JP7608389B2 - Proposal device, proposal method, and proposal program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a proposal device, a proposal method, and a proposal program.

Conventionally, there are known technologies that provide users with various information about absorbent articles. One example of such a technology is a technology that suggests how to apply the absorbent article based on the posture at the time of urinary leakage, based on the measurement results of a sensor attached to the absorbent article. In addition, there is known a technology that suggests an appropriate absorbent article and the timing for replacing it, based on the amount of urine absorbed by the absorbent article.

JP 2018-202154 A JP 2018-206381 A

However, the above-mentioned conventional technologies leave room for improving the quality of life of users.

For example, when a user, such as a care recipient, puts on an absorbent article by themselves, it is expected that they will put it on using the method they normally use. However, if the user is unable to put on the absorbent article using the method they normally use, they may give up putting it on by themselves. In this way, if the user gives up putting it on by themselves, it is not possible to support the independent excretion behavior of the care recipient, which may decrease the user's quality of life (QOL). However, the above-mentioned conventional technology only suggests absorbent articles to use, and therefore does not improve the user's quality of life.

This application was made in light of the above and aims to improve the quality of life of users.

The suggestion device according to the present application is characterized by having an acquisition unit that acquires physical information indicating the physical condition of a user, a selection unit that selects a wearing method of an absorbent article to be suggested to the user based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information, and a suggestion unit that suggests to the user the wearing method selected by the selection unit.

According to one aspect of the embodiment, the quality of life of the user can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a proposal process according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection process according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a necessary condition storage unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a risk avoidance flow according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a classification flow according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a standing position determination flow according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a location selection flow according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a product information storage unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a proposed system according to an embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a proposed device according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user information storage unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a proposal process procedure according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration.

The present specification and accompanying drawings make clear at least the following:

A suggestion device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires physical information indicating the physical condition of a user; a selection unit that selects a method of wearing an absorbent article to be suggested to the user based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information; and a suggestion unit that suggests to the user the wearing method selected by the selection unit.

Such a suggestion device acquires physical information indicating the physical condition of the user, selects a method of wearing an absorbent article to be suggested to the user based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information, and suggests the selected wearing method to the user, thereby making the user aware that there is a wearing method that they can perform on their own, thereby increasing their motivation to perform it. As a result, the suggestion device 100 can prevent a decline in the user's motivation to live, thereby improving the user's quality of life.

The proposed device also acquires information indicating the range of motion of the user's body as the physical information.

With this proposed device, physical information is obtained that indicates the range of motion of the user's body, allowing the user to accurately select a wearing method that can be performed.

The proposed device also acquires information indicating the range of motion of the user's lower limb joints or trunk.

The proposed device obtains information indicating the range of motion of the user's lower limb joints or trunk, allowing the user to accurately select a wearing method that can be performed.

The proposed device also acquires information indicating the ranges of motion of multiple body parts owned by the user, and selects the wearing method according to the combination of the ranges of motion of each body part.

This proposed device obtains information indicating the ranges of motion of multiple body parts owned by the user, and selects a wearing method according to the combination of the ranges of motion of each body part, allowing the user to accurately select a wearing method that can be performed.

The suggestion device also estimates the degree of risk when wearing the absorbent article based on the physical information, and selects a wearing method to suggest to the user based on the estimated degree of risk.

This type of suggestion device estimates the degree of risk when wearing an absorbent article based on physical information, and selects the wearing method to suggest to the user depending on the estimated degree of risk. This effectively avoids (reduces) the risk that the user will be unable to wear absorbent articles by themselves in the future, allowing the user to maintain a motivated state for a longer period of time.

The suggestion device also selects a rehabilitation method to suggest to the user based on the physical information or the degree of risk.

This proposed device selects the rehabilitation method to be suggested to the user based on physical information or the degree of danger, and can effectively support the user in maintaining the ability to move independently for longer periods of time and improving the movement of previously disabled parts of the body.

The proposed device also has a generation unit that generates physical information indicating the physical condition of a user from video images of the user moving his or her body, and the acquisition unit acquires the physical information generated by the generation unit.

With this proposed device, physical information indicating the physical condition of a user is generated from video images of the user moving his or her body, and the generated physical information is acquired, making it possible to acquire physical information without imposing a burden on physically disabled users.

The proposed device also has an estimation unit that estimates the physical condition of the user based on status information indicating the physical status of a terminal device detected by the terminal device owned by the user, and the acquisition unit acquires physical information indicating the status estimated by the estimation unit.

According to this proposed device, the physical condition of the user is estimated based on status information indicating the physical condition of the terminal device detected by the terminal device owned by the user, and physical information indicating the estimated condition is obtained, so that physical information can be obtained without imposing a burden on the physically disabled user.

The proposed device also selects, from among the wearing methods, a wearing method whose difficulty estimated based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information exceeds a predetermined threshold.

The proposed device selects from among the wearing methods the wearing method whose estimated difficulty based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information exceeds a predetermined threshold, thereby effectively avoiding (reducing) the risk that rehabilitation will result in the inability to wear absorbent articles by the wearer in the future.

The proposed device also selects, from among the wearing methods, a wearing method that is estimated to require greater muscle strength than the muscle strength estimated from the physical condition indicated by the physical information.

The proposed device selects from among the wearing methods the wearing method that is estimated to require more muscle strength than the muscle strength estimated from the physical condition indicated by the physical information, thereby effectively avoiding (reducing) the risk that rehabilitation will result in the inability to wear absorbent articles by the wearer in the future.

The proposed device also selects from among the wearing methods a wearing method that is estimated to require a range of motion that is greater than the range of motion of the user's body.

This proposed device selects from among the wearing methods the wearing method that is estimated to require a wider range of motion than the user's physical range of motion, effectively avoiding (reducing) the risk that in the future the user will be unable to wear the absorbent article by themselves due to rehabilitation.

The proposed device also selects, from among the wearing methods, a wearing method whose safety, estimated based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information, exceeds a predetermined threshold.

This proposed device selects from among the wearing methods a wearing method whose safety, estimated based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information, exceeds a predetermined threshold, making it possible to suggest a wearing method that is highly safe for the user's body.

The suggestion device also acquires information indicating the user's waist circumference as the physical information, selects a set of wearing methods that differ in the degree of risk when worn according to the user's waist circumference, and selects a wearing method to suggest to the user from the wearing methods included in the selected set.

According to this proposed device, information indicating the user's waist circumference is acquired as physical information, a set of wearing methods with different degrees of risk when wearing are selected according to the user's waist circumference, and a wearing method to be suggested to the user is selected from the wearing methods included in the selected set, thereby reducing the systematic disadvantages of wearing an absorbent article by the user.

The suggestion device also acquires information indicating the static or dynamic posture of the user as the physical information, and selects a wearing method to suggest to the user based on the static or dynamic posture of the user.

According to this proposed device, information indicating the static or dynamic posture of the user is acquired as physical information, and a wearing method to be suggested to the user is selected based on the static or dynamic posture of the user, thereby reducing the disadvantage of reduced balance when wearing an absorbent article by oneself.

The proposed device also selects whether to wear the absorbent article while sitting or standing.

This type of suggestion device allows the user to choose between wearing the absorbent article while sitting or while standing, making it possible to suggest a safe wearing method that is more suited to the user's physical information.

In addition to the method of putting on the absorbent article while sitting, the proposed device further selects an article to sit on when putting on the absorbent article.

This proposed device not only provides a method for putting on an absorbent article while sitting, but also allows the user to select an article to sit on when putting on the absorbent article, thereby supporting the user in putting on the absorbent article safely.

The proposed device also acquires information indicating the user's height and knee length as the physical information, and selects an article to sit on when putting on the absorbent article based on the user's height and knee length.

According to this proposed device, physical information indicating the user's height and knee length is acquired, and an article to sit on when putting on an absorbent article is selected based on the user's height and knee length, thereby supporting the user in putting on the absorbent article safely.

The proposed device also selects the type of absorbent article to be worn by the user based on the physical information.

This proposed device further selects the type of absorbent article to be worn by the user based on the body information, thereby supporting the user so that they do not have difficulty in selecting a product.

[Embodiment]
An example of a form for implementing the proposed device, the proposed method, and the proposed program (hereinafter, referred to as an "embodiment") will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the proposed device, the proposed method, and the proposed program are not limited to this embodiment. In addition, the same components in the following embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

1. Overview of proposal process according to embodiment
First, an outline of the proposal process according to the embodiment will be described along the premise. For example, a care recipient with a medium level of care requirement (often unable to recognize excretion and worried about leaking, or worried about leaking because it takes time to move to the toilet even when feeling the need to urinate, etc.) may wear an absorbent article (for example, an adult diaper) in preparation for an emergency. Even if such a care recipient can move his/her body sufficiently to use the absorbent article by himself/herself, for example, if he/she does not wear the absorbent article by himself/herself and relies on the support of those around him/her, he/she may lose the motivation to wear the absorbent article by himself/herself. And such a decrease in motivation tends to lead to a severe level of care requirement.

On the other hand, a care recipient who is trained to put on an absorbent article by themselves in case of an emergency while maintaining independent excretion can maintain their motivation to live and prevent their level of care requirement from becoming severe. For this reason, the proposal process according to the embodiment is performed on the premise (purpose) of preventing a decline in quality of life (QOL) by making the care recipient conscious of putting on an absorbent article by themselves, while encouraging them to go to the toilet when necessary to achieve independent excretion.

In other words, the suggestion process according to the embodiment is intended to maintain the motivation of users with physical disabilities, such as those receiving care, to try to put on the absorbent article themselves by suggesting that there are still many possible ways of putting on the absorbent article, even if they have disabilities and are within the range of their limited movement. This type of suggestion process can prevent a decline in motivation to live, and is therefore believed to improve the quality of life of users.

In the following embodiment, such a proposal process is performed by the proposal device 100 (an example of a proposal device). The proposal device 100 performs the following process as the proposal process according to the embodiment. Specifically, the proposal device 100 according to the embodiment acquires physical information indicating the physical condition of the user, and selects a wearing method of the absorbent article to be suggested to the user based on the physical condition indicated by the acquired physical information. The proposal device 100 then suggests the selected wearing method to the user. The proposal device 100 is realized, for example, by a server device, a cloud system, etc.

In the following embodiment, the user to whom the proposal device 100 proposes a method for wearing an absorbent article is assumed to be a user who uses an absorbent article (adult diaper). The user to whom the proposal device 100 proposes a method for wearing an absorbent article is assumed to be a user in the position of a care recipient who receives care in a facility, at home, etc., due to at least a partial disability of the body caused by old age or illness, etc.

2. About the proposed system
An example of a proposal process according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. Prior to this, a proposal system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a proposal system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 9, the proposal system 1 according to an embodiment includes a terminal device 10 and a proposal device 100. The terminal device 10 and the proposal device 100 are connected to each other via a network N so as to be able to communicate with each other via a wired or wireless connection.

The terminal device 10 is an information processing terminal used by a user. The terminal device 10 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a desktop PC, a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or the like. Here, a user who is in a position of a care recipient may have difficulty receiving a proposal from the proposal device 100 using his/her own terminal device 10. Therefore, the terminal device 10 according to the embodiment may refer to an information processing terminal used by a user who is in a position of a caregiver (caregiver), such as a staff member of a care facility or a family member of a care recipient, or the terminal device 10 may refer to an information processing terminal used by a user who is in a position of a care recipient.

In addition, a specific application (hereinafter, "app AP") that realizes sending and receiving information with the proposed device 100 is pre-installed on the terminal device 10. Therefore, the terminal device 10 transmits information input by the user to the proposed device 100, receives information transmitted from the proposed device 100, and displays it on the display screen D1, in accordance with the control of the app AP. Note that, in this embodiment, the medium through which the user receives the service provided by the proposed device 100 is the app AP, but the medium may be a browser installed on the terminal device 10.

[3. How to wear it]
In this embodiment, four wearing methods, namely, wearing method A, wearing method B, wearing method C, and wearing method D, are given as examples of wearing methods. For example, the most common wearing action when wearing an absorbent article is considered to be an action in which six action elements are performed in the following order: "hold the absorbent article,""put your feet into the absorbent article,""raise the absorbent article to below your knees,""standup,""raise the absorbent article to below your buttocks," and "raise the absorbent article to above your buttocks." Therefore, the above four wearing methods are considered to be combinations of any of the six action elements in different combinations.

The above four wearing methods are set based on the relationship between the user's range of motion and the tendency of the wearing method used by the user. For example, wearing method A is a wearing method that is likely to be used by users who have the widest range of motion and a relatively high degree of physical freedom. As the range of motion of the body narrows and the degree of physical freedom decreases, wearing method B, C, and D are more likely to be used in that order. Therefore, of the four wearing methods, wearing method A is the most difficult for users who are in the position of being cared for, and the difficulty of wearing decreases in the order of wearing method B, wearing method C, and wearing method D.

The four wearing methods may also be combined with the position when wearing the device, either "sitting" or "standing," but this will be discussed later. The four wearing methods may also be combined with the need for support, such as "with support from those around you," for safety reasons.

4. An example of the proposed process
From here, an example of the overall flow of the proposal process according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the proposal process according to the embodiment. In the example of Fig. 1, a situation is assumed in which a user T1 in the role of a caregiver at a care site (e.g., a care facility) is receiving a proposal for a fitting method for the body of a user U1 on behalf of the user U1 so that the user U1 can put on an absorbent article by himself as much as possible.

When receiving a proposal on a method of wearing an absorbent article from the proposal device 100, the proposal device 100 needs to acquire physical information indicating the physical condition of the user to be processed, i.e., the user who is in the position of a care recipient. In the example of FIG. 1, the original data from which such physical information is acquired is a video of the user to be processed moving his/her body. In this case, user T1 will record a video of user U1, the user to be processed, moving his/her body, and transmit the video obtained by filming to the proposal device 100.

In the example of FIG. 1, user U1 uses a sensor SN, which is a specified sensor, to capture video of user U1 moving his/her body. To give a more detailed example, in the example of FIG. 1, user T1 uses a sensor SN, which is a Kinect (registered trademark), to capture video VD1 in which the movements of user U1 are identified from the captured video by sensor SN, and imports the video image VD1 into the terminal device 10.

The sensor SN is preferably a sensor capable of identifying the movements of the user U1 with high accuracy, and an example of such a sensor is a Kinect, as described above. On the other hand, the sensor SN does not necessarily have to be a Kinect, and may be, for example, a smartphone with a photographing function, or dedicated equipment such as that which has recently become popular in nursing care settings. In other words, the moving image VD1 may be a moving image captured by an image sensor or the like, or may be a moving image using non-visible light, such as a moving image generated from infrared rays or the trajectory of marker position information. On the other hand, since the moving image VD1 may be a moving image using visible light, the sensor SN is not limited to a Kinect that uses non-visible light, and may be a general camera that uses visible light.

Furthermore, user T1 can input a video VD1 via the app AP and transmit the input video VD1 to the proposal device 100. FIG. 1(a) shows an example of an input screen displayed under the control of the app AP. The input screen includes an input field AR, in which user T1 can input personal information of user U1 (e.g., age, gender, etc.) and upload a video VD1. Note that user U1's personal information can also be registered in advance in the proposal device 100 via the app AP. In the example of FIG. 1, user T1 uploads a video VD1 to the input field AR and presses the "send button" at the bottom.

Then, the terminal device 10 transmits the video VD1 to the proposal device 100 (step S1). For example, the terminal device 10 transmits the user ID "U1" that identifies the user U1, who is the user to be processed, and the video VD1 to the proposal device 100.

When the proposed device 100 receives the moving image VD1, it estimates the range of motion of the major joints of the user U1 (for example, lower limb joints such as hip joints, knee joints, hip joints, and ankle joints, trunk joints such as thoracic and lumbar joints from the waist to the back, and upper limb joints such as arms, shoulders, and elbows) based on the moving image VD1 (step S2). Note that in this embodiment, the proposed device 100 estimates the range of motion of the hip joints, the range of motion of trunk forward bending (one example of the range of motion related to the trunk), and the range of motion of trunk rotation. On the other hand, the parts (joints) listed here are only examples, and any part may be the part to be estimated for which the range of motion is estimated, but it is preferable that the part involved in the action of putting on the absorbent article is the estimation target. Also, the range of motion can be rephrased as the range of motion or the angle of motion.

Next, the proposed device 100 acquires physical information indicating the physical condition of user U1 by generating information indicating the range of motion estimated in step S2 as physical information indicating the physical condition of user U1 (step S3). From this, in the example of FIG. 1, it can be said that the proposed device 100 generates physical information indicating the physical condition of user U1 from a video image VD1 capturing user U1 moving his/her body. Also, in the example of FIG. 1, the proposed device 100 acquires information indicating the range of motion of multiple parts of user U1 as the physical information of user U1. More specifically, the proposed device 100 acquires information indicating the range of motion of the joints of user U1's lower limbs or the trunk as the physical information of user U1.

The proposed device 100 may estimate the physical state of user U1 based on status information indicating the physical state of the terminal device 10 owned by user U1, the user to be processed, detected by the terminal device 10 used by user T1, and may acquire information indicating the estimated status as physical information of user U1. For example, if the terminal device 10 has various sensors (e.g., an acceleration sensor, a magnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, etc.), the proposed device 100 acquires detection information detected by these sensors from the terminal device 10, and estimates physical information of user U1 based on the acquired detection information.

In addition, if the user is capable of measuring the range of motion of major joints (e.g., hip joints, trunk forward bending, trunk rotation), the user may transmit information indicating the range of motion obtained by the measurement to the proposed device 100. In the example of FIG. 1, if user T1 is capable of measuring the range of motion of major joints of user U1 using any device, the user may transmit physical information obtained by the measurement to the proposed device 100 using the terminal device 10. In such a case, the proposed device 100 may not generate or estimate physical information on its own device, and may use both physical information obtained by generating (or estimating) it on its own device and physical information obtained directly from the user.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the proposal device 100 registers the physical information acquired from the user U1 in the user information storage unit 121. For example, the proposal device 100 registers in the user information storage unit 121 a user ID "U1" that identifies the user U1 and the physical information acquired from the user U1 in association with each other.

Next, the suggestion device 100 executes a selection process to select a wearing method (a method of wearing an absorbent article) to be proposed to the user U1 based on the physical condition indicated by the acquired physical information (step S4). Here, an example of the selection process to select a wearing method will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a selection process according to an embodiment. The suggestion device 100 can select a wearing method to be proposed to the user U1 by applying the physical information of the user U1 to a selection flow FL1 as shown in FIG. 2. In the selection flow FL1, the wearing method to be selected is specified in a flowchart format depending on whether the condition information that conditions the action is satisfied (Yes) or not satisfied (No).

According to selection flow FL1 as shown in FIG. 2, first, the proposed device 100 determines whether or not user U1 satisfies condition 1 that user U1 can flex the hip joint by N1 degrees or more, based on the range of motion of the hip joint of user U1. If the proposed device 100 determines that user U1 can flex the hip joint by N1 degrees or more based on the range of motion of the hip joint of user U1 (condition 1 is satisfied; Yes), it selects wearing method A as the wearing method to be proposed to user U1.

On the other hand, if the proposed device 100 determines based on the range of motion of the hip joint of user U1 that user U1 cannot flex the hip joint by N1 degrees or more (condition 1 is satisfied; No), then based on the range of motion of user U1's forward trunk bending, it determines whether or not user U1 satisfies condition 2, that is, that user U1 can flex forward by N2 degrees or more. If the proposed device 100 determines based on the range of motion of user U1's forward trunk bending that user U1 can flex forward by N2 degrees or more (condition 2 is satisfied; Yes), it selects wearing method B as the wearing method to be proposed to user U1.

On the other hand, if the proposed device 100 determines based on the range of motion of user U1's trunk forward bending that user U1 cannot bend forward by N2 degrees or more (condition 2 is satisfied; No), then based on the range of motion of user U1's trunk rotation, it determines whether or not user U1 satisfies condition 3, that is, that user U1 can rotate the trunk by N3 degrees or more. If the proposed device 100 determines based on the range of motion of user U1's trunk rotation that user U1 can rotate the trunk by N3 degrees or more (condition 3 is satisfied; Yes), it selects wearing method C as the wearing method to be proposed to user U1.

On the other hand, if the proposed device 100 determines based on the range of motion of user U1's trunk rotation that user U1 cannot rotate his/her trunk by N3 degrees or more (condition 3 is satisfied; No), it selects wearing method D as the wearing method to be proposed to user U1.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 1, the suggestion device 100 suggests to the user U1 to try wearing the absorbent article using the selected wearing method (step S5). For example, the suggestion device 100 generates suggestion information that suggests wearing the absorbent article using the selected wearing method, and transmits the generated suggestion information to the terminal device 10 of the user T1. In FIG. 1(b), the suggestion device 100 transmits the suggestion content C1 to the terminal device 10 as such suggestion information, and the terminal device 10 displays the suggestion content C1 on the display screen D1.

For example, the suggestion device 100 selects wearing method B as the wearing method to be suggested to the user U1, and wearing method B is a method of "sit on the bed, put your feet into pants placed on the floor, and pull the pants up to your knees." In this case, the suggestion device 100 generates suggested content C1 that displays, for example, text showing the steps of wearing method B and a video showing the steps of wearing method B, as shown in FIG. 1(b).

As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the proposal device 100 according to the embodiment acquires physical information indicating the physical condition of the user, and selects a method of wearing an absorbent article to be proposed to the user based on the physical condition indicated by the acquired physical information. The proposal device 100 then proposes the selected wearing method to the user. In this way, the proposal device 100 can make the user aware that there is a wearing method that can be performed by the user himself, thereby increasing the motivation to perform the method, which can lead to preventing a decline in the user's motivation to live. As a result, the proposal device 100 can improve the quality of life of the user.

Let us assume that the proposed device 100 determines, according to selection flow FL1, that user U1 satisfies conditions 1 and 3, but does not satisfy condition 2. In such a case, the proposed device 100 may select wearing methods A and C. Furthermore, when the proposed device 100 selects a pair of wearing methods with different degrees of danger when wearing in this way, it may select both wearing methods A and C as the wearing method to be proposed to user U1, or may select the safer wearing method of wearing methods A and C as the wearing method to be proposed to user U1. Furthermore, the proposed device 100 may select the wearing method with the greater rehabilitation effect of wearing methods A and C as the wearing method to be proposed to user U1.

[5. Variations in information processing]
The proposed device 100 according to the above embodiment may be implemented in various different forms other than the above embodiment. Therefore, other embodiments of the proposed device 100 will be described below.

[5-1. Proposing a wearing method with rehabilitation effects (1)]
The proposal process shown in the example of FIG. 1 is to select a wearing method that is, so to speak, feasible for the user based on the user's physical information, and to propose the selected wearing method. Furthermore, the wearing method that the user normally uses is often a wearing method that is not too difficult for the user (for example, can be performed without much muscle strength or can be performed without much movement of the joints). If such a wearing method is continuously adopted, there is a risk that the user will no longer use muscle strength or move the joints, and will eventually be unable to perform actions that are currently possible. Furthermore, if actions that are currently possible become impossible, there is a risk that in the future the user will not be able to wear the absorbent article by himself/herself. Therefore, it is considered that proposing a wearing method that is somewhat burdensome (using muscle strength appropriately, moving joints appropriately) to a user in a state as indicated by the current physical information will lead to a rehabilitation effect and increase the possibility of avoiding the above-mentioned risks. Therefore, in this variation, a proposal process will be described in which a wearing method that is thought to have a rehabilitation effect is selected based on the physical information, and the selected wearing method is proposed.

For example, the proposed device 100 can select a wearing method and propose the selected wearing method by appropriately combining the four selection processes shown below as a selection process for selecting a wearing method that is considered to have a rehabilitation effect. Of course, the proposed device 100 may execute the four selection processes shown below alone without combining them.

For example, from among wearing methods A to D, the proposed device 100 selects a wearing method whose difficulty, estimated based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information of the user to be processed, exceeds a predetermined threshold. This type of selection process is referred to as "selection process pattern 1". Also, for example, from among wearing methods A to D, the proposed device 100 selects a wearing method that is estimated to require greater muscle strength than the muscle strength estimated from the physical condition indicated by the physical information of the user to be processed. This type of selection process is referred to as "selection process pattern 2". Also, for example, from among wearing methods A to D, the proposed device 100 selects a wearing method that is estimated to require a wider range of motion than the range of motion of the body of the user to be processed. This type of selection process is referred to as "selection process pattern 3".

For example, the proposed device 100 selects from among the wearing methods A to D a wearing method whose safety, estimated based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information of the user being processed, exceeds a predetermined threshold. This type of selection process is referred to as "selection process pattern 4."

Each pattern will be explained below, but prior to the explanation, the necessary condition storage unit 122 of the proposal device 100 will be explained using FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the necessary condition storage unit 122 according to an embodiment. In the example of FIG. 3, the necessary condition storage unit 122 has items such as "Wearing method A", "Wearing method B", "Wearing method C", and "Wearing method D" on the horizontal axis. Also, in the example of FIG. 3, the necessary condition storage unit 122 has items such as "range of motion information" and "muscle strength information" on the vertical axis.

For example, the "range of motion information" corresponding to "wearing method A" is information indicating the range of motion of each joint (e.g., hip joint, forward trunk bending, trunk rotation) required for easy wearing with wearing method A. In the example of FIG. 3, the range of motion information "RM#11" is entered in the input field identified by "wearing method A" and "range of motion information". This example shows that the range of motion information indicating the range of motion of each joint (e.g., hip joint, forward trunk bending, trunk rotation) required for easy wearing with "wearing method A" is "RM#11". Note that in the example of FIG. 3, a conceptual symbol such as "RM#11" is used as the range of motion information to simplify the explanation, but in reality, the required range of motion (angle) is specified, such as hip joint "100 degrees or more", trunk forward bending "90 degrees or more", and trunk rotation "8 degrees or more".

For example, the "muscle strength information" corresponding to "wearing method A" is the muscle strength required to wear the device without difficulty using wearing method A, and is information indicating the muscle strength of the relevant part. In the example of FIG. 3, range of motion information "MS#11" is entered in an input field identified by "wearing method A" and "range of motion information." This example shows that the muscle strength information indicating the muscle strength required to wear the device without difficulty using "wearing method A" is "MS#11." Note that in the example of FIG. 3, a conceptual symbol such as "MS#11" is used as the range of motion information to simplify the explanation, but in reality, an index value indicating muscle strength (e.g., leg extension strength) is specified.

From here, an example of each pattern will be described assuming that the user to be processed is user U1 shown in Figure 1, and also using the example in Figure 3 as appropriate. First, selection processing pattern 1 will be described. For example, for each of wearing methods A to D, the proposed device 100 calculates a difficulty score (e.g., the higher the score, the more difficult it is) that indicates how difficult it is for user U1 to wear the absorbent article using that wearing method within the range of motion of the body of that user.

Here, taking wearing method A as an example, the proposed device 100 compares the range of motion of the hip joint of the user U1 with the range of motion of the hip joint defined by the range of motion information "RM#11" stored in the necessary condition storage unit 122, and calculates a higher difficulty score the greater the difference between the two ranges of motion. The proposed device 100 also compares the range of motion of the trunk forward bending of the user U1 with the range of motion of the trunk forward bending defined by the range of motion information "RM#11" stored in the necessary condition storage unit 122, and calculates a higher difficulty score the greater the difference between the two ranges of motion. The proposed device 100 also compares the range of motion of the trunk rotation of the user U1 with the range of motion of the trunk rotation defined by the range of motion information "RM#11" stored in the necessary condition storage unit 122, and calculates a higher difficulty score the greater the difference between the two ranges of motion.

In this way, the proposed device 100 calculates a difficulty score for each joint for the target wearing method (wearing method A in this example), and then calculates an overall difficulty score by adding (or multiplying) each calculated difficulty score together. The proposed device 100 then selects, from among wearing methods A to D, a wearing method for which a difficulty score (overall difficulty score) equal to or greater than a predetermined value has been calculated, as a wearing method that has a rehabilitation effect.

Next, the selection process pattern 2 will be described. For example, the proposed device 100 calculates a muscle strength score indicating the muscle strength of the muscles involved in the hip joint, a muscle strength score indicating the muscle strength of the muscles involved in trunk forward bending, and a muscle strength score indicating the muscle strength of the muscles involved in the trunk based on the physical information of the user U1. Note that, for example, if the proposed device 100 can obtain the physical strength measurement results of the user U1, it may calculate each muscle strength score based on the physical strength measurement results. Then, the proposed device 100 calculates an overall difficulty score by adding (or multiplying) the muscle strength scores calculated for each muscle involved in each joint. Then, the proposed device 100 refers to the necessary condition storage unit 122 and compares the overall muscle strength score with the "muscle strength information" corresponding to each wearing method, and selects a wearing method that requires a higher muscle strength than the muscle strength indicated by the overall muscle strength score as a wearing method that has a rehabilitation effect.

Next, selection processing pattern 3 will be described. For example, the proposed device 100 refers to the necessary condition storage unit 122 and compares the range of motion of the hip joint, the range of motion of trunk forward bending, and the range of motion of trunk rotation of the user U1 with the "range of motion information" corresponding to each wearing method. Then, the proposed device 100 selects, as a wearing method having a rehabilitation effect, a wearing method that requires a range of motion that is wider than the range of motion of at least one of the hip joint range of motion, the range of motion of trunk forward bending, or the range of motion of trunk rotation of the user U1.

Next, selection processing pattern 4 will be described. For example, for each of the wearing methods A to D, the proposed device 100 calculates a safety score (e.g., the higher the score, the safer it is) that indicates how safe it is to wear the absorbent article using that wearing method within the range of motion of the user U1's body.

Here, taking wearing method A as an example, the proposed device 100 compares the range of motion of the hip joint of the user U1 with the range of motion of the hip joint defined by the range of motion information "RM#11" stored in the necessary condition storage unit 122, and calculates a lower safety score as the two ranges of motion diverge. The proposed device 100 also compares the range of motion of the trunk forward bending of the user U1 with the range of motion of the trunk forward bending defined by the range of motion information "RM#11" stored in the necessary condition storage unit 122, and calculates a lower safety score as the two ranges of motion diverge. The proposed device 100 also compares the range of motion of the trunk rotation of the user U1 with the range of motion of the trunk rotation defined by the range of motion information "RM#11" stored in the necessary condition storage unit 122, and calculates a lower safety score as the two ranges of motion diverge.

In this way, the proposed device 100 calculates a safety score for each joint for the target wearing method (wearing method A in this example), and then calculates an overall safety score by adding (or multiplying) each calculated safety score together. Then, the proposed device 100 selects, from wearing methods A to D, a wearing method for which a safety score (overall safety score) equal to or greater than a predetermined value has been calculated.

Here, since a wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect is likely to be a wearing method that places a burden (involves some risk) on the user U1, it is desirable to select a wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect from among wearing methods that ensure a certain degree of safety, rather than simply selecting a wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect. Therefore, for example, the proposed device 100 selects a wearing method that ensures safety and has a rehabilitative effect by further executing at least one of selection processing patterns 1 to 3 on wearing methods A to D that have been found to have a safety score (overall safety score) equal to or higher than a predetermined value using selection processing pattern 4.

As described above, the proposed device 100 according to the embodiment selects a wearing method that is estimated to have a rehabilitative effect for the user based on the user's physical information, and proposes the selected wearing method. As a result, the proposed device 100 can effectively extend the period during which the user can wear the absorbent article by themselves and can perform excretion independently, allowing the user to maintain a motivated state for a longer period of time.

[5-2. Proposing a wearing method with rehabilitation effect (2)]
Furthermore, the proposal device 100 may identify a part (joint) that the user should prioritize for rehabilitation based on the physical information of the user to be processed, and select a wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect for the identified part (joint). If the part (joint) that the user should prioritize for rehabilitation can be identified, for example, a wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect can be proposed mainly for that part (joint), which can effectively avoid the risk that the user will not be able to wear the absorbent article by himself/herself in the future, and it is considered that the user can maintain a motivated state for a longer period of time.

The process of identifying the parts (joints) that the user should prioritize in rehabilitation can utilize the risk avoidance flow FL2, which shows the results of an investigation into the wearing method of absorbent articles worn by users who meet the combinations of condition information (conditions 1 to 3) described in Figure 2.

Here, first, risk avoidance flow FL2 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of risk avoidance flow FL2 according to the embodiment. For example, in the case of wearing method A, users who wear the device using wearing method A do not all have the same possible movements (the same range of motion in the body), and the possible movements (range of motion in the body) may differ.

For example, there are users (users classified as F1) who can wear the device using wearing method A (F1) after satisfying condition 1 to condition 3, which are the condition information that conditions the operation (all Yes), while there are also users who can wear the device using wearing method A (F2) after satisfying condition 1 and condition 2 (Yes) but not condition 3 (No). There are also users who can wear the device using wearing method A (F3) after satisfying condition 1 and condition 3 (Yes) but not condition 2 (No). For this reason, risk avoidance flow FL2 is a flowchart showing the results of an investigation into what wearing methods are used depending on what combinations of these conditions are satisfied.

By using this risk avoidance flow FL2, it is possible to estimate the degree of risk that in the future a user will not be able to put on absorbent articles by themselves. According to the risk avoidance flow FL2 shown in Figure 4, it is clear that a user who does not meet all of conditions 1 to 3 will not be able to put on absorbent articles by themselves. Therefore, in comparison with not meeting all of conditions 1 to 3, it is possible to estimate the degree of risk that in the future a user will not be able to put on absorbent articles by themselves depending on which of conditions 1 to 3 are currently met.

For example, if the user to be treated is classified as F1, even if condition 3 is no longer met, the user can continue to wear the absorbent article using method A (F2), and therefore the risk that the user will be unable to wear the absorbent article by themselves in the future is estimated to be "low."

For example, if the user to be treated is classified as F3, even if condition 3 is no longer met, they may be able to continue to put on the absorbent article using method A (F5), and even if condition 1 is no longer met, they may be able to put on the absorbent article using another method B (F4) (there is a workaround), so the risk that they will be unable to put on the absorbent article by themselves in the future is estimated to be "medium."

On the other hand, if the user to be treated is classified as F5, the risk of being unable to put on absorbent articles by themselves in the future is estimated to be "high," in the sense that once condition 2 is no longer met, they will no longer be able to put on absorbent articles by themselves without any workaround (F8).

For this reason, by fitting the physical information of the user to be processed into the risk avoidance flow FL2 described above, it is possible to identify the parts (joints) that the user to be processed should prioritize in rehabilitation. From here on, an example of the identification process for identifying the joints to be rehabilitated will be described, assuming that the user to be processed is user U1 shown in Figure 1.

As explained in FIG. 2, the proposed device 100 follows the risk avoidance flow FL2 to trace how the user U1 satisfies the condition information. Specifically, the proposed device 100 determines whether or not the user U1 satisfies condition 1 that the user U1 can flex the hip joint by N1 degrees or more, based on the range of motion of the hip joint of the user U1. The proposed device 100 also determines whether or not the user U1 satisfies condition 2 that the user U1 can flex forward by N2 degrees or more, based on the range of motion of the trunk forward bending of the user U1. The proposed device 100 also determines whether or not the user U1 satisfies condition 3 that the user U1 can rotate the trunk by N3 degrees or more, based on the range of motion of the trunk rotation of the user U1.

In this way, the proposed device 100 estimates the degree of risk that the user will not be able to put on absorbent articles by themselves in the future by making a judgment along the risk avoidance flow FL2, and identifies the joints that should be given priority in rehabilitation based on the estimation result. For example, the proposed device 100 identifies user U1 as a user classified as F5 by making a judgment along the risk avoidance flow FL2. Here, according to the risk avoidance flow FL2, it is shown that a user classified as F5 can currently put on absorbent articles using the putting on method A, but when it becomes impossible to rotate the trunk by N3 degrees or more (when condition 2 is no longer satisfied), it will become impossible to put on absorbent articles by themselves without any workaround (F8).

On the other hand, this suggests that if the joints involved in trunk rotation are rehabilitated so that the state in which the trunk can be rotated by N3 degrees or more can be maintained for as long as possible, the state in which the user can put on the absorbent article by himself/herself using method A can be maintained for a longer period of time. In other words, the risk that the user will not be able to put on the absorbent article by himself/herself in the future can be reduced. For this reason, the proposed device 100 identifies the joints that support the trunk as the joints that user U1 should prioritize in rehabilitating.

In the above example, the proposed device 100 identifies the joints that are determined to satisfy the conditions as the joints that should be given priority in rehabilitation. This is based on the viewpoint of rehabilitating currently functioning joints so that they can continue to function for a long time to come. However, based on the viewpoint of restoring function to joints that are currently poorly functioning through rehabilitation, the proposed device 100 may also identify the joints that are determined to not satisfy the conditions (the hip joint and forward trunk flexion in the above example classified as F5) as the joints that should be given priority in rehabilitation. If such rehabilitation can restore even a small amount of joint function, the range of possible wearing methods will increase, and as a result, the risk of the patient becoming unable to wear absorbent articles on their own in the future can be reduced.

When the proposed device 100 identifies the joint to be rehabilitated by the identification process described above, it selects a wearing method that is estimated to have a rehabilitative effect on the identified joint, for example, based on the identified joint and the range of motion information stored in the necessary condition storage unit 122. For example, it is assumed that the proposed device 100 identifies a joint related to trunk rotation as a joint that user U1 should preferentially rehabilitate. In this case, the proposed device 100 selects, for example, from the wearing methods A to D, a wearing method that is estimated to have a rehabilitative effect on the joint related to trunk rotation, by selection process pattern 3. For example, the proposed device 100 compares the range of motion of trunk rotation with the "range of motion information" corresponding to each wearing method, and selects, from the wearing methods A to D, a wearing method that requires a wider range of motion than the range of motion of trunk rotation as a wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect. Then, the proposed device 100 proposes the selected wearing method to user U1.

Of course, the proposed device 100 may select a wearing method from the wearing methods A to D that is estimated to have a rehabilitative effect on the joints related to trunk rotation by using selection processing pattern 1 or 2. The proposed device 100 may also select a wearing method that is estimated to have a rehabilitative effect on the joints related to trunk rotation by appropriately combining selection processing patterns 1 to 3. The proposed device 100 may also select a wearing method that is estimated to have a rehabilitative effect on the joints related to trunk rotation by applying at least one of selection processing patterns 1 to 3 to a wearing method that is found to ensure a certain level of safety for user U1 by selection processing pattern 4.

In this way, the suggestion device 100 according to the embodiment estimates the degree of risk when putting on an absorbent article (the degree of risk that in the future the user will not be able to put on the absorbent article by themselves) based on physical information, and selects a putting method to suggest to the user according to the estimated degree of risk. In this way, the suggestion device 100 can effectively avoid (reduce) the risk that in the future the user will not be able to put on the absorbent article by themselves, thereby enabling the user to maintain a motivated state for a longer period of time.

[5-3. Proposing a wearing method with rehabilitation effect (3)]
In the above example, the proposal device 100 selects a wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect. For example, the proposal device 100 identifies a part (joint) that the user to be processed should have priority in rehabilitating based on the physical information of the user, and selects a wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect for the identified part (joint). However, the proposal device 100 may select a rehabilitation method to be proposed to the user according to the physical information or the degree of danger (risk). In this case, using the example of the necessary condition storage unit 122 (FIG. 3), the proposal device 100 may have a storage unit in which each "wearing method" is replaced with a "rehabilitation method".

[5-4. How to wear the device considering waist circumference]
For example, if the waist circumference is large, bending forward becomes difficult, and wearing an absorbent article becomes difficult. Therefore, the proposal device 100 may select a wearing method that is estimated to be possible even with the current waist circumference based on the waist circumference of the user. For example, the proposal device 100 acquires information indicating the waist circumference of the user as physical information, selects a set of wearing methods with different degrees of risk when wearing according to the acquired waist circumference, and selects a wearing method to be proposed to the user from the wearing methods included in the selected set. For example, the proposal device 100 judges whether the user to be processed is a user who can be classified into a category (category 1) in which the size of the waist circumference is not a problem and does not require any ingenuity in the wearing method, or a user who should be classified into a category (category 2) in which bending forward is difficult due to a large waist circumference and therefore requires some ingenuity in the wearing method. For example, the proposal device 100 judges whether the user to be processed belongs to category 1 or category 2 using the classification flow FL3 shown in FIG. 5, and selects a wearing method according to the judgment result.

The criteria for determining whether waist size is problematic can be the same as those for metabolic syndrome, which is known as a lifestyle-related disease. Since the criteria for determining metabolic syndrome differ between men and women, by setting gender and waist size as conditions, it is possible to determine whether the user being processed belongs to category 1 or category 2.

Here, an example of the classification flow FL3 according to the embodiment is shown in FIG. 5. In the explanation of FIG. 5, user U2 is given as an example of a user to be processed. It is also assumed that the proposed device 100 has already acquired physical information of user U2. Specifically, it is assumed that the proposed device 100 has already acquired, as the physical information of user U2, information indicating the range of motion of the body of user U2 and information indicating the waist circumference.

In this state, the proposal device 100 uses classification flow FL3 to determine whether user U2 belongs to classification 1 or classification 2. In this example, the gender of user U2 is assumed to be "male."

Then, in classification flow FL3, the proposed device 100 first determines whether user U2 is male. If the proposed device 100 determines that user U2 is male (Yes), it then determines whether user U2's abdominal circumference is less than X1 based on information indicating user U2's abdominal circumference. If the proposed device 100 determines that user U2's abdominal circumference is less than X1 (Yes), it determines that user U2 belongs to category 1, where there is no problem with the size of the abdominal circumference and no ingenuity is required for the wearing method. On the other hand, if the proposed device 100 determines that user U2's abdominal circumference is not less than X1 (No), it determines that user U2 belongs to category 2, where ingenuity is required for the wearing method because user U2 has difficulty bending forward due to his large abdominal circumference.

For example, suppose that the proposing device 100 determines that user U2 belongs to category 1. In this example, the proposing device 100 selects a wearing method to be proposed to user U2 by applying the physical information of user U2 to the selection flow FL1 shown in FIG. 2. In addition, the proposing device 100 applies the physical information of user U2 to the risk avoidance flow FL2 shown in FIG. 4 to identify the joint that user U2 should prioritize in rehabilitating, and selects a wearing method that has a rehabilitating effect on the identified joint.

Here, the degree of risk when wearing the device may differ between the wearing method selected using the selection flow FL1 and the wearing method selected using the risk avoidance flow FL2. Therefore, the suggestion device 100 may suggest both of these two wearing methods to the user U2, or may suggest only one of these two wearing methods.

Next, a case where the proposal device 100 determines that the user U2 belongs to category 2 will be described. In this example, the proposal device 100 selects a wearing method to be proposed to the user U2 by applying the physical information of the user U2 to the selection flow FL1 shown in FIG. 2. However, in this example, the proposal device 100 may start from determining whether or not the condition 2 is satisfied without determining whether or not the condition 1 is satisfied, on the premise that the user U2 is determined to be prone to metabolic syndrome and a user prone to metabolic syndrome cannot flex the hip joint more than N1 degrees. In this way, the proposal device 100 selects a wearing method to be proposed to the user U2 by applying the physical information of the user U2 to the selection flow FL1 shown in FIG. 2.

Furthermore, if the selected wearing method specifies how to hold the absorbent article or how to raise the legs, the proposed device 100 adjusts the specified way of holding or raising the absorbent article in accordance with the fact that user U2 belongs to category 2. For example, the proposed device 100 changes the specified way of holding or raising the absorbent article to a way of holding or raising the absorbent article that is less difficult. Furthermore, if the selected wearing method does not specify how to hold the absorbent article or how to raise the legs, the proposed device 100 may add a way of holding or raising the absorbent article that is estimated to be easily executable by a user belonging to category 2.

The proposed device 100 also applies the physical information of the user U2 to the risk avoidance flow FL2 shown in Figure 4 to identify the joints that the user U2 should prioritize in rehabilitating, and selects a wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect on the identified joints. Similarly to the above example, the proposed device 100 also adjusts the way the absorbent article is held and the way the leg is raised for the wearing method that has a rehabilitative effect.

Here, the degree of risk when wearing may differ between the wearing method selected using selection flow FL1 (wearing method after adjustment) and the wearing method selected using risk avoidance flow FL2 (wearing method after adjustment). Therefore, the suggestion device 100 may suggest both of these two wearing methods to user U2, or may suggest only one of these two wearing methods.

In this way, the suggestion device 100 according to the embodiment selects a wearing method based on the waist circumference of the user and suggests the selected wearing method. As a result, the suggestion device 100 can suggest a wearing method that can be performed by a user who has a body type that is disadvantageous for wearing an absorbent article, thereby reducing the physical disadvantages of wearing an absorbent article by oneself.

[5-5. How to wear the device while taking posture into consideration]
For example, elderly people tend to have a decreased ability to balance due to changes in posture and decreased muscle strength in the lower limbs. Changing absorbent articles while standing when balance ability has decreased is considered dangerous because of a high risk of falling. Therefore, the proposed device 100 acquires information indicating the static or dynamic posture of the user to be processed as physical information. Then, the proposed device 100 judges whether or not the user is able to change absorbent articles while standing based on the acquired information. That is, the proposed device 100 judges whether or not the user is able to wear the absorbent article while standing based on the information indicating the static or dynamic posture of the user to be processed. Then, the proposed device 100 proposes a wearing method according to the judgment result.

For example, the proposed device 100 can use the standing position determination flow FL4 shown in FIG. 6 to determine whether or not the user can wear the absorbent article while standing, and select a wearing method depending on the determination result. Furthermore, in the standing position determination flow FL4, the postural stability evaluation index (IPS) is used as an index of balance ability. Furthermore, among the postural stability evaluation index (IPS), the center of gravity sway area and kyphosis index are particularly used.

Here, an example of a standing position determination flow FL4 according to the embodiment is shown in FIG. 6. In the explanation of FIG. 6, user U3 is given as an example of a user to be processed. It is also assumed that the proposed device 100 has already acquired physical information of user U3. Specifically, it is assumed that the proposed device 100 has already acquired, as the physical information of user U3, information indicating the range of motion of the body of user U3 and information indicating a static or dynamic posture.

In this state, the proposed device 100 applies information indicating the static or dynamic posture of user U3 to the standing position determination flow FL4 to determine whether user U3 can wear an absorbent article in an upright position.

According to the example of the standing position determination flow FL4 shown in FIG. 6, first, the proposed device 100 determines whether the center of gravity sway area when stationary is Y1 or less based on information indicating the static posture of user U3. If the proposed device 100 determines that the center of gravity sway area when stationary is Y1 or less (Yes), then, based on information indicating the static posture of user U3, it determines whether the kyphosis index is Y2 or less. If the proposed device 100 determines that the kyphosis index is Y2 or less (Yes), it determines that user U3 can wear an absorbent article in an upright position.

If the proposed device 100 determines that the user U3 can wear the absorbent article while standing, it selects a wearing method for wearing the absorbent article while standing. For example, the proposed device 100 selects a wearing method by applying the physical information of the user U3 to the selection flow FL1 and the risk avoidance flow FL2.

On the other hand, if the proposal device 100 determines that the center of gravity sway area when stationary is not equal to or less than Y1 (No), or if the kyphosis index is not equal to or less than Y2 (No), it selects a wearing method by applying the physical information of user U3 to selection flow FL1 and risk avoidance flow FL2. Then, if the selected wearing method is, for example, a wearing method that assumes that the absorbent article is worn in an upright position, the proposal device 100 adjusts this wearing method to a wearing method that is worn in a sitting position. Then, the proposal device 100 selects the adjusted wearing method as the wearing method to be proposed to user U3.

In this way, the suggestion device 100 according to the embodiment selects a wearing method to suggest to the user based on the static or dynamic posture of the user. This allows the suggestion device 100 to suggest a wearing method that can be carried out even by a user with reduced bodily balance, thereby reducing the disadvantage of reduced balance when putting on an absorbent article by oneself.

[5-6. Select the installation location]
In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the suggestion device 100 suggests a method for wearing an absorbent article. However, the suggestion device 100 may further select an article (place to wear) to sit on when wearing the absorbent article, in addition to the wearing method for wearing the absorbent article while sitting. For example, the suggestion device 100 acquires information indicating the height and knee length of a user to be processed as physical information, and selects an article (place to wear) to sit on when wearing the absorbent article, based on the height and knee length of the user.

For example, the proposed device 100 can use the location selection flow FL5 shown in FIG. 7 to select an optimal sitting item (wearing location) suited to the height and knee length of the user as an item to sit on when wearing an absorbent article. Here, an example of the location selection flow FL5 according to the embodiment is shown in FIG. 7. In the explanation of FIG. 7, user U4 is given as an example of a user to be processed. It is also assumed that the proposed device 100 has already acquired physical information of user U4. Specifically, it is assumed that the proposed device 100 has already acquired, as the physical information of user U4, information indicating the range of motion of the body of user U4, and information indicating the height and knee length of user U4.

In this state, the proposal device 100 applies information indicating the height and knee length of user U4 to the location selection flow FL5 to select an optimal seating object that matches the height and knee length of user U4.

According to the example of location selection flow FL5 shown in FIG. 7, first, the suggestion device 100 determines whether the height of user U4 is Z1 or greater based on the height of user U4. If the suggestion device 100 determines that the height of user U4 is Z1 or greater (Yes), it selects a standard toilet or a chair (a chair with a seat height equivalent to that of a typical standard toilet) as the optimal seating item for user U4's height and knee length. In addition, the suggestion device 100 selects the wearing method to be proposed to user U4 based on information indicating the range of motion of the body, and then suggests the selected seating item to user U4 along with the selected wearing method.

On the other hand, if the proposal device 100 determines that the height of user U4 is not Z1 or more (No), it determines whether the knee length is Z2 or more based on the knee length of user U4. If the proposal device 100 determines that the knee length of user U4 is Z2 or more (Yes), it selects a portable toilet or a chair (a chair with a seat height equivalent to that of a typical portable toilet) as the optimal sitting item for user U4's height and knee length. In addition, when the proposal device 100 selects a wearing method to be proposed to user U4 based on information indicating the range of motion of the body, it proposes the selected sitting item to user U4 along with the selected wearing method.

In addition, if the suggestion device 100 determines that the knee length of user U4 is not Z2 or more (No), it selects a low bed (for example, a bed with a height of XX cm or less) as the optimal sitting item for user U4's height and knee length. In addition, when the suggestion device 100 selects a wearing method to be suggested to user U4 based on information indicating the range of motion of the body, it suggests the selected sitting item to user U4 along with the selected wearing method.

For example, when a user with short legs tries to put on an absorbent article while sitting on a chair or toilet with a normal seat height, both feet may not be able to touch the floor firmly. In such a case, even if the user has no physical problems, the user may not be able to brace themselves with their feet, making it difficult to put on the absorbent article on the floor. In addition, it is dangerous to try to put on the absorbent article forcibly in such a situation. Therefore, for such users, the proposal device 100 according to the embodiment further selects an article to sit on when putting on the absorbent article, in addition to the method of putting on the absorbent article while sitting, as described above. Then, the proposal device 100 suggests that the user try putting on the selected absorbent article while sitting on the selected seating article. In this way, the proposal device 100 can also suggest the optimal sitting position according to the user's height and knee length, and therefore can support the user to safely put on the absorbent article.

In the above-described embodiment, the suggestion device 100 selects and suggests a chair, a toilet, a low bed, etc. as an optimal sitting location. However, the suggestion device 100 may further display specific numerical values, such as height XX cm or less, or height XX cm or more to height XX cm or less. In this way, the suggestion device 100 can easily prepare an optimal sitting location by specifying the height, for example, even if the height differs for each toilet or there is no suggested object.

[5-7. Product suggestions]
In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the suggestion device 100 suggests a method of wearing an absorbent article. However, the suggestion device 100 may further select a type of absorbent article to be worn by the user based on the body information. That is, the suggestion device 100 selects a type of absorbent article that matches the body information of the user from among absorbent articles sold as products based on the body information. Then, the suggestion device 100 suggests to the user to try using the selected type of absorbent article.

For example, the proposed device 100 can select a type of absorbent article for the physical information of the user to be processed by referring to the product information storage unit 123, which specifies what type of absorbent article is suitable for a user who has a disability in a specific part (joint).

Here, the product information storage unit 123 of the proposed device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the product information storage unit 123 according to an embodiment. In the example of FIG. 8, the product information storage unit 123 has items such as "hip joint", "forward bending", and "trunk rotation" on the horizontal axis. Also, in the example of FIG. 8, the product information storage unit 123 has items such as "light incontinence type", "compression support type", "regular diaper type", "low rise type", "outer inner separate type", "removable armpit type", and "tape type" on the vertical axis.

"Light incontinence type," "compression supporter type," "regular diaper type," "low rise type," "separate outer/inner type," "removable underarm type," and "tape type" are examples of types of absorbent articles. For example, a "light incontinence type" absorbent article is a thin product similar to a sanitary napkin.

Here, the proposal device 100 applies the physical information of user U5 to the selection flow FL1 shown in FIG. 2 and determines that user U5 does not satisfy condition 1 but satisfies condition 2. In this case, the proposal device 100 selects the wearing method B as the wearing method to be proposed to user U5. In addition, according to this example, user U5 cannot bend his hip joint more than N1 degrees, and can be said to have a hip joint disability. In this case, the proposal device 100 refers to the product information storage unit 123 and selects products that correspond to "hip joint" with "◯" (products that are easy to use even for users with hip joint disabilities) from among products of "light incontinence type", "compression supporter type", "regular diaper type", "low rise type", "outer inner separate type", "removable side type", and "tape type" that are "light incontinence type" products or "compression supporter type" products.

In addition, when a "light incontinence" product is selected, the proposal device 100 generates content in which, for example, a representative product from the "light incontinence" product category is advertised as a recommended product along with text such as "Light incontinence products are suitable for you. The following products are recommended." The proposal device 100 then distributes the generated content to user U5.

In this way, the proposal device 100 according to the embodiment further selects the type of absorbent article to be worn by the user based on the body information. This allows the proposal device 100 to propose absorbent articles that are optimal for the user's body information, thereby supporting the user so that they do not have difficulty in selecting a product.

[5-8. About flow]
So far, we have shown flows that define processing such as selection flow FL1, risk avoidance flow FL2, classification flow FL3, standing position judgment flow FL4, and location selection flow FL5, and the proposed device 100 has a specified memory unit (not shown) in which flow information indicating these flows is stored.

6. Configuration of the proposed device
Next, the proposal device 100 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the proposal device 100 according to the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 10, the proposal device 100 includes a communication unit 110, a storage unit 120, and a control unit 130.

(Regarding communication unit 110)
The communication unit 110 is realized by, for example, a NIC etc. The communication unit 110 is connected to the network N by wire or wirelessly, and transmits and receives information to and from the terminal device 10, for example.

(Regarding the storage unit 120)
The storage unit 120 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a random access memory (RAM) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk, an optical disk, etc. The storage unit 120 has a user information storage unit 121, a necessary condition storage unit 122, and a product information storage unit 123.

(Regarding the user information storage unit 121)
The user information storage unit 121 stores physical information of the user to be processed who is in the position of a care recipient, and information indicating the wearing method selected for the user. An example of the user information storage unit 121 according to the embodiment is shown in Fig. 11. In the example of Fig. 11, the user information storage unit 121 has items such as "user ID", "physical information", and "wearing method".

"User ID" indicates identification information that identifies the user to be processed. Note that, in the example of FIG. 11, a "user ID" that identifies the user to be processed may be associated with a "caregiver ID" that identifies a user who is in a position to care for the user.

"Physical information" is physical information obtained from the user to be processed that indicates the physical condition of the user. For example, "physical information" is information that indicates the range of motion of the body of the user to be processed. More specifically, "physical information" is information that indicates the range of motion of the hip joints or trunk of the user to be processed. "Physical information" also includes information that indicates the waist circumference of the user to be processed, information that indicates the static or dynamic posture of the user to be processed, and information that indicates the height and knee length of the user to be processed.

"Wearing method" is the wearing method proposed to the user being processed, and is information indicating the wearing method selected based on the "physical information" of that user.

That is, in the example of FIG. 11, physical information "Py1" is acquired from a user (user U1) identified by a user ID "U1", and "wearing method A" is selected as the wearing method to be proposed to user U1 based on the physical information "Py1".

Returning to FIG. 10, the control unit 130 is realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), etc., executing various programs stored in a storage device inside the proposed device 100 using RAM as a working area. The control unit 130 is also realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

As shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 130 has a reception unit 131, a generation unit 132, an estimation unit 133, an acquisition unit 134, a selection unit 135, and a proposal unit 136, and realizes or executes the functions and actions of the information processing described below. Note that the internal configuration of the control unit 130 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 10, and may be other configurations as long as they perform the information processing described below. Also, the connection relationships between the processing units in the control unit 130 are not limited to the connection relationships shown in FIG. 10, and may be other connection relationships.

(Reception Unit 131)
The reception unit 131 receives various information. For example, the reception unit 131 receives information on the user to be processed from the terminal device 10. For example, the reception unit 131 receives original data from the terminal device 10 that is the source of physical information indicating the physical condition of the user. For example, the reception unit 131 receives, as such original data, a video image of the user to be processed moving his/her body. In addition, the reception unit 131 receives, as the original data, status information indicating the physical status of the terminal device 10 owned by the user to be processed detected by the terminal device 10. Note that the proposal device 100 may further include a storage unit that stores such original data.

(Regarding the generation unit 132)
The generating unit 132 generates physical information indicating the physical condition of a processing target user from a video image captured of the user moving his/her body.

(Regarding the estimation unit 133)
The estimation unit 133 estimates the physical state of the user to be processed based on state information indicating the physical state of the terminal device 10 detected by the terminal device 10 owned by the user.

(Regarding the Acquisition Unit 134)
The acquisition unit 134 acquires physical information indicating the physical condition of the user to be processed. For example, the acquisition unit 134 acquires information indicating the range of motion of the user's body as the physical information. For example, the acquisition unit 134 acquires information indicating the range of motion of the joints of the user's lower limbs or the trunk. For example, the acquisition unit 134 acquires information indicating the range of motion of multiple parts of the user.

When the generating unit 132 generates physical information indicating the physical condition of the user from a video image of the user moving his/her body, the acquiring unit 134 acquires the physical information generated by the generating unit 132. When the estimating unit 133 estimates the physical condition of the user based on status information indicating the physical status of the terminal device 10 detected by the terminal device 10 owned by the user, the acquiring unit 134 acquires the physical information indicating the status estimated by the estimating unit 133.

The acquisition unit 134 also acquires, as physical information, information indicating the waist circumference of the user to be processed, information indicating the static or dynamic posture of the user to be processed, and information indicating the height and knee length of the user to be processed. Thus, the acquisition unit 134 acquires, from the user to be processed, physical information indicating the physical condition of the user to be processed.

(Regarding the selection unit 135)
The selection unit 135 selects a wearing method of the absorbent article to be proposed to the processing target user, based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information acquired by the acquisition unit 134. For example, the selection unit 135 selects the wearing method according to a combination of the range of motion of each part.

For example, the selection unit 135 estimates the degree of risk when wearing an absorbent article based on the physical information, and selects a wearing method to be proposed to the user being processed according to the estimated degree of risk.

The selection unit 135 also selects, from among the wearing methods, a wearing method whose difficulty estimated based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information exceeds a predetermined threshold. The selection unit 135 also selects, from among the wearing methods, a wearing method whose difficulty is estimated to require greater muscle strength than the muscle strength estimated from the physical condition indicated by the physical information. The selection unit 135 also selects, from among the wearing methods, a wearing method whose difficulty is estimated to require a greater range of motion than the range of motion of the body of the user to be processed. The selection unit 135 also selects, from among the wearing methods, a wearing method whose safety estimated based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information exceeds a predetermined threshold.

In addition, the selection unit 135 selects a set of wearing methods that have different degrees of risk when worn depending on the waist circumference of the user to be processed, and selects a wearing method to be suggested to the user from the wearing methods included in the selected set.

In addition, the selection unit 135 selects a wearing method to be proposed to the user based on the static or dynamic posture of the user being processed.

The selection unit 135 also selects a method of putting on the absorbent article while sitting or while standing.

The selection unit 135 may also select an article to sit on when putting on the absorbent article based on the height and knee length of the user to be processed. The selection unit 135 may also select the type of absorbent article to be put on by the user to be processed based on the body information.

(Regarding the proposal unit 136)
The suggestion unit 136 suggests to the processing target user the wearing method selected by the selection unit 135. For example, the suggestion unit 136 suggests wearing the absorbent article using the wearing method selected by the selection unit 135. For example, the suggestion unit 136 generates suggestion information that suggests wearing the absorbent article using the wearing method selected by the selection unit 135. Then, the suggestion unit 136 transmits the generated suggestion information to the terminal device 10 of the processing target user or the terminal device 10 of a user who is caring for the processing target user.

The functions of the control unit 130 of the proposed device 100 and the various data stored in the storage unit 120 may be configured to be possessed not only by the proposed device 100 but also by the terminal device 10 or by another information processing device. Therefore, the various functions and data described above and the various processes described below may be configured to be possessed by any device included in the proposed system 1.

7. Processing Procedure
Next, a procedure of the proposal process according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the proposal process according to the embodiment.

First, the reception unit 131 determines whether or not input of original data that is the source of physical information indicating the physical condition of the user to be processed has been received (step S101). For example, the reception unit 131 determines whether or not a video image of the user to be processed moving his/her body has been received from the terminal device 10 as the original data. While the reception unit 131 has not received input of original data (step S101; No), it waits until input of original data is received.

On the other hand, when the input of original data is accepted by the accepting unit 131 (step S101; Yes), the generating unit 132 estimates the physical condition of the target user based on the accepted original data, and generates physical information indicating the estimated physical condition (step S102). For example, the generating unit 132 estimates the range of motion of the target user's major joints (e.g., hip joints, trunk forward bending, trunk rotation) based on the original data. In addition, the acquiring unit 134 acquires the physical information generated by the generating unit 132 (step S103).

The selection unit 135 also selects a wearing method to be proposed to the user being processed (step S104). For example, the selection unit 135 selects a wearing method to be proposed to the user being processed by applying physical information of the user being processed to the selection flow FL1. The selection unit 135 may also select a wearing method to be proposed to the user being processed by combining the selection flow FL1, the risk avoidance flow FL2, the classification flow FL3, and the standing position determination flow FL4.

Then, the suggestion unit 136 suggests the wearing method selected by the selection unit 135 to the user to be processed (step S105). For example, the suggestion unit 136 transmits, to the user to be processed, suggestion information that suggests wearing the absorbent article using the wearing method selected by the selection unit 135.

[8. Other]
Among the above-mentioned processes, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically may be performed manually. Also, all or part of the processes described as being performed manually may be performed automatically by a known method. In addition, the information including the processing procedures, specific names, various data and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings may be changed arbitrarily unless otherwise specified. For example, the various information shown in each drawing is not limited to the illustrated information.

The components of each device shown in the figure are conceptual and functional, and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown in the figure. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure. Furthermore, each component may be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit, in whole or in part, depending on various loads and usage conditions. Furthermore, each process described above may be executed in an appropriate combination as long as there are no contradictions.

9. Hardware Configuration
The proposed device 100 according to the embodiment described above is realized by a computer 1000 having a configuration as shown in Fig. 13, for example. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration. The computer 1000 is connected to an output device 1010 and an input device 1020, and a calculation device 1030, a cache 1040, a memory 1050, an output IF (Interface) 1060, an input IF 1070, and a network IF 1080 are connected by a bus 1090.

The arithmetic device 1030 operates based on programs stored in the cache 1040 or memory 1050, or programs read from the input device 1020, and executes various processes. The cache 1040 is a cache such as a RAM that temporarily stores data used by the arithmetic device 1030 for various calculations. The memory 1050 is a storage device in which data used by the arithmetic device 1030 for various calculations and various databases are registered, and is a memory realized by a ROM (Read Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), flash memory, etc.

The output IF 1060 is an interface for transmitting information to be output to an output device 1010 such as a monitor or printer, which outputs various types of information, and may be realized, for example, by a connector conforming to a standard such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), DVI (Digital Visual Interface), or HDMI (registered trademark) (High Definition Multimedia Interface). On the other hand, the input IF 1070 is an interface for receiving information from various input devices 1020 such as a mouse, keyboard, scanner, etc., and may be realized, for example, by a USB.

For example, the input device 1020 may be realized by a device that reads information from an optical recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or a PD (Phase change rewritable Disk), a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MO (Magneto-Optical disk), a tape medium, a magnetic recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. The input device 1020 may also be realized by an external storage medium such as a USB memory.

The network IF 1080 has the function of receiving data from other devices via the network N and sending it to the computing device 1030, and also transmitting data generated by the computing device 1030 to other devices via the network N.

Here, the arithmetic device 1030 controls the output device 1010 and the input device 1020 via the output IF 1060 and the input IF 1070. For example, the arithmetic device 1030 loads a program from the input device 1020 or the memory 1050 onto the cache 1040 and executes the loaded program. For example, when the computer 1000 functions as the proposed device 100, the arithmetic device 1030 of the computer 1000 realizes the functions of the control unit 130 by executing the program loaded onto the cache 1040.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Proposal system 10 Terminal device 100 Proposal device 120 Storage unit 121 User information storage unit 122 Required condition storage unit 123 Product information storage unit 130 Control unit 131 Reception unit 132 Generation unit 133 Estimation unit 134 Acquisition unit 135 Selection unit 136 Proposal unit

Claims (15)

a generating unit that generates, from an image of a user, physical information indicating a state of a body part related to wearing of an absorbent article as a physical state of the user;
an acquisition unit that acquires the physical information generated by the generation unit;
a selection unit that selects a method of wearing the absorbent article to be suggested to the user based on a physical condition indicated by the physical information;
a suggestion unit that suggests the wearing method selected by the selection unit to the user. The suggestion device according to claim 1 , wherein the generating unit generates, as the physical information, information indicating a range of motion of the body part of the user. The suggestion device according to claim 2 , wherein the generation unit generates information indicating a range of motion related to a joint of a lower limb or a trunk of the user. The generation unit generates information indicating ranges of motion of the plurality of body parts of the user,
The device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the selection unit selects the wearing method according to a combination of ranges of motion of each body part. The proposal device described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the selection unit estimates a degree of risk when wearing the absorbent article based on the physical information, and selects a wearing method to be suggested to the user depending on the estimated degree of risk. The suggestion device according to claim 5 , wherein the selection unit selects a rehabilitation method to be suggested to the user depending on the physical information or the degree of risk. The proposed device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the selection unit selects, from the wearing methods, a wearing method whose difficulty estimated based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information exceeds a predetermined threshold. The proposed device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the selection unit selects, from the wearing methods, a wearing method that is estimated to require greater muscle strength than the muscle strength estimated from the physical condition indicated by the physical information. The proposed device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the selection unit selects, from the wearing methods, a wearing method that is estimated to require a range of motion wider than the range of motion of the user's body part . The proposed device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the selection unit selects, from the wearing methods, a wearing method whose safety estimated based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information exceeds a predetermined threshold. The proposed device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the selection unit selects a method of wearing the absorbent article in a sitting position or a method of wearing the absorbent article in a standing position. The suggestion device according to claim 11 , wherein the selection unit further selects an article to sit on when putting on the absorbent article, in addition to the method of putting on the absorbent article in the sitting position. 13. The suggestion device according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit further selects a type of absorbent article to be worn by the user based on the body information. A proposal method executed by a proposal device,
a generating step of generating physical information indicating the state of a body part related to wearing of the absorbent article as the physical state of the user from an image of the user;
an acquisition step of acquiring the physical information generated by the generation step;
a selection step of selecting a method of wearing the absorbent article to be suggested to the user based on the physical condition indicated by the physical information;
and a suggestion step of suggesting to the user the wearing method selected by the selection step. a generation step of generating physical information indicating a state of a body part related to wearing of an absorbent article as a physical state of the user from an image of the user;
an acquisition step of acquiring the physical information generated by the generation step;
A selection step of selecting a method of wearing the absorbent article to be suggested to the user based on a physical condition indicated by the physical information;
a suggestion step of suggesting the wearing method selected by the selection step to the user.

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