JP7420492B2 - Portable biological information measuring device and its control program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a portable biological information measuring device and its control program.

Conventionally, systems that support home medical care such as home oxygen therapy (HOT) have been known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In this system, a stationary medical device (for example, an oxygen concentrator) is installed at a patient's residence outside the hospital, such as the patient's home, and is used for medical treatment of the patient at home. When a portable biological information measuring device (e.g. pulse oximeter) capable of measuring a patient's biological parameters and/or activity level is communicatively connected to the installed medical device, the installed medical device can operate the device. Get information. The acquired motion information is stored in the portable biological information measuring device together with measurement information including measurement results of biological parameters and/or activity levels.

The measurement information and operation information stored in the portable biological information measuring device are sent to a home medical care management device installed in a medical facility such as a hospital where patients are examined. Incidentally, in one operational example of conventional home oxygen therapy, patients are required to carry a portable biological information measuring device with them when visiting the hospital, and hand it over to a medical worker to receive the information.

Medical professionals use home medical care management devices to perform various analyzes based on the information received from portable biological information measuring devices, and based on the analysis results, they can determine the patient's prescription compliance status and the accuracy of prescriptions. Confirm the gender and review the prescription.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-194306

However, in the above-mentioned conventional system, when the portable biological information measuring device acquires operational information from the installed medical device, the patient needs time and effort. Specifically, in order to start transferring operational information from the installed medical device to the portable biological information measuring device, the patient establishes a wired connection between the portable biological information measuring device and the installed medical device. There was a need.
This connection work is not performed unless the patient is aware of it. Further, even if the patient has the intention to perform this connection work, it may be difficult to perform the connection work itself depending on the patient's health condition. That is, there is a problem in that the home medical care management device cannot collect information depending on the patient's intention or health condition.

An object of the present invention is to provide a portable biological information measuring device and a device that can complete the task of acquiring operational information from installed medical equipment without the patient's awareness, regardless of the patient's health condition or intention. The purpose is to provide the control program.

A portable biological information measuring device according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A portable biological information measuring device used for home medical care together with installed medical equipment,
a measurement execution unit that measures a patient's biological parameters and/or activity level and obtains measurement information;
an operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of the installed medical device through wireless communication with the installed medical device;
a sending unit that sends the measurement information and the operation information to a home medical care management device;
a communication control unit that controls the wireless communication;
has
The communication control unit automatically starts the wireless communication at a predetermined time to enable acquisition of the operation information.

A control program for a portable biological information measuring device in one aspect of the present invention includes:
The computer of the portable biological information measuring device used for home medical care along with the installed medical equipment,
A measurement execution function that measures a patient's biological parameters and/or activity level and obtains measurement information;
an operation information acquisition function that acquires operation information of the installed medical device through wireless communication with the installed medical device;
a sending function that sends the measurement information and the operation information to a home medical care management device;
a communication control function that controls the wireless communication;
Realize,
The communication control function automatically starts the wireless communication at a predetermined time and enables acquisition of the operation information.

According to the present invention, regardless of the patient's health condition or intention, it is possible to complete the work of acquiring operational information from installed medical equipment in a portable biological information measuring device without the patient's awareness. .

A block diagram showing the configuration of a home oxygen therapy management system according to an embodiment of the present invention

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home oxygen therapy management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Home oxygen therapy is an example of home medical care. The home oxygen therapy management system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an oxygen concentrator 110 that is usually installed in a patient's home and used by the patient, a pulse oximeter (biological information measuring device) 120 that is carried and used by the patient, It includes a home oxygen therapy management device 130, a display device 140, and a printer device 150, which are usually installed in a medical facility and used by a doctor. The oxygen concentrator 110 is an example of a stationary medical device, the pulse oximeter 120 is an example of a portable biological information measuring device, and the home oxygen therapy management device 130 is an example of a home medical care management device. be.

In this embodiment, the connection between oxygen concentrator 110 and pulse oximeter 120 and the connection between pulse oximeter 120 and home oxygen therapy management device 130 are not connections that allow constant communication. The communication between the oxygen concentrator 110 and the pulse oximeter 120 is, for example, wireless communication based on a short-range wireless communication method (for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark)), and the oxygen concentrator 110 and the pulse oximeter 120 are in close proximity to each other. Communication is possible while at a distance and a wireless communication channel is established. The connection between the pulse oximeter 120 and the home oxygen therapy management device 130 is, for example, wired communication using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable. Communication is possible while physically connected via the

The oxygen concentrator 110 includes an oxygen supply control section 111, an instrument operation log acquisition section 112, a clock/calendar function section 113, a data transfer processing section 114, and a short-range wireless communication section 115. The oxygen concentrator 110 also includes a configuration (not shown) for compressing air taken in from a room, generating high concentration oxygen from the compressed air, and supplying high concentration oxygen into the patient's body via a nasal cannula. However, since this is similar to a conventional oxygen concentrator, a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted for the sake of brevity.

The oxygen supply control unit 111 controls the supply of high concentration oxygen from the oxygen concentrator 110 to the patient by an operator (usually the patient himself/herself, but may also be a family member of the patient) who operates the oxygen concentrator 110. The oxygen flow rate is controlled according to an oxygen flow rate value (hereinafter referred to as "set flow rate value") set by operating a section (not shown). Normally, the operator determines the oxygen flow rate according to the prescribed flow rate determined in advance by a doctor (for example, 1.00 L/min at rest, 2.00 L/min during exertion, 1.50 L/min while sleeping, etc.). Set. However, it is also functionally possible to set a non-prescription oxygen flow rate value through an operator's operation and control the supply of high concentration oxygen according to the set flow rate value.

Further, the oxygen supply control unit 111 detects the flow rate value of high concentration oxygen actually sent out from the oxygen concentrator 110 under control based on the set flow rate value using a flow rate sensor (not shown). Hereinafter, the detected flow rate value will be referred to as an "actually measured flow rate value."

The instrument operation log acquisition unit 112 associates all operations and events that occur in the oxygen concentrator 110 with the date and time of occurrence, acquires them as an instrument operation log, and stores the acquired instrument operation logs in an internal storage device (not shown). Store. For example, if a failure or abnormality occurs in the oxygen concentrator 110, the event and the date and time of occurrence are recorded as alarm information, and while the oxygen concentrator 110 is powered on, the date and time and each The set flow rate value set at the time is recorded as operation information. That is, the operation information is information indicating the operation details of the installed medical device regarding medical treatment performed on a patient as home medical care. Note that during the period when the oxygen concentrator 110 is powered on, the actual flow rate value detected at each point in time may be recorded in addition to the set flow rate value.

The instrument operation log acquisition unit 112 acquires information about date and time from the clock/calendar function unit 113.

Note that the "time" in "date and time" is the time, and the "day" is the date. In this embodiment, the date includes the day of the week as well as the year, month, and day. The "day" in "measurement date", which will be described later, is also a date, and in this embodiment, means that it includes the day of the week as well as the year, month, and day.

The data transfer processing unit 114 performs an instrument operation log acquisition unit when the pulse oximeter 120 is connected to the oxygen concentrator 110 for wireless communication via the short-range wireless communication unit 115, which is an interface for short-range wireless communication. At least a portion of the instrument operation log stored in 112 , particularly operating information for oxygen concentrator 110 , is transferred to pulse oximeter 120 .

The pulse oximeter 120 includes an oxygen saturation measurement section 121, a data integration section 122, a clock/calendar function section 123, a data transfer processing section 124, a data storage section 125, a short-range wireless communication section 126, a communication control section 127, and a detection section. 128, and a step count measuring section 129.

The oxygen saturation measurement unit 121 includes an oxygen saturation sensor (not shown) and an oxygen saturation measurement circuit (not shown). The oxygen saturation measurement circuit (not shown) realizes the function of obtaining oxygen saturation measurement values and pulse rate measurement values by, for example, having a storage medium that stores a predetermined program and executing the stored predetermined program. The computer includes an arithmetic circuit that performs the following operations. The oxygen saturation measurement unit 121 uses an oxygen saturation sensor to emit red light or infrared light, transmit it to a specific part of the patient (for example, a fingertip, a toe, etc.), and detect the transmitted light. Get a signal. Then, the oxygen saturation measurement unit 121 uses the detection signal to determine the ratio of oxyhemoglobin to the total hemoglobin in the arterial blood using the oxygen saturation measurement circuit, and also detects a change in absorbance that is synchronized with the pulse of the arterial blood. By doing so, the oxygen saturation (oxygen saturation measurement value) and pulse rate (pulse measurement value) are measured. Oxygen saturation measurements and pulse measurements are examples of patient vital parameters.

The step counting unit 129 includes, for example, an acceleration sensor (not shown) and a step counting circuit (not shown). An acceleration sensor (not shown) detects vibrations of the housing of the pulse oximeter 120 based on the acceleration of the vibrations. The step count circuit (not shown) is, for example, a computer that includes a storage medium that stores a predetermined program, and an arithmetic circuit that realizes a step count measurement value acquisition function by executing the stored predetermined program. It is. A step counting circuit (not shown) determines whether the wearer (patient) is walking based on the vibration detection results, and if the wearer (patient) is walking, counts the number of steps based on the number of vertical vibrations. Measured value). A step count measurement is an example of a patient's activity amount.

The data integration unit 122 acquires the oxygen saturation measurement value and pulse measurement value acquired by the oxygen saturation measurement unit 121 from the oxygen saturation measurement unit 121, associates the acquired measurement information with the measurement date and time, and connects the pulse oximeter. 120 measurement information is stored in a data storage unit 125, which will be described later. In addition, the data integration unit 122 acquires the measured value of the number of steps acquired by the step count measurement unit 129 from the step count measurement unit 129, associates the acquired measurement information with the measurement date and time, and stores data as measurement information of the pulse oximeter 120, which will be described later. The information is stored in the storage unit 125. The data integration unit 122 acquires information about date and time from the clock/calendar function unit 123.

The combination of the oxygen saturation measurement section 121, the step count measurement section 129, and the data integration section 122 is an example of a measurement execution section.

The data integration unit 122 also acquires the operation information of the oxygen concentrator 110 that the data transfer processing unit 124 has received from the oxygen concentrator 110 . The data integration unit 122 then integrates the acquired motion information with measurement information already stored in the data storage unit 125 to generate integrated information that can centrally manage information regarding home oxygen therapy. Then, the generated integrated information is stored in the data storage unit 125.

The above functions of the data integration unit 122 are realized, for example, by executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium (not shown) in an arithmetic circuit (not shown). The function of providing information about the date and time in the clock/calendar function unit 123 can also be realized, for example, by executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium (not shown) with an arithmetic circuit (not shown). be done.

The data transfer processing unit 124 transmits at least the instrument operation log when the pulse oximeter 120 is connected to the oxygen concentrator 110 for wireless communication via the short-range wireless communication unit 126, which is a short-range wireless communication interface. Some operating information, particularly the oxygen concentrator 110, is received from the oxygen concentrator 110. In this embodiment, the short-range wireless communication unit 126 performs pairing with the short-range wireless communication unit 115 of the oxygen concentrator 110 and the paired oxygen concentrator 110 under the control of the communication control unit 127. performs wireless communication with the short-range wireless communication unit 115 of.

The combination of the data transfer processing section 124 and the short-range wireless communication section 126 is an example of an operation information acquisition section.

The data transfer processing unit 124 also stores data stored in the data storage unit 125 when the pulse oximeter 120 is connected to the home oxygen therapy management device 130 by wired communication using, for example, a USB cable (not shown). The integrated information is transferred (sent) to the home oxygen therapy management device 130.

The data transfer processing unit 124 is an example of a sending unit.

The above functions of the data transfer processing unit 124 are realized, for example, by executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium (not shown) in an arithmetic circuit (not shown).

The data storage unit 125 holds the operation information and integrated information stored by the data integration unit 122. In this embodiment, the data storage unit 125 is built into the pulse oximeter 120, but it may be a removable storage medium such as a removable medium.

The communication control unit 127 controls wireless communication by the short-range wireless communication unit 126.

Specifically, the communication control unit 127 automatically connects the short-range wireless communication unit 126 of the pulse oximeter 120 to the short-range wireless communication unit of the oxygen concentrator 110 at a fixed time on a pre-specified day (for example, every day). wireless communication with 115 is started. This allows the communication control unit 127 to acquire at least part of the device operation log of the oxygen concentrator 110, particularly the operation information of the oxygen concentrator 110. Note that the communication control unit 127 determines whether the set time has arrived based on information about the date and time that can be obtained from the clock/calendar function unit 123, for example. Note that the fixed time is specified in advance at a time when the patient is likely to be sleeping, such as 1 a.m., for example. Preferably, the fixed time has already been specified when the pulse oximeter 120 is shipped. In addition, when home oxygen therapy is started, the provider who provides the oxygen concentrator 110 and the pulse oximeter 120 to the patient (for example, a person in charge of the sales company of the oxygen concentrator 110) may set a scheduled time in advance. The specified time may be changed as appropriate.

As described above, the communication control unit 127 automatically causes the short-range wireless communication unit 126 of the pulse oximeter 120 to start wireless communication with the short-range wireless communication unit 115 of the oxygen concentrator 110 at a fixed time, and This makes it possible to obtain operational information of the concentrator 110, etc. Thereby, the task of acquiring operational information from the oxygen concentrator 110 can be completed unconsciously by the patient, regardless of the patient's health condition or intention.

Furthermore, even if the fixed time to start wireless communication arrives, if the patient's biological parameters and/or activity level are being measured at that time, the communication control unit 127 automatically starts wireless communication. Hold. For example, suspension is postponement. For example, if a patient is measuring biological parameters at a fixed time of 1 a.m., the communication control unit 127 postpones the start of wireless communication by a predetermined time (for example, 3 hours). Note that whether or not biological parameters and/or activity levels are being measured can be determined from the operating state of the oxygen saturation measurement section 121 and/or the step count measurement section 129, or from the state of the pulse oximeter 120 being attached to the patient. It can also be determined by detecting.

Moreover, the communication control unit 127 stops the wireless communication when measurement of the patient's biological parameters and/or activity level is started during the wireless communication. The stop is, for example, an interruption; in this case, the operation information received before the stop is saved, and after the wireless communication is restarted, the data transfer processing unit 124 will receive the operation information from where it left off. Note that the stop may be, for example, a cancellation; in this case, the operation information received before the stop is discarded, and after the wireless communication is restarted, the data transfer processing unit 124 will receive the operation information again from the beginning. .

The above functions of the communication control unit 127 are realized, for example, by executing a predetermined program stored in a storage medium (not shown) in an arithmetic circuit (not shown).

Here, the detection unit 128 can be used to detect the start of measurement of the patient's biological parameters and/or activity level, and more specifically, a change in the state of the pulse oximeter 120 related to the start of the measurement. When the start of measurement of the patient's biological parameters and/or activity level is detected, the communication control unit 127 causes the short-range wireless communication unit 126 to stop wireless communication. As a result, the start of measurement of biological parameters and/or activity levels will not be hindered or delayed by wireless communication. That is, regardless of the state of communication with the oxygen concentrator 110, measurement of the patient's biological parameters and/or activity level can be started immediately. Note that this effect can be achieved similarly to this embodiment even when communication between pulse oximeter 120 and oxygen concentrator 110 is wired communication.

The detection unit 128 includes a magnet 1281 and a magnetic sensor 1282.

The magnet 1281 is, for example, a permanent magnet, and the magnetic sensor 1282 is, for example, a Hall element. Both the magnet 1281 and the magnetic sensor 1282 are provided in the casing (main body) of the pulse oximeter 120. The magnet 1281 and the magnetic sensor 1282 are arranged so that the magnet 1281 and the magnetic sensor 1282 move relative to each other when a movement occurs in the housing of the pulse oximeter 120 related to the start of measurement of the patient's biological parameters and/or activity level. There is. The magnetic sensor 1282 detects the movement of the pulse oximeter 120 related to the start of measurement based on the change in magnetism generated by the relative movement of the magnet 1281. The magnet 1281 and the magnetic sensor 1282 are arranged to face each other so that the magnetic sensor 1282 can detect changes in magnetism caused by relative movement of the magnet 1281.

The movement of the housing of the pulse oximeter 120 related to the start of measurement of the patient's biological parameters and/or activity level is, for example, in the case of a clip-type housing, the movement of the housing opening. The clip-type casing is configured to pinch a patient's finger, which is the measurement site, when measuring arterial oxygen saturation or pulse, for example. With this configuration, if you open the casing before pinching your finger, and then close the casing with your finger inserted into the open casing, you can pinch your finger and begin measuring arterial oxygen saturation and pulse rate. becomes possible. In this configuration, the detection unit 128 detects opening and closing of the casing, particularly the opening movement of the casing.

The home oxygen therapy management device 130 is typically implemented as a personal computer, and includes a data transfer processing section 131, a storage section 132, and a data analysis section 133.

The data transfer processing unit 131 receives integrated information from the pulse oximeter 120 when the pulse oximeter 120 is connected to the home oxygen therapy management device 130 by wired communication using, for example, a USB cable (not shown). Then, the received integrated information is stored in the storage unit 132.

Note that when the pulse oximeter 120 adopts a configuration in which integrated information is stored in a removable medium, the data transfer processing unit 131 has a connector for connecting the removable medium, and a removable device connected to this connector. The integrated information stored in the medium is read, and the read integrated information is stored in the storage unit 132.

In addition to the integrated information, the storage unit 132 stores patient information (for example, basic patient information, vital information, prescription flow rate information, etc.) input by a doctor or other medical professional by operating an input unit (not shown). (including). Furthermore, the storage unit 132 stores a home oxygen therapy management program for analyzing home oxygen therapy based on the integrated information.

The data analysis unit 133 has a calculation device (not shown) such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and by executing the home oxygen therapy management program with this calculation device, the integrated information stored in the storage unit 132 is generated. Analysis of home oxygen therapy is performed based on the acquired integrated information and the acquired integrated information, and the analysis information as a result of the analysis is displayed on the screen of the display device 140 (for example, a liquid crystal display) or on a printer. By causing the device 150 (for example, a laser printer) to print on paper, a creation function for creating analysis information is realized.

For the analysis information creation operation of the data analysis unit 133, the conventionally known operation described in Patent Document 1, for example, can be applied, so detailed explanation thereof will be omitted here.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. Note that the above description is an illustration of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the description of the configuration of each device and the operation of each device during use is merely an example, and it is clear that various changes and additions to these examples can be made within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the oxygen concentrator 110 is cited as an example of a stationary medical device, and the pulse oximeter 120 is cited as an example of a portable biological information measuring device, but a blood pressure monitor is cited as an example of a stationary medical device. A small electrocardiograph may be used as a portable biological information measuring device. As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-209608, a compact electrocardiograph has a main body equipped with electrodes that are arranged so as to be able to come into contact with measurement sites (for example, hands and chest) of a patient when measuring the patient's electrocardiogram. In this case, the detection unit has a configuration that can detect contact of the measurement site with the electrode as a state change of the biological information measuring device related to the start of measurement of the biological parameter. Contact of the measurement site with the electrode can be detected, for example, by detecting a change in impedance of the electrode when the measurement site contacts the electrode.

The present invention can be widely applied to portable biological information measuring devices used for home medical care as well as stationary medical devices.

100 Home oxygen therapy management system 110 Oxygen concentrator 111 Oxygen supply control section 112 Instrument operation log acquisition section 113, 123 Clock/calendar function section 114, 124, 131 Data transfer processing section 115, 126 Near field communication section 120 Pulse oximeter 121 Oxygen saturation measurement section 122 Data integration section 125 Data storage section 127 Communication control section 128 Detection section 1281 Magnet 1282 Magnetic sensor 129 Step count measurement section 130 Home oxygen therapy management device 132 Storage section 133 Data analysis section 140 Display device 150 Printer device

Claims (5)

A portable biological information measuring device used for home medical care together with installed medical equipment,
a measurement execution unit that measures a patient's biological parameters and/or activity level and obtains measurement information;
an operation information acquisition unit that acquires operation information of the installed medical device through wireless communication with the installed medical device;
a sending unit that sends the measurement information and the operation information to a home medical care management device;
a communication control unit that controls the wireless communication;
has
The communication control unit automatically starts the wireless communication at a predetermined time to enable acquisition of the operation information.
Portable biological information measuring device. The communication control unit includes:
If the measurement of the biological parameter and/or the amount of activity is being performed at the predetermined time, suspending the automatic start of the wireless communication;
The portable biological information measuring device according to claim 1. The communication control unit includes:
If measurement of the biological parameter and/or the amount of activity is started during the wireless communication, stopping the wireless communication;
The portable biological information measuring device according to claim 1. the wireless communication is short-range wireless communication;
The portable biological information measuring device according to claim 1. The computer of the portable biological information measuring device used for home medical care along with the installed medical equipment,
A measurement execution function that measures a patient's biological parameters and/or activity level and obtains measurement information;
an operation information acquisition function that acquires operation information of the installed medical device through wireless communication with the installed medical device;
a sending function that sends the measurement information and the operation information to a home medical care management device;
a communication control function that controls the wireless communication;
Realize,
The communication control function automatically starts the wireless communication at a predetermined time to enable acquisition of the operation information.
control program.

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