JP7799378B2 - therapeutic inhaler - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a therapeutic inhaler.

Patent Document 1 describes a system that includes a nebulizer and a computer. When a start key is pressed, the nebulizer unit begins administering medicine and sends a start notification to the computer. When a stop key is pressed, the nebulizer sends a stop notification to the computer.

Patent Document 2 describes an asthma treatment support system suitable for transmitting, managing, and displaying the usage status of aerosol-type (pressurized metered dose type) portable inhalers. In this system, when a transmitter attached to the inhaler detects the user's finger touching the medicine canister, it calculates the number of times the inhaler has been used and sends this information to a management server.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-000322 JP 2011-092418 A

Treatment using a therapeutic inhaler, such as a nebulizer, which is designed to allow inhalation of atomized liquid medicine, is required to be performed at a frequency specified by a doctor. Here, one treatment using a therapeutic inhaler means inhaling the same type of medicine for a specified period of time (e.g., five minutes). For example, if a doctor could later check the operation history of the atomization unit of the therapeutic inhaler, they would be able to determine whether treatment was being performed at an appropriate frequency, which would be useful in determining a treatment plan.

In order to manage such operation history, it is possible to send information about operation from the therapeutic inhaler to an external management device, as exemplified in Patent Documents 1 and 2. In this case, because the therapeutic inhaler has an atomization unit, it is necessary to reduce the impact of the operation of this atomization unit on the information transmission function.

The object of the present invention is to provide a therapeutic inhaler that can stably transmit necessary information to an external device.

(1)
A therapeutic inhaler configured to allow a patient to inhale a medicinal solution atomized by an atomizing unit,
a communication unit capable of communicating with an external device;
a processor that, when the nebulization unit is activated, performs transmission control to cause the communication unit to transmit operation history information of the nebulization unit related to the operation to an external device;
The processor transmits at least a portion of the operation history information to the external device at a timing after the nebulization unit stops.

According to (1), at least a portion of the operation history information can be transmitted to an external device while the nebulization unit is stopped. This allows for stable transmission of at least a portion of the information, and ensures that all necessary information is transmitted to the external device without omission. This enables the external device to use this information to appropriately manage treatment.

(2)
The therapeutic inhaler according to (1),
The processor causes the therapeutic inhaler to transmit all of the operation history information to the external device at the timing.

(2) According to this, operation history information that can be used to manage treatment using a therapeutic inhaler can be transmitted to an external device without any loss.

(3)
(2) The therapeutic inhaler according to (1),
The timing at which a start operation is performed to instruct the atomizing unit to start operating is set as the operation start timing,
The timing at which an end operation is performed to instruct the end of the operation of the atomizing unit is set as the operation end timing,
The time from the start timing of the operation to the end timing of the operation is defined as an operation time.
The therapeutic inhaler, wherein the operation history information includes the operation start timing and the operation duration, the operation end timing and the operation duration, the operation start timing and the operation end timing, or the operation duration.

According to (3), at least the timing of treatment using a therapeutic inhaler and the duration of that treatment can be managed by an external device. This makes it possible to determine whether treatment is being performed at an appropriate frequency and with an appropriate amount of medicinal liquid.

(4)
(3) The therapeutic inhaler according to (3),
The therapeutic inhaler, wherein the operation history information further includes information on the type of medicinal liquid atomized by the atomization unit.

(4) According to this, when a patient undergoing treatment using multiple medicinal solutions uses a therapeutic inhaler, it becomes possible to determine whether the patient is inhaling the medicinal solutions appropriately.

(5)
The therapeutic inhaler according to (1),
The processor causes first information of the operation history information to be transmitted to the external device at the timing, and causes second information other than the first information of the operation history information to be transmitted to the external device at the timing when a start operation is performed to instruct the start of operation of the nebulization unit.

According to (5), operation history information can be efficiently transmitted to an external device. Since the first information can be transmitted stably to an external device without being affected by the operation of the nebulization unit, treatment can be managed by including high-priority information as the first information.

This invention enables necessary information to be transmitted stably to an external device.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a treatment management system. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the nebulizer shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the nebulizer shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the right side (the direction indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2). FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the nebulizer shown in FIG. 1 in use. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a block configuration of the nebulizer shown in FIG. 1. 10 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the nebulizer control unit when treatment is completed by one operation of the atomization unit. 10 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the nebulizer control unit when treatment is completed by operating the atomization unit twice (when treatment is interrupted once). 10 is a timing chart illustrating a modified example of the operation of the nebulizer control unit when treatment is completed by two activations of the atomization unit.

(overview)
An overview of a treatment management system including a nebulizer, which is one embodiment of the therapeutic inhaler of the present invention, is described below. The nebulizer transmits operation history information of the nebulization unit to a server when the nebulization unit is activated. The server generates information that can manage treatment performed by the nebulizer based on the operation history information obtained from the nebulizer. When transmitting the operation history information, the nebulizer transmits the operation history information after the nebulization unit has stopped. This reduces the impact of operational noise from the nebulization unit on information transmission, and ensures that the operation history information is transmitted to the server. Below, details of an embodiment of a treatment management system including a nebulizer are described.

(Implementation)

(Configuration of treatment management system)
1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a treatment management system 100. The treatment management system 100 includes a nebulizer 1 as a therapeutic inhaler that treats respiratory diseases by inhaling a sprayed medicinal solution, an electronic device 3 carried by a user of the nebulizer 1 or a person related to the user (e.g., the user's parent), and a management server 6 as a management device.

The electronic device 3 is an electronic device with communication capabilities, such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet device. The electronic device 3 is configured to be able to communicate with the management server 6 via a network 4, such as the Internet. The electronic device 3 is configured to be able to communicate with the nebulizer 1 based on a short-range communication standard, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi.

A treatment management app provided by the operator of the treatment management system 100 is installed on the electronic device 3. The functions of this treatment management app enable the transmission and reception of information between the nebulizer 1 and the electronic device 3, the transmission of information from the electronic device 3 to the management server 6, and the viewing of display data generated by the management server 6 on the electronic device 3.

(Block configuration of management server)
1 , the management server 6 includes a communication interface (IF) 61 (communication unit) for communicating with devices connected to the network 4, a server control unit 62, and a database 63. The database 63 may be a storage external to the management server 6, or may be a network storage connected to the network 4.

The server control unit 62 controls the entire management server 6 and includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes programs and performs processing, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the programs executed by this processor, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that serves as work memory. The processor structure described in this specification is specifically an electrical circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor devices.

The server control unit 62 acquires information sent from the nebulizer 1 to the electronic device 3 and forwarded from the electronic device 3 via the communication interface 61, and records the acquired information in the database 63. The server control unit 62 processes the information recorded in the database 63 to generate display data for displaying treatment results, such as the timing of treatment performed using the nebulizer 1 (treatment timing) and the time during which the treatment was performed (treatment time). When the server control unit 62 receives a request to view this display data from the electronic device 3 or another electronic device connected to the network 4 (for example, an device operated by a doctor who examines the user of the nebulizer 1), the server control unit 62 controls the requesting electronic device to display an image based on this display data.

(Nebulizer structure)
Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the nebulizer 1 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the nebulizer 1 shown in Fig. 2 as viewed from the right side (the direction indicated by arrow A in Fig. 2).

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the nebulizer 1 comprises a main body 10 consisting of a lower main body 11 having a generally elliptical cylindrical outer shape and an upper main body 12 removably fitted onto the lower main body 11 from above; an attachment member 20 attached to the upper main body 12; and a cap member 30 configured to be openable and closable relative to the upper main body 12. The front half 12F of the upper main body 12 has a generally cylindrical outer shape, and the rear half 12R of the upper main body 12 has a generally trapezoidal cylindrical outer shape.

As shown in Figure 2, the front of the lower main body 11 is provided with an operating member 50 including a start/stop button 51 and a liquid medicine selection button 52, as well as light-emitting elements 81, 82, and 83 for indicating the type of liquid medicine selected by the liquid medicine selection button 52.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the front half 12F of the upper body 12 has a recess 16 with a generally circular planar shape that opens upward to receive the mounting member 20. The recess 16 has a bottom surface 16b that is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis direction (vertical direction) of the body 10, and a side surface 16c that is connected to the bottom surface 16b and gradually opens upward. Protuberances 19f, 19r are provided in specific directions (the front and rear sides in this example) on the edge 15 around the recess 16. The protuberance 19f on the front side has a planar shape that protrudes in an arc shape toward the center of the recess 16. The protuberance 19r on the rear side has a planar shape that is recessed in an arc shape when viewed from the center of the recess 16. The protuberances 19f, 19r are intended to fit into the flange portion 24 of the mounting member 20. Furthermore, a ring-shaped elastic packing 29 is provided on the side surface 16c of the recess 16 so as to circumferentially surround and contact the side wall portion 23 of the mounting member 20.

As shown in FIG. 3 , a vibration unit 40 is provided inside the front half 12F of the upper main body 12 at a position corresponding to the recess 16. The vibration unit 40 includes an ultrasonic vibrator 41 positioned below and spaced apart from the recess 16, a vibration surface 43 positioned horizontally at a position corresponding to the bottom surface 16b of the recess 16, and a horn 42 positioned between the ultrasonic vibrator 41 and the vibration surface 43 to amplify the vibration of the ultrasonic vibrator 41 and transmit it to the vibration surface 43. The drive voltage for the ultrasonic vibrator 41 is supplied from the lower main body 11 via a contact electrode provided between the upper main body 12 and the lower main body 11.

As shown in Figure 2, the rear half 12R of the upper main body 12 has a liquid storage section 17 with a roughly semicircular planar shape. As shown in Figure 3, this liquid storage section 17 has a bottom surface 17b that gradually becomes shallower toward the front. A liquid supply path 18 is provided connected to the front side of the liquid storage section 17 for supplying liquid (medicinal liquid) from the liquid storage section 17 toward the vibration surface 43 of the vibration section 40. In the disassembled state shown in Figures 2 and 3, the liquid storage section 17 is open toward the top. Therefore, the user can pour liquid such as medicinal liquid into the liquid storage section 17 from above.

A cap member 30, which serves as a lid, is rotatably connected to the upper edge of the rear end of the rear half 12R of the upper body 12 via a hinge 38. The cap member 30 includes a rear half 30R located closer to the hinge 38 and having a generally trapezoidal planar shape, and a front half 30F connected to the rear half 30R and having an annular, generally circular planar shape. Two cylindrical protrusions 33 protrude from the front half 30F of the cap member 30, on the side facing the upper surface of the upper body 12, at positions corresponding to the left and right portions 15b and 15c of the edge 15 around the recess 16. A mesa portion 34, which has a generally trapezoidal planar shape corresponding to the planar shape of the liquid storage portion 17, is provided on the side facing the upper surface of the upper body 12 of the rear half 30R of the cap member 30. When the cap member 30 is closed to the upper body 12 and the nebulizer 1 is assembled, the protrusions 33 function to position the mounting member 20. The mesa portion 34 also blocks the top of the liquid storage portion 17, preventing the liquid medicine from overflowing from the liquid storage portion 17. The center of the front half 30F of the cap member 30 forms an opening 30o into which a mouthpiece or the like can be attached.

An inward-projecting engagement protrusion 31 is provided on the front edge 30Fe (opposite the hinge 38) of the front half 30F of the cap member 30. Meanwhile, an engagement protrusion 14 protruding outward (forward) from the front end is provided on the front half 12F of the upper body 12. When the cap member 30 is closed onto the upper body 12, the engagement protrusion 31 of the cap member 30 vertically engages with the engagement protrusion 14 of the upper body 12.

The mounting member 20 is attached to the recess 16 of the upper body 12 when the nebulizer 1 is in use. The mounting member 20 includes a flat film-like sheet 21 that faces the vibration surface 43, a bottom plate 22 that supports the sheet 21, an annular side wall 23 that connects to the outer edge of the bottom plate 22 and faces the side surface 16c of the recess 16, a flange 24 that connects to the upper edge of the side wall 23 and extends radially outward around the upper edge, and a tab 25 that connects to a portion of the outer edge of the flange 24 and extends downward. The sheet 21 is attached to the underside of the bottom plate 22 by adhesive or welding. A roughly central region of the sheet 21 forms the mesh portion 21a.

(Assembling the nebulizer)
A user intending to use the nebulizer 1 attaches the mounting member 20 having the mesh portion 21a to the upwardly opening recess 16 of the main body 10, as shown by arrow D in FIG. 3 , with the cap member 30 open relative to the main body 10. With the mounting member 20 attached, the user rotates the cap member 30 to close it relative to the main body 10 (upper main body 12) via the hinge 38. This causes the engaging protrusions 31 of the cap member 30 to vertically engage with the engaging protrusions 14 of the upper main body 12. This secures the cap member 30 in a closed state relative to the upper main body 12. In this manner, the nebulizer 1 can be easily assembled. This state is referred to as the assembled state.

(Use of a nebulizer)
When using the nebulizer 1, the user first places the medicinal liquid in the liquid storage section 17 of the upper body 12. Then, as shown in Figure 4, the user attaches, for example, a mouthpiece 80 to the opening 30o of the cap member 30 in the assembled state. Instead of the mouthpiece 80, the user 99 may wear an inhalation mask that covers their face.

As shown in Figure 4, when the nebulizer 1 is tilted slightly forward, the medicinal liquid is supplied from the liquid storage section 17 through the liquid supply path 18 onto the vibration surface 43 of the vibration section 40. In other words, the medicinal liquid is supplied between the vibration surface 43 and the mesh section 21a. In this state, when a drive voltage is applied to the ultrasonic vibrator 41 of the vibration section 40 to vibrate the vibration surface 43, the medicinal liquid 90 is atomized and ejected through the mesh section 21a (more precisely, through the multiple through-holes that penetrate the sheet 21). In this way, the vibration section 40 and the mesh section 21a of the mounting member 20 form an atomization section (atomization section 73, described below) that atomizes the liquid, such as the medicinal liquid, stored in the liquid storage section 17.

(Nebulizer block configuration)
5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of nebulizer 1. Nebulizer 1 includes an operating member 50, a nebulizer control unit 71, an oscillation frequency generating unit 72, an atomizing unit 73, a communication interface 74 constituting a communication unit for communicating with electronic device 3, and a notification unit 75.

The start/stop button 51 included in the operating member 50 is an operating member that can perform a start operation, which instructs the nebulizer control unit 71 to start operation of the atomization unit 73, and a stop operation, which instructs the nebulizer control unit 71 to stop operation of the atomization unit 73. For example, a short press of the start/stop button 51 when the atomization unit 73 is not operating is considered to be a start operation, and a short press of the start/stop button 51 after the start operation is considered to be a stop operation. The start/stop button 51 may also be configured as two separate buttons: one for performing the start operation and one for performing the stop operation.

The medicinal solution selection button 52 included in the operating member 50 is an operating member that allows the user to select the type of medicinal solution to be used in treatment using the nebulizer 1.

The notification unit 75 is composed of light-emitting units 81, 82, and 83 shown in Figure 2. Each of the light-emitting units 81, 82, and 83 includes a light-emitting element such as an LED (light emitting diode). A function of the treatment management app installed in the electronic device 3 allows information on different types of medicinal liquid to be associated with and registered in the light-emitting units 81, 82, and 83. The user can operate the medicinal liquid selection button 52 to sequentially switch between a state in which light-emitting unit 81 is lit, a state in which light-emitting unit 82 is lit, and a state in which light-emitting unit 83 is lit. The type of medicinal liquid corresponding to the lit light-emitting unit is recognized by the nebulizer control unit 71 as the medicinal liquid selected by the user.

The oscillation frequency generating unit 72 applies an AC drive voltage to the ultrasonic vibrator 41 of the vibration unit 40 based on a control signal from the nebulizer control unit 71. In this specification, the state in which a drive voltage is applied to the ultrasonic vibrator 41 is referred to as the state in which the atomization unit 73 is operating, and the state in which a drive voltage is not applied to the ultrasonic vibrator 41 is referred to as the state in which the atomization unit 73 is stopped.

The nebulizer control unit 71 is configured to include a processor such as a CPU, RAM as work memory, and ROM for recording various information, and various processes are performed by this processor. When the nebulizer control unit 71 detects a start operation while the atomization unit 73 is not operating, it activates the atomization unit 73, and when it detects a stop operation while the atomization unit 73 is operating, it stops the atomization unit 73. When the nebulizer control unit 71 activates the atomization unit 73, it controls the transmission of operation history information about the atomization unit 73 related to that operation to the management server 6 via the electronic device 3.

In the following description, the nebulizer control unit 71 treats the timing (specifically, the date and time) when the start operation is detected as the operation start timing of the atomization unit 73. Furthermore, the nebulizer control unit 71 treats the timing (specifically, the date and time) when the end operation is detected as the operation end timing of the atomization unit 73. Furthermore, the nebulizer control unit 71 treats the time from the operation start timing to the operation end timing immediately thereafter as the operation time of the atomization unit 73. These operation start timing, operation end timing, and operation time each constitute operation history information for the atomization unit 73.

Figure 6 is a timing chart illustrating the operation of the nebulizer control unit 71 when treatment is completed with a single activation of the atomization unit 73.

When the nebulizer control unit 71 detects a start operation at timing t1, it activates the atomization unit 73, and when it detects a stop operation at timing t2, it stops the operation of the atomization unit 73. Furthermore, when the nebulizer control unit 71 detects a stop operation at timing t2, it generates operation history information J1 regarding the operation of the atomization unit 73 that began at timing t1. The operation history information J1 consists of three pieces of information: timing t1 (operation start timing), the time between timing t1 and timing t2 (operation time of the atomization unit 73), and the type of medicinal liquid atomized by the atomization unit 73. The nebulizer control unit 71 transmits the operation history information J1 to the electronic device 3 at timing t3 after the atomization unit 73 has stopped.

The electronic device 3 receives the operation history information J1 from the nebulizer 1 and transfers it to the management server 6. The management server 6 records the operation history information J1 in the database 63.

Figure 7 is a timing chart illustrating the operation of the nebulizer control unit 71 when treatment is completed by two activations of the atomization unit 73 (when treatment is interrupted once).

When the nebulizer control unit 71 detects a start operation at timing t4, it activates the atomization unit 73. When the nebulizer control unit 71 detects a stop operation at timing t5, it stops the operation of the atomization unit 73 and generates operation history information J2 regarding the operation of the atomization unit 73 that began at timing t4. The operation history information J2 consists of three pieces of information: timing t4 (operation start timing), the time between timing t4 and timing t5 (operation time of the atomization unit 73), and the type of medicinal liquid atomized by the atomization unit 73. The nebulizer control unit 71 transmits the operation history information J2 to the electronic device 3 at timing t6 after the atomization unit 73 has stopped.

Then, when the nebulizer control unit 71 detects a start operation at timing t7, it activates the atomization unit 73. When the nebulizer control unit 71 detects a stop operation at timing t8, it stops the operation of the atomization unit 73 and generates operation history information J3 regarding the operation of the atomization unit 73 that began at timing t7. The operation history information J3 consists of three pieces of information: timing t7 (operation start timing), the time between timing t7 and timing t8 (operation time of the atomization unit 73), and the type of medicinal liquid atomized by the atomization unit 73. The nebulizer control unit 71 transmits the operation history information J3 to the electronic device 3 at timing t9 after the atomization unit 73 has stopped.

The electronic device 3 receives the operation history information J2 and J3 from the nebulizer 1 and transfers the operation history information J2 and J3 to the management server 6. The management server 6 records the operation history information J2 and J3 in the database 63.

At regular intervals, such as when the date changes, the server control unit 62 of the management server 6 executes a process to analyze an operation history group consisting of multiple pieces of operation history information for the past day (multiple pieces of operation history information including the same date) recorded in the database 63. For example, if the operations shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7 were performed on a given day, a process is executed to analyze an operation history group consisting of operation history information J1, operation history information J2, and operation history information J3.

Specifically, the server control unit 62 selects one piece of operation history information from the operation history group and sets it as the first operation history information. It then selects the operation history information obtained (recorded in the database 63) from the operation history group immediately following the first operation history information and sets it as the second operation history information. The server control unit 62 determines whether the first operation history information and the second operation history information represent information obtained when the atomizing unit 73 was operated for the same treatment based on the time between the end timing of the operation period of the atomizing unit 73 based on the first operation history information (referred to as the first operation period) and the start timing of the operation period of the atomizing unit 73 based on the second operation history information (referred to as the second operation period) (the interval between two consecutive operations of the atomizing unit 73; hereinafter referred to as time T). The server control unit 62 derives the end timing of the first operation period corresponding to the first operation history information from the operation start timing and operation duration included in the first operation history information, and derives the aforementioned time T from the derived end timing and the operation start timing included in the second operation history information.

The server control unit 62 repeats the above-described process so that each piece of operation history information except for the most recent piece of operation history information included in the operation history group becomes the first operation history information. The age of each piece of operation history information can be determined by referencing the information on the operation start timing included therein or by referencing the date and time when each piece of operation history information was recorded in the database 63. If the operation history group consists of operation history information J1, operation history information J2, and operation history information J3, the server control unit 62 makes the above-described determination using operation history information J1 as the first operation history information and operation history information J2 as the second operation history information, and also makes the above-described determination using operation history information J2 as the first operation history information and operation history information J3 as the second operation history information.

If treatment using nebulizer 1 is interrupted midway, time T (the time between timing t5 and timing t7 in the example of Figure 7) will not be very long. Therefore, if time T is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold TH, the server control unit 62 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the atomization unit 73 was operated for different treatments. If time T is less than threshold TH, the server control unit 62 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the atomization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment.

The server control unit 62 associates and records common identification information with each of multiple pieces of operation history information that it has determined to be operation history information when the atomization unit 73 was activated for the same treatment. For example, if the operation history group consists of operation history information J1, operation history information J2, and operation history information J3, the server control unit 62 associates and records common identification information with operation history information J2 and operation history information J3.

For multiple pieces of operation history information recorded in database 63 that have common identification information added, the server control unit 62 performs a combining process to combine these pieces of operation history information. In the example of FIG. 7, the server control unit 62, for example, calculates the sum of the operation time included in operation history information J2 and the operation time included in operation history information J3, and generates operation history information J2A consisting of this sum, the operation start timing of the nebulization unit 73 included in operation history information J2, and information on the type of medicinal liquid included in operation history information J2. The server control unit 62 then deletes operation history information J2 and J3, and instead records this operation history information J2A in database 63.

Instead of the above-mentioned combining process, the server control unit 62 may perform a deletion process in which only one of multiple pieces of operation history information to which common identification information is added is retained and the others are deleted. In the example of Figure 7, the server control unit 62 may, for example, delete operation history information J2 or J3 from operation history information J2 and operation history information J3.

(Effects of treatment management system)
According to the treatment management system 100, based on two chronologically adjacent pieces of operation history information acquired by the management server 6, it is determined whether these two pieces of operation history information relate to the operation of the atomization unit 73 for the same treatment. If it is determined that these two pieces of operation history information relate to the operation of the atomization unit 73 for the same treatment, the two pieces of operation history information are corrected (the above-described combining process or deletion process). With this configuration, after the analysis process, one piece of operation history information is always recorded in the database 63 for each treatment. Therefore, by referring to the operation history information recorded in the database 63, for example, a doctor or the like can accurately determine the frequency of treatments using the nebulizer 1, which can be useful in determining a treatment plan.

In addition, when the above-mentioned combining process is performed, the operation time included in the operation history information after the combining process can be used to roughly determine the amount of medicinal liquid inhaled in one treatment. This allows doctors to determine whether the user is performing appropriate treatment, which can be useful in determining treatment plans.

The nebulizer 1 of the treatment management system 100 transmits operation history information after the operation of the nebulization unit 73 has stopped (timing t3 in Figure 6, timing t6 and t9 in Figure 7). In this way, by transmitting operation history information while the ultrasonic vibrator 41 of the nebulization unit 73 is not operating, transmission can be carried out stably without being affected by operational noise from the nebulization unit 73. Therefore, operation history information can be transmitted to the management server 6 without any omissions, allowing for accurate treatment management.

(First Variant of Treatment Management System)
The server control unit 62 may be configured not to perform the above-described combining process or deleting process. Even in this case, the operation history information for each treatment can be identified by the identification information added to each piece of operation history information recorded in the database 63. In other words, by looking at multiple pieces of operation history information to which the same identification information is added, a doctor can recognize that these pieces of information were generated for a single treatment. Therefore, even in this modified example, a doctor can determine whether the user is performing an appropriate treatment, which can be useful in determining a treatment plan.

(Second Variant of Treatment Management System)
The server control unit 62 may request a user terminal (electronic device 3 or other device connected to network 4) to confirm whether or not correction (performing either the above-mentioned combining process or deletion process) is necessary for multiple pieces of operation history information associated with the common identification information, and if it determines that correction is necessary based on the response to this request, it may execute the above-mentioned combining process or the above-mentioned deletion process. In this way, by performing correction after receiving confirmation from the user, it is possible to highly reliably prevent multiple pieces of operation history information from being erroneously corrected. As a result, it is possible to provide doctors with more accurate information on the frequency of treatments performed.

(Third Modification of Treatment Management System)
The server control unit 62 may determine whether the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment based on the time T, the medicinal liquid type information contained in the first operation history information, and the medicinal liquid type information contained in the second operation history information.

Even if the time T, which is the interval between two successive operations of the nebulization unit 73, is short, if the type of medicinal liquid atomized in each of these two operations is different, it can be said that the nebulization unit 73 was operated for two different treatments. Therefore, if the time T is less than the threshold value TH and the medicinal liquid type information included in the first operation history information and the second operation history information are different, the server control unit 62 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for different treatments. On the other hand, if the time T is less than the threshold value TH and the medicinal liquid type information included in the first operation history information and the second operation history information are the same, the server control unit 62 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment.

In this way, by taking into account not only the interval between each operating period when the nebulizer unit 73 is continuously operated, but also the type of medicinal liquid nebulized during each operating period, it is possible to more accurately determine whether treatment should be interrupted.

(Fourth Variant of Treatment Management System)
Up to this point, the server control unit 62 has been described as acquiring operation history information from the nebulizer 1, recording it in the database 63, and analyzing the operation history information recorded in the database 63. However, the functions of the server control unit 62 may be provided in the nebulizer control unit 71 of the nebulizer 1. The configuration of the treatment management system of this modified example is a configuration in which the management server 6 is removed from the treatment management system 100. In this modified example, the nebulizer control unit 71 constitutes the management device.

In this modified treatment management system, the nebulizer control unit 71 of the nebulizer 1 generates operation history information for the nebulization unit 73 each time it operates the nebulization unit 73 and records it in its built-in ROM. At regular intervals, such as when the date changes, the nebulizer control unit 71 executes a process to analyze an operation history group consisting of multiple pieces of operation history information for the past day recorded in the ROM. This process is the same as the process executed by the server control unit 62 described above.

In this way, by determining whether treatment has been interrupted in the nebulizer 1, one piece of operation history information is always recorded in the ROM of the nebulizer 1 for each treatment. Therefore, by reading the operation history information recorded in the ROM after analysis processing using, for example, the electronic device 3 and having a doctor or other person refer to this, the frequency of treatment using the nebulizer 1 can be accurately determined, which can be useful in determining treatment strategies. Note that even in this modified example, the nebulizer control unit 71 can be configured not to perform combining or deleting processing.

(Fifth Variant of Treatment Management System)
In the fourth modified example described above, the nebulizer control unit 71 determines whether treatment has been interrupted and corrects the operation history information in accordance with the result of that determination. As a modification of this modification, the nebulizer control unit 71 may determine whether treatment has been interrupted and, in accordance with the result of that determination, control the transmission of the operation history information to the management server 6. The configuration of the treatment management system of this modified example is a configuration in which a management server 6 is added to the configuration of the treatment management system of the fourth modified example. The management server 6 in this modified example records the operation history information transmitted from the nebulizer 1 in a database 63, generates data based on the recorded information, and provides the data to a user terminal, etc.

When the nebulizer control unit 71 generates operation history information, it designates the most recent operation history information as the second operation history information, and the operation history information generated immediately before the most recent operation history information as the first operation history information. The nebulizer control unit 71 then determines whether the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment. This determination method is the same as the determination method used by the server control unit 62 in the above embodiment. The nebulizer control unit 71 transmits the second operation history information to the electronic device 3 only if it determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are not information from when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment. In other words, if the nebulizer control unit 71 determines that the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the nebulization unit 73 was operated for the same treatment, it omits transmitting the second operation history information to the electronic device 3.

Figure 8 is a timing chart illustrating a modified example of the operation of the nebulizer control unit 71 when treatment is completed with two activations of the nebulization unit 73. The difference between Figure 8 and Figure 7 is that the transmission of operation history information J3 after timing t8 is omitted. The time T derived from the operation history information J2 generated at timing t5 and the operation history information J1 generated immediately before that and shown in Figure 6 is greater than or equal to the threshold. Therefore, the operation history information J2 generated at timing t5 is transmitted to the electronic device 3 at the subsequent timing t6. On the other hand, the time T derived from the operation history information J3 generated at timing t8 and the operation history information J2 generated immediately before that is less than the threshold. Therefore, the operation history information J3 generated at timing t8 is not transmitted to the electronic device 3.

In this modified example, when treatment is interrupted, only the operation history information (operation history information J2 in the example of Figure 8) related to the operation of the atomization unit 73 from the start of treatment to the interruption of treatment is sent to the electronic device 3. As a result, one piece of operation history information is always recorded for each treatment in the database 63 of the management server 6. As a result, it becomes possible to accurately grasp the frequency of treatments using the nebulizer 1.

Furthermore, according to this modified example, the frequency of data transmission from the nebulizer 1 can be reduced, which can extend the continuous use time for battery-operated nebulizers. Furthermore, there is no need for the management server 6 to determine whether treatment has been interrupted or to correct operation history information. This reduces the processing load on the management server 6. Furthermore, the required capacity of the database 63 can also be reduced.

(Modification of operation history information)
In the explanation so far, the operation history information (J1, J2, J3) has been assumed to include the operation start timing of the atomization unit 73 (the timing when the start operation was detected), the operation time of the atomization unit 73, and the type of liquid medicine atomized by the atomization unit 73. However, the following operation history information IF1 to IF3 may also be used as the operation history information.

Operation history information IF1 is composed of the operation start timing of the nebulization unit 73, the operation end timing of the nebulization unit 73 (the timing when the end operation was detected), and the type of medicinal liquid. When operation history information IF1 is used, the operation time of the nebulization unit 73 can be calculated based on the operation start timing and operation end timing, making it possible to manage the timing and duration of treatment.

Operation history information IF2 is composed of the operation end timing of the nebulization unit 73, the operation time of the nebulization unit 73, and the type of medicinal liquid. When operation history information IF2 is used, the above-mentioned time T can be derived by determining the operation start timing of the nebulization unit 73 based on the operation end timing and operation time.

Operation history information IF3 is composed of the operation time of the nebulization unit 73 and the type of medicinal liquid. When operation history information IF3 is used, the time T can be derived by treating the timing when operation history information IF3 is received by the management server 6 or the timing when operation history information IF3 is recorded by the nebulizer 1 as the timing when operation of the nebulization unit 73 ends.

The operation history information (J1, J2, J3) described in the embodiment and the operation history information IF1 to IF3 in the modified example do not have to include the type of medicinal solution. Even in this case, as long as treatment is performed using a single type of medicinal solution, the timing and duration of treatment can be managed.

It is also possible that the treatment management system will only manage the frequency of treatment and the type of medicinal solution, and will not need to manage treatment time. In such cases, operation history information IF4 may be used, which is composed of the operation start timing of the nebulization unit 73 and the type of medicinal solution. When operation history information IF4 is used, the above-mentioned time T can be derived by treating the timing at which the operation history information IF4 is received by the management server 6 or the timing at which the operation history information IF4 is recorded by the nebulizer 1 as the operation end timing of the nebulization unit 73. When management of the type of medicinal solution is not required, the type of medicinal solution can be omitted from the operation history information IF4.

(Modification of the timing of transmitting operation history information)
In the above description, in a configuration in which nebulizer 1 has the function of transmitting operation history information to electronic device 3, the timing for transmitting the operation history information is the timing after the operation of atomization unit 73 has stopped. As a variation of this, nebulizer control unit 71 may transmit part of the operation history information to electronic device 3 when the start operation is detected, and transmit the remainder of the operation history information to electronic device 3 after the operation of atomization unit 73 has stopped in response to the end operation.

For example, when transmitting operation history information J1, the nebulizer control unit 71 may transmit information about the operation start timing to the electronic device 3 when the start operation is detected, and transmit information about the operation time and liquid medicine type to the electronic device 3 when the atomization unit 73 is stopped in response to the end operation. Even in this case, if the transmission of the operation start timing is unsuccessful, the management server 6 can derive the above-mentioned time T by treating the timing at which it received the information about the operation time and liquid medicine type from the operation history information J1 as the operation end timing. This configuration allows operation history information to be transmitted to an external device efficiently.

In the treatment management system 100 of the embodiment and its modified examples, the electronic device 3 may be omitted, and the nebulizer 1 and management server 6 may communicate via the network 4. Alternatively, the management server 6 may be omitted, and the functions of the management server 6 may be realized by a treatment management app installed on the electronic device 3. In other words, the electronic device 3 may be configured to record and analyze operation history information.

100 Treatment management system 1 Nebulizer 50 Operation member 51 Start/end button 71 Nebulizer control unit 73 Atomization unit 3 Electronic device 4 Network 6 Management server 62 Server control unit

Claims (2)

A therapeutic inhaler configured to allow a patient to inhale a medicinal solution atomized by an atomizing unit,
an operating member capable of performing a treatment start operation to instruct the start of treatment and a treatment end operation to instruct the end of treatment;
a communication unit capable of communicating with an external device;
a processor that performs a first process of activating the atomization unit in response to the treatment start operation and a second process of stopping the operation of the atomization unit in response to the treatment end operation,
the processor stores operation history information of the atomizing unit operated by the first process, and causes the communication unit to transmit the operation history information to the external device at a timing after the atomizing unit stops operating by the second process;
The timing at which a start operation is performed to instruct the start of operation of the atomization unit is set as the operation start timing,
The timing at which an end operation is performed to instruct the end of the operation of the atomizing unit is set as the operation end timing,
When the time from the operation start timing to the operation end timing is defined as the operation time,
the operation history information transmitted to the external device at a timing after the atomization unit has stopped operating includes information on either the operation start timing and the operation time, the operation end timing and the operation time, or the operation start timing and the operation end timing, so that both the operation start timing and the operation end timing can be identified in the external device ;
The processor analyzes an operation history group including a plurality of pieces of operation history information;
the processor selects one piece of operation history information from the operation history group as first operation history information, and selects operation history information obtained next to the first operation history information from the operation history group as second operation history information;
The processor determines whether the first operation history information and the second operation history information are information from when the nebulizer unit was operated for the same treatment based on the time between the end timing of the first operation period of the nebulizer unit based on the first operation history information and the start timing of the second operation period of the nebulizer unit based on the second operation history information . 10. The therapeutic inhaler of claim 1,
The therapeutic inhaler, wherein the operation history information further includes information on the type of medicinal liquid atomized by the atomization unit.