JP6803585B2 - Urine detection system using weak wireless tag - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a urine detection method and a detection system using a weak wireless tag such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

When nursing and caring for a bed-care recipient / caregiver at a medical institution or at home, it is important for the care recipient to effectively and efficiently respond to the urinary incontinence of the care recipient / care recipient.・ It is an important issue from the viewpoint of maintaining a comfortable life for the care recipient and reducing the burden on the nurse / caregiver.

Conventionally, diapers have been used to deal with urinary incontinence, and if the nurse / care recipient cannot inform the nurse / caregiver of the need to change the diaper, a predetermined time or I change diapers at regular intervals.

Further, in order to detect urinary incontinence, Patent Document 1 describes a device for detecting urination by providing a sensor on an absorbent article such as a urine absorbing pad such as a diaper. In Patent Document 1, "a plurality of electrodes are arranged on an outer surface opposite to the side that comes into contact with the skin of a user of an absorbent article having an absorbing portion capable of absorbing urination having a centrifugal holding amount of 350 g or more. A urination detection device in which a sensor having a plurality of rows of placed electrodes is arranged and urination is detected based on a change in impedance between the plurality of electrodes is described.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-47480

The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 describes a device for detecting urination and measuring a urination rate. However, the device described in Patent Document 1 only detects urination after urination.
On the other hand, as the aging society progresses, support for the independence of nurses and long-term care recipients is required. Therefore, before urinating, it is required to take measures such as calling out for independence of excretion at an appropriate timing and guiding the patient to the toilet.

In order to solve the above problems, one of the representative urine detection systems of the present invention includes at least two weak radio tags provided at positions surrounding at least one of the subject's bladder or urethra , and the weak radio. In a urine detection system consisting of a management device that receives information on the communication radio wave intensity between the weak radio tags from one of the tags, the management device is a subject based on the communication radio wave strength between the weak radio tags. The weak radio tag is provided on the abdominal side and the back side of the subject, and either one of the weak radio tags is provided with a radio wave attenuation shielding material in the vicinity thereof to display the amount of urine in the bladder or urethra. It is achieved by doing .

In addition, one of the other representative urine detection systems of the present invention is at least two weak radio tags provided at a position surrounding at least one of the subject's bladder or urethra, and any one of the weak radio tags. in the urine detection system comprising a management apparatus for receiving the transmission of a communication radio field intensity information about between one of the weak radio tag, the management device, the subject of the bladder or urethra based on the communication radio wave strength between the weak radio tag The weak radio wave tag is provided on the abdominal side and the back side of the subject, and one of the weak radio wave tags is provided with a member for enhancing the directivity of the antenna in the vicinity thereof. Achieved by

According to the present invention, by using a small and lightweight weak wireless tag, it is possible to grasp the amount of urine in the body of a subject who is a nursing person / long-term care person from the outside, and it is possible to grasp the amount of urine in the body of the subject who is a nursing person / long-term care person. It is extremely effective in supporting the independence of people.
Moreover, since the system is simple, both the initial cost and the maintenance cost can be kept low, which can greatly contribute to the reduction of nursing / nursing cost.
Issues, configurations and effects other than the above will be clarified by the description of the following embodiments.

Schematic diagram when the urine detection system of the present invention is attached to a nurse / care recipient Schematic diagram of network connection of the urine detection system of the present invention

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the wireless tag 1 and the wireless tag 2 are attached to the body of the subject. The radio wave intensity of the signal transmitted from the radio tag 1 is attenuated by the body through which the radio wave is transmitted. Therefore, the communication radio wave intensity of the wireless tag 2 changes depending on the situation inside the body. That is, by measuring the communication strength of the wireless tag 2, the situation inside the body can be estimated.

When Bluetooth is used as the wireless tag, for example, the received signal strength display RSSI (Received Signal Strength Inspection) can be used as the communication radio wave strength. The radio waves in the 2.4 GHz band used in Bluetooth are attenuated by the presence of moisture. Therefore, the amount of water in the body can be detected by knowing the received signal strength display in the wireless tag 2 of the signal transmitted from the wireless tag 1.

Therefore, when the wireless tag 1 and the wireless tag 2 are provided at positions surrounding at least one of the subject's bladder or urethra, when the received signal strength display of the wireless tag 2 is strong, urine is not accumulated in the bladder. You can judge. Further, when the received signal strength display is weak in the wireless tag 2 or when the wireless tag 1 cannot be recognized, it can be determined that urine is accumulated in the bladder.

In addition, in order to measure the situation in the body of the subject using the wireless tag 1 and the wireless tag 2, it is necessary to calibrate the received signal strength according to each subject. This is because the degree of signal transmission between the radio tag 1 and the radio tag 2 changes when the skeleton and the size of the body of the subject and the condition of the water contained in the body differ. Further, the transmission state of such radio waves differs depending on the position on the body surface (hereinafter referred to as “body surface”) where the wireless tag 1 and the wireless tag 2 are installed.
Therefore, it is important to calibrate the received signal strength after placing the wireless tag 1 and the wireless tag 2 on the body surface of the subject.

In the calibration stage of the wireless tag 1 and the wireless tag 2, if the received signal strength between the wireless tags is too strong to detect the amount of urine in the bladder or urinary tract, a conductive mesh is used as a shielding material for radio wave attenuation. By arranging it around the wireless tag 1, the received signal strength of the wireless tag 2 can be reduced.
The conductive mesh is a mesh woven with polyester monofilament to which conductivity is imparted. The monofilament is a normal filament yarn (multifilament) in which several to several tens of filaments are twisted to form one yarn, whereas a monofilament is a yarn composed of one filament. Specifically, this monofilament is composed of polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate and the like, and the surface of these monofilaments coated with copper is a conductive mesh.
If such a conductive mesh is arranged in the vicinity of the wireless tag 1 or the wireless tag 2, the reception signal strength of the wireless tag 2 can be appropriately reduced.

On the other hand, the radio wave transmitting antennas of the wireless tag 1 and the wireless tag 2 using Bluetooth are omnidirectional antennas. Therefore, by providing the wireless tag 1 with a millimeter-wave lens as a member for enhancing the directivity of the antenna, the signal radio wave transmitted from the wireless tag 1 can be provided with directivity. By giving directivity to the radio wave signal from the wireless tag in this way, the strength of the received signal in the wireless tag 2 can be increased. Further, since the measurement range in the body of the subject by the wireless tag 1 and the wireless tag 2 can be limited, the amount of urine in the body can be determined more accurately.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network connection of the urine detection system of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the wireless tag 2 attached to the plurality of subjects functions as a human body sensor, and can transmit the information of the plurality of subjects to the relay node 3 (for example, a smartphone). Then, the relay node 3 can function as a management device for the wireless tag 2 attached to each subject. Specifically, the management device can determine the amount of urine in the bladder or urethra of the subject based on the communication radio wave intensity between the wireless tags. Then, it is possible to memorize and display the time transition of the urine volume in the bladder or the urethra of all the subjects.

Since the transmission distance of Bluetooth LE (low energy) is about 10 m, if a network of a wireless tag 2 and a relay node 3 is configured and the relay node 3 is used as a management device, the nurses and caregivers are, for example, the same. It is also possible to list the information of a plurality of subjects (nurse / care recipient) in the hospital room or the like using a smartphone or the like. As a result, the nurse / caregiver can easily manage and grasp the situation of the plurality of nurses / care recipients in charge of him / her. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden of nursing / nursing care and at the same time efficiently provide appropriate nursing / nursing care.

Further, in such a network, information on a plurality of subjects (nurses / care recipients) in the same room is collectively transmitted to a further upstream sink node 4 via a relay node 3 to sink. You can connect to the Internet via node 4. As a result, it is possible to aggregate and analyze the information of a larger number of subjects (nurses / care recipients).

By adopting a network configuration that utilizes the Internet or the like, it becomes possible to grasp and analyze the information of a large number of subjects (nurses / care recipients) in more detail. Specifically, it is also possible to correct the urine volume determined by the management device and feed back more accurate information to the management device. In addition, it is possible to analyze and predict the urine accumulation pattern of each nursing person / long-term care person, and it is possible to further enhance nursing / long-term care for independence support.

It goes without saying that the network configuration of the urine detection system of the present invention is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2, and various modifications are possible.
For example, various network configurations used in wireless sensor networks, such as Star topology, Mesh topology, and Cluster Tree topology, can be adopted.

In the Bluetooth LE star topology network, the central node is called Central and the terminal node is called Peripheral, and bidirectional communication can be performed between Central and Peripheral. When the star topology network is adopted in the urine detection system of the present invention, the central node, which is the central node, becomes the management device. Since there is virtually no limit on the number of terminals on the peripheral side in Bluetooth LE, it is possible to increase the number of terminals on the peripheral side as long as the resources of the central terminal (management device) are allowed.

Generally, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, or the like is used as the management device of the central terminal. Then, on the peripheral side, no sensor or wireless tag is used. Since these peripheral terminals are small and have low power consumption, they can be used continuously by using a small primary battery or secondary battery as a power source and replacing or charging them once every few months to several years. is there. Therefore, it is suitable as a device that periodically or continuously transmits the urine volume of the nurse / care recipient.

Further, since the weak wireless tag (peripheral terminal) in the present invention is wireless, it is extremely easy to attach it to a subject (nurse / care recipient). That is, since the weak wireless tag does not have a signal code, a power cord, or other cords, it hardly imposes an obstacle on the activity of the subject (nurse / care recipient) or a burden of wearing the tag.
Further, it has a great advantage that it is not necessary to use a gel or the like when it is attached to a subject (nurse / care recipient) as in the case of a probe of a measuring device using ultrasonic waves.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples, and includes various modifications. The above-mentioned examples are described for the purpose of explaining the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described.

1 ... Wireless tag 2 ... Wireless tag 3 ... Relay node 4 ... Sink node

Claims (5)

Weak radio tag of at least two aircraft provided on at least one of the surrounding position of the subject's bladder or urethra, and the transmission of the communication radio wave intensity regarding information between the weak radio tag from either the weak radio tag In a urine detection system consisting of receiving management equipment
The management device displays the amount of urine in the subject's bladder or urethra based on the signal strength of communication between the weak radio tags.
The weak wireless tag is provided on the abdominal side and the back side of the subject.
A urine detection system characterized in that one of the weak wireless tags is provided with a radio wave attenuation shielding material in the vicinity thereof . Receives transmission of information on communication radio field strength between at least two weak radio tags provided at a position surrounding at least one of the subject's bladder or urethra, and one of the weak radio tags. In a urine detection system consisting of management equipment
The management device displays the amount of urine in the subject's bladder or urethra based on the signal strength of communication between the weak radio tags.
The weak wireless tag is provided on the abdominal side and the back side of the subject.
A urine detection system characterized in that one of the weak wireless tags is provided with a member for enhancing the directivity of the antenna in the vicinity thereof . In urine detection system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the management device, the urine detection system characterized in that it is possible to store and display the urine volume of temporal transition in bladder or urethra of the subject. In urine detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the management device, the urine detection system characterized by receiving a transfer of information from the weak radio tag of the plurality of subjects. The urine detection system according to claim 4, wherein the management device can be connected to a higher-level network .

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