KR20220136972A - Device and method of fall detection - Google Patents

Abstract

A fall detection device having the same central axis as a bed according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a plurality of sensors that form a predetermined angle with a central axis of the fall detection device, measure the distance to the detection target in a specific area, including the bed, and are rotatably coupled with a spherical coupling part disposed at the lower end to adjust the angle of the central axis formed with the central axis of the fall detection device; a control unit that calculates an area in which a bed is not included in a specific area as an exclusion area and deletes data detected in the exclusion area; and a housing that can be installed on the ceiling and has a fitting part. The control unit sets the distance to the sensing target measured in a state where there is no patient on the bed as a reference value, determines that the patient's body part is located at an arbitrary point when the distance to the sensing target measured by the sensor is smaller than the reference value, determines the posture of the patient based on the points where the patient's body part is determined to be located, determines whether the patient is at risk of falling from the bed based on the patient's posture and the bed, determines that angles between the central axes of the plurality of sensors and the central axis of the fall detection device are different from each other, and rotates about the central axis of the fall detection device.

Description

Device and method of fall detection

The present invention relates to a fall detection apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a fall detection apparatus and method in which a plurality of sensors have various angles and a rotatable structure.

Falls on the bed are one of the most serious accidents that can occur in hospitals, and since the elderly and the infirm can get serious injuries just by falling, it is essential to prevent them or take prompt follow-up measures.

As a common method to prevent falls, a safety bar is installed on the side of the bed, but such a safety bar may give inconvenience to patients lying on the bed, such as stuffiness and restraint. There is a problem that a fall accident may occur while trying to get out.

Fall detection methods to compensate for the weakness of the safety bar and implement more active fall prevention include an image-based fall detection method, a fall detection method using special clothing equipped with a sensor, and a sensor installed at the point where a patient's fall occurs. There are methods for detecting a fall with a combination of

The image-based fall detection method is a method of finding out whether a patient has fallen by obtaining image data through an imaging device and processing it using a signal processing technique. The image-based fall detection method does not cause discomfort to the patient as there is no device restraining the patient, but it is sensitive to the patient's clothing color, pattern, and ambient lighting, and is sensitive to the patient's accurate accuracy when the patient is covered by an external material such as a blanket. It is difficult to determine the location, and there is a problem in that accurate detection is difficult because the fall is detected in an indirect way through signal processing.

In the fall detection method using special clothing equipped with sensors, an accelerometer, etc. must be attached to the patient at all times. Therefore, there is a problem that the patient feels a foreign body feeling or discomfort.

A method for detecting whether a patient has fallen by a combination of sensors installed at a point where a patient's fall occurs has a problem in that it is difficult to implement the precision of detecting a fall because it is vulnerable to peripheral elements such as external substances around the bed.

US 10-0936472 B1

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a fall detection device and method for limiting the detection area of the sensor to the bed portion, disposing a plurality of sensors at different angles, and rotating them to detect the position of the patient aim to

As an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a fall detection device having the same central axis as the bed.

A fall detection device having the same central axis as a bed according to an embodiment of the present invention forms a predetermined angle with the central axis of the fall detection device, measures the distance to a detection target in a specific area including the bed, and detects a fall at the lower end A plurality of sensors that are provided with a spherical coupling part disposed so as to be able to adjust the angle of the central axis and the central axis of the device and are coupled to be rotatable. It includes a control unit that deletes sensed data and a housing that can be installed on the ceiling, and the coupling unit is fitted with, and the control unit uses the distance to the sensing target measured in a state where there is no patient in the bed as a reference value, If the distance from the point to the sensing target measured by the sensor is less than the reference value, it is determined that the patient's body part is at an arbitrary point, and the patient's posture is judged based on the points where the patient's body part is determined. and determine whether there is a risk of a patient falling from the bed based on the patient's posture and bed, and angles between the central axes of the plurality of sensors and the central axes of the fall detection device are different from each other, and the center of the fall detection device rotates about an axis.

It may further include a lighting unit for receiving the patient's status information from the controller and irradiating light of a preset color for each patient's status information.

The controller may calculate the exclusion region based on whether the distance from the sensing target satisfies a specific condition.

The specific condition may be calculated using the angle, the length of the bed, the distance to the detection target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed.

The controller may determine the patient's posture by using the angle, the distance from the sensing target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall sensing device is installed.

A fall detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention measures a distance to a detection target in a specific area including a bed using a plurality of sensors having different angles from the central axis of the fall detection device while rotating the fall detection device A cone shape detection area forming step of forming a cone shape detection area by doing this; When the distance between the sensing target and the sensor measured by the sensor is smaller than the reference value, the patient's body part is determined to be at an arbitrary point, based on the patient's body part existence determination step and the point where the patient's body part is determined It includes the step of determining the patient's posture and determining whether there is a risk of the patient falling from the bed based on the bed and the patient's posture, and determining whether the patient's posture and the risk of a fall are determined. It means the distance between a plurality of points and the sensor.

The method may further include determining the patient's posture using the angle, the distance from the sensing target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed.

The forming of the cylindrical shape sensing region may further include forming a cylindrical shape sensing region based on whether a distance from the sensing target satisfies a specific condition.

The specific condition may be calculated using the angle, the length of the bed, the distance to the detection target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed.

As an embodiment of the present invention, a computer-readable recording medium in which a program for implementing the above-described method is recorded is provided.

According to the present invention, there is an advantage that it is possible to prevent malfunction of the device by medical staff or guardians other than the components or the patient around the bed.

In addition, according to the present invention, three-dimensional movement of the patient can be sensed, and the number of sensors required for this can be minimized, thereby reducing the cost required for manufacturing the device.

The effects obtainable in the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned may be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs from the description below. will be.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for detecting a fall according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an overall configuration diagram of a fall detection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 .
4 is an overall configuration diagram of an apparatus for detecting a fall according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 .
6 is a cone shape detection area formed by a fall detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 illustrates an area detected by any one sensor among the fall detection apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 shows an exclusion region of the fall detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 shows a cylindrical shape detection area of a fall detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a lying patient is detected using a fall detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 is an example of points where the presence of a patient is recognized through the fall detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a diagram illustrating the detection of a sitting patient using the fall detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
13 is a flowchart of a method for detecting a fall according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily carry out the present invention. However, the present invention may be embodied in various different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. And in order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and similar reference numerals are attached to similar parts throughout the specification.

Terms used in this specification will be briefly described, and the present invention will be described in detail.

The terms used in the present invention have been selected as currently widely used general terms as possible while considering the functions in the present invention, but these may vary depending on the intention or precedent of a person skilled in the art, the emergence of new technology, and the like. In addition, in a specific case, there is a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term and the overall content of the present invention, rather than the name of a simple term.

In the entire specification, when a part "includes" a certain component, it means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated. In addition, terms such as "...unit" and "module" described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented as hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and software. . In addition, throughout the specification, when a part is "connected" with another part, this includes not only the case of "directly connected" but also the case of "connecting with another element in the middle".

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for detecting a fall according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the fall detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a sensor 100 for measuring a distance, and a controller 200 for determining whether a patient has fallen by analyzing data measured from the sensor 100 . may include

In addition, it may further include a lighting unit 300 for warning to the outside that the risk of falling.

The sensor 100 may be composed of a non-contact distance sensor 100, and an ultrasonic sensor 100 that measures the distance to the object by measuring the time it takes for the light irradiated from the sensor 100 to be reflected back to the object or An infrared sensor 100 or the like may be applied.

The lighting unit 300 may receive the patient's status information from the control unit 200, and may irradiate light of a preset color for each patient's status information.

For example, a green light if the patient is on the bed and there is no fall risk, a yellow light if the patient is on the bed but there is a slight risk of a fall, and a red light if the patient is not in bed and the fall risk is very high. may be set up to investigate.

In addition, it may further include a receiving unit that receives the data measured by the sensor 100 or the fall status data determined by the control unit 200 and a transmitting unit that transmits it to the outside.

2 is an overall configuration diagram of a fall detection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 .

2 and 3 , the sensor 100 may be arranged to form a predetermined angle θ with the central axis of the fall detection device, and a plurality of sensors ( 100) can be configured.

For example, a total of seven sensors 100 may be provided in the fall detection device, and the angles between each sensor 100 and the central axis of the fall detection device are 50˚, 60˚, 70˚, and 75˚, respectively. , 80˚, 85˚, 90˚ may be configured.

The sensor 100 may measure a distance from a detection target in a specific area including a bed, and transmit it to the controller 200 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the fall detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a plurality of sensors 100 , and is formed at the lower end of the housing 120 and the sensor 100 that can be installed on the ceiling. ) may further include a coupling portion 110 that is fitted to the coupling.

The coupling part 110 may have a spherical shape so that the sensor 100 coupled to the housing 120 may have various angles with the central axis.

4 is an overall configuration diagram of an apparatus for detecting a fall according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 .

4 and 5, the lighting unit 300 protects the ring-shaped lighting 310 and the lighting 310 from external impact, and a cap that prevents glare of the patient from the light irradiated from the lighting 310. (320) may be further included.

6 is a cone shape detection area formed by a fall detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the device for detecting a fall according to an embodiment of the present invention may rotate about a central axis.

The rotation direction of the fall detection device may be clockwise or counterclockwise, and as the plurality of sensors 100 having different angles rotate, a plurality of cone-shaped sensing regions having different sizes are formed.

7 shows an area detected by any one of the sensors 100 of the fall detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7 , according to the apparatus for detecting a fall according to an embodiment of the present invention, it can be seen that an area other than the bed on which the patient is lying is included as the sensing area.

It will be preferable to install the fall detection device according to the present invention so that the point A in FIG. 7 is the ceiling.

Since the sensing region formed by the present invention has a conical shape and includes regions other than the bed, the movement of a third party other than the patient, such as medical staff, guardians, or caregivers, can also be detected, and in this case, a malfunction of the fall detection device occurs. do.

In order to solve this problem, the controller 200 of the present invention calculates a portion not including a bed in a specific area sensed by the sensor 100 as an exclusion area, and deletes data sensed in the exclusion area.

A method of calculating the exclusion area and a method of deleting data sensed in the exclusion area will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 to 9 .

8 shows an exclusion region of the fall detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8 , as an example of a method of calculating the exclusion area, the controller 200 of the present invention calculates the exclusion area based on whether the distance to the sensing target satisfies a specific condition.

), 상기 침대의 길이(

), 상기 감지대상과의 거리 및 상기 침대에서부터 상기 낙상 감지 장치가 설치된 천장까지의 수직거리

를 이용하여 산출될 수 있다.The specific condition is the angle (

), the length of the bed (

), the distance from the detection target and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed.

can be calculated using

The specific condition calculated using the angle, the length of the bed, the distance to the sensing target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed is expressed as follows.

는 중심축과 센서가 이루는 각도,

는 침대에서부터 낙상 감지 장치가 설치된 천장까지의 수직거리,

은 침대의 길이이다.)(here,

is the angle between the central axis and the sensor,

is the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed,

is the length of the bed.)

That is, the distance to the sensing target measured by the sensor 100 is a value calculated using the angle, the length of the bed, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed (in S in FIG. 8 ). If it is greater than the value minus X), the data is due to the movement of a third party in the area other than the bed, that is, in the exclusion area. will be able

The length of the bed may vary depending on the characteristics of the bed or the various conditions of the hospital in which the bed is placed, and may be the length or width of the bed, or the length of the diagonal of the bed, depending on the situation or condition.

9 shows a cylindrical shape detection area of a fall detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the detection area formed by the fall detection apparatus according to the present invention may have a cylindrical shape due to rotation of the sensors 100 and deletion of data measured in areas other than the bed.

10 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a lying patient is detected using a fall detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the control unit 200 uses the distance to the sensing target measured in a state where there is no patient in the bed as a reference value, and the distance to the sensing target measured by the sensor 100 for any point is When it is smaller than the reference value, it may be determined that the patient's body part is located at the arbitrary point.

This is because when there is a patient in the bed, the distance from the sensing target measured by the sensor 100 by the patient's body will be shorter than when there is no patient.

The reference value may be a set of data that measures the distance to the detection target at all points included in the detection area, and it is desirable to set it considering the effects of not only the bed but also fixed factors other than the patient, such as pillows and blankets. will be.

11 is an example of points (x) at which the presence of a patient is recognized through the fall detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

* Referring to FIG. 11 , the controller 200 determines the patient's posture based on the points (x) at which it is determined that the patient's body part is there, and the patient is in bed based on the patient's posture and the bed. You can determine whether there is a risk of falling.

In the case of Figure 11 (a), since the points (x) determined that there is a body part of the patient measured by the plurality of sensors 100 have a straight shape, it can be confirmed that the current patient is lying in a straight line.

In the case of Figure 11 (b), since the points (x) determined that there is a body part of the patient measured by the plurality of sensors 100 have a c-shape, it can be confirmed that the current patient is lying in a c-shape. will be able

* If the data in the form of FIG. 11 is accumulated in a large amount and using it to train an artificial intelligence neural network, more accurate and faster patient posture analysis will be possible.

12 is a diagram illustrating the detection of a sitting patient using the fall detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12 , the controller 200 may determine the patient's posture using the angle, the distance from the sensing target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall sensing device is installed.

* By using the height from the bed of the patient's body part calculated through [Equation 2] below, it can be determined whether the patient is currently lying down or sitting.

In addition, when the height of the patient's body part is above a certain level, it can be determined that the patient is currently sitting, and when the patient is currently sitting, it can be determined that there is no risk of falling even if a lot of movement of the patient is detected.

는 센서와 장치의 중심축이 이루는 각도이다.)(where h2 is the height of the patient's body part from the bed, H is the height from the bed to the device, h1 is the vertical distance from the patient's body part to the device,

is the angle between the sensor and the central axis of the device.)

13 is a flowchart of a method for detecting a fall according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 13 , in the method for detecting a fall according to an embodiment of the present invention, while rotating the fall detecting device, the sensor 100 having a plurality of different angles is used to communicate with a detection target in a specific area including a bed. A cone shape detection area forming step (S100) of measuring a distance to form a cone shape detection area, a cylindrical shape detection area forming step of forming a cylindrical shape detection area by deleting a portion not including the bed from the cone shape detection area (S200), when the distance between the sensing target and the sensor 100 measured by the sensor 100 for an arbitrary point is less than the reference value, the patient who determines that there is a body part of the patient at the arbitrary point The patient's posture is determined based on the body part presence determination step (S300) and the point where the patient's body part is determined, and whether there is a risk of the patient falling from the bed based on the patient's posture and bed and determining the patient's posture and the risk of falling ( S400 ), and the reference value may mean the distance between the plurality of points and the sensor 100 measured in a state where there is no patient in the bed.

In the method for detecting a fall according to an embodiment of the present invention, determining the posture of the patient using the angle, the distance to the sensing target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detecting device is installed (S500) may further include.

The cylindrical shape sensing region forming step (S200) may further include calculating the exclusion region based on whether the distance to the sensing target satisfies a specific condition (S210).

The specific condition may be calculated using the angle, the length of the bed, the distance from the sensing target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall sensing device is installed.

In relation to the method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the above-described apparatus may be applied. Accordingly, descriptions of the same contents as those of the above-described apparatus in relation to the method will be omitted.

The foregoing description of the present invention is for illustration, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can understand that it can be easily modified into other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. will be. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single type may be implemented in a distributed manner, and likewise components described as distributed may be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is indicated by the following claims rather than the above detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

100: sensor
110: coupling part
120: housing
200: control unit
300: lighting unit
310: lighting
320: cap

Claims (10)

In the fall detection device having the same central axis as the bed,
A spherical shape that forms a predetermined angle with the central axis of the fall detection device, measures the distance to a detection target in a specific area including a bed, and is disposed at the lower end to allow adjustment of the angle of the central axis formed with the central axis of the fall detection device A plurality of sensors coupled to be rotatably provided with a coupling portion of the;
a control unit that calculates a portion not including a bed in the specific area as an exclusion area, and deletes data sensed in the exclusion area; and
It can be installed on the ceiling and includes a housing to which the coupling part is fitted,
The control unit is
The distance to the sensing target measured when there is no patient in the bed is the reference value,
If the distance to the sensing target measured by the sensor with respect to an arbitrary point is smaller than the reference value, it is determined that the patient's body part is at the arbitrary point,
Determining the patient's posture based on the points where it is determined that the patient's body part is there,
Determining whether there is a risk of the patient falling from the bed based on the patient's posture and bed,
The angles between the central axis of the plurality of sensors and the central axis of the fall detection device are different from each other, and the fall detection device will rotate based on the central axis of the fall detection device.
According to claim 1,
Receiving the patient's status information from the control unit,
A fall detection device further comprising a lighting unit for irradiating light of a preset color for each patient's condition information.
According to claim 1,
the control unit
A fall detection device for calculating the excluded area based on whether the distance to the detection target satisfies a specific condition.
According to claim 1,
The specific conditions are
The angle, the length of the bed, the distance to the detection target, and the fall detection device that is calculated using the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed.
According to claim 1,
The control unit will determine the posture of the patient using the angle, the distance to the sensing target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall sensing device is installed.
While rotating the fall detection device of claim 1, using a plurality of sensors having different angles from the central axis of the fall detection device to measure the distance to a detection target in a specific area including a bed to form a cone shape detection area forming a cone shape sensing area;
a cylindrical shape sensing region forming step of forming a cylindrical shape sensing region by deleting a portion not including the bed in the cone shape sensing region;
a body part determination step of judging that the patient's body part is at the arbitrary point when the distance between the sensing target and the sensor measured by the sensor for an arbitrary point is smaller than a reference value; and
Patient posture and fall risk determination step of determining the patient's posture based on the point at which the patient's body part is determined, and determining whether the patient is at risk of falling from the bed based on the bed and the patient's posture including,
The reference value will mean the distance between the plurality of points and the sensor measured in the absence of a patient in the bed, a fall detection method.
7. The method of claim 6,
The method further comprising the step of determining the patient's posture by using the angle, the distance from the sensing target, and the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed.
7. The method of claim 6,
The cylindrical shape sensing area forming step is,
The method for detecting a fall further comprising the step of forming the cylindrical shape sensing area based on whether the distance from the sensing target satisfies a specific condition.
9. The method of claim 8,
The specific conditions are
The angle, the length of the bed, the distance to the detection target, and the fall detection method that is calculated using the vertical distance from the bed to the ceiling where the fall detection device is installed.
A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for implementing the method of any one of claims 6 to 9 is recorded.

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