JPH103452A - Service system for medical unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the service system of medical units which can securely, easily and inexpensively execute service. SOLUTION: The terminals 2 of a center 1 and the plural medical units 4 of users 3A-3C are connected through arbitrary lines. A start signal for starting a self diagnosis program stored in the medical unit 4 is transmitted from the terminal 2, and a result signal showing a diagnosis result by the self diagnosis program is transmitted from the medical unit 4 to the terminal 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical device service system for inspecting and maintaining various medical devices such as ophthalmologic devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For various medical devices such as ophthalmologic devices, a service contract for performing various maintenance services is often concluded between a manufacturer of the medical device and a user. Representative services for such a medical device include a response to a failure of the medical device and a version upgrade of a microprocessor program for controlling and managing the functions and operations of the medical device.

[0003] In such a conventional medical device service system, no special means of communication is provided between the manufacturer and the user, and a general telephone or facsimile communication and a direct visit by a service person are not provided. And the service was provided by. For example, when a medical device breaks down, a user calls the sales office or service center of the manufacturer, and a service person determines the nature of the failure based on the content of the call and brings a repair part according to the failure. Had visited the user. Then, using this repair part, a failed part of the medical device was repaired. Regarding the version upgrade of the program, visit the user by bringing a medium such as a ROM or a floppy disk with a built-in program, and using this medium,
They had to replace ROMs in medical devices and install programs.

[0004]

In such a conventional medical device service system, however, no special communication means is provided between the manufacturer and the user, and the service person visits the user directly to provide the service. In particular, when the transportation system is paralyzed due to the occurrence of a disaster such as the Great East Japan Earthquake and service personnel cannot visit the user, services such as checking whether the medical equipment operates normally and repairs are required. There was a problem that could not be done. As described above, it is a serious problem that the medical device becomes unusable at the time of the occurrence of the disaster that requires the most medical device, and an immediate improvement has been desired. Even if a service person can visit the user, for example, if the manufacturer and the user are separated by a considerable distance, it takes a long time to visit and it is difficult to respond promptly. there were. To respond quickly,
It is necessary for manufacturers to arrange sales offices in various places and make service personnel resident. This has been a factor in improving service costs.

[0005] Further, the conventional medical device service system has caused various new problems especially in the present day when the internal system of the medical device is complicated. For example, for a complex medical device, the details of the failure cannot be identified only from information from the user side by telephone communication, and the serviceman must bring more repair parts than necessary, or if the repair parts brought The service could not be completed unless the service technician visited the facility many times without being able to use it. In addition, with the increase in complexity, the unit of repair parts has been expanded into subsystem units, and not only the repair cost borne by the user but also the cost of the repair parts stocked by the manufacturer has risen, causing an adverse effect.

[0006] In addition, since medical devices are closely related to the operation method and treatment method of a doctor who is a user, the characteristic is that the system programs are frequently changed and the frequency of customization for each customer is high. In particular, such customization tends to further increase with the progress and development of medical treatment, and accordingly, the number of times service personnel visit customers to upgrade the program significantly increases. This has been a factor in improving service costs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the conventional medical device service system, and provides a medical device service system capable of providing a reliable, simple, and low-cost service.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional medical device service system, the present invention according to the first aspect of the present invention provides a system in which a terminal at a center and a plurality of medical devices of a user are optionally connected. Connected through a line, sends a start signal for starting a self-diagnosis program stored in the medical device from the terminal, and shows a diagnosis result by the self-diagnosis program from the medical device to the terminal. It is characterized by transmitting a result signal.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, prior to transmitting the activation signal from the terminal to the medical device, the terminal transmits the activation signal to the medical device. It is characterized in that it sends a notice signal for notifying one or both of the activation of the self-diagnosis program stored in the medical device and the activation time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, prior to sending the activation signal from the terminal to the medical device, the terminal transmits the activation signal to the medical device. And transmitting a control signal for turning on the main power supply of the medical device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects of the present invention, an inquiry signal is transmitted from the terminal to the medical device for inquiring about a use state of the medical device. The medical device transmits a status signal for notifying the terminal of the status of the medical device to the terminal.

[0012]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the entire system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, the present embodiment connects a terminal 2 of a medical device maker or a medical device maintenance company (hereinafter referred to as “center 1”) to a plurality of medical devices 4 and 4 of users 3A to 3C by an arbitrary line. Terminal 2 and the medical devices 4 and 4
And various signals can be transmitted between them.

First, the configuration of the center 1 and the users 3A to 3C will be outlined, and then the medical devices 4, 4 performed between them
A detailed description will be given of various services and the configuration required for the services.

The center 1 is provided with a server 5 and a plurality of terminals 2, 2, which are mutually connected by a LAN (local area network) 6. The server 5 manages the LAN 6 and controls communication between the terminals 2 and 2. The center 1 is connected to a dedicated digital line (specifically, an ISDN INS network 6) through a DSU (line termination unit) 7.
4) It is connected to 8A, and large-capacity data can be transferred at high speed via this digital line 8A. Since the connection between the center 1 and the digital line 8A is made through the remote router 9, the optimum line in the digital line 8A is automatically selected by the remote router 9. The center 1 also has an analog line (for example, an existing telephone network) 8 via a modem 10 for performing A / D conversion.
B, so that data can be transferred at a low speed via the telephone network 8B.

As the digital line 8A and the analog line 8B, all known networks such as the Internet are appropriately used.

Next, the configuration of the users 3A to 3C will be described in detail. The user 3A has a server 11 and a plurality of medical devices 4,
4 are provided, and these are mutually connected by the LAN 12 via the communication unit 13. And server 1
1 manages the LAN 12 and manages the medical devices 4 and
4 is performed. Each of the medical devices 4, 4
It is connected to the digital line 8A via the communication unit 13, the DSU 14, and the remote router 15 in order, and is capable of transferring a large amount of data to the center 1 at a high speed through the digital line 8A.

The user 3B is provided with one medical device 4, and the medical device 4 is connected to the communication unit 13 and the DSU.
14 is connected to the digital line 8A. The user 3C is provided with two medical devices 4 and 4, and these medical devices 4 and 4 are provided with the communication unit 13 and the modem 1 respectively.
6 is connected to the analog line 8B.

FIG. 4 shows the communication unit 13 of the medical devices 4 and 4. The communication unit 13 includes a communication line interface 17 and a communication CPU 18. Data transmitted from the terminals 2 and 2 of the center 1 via the digital line 8A or the analog line 8B is first transmitted to the medical unit by the communication line interface 17. After being converted into data conforming to the data format and data timing of the device 4, the communication CPU 1
The data is transmitted to the main CPU 4a of the medical device 4 through the main unit 8.

The medical devices 4 and 4 are provided with a storage unit (not shown).
, An interface program corresponding to the line to which it is connected, a system program described later, and a self-diagnosis program.

Between the terminals 2 and 2 of the center 1 connected as described above and a plurality of medical devices of the users 3A to 3C, signals relating to various services such as a diagnostic service, an upgrade service and a backup service are transmitted and received. Is done. Hereinafter, the contents of these services and signals and the detailed configuration therefor will be described. The diagnostic service is mainly for dealing with a failure of the medical device 4, and each part (mainly a hardware portion) of the medical device 4
The terminal 2 activates the self-diagnosis program stored in the medical device 4 from the terminal 2 and determines whether or not the self-diagnosis program operates normally. This is sent to the terminal 2.

FIG. 6 shows a hardware configuration of the medical device 4 for performing self-diagnosis. Normally, the hardware of the medical device 4 includes an analog section and a digital section, and these analog sections and digital sections are grouped into subsystems. In order to perform self-diagnosis, it is necessary to electrically detect the operations of both the analog section and the digital section. For this reason, the analog section includes analog ports AP1 to APn formed of AD converters.
Are installed for each subsystem, and the main CPU of the medical device 4 is connected through the analog ports AP1 to APn.
Signals are transmitted and received between 4a and the analog unit. In the digital section, digital ports DP1 to DPn are provided for each subsystem.
Signals are transmitted and received between the main CPU 4a of the medical device 4 and the digital unit via 1 to DPn.

Here, the operation diagnosis of the subsystems of the analog section and the digital section is usually performed hierarchically. That is, initially, only the operation quality determination is performed in subsystem units, and when an operation failure of the subsystem is found, each unit belonging to the subsystem in which the failure was found (for example, as shown in FIG. A final decision on whether the operation is good or not is made for the fog sensor and the pressure sensor.

For this reason, analog multiplexers (MP in the figure) are provided below the analog ports AP1 to APn.
X) AM1 to AMn are provided, and digital port D
Digital multiplexers DM1 to DMn are also provided below P1 to DPn. The multiplexers AM1 to AMn and DM1 to DMn switch only the subsystems diagnosed as faulty so as to further diagnose the respective units. By performing the hierarchical diagnosis in this manner, the diagnosis of the failure location in the diagnosis service is further expedited.

The specific operation of the diagnostic service under such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal 2 of the center 1 and the user 3A
3C to the medical devices 4 of the users 3A to 3C from the terminal 2 of the center 1 when the medical devices 4 of 3C to 3C are connected via the digital line 8A and the analog line 8B.
A notice signal is sent out periodically or after an emergency such as a disaster occurs. The notice signal includes an address signal indicating an address unique to the medical device 4 to which the notice signal is to be sent, a message indicating that a diagnostic service is to be performed (specifically, a message indicating that a stored self-diagnosis program is to be started), and a main signal indicating the time. It is comprised including.

The medical devices 4, 4 of the users 3A to 3C that have received the notice signal via the digital line 8A or the analog line 8B store the address indicated by the address signal of the notice signal in their own storage unit. It is determined whether or not the address matches the address. If the address matches, the main body signal of the advance notice signal is analyzed, and a message indicating that the diagnostic service is to be performed and the time thereof are displayed on the display unit 19 of the medical devices 4 and 4 ( (See FIG. 7). The display on the display unit 19 is performed so as to call attention of the users 3A to 3C by display characters, blinking of display lamps, and the like.

The reason why the advance notice signal is transmitted in this manner is that the medical device 4 cannot be used while the self-diagnosis program is running. Canceled, user 3A
This is to avoid a situation in which the self-diagnosis program is suddenly activated during use of ~ 3C. The users 3A to 3C notified via the display unit of the medical device 4 stop using the medical device 4 in advance at the notice time.

Next, when there is no change in the diagnostic service time or the like, the start signal is transmitted from the terminal 2 of the center 1 to the medical device 4 notified by the notice signal at the notice time. The activation signal includes an address signal indicating an address unique to the medical device 4 to which the activation signal is to be sent, and a main body signal for activating the self-diagnosis program stored in the storage unit of the medical device 4.

The medical devices 4 and 4 of the users 3A to 3C that have received the start signal via the digital line 8A or the analog line 8B store the address indicated by the address signal of the start signal in their own storage unit. Then, it is determined whether or not the address matches the address, and if the address matches, the main signal of the activation signal is analyzed to activate the self-diagnosis program. In the self-diagnosis program, as described above, the operation of each subsystem of the hardware of the medical device 4 is first determined, and if the operation of all the subsystems is determined to be normal, the program ends. I do. On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation of any of the subsystems is abnormal, FIG.
Multiplexers AP1 to APn and DP1 to DPn
, The operation of each section below the subsystem is judged to be good or bad, and the program ends.

The results of these self-diagnosis programs are also displayed on the display unit 19 of the medical device 4. This display example is shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, 00 to 1 are set as subsystems.
4 are displayed, and the sign of “NG” indicates that a malfunction has occurred in the subsystem 00 among them. Therefore, based on the result, when the operation of the detailed portion below the subsystem 00 is judged as good or bad,
The next diagnosis result of FIG. 8 is displayed. In FIG. 8, the sign of “NG” indicates that a malfunction has occurred in the fog sensor in the subsystem 00.

When the program is completed through these operations, a result signal is sent from the medical device 4 that has performed the diagnosis to the terminal 2. The result signal includes an address signal indicating its own address and a main body signal indicating a diagnosis result by the self-diagnosis program. The terminal 2 of the center 1 receiving the result signal analyzes the result signal, stores the address signal of the result signal and the main body signal in its own storage unit, and displays it on its own display unit. Then, the user 3A to 3C having the medical device 4 with no abnormality is notified to that effect by communication via the terminal 2 or by telephone. Similarly, a user having an abnormal medical device 4 is notified of the fact. In the case of a serious abnormality, the user is required to temporarily disable the medical device 4 via the terminal 2. Send a control signal.

In the above description, the terminal 2 sends an advance notice signal to the medical device 4 and then sends an activation signal. However, the diagnostic service is performed in the early morning, late at night or on holidays when the medical device 4 is not used. May be determined in advance, and the activation signal may be transmitted without transmitting the advance notice signal. However, in this case, there is a high possibility that the main power of the medical device 4 (power required to start the self-diagnosis program in the medical device 4) is likely to be turned off. 2 sends an inquiry signal to the medical device 4 to inquire about the on / off state of the main power supply of the medical device 4.

The inquiry signal includes an address signal indicating an address specific to the medical device 4 to which the inquiry signal is to be sent, and a main body signal for inquiring the ON / OFF state of the medical device 4. Then, the medical device 4 to which the inquiry signal has been sent determines whether or not the address indicated by the address signal of the inquiry signal matches the address stored in its own storage unit. The main signal of the inquiry signal is analyzed to detect the on / off state of the main power supply. Then, it sends a response signal consisting of an address signal indicating its own address and a main body signal indicating the on / off state of its own main power supply to the terminal 2 of the center 1. The medical device 4 is always turned on by the standby power supply, and can perform each of these operations even when the main power supply is off. Also, it is assumed that the terminal 2 of the center 1 and the medical devices 4 of the users 3A to 3C are connected via a digital line 8A and an analog line 8B.

The terminal 2 of the center 1 receiving the response signal analyzes the response signal and stores the address signal and the main body signal of the response signal in its own storage unit.

When the main power of the medical device 4 is turned on, a start signal for starting the self-diagnosis program of the medical device 4 may be transmitted as described above. When the main power of the medical device 4 is not turned on, the main power of the medical device 4 is turned on from the terminal 2 side.
Send a control signal. This control signal is an address signal indicating an address unique to the medical device 4 to which the control signal is to be sent,
The medical device 4 includes a main body signal for turning on the power. Then, the medical device 4 that has sent the control signal determines whether or not the address indicated by the address signal of the control signal matches the address stored in its own storage unit. Analyze the main signal of the signal and turn on its own power.

As described above, the self-diagnosis service may be performed without giving advance notice to the users 3A to 3C or determining the time in advance. However, in this case, since the medical device 4 may be used at the time of performing the service, it is necessary to inquire the use state of the medical device 4 in advance. Therefore, prior to sending the activation signal, the terminal 2 sends an inquiry signal to the medical device 4 to inquire about the use state of the medical device 4.

The inquiry signal is formed by changing the main signal of the inquiry signal, and includes an address signal indicating an address unique to the medical device 4 to which the inquiry signal is to be sent, Includes body signal to query status.
Then, the medical device 4 to which the inquiry signal has been sent determines whether or not the address indicated by the address signal of the inquiry signal matches the address stored in its own storage unit. It analyzes the main body signal of the inquiry signal and detects its own use state. Then, a response signal including an address signal indicating its own address and a main body signal indicating its own use state is transmitted to the terminal 2 of the center 1. Then, the terminal 2 of the center 1 receiving the response signal analyzes the response signal and stores the address signal and the main body signal of the response signal in its own storage unit. If the medical device 4 is in use, the diagnostic service is suspended, and if not, a start signal for starting the self-diagnosis program of the medical device 4 is transmitted as described above.

Next, the version upgrade service will be described. The upgrade service is a medical device 4
The system program for controlling the operation and function of the medical device 4 stored in the storage unit is updated.
For this reason, the storage unit of the medical device 4 is configured by a storage medium whose external system program area can be rewritten, for example, a flash memory.

The specific operation of the version upgrade service is as follows.
A rewrite signal is transmitted to the 3C medical devices 4 and 4. The rewrite signal includes an address signal indicating an address unique to the medical device 4 to which the rewrite signal is to be sent, a main body signal indicating that the system program of the medical device 4 is to be updated, and a new system program.

The medical device 4 to which the rewriting signal has been sent is
It is determined whether or not the address indicated by the address signal of the rewrite signal matches the address stored in its own storage unit. If the address matches, the main signal of the rewrite signal is analyzed.
The user releases his / her own system bus so that a new system program can be written into his / her storage unit, and rewrites his / her own system program with the new system program.

Next, the backup service will be described. The backup service is for backing up setting data and medical data unique to the medical device 4 to the terminal 2 of the center 1. Specifically, a data request signal is periodically transmitted from the terminal 2 of the center 1 to predetermined medical devices 4 of the users 3A to 3C. The data request signal includes an address signal indicating an address unique to the medical device 4 to which the data request signal is to be sent, a request for data, and a main body signal indicating the content of the requested data.

The medical device 4 which has transmitted the data request signal determines whether or not the address indicated by the address signal of the data request signal matches the address stored in its own storage unit. , The main signal of the data request signal is analyzed, and the requested data among the data held in its own storage unit is transmitted to the terminal of the center. When the data of the medical device 4 is destroyed or needs to be reset, the data is transmitted from the terminal 2 of the center 1 to the medical device 4 in response to a request from the users 3A to 3C.
Supply to

The diagnostic service, the upgrade service, and the backup service described above are executed after the terminal 2 has remotely logged in to the medical device 4.
Is displayed as a top menu on the display section and can be selected.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention may be embodied in various other forms within the scope of the technical idea. First, the overall configuration of the system may be as shown in FIGS. The system shown in FIG. 2 shows the concept of the final form of the present system. A plurality of users 3, 3 having a plurality of medical devices 4, 4 and the center 1 are individually connected via a digital line 8A. ing. This is the ideal situation, where individual users 3, 3 directly from the center 1
The medical devices 4 can be managed and controlled. However, considering the current network situation, the system of FIG. 3 is realistic. That is, for example, a center 1 is provided for each country, and the medical devices 4, 4 of the users 3, 3 for each country are managed and controlled using a network 8C such as the Internet for each country. In this case, center 1 by country
Are connected to the integration center 1A via the digital line 8D.

The communication unit 13 of the medical device 4 may be the one shown in FIG. The communication unit 13 shown in FIG. 5 has a configuration in which the communication unit 13 having the same function as the communication unit 13 shown in FIG. However, FIG.
In the case of, the communication CPU 18 of the communication unit 13 in FIG. 4 is replaced with a sub CPU 4 b in the medical device 4. 4 and 5 is determined by the configuration of the medical device 4, the installation environment, and the like.

The body signal of the advance notice signal during the diagnostic service does not indicate that the diagnostic service is to be performed and its time, but indicates only one of the diagnostic service and the diagnostic service time. However, almost the same purpose can be achieved. In addition, during each service operation in the above embodiment, the self-diagnosis program of the medical device 4 to be serviced starts, and the medical operation of the medical device 4 is controlled by the line. May not be possible. In order to prevent this, a security system may be introduced into the medical device 4 so that the service cannot be executed even if the line connection becomes possible.

The analog ports AP1 to APn provided in the medical device 4 for performing the self-diagnosis may be set according to the required items of the self-diagnosis program, not for each subsystem of the medical device 4.

[0047]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a terminal of a center and a plurality of medical devices of a user are connected via an arbitrary line, and a self-diagnosis program is provided from the terminal to the medical device. By transmitting a start signal for activation and transmitting a result signal indicating the diagnosis result by the self-diagnosis program from the medical device to the terminal, the center can obtain the diagnosis result of the user's medical device via a line. Therefore, it is not necessary to visit the user directly, and a diagnosis service can be quickly performed even when traffic is disrupted due to a disaster or when a medical device is located in a remote place such as a foreign country.

Further, since the diagnosis is performed through the self-diagnosis program, accurate and detailed diagnosis results can be obtained, the parts to be brought by the service person can be specified accurately, and the repair can be completed in one visit. Further, these can contribute to labor saving of service personnel and sales offices, reduce labor costs and the like, and reduce service costs.

Further, according to the present invention, the terminal sends a notice signal for notifying the medical device of activating the self-diagnosis program stored in the medical device and the time for activating the self-diagnosis program to the medical device. The user can be notified in advance that the self-diagnosis program is to be started, and the use of the medical device can be stopped, and the situation in which the self-diagnosis program is suddenly started during the use of the medical device and hinders the medical practice can be avoided. Can be. Therefore, the safety of medical practice can be ensured.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by transmitting a control signal for turning on the power of the medical device from the terminal to the medical device, the power of the medical device can be turned on at the center. Diagnosis service can be performed smoothly.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an inquiry signal is transmitted from the terminal to the medical device for inquiring the use state of the medical device, and the medical device notifies the terminal of the state of the medical device. By transmitting a status signal for use, the use status of the medical device can be confirmed at the center. Therefore, the timing and means of various services such as a diagnostic service can be changed according to the use state of the medical device, and the smoothness of various services and the safety of medical practices can be ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a service system as a final form in another embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of a service system as a transient form in another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication unit of the medical device.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication unit of a medical device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of self-diagnosis hardware of a medical device.

FIG. 7 is a display example regarding a diagnostic service on a display unit of a medical device.

FIG. 8 is a display example regarding a diagnostic service on a display unit of a medical device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 AP1 to APn Analog port DP1 to DPn Digital port AM1 to AMn multiplexer DM1 to DMn multiplexer 1 Center 2 Terminal 3, 3A to 3C User 4 Medical equipment 4a Main CPU 4b Sub CPU 5, 11 Server 6, 12 LAN 7, 14 DSU 8A, 8D Digital line 8B Analog line 8C Network 9, 15 Remote router 10, 16 Modem 13 Communication unit 17 Communication line interface 18 Communication CPU 19 Display unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A terminal at a center and a plurality of medical devices of a user are connected via an arbitrary line, and a start signal for starting a self-diagnosis program stored in the medical device is transmitted from the terminal. A medical device service system, wherein the medical device sends a result signal indicating a diagnosis result by the self-diagnosis program to the terminal. 2. Prior to transmitting the activation signal from the terminal to the medical device, the terminal causes the medical device to activate a self-diagnosis program stored in the medical device, and a time to activate. 2. The medical device service system according to claim 1, wherein a notice signal for notifying both or one of the two is transmitted. 3. A control signal for turning on a main power supply of the medical device is transmitted from the terminal to the medical device before transmitting the activation signal from the terminal to the medical device. The service system for a medical device according to claim 1. 4. The terminal sends an inquiry signal to the medical device for inquiring about a use state of the medical device,
4. The medical device service system according to claim 1, wherein the medical device sends a status signal for notifying a status of the medical device to the terminal. 5.