops at any time, test results such as tonometer and visual field test, score status, remaining amount of eye drops, information on eye drops, date of appointment for hospital visit, detailed content on target diseases and eye drops, and past information. It is possible to view exchanges of messages etc.

Various test results can be displayed in an easy-to-understand manner in graphs, tables, etc., together with events such as eye drop status, score changes, hospital visits and changes in eye drops. FIG. 21 is an example of a graph showing the relationship between test results, scores, and various events. In this example, from the top, the visual field sensitivity 1701 obtained by the visual field test, the intraocular pressure value 1702 measured by the tonometer, the transition of the score obtained by the patient support software 1703, the date of hospital visit, the start of eye drops, the change of eye drops, etc. Events 1704 are arranged in chronological order and displayed. Regarding the visual field sensitivity, by displaying an approximate straight line (in this example, a dashed line 1705 in this example) of multiple measured values in an arbitrary period along with each data value, the degree of sensitivity reduction during that period is shown, and changes in the degree of sensitivity reduction for each period are shown. are displayed in an easy-to-understand manner. Regarding the intraocular pressure value, the set target intraocular pressure is displayed on the graph (horizontal dotted line 1706 at the bottom) to clarify the treatment target. As for the score, the height and color of the bar graph 1707 may express the degree of adherence and willingness to continue treatment. By tapping the data on the graph, you may transition to a screen for checking detailed data.

From the graph of this example, it can be seen that the intraocular pressure decreased to some extent when the eye drop treatment was started, and the progression of the visual field was suppressed compared to before the eye drop treatment, but the target intraocular pressure was not reached. If the eye drops were changed on the day of the second visit from the start of the eye drops, and if the eye drops were continued correctly (can be judged from the continued high score), the target intraocular pressure was reached and the visual field progressed in the examination at the next visit. It turns out that it is suppressed further. After that, when the score decreases, it is found that the intraocular pressure increases. By checking this graph, the patient can understand the effects and goals of the eye drop treatment and the significance of continuing, and furthermore, it motivates the maintenance and improvement of adherence and continued treatment. In addition, the patient support software automatically issues an alert to inform the patient and supporters if the eye drop continues to be forgotten and the score drops, or if test values such as intraocular pressure deteriorate, and advice for improvement and eye drop treatment. It is possible to deliver a message that motivates continuation. In addition, the in-hospital terminal device will also issue an alert, enabling the doctor in charge to remotely support the patient.

Furthermore, the patient can record comments at any time. The comments include symptoms and side effects that are worrisome, questions and questions about diseases and eye drops. By sharing these comments with medical professionals such as doctors and pharmacists, they can be used as materials for receiving accurate advice at the next hospital visit. In addition, the patient support system can analyze the contents of comments and automatically provide necessary knowledge and information.

These functions enable the patient support software to stay close to the patient on a daily basis, support the continuation of eye drop treatment, and help maintain and improve adherence.

(11) Operation of Dedicated Software Executed on In-hospital Terminal Device Dedicated software executed on the in-hospital terminal device is used by medical professionals such as doctors and pharmacists not only when the patient visits the hospital, but also on a daily basis. to help continue eye drop therapy.

An example of the operation at the time of visiting the hospital will now be described. After the patient visits the hospital and asks questions, various necessary examinations (refractive examination, visual acuity examination, intraocular pressure measurement, visual field examination, fundus examination, etc.) are performed, and then a doctor's examination is performed. When a doctor designates a target patient in an examination room, the dedicated software reads the target patient's daily eye instillation status and score from the fixed server, and displays various data, allowing the doctor to grasp the patient's daily eye instillation treatment status. It becomes possible. In addition, the test results of the day are recorded on the fixed server, and the latest test results can be browsed from the patient's portable terminal and the supporter's portable terminal. As in FIG. 21, it is also possible to display the relationships in graphs, tables, etc. in an easy-to-understand manner together with events such as eye drop conditions, score transitions, hospital visits, changes in eye drops, and the like.

Based on the patient data displayed in the dedicated software, the doctor can give advice to the patient, or change the eye drops or eye drops plan as necessary. In addition, basic information about eye drops to be prescribed (name of eye drops, target eye (right eye, left eye, both eyes), number of drops per day, number of drops per drop, time of drop (time zone), date of prescription, etc.) ) can be set and recorded on a fixed server.

Furthermore, the next hospital visit reservation is made and recorded in the fixed server.

Finally, hospital visit points are automatically given and delivered to the patient's portable terminal together with the message. Messages can be automatically generated by patient support software based on daily instillation status and test results, a method in which a doctor selects multiple automatically generated comments, and a method in which a doctor directly inputs messages. The message can also be automatically delivered to the set supporters. Delivered messages are recorded on a fixed server and can be checked at any time from a patient's mobile terminal or the like.

The eye drop basic information can also be set by dedicated software that operates on the pharmacy's terminal device and recorded on a fixed server. It is also possible to read a QR code for registering an electronic medicine notebook issued by a pharmacy with a camera mounted on a patient portable terminal and record it on a fixed server via patient support software. When dedicated software is running on the terminal device of the pharmacy and the pharmacy is registered as the pharmacy in charge, the pharmacist can view data such as the patient's instillation status, and can give various advice based on the data.

Medical professionals such as doctors and pharmacists can access not only when a patient visits the hospital, but also through dedicated software running on the terminal device, the patient's daily eye instillation status and measurement results such as intraocular pressure recorded on the fixed server. can be checked at any time. In addition, medical personnel can send messages to the patient's mobile device as needed. Furthermore, if there is an abnormality in the patient's instillation score or intraocular pressure measurement, the dedicated software can automatically issue an alert and notify the doctor. With these functions, medical staff can grasp the patient's eye drop treatment status even when the patient does not visit the hospital, and can accurately support the maintenance and improvement of patient adherence and treatment continuation. It is possible to help the patient to prevent deterioration of

(12) Operation of Dedicated Software Executed on Supporter's Portable Terminal Dedicated software executed on the supporter's portable terminal enables the supporter, such as a family member or a caregiver, to grasp the patient's continuation status of eye drop treatment on a daily basis. By deepening the understanding of the patient's disease, the supporter himself/herself acts to support the patient so that the eye drop treatment can be continued.

The supporter can check the patient's daily eye instillation status and test results such as intraocular pressure recorded on the fixed server at any time via dedicated software that runs on the terminal device. Furthermore, messages can be exchanged between the patient and the supporter as needed.

Furthermore, it is also possible to receive notifications delivered to the portable terminal of the supporter by the patient support software for each event such as when the patient performs daily eye drops or visits the hospital. It is also possible to browse knowledge and information about target diseases.
With these functions, the supporter can grasp the patient's eye drop treatment status, etc., and can accurately support the maintenance and improvement of the patient's adherence and the continuation of treatment.

The patient support system collects healthcare information accumulated in patient mobile devices (walking/running distance, number of steps, activity information such as calories burned, sleep information, physical measurement data such as weight, height, BMI, blood pressure, heart rate, etc.).・By analyzing the above-mentioned instillation status and various test results, etc., the causal relationship between the progress of the target disease and various data can be analyzed, and the target disease It is also possible to carry out a process of proposing lifestyle habits effective in suppressing the progression of glaucoma, maintaining and improving adherence, and motivating the continuation of eye drop treatment. In addition, eye instillation status of multiple patients, various test results, and healthcare information are accumulated on a fixed server to build big data, and artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies that utilize this data are used to further improve the accuracy of progression control methods. It is also possible to construct and execute processing that motivates the elucidation of, maintenance and improvement of adherence, and continuation of treatment. Furthermore, the patient's health care information such as blood pressure and activity information can be displayed in the graph of FIG. You may utilize it for the improvement of a lifestyle by confirming data. In addition, it is possible to give advice on lifestyle habits and the like that are considered to be effective after confirmation by a doctor.

The patient support system registers not only eye drops, but also medication information (medicine name, dosing time, dosage, etc.) for oral medicines, patch medicines, supplements, etc. for improving blood pressure and blood sugar levels, etc. It may be equipped with a function to display a message to prevent forgetting, record a medication history to analyze the medication status, and motivate the patient to maintain and improve adherence and continue treatment. In addition, it is also possible to simultaneously display the medication status and scores of medicines other than eye drops and supplements in the graph of FIG. It can be used to understand the relationship with the patient, and for the doctor in charge to analyze these data to determine the treatment policy and give advice to the patient.

As described above, the second embodiment is a patient support system for the eyedropper installed in a patient's home or a nursing facility, and includes a communication means provided in the eyedropper aid 100 similar to that of the first embodiment. The external device that communicates provides treatment support such as registered patient's eye instillation date and time, eye instillation schedule notification, eye instillation activity tracking and history storage, attention to patient's treatment plan deviation, and further stored data and eye instillation history It is possible to quantify the evaluation of the patient's eye instillation status and willingness to participate in treatment, and provide the results on the display screen of the external device or by voice.

In addition, the external device connected to the eye drop aid 100 for communication is connected to a fixed server on the Internet, a cloud system, and other Internet terminals, and numerical data and image data stored in the external device are transferred to a fixed server on the Internet. Save and analyze in the cloud system, share the analysis results, eye drop treatment history, eye drop status, and evaluation score of patient willingness to treatment with external devices and other Internet terminals, and treat patients together with patients, doctors, caregivers, etc. Try to improve your grades. That is, the patient's eye instillation status can be detected and evaluated, and the data can be shared between the doctor and the patient to improve patient adherence.

Instructions and information given to the patient by the software installed in the external device include notice of instillation time, reminder to forget to instill, daily instillation/medication schedule, instillation history, consultation instructions, and past data at medical institutions. and history, medical information, etc. In addition, as the patient's motivation to continue treatment, the patient's condition and willingness are scored, evaluated, and displayed based on the eye instillation condition, eye instillation continuation, data from medical institutions, data on cooperation with other diagnostic devices, and the like. Advice for increasing the score and incentives with images are displayed to increase the patient's willingness to continue treatment.

In addition, by connecting to external devices such as smartphones, personal computers, tablet PCs, etc. by external communication means and sharing and analyzing patient data, the patient's condition can be monitored by the medical institution, the patient, and the patient's support person to continue the patient's treatment. It is possible to build a home monitoring system that can confirm the situation and intention and support the patient. In addition, the software installed in the external device supports the patient's daily treatment activities such as eye drops and medication, and provides appropriate advice and encouragement to improve the patient's willingness to continue treatment according to the patient's participation in treatment. can be done.

That is, in the home monitoring system according to Embodiment 2, patient data and medication history, types and information of medicines, instructions from doctors, appointments for medical examinations, prediction of future medical condition trends by the AI system, and motivation to continue treatment Can build a support system to support patients by providing them with regular advice and encouragement.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without changing the gist of the invention. Further, in order to achieve the object of the present invention, the present invention is implemented as a method having steps of the characteristic constituent means included in the home monitoring system and the patient support system, or as a program including those characteristic steps. You can also The program can be distributed not only in a ROM or the like, but also via a recording medium such as a USB memory or a communication network.

Reference Signs List 1 eyedropper 100 eyedrop aid 101 air fan 102 air chamber 103 inflow control valve 104 air duct 104a inlet 104b exhaust port 104c drug introduction hole 104d eyepiece 105 eyedrop container fixing attachment 106 eyedrop container 106a drug drop outlet 107 trigger arm 107a, 605 Pushing rod (eye drop container pushing mechanism)
108 pressure point adjusting arm 109 grip (operating means)
302 side support guide (support guide)
303 rear support guide (support guide)
303a plunger (second pressing means)
305 set plate 309 pressing plunger (first pressing means)
310 double nut (first pressing means)
Before 310a nut (first pressing means)
After 310b nut (first pressing means)
311 slit (first pressing means)
312 set guide groove 501 trigger arm rotating shaft 606 solenoid (electric drive means)
801 spring check valve (inflow control valve)
1003 Reflective optical sensor (left and right eye detection means)
1801a Air fan control unit (air fan control means)
S1 open space

Claims (11)

An eye drop aid for administering a drug solution in an eye drop container to a patient's eye,
air fan and
an air chamber serving as an air chamber for the air flow discharged from the air fan;
a cylindrical air duct communicating with the air chamber;
an eye drop container fixing attachment to which the eye drop container is replaceably mounted and which fixes the nozzle of the eye drop container to the upper wall of the horizontal air duct with the nozzle facing downward;
an eyedrops container pressing mechanism that presses a predetermined position on the side surface of the eyedrops container attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment;
and a trigger arm that controls the operation of the eyedrop container pressing mechanism,
One end of the opening of the cylindrical air duct serves as an inlet through which the air flow discharged from the air fan flows through the air chamber, while the other end of the opening is an eyepiece with which the patient's eyelid circumference abuts. be the mouth,
The upper wall of the air duct is formed with a liquid medicine introduction hole for introducing into the air duct droplet droplets dropped from the nozzle of the eyedrops container attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment. eye drop aid. The eye drop aid further comprises:
2. An operation means is provided for operating the air duct in a horizontal state or in an inclined state in which the eyepiece is higher than the inlet when the patient administers the drug in the eye drop container. 1. The eye drop aid according to 1. 3. The eyedropping aid according to claim 1, wherein at least one or more air outlets are formed on a side wall of said air duct near said eyepiece port. The eye drop aid further comprises
When the opening height of the air duct is 10 mm or more and 25 mm or less, and the horizontal distance from the medicine droplet outlet of the eyedrop container to the eyepiece is 20 mm or more and 50 mm or less, drops are dripped into the air duct from the medicine droplet outlet of the eyedrop container. Calculate the relative flow velocity of the air flow in the air duct with respect to the drug droplets required to move the drug droplets in the horizontal direction by the following (Equation 1), and based on the obtained relative flow velocity, 3. An eyedropping aid according to claim 1, further comprising air fan control means for controlling said air fan so that the flow velocity in the air duct is 10 m/sec or more and 40 m/sec or less.
[Number 1]

Here, U is the relative speed between the flow velocity of the air flow in the air duct and the droplets of the medicinal solution, L is the horizontal distance from the drip port of the eyedrop container to the center (cornea) of the eyepiece of the air duct, and H is the opening height of the air duct. , m: mass of drug droplet droplet, ρ: density of air, d: diameter of drug droplet droplet The eye drop container fixing attachment
a set plate on which the eye drop container can be attached facing downward;
and a pressing position adjustment mechanism that adjusts the pressing position of the eye drop container,
A support guide is arranged on the inner surface of the set plate to press and support the side surface of the eye drop container,
the lower end of the set plate is detachably fitted into a set guide groove formed in the outer wall of the air duct;
3. The eyedropping aid according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lower region of the set plate is provided with an open space that enables opening and closing of the cap of the eyedropping container when the eyedropping container is attached. equipment. The eye drop container pressing mechanism is
a trigger arm rotation axis serving as a rotation axis of the trigger arm;
2. A push rod connected to the trigger arm and acting in a direction of pushing the eye drop container from the side via the trigger arm rotating shaft when the trigger arm is pulled. 3. The eye drop aid according to 2 above. The eye drop container pressing mechanism is
an electric driving means that is electrically driven in conjunction with the trigger arm;
3. The eye drop aid according to claim 1, further comprising a push rod that acts in a direction to push the eye drop container from the side using the electric drive means when the trigger arm is pulled. The eye drop aid further comprises:
an airflow inflow control valve disposed near the inflow port of the air duct;
a valve driving mechanism that opens the inflow control valve when the eyedrops container pressing mechanism interlocked with the trigger arm reaches the vicinity of the maximum pressing position in the pressing range, and closes the inflow control valve when the trigger arm is released; 3. The eye-dropping aid according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by comprising: 3. The eye-dropping aid according to claim 1, further comprising communication means capable of transmitting data to an external terminal via a wired/wireless network. An eye drop aid for administering a drug solution in an eye drop container to a patient's eye,
air fan and
a cylindrical air duct communicating with the air fan and through which the air flow discharged from the air fan flows;
an eye drop container fixing attachment to which the eye drop container is replaceably mounted and which fixes the nozzle of the eye drop container to the upper wall of the horizontal air duct with the nozzle facing downward;
an eyedrops container pressing mechanism that presses a predetermined position on the side surface of the eyedrops container attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment;
and a trigger arm that controls the operation of the eyedrop container pressing mechanism,
One end of the opening of the cylindrical air duct serves as an inlet into which the air flow discharged from the air fan flows, while the other end of the opening serves as an eyepiece with which the patient's eyelid circumference abuts,
The upper wall of the air duct is formed with a liquid medicine introduction hole for introducing into the air duct droplet droplets dropped from the nozzle of the eyedrops container attached to the eyedrops container fixing attachment. eye drop aid. An eye dropper comprising the eye drop aid according to claim 1 or claim 10 and an eye drop container.

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