JP7615705B2 - Information processing device, monitoring system, control program, and control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, a monitoring system, a control program, and a control method. In particular, the present invention relates to an information processing device, a monitoring system, a control program, and a control method used in a facility that provides care for people in need of care.

In care facilities such as hospitals and elderly care facilities, care recipients may fall while walking or fall out of bed and injure themselves. For this reason, development is underway of a system that constantly monitors the condition of care recipients so that nurses and caregivers can rush to their aid when they reach such a state.

One such system is the nurse call system disclosed in Patent Document 1. It uses the image captured by a camera installed at the patient's bed to determine whether the patient has woken up or left the bed, and if the patient has woken up or left the bed, the image captured by the camera is displayed on a nurse call master unit installed at the nurse's station.

In addition, in Patent Document 2, in order to prevent nurses from being unable to respond to calls from the nurse call system because they are performing other tasks, the number of nurse calls is counted for each time period, and when the count reaches a predetermined number of times, the system schedules the task of responding to calls without including other tasks.

JP 2014-90913 A JP 2014-79335 A

However, in the nurse call system disclosed in Patent Document 1, even when a specific patient wakes up or gets out of bed, a uniform notification is sent to all caregivers and nurses (hereinafter referred to as "care staff"). This means that unnecessary notifications are sent to only the care staff in charge of the patient who woke up or got out of bed. If such unnecessary notifications are sent frequently, there is a problem that the mental and physical burden on the care staff increases.

In addition, the actual nursing and care work of the care staff includes not only the above-mentioned tasks of responding to calls, but also various types of care work such as assistance with waking up, assistance with eating, assistance with getting dressed, assistance with water intake and excretion. In addition, multiple care staff are responsible for multiple care recipients, and the care staff must plan a schedule by knowing in advance when to provide various types of care to the care recipients they are responsible for. However, this is not always possible according to schedule. In addition, there are cases where they are suddenly asked to handle care work outside of the schedule. In addition, as mentioned above, the nursing industry is in a severe situation with chronic labor shortages. For this reason, the number of care recipients that one care staff is responsible for is relatively large, and it is difficult for the care staff to carry out the work according to the care name and care timing of each care recipient. In particular, when a response is missed, the responsibility is likely to extend to the care staff themselves, and the care staff is constantly under pressure to receive and respond to a large number of notifications, which places a heavy burden on them mentally and physically.

In addition, in nursing care facilities, the ratio of care staff to care recipients is set by the national government, and each facility operator sets the ratio within this standard, but in many cases, the ratio is not necessarily appropriate, resulting in a lack of efficiency.

However, while the technology in Patent Document 2 makes it possible to ascertain the number of nurse calls for each time period, there is a problem in that it is difficult to ascertain trends and characteristics of the number of nurse calls, which serves as basic data for formulating measures to reduce the burden on staff and improve work efficiency.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems. In other words, the objective is to provide an information processing device, a monitoring system, a control program, and a control method that can output a visualized care work status to help improve care work.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means:

(1) an acquisition unit that acquires sensing information from a sensor and operation information of a terminal used by a staff member providing care to a care recipient;
and an output unit that generates and outputs a care work status based on the sensing information and the operation information.

(2) The information processing device described in (1) above, in which the care work status includes a set reference value and a comparison result against the reference value.

(3) the observation area of the sensor is each room of the plurality of care recipients;
The sensing information includes event information related to an event that occurs based on a movement of the care recipient;
The terminal includes a mobile terminal carried by the staff member,
The information processing device according to (1) or (2), wherein the operation information includes operation information regarding a response to an event notification that notifies the mobile terminal of the event information.

(4) the sensing information includes visit information indicating that the staff member has visited the room,
The information processing device described in (3) above, wherein the care work status includes the number of event notifications for each of the care recipients and the number of visits in response to the event notifications within a specified period of time.

(5) The information processing device described in (4) above, in which the care work status includes the number of event notifications for each of the care recipients within a specified period of time and the number of times the care recipients were not visited in response to the event notifications.

(6) the event notification is a broadcast notification that is sent to a plurality of the mobile terminals at the same time,
The operation information is a request for taking charge of the event in response to the broadcast notification, the request being made to any one of the staff members;
The information processing device of any of (3) to (5) above, wherein the care work status includes a number of responses indicating the number of times each staff member was responsible for the event within a specified period of time.

(7) The operation information includes a display request for displaying, on the mobile terminal, a real-time image of the interior of the room in response to a notification of an event related to the care recipient that has occurred, to the mobile terminal;
An information processing device according to any one of (3) to (6) above, wherein the care work status includes a usage status of the captured image in response to the display request within a specified period of time.

(8) The terminal includes a pause switch that temporarily stops a determination process for determining an occurrence of the event related to the care recipient,
The information processing device according to (4) or (5) above, wherein the care work status includes the number of pauses caused by the pause switch in a specified period of time, or the number of pauses relative to the number of visits by the staff to the room.

(9) The observation areas of the plurality of sensors correspond to respective rooms of a plurality of care recipients in a nursing or medical facility;
The operation information includes shift information regarding the working hours or working period of the staff,
The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (8) above, wherein the care work status includes the number of care recipients at the facility during a specified period and a deployment ratio based on the shift information.

(10) a sensor; and
A display unit that displays a care work status;
An information processing device according to any one of (1) to (9) above;
A monitoring system equipped with

(11) A step (a) of acquiring sensing information from a sensor and operation information of a terminal used by a staff member providing care to a care recipient;
(b) generating and outputting a care work status based on the sensing information and the operation information;
A control program for causing a computer to execute a process including the above.

(12) The control program described in (11) above, in which the care work status includes a set reference value and a comparison result against the reference value.

(13) The observation area of the sensor is each room of the plurality of care recipients,
The sensing information includes event information related to an event that occurs based on a movement of the care recipient;
The terminal includes a mobile terminal carried by the staff member,
The control program according to (11) or (12), wherein the operation information includes operation information regarding a response to an event notification that notifies the mobile terminal of the event information.

(14) The sensing information includes visit information indicating that the staff member has visited the room,
The control program described in (13) above, wherein the care work status includes the number of event notifications for each of the care recipients within a specified period of time and the number of visits in response to the event notifications.

(15) The control program described in (14) above, in which the care work status includes the number of event notifications for each of the care recipients within a specified period of time and the number of times the care recipients were not visited in response to the event notifications.

(16) The event notification is a broadcast notification that is sent to a plurality of the mobile terminals at the same time,
The operation information is a request for taking charge of the event in response to the broadcast notification, the request being made to any one of the staff members;
A control program described in any one of (13) to (15) above, wherein the care work status includes the number of events each staff member is responsible for within a specified period of time.

(17) The operation information includes a display request for displaying, on the mobile terminal, a real-time image of the interior of the room in response to a notification of an event related to the care recipient that has occurred, to the mobile terminal;
A control program described in any one of (13) to (16) above, wherein the care work status includes the usage status of the captured images in response to the display request within a specified period of time.

(18) The terminal includes a pause switch that temporarily stops a determination process for determining an occurrence of the event related to the care recipient,
The control program according to (14) or (15) above, wherein the care work status includes the number of pauses caused by the pause switch in a specified period of time, or the number of pauses relative to the number of visits by the staff to the room.

(19) The observation areas of the plurality of sensors correspond to respective rooms of a plurality of care recipients in a nursing or medical facility;
The operation information includes shift information regarding the working hours or working period of the staff,
A control program described in any one of (11) to (18) above, wherein the care work status includes the number of care recipients at the facility during a specified period and a deployment ratio based on the shift information.

(20) A control method for performing processing executed by a control program described in any one of (11) to (19) above.

According to the present invention, the information processing device includes an acquisition unit that acquires sensing information from a sensor and operation information of a terminal used by a staff member providing care to the care recipient, and an output unit that generates and outputs a care work status based on the sensing information and the operation information. This makes it possible to output a visualized care work status that can be used to improve care work.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a detection unit installed in a room of a care recipient. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a detection unit. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a server. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a terminal device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a staff terminal. 13 is a flowchart showing an event response process in the entire monitoring system. 4 is an example of an event list recorded in a storage unit. 13 is an example of an operation screen for responding to an event notification. 1 is an example of shift information. 13 is a flowchart showing generation and output processing of a care work status. 13 is a table showing the correspondence between information used in each of output examples 1 to 4. 13 is an example of output example 1 (number of times of correspondence). This is an example of output example 2 (number of visits). 13 is an example of output example 3 (captured image usage status). 13 is an example of output example 4 (layout ratio). 13 is a flowchart showing a process in a detection unit. 13 is a table showing the correspondence relationship of information used in output example 5. 13 is an example of output example 5 (number of pauses). 13 is a flowchart showing generation and output processing of a care work status in the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Note that in the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted. Also, the dimensional ratios in the drawings have been exaggerated for the convenience of explanation, and may differ from the actual ratios.

(Overall composition)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a system relating to the first embodiment (hereinafter referred to as a monitoring system), and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a detection unit 10 installed around a bed 60 in a room of a care recipient 70.

As shown in FIG. 1, the monitoring system 1 includes multiple detection units 10, a server 20, a PC 30, and one or more staff terminals 40 (portable terminals) carried by care staff 80 (hereinafter simply referred to as staff 80) during work hours. The server 20 functions as an information processing device. These are connected to each other via a network 50, such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a telephone network, or a data communication network, by wire or wirelessly, so that they can communicate with each other. The network 50 may include relays such as repeaters, bridges, routers, or cross-connects that relay communication signals. The server 20 generates and outputs a care work status based on the sensing information of the detection units 10 and the operation information of the staff terminals.

The monitoring system 1 is disposed at an appropriate location according to the care recipient 70 (also called the subject or the person being watched). The care recipient 70 is, for example, a patient who needs nursing due to illness or injury, a person receiving care who needs nursing due to a decline in physical ability due to aging, or a person living alone. In particular, from the viewpoint of enabling early detection and early response, the care recipient 70 may be a person who needs to be detected when a specific inconvenient event such as an abnormal condition occurs to the person. For this reason, the monitoring system 1 is suitably disposed in a facility such as a hospital or a welfare facility for the elderly according to the type of care recipient 70. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the monitoring system 1 is disposed in a facility that has multiple rooms (living rooms) in which multiple care recipients 70 live and multiple rooms including a care station (also called a nurse station).

(Detection Unit 10)
The detection unit 10 is also called a sensor box, and is arranged to monitor the room of the care recipient 70, which is an observation area (also called a detection area). The detection unit 10 includes various sensors as described below, and generates sensing information from the output of the sensors. The sensing information includes not only the signals of the sensors, but also the results of the determination of the movement of a person determined by image processing from a video signal (events described below), and a call signal from the care call unit 14.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, four detection units 10 are arranged in the rooms of the care recipients 70, namely, A, B, C, and D. As shown in FIG. 2, the observation area of the detection unit 10 includes a bed 60. The staff 80 who provide care such as nursing or nursing care to the care recipient 70 each carry a staff terminal 40, which is a portable terminal. However, the location and number of each component of the monitoring system 1 are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1. For example, the server 20 may be an on-premise server arranged in a facility such as a care station, or may be an external server unit connected to the network 50. In the case of an external server, it may be a cloud server that uses a commercial cloud service. For example, the sensing information and the operation information of the staff terminal 40 are also stored on the cloud.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the detection unit 10. As shown in Figure 3, the detection unit 10 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, a camera 13, a care call unit 14, an audio input/output unit 15, and a pause switch 16, which are interconnected by a bus or short-distance wireless communication. The detection unit 10 monitors the behavior of the care recipient 70 in an observation area (room) provided corresponding to the care recipient 70.

The control unit 11 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memories such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory), and controls each part of the detection unit 10 and performs calculation processing according to a program. The control unit 11 may further include a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) as a memory. The control unit 11 functions as an event determination unit 111. The event determination processing will be described later.

The communication unit 12 is an interface circuit (e.g., a LAN card, a wireless communication circuit, etc.) for communicating with other devices, such as the server 20, the PC 30, or the staff terminal 40, via the network 50.

The camera 13 is placed, for example, on the ceiling or upper part of a wall of a room, captures the bed 60 of the care recipient 70 directly below as the observation area, and outputs the captured image (image data). This captured image includes still images and videos. The camera 13 is a near-infrared camera, but a visible light camera may be used instead, or both may be used in combination. The camera 13 outputs an image signal as sensing information acquired by the imaging sensor.

The care call unit 14 includes a push button switch, and detects a care call when the care recipient 70 operates this switch. Instead of a push button switch, a care call may be detected by an audio microphone. When the switch of the care call unit 14 is pressed, i.e., when a care call is detected, the control unit 11 transmits a notification that a care call has been made to the server 20, etc., via the communication unit 12 and the network 50.

The audio input/output unit 15 is, for example, a speaker and a microphone, and enables voice calls by transmitting and receiving audio signals between the PC 30 and the staff terminal 40 via the communication unit 12. The audio input/output unit 15 may be connected to the detection unit 10 via the communication unit 12 as an external device of the detection unit 10.

The pause switch 16 is located near the entrance to the room. The pause switch 16 functions as a "terminal" similar to the staff terminal 40. This pause switch 16 includes a push button type switch, and when the staff member 80 or the like enters the room, the event determination process described below is temporarily stopped by operating this switch.

In the event determination process described later, the control unit 11 determines an event based on the movement of the care recipient 70 based on the captured image. In this case, if a third party other than the care recipient 70, such as the staff member 80, enters the room, the control unit 11 side cannot distinguish between the care recipient 70 and the third party, and may interpret the third party's behavior as the care recipient 70's behavior, resulting in an unintended event determination. In other words, there is a risk of a false alarm. To prevent this, the pause switch 16 is used. The pause switch 16 may be replaced by a push button type or may be combined with an NFC (near field communication) sensor such as FeliCa (registered trademark). For example, the staff member 80 holds an IC card held by the staff member 80 over a reading terminal placed at the entrance of the room to turn the pause switch ON/OFF. The event determination process is temporarily stopped by operating the pause switch, but this is released by operating the pause switch again. The pause switch may be automatically released after a predetermined time has elapsed according to a setting made in advance by the staff member 80, etc.

The detection unit 10 may further include a Doppler shift type body movement sensor that transmits and receives microwaves to and from the bed 60 and detects the Doppler shift of microwaves caused by body movements (e.g., breathing) of the care recipient 70. This body movement sensor detects chest body movements (up and down movement of the chest) caused by the breathing of the care recipient 70. If a disturbance in the period of the chest body movements or an amplitude of the chest body movements below a preset threshold is detected, it is determined that there is a micro-body movement abnormality (e.g., due to cardiac arrest). The determination of this micro-body movement abnormality as sensing information may be performed on the detection unit 10 side, or may be performed on the server 20 side by sending only a signal to the server 20.

(Event determination by image processing)
In this embodiment, an event is a change in the state of the care recipient 70 detected by the detection unit 10, such as getting up, getting out of bed, falling, or abnormal slight body movement, for which a report (notification) should be issued to the staff 80. This event also includes a care call by the care call unit 14. The detection unit 10 transmits the determination result of the event that has occurred to the server 20 as sensing information.

The control unit 11 detects the behavior of the care recipient 70 from the images captured by the camera 13. The detected behaviors include "getting up" to get up from the bed 60, "getting out" to leave the bed 60 after getting up, "falling" to fall off the bed 60, and "falling" to fall onto the floor or the like.

The event determination unit 111 of the control unit 11 detects image silhouettes (hereinafter referred to as "human silhouettes") from multiple captured images (moving images). Human silhouettes can be detected, for example, by extracting a range of pixels with relatively large differences using time subtraction, which subtracts images captured before and after. Human silhouettes may also be detected using a background subtraction method, which subtracts a background image from a captured image. When a human silhouette is detected, it is deemed that a care recipient 70 is present in the room (care recipient presence information).

The area within the rectangle circumscribing the contour of the image of the care recipient 70 can be detected as a human rectangle circumscribing the contour of the image of the care recipient 70. A silhouette of the image of the head of the care recipient 70 (hereinafter referred to as a "head silhouette") may be detected together with or instead of the human silhouette obtained from the overall image of the person. The area within the rectangle circumscribing the contour of the image of the head of the care recipient 70 can be detected as a head rectangle circumscribing the contour of the image of the head of the care recipient 70 in the captured image.

The detection of getting up, getting out of bed, falling, and tipping is performed by detecting the posture of the care recipient 70 (e.g., standing, sitting, lying, etc.) from the detected human silhouette, and the relative position to objects in the room such as the bed 60 to detect whether the care recipient 70 is getting up, "getting out of bed," or "falling (falling)." For example, "getting up" can be recognized when the width of the human silhouette crossing any side of a preset rectangle with the four corners of the bed 60 as vertices when viewed from above increases to 20 cm or more. Also, for example, "getting out of bed" can be recognized when the ratio of the area of the human silhouette outside the rectangle to the area inside the rectangle increases to 80% or more. When determining the sitting position, it may also be recognized whether the sitting position is a sitting position (sitting on the edge of the bed 60) near the edge of the bed 60. When the control unit 11 of the detection unit 10 detects any type of behavior (event) such as getting up, getting out of bed, or falling, it sends an event notification (sensing information) to the server 20 or the like to notify the occurrence of that behavior.

Such event detection may be performed by a program processed by the CPU of the control unit 11, or may be performed by a built-in processing circuit. However, without being limited to this, all or most of the detection processing may be performed on the server 20 side. In this case, the control unit 11 only transmits the captured image (sensing information) to the server 20, and the server 20, upon receiving this, detects the event based on the captured image.

(Server 20)
4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the server 20. The server 20 includes a control unit 21, a communication unit 22, and a database 23.

(Control unit 21)
The control unit 21 has a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., in the same configuration as the control unit 11 of the detection unit 10. The control unit 21 functions as an "acquisition unit 211" that acquires sensor information by working with the communication unit 22. The control unit 21 also functions as a "generation/output unit 212" that generates and outputs a care work status. The process of generating and outputting the care work status will be described later.

(Communication unit 22)
The communication unit 22 functions as an acquisition unit that acquires sensing information from the detection unit 10, etc. The communication unit 22 is an interface for various local connections, such as a network interface for wired communication based on standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), or an interface for wireless communication based on standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and IEEE802.11, and communicates with each terminal connected to the network 50.

(Database 23)
The database 23 stores a care recipient list, a staff list, an event list, care records, baseline values, and shift information.

The "care recipient list" and the "staff list" include personal IDs (name, number), room numbers, staff names, and units of the care recipients 70 and staff 80. A unit of the care recipients is a group of care recipient units to which multiple care recipients who are in a common area, such as the same floor in the facility, belong, and to which multiple staff members in charge of these care recipient units belong. The "event list" (see FIG. 8 described later) includes event information and response status. The "care records" include care record sheets, nursing record sheets (medical charts, life records), and diagnostic charts that record the care provided to these care recipients 70 by staff 80 (caregivers, nurses, etc.). The "standard value" is a target value set by the facility manager 90 or the staff leader, and the achievement rate or the degree of mastery of the monitoring system 1 is evaluated by comparing the care work status with the standard value. The "shift information" is the working hours or working period of each staff member 80, and is recorded corresponding to the login/logoff time described later. The database 23 may be configured separately from the server 20. For example, only the database 23 may be a file server located on the cloud.

(PC30)
5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the PC 30. The PC 30 (personal computer) includes a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, a display unit 33, and an input unit 34, which are interconnected by a bus. The control unit 31 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, etc., similar to the control unit 11 of the detection unit 10.

The communication unit 32 is an interface for various local connections, such as a network interface for wired communication based on standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), and an interface for wireless communication based on standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and IEEE 802.11, and communicates with each terminal connected to the network 50.

The display unit 33 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various information. The display unit 33 displays, for example, an image captured by the detection unit 10.

The input unit 34 is equipped with a keyboard, numeric keypad, mouse, etc., and is used to input various information.

In this embodiment, the PC 30 is used as a terminal for the facility manager 90, who sends a request to output the care work status to the server 20, which serves as an information processing device. The facility manager 90 browses the care work status generated and output by the server 20 via the PC 30, and uses it to improve the nursing care work.

Furthermore, when the detection unit 10 is installed in each room (residential room), the staff 80 or technical staff, etc., through the PC 30, associates the room number with the detection unit 10, and calibrates and specifies the position information of the objects installed in the room, such as the bed 60, i.e., the contour information viewed from above by the ceiling camera 13. In addition, the name, ID number, and other identification information of the care recipients 70 who are hospitalized or residing in the room are associated with each room number.

(Staff terminal 40)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the staff terminal 40. The staff terminal 40 includes a control unit 41, a wireless communication unit 42, a display unit 43, an input unit 44, and a voice input/output unit 45, which are connected to each other by a bus. The control unit 41 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, as the same configuration as the control unit 11 of the detection unit 10. The wireless communication unit 42 enables wireless communication using standards such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (registered trademark), and wirelessly communicates with each device via an access point 51 or directly. The display unit 43 and the input unit 44 are touch panels, and a touch sensor as the input unit 44 is superimposed on the display surface of the display unit 43, which is made of a liquid crystal or the like. The display unit 43 and the input unit 44 display various operation screens that list a plurality of events included in the event list for the staff 80 (see FIG. 9 described later), and accept various operations through these operation screens. The accepted operations are sent to the server 20 as operation information. The voice input/output unit 45 is, for example, a speaker and a microphone, and enables the staff member 80 to make voice calls to other staff terminals 40 via the wireless communication unit 42. The staff terminal 40 can be configured by, for example, a portable communication terminal device such as a tablet computer, a smartphone, or a mobile phone.

At the start and end of work, staff member 80 performs login authentication processing and logout processing via the assigned staff terminal 40. In this embodiment, the period and time from login to logout are considered to be the working period and working hours. Staff member 80 inputs a staff ID and password via the touch panel (display unit 43, input unit 44) of the staff terminal 40 and sends this to the server 20. The server 20 compares the authentication information stored in the database 23 and sends the authentication result according to the authority of the staff member 80 to the staff terminal 40, completing the login authentication.

Each staff member 80 belongs to the above-mentioned affiliated unit (also called the assigned group). For example, care is provided 24 hours a day to multiple care recipients 70 (care recipients) belonging to a care recipient unit in the East wing on the second floor of a nursing facility, shared among multiple staff members belonging to one affiliated unit. In this case, if an event related to a care recipient 70 is detected in a care recipient unit in the East wing on the second floor, the event information is broadcast to the staff terminals of all staff members (who are logged in) belonging to the affiliated unit in charge of this care recipient unit, as described below. The names of these care recipient units and affiliated units are registered in the care recipient list and staff list (see Figure 4), respectively.

(Event response processing)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the event response process of the monitoring system 1.

(Step S100)
Here, a login authentication process is performed. The staff member 80 inputs a staff member ID and password via the touch panel (display unit 43, input unit 44) of the staff member terminal 40, and transmits them to the server 20. The server 20 checks the authentication information stored in the database 23, and transmits the authentication result according to the authority of the care staff member to the staff member terminal 40.

(Step S110)
The detection unit 10 monitors the observation area with a camera 13 .

(Steps S120, S130)
The detection unit 10 detects an event from the movement of the care recipient 70 in the observation area. The detection unit 10 also detects an event through the operation of the care call unit 14. Then, the communication unit 22 (acquisition unit) of the server 20 acquires event information of the event detected by the detection unit 10.

(Step S140)
The server 20 updates the event list with the event information acquired in step S130. FIG. 8 is an example of the event list stored in the database 23. Events included in the event list include getting up, getting out of bed, falling, falling over, and care calls, as described above. The latest detected event is added to the end of the event list. Each event includes data on "event information" and "response status." The event information includes an event ID, which is an automatically assigned primary key, a room number, a target person, an event type, an occurrence date and time (time), and image data. The image data (photographed images i010 to i013) included in the event information is still image data obtained by photographing the event by the detection unit 10 when the event occurred, which was transmitted in step S130. The "response status" includes the status, the staff member in charge, the response date and time (time), whether or not a video was viewed (use of the photographed image), and whether or not the room was visited. The staff member in charge is a staff member who has taken the initiative in the process of step S180 described later and has become responsible for the event. Here, "visiting the room" refers to the act of visiting the room of the care recipient 70 who caused the event to occur.

(Step S150)
Here, the control unit 21 of the server 20 notifies one or more staff members 80 of the event information newly acquired in step S120. More specifically, based on the event information, a broadcast notification is performed to simultaneously notify the staff terminals 40 of all logged-in staff members 80 who belong to the unit in charge of the care recipient 70. Note that, in Fig. 7, only the process of one staff terminal 40 used by one staff member 80 out of the multiple staff terminals 40 is shown.

(Steps S160, S170)
Each staff member 80 checks the event that has occurred through the staff terminal 40. Fig. 9 shows examples of operation screens 431, 432 for responding to an event notification (multiple-address notification) displayed on the display unit 43 of the staff terminal 40. The operation screen 431 shown in the figure is a screen on which an event list is displayed. The displayed events can be scrolled up and down by a flick operation.

The areas a10 to a12 of the operation screen 431 correspond to the event IDs 010 to 013 in the event list of FIG. 8. In the area a10, an icon indicating that the event ID 010 is a care call and that it has been dealt with are displayed. In the area a11, an icon indicating that the event ID 011 is a wake-up event and that it has been dealt with are displayed. In the area a12, an icon indicating that the event ID 012 and 013 are a wake-up event and a bed leaving event and that it has not been dealt with are displayed. These two events are related to the same care recipient 70 (Mr. C), so they are displayed together in the same area. In addition, because they have not been dealt with, a thumbnail image (image i013) related to the latest event (ID013) is displayed in the area a13. By operating the area a13, text messages can be exchanged with other staff members 80 who are logged in. The staff member 80 can transition to the operation screen 432 for confirming the next content by clicking the area a12 on the operation screen 431.

(Step S170)
The staff member 80 checks the details of the event on the operation screen 432 displayed on the staff terminal 40. In the operation screen 432, the name of the care recipient (Mr. C) who caused (determined) the event and the name of the staff member (Staff Member D) who uses the staff terminal 40 are displayed in the area a20. The time elapsed since the occurrence of the event is displayed in the area a21. The elapsed time ("1 minute passed") shown in the area a21 is the time elapsed (rounded down to the nearest minute) since the occurrence of the latest event was determined. The area a21 also displays a thumbnail image (still image) of the image taken at the time of the event (getting out of bed) determination. When the thumbnail image is insufficient as information and the staff member 80 wants to further check the status of the care recipient 70 who caused the get out of bed or get up event, the staff member 80 operates the "talk" button or the "view" button in the areas a23 and a24 below. By operating the "talk" button, the staff member 80 can talk to the care recipient 70 (Mr. B) through the voice input/output unit 15. By operating the "Watch" button, a display request is sent to the server 20, and in response, live video (real-time captured images (video)) captured by the camera 13 can be viewed by streaming playback on the operation screen 432. When the "Watch" button is operated, video viewing "Yes" is recorded for this event, as shown in the video viewing column of the event list in Fig. 8. At this time, the video viewing time and the number of calls/call time via the "Talk" button may be recorded in association with the event.

A staff member 80 (e.g., staff member D) wishes to take the initiative in taking charge of the waking up and leaving bed (ID012, 013) displayed by operating the "Respond" button in area a22. If the staff member does not wish to take charge, the back button (triangle icon) in the bottom column is operated to return to the previous operation screen 431 showing the event list. Note that while a staff member 80 is displaying the operation screen 432 shown in FIG. 8 and checking the status of an event, prohibition processing is performed for other staff members 80 under the control of the server 20. For example, when a staff member 80 is checking the status of an event for the care recipient 70 (Mr. C), even if another staff member 80 selects the same event (ID013), the words "Checking status" are displayed on the operation screen 431 of the other staff member 80, and the "Respond" button is not displayed or cannot be selected.

(Steps S180, S190)
When staff member D wishes to take the initiative and take charge of an event, he or she operates the "respond" button. In response to staff member D, who is the terminal user, operating the "respond" button, the staff terminal 40 transmits a request to the server 20 to take charge of the selected event. In response, the server 20 returns an approval notice. Upon approval, staff member D who transmitted the request becomes responsible for the event, checks the event status through the staff terminal 40, and rushes to the event to respond if necessary.

(Step S200)
The server 20 updates the event list in response to the process of step S180. Specifically, the status of the event list (ID012-013: getting out of bed, etc.) is changed to "handled". In this embodiment, the status is changed to "handled" in response to the staff member 80 selecting an event and operating the "handle" button for the event displayed on the operation screen 432. That is, by operating the "handle" button, the handling status of "handled", which is information indicating confirmation, is input, and the handling date and time are recorded assuming that the staff member 80 who operated the button handled the event. More specifically, in the event list of FIG. 8, the time when the process of step S180 or S190 was performed is recorded in the handling date and time column. In this case, the care recipient 70 may end the handling without rushing to the scene by checking the thumbnail image on the operation screen 432 or talking to the care recipient 70. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the response date and time may be recorded in the response date and time column as the time when the staff member 80 rushes to the room of the care recipient 70 who has caused an event such as a fall, a trip, or a nurse call and determines that the staff member has visited the room (step S220 described below). As another example, the response result may be entered on a separate operation screen to mark the event as completed, and the input time may be recorded in the response date and time column. In addition, when the event list is updated, the server 20 broadcasts the updated event list to all staff members who are currently logged in.

(Step S210)
Here, an example of an on-site response will be described. The staff member 80 in charge of the event visits the care recipient 70 who caused the event as an on-site response.

(Step S220)
The room detection unit 10 detects a third party other than the care recipient 70 based on the image captured by the camera 13, that is, detects the presence of multiple people, and determines that a staff member 80 has visited (entered) the room. When an NFC-type reading terminal placed at the entrance/exit of the room is used as the pause switch 16, the staff member 80 may hold an IC card on which ID data is recorded over the reading terminal to determine that a visit has occurred and which staff member 80 has visited the room.

(Step S230)
The detection unit 10 transmits staff visit information to the server 20. The visit information includes the ID number of the care recipient 70.

(Step S240)
The server 20 records the visit information received in step S230 in association with the event for which the status of the care recipient 70 corresponding to the ID number is "treated" and the latest treatment date and time. For example, the server 20 updates the visit column of the treatment status of the corresponding event ID in the event list of FIG. 8 to "Yes."

(Step S250)
When the staff member 80 finishes working, the staff member 80 operates a "work end" button (not shown) on the staff terminal 40 to log out. The logout time is recorded as shift information in the database 23. Fig. 10 is an example of shift information. The login time and logout time for each staff member are recorded as shift information in the database 23.

In this way, the server 20 obtains sensing information from the sensors and terminal operation information, and collects and records this in the database 23 as an event list, etc.

(Sensing information, operation information)
To summarize the above, the observation area provided for the care recipient 70 is, for example, the room of the care recipient 70. Examples of the "sensor" that monitors the observation area include the camera 13 (image sensor), the body movement sensor, and the care call unit 14. As other examples, a bed sensor (also called a mat sensor) or an infrared sensor may be included. The bed sensor detects load, and is placed on the bed 60 or the floor surface at the exit of the bed 60 as the observation area, and detects whether or not a person is present on the sensor. The infrared sensor is also called a human presence sensor, and detects whether or not a person is present in the room. For example, the entire room or the bed 60 is placed as the observation area.

Examples of "sensing information" from the sensors include video signals from the camera 13, body movement signals from the body movement sensor, and care calls from the care call unit 14, as well as event information, visit information, and presence information of the care recipient 70 detected from the video by image processing. The terminals used by staff include a portable staff terminal 40, and a pause switch 16 located near the entrance and exit of the room.

Examples of operation information of the terminal used by the staff include (1) a request for responsibility when the "Respond" button on the operation screen 432 of the staff terminal 40 is operated, (2) a display request when the "View" button on the same operation screen is operated, (3) shift information (work shift information) in response to the login/logout button through the staff terminal 40, and (4) operation information of the pause switch 16 (hereinafter also referred to as "pause information"). In addition, this operation information (1) to (4) is also operation information related to responding to an event notification.

(Generation of care work status and output processing)
Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing the generation and output process of the care work status. The process shown in Fig. 11 is performed by the server 20 in response to a request for output of the care work status from the facility manager 90, who is a user, via the PC 30 or the like.

(Step S310)
The acquisition unit 211 of the control unit 21 of the server 20 acquires the sensing information and the operation information in response to the contents of the output request. Specifically, the acquisition unit 211 acquires an event list from the database 23. The event list includes the above-mentioned sensing information and operation information.

(Steps S320, S330)
The generation/output unit 212 generates and outputs the care work status from the sensing information and operation information acquired in step S310. The output form may be temporarily stored in the database 23, displayed on the display unit 33 of the requesting PC 30, printed on paper by a connected printer, or stored in the memory unit of the PC 30.

(Care work status output example 1 to output example 4)
Next, each output example in the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 12 to Fig. 16. Fig. 12 is a table showing the correspondence of information used in each output example 1 to 4. There are output examples 1 to 4 as examples of care work status output, and each output shows sensing information and operation information as input. For example, in output example 1 shown in Fig. 12, the input is event information and handling requests for each event, and the output is the number of times each staff member 80 responded to the event.

(Output example 1)
FIG. 13 is an example of output example 1 (number of responses). In the figure, the number of responses for each care recipient is shown in a bar graph as the care work status. The horizontal axis is each staff member 80, and the vertical axis is the number of responses for each staff member 80 to events that occurred in a certain day (i.e., the number of times they became responsible by operating the "respond" button). It is preferable that the system has rules for the aggregation period and the values on the vertical axis. In addition, the range of the target staff members may be set by the facility manager 90 at the time of output request, such as by unit of affiliation or facility. In another modified example, the time until the "respond" button is operated, that is, the difference time between the date and time of the event occurrence and the date and time of the response in the event list in FIG. 8, may be aggregated and included in the care work status to be output.

(Output example 2)
FIG. 14 is an example of output example 2 (number of visits). The care work status of output example 2 is generated based on event information, visit information, and event in-charge requests. The upper diagram of FIG. 14 shows the number of visits in a certain facility as a whole, and the lower diagram shows the visit rate, which is the ratio of the number of visits to the number of notifications, in a line graph, which is tabulated on a weekly basis. The horizontal axis indicates the period, and the vertical axis indicates the number of notifications or visits per week, and the visit rate. It is preferable that the system has rules for the tabulation period and the numerical values on the vertical axis. The target range may be set by the facility manager 90 at the time of output request, such as by belonging unit or facility. In addition, as another modified example, FIG. 14 shows the number of visits, but the number of non-visits, which indicates the number of times there was no visit to the room compared to the number of notifications, may be tabulated and included in the care work status to be output.

(Output example 3)
FIG. 15 is an example of output example 3 (display usage status). The care work status of output example 3 is generated based on event information and a display request for a captured image. In FIG. 15, the usage status of display (video display) for each event in a predetermined period in the entire facility is shown in a pie chart. In each pie chart, "still image confirmation only" refers to the case where only thumbnail images (still images) are viewed on the operation screen 432 shown in FIG. 9(b) and then the "corresponding" button is operated. "Video confirmation" refers to the case where live video is viewed on the operation screen 432 by operating the "view" button on the same operation screen 432, that is, the case where real-time captured images are used. Each indicates a ratio to the number of corresponding events. It is preferable that the system has rules for the tally period and the events to be tallyed. Note that the tally period and the tally target may be set by the facility manager 90 at the time of an output request.

(Output example 4)
FIG. 16 is an example of output example 4 (allocation ratio). The care work status of output example 4 is generated based on the presence information of the care recipient 70 and the shift information. In FIG. 16, the number of residents, which is the number of care recipients 70 who have been in the room for a predetermined time or more, calculated from the care recipient presence information, the total working hours of the staff 80, and the allocation ratio calculated from the number of staff (persons/8 hours) converted from the total number of residents and working hours are displayed in the upper right frame. In addition, a certain day is set as a counting period in the entire facility, and the number of workers on that day is shown in a line graph. It is preferable that the system has a rule regarding the counting period. The counting period may be set by the facility manager 90 at the time of output request.

(Example 5 of care work status output)
Next, an example of output example 5 (number of pauses) will be described with reference to Fig. 17 to Fig. 19. Fig. 17 is a flow chart showing the process in the detection unit 10. This process corresponds to a part of the process in Fig. 7.

(Steps S510 to S530)
7, the detection unit 10 monitors the observation area with the camera 13, detects an event from the movement of the care recipient 70, and transmits the detected event information to the server 20. Thereafter, among the staff members 80 who received the event notification, the staff member 80 who is assigned to the event rushes to the scene to respond (see steps S150 to S170 in FIG. 7).

(Step S540)
The control unit 11 of the detection unit 10 determines whether the pause switch 16 has been operated, and if not (NO), continues the processing from step S510 onwards. On the other hand, if the pause switch 16 has been operated (YES), the processing proceeds to step S550.

(Step S550)
The detection unit 10 transmits pause information indicating that the pause switch 16 has been operated to the server 20. The server 20, which receives this, records the pause information in the database 23. At this time, the control unit 21 of the server 20 may record this pause information in an event list in association with an event that occurred immediately before in the room corresponding to the detection unit 10 that transmitted the pause information.

(Step S560)
Here, the detection unit 10 suspends the event determination by the event determination unit 111 in response to the operation of the pause switch 16. When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the pause is released and the processes from step S510 onwards are carried out again. The predetermined condition is, for example, when the pause switch is operated again or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the pause.

(Steps S570, S580)
The control unit of the detection unit 10 continues to determine whether or not a staff member has visited the room in step S560, and when a staff member's visit is detected (YES), the control unit transmits staff member visit information to the server 20 (S570). This process corresponds to steps S220 to S230 in Fig. 7. This detection of a visit is performed by the detection unit 10 detecting a third party other than the care recipient 70 based on the image captured by the camera 13 as described above, and determining that a visit by the staff member 80 has occurred.

In this manner, the detection unit 10 temporarily suspends the event determination process and transmits the suspension information to the server 20. The server 20 then collects and records the suspension information in the database 23.

(Output example 5)
Fig. 18 is a table showing the correspondence of information used in output example 5. Like the other output examples 1 to 4, output example 5 is also generated and output by the process of Fig. 11. In output example 5, the input is event information for each event, room visit information, and pause information, and the output is the number of pauses corresponding to the number of times the pause switch 16 was operated (or the number of pauses in response to the staff member 80's visit to the room).

Figure 19 is an example of output example 5 (number of pauses). The care work status of output example 5 is generated based on event information and pause information. In Figure 19, the number of visits and the number of pauses in a certain facility are shown as line graphs, which are tallied by week. Note that Figure 19 also shows the number of event notifications. The number of visits and the number of event notifications in Figure 19 correspond to the upper diagram of Figure 14. The horizontal axis indicates the period, and the vertical axis indicates the number of visits and the number of pauses per week. It is preferable that the system has rules regarding the aggregation period and the values on the vertical axis. Note that the target range may be set by the facility manager 90 at the time of output request, such as by affiliated unit or facility. In another modified example, the number of false alarms suppressed by operating the pause switch or the number of false alarms generated by not operating the switch may be tallied and included in the care work status to be output.

In this way, in the first embodiment, the care work status as shown in output examples 1 to 5 is output. Specifically, the server 20, which is an information processing device, generates and outputs the care work status based on the sensing information and the operation information. This makes it possible to output a visualized care work status that can be used to improve nursing care work.

Second Embodiment
20 is a flowchart showing the generation and output process of a care work status in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, as described below, a care work status that further includes a comparison result with a reference value is generated and output.

(Step S700)
The control unit 21 receives a reference value setting from the facility manager 90 via the PC 30. This reference value is a target value set by the facility manager 90 or a staff leader. For example, in the output example 3 shown in Fig. 15, the reference value is the utilization rate of captured images (utilization rate of video confirmation), and 60% is set as the reference value.

(Step S710)
The acquisition unit 211 of the control unit 21 of the server 20 acquires the sensing information and the operation information according to the contents of the output request by the same process as in step S310 of FIG.

(Steps S720, S730)
The generating/outputting unit 212 generates and outputs the care work status from the sensing information and the operation information acquired in step S710. In the second embodiment, at this time, the comparison result with the reference value set in step S700 is included in the care work status. For example, in the case of an example corresponding to output example 3 (captured image usage status), the comparison result of the utilization rate of the captured image with the reference value of 60% is included. If it is not achieved, the judgment result according to the deviation level is included. Alternatively, in the case of an example corresponding to output example 5 (number of pauses), the comparison result of the ratio of the number of pauses to the number of visits with the reference value of 50% is included. If it is not achieved, the judgment result according to the deviation level is included or an alert is output. As an example of the alert, in addition to including a warning message in the care work status, a warning notification is immediately sent to the email address of a staff terminal or the like set in advance.

In this way, in the second embodiment, the care work status includes the set standard value and the comparison result against the standard value. As a result, in the second embodiment, the facility manager 90 can improve the care work by understanding problems and issues in the care work, just like in the first embodiment, and as an effect unique to the second embodiment, the standard value and the current result can be displayed for comparison, preventing the improved care work from reverting to the original state, thereby making it possible to establish the improved care work.

The information processing device and the monitoring system including the same described above are the main components described in explaining the features of the above-mentioned embodiment, but are not limited to the above-mentioned configuration and can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims. Furthermore, configurations that are included in general information processing devices and monitoring systems are not excluded. For example, the detection unit 10, server 20, PC 30 and staff terminal 40 may include components other than those described above, or may not include some of the above components.

The processing in the information processing device according to the above-described embodiment may include steps other than those shown in the above-described flowcharts and sequence charts, or may not include some of the above-described steps. The order of the steps is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Furthermore, each step may be combined with other steps and executed as a single step, may be included in other steps and executed, or may be divided into multiple steps and executed.

For example, the second embodiment may be applied in combination with output examples 1 to 5 in the first embodiment.

The means and methods for performing various processes in the information processing device or monitoring system according to the above-mentioned embodiments can be realized by either a dedicated hardware circuit or a programmed computer. The above program may be provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a USB memory or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, or may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk. The above program may be provided as a standalone application software, or may be incorporated as a function into the software of the device such as its detection unit.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Monitoring system 10 Detection unit 11 Control unit 111 Event determination unit 12 Communication unit 13 Camera 14 Care call unit 15 Audio input/output unit 16 Pause switch 20 Server (information processing device)
21 Control unit 211 Acquisition unit 212 Generation and output unit 22 Communication unit 23 Database 30 PC
31 Control unit 32 Communication unit 33 Display unit 34 Input unit 40 Staff terminal 41 Control unit 42 Wireless communication unit 43 Display unit 44 Input unit 45 Voice input/output unit 50 Network 51 Access point 60 Bed 70 Care recipient 80 Staff 90 Facility manager

Claims (14)

An acquisition unit that acquires sensing information from the sensor and operation information of a terminal used by a staff member providing care to the care recipient;
An output unit that generates and outputs a care work status based on the sensing information and the operation information,
The observation area of the sensor is each room of the plurality of care recipients,
The sensing information includes event information related to a plurality of types of events that occur based on the movement of the care recipient;
The terminal includes a mobile terminal carried by the staff member,
the operation information includes operation information regarding a response to an event notification for notifying the mobile terminal of the event information;
The operation information includes a display request for displaying, on the mobile terminal, a real-time image of the interior of the room in response to a notification of an event related to the care recipient that has occurred, the real-time image of the interior of the room being displayed on the mobile terminal;
The care work status includes a usage status of the captured images for each of a plurality of types of events in response to the display request within a predetermined period of time . The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the events include getting up, getting out of bed, falling, and a care call . The information processing device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the care work status includes a set reference value and a comparison result against the reference value, and the reference value is a utilization rate represented by the number of times the captured image is displayed relative to the number of events . An acquisition unit that acquires sensing information from the sensor and operation information of a terminal used by a staff member providing care to the care recipient;
An output unit that generates and outputs a care work status based on the sensing information and the operation information,
The observation area of the sensor is each room of the plurality of care recipients,
The sensing information includes event information related to an event that occurs based on a movement of the care recipient;
The terminal includes a mobile terminal carried by the staff member,
The terminal includes a pause switch that temporarily stops a determination process for determining an occurrence of the event related to the care recipient,
the operation information includes operation information regarding a response to an event notification for notifying the mobile terminal of the event information;
The sensing information includes visit information indicating that the staff member has visited the room,
An information processing device wherein the care work status includes the number of event notifications for each of the care recipients within a specified period of time, the number of visits to the room in response to the event notifications, and the ratio of the number of pauses caused by the pause switch to the number of visits . The information processing device according to claim 4 , wherein the care work status includes a set reference value and a comparison result against the reference value, the reference value being a ratio of the number of temporary stops to the number of visits . The information processing device according to claim 4 or claim 5 , wherein the care work status includes the number of times the event notification was sent to each of the care recipients within a predetermined period of time and the number of times the care recipients were not visited in response to the event notification. A sensor,
A display unit that displays a care work status;
An information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
A monitoring system equipped with A step (a) of acquiring sensing information from a sensor and operation information of a terminal used by a staff member providing care to a care recipient;
(b) generating and outputting a care work status based on the sensing information and the operation information;
Includes
The observation area of the sensor is each room of the plurality of care recipients,
The sensing information includes event information related to a plurality of types of events that occur based on the movement of the care recipient;
The terminal includes a mobile terminal carried by the staff member,
the operation information includes operation information regarding a response to an event notification for notifying the mobile terminal of the event information;
The operation information includes a display request for displaying, on the mobile terminal, a real-time image of the interior of the room in response to a notification of an event related to the care recipient that has occurred, the real-time image of the interior of the room being displayed on the mobile terminal;
A control program for causing a computer to execute processing in which the care work status includes the usage status of the captured images for each of multiple types of events in response to the display request within a specified period of time . The control program according to claim 8 , wherein the events include getting up, getting out of bed, falling, and calling for care. A control program as described in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the care work status includes a set reference value and a comparison result against the reference value, and the reference value is a utilization rate represented by the number of times the captured image is displayed relative to the number of events . A step (a) of acquiring sensing information from a sensor and operation information of a terminal used by a staff member providing care to a care recipient;
(b) generating and outputting a care work status based on the sensing information and the operation information;
Includes
The observation area of the sensor is each room of the plurality of care recipients,
The sensing information includes event information related to an event that occurs based on a movement of the care recipient;
The terminal includes a mobile terminal carried by the staff member,
The terminal includes a pause switch that temporarily stops a determination process for determining an occurrence of the event related to the care recipient,
the operation information includes operation information regarding a response to an event notification for notifying the mobile terminal of the event information;
The sensing information includes visit information indicating that the staff member has visited the room,
A control program for causing a computer to execute processing, in which the care work status includes the number of event notifications for each of the care recipients within a specified period of time, the number of visits to the room in response to the event notifications, and the ratio of the number of pauses caused by the pause switch to the number of visits . The control program according to claim 11, wherein the care work status includes a set reference value and a comparison result against the reference value, the reference value being a ratio of the number of temporary stops to the number of visits . The control program according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the care work status includes the number of event notifications for each of the care recipients within a specified period of time and the number of non-visits to the room in response to the event notifications. A control method for performing processing executed by the control program according to any one of claims 8 to 13 .