KR20230121535A - Method for companion animal health diagnosis using image of sample - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention obtains a sample image from an inspection image taken while placing a tag formed in a certain pattern on one surface around a sample in contact with urine and a reference sheet on which a reference color region is displayed, and analyzing the color of the sample image to obtain reagents. It is to provide a method for diagnosing the health condition of companion animals in a simple and accurate way without the cumbersome procedure of urinating on the pad.
In addition, the present invention is to set a certain area as a detection area using a tag as a reference position to improve sample detection speed and detection accuracy, and to allow users to easily recognize a location where a sample is to be placed.
In addition, the present invention forms a tag in a binaryized figure pattern, provides a reference color area inside the figure pattern, easily performs white balancing processing on sample images, and uses the sample image color-corrected by white balancing. Thus, it is possible to more accurately diagnose the health condition of companion animals.

Description

Companion animal health diagnosis method using sample shooting image {METHOD FOR COMPANION ANIMAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS USING IMAGE OF SAMPLE}

The present invention relates to a method for diagnosing the health state of a companion animal, and more particularly, to a method for diagnosing the health state of a companion animal by analyzing the discoloration state of a sample that is discolored according to urine components.

In diagnosing and treating companion animal diseases, when people do not easily recognize the signs of the disease and go to the veterinary hospital to diagnose the presence or absence of the disease, in some cases, it is often impossible to recover because a specific disease has already advanced a lot. there is.

In particular, it may be difficult for people with reduced mobility or the elderly to visit a veterinary hospital regularly to prevent and diagnose diseases of companion animals in advance.

Accordingly, there is a need for a method for periodically checking the health status of a companion animal even at home.

On the other hand, a method of analyzing the health state of an animal using a urine strip whose color changes due to chemical changes in urine is also being used.

The method of using a urine strip is used by using a test strip having a reagent pad and a colorimetric part formed thereon, smearing a certain amount of urine on the reagent pad, and then comparing the colorimetry with the naked eye.

This visual inspection method is not easy for ordinary people to inspect, so a specialist or a separate urine test strip analyzer is required, but the price of the urine test strip analyzer is expensive, so there is a problem that the general public cannot easily use it.

In order to solve this problem, a technique of photographing a urine test strip with a mobile phone and analyzing the test result has been proposed in Korean Patent Registration No. 2139210 and Korean Patent Registration No. 1898594.

In the conventional method, a reagent pad and a urine test strip having a colorimetric part are photographed, and a health condition is diagnosed by comparing and analyzing the colorimetry and the color of the discolored reagent pad in the photographed image.

That is, in the conventional method, urine excreted by a companion animal is directly collected, smeared on a reagent pad, and then the test is performed, which is inconvenient to go through a procedure for collecting urine. In particular, in the case of cats excreting in sand, there is a disadvantage in that urine collection is difficult.

In addition, since the reagent pad part and the colorimetric part of the conventional test strip are integrally formed, it is difficult to reuse it because not only the contaminated reagent pad part but also the colorimetric part must be discarded at once whenever urine is analyzed.

Accordingly, Korean Patent Publication No. 2021-0057842 discloses a technique of constructing an application program to automatically read a photograph of a urine test unit and provide a test result to a user.

However, in the prior literature, the color of the sample may vary depending on the environment in which the user takes an image or the ambient brightness, and it takes a considerable amount of time to detect the urine area in the application, or the urine area is incorrectly detected, resulting in a test error. there is a problem.

1. Korean Patent Registration No. 2139210 “Mobile urine diagnosis method using multi-colored board and strip” 2. Korean Patent No. 1898594 “Urine analysis strip and urine analysis method using the same” 3. Korean Patent Publication No. 2021-0057842 "Pad for companion animals and humans using urine test unit, and smart automatic reading and confirmation system using the same"

An object of the present invention is to place a tag formed in a certain pattern on one surface around a sample in contact with urine and a reference sheet marked with a reference color area, and then analyze the color of the sample image from the captured test image, thereby eliminating the cumbersome process of smearing urine on the reagent pad. It is to provide a method for diagnosing the health condition of companion animals in a simple and accurate way without any procedures.

Another object of the present invention is to set a predetermined area as a detection area with a tag as a reference position, thereby improving sample detection speed and detection accuracy, and enabling users to easily recognize a location where a sample is placed.

Another object of the present invention is to form a tag in a binarized figure pattern, provide a reference color area inside the figure pattern to easily white-balance a sample image, and use the white-balanced sample image to more accurately color It is to diagnose the health condition of the companion animal according to the comparison.

A companion animal health diagnosis method using a photographed sample image according to the present invention includes preparing a reference sheet on which a tag formed in a specific pattern is displayed on one surface; acquiring a test image including a sample area contacted with urine and the tag area in a state where a sample contacted with urine is placed around a reference sheet using a user terminal; extracting a predetermined detection area based on a tag from the inspection image, and detecting a sample image including a sample contacting urine within the detection area; and diagnosing the health state of the companion animal corresponding to the state of urine by analyzing the color of the sample image.

At this time, a reference color area is displayed on the one surface of the reference sheet, and the step of diagnosing the state of the urine includes, when the sample image is detected in the detection area, the reference color in the test image is set to a preset reference color value. The color of the sample image is corrected by comparison, and the health state of the companion animal corresponding to the sample color can be diagnosed by analyzing the color of the corrected sample image.

Also, the reference color area may be located inside the tag.

In addition, the image acquisition step may display the detection area on the capturing screen of the user terminal.

In addition, the image acquisition step may display an image of the sample in the form of a virtual image at a specific location on the detection area.

In addition, the reference color region may be formed inside an outline of a polygonal shape having a concave shape, and a color of a central region of the polygonal shape may be used as a reference color.

In addition, the sample may be made in the form of a bead sample in the form of grains that change color by chemical change when in contact with urine.

In addition, the sample may be made in the form of a defecation pad having a reagent layer discolored according to urine components formed on an absorbent sheet for absorbing urine of a companion animal.

The present invention can accurately diagnose the health condition of a companion animal by automatically analyzing a photographed image without purchasing a separate urine test strip analysis device, and has the effect of not requiring a separate and cumbersome procedure for collecting urine. there is.

In addition, in the case of a cat excreting in the sand, only the bead-type sample that comes into contact with urine is replaced and used, so the test reference sheet can be reused, reducing the cost required for the test.

That is, according to the present invention, it is possible for an ordinary person who is not an expert to accurately check the health condition of a companion animal in a simple way while reducing costs, so there is an advantage in facilitating health management of the companion animal.

1 is a system configuration diagram for companion animal health diagnosis using a sample to which the present invention is applied.
2 is an example screen of an application installed in the user terminal of FIG. 1;
3 is an example screen of a method of displaying a detection area in the user terminal of FIG. 1;
4 is a flowchart illustrating a companion animal health diagnosis method using a sample photographed image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 to 7 are diagrams illustrating a method for photographing a sample according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is another configuration diagram of a system for diagnosing companion animal health using a sample to which the present invention is applied.
9 is a diagram illustrating a method of photographing a specimen image in the system shown in FIG. 8;
10 is an example screen of companion animal health diagnosis results according to an embodiment of the present invention.

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

The embodiments described in the present invention and the configurations shown in the drawings are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present invention, so the scope of the present invention is limited to the embodiments and drawings described in the text. should not be construed as being limited by That is, since the embodiment can be changed in various ways and can have various forms, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention includes equivalents capable of realizing the technical idea. In addition, since the object or effect presented in the present invention does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all of them or only such effects, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereto.

All terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless defined otherwise. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as being consistent with meanings in the context of related art, and cannot be interpreted as having ideal or excessively formal meanings that are not clearly defined in the present invention.

1 is a system configuration diagram for companion animal health diagnosis using a sample photographed image to which the present invention is applied, and includes a sample 10, a reference sheet 20, a user terminal 30, and a server 40. .

The sample 10 may be implemented in the form of a granular bead sample whose color changes due to chemical change upon contact with urine.

At this time, the sample 10 may be used by sprinkling it on a urine pad of a companion animal or by mixing it with toilet sand 50 so that urine comes into contact with the sample.

The reference sheet 20 has a tag 21 formed in a specific pattern on one side and a reference color area.

In this case, the reference color area may be an area other than the tag 21 of the reference sheet 20 or may correspond to a specific pattern formed inside the tag 21 .

For example, the reference color region 21a is formed in a polygonal shape having a concave shape, and a color of a central region of the polygonal shape may be used as a reference color.

At this time, the tag 21 may be used for the purpose of providing reference coordinates for detecting the image of the sample 10 in the image captured by the user terminal 30 .

The tag 21 is marked with a white polygonal pattern on a black background, and the application for inspecting the sample 10 finds the pattern shape of the tag 21 in the captured image and sets a specific position of the pattern shape as a reference point. , An area located at a set distance from the corresponding reference point or an area within the set distance may be set as the detection area so that the sample 10 located within the corresponding detection area is detected.

The inspection application is intended to induce the user to position the sample in the detection area by displaying the detection area in a highlight form on the photographing screen of the user terminal 30 .

In addition, this is to shorten the image analysis time by processing only the region set based on the reference coordinates set through the tag 21 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , the user terminal 30 has an application for companion animal health diagnosis installed, and includes a reference sheet 20 and a camera that captures an image of the vicinity of the reference sheet 20 .

At this time, the user terminal may include a notebook (note book), a mobile terminal (mobile terminal), a smart phone (smart phone), a tablet PC (tablet pc), and the like, and all kinds of terminal may be included.

Then, the user terminal 30 transmits the image acquired through the camera to the server 40 or provides a diagnosis result transmitted from the server 40 to the user.

Accordingly, when an application installed in the user terminal 30 is executed to drive the camera, the user terminal 30 recognizes the pattern of the tag 21 and searches for reference coordinates based on the recognized pattern.

Then, the user terminal 30 displays the detection area 70 at a position set based on the reference coordinates on the capturing screen 60 .

For example, the user terminal 30 displays the detection area 70 in the form of a red box at a set location as shown in FIG. 3 .

Alternatively, the user terminal 30 may display the image of the sample 10 in the form of a virtual image at a specific location on the detection area based on reference coordinates so that the user can easily recognize the location where the sample 10 should be placed. there is.

The server 40 detects a sample in the reference color region and the detection region in the image data received from the user terminal 30, analyzes the color of the sample, and diagnoses the health state of the companion animal.

To this end, the server 40 stores data including companion animal health state information corresponding to the color value of the sample contacting urine.

In this case, when the color value of the reference color region is changed due to an external factor, for example, illumination light, etc., it is different from the reference color value, and thus inspection accuracy may be deteriorated.

Accordingly, the server 40 performs white balancing on the sample image so that the color value of the reference color region and the set reference color value are the same.

In addition, the server 40 analyzes the color of the sample in the white-balanced sample image to diagnose the health condition of the companion animal and transmits the result to the user terminal.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for diagnosing a companion animal's health using a photographed sample image according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the user sprinkles the sample 10 on the toilet plate or the toilet pad so that the companion animal's urine comes into contact with the sample 10 when the companion animal urinates.

Preferably, the sample 10 is mixed with sand 50 used as a cat's toilet.

Next, a pre-manufactured reference sheet 20 is prepared (S100), and the surface of the reference sheet 20 on which the tag 21 is formed faces up, and then the detection area, that is, the upper surface of the reference sheet or near it is in contact with urine. Place the sample 10 (S102).

Illustratively, as shown in FIG. 5, the sand 50 and the sample 10 are placed together on the upper surface of the reference sheet 20, or as shown in FIG. 6, the sample 10 is placed on the upper surface of the reference sheet 20. ) or placing the sample 10 near the reference sheet 20 as shown in FIG. 7 can all be applied.

Next, when the user terminal 30 runs the application and drives the camera to capture the reference sheet 20, the user terminal 30 displays a pattern for the reference color area of the tag 21 on the screen, that is, the white area. recognize

Then, the user terminal 30 searches for reference coordinates set based on the recognized pattern, displays a detection area at a location set based on the reference coordinates, or displays a virtual bead image on the detection area to locate the sample in the detection area. induce to do

Next, when a user captures an image while placing the sample 10 on or near the top of the reference sheet (S104), the user terminal 30 transmits the image to the server 40 (S106).

The server 40 detects a sample image including a bead-shaped sample 10 in contact with urine within a preset detection area among the test images obtained from the user terminal 30 (S108).

At this time, the present invention has an advantage of reducing image processing time by detecting a sample image by performing image processing only on a region set based on the reference coordinates detected by the tag 21 .

Then, the server 40 compares the color of the reference color area in the image with a preset reference color, and if there is a difference between the colors, white balancing of the sample image is performed based on the color difference value (S110).

Then, the server 40 analyzes the color information of the sample in the white-balanced sample image, extracts the stored health state information of the companion animal corresponding to the sample color (S112), and provides it to the user terminal 30 (S114 ).

On the other hand, in the above embodiment, the configuration of obtaining a sample photographed image using a sample in the form of a bead has been described, but in the present invention, a sample photographed image is obtained by using a defecation pad for companion animals interposed with a reagent layer as a sample, However, it is also possible to diagnose the health condition of the companion animal using the photographed sample image.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, in the present invention, the sample is a companion animal in which a back sheet 101 made of waterproof material and an absorbent sheet 102 for absorbing urine of a companion animal are stacked on the upper surface of the back sheet 101. As the defecation pad 100 for use, it is made by forming a reagent layer 110 whose color changes according to the components of urine on the absorbent sheet 102.

At this time, the defecation pad 100 has a rectangular shape having a certain area, and an absorbent sheet 102 having a smaller size than the back sheet 101 is disposed on the upper surface of the back sheet 101.

In addition, the reagent layer 110 is formed by printing an ink containing an indicator component having a property of being discolored by urine components on the absorbent sheet 102 in a predetermined pattern, or a sheet layer containing an indicator component is formed as an absorbent sheet. (102).

9 is a view for explaining a method of obtaining a sample image by using the bowel pad 100 on which the reagent layer 110 shown in FIG. 8 is formed as a sample.

First, when the user places the defecation pad 100 on which the reagent layer 110 is formed at a defecation site of a companion animal, and the companion animal urinates on the defecation pad 100, the urine of the defecation pad 100 is stained with urine. Around the region 103, the side of the reference sheet 20 on which the tag 21 is formed faces up. That is, as shown in FIG. 9 , the reference sheet 20 is positioned so that the urine area 103 is included in the predetermined detection area 130 around the tag 21 .

At this time, when the camera is driven to capture an inspection image while the inspection application is running, the user terminal 30 recognizes the pattern for the reference color area 21a of the tag 21, that is, the white area, and recognizes the recognized pattern. The reference coordinates set based on are searched for, and the detection area is displayed on the screen of the user terminal 30 at a position set based on the searched reference coordinates, so that the user can see that the area of the reagent layer 110 stained with urine is the detection area ( 130) can be induced to be located within.

In the above state, when the user captures an image through the user terminal 30, the user terminal 30 inspects the detection area 130 including the urine-stained reagent layer 110 and the tag 21 area. A test image including the area 140 is obtained and transmitted to the server 40 .

Then, the server 40 extracts a preset detection area 130 based on the reference coordinates detected by the tag 21 among the inspection images acquired from the user terminal 30, and urine within the detection area 130. A sample image including the smeared reagent layer is detected.

In addition, the server 40 compares the color of the reference color area 21a of the tag 21 with a preset reference color in the inspection image received from the user terminal 30, and if there is a difference between the colors, the color difference value White balancing of the sample image is performed based on, obtaining reagent layer color information from the sample image color-corrected through the white balancing, and extracting health state information of a companion animal corresponding to the reagent layer color to obtain a user terminal (30 ) can be provided.

10 is an example screen of companion animal health diagnosis results according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which renal health status can be provided as information such as alkalinity level and hematuria level. 10 discloses a form of diagnosing and providing conditions for alkalosis and hematuria in the form of percentage and good or bad.

In addition, the test results may be stored by date and time in the user's diary app or in the diary menu within the application for each test to support health management of the companion animal.

As described above, the present invention can easily and accurately check the health state of a companion animal using a sample image in contact with urine without a separate urine collection process, so that the health state of the companion animal can be frequently checked and managed.

10: sample bead 20: reference sheet
21: tag 30: user terminal
40: server 50: sand for toilet,
100: stool pad, 110: reagent layer,
130: detection area, 140: inspection area.

Claims (8)

preparing a reference sheet on which a tag formed in a specific pattern is displayed on one surface;
obtaining an inspection image including a sample area contacted with urine and the tag area in a state in which a sample contacted with urine is placed around a reference sheet using a user terminal;
extracting a predetermined detection area based on a tag from the inspection image, and detecting a sample image including a sample contacting urine within the detection area; and
Companion animal health diagnosis method using a sample photographed image, comprising the step of diagnosing the health state of the companion animal corresponding to the state of urine by analyzing the color of the sample image.
According to claim 1,
A reference color area is displayed on the one surface of the reference sheet,
In the step of diagnosing the state of the urine, when the sample image is detected in the detection area, a reference color in the test image is compared with a preset reference color value to correct the color of the sample image, and the color of the corrected sample image is Companion animal health diagnosis method using a sample photographed image, characterized in that by analyzing the color to diagnose the health state of the companion animal corresponding to the sample color.
According to claim 2,
Companion animal health diagnosis method using a sample photographed image, characterized in that the reference color region is located inside the tag.
According to claim 1 or 2,
The image acquisition step is
Companion animal health diagnosis method using a sample photographed image, characterized in that for displaying the detection area on a photographed screen of a user terminal.
According to claim 4,
The image acquisition step is
Companion animal health diagnosis method using a sample photographed image, characterized in that for displaying the image of the sample in the form of a virtual image at a specific location on the detection area.
According to claim 1 or 2,
The reference color region is formed inside the outline of a polygonal shape having a concave, and the companion animal health diagnosis method using a sample photographed image, characterized in that the color of the central region of the polygonal shape is used as a reference color.
According to claim 1,
The companion animal health diagnosis method using a sample photographed image, characterized in that the sample is made in the form of a granular bead sample that changes color by chemical change when in contact with urine.
According to claim 1,
The sample is a companion animal health diagnosis method using a sample photographed image, characterized in that made in the form of a defecation pad formed with a reagent layer discolored according to urine components on an absorbent sheet for absorbing urine of the companion animal.