JP7234572B2 - Care systems, their management methods, and programs - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to notification of information indicating that a care recipient needs care.

Traditionally, institutions such as nursing homes and hospitals have obtained information about subjects of care and provided care to subjects of care on an as-needed basis. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-211630 (Patent Document 1) discloses that information indicating whether there is an abnormality in a living room, information indicating whether there is a response, and information about visitors to the living room are periodically transmitted via a network. discloses an intercom device that provides a

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2018-92493 (Patent Document 2) discloses a care support system that generates care plan information by analyzing input data regarding details of care provided to a subject. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2018-41134 (Patent Literature 3) discloses a system that automatically generates the content of a greeting by using as input the schedule of a family member or the like who is away from the person receiving care. Japanese Patent No. 5722659 (Patent Document 4) discloses a bed leaving notification device using an infrared sensor. The bed-leaving notification device detects the subject's bed-leaving based on the detection output of the biological monitor and the like.

JP 2013-211630 A JP 2018-92493 A JP 2018-41134 A Japanese Patent No. 5722659

However, in the conventional technology, care was uniformly provided when objective conditions such as a subject's body temperature becoming high were satisfied. This allowed care to be provided even when the condition was met, even though it was only a temporary ailment. In other words, even in situations where the subject did not need much care, a situation could arise in which excessive care was provided. In addition, although the above conditions are not met, a more serious situation could have been avoided if care was provided at an early stage, such as when the care recipient became temporarily anxious. could also occur. In such a situation, by acquiring more detailed information about the subject, there is a technology to not only provide more appropriate care to the subject, but also avoid providing unnecessary care and make up for the labor shortage. was wanted.

The present disclosure has been conceived in view of such circumstances, and the purpose thereof is to provide a technology for providing care providers with information based on more detailed information about the person being cared for. be.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method of managing a care system comprising: accepting input from a subject; and determining, based on the input, whether the subject needs care. and presenting information indicating that care to the subject is necessary to a person who provides care to the subject when it is determined that the care is necessary for the subject. A system management method is provided.

The care system management method may further comprise a step of outputting a question to the subject when the staff is absent in the subject's living room. The step of receiving input may include receiving an answer to the question as input.

The questions may include questions about at least one of the subject's locomotion, posture, behavior, biometrics, and the subject's living room environment.

The care system management method may further comprise the step of determining whether or not the subject's living room is staffed.

The care system management method may further comprise the step of changing the condition under which the question is output based on the content of the input.

The step of presenting information may include presenting information representative of the nature of the care needed.

The step of presenting the information may include presenting the information to staff performing care for the subject.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a program for causing a processor of a computer to execute the care system management method described above.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, receiving input from the subject, determining whether the subject needs care based on the input, and determining that the subject needs care and presenting information to a person providing care to the subject indicating that the subject needs care when the care is performed. A system is provided.

According to the present disclosure, the necessity of care for the subject is determined based on the input from the subject, and when it is determined that care is required in the determination, care for the subject is required. Information indicating that The need for care is determined based on input from the subject, which is detailed information about the subject. This provides the provider of care with more informed information about the subject of care.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a watching system. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of a sensor detection range in a living room 900; It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the sensor box 100 of a monitoring system, the management server 200, and the portable terminal 300. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a cloud server 400; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a dialogue terminal 700; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the utilization aspect of a watching system. It is a figure which shows an example of the resident's tweet in a watching system. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the question output in a watching system. It is a functional block diagram of each element in a watching system. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information (tweet database) that associates tweets of residents with content notified to mobile terminal 300. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information (question database) that associates care records with question content; 7 is a flowchart of an example of processing performed by management server 200 regarding output of a question from interaction terminal 700. FIG. 7 is a flow chart of another example of processing executed by the management server 200 regarding the output of a question from the interactive terminal 700; 7 is a flowchart of an example of processing executed by the management server 200 regarding analysis of tweets acquired by the interaction terminal 700 as an example of input from the resident.

An embodiment of a watching system will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, identical parts and components are given identical reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, these descriptions will not be repeated.

[Configuration of monitoring system]
Drawing 1 is a figure showing an example of composition of a watching system. A resident in each living room provided in the living room area RM of the facility is employed as an example of a watching target. In the monitoring system of FIG. 1, living rooms 900A and 900B are provided in the living room area RM. Living room 900A is assigned to resident 800A. Living room 900B is assigned to resident 800B. In the example of FIG. 1, the number of living rooms included in the watching system is two, but the number is not limited to this.

In the monitoring system, a sensor box 100A installed in living room 900A, a sensor box 100B installed in living room 900B, a management server 200 installed in management center ST, and an access point AP are connected via network NT. be done.

In the monitoring system, a mobile terminal 300A carried by staff NA and a mobile terminal 300B carried by staff NB are connected to network NT via access point AP. Furthermore, sensor boxes 100A and 100B, management server 200, and access point AP can communicate with cloud server 400 via network NT.

Furthermore, in the watching system, dialogue terminals 700A and 700B installed in living rooms 900A and 900B are connected to other devices in the watching system via network NT. Each of the interaction terminals 700A and 700B is, for example, a robot having the appearance of a stuffed bear, as shown as "interaction terminal 700" in FIG. However, the appearance of the interactive terminal 700 may be anything, and may be a cylindrical housing that does not have a structure corresponding to the eyes and nose.

Further, the interactive terminals 700A and 700B may display a character that interacts with the resident on the display, or display information (for example, a question message) for dialogue with the resident on the display. Alternatively, it may be output from a speaker.

Living room 900A includes, as equipment, bed 901A, toilet 902A, and furniture 903A. A door sensor 510A for detecting opening/closing of the door is installed on the door of the living room 900A. A toilet sensor 520A for detecting opening and closing of the toilet 902A is installed on the door of the toilet 902A. An odor sensor 530A for acquiring excretion information of the resident 800A is installed on the bed 901A. The resident 800A wears a vital sensor 540A that detects the vital information of the resident 800A. An example of detected vital information is a resident's body temperature. Another example is the resident's breathing. Yet another example is the resident's heart rate. Yet another example is more than one of these types of information. In living room 900A, resident 800A can operate care call slave device 500A.

In this specification, when referring to items common to a plurality of sensor boxes 100A and 100B, the term "sensor box 100" is used to collectively refer to sensor boxes 100A and 100B. Similarly, residents 800A, 800B, living rooms 900A, 900B, beds 901A, 901B, toilets 902A, 902B, furniture 903A, 903B, care call child devices 500A, 500B, door sensors 510A, 510B, toilet sensors 520A, 520B, smell sensors 530A, 530B, and vital sensors 540A, 540B, respectively, the terms "resident 800", "living room 900", "toilet 902", "furniture 903", "care call child device 500", and "door sensor 510" , “toilet sensor 520”, “smell sensor 530”, and “vital sensor 540” are used.

The sensor box 100A incorporates sensors for detecting the behavior of objects in the living room 900A. One example of a sensor is a Doppler sensor for detecting motion of an object. Another example is a camera. Still other examples are a care call handset 500, a door sensor 510, a toilet sensor 520, an odor sensor 530, or a vital sensor 540. Sensor box 100A includes at least one of these sensors as a sensor.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the sensor detection range in the living room 900. As shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 2, the sensor box 100 is installed on the ceiling CL of the living room 900 .

Range AR schematically represents the detection range of the sensor. If the sensor is a Doppler sensor, the Doppler sensor will detect behavior occurring within the range AR. If the sensor is a camera, the camera takes an image within the range AR.

Returning to FIG. 1, management server 200 installed in management center ST is connected to display 206 and input device 209 . Input device 209 is, for example, a keyboard.

In the watching system of FIG. 1, the number of mobile terminals connected to the network NT via the access point AP is 2 (mobile terminals 300A and 300B), but the number is not limited to this. In this specification, when referring to matters common to mobile terminals 300A and 300B, the term "mobile terminal 300" is used to collectively refer to mobile terminals 300A and 300B.

Also, the term “interactive terminal 700” is used to collectively refer to the interactive terminals 700A and 700B.
Communication between elements in the monitoring system of FIG. 1 may be wired or wireless.

Note that sensor box 100 may not necessarily include camera 105 and/or Doppler sensor 106 . Camera 105 and/or Doppler sensor 106 may be provided outside sensor box 100, similar to door sensor 510 and the like. The control device 101 may acquire the detection output of the camera 105 and/or the Doppler sensor 106 provided outside the sensor box 100 via a given interface.

The vital sensor 540 does not necessarily have to be attached to the resident. In one example, the vital sensor 540 is implemented by an infrared sensor or the like installed away from the resident, and outputs vital information (body temperature) by detecting the temperature of the resident. In another example, vital sensor 540 is implemented by Doppler sensor 106 . The Doppler sensor 106 emits microwaves toward the resident. The microwave causes a Doppler effect due to slight displacement of the chest caused by the resident's heart beat, and its frequency fluctuates. The Doppler sensor 106 detects the resident's heartbeat based on the frequency variation. In yet another example, Doppler sensor 106 detects the resident's breathing.

In one example, the interactive terminal 700 is installed in the living room 900 and communicates with the resident by voice. More specifically, the interactive terminal 700 audibly outputs questions regarding the care provided to the resident. When the resident answers the question by voice, the dialogue terminal 700 acquires the voice of the answer. The interactive terminal 700 may output questions according to instructions from the management server 200 . The dialogue terminal 700 may transfer the acquired voice to the management server 200 .

The dialogue between the dialogue terminal 700 and the resident is not limited to voice, but may be one using visual information (for example, display of a question sentence), or one using vibration (for example, Vibration for prompting input of impressions of care), or a combination of these modes. More specifically, the information input as an answer is not limited to voice, but may be electronic information obtained by operating buttons, keyboards, etc., or captured by equipment such as a camera or various human sensors. It may be visual information (sign language, gestures, etc.) to be displayed, or a combination thereof.

[Configuration of each element of the monitoring system]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the sensor box 100, management server 200, and mobile terminal 300 of the monitoring system. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the cloud server 400. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the interactive terminal 700. As shown in FIG. An example of the configuration of each device in the monitoring system will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG.

(Sensor box 100)
As shown in FIG. 3, the sensor box 100 includes a control device 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a communication interface 104, a camera 105, a Doppler sensor 106, A wireless communication device 107 and a storage device 120 are provided.

A control device 101 controls the sensor box 100 . The control device 101 is composed of, for example, at least one integrated circuit. The integrated circuit is composed of, for example, at least one CPU (Central Processing Unit), at least one ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), at least one FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

An antenna (not shown) and the like are connected to the communication interface 104 . The sensor box 100 exchanges data with an external communication device via the antenna. External communication devices include, for example, management server 200, mobile terminal 300, access point AP, cloud server 400, and other communication terminals.

Camera 105, in one implementation, is a near-infrared camera. A near-infrared camera includes an IR (Infrared) projector that projects near-infrared light. By using a near-infrared camera, an image representing the interior of living room 900 can be captured even at night. In other implementations, camera 105 is a surveillance camera that receives only visible light. In still other implementations, camera 105 may be a 3D sensor or a thermographic camera. The sensor box 100 and camera 105 may be configured integrally or separately.

The Doppler sensor 106 is, for example, a microwave Doppler sensor, emits and receives radio waves, and detects the behavior (movement) of objects in the living room 900 . Thereby, biometric information of the resident 800 in the living room 900 can be detected. In one example, the Doppler sensor 106 emits 24 GHz band microwaves toward the bed 901 in each living room 900 and receives reflected waves reflected by the resident 800 . The reflected wave is Doppler-shifted due to the motion of the resident 800 . The Doppler sensor 106 can detect the respiratory state and heart rate of the resident 800 from the reflected waves.

Wireless communication device 107 receives signals from care call slave device 500 , door sensor 510 , toilet sensor 520 , odor sensor 530 , and vital sensor 540 and transmits the signals to control device 101 . For example, care call slave device 500 includes care call button 501 , and when care call button 501 is operated, transmits a signal indicating that the operation has been performed to wireless communication device 107 . Door sensor 510 , toilet sensor 520 , odor sensor 530 , and vital sensor 540 each transmit their detection outputs to wireless communication device 107 .

Storage device 120 is, for example, a recording medium such as a hard disk or an external storage device. The storage device 120 stores programs executed by the control device 101 and various data used for executing the programs. Various data may include behavior information of the resident 800 .

At least one of the above programs and data can be stored in a storage device other than the storage device 120 (eg, storage area of the control device 101 (eg, cache memory), ROM 102, It may be stored in the RAM 103, external equipment (for example, management server 200, mobile terminal 300, etc.).

(action information)
The above action information will be explained. The action information is, for example, information indicating that the resident 800 has performed a predetermined action. In one example, the predetermined actions are "get up" indicating that the resident 800 got up, "leave the bed" indicating that the resident 800 left the bedding, and "fall" indicating that the resident 800 fell off the bedding. , and “Fall” indicating that the resident 800 has fallen.

In one embodiment, the control device 101 generates behavior information of the resident 800 associated with each living room 900 based on images captured by the cameras 105 installed in each living room 900 . For example, the control device 101 detects the head of the resident 800 from the above image, and "gets up" or "gets out of bed" of the resident 800 based on the time change in the size of the detected head of the resident 800. , to detect "tumbles" and "tumbles". A specific example of generating behavior information will be described in more detail below.

First, the storage device 120 stores the location area of the bed 901 in the living room 900, the first threshold Th1, the second threshold Th2, and the third threshold Th3. The first threshold Th1 distinguishes the size of the resident's head between the lying posture and the sitting posture within the location area of the bed 901 . The second threshold Th2 identifies whether or not the resident is standing in the living room 900 excluding the area where the bed 901 is located, based on the size of the resident's head. The third threshold Th3 identifies whether or not the resident is lying down based on the head size of the resident in the living room RM excluding the area where the bed 901 is located.

The control device 101 extracts a moving body region as a human region of the resident 800 from the target image by, for example, a background subtraction method or a frame subtraction method. The control device 101 further derives from the extracted moving object region, for example, a circular or elliptical Hough transform, pattern matching using a head model prepared in advance, and a neural network trained for head detection. The head area of the resident 800 is extracted using the determined threshold. The control device 101 detects "getting up", "getting out of bed", "falling", and "falling" from the extracted position and size of the head.

The control device 101 determines that the position of the head extracted as described above is within the location area of the bed 901 and the size of the head extracted as described above is determined by using the first threshold value Th1. It may be determined that the action "wake up" has occurred when it detects a change from posture magnitude to sitting posture magnitude.

When the position of the head extracted as described above moves from within the location area of the bed 901 to outside the location area of the bed 901, the control device 101 controls the size of the head extracted as described above. It may be determined that the action "getting out of bed" has occurred when it is detected that has changed from a certain size to the size of the standing posture by using the second threshold Th2.

When the position of the head extracted as described above moves from within the location area of the bed 901 to outside the location area of the bed 901, the control device 101 controls the size of the head extracted as described above. changes over time from a certain magnitude to a lying posture magnitude by using a third threshold Th3, it may be determined that the action "fall" has occurred.

The control device 101 determines that the position of the head extracted as described above is located in the living room 900 excluding the location area of the bed 901 and that the size of the extracted head is If it detects a change from one size to a lying size, it may be determined that the action "fall" has occurred.

As described above, in one specific example, the control device 101 of the sensor box 100 generates behavior information of the resident 800 . In addition, in the monitoring system, other elements may generate the behavior information of the resident 800 using the image in the living room 900 .

(Management server 200)
As shown in FIG. 3 , management server 200 includes control device 201 , ROM 202 , RAM 203 , communication interface 204 , display interface 205 , operation interface 207 and storage device 220 .

The control device 201 controls the management server 200 . The control device 201 is, for example, composed of at least one integrated circuit. An integrated circuit includes, for example, at least one CPU, at least one ASIC, at least one FPGA, or a combination thereof.

An antenna (not shown) and the like are connected to the communication interface 204 . The management server 200 exchanges data with external communication devices via the antenna. External communication equipment includes, for example, the sensor box 100 .

The display interface 205 is connected to the display 206 and sends an image signal for displaying an image to the display 206 in accordance with a command from the control device 201 or the like.

The operation interface 207 is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal and connected to the input device 209 . The operation interface 207 receives signals indicating user operations from the input device 209 . Input device 209, such as a mouse, keyboard, touch panel, or other device capable of accepting user input operations.

Storage device 220 is, for example, a recording medium such as a hard disk or an external storage device. In one implementation, storage device 220 stores programs executed by controller 201 , although the programs may be stored on other storage devices accessible by controller 201 .

(Portable terminal 300)
As shown in FIG. 3 , mobile terminal 300 includes control device 301 , RAM 303 , communication interface 304 , display 305 , input device 306 and internal memory 320 .

The control device 301 controls the mobile terminal 300 . The control device 301 is composed of, for example, at least one integrated circuit. An integrated circuit is composed of, for example, at least one CPU, at least one ASIC, at least one FPGA, or a combination thereof.

An antenna (not shown) and the like are connected to the communication interface 304 . Mobile terminal 300 exchanges data with an external communication device via the antenna and access point AP (FIG. 1). External communication equipment includes, for example, the sensor box 100, the management server 200, and the like.

The display 305 is implemented by, for example, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The input device 306 is implemented by a touch sensor superimposed on the display 305, for example. The touch sensor receives various operations on the mobile terminal 300 by touch operations, and outputs the content of the operations to the control device 301 .

Internal memory 320 is, for example, a recording medium such as eMMC (Embedded MultiMediaCard). As an example, the internal memory 320 stores a program to be executed by the control device 301. The program may be stored in a storage device other than the internal memory 320 as long as it is a storage device accessible by the control device 301. good too.

(Cloud server 400)
As shown in FIG. 4 , cloud server 400 includes control device 401 , ROM 402 , RAM 403 , communication interface 404 and storage device 420 .

A control device 401 controls the cloud server 400 . The control device 401 is composed of, for example, at least one integrated circuit. An integrated circuit includes, for example, at least one CPU, at least one ASIC, at least one FPGA, or a combination thereof.

An antenna (not shown) and the like are connected to the communication interface 404 . Cloud server 400 exchanges data with external communication devices via the antenna. External communication equipment includes, for example, the sensor box 100 and the management server 200 .

Storage device 420 is, for example, a recording medium such as a hard disk or an external storage device. In one implementation, storage device 420 stores programs executed by controller 401 , although the programs may be stored in other storage devices accessible by controller 401 .

(Interactive terminal 700)
As shown in FIG. 5, interactive terminal 700 includes controller 701 , RAM 703 , communication interface 704 , speaker 711 , microphone 712 , display 713 and internal memory 720 .

A control device 701 controls the interactive terminal 700 . The control device 701 is composed of, for example, at least one integrated circuit. An integrated circuit includes, for example, at least one CPU, at least one ASIC, at least one FPGA, or a combination thereof.

An antenna (not shown) and the like are connected to the communication interface 704 . The interactive terminal 700 exchanges data with an external communication device via the antenna. External communication equipment includes, for example, the sensor box 100 and the management server 200 .

Speaker 711 outputs sound under the control of control device 701 , and microphone 712 outputs the input sound to control device 701 . A display 713 displays information under the control of the control device 701 . The display 713 may be configured with a touch panel. In this case, the touch panel receives input of information by touch and outputs the input information to the control device 701 .

Internal memory 720 is, for example, a recording medium such as eMMC. As an example, the internal memory 720 stores a program executed by the control device 701, but the program may be stored in a storage device other than the internal memory 720 if the control device 701 can access the storage device. good too.

(Significance of the term "program" in this specification)
In the monitoring system, various "programs" may be provided not as individual programs but as part of arbitrary programs. Various "programs" can be realized by cooperation of arbitrary plural programs. In one example, when the control device 101 of the sensor box 100 implements the functions described herein by executing the first program, the first program is part of the module of the second program. You may use Even if the first program does not include some modules for realizing the function, if it mainly contributes to the realization of the function, it deviates from the purpose of the program for realizing the function. not something to do. Also, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented by dedicated hardware. Furthermore, a device that provides the functionality described herein may have some or all of its functionality provided by an external device as a so-called cloud service.

[How the monitoring system is used]
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of usage of the watching system. In the aspect shown in FIG. 6, the flow of information between the elements which comprise a watching system is shown by the arrow, and the number is assigned to each arrow. The assigned numbers represent an example of the sequence of information flow within the watching system. The flow of information in the monitoring system will be described below in order.

((1A) input)
When the resident 800 takes some action in the living room 900 , the dialogue terminal 700 acquires an input regarding the action of the resident 800 . In one example, when resident 800 mutters phrases such as "I'm sleepy" and "I want to go to the bathroom," interactive terminal 700 acquires the voice of the mutter with a microphone. The tweet voice of the resident 800 is an example of the "input". In another example, when the resident 800 moves his or her body, the interaction terminal 700 captures the movement of the body with a camera. The movement of the body of the resident 800 is an example of the "input".

The above "input" may be an active action (tweet, gesture, etc.) by the resident, or an action (unconscious action, etc.) that the resident does not intend to be acquired by the interactive terminal 700. There may be.

Moreover, the above-mentioned "input" may be an answer to a question from the interactive terminal 700, or may be an input regarding an action performed by the resident regardless of whether the question is output from the interactive terminal 700 or not.

In this specification, an input regarding a resident's behavior may be referred to as an "input from the resident".

((1B) question)
In the monitoring system, the interactive terminal 700 may output questions to the resident 800 .

When the resident 800 outputs an answer to the question, the dialogue terminal 700 acquires the answer as an input of the above "(1A) input".

((2) Input contents)
In the monitoring system, interactive terminal 700 transfers input from resident 800 to management server 200 . The interactive terminal 700 may transfer the input (eg, voice and/or image) obtained from the resident 800 itself. Dialog terminal 700 may forward information extracted from the input.

One example of extraction is character recognition for input speech. In this case, the interactive terminal 700 may transmit the text information acquired in character recognition to the management server 200 as the input content.

Another example of extraction is pattern recognition on input images. In this case, the interaction terminal 700 may transmit the action pattern (words expressed in sign language, etc.) acquired in the pattern recognition to the management server 200 as the input content.

((3) Analysis of input (answers/tweets))
In the watching system, when the resident's input is acquired from the interaction terminal 700, the management server 200 analyzes the contents of the input. In one example, the management server 200 analyzes speech input from the interactive terminal 700 . In another example, characters, words, sentences, etc. input from the interactive terminal 700 are analyzed. An example of analysis is determination of whether or not an analysis target satisfies a condition requiring notification to mobile terminal 300 .

((4) Notice)
As a result of the analysis in "(3) Analysis of input (response/tweet)", the management server 200 transmits a given notification to the portable terminal 300 when it is determined to be necessary. The notification may include information requesting to rush to the living room 900 . The notification may include details of care expected to be provided in the living room 900 . The management server 200 may identify the type of care expected to be provided according to the content of the input from the resident forwarded from the interactive terminal 700, and send the notification along with the type of care.

((5) Rush)
Upon receiving the notification from the management server 200, the mobile terminal 300 outputs information corresponding to the notification. The information output may be a display of visual information (messages, etc.), an audio output such as an alarm sound, a vibration, or a combination thereof. good too. The information to be output may include information specifying a room and/or a resident who needs to be rushed. The information that is output may include information that identifies the care that is (or is expected to be) needed (such as toileting assistance).

An application for care management (hereinafter also referred to as “care work application”) may be installed in the mobile terminal 300 . The control device 301 of the mobile terminal 300 may realize the output of the information as a function of the care work application.

The staff NA who carries the portable terminal 300 recognizes the necessity of rushing to the resident by outputting information from the portable terminal 300 and rushes to the resident's room.

((6) care work)
The staff member NA who rushes to the room provides care in the room.

((7) Care record input)
After providing care, the staff member NA inputs work details to the mobile terminal 300 . The mobile terminal 300 transmits the input work content to the management server 200 as a care record. Transmission of the work content may be implemented as a function of a care work application of mobile terminal 300, for example.

Care records are information for managing all kinds of information about residents, and are managed in the form of electronic files, for example. Care records are stored, for example, in storage device 220 . Care records may be stored in a storage device other than the storage device 220 as long as the storage device is accessible by the processor in the care system.

((8) Updating care records)
Upon receiving the work content from the mobile terminal 300, the management server 200 adds the work content to the care record of the resident who was the subject of care.

((9) Update of question conditions)
The management server 200 may update the conditions for care records for outputting questions (or sending instructions to output) according to the content of input from the resident.

In one example, in the monitoring system, the question "Are you tired?" ' is set to output. Under these settings, when the answer "I'm fine." is obtained for the question "Are you tired?" , the management server 200 sets the detection output condition for outputting the question about the resident to "the resident's body temperature is less than 35.0°C or exceeds 37.2°C". can be changed to That is, the high side threshold in the conditions may be changed from 37.0° C. to 37.2° C. based on “37.2° C.” in the work content. Based on the above answers, it is highly likely that the resident does not feel unwell even if the body temperature is 37.2°C. By changing the conditions as described above, a situation in which unnecessary questions are output to the resident can be avoided as much as possible.

In another example, a resident at some point mutters, "I need to go to the bathroom soon." The tweet is transferred to the management server 200 via the interactive terminal 700 . The management server 200 compares the time at which the tweet occurred with the previous excretion time of the resident who entered the tweet (issued the tweet). In one example, the excretion time of each resident is registered in each resident's care record, and the management server 200 obtains the excretion time of the resident by referring to the care record of the resident. In the management server 200, it is assumed that the condition for outputting the question "Don't you want to go to the bathroom soon?" Under this condition, when a certain resident muttered "I want to go to the toilet soon." continues for a given number of times, the management server 200 may change the above condition for the resident to "after '2' hours from the resident's excretion time".

(others)
Information for question Regarding “(1B) question” above, the management server 200 may output information (information for question) specifying the content of the question to be output to the interactive terminal 700 . In one example, the management server 200 may determine the timing of instructing the interactive terminal 700 to output a question and/or the content of the question to be output, based on the information registered in the care record. However, the question that is output may be determined by interactive terminal 700, or may be constant (eg, "How are you?", etc.).

- Detection Record The sensor box 100 may transmit information detected by the sensor box 100 to the management server 200 . An example of the transmitted information is the resident's biometric information. Another example is the resident's behavioral information ("getting up", "getting out of bed", "falling" and/or "falling"). The management server 200 may register the information received from the sensor box 100 in the patient's care record.

Change of care record UI The management server 200 may instruct the mobile terminal 300 to change the display of the UI (user interface) of the care work application according to the input from the resident.

One example of modification is to display confirmation of information entered by the resident.
For example, when the management server 200 detects a resident's tweet "My stomach hurts.", the management server 200 acquires the keywords "stomach" and "pain" by analyzing the voice of the tweet. The management server 200 acquires the symptom of abdominal pain from the acquired keyword. The management server 200 may store a database that associates keywords with symptoms. The management server 200 may instruct the mobile terminal 300 to display the acquired message for confirming the presence or absence of symptoms on the UI of the care work application for the resident who entered the tweet.

[Specific examples of tweets]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a resident's tweet in the monitoring system.

In the example of FIG. 7, resident 800 mutters, "I want to go to the bathroom soon," as indicated by voice V(1). The dialogue terminal 700 acquires the voice V(1) through the microphone 712 and transfers the voice V(1) to the management server 200 .

The management server 200 acquires the character string "I want to go to the bathroom soon." by analyzing the voice V(1). The management server 200 further extracts keywords "toilet" and "want to go" from the character string "I want to go to the bathroom soon." Based on these keywords, the management server 200 transmits to the portable terminal 300 a notification instructing to rush to the living room where the voice V(1) was acquired. The management server 200 may store a database in which keywords or keyword combinations are registered as conditions for outputting a notification instructing to rush. The management server 200 determines whether or not to notify the mobile terminal 300 based on the database and the acquired keyword.

The notification to mobile terminal 300 may include the content of the care work specified based on the acquired keyword (or combination of keywords). The management server 200 may store a database that associates keywords or combinations of keywords, necessity of notification, and details of care work. In the example of FIG. 7, the notification on the mobile terminal 300 includes the work content "excretion assistance" associated with the acquired keyword combination ("toilet", "want to go").

[Specific examples of questions]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of questions output in the watching system.

In the example of FIG. 8, a question is output asking whether or not the resident wants to excrete. More specifically, the interactive terminal 700 outputs the voice "Don't you want to go to the bathroom soon?" as the question Q(1) to the resident. In the example of FIG. 8, the resident 800 answers the question Q(1) by saying, "If you say so, I'd like to go."

The dialogue terminal 700 acquires this answer as an answer A(1) to the question Q(1). Answer A(1) is sent to management server 200 via interactive terminal 700 .

The management server 200 can further use the part extracted from the answer to determine whether or not to notify the mobile terminal 300 of the staff member of the staff. In the example of FIG. 8, the management server 200 extracts the character string "If you say so, I would like to go." by analyzing the answer A(1). The management server 200 outputs a notification to the mobile terminal 300 on condition that the character string includes the character string "I want to go" which is pre-registered as a character string indicating a desire to go to the bathroom. The notification may include work content (excretion assistance) associated with question Q(1).

In the watching system, instead of the computer (management server 200), the administrator of the watching system may determine whether or not to output the notification. In this case, the management server 200 aurally and / Or it may be output visually. Based on the output, the administrator may determine whether or not to notify the mobile terminal 300, and may further determine the type of information to be included in the notification.

[Block configuration of monitoring system]
FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of each element in the watching system. The functions of each device in the monitoring system will be described below.

(Sensor box 100)
The sensor box 100 functions as a sensor input section 191 , an image input section 192 and an indoor recognition section 193 .

The sensor input unit 191 detects the behavior (movement) of the resident, and is composed of, for example, the Doppler sensor 106, the care call slave unit 500, the door sensor 510, the toilet sensor 520, and/or the smell sensor 530.

The image input unit 192 acquires an image of the interior of the living room, and is configured by the camera 105, for example.

The indoor recognition unit 193 detects the state of the resident based on the detection outputs output from the sensor input unit 191 and the image input unit 192 . The state of the resident detected is, for example, “getting up”, “getting out of bed”, “falling over”, or “falling down” based on the detection output of camera 105 . Indoor recognition unit 193 is configured, for example, by control device 101 that executes a given program.

(Management server 200)
The management server 200 functions as a care support service management section 291 , a question/answer management section 292 and a timing determination section 293 .

The care support service management unit 291 manages care records for each resident. More specifically, each resident's information (name, age, etc.) is stored in the care record, and the work history and the like input from the mobile terminal 300 or the input device 208 are registered in the care record. Care support service management unit 291 is configured, for example, by control device 201 that executes a given program. The care support service management unit 291 may also be configured by a storage device 220 that stores care records.

The question/answer management unit 292 determines whether or not to output a notification to the mobile terminal 300 based on the content of the answer from the resident. The question/answer management unit 292 receives a detection output about the resident from the sensor box 100, and based on the detection output, instructs the interactive terminal 700 installed in the resident's room to output a question. You can decide whether or not The question/answer management unit 292 is configured by, for example, the control device 201 that executes a given program. The question/answer management unit 292 further includes information (for example, detection (Information associating the output with the content of the question) may be configured by a storage device 220 for storing.

The timing determination unit 293 determines whether or not there is a staff member in the room. An example of the determination is to acquire the position information of the mobile terminal 300 from the mobile terminal 300 and determine whether or not the position information is inside the living room. Another example is determining whether there is an object identified as a staff member in the room by recognizing an image of the room. It should be noted that the determination of whether or not there is a staff member in the living room can be realized by any other method. Timing determination unit 293 is configured by control device 201 that executes a given program, for example. The timing determination section 293 transmits the determination result to the question/answer management section 292 .

The question/answer management section 292 may output an instruction to output a question to the interactive terminal 700 on the condition that no staff is present in the room in which the interactive terminal 700 is installed. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a notification for rushing to the room is sent to the mobile terminal 300 even though there is a staff member in the room, that is, a situation in which a useless notification is sent to the mobile terminal 300. . The question/answer management unit 292 analyzes the answer to the question to determine whether or not to notify the mobile terminal 300 of the need for emergency assistance. to send.

Further, the question/answer management unit 292 may output an instruction to output a question to the interactive terminal 700 on the condition that no staff is in the room where the interactive terminal 700 is installed. As a result, information that serves as advice on the care work can be provided to the staff who are doing the care work in the living room. In one example, the question/answer management unit 292 instructs the interactive terminal 700 to output a question regarding the quality of the care work during the care work. The question/answer management section 292 acquires the answer to the question via the interactive terminal 700 . The question/answer management unit 292 acquires the resident's impression of the care work by analyzing the answer. For example, the question/answer management unit 292 instructs to output a question asking whether the care work being performed is the work requested by the resident. If the answer includes that the care work being performed is not the work that the resident wants and what kind of care work the resident wants, the question/answer management unit 292 checks these two points. is transmitted to the mobile terminal 300 including information specifying the . As a result, the staff in the living room can change the content of the work to be provided to the content of the work requested by the resident.

The question/answer management section 292 also acquires the resident's tweet (or its analysis result) transferred from the dialogue terminal 700 . The question/answer management unit 292 analyzes the transferred tweets to determine whether or not a notification to the mobile terminal 300 for rushing to the mobile terminal 300 is necessary. to send.

(Portable terminal 300)
Portable terminal 300 functions as care support UI unit 391 and position sensor 392 . The care support UI unit 391 displays a screen for notification received from the management server 200 and also displays a screen for inputting work content. The care support UI unit 391 is configured by, for example, the control device 301 that executes a care work application. Position sensor 392 is configured by, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver (not shown in FIG. 3) that acquires position information of mobile terminal 300 . Position sensor 392 transmits position information of mobile terminal 300 to management server 200 .

(Interactive terminal 700)
The dialogue terminal 700 functions as a question UI section 791 and an answer UI section 792 . The question UI section 791 outputs questions and is configured by the speaker 711 and/or the display 713, for example. In the example of FIG. 8, the question UI section 791 outputs questions according to instructions from the question/answer management section 292 .

The response UI section 792 acquires responses from the residents and transmits the responses to the management server 200 . The response UI unit 792 is configured by, for example, the microphone 712, or a touch panel or camera (not shown).

(Arrangement of functions in each device)
The arrangement of functions shown in FIG. 9 is merely an example. Each of the two or more functions assigned to a single device in the example of Figure 9 may be implemented in different devices. For example, in the example of FIG. 9, the management server 200 includes a care support service management unit 291 that manages care records, and a question/answer management unit 292 that instructs the dialogue terminal 700 to output questions based on the care records. , but these functions may be assigned to separate devices from each other. More specifically, the care support service manager 291 may be assigned to the management server 200 and the question/answer manager 292 may be assigned to the interactive terminal 700 .

In this case, the management server 200 functioning as the care support service management unit 291 periodically updates the interactive terminal 700 functioning as the question/answer management unit 292 and/or when a new care record is registered. Sometimes, the care record of the resident in the room where the interactive terminal 700 is installed is transmitted. The interactive terminal 700 functioning as the question/answer management section 292 identifies a question (question item) according to the care record, and instructs the element functioning as the question UI section 791 to output the question. The interactive terminal 700 functioning as the question UI unit 791 outputs questions. Considering this situation, there are cases in which instructing the output of a question actually means outputting the question.

The management server 200 functioning as the care support service management section 291 may generate a question schedule and transmit the question schedule to the interactive terminal 700 functioning as the question/answer management section 292 . In the interactive terminal 700, the question/answer management section 292 may instruct the question UI section 791 to output questions at timing according to the question schedule.

Also, the functions assigned to multiple devices in the example of FIG. 9 may be implemented in a single device. For example, in the example of FIG. 9 , the functions assigned to sensor box 100 and the functions assigned to interaction terminal 700 may all be implemented in interaction terminal 700 . That is, the dialogue terminal 700 may be configured to accept registration of care records from the mobile terminal 300 and to output questions based on the care records.

[Tweet database]
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information (tweet database) that associates tweets of residents with content notified to mobile terminal 300 . The tweet database associates tweet content, message examples, and care support information.

The content of the tweet defines the content of the tweet, which is acquired as a result of analyzing the tweet of the resident. A message example is a message from which the content of a tweet is acquired (for example, a character string acquired by character recognition of voice of the tweet). In the example of FIG. 10, the message "I have a stomach ache" is associated with the content "abdominal pain". This means that the message "I have a stomach ache" is an example of a message from which the content "abdominal pain" is acquired. Note that the content "abdominal pain" may be acquired from another message.

In the example of FIG. 10, the message "I want to go to the toilet" is associated with the content "desire to excrete". This means that the message "I want to go to the toilet" is an example of a message from which the content "desire to excrete" is acquired. Note that the content "hope to excrete" may be acquired from another message.

In the example of FIG. 10, the content "abdominal pain" is associated with the care support information "physical condition confirmation". This means that, when the management server 200 acquires the content "abdominal pain" from the resident's tweet, it transmits a notification to the mobile terminal 300 together with the predicted care work "physical condition check."

In the example of FIG. 10, the content "desire to excretion" is also associated with the care support information "excretion assistance". This means that, when the management server 200 acquires the content "abdominal pain" from the resident's tweet, it transmits a notification to the portable terminal 300 together with the predicted care work "excretion assistance".

Note that, in the present embodiment, voice tweets are an example of input from the resident. The input from the resident may be gestures of the resident, or may be text acquired by the resident operating the touch panel. For example, when a gesture of a resident placing a hand on the abdomen of the resident for a time exceeding a given threshold is detected from the video captured by the camera 105, the management server 200 detects the gesture The content "abdominal pain" may be obtained from the Also, when the resident performs an operation of inputting the text "I have a stomachache" on the touch panel of the interactive terminal 700, or performs an operation of touching the button corresponding to "abdominal pain" on the touch panel. , the interactive terminal 700 transmits the content of the operation to the management server 200 . The management server 200 may specify that the resident has input information corresponding to the content "abdominal pain" based on the operation. In either case, the management server 200 transmits a notification to the portable terminal 300 together with the care support information "physical condition confirmation" similar to the content "abdominal pain" in FIG.

[Question database]
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of information (question database) that associates care records with content of questions. The question database associates recognition items or input information, time/number conditions, question items, and care support information.

Recognition items define items regarding the behavior of the resident recognized by the sensor box 100 or the like. The input information is information (for example, work details) that constitutes a care record for the resident, which is input from the mobile terminal 300 or the like. The information constituting the care record may include information input from a device other than the mobile terminal 300, such as medical examination by a doctor. The time/number of times conditions define the conditions under which question output is indicated, which is associated with the input information. A question item defines the content to be output as a question. The care support information defines conditions for outputting a notification to mobile terminal 300 regarding the answer to the question.

For example, in the question database, as described in the first line, the recognition item or input information “entering the room”, the time/number of times condition “immediately”, the question item “Are you tired?” If it is: "Confirmation of physical condition" is associated. This is because when the action information "entering the room" (for example, information indicating that the resident has entered the living room based on the analysis of the image of the camera 105) is registered as a care record, the question item " Aren't you tired?" (that is, a question asking whether the resident feels tired) is output. In the first line, when an answer indicating that "I am tired" (that is, the resident feels tired) is input to the question, the management server 200 sends to the mobile terminal 300, This means that a notification is sent for instructions to rush to the room. The management server 200 can include in the notification the content of the work "physical condition check" that is required in the situation in which the notification is made.

In the question database, as described in the 6th line, the recognition item or input information "Move to the bookshelf", the time/number condition "Less than 5 times at 15:00", the question item "I have an abnormality in my body is it?” and the care support information “if there is an abnormality: physical condition check” are associated. This is based on the condition that the number of registrations of the recognition item "move to the bookshelf" did not reach 5 times by 3:00 p.m. , a question asking whether the resident feels abnormal in his physical condition) is output. In the monitoring system, for example, by analyzing the image of the camera 105, the management server 200 specifies that the resident is located in a predetermined area in front of the bookshelf in the living room, and provides care for the resident. Register the recognition item "move to bookshelf" in the record. In line 6, when an answer indicating that "there is an abnormality" (that is, the resident is feeling unwell) is input to the question, the management server 200 This means that the terminal 300 is notified of the instruction to rush to the living room. The management server 200 can include in the notification the content of the work "physical condition check" that is required in the situation in which the notification is made.

In the question database, as described in the eleventh line, recognition item or input information "meal", time/number of times condition "15 minutes passed", question item "Do you feel the urge to defecate soon?" When there is a defecation urge: assistance with excretion” is associated. This is based on the condition that 15 minutes have passed since the work content "collecting tableware" was registered as a care record, and the question item "Do you feel the urge to defecate soon?" question) is output. In the first line, when an answer indicating that "I have a defecation urge" (that is, I want to go to the bathroom) is input in response to the question, the management server 200 instructs the mobile terminal 300 to rush to my room. Means to give notice for instruction. The management server 200 can include in the notification the work content "excretion assistance" required in the situation in which the notification is made.

In the question database, as described on the 12th line, the recognition item or input information "Excretion", the time/number of times condition "15 minutes passed", the question item "Do you feel the urge to defecate soon?" When there is a defecation urge: assistance with excretion” is associated. This means that the question item "Do you have an urge to defecate soon?" In the second line, when an answer indicating that "I have a defecation urge" (that is, I want to go to the bathroom) is input in response to the question, the management server 200 instructs the mobile terminal 300 to rush to my room. Means to give notice for instruction. The management server 200 can include in the notification the work content "excretion assistance" required in the situation in which the notification is made.

In the question database, as described in the thirteenth line, the recognition item or input information "bathing", the time/number of times condition "30 minutes passed", and the question item "Are you sleepy?" This means that a question asking whether the In the third line, when an answer indicating "sleepy" (i.e., wishing to sleep) is input to the question, management server 200 sends mobile terminal 300 to the living room. Means to provide notification for emergency instructions. The management server 200 can include in the notification the content of the work required in the situation in which the notification is made, "help changing into pajamas."

In the question database, as described in the 14th line, the recognition item or input information "water intake", the time/frequency condition "15 minutes after ingesting 200 ml or more or two or more times within the past hour", and the question The item "Do you have an urge to defecate soon?" and the care support information "If you have an urge to defecate: assistance with excretion" are associated. This is a case where the work content “water assistance” is registered as a care record, and “the resident has ingested 200 ml or more of water with one time of water assistance” or “1 water intake of less than 200 ml This means that the question item "Do you have an urge to defecate soon?" In the fourth line, when an answer indicating "I have a defecation urge" (i.e., I want to go to the bathroom) is input in response to the question, the management server 200 instructs the mobile terminal 300 to rush to my room. Means to give notice for instruction. The management server 200 can include in the notification the work content "excretion assistance" required in the situation in which the notification is made.

In the question database, as described on the 15th line, recognition item or input information "medication", time/number of times condition "30 minutes passed", question item "Are you tired?" If you're tired: call the nurse 'associated with it. This is based on the condition that 30 minutes have passed since the work content "medicine management" was registered as a care record, and the question item "Are you tired?" question) is output. The fifth line further indicates that when an answer indicating that "I am tired" is input to the question, the management server 200 notifies the mobile terminal 300 of the instruction to rush to the living room. means. The management server 200 can include in the notification the content of the work required of the staff, “call nurse” (contact the nurse to see the resident).

In the question database, as described in the 16th line, recognition item or input information "Body temperature is less than 35 degrees or over 37 degrees", time/frequency condition "immediately", and question item "I am not tired". Are you?" is associated with the care support information "if you are tired: call a nurse". This means that the body temperature of the resident registered with the work content “body temperature measurement” as a care record is “less than 35.0°C” or “above 37.0°C”. , the question item “Are you tired?” is output. "Immediately" means that the conditions for question output are satisfied without waiting for the lapse of a certain period of time at the time when the above care record is registered. The sixth line further indicates that when an answer indicating that "I am tired" is input to the question, the management server 200 notifies the mobile terminal 300 of the instruction to rush to the living room. means. The management server 200 can include the content of work required for the staff in the notification, “call nurse”.

In the example of FIG. 11, the question corresponding to the question item "Are there any physical abnormalities?" This question is an example of a question regarding movement of the subject.

A question corresponding to the question item "Are you tired?" The question is an example of a question about the subject's posture. Also, since this question is output in relation to the resident's behavior "getting out of bed", it is an example of a question about the subject's behavior.

A question corresponding to the question item "Are you tired?" (line 16) is output based on the resident's body temperature (an example of biometric information). The question is an example of a question about the subject's biometric information. Other examples of biometric information are respiratory status and heart rate.

A question corresponding to the question item “Is it hot?” (line 10) is output based on the room temperature (an example of the room environment). The question is an example of a question related to the environment of the living room of the subject.

[Question output (1)]
FIG. 12 is a flow chart of an example of processing performed by management server 200 regarding the output of questions from interactive terminal 700 . The processing is realized, for example, by the CPU of control device 201 executing a given program.

Referring to FIG. 12, in step S14, control device 201 determines whether or not the timing for outputting a question has arrived. In one example, the control device 201 determines whether or not the timing for outputting a question has arrived, based on the "time/number of times conditions" of the question database shown in FIG.

When control device 201 determines that the timing for outputting the question has not yet arrived (NO in step S14), control device 201 repeats the control of step S14 at regular time intervals, for example, until it determines that the timing has arrived. When control device 201 determines that the timing for outputting the question has arrived (YES in step S14), control proceeds to step S16.

At least part of the control in steps S10 to S14 may be performed by the sensor box 100. FIG. In one example, the sensor box 100 transmits information to the management server 200 to the effect that the state has occurred when a state specified as a recognition item in the question database occurs based on the detection output of various sensors. Upon receiving the information, the management server 200 waits until the condition defined as the "time/number of times condition" is satisfied, and when the condition is satisfied, advances the control to step S16.

In step S16, the control device 201 determines whether or not the staff is absent in the room. When control device 201 determines that the staff is absent (YES in step S16), control proceeds to step S18, otherwise (NO in step S16), control returns to step S14. An example of determining whether or not there is a staff member in the living room is to acquire the position information of the mobile terminal 300 from the mobile terminal 300 and determine whether or not the position information is in the living room. Another example is determination of presence/absence of an object identified as a staff member in the living room by recognizing an image of the living room. Note that this determination can also be realized by other methods (such as the work end time on the care record, detection of optical flow to the outside of the living room after a given time has elapsed from that time, etc.). Note that the control in step S16 may be omitted. That is, the watching system may be configured so that the question is output from the interactive terminal 700 regardless of whether or not there is a staff member in the living room.

In step S18, control device 201 instructs dialogue terminal 700 to output a question. The instructions may include information specifying the content of the question. The specified contents are defined by, for example, "question items" in the question database of FIG.

At step S20, the control device 201 acquires from the interactive terminal 700 the answer to the question for which the output was instructed at step S18. The answer is associated with the question, for example, as information acquired by the interactive terminal 700 within a certain period of time from the output of the question.

In step S22, the control device 201 analyzes the content of the reply.
In step S24, the control device 201 determines whether or not to notify the portable terminal 300 based on the analysis result of the reply content. When control device 201 determines that notification is necessary (YES at step S24), control proceeds to step S26, otherwise (NO at step S24), control proceeds to step S28.

In step S<b>26 , control device 201 outputs a notification to portable terminal 300 . The notification includes, for example, a request to rush to the living room. The notification may include information specifying the work required in the room.

In step S28, the control device 201 updates the care record so as to add the contents of the question for which the output was instructed and the obtained answer.

In step S30, the control device 201 needs to update the question conditions (conditions for outputting questions. For example, at least one of the "recognition items" and "time/number of times conditions" in the question database of FIG. 11). or not. When control device 201 determines that it is necessary to update the question condition (YES at step S30), control proceeds to step S32, otherwise (NO at step S30), control proceeds to step S34. In one example, the control device 201 needs to update the query conditions when a state occurs in which the detection output conditions can be changed, as described in "(9) Update of the query conditions" above. If such a state does not occur, it is determined that updating the question conditions is unnecessary.

In step S32, the control device 201 updates the question condition according to the content of the answer. This changes the detection output conditions for outputting the question.

In step S34, the control device 201 determines whether or not it is necessary to change the care record UI. When control device 201 determines that the care record UI needs to be changed (YES in step S34), control proceeds to step S36, otherwise (NO in step S34), the processing of FIG. 12 ends. Let In one example, the control device 201 changes the care record UI when there is a situation in which the care record UI can be changed according to the content of the answer, as described in the above "(Other) care record UI change". , and if such a state does not occur, it is determined that the care record UI does not need to be changed.

In step S36, the control device 201 instructs the portable terminal 300 to change the care record UI according to the content of the reply. In response, mobile terminal 300 (care work application) changes the settings in the care record UI. After that, the control device 201 terminates the processing of FIG. 12 .

[Question output (2)]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart of another example of processing performed by management server 200 regarding the output of questions from interactive terminal 700 .

In the process of FIG. 12, the question is output under the condition that the staff is not in the room, while in the process of FIG. 13, the question is output under the condition that the staff is in the room. This corresponds to the process of FIG. 13 in which step S16 is changed to step S17 in the process of FIG.

At step S17, the control device 201 determines whether or not the staff is in the room. When the control device 201 determines that the staff is in the room (YES at step S17), the control proceeds to step S18, otherwise (NO at step S17), the control returns to step S14.

In the process of FIG. 13, as in the process of FIG. 12, the control device 201 instructs the interactive terminal 700 to output a question in step S18. In the process of FIG. 13, the question output from interactive terminal 700 based on the instruction may be different from the question output based on the instruction of step S18 of the process of FIG. In the example of FIG. 13, for example, a question is output that inquires about the quality of care work provided in the living room.

In the process of FIG. 13, the control device 201 acquires an answer in step S20 and analyzes the answer acquired in step S22.

In step S24, control device 201 determines whether or not notification to portable terminal 300 is necessary based on the analysis result. In one example, in step S24 of the process of FIG. 13, the control device 201 requires notification provided that the analysis of the response indicates that the resident is not satisfied with the care work being provided. can be judged. In this case, in step S26, the control device 201 may send a notification to the mobile terminal 300 together with information indicating that the resident is satisfied with the care work being provided. In another example, the controller 201 may determine that notification is necessary provided the analysis results indicate that the resident desires a different type of care task than the one being offered. good too. In this case, in step S26, the control device 201 may transmit a notification to the mobile terminal 300 together with information representing the type of care work desired by the resident.

After that, the control device 201 executes the control of steps S28 to S36 in the process of FIG. 13 as well as in the process of FIG. 12, and terminates the process of FIG.

[Tweet analysis]
FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an example of processing executed by the management server 200 regarding analysis of tweets acquired by the interactive terminal 700 as an example of input from the resident.

In the process of FIG. 14, in step S21, the control device 201 determines whether or not tweets of residents have been acquired. In one example, a resident's tweet is sent to the management server 200 via the interactive terminal 700 . When control device 201 determines that the resident's tweet has been acquired (YES in step S21), control proceeds to step S23. Otherwise (NO in step S21), control device 201 leaves control to step S21. As a result, the control of step S21 is executed, for example, at regular time intervals.

In step S23, the control device 201 analyzes the acquired tweet. In one example, by analyzing the tweet, the control device 201 acquires the character string listed as the message example in FIG. 10, and acquires the content listed as the content in FIG.

In step S24, the control device 201 determines whether or not to notify the mobile terminal 300 based on the analysis result acquired in step S23. When control device 201 determines that notification is necessary (YES at step S24), control proceeds to step S26, otherwise (NO at step S24), control proceeds to step S28. In one example, the controller 201 determines that notification is required if the content obtained based on the results of the analysis matches any of the content listed in FIG. 10, otherwise notification is not required. judge there is.

In the process of FIG. 14, the control device 201 executes control after step S26, as in the process of FIG.

In the present embodiment described above, the notification to portable terminal 300 is an example of presentation of information indicating that a staff member needs to be dispatched. The presentation of the information may not require the output of the information on the terminal carried by the staff. Instead of sending a notification to the mobile terminal 300, the management server 200 displays information indicating that it is necessary to rush to the resident's room on a monitor installed in a place visible to the staff (for example, a nurse station). For example, "Room A, run to Mr. B's room!") may be displayed.

In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which it is necessary to rush to the resident's room based on an input from the resident (for example, tweet "I'm hungry."). As a result, the management server 200 allows the resident to recognize the need for emergency care even in a situation where the need for emergency assistance could not be recognized based on objective information such as the detection output of the sensor box 100 .

Each embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as an illustration and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the scope of the claims rather than the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims. In addition, the inventions described in the embodiments and modifications are intended to be implemented either singly or in combination as much as possible.

100, 100A, 100B sensor box, 101, 201, 301, 401, 701 control device, 105 camera, 106 Doppler sensor, 107 wireless communication device, 120, 220, 420 storage device, 191 sensor input unit, 192 image input unit, 200 management server, 205 display interface, 206, 305, 713 display, 207 operation interface, 209, 306 input device, 291 care support service management unit, 292 question/answer management unit, 293 timing determination unit, 300, 300A, 300B mobile phone Terminal, 320, 720 internal memory, 391 care support UI unit, 392 position sensor, 400 cloud server, 500, 500A, 500B care call child device, 501 care call button, 510, 510A, 510B door sensor, 520, 520A, 520B toilet sensor , 530, 530A, 530B sensors, 540, 540A, 540B vital sensors, 700, 700A, 700B dialogue terminals, 711 speakers, 712 microphones, 791 question UI section, 792 answer UI sections, 800, 800A, 800B, A, B moving in Person, 900, 900A, 900B Living room, 901, 901A, 901B Bed, 902, 902A, 902B.

Claims (6)

A computer-implemented method of managing a care system, comprising:
receiving input from a subject;
determining whether the subject needs care based on the input;
and presenting information indicating that care to the subject is necessary to a person who provides care to the subject when it is determined that the care to the subject is necessary. ,
The step of presenting the information includes specifying the content of care required in the living room of the subject according to the content of the input from the subject, and presenting information representing the content of the care. ,
The content of the care is specified from a plurality of different content,
Further comprising a step of outputting a question to the subject when the staff is absent in the subject's room,
receiving the input includes receiving an answer to the question as the input;
The question asks whether the subject feels unwell on the condition that the subject's body temperature is outside a given range,
When the question is output when the subject's body temperature is the first temperature, the first temperature is included in the given range if the answer does not make one feel unwell. A method of managing a care system , further comprising the step of changing said condition so as to . 2. The method of managing a care system according to claim 1 , wherein the questions include questions about at least one of the subject's movement, posture, behavior, biological information, and the subject's living room environment. 3. The care system management method according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising a step of determining whether or not a staff member is absent in said subject's living room. 2. The method of managing a care system according to claim 1, wherein the step of presenting information includes presenting information to staff performing care for the subject. A program for causing a processor of a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . receiving input from a subject;
determining whether the subject needs care based on the input;
and presenting information indicating that care to the subject is necessary to a person who provides care to the subject when determining that care to the subject is necessary. comprising one or more processors configured to
The step of presenting the information includes specifying the content of care required in the living room of the subject according to the content of the input from the subject, and presenting information representing the content of the care. ,
The content of the care is identified from a plurality of different content ,
The one or more processors further perform a step of outputting a question to the subject when the staff is absent in the subject's room,
receiving the input includes receiving an answer to the question as the input;
The question asks whether the subject feels unwell on the condition that the subject's body temperature is outside a given range,
When the question is output when the body temperature of the subject is the first temperature, the one or more processors may set the first temperature to the first temperature if the answer does not make one feel unwell. The care system further performing the step of modifying said condition to fall within a given range .

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