Patent Application
20150006202
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-136866 filed on Jun. 28, 2013; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
An embodiment described herein relates generally to a biological data management method, a biological data management system, and a center apparatus.
Conventionally, in medical facilities, various types of vital data (biological data of a patient) such as a body temperature, a blood pressure, and a blood sugar level are measured, collected and managed with an aim to grasp a state of health of a hospitalized patient. More specifically, a nurse or the like visits patient rooms, and records the biological data as mentioned above measured for each patient on a predetermined sheet of paper or the like. Then, the biological data which has been recorded is manually input to an electronic terminal such as a personal computer, is transmitted to a predetermined server, and is accumulated/managed.
At the time of transmitting the recorded biological data to the server, personal information of the patient (for example, a name of the patient and a patient ID) has to be transmitted together with the biological data so that the patient to whom the biological data belongs may be identified. However, frequent communication of personal information of a patient increases a possibility of leakage of personal information, and there is an issue concerning security.
A biological data management method of the present embodiment registers patient identification information for identifying a patient in a center apparatus, and registers, in the center apparatus, in association with the patient identification information, measurement device identification information for identifying a measurement device that is assigned to each patient and that measures biological data of the patient. Measurement data is acquired by measuring the biological data of the patient by the measurement device, the measurement data and the measurement device identification information are transmitted from the measurement device to the center apparatus, and the measurement data is registered in the center apparatus in association with the measurement device identification information.
In the following, an embodiment will be described with reference to drawings.
The measurement device 1 includes a transmission unit 11 configured to transmit the measurement data to the mobile terminal 2, an input unit 12 configured to set an instruction regarding measurement, and a measurement unit 13 configured to measure the biological data. Furthermore, the measurement device 1 includes a display unit 14 configured to display the measurement data and the like, a control unit 15 configured to control the operation of each unit inside the measurement device 1, and memories 16 and 17.
The input unit 12 is capable of instructing that a power of the measurement device 1 be turned on or off, of setting a measurement condition, or of setting a transmission instruction (transmission condition) of the measurement data to the mobile terminal 2. For example, the input unit 12 is configured from a slide switch, a push button or the like. The display unit 14 may display, in addition to the measurement data, a date of measurement, a past record, a remaining amount of a battery and the like. Note that the display unit 14 is provided as necessary, and may be omitted.
The memory 16 as a first storage unit stores a record or a measurement condition of past measurement data, information about the timing of transmitting the measurement data from the measurement device 1 to the mobile terminal 2, and the like, and a rewritable memory such as a DRAM or an SRAM is used. The memory 17 as a second storage unit stores information for uniquely identifying each measurement device 1 (measurement device identification information; for example, a device ID or the like), and a non-rewritable memory such as an EEPROM, a flash memory, or a mask ROM is used.
The information for uniquely identifying each measurement device 1 is not restricted to the device ID, and a physical unclonable function (PUF) or information in a memory in an uninitialized state may be used, for example. In the case of using the device ID as the information for uniquely identifying the measurement device 1, the device ID is registered in the measurement device 1 at least before the measurement device 1 is handed to a patient, such as during the manufacturing process or at the time of shipping.
Note that with the biological data management system of the present embodiment, biological data such as a body temperature, a blood pressure, and a blood sugar level are managed. As concrete examples of the measurement device 1 in this case, a thermometer, a sphygmomanometer, a blood sugar level measurement device, and the like may be cited. Also, according to the present embodiment, each measurement device 1 is assigned to a specific patient, and is not used by other patients. Accordingly, if the patient is identified, the measurement device 1 that is used by the patient is identified, and reversely, if the measurement device 1 is identified, the patient who uses the measurement device 1 is identified.
As the mobile terminal 2, a portable PC (for example, a tablet PC or a smartphone) or a dedicated terminal for measurement data transmission/reception is used. The mobile terminal 2 includes communication units 21a and 21b configured to communicate measurement data between the measurement device 1 and the server 3, an input unit 22 configured to set a transmission instruction (transmission condition) of the measurement data to the server 3, and a display unit 23 configured to display a status of communication with the measurement device 1 or the server 3. Furthermore, the mobile terminal 2 includes a control unit 24 configured to control the operation of each unit inside the mobile terminal 2, and a memory 25 configured to store the measurement data, the transmission instruction (transmission condition) to the server 3, and the like.
The input unit 22 is configured from a touch panel or the like, for example. Also, as the memory 25, a rewritable memory such as a DRAM or an SRAM is used, for example. Note that the mobile terminal 2 is not restricted to a portable terminal, and may be a fixed device such as a desktop PC, for example. Also, for example, a shared terminal that is used for transmission/reception of other types of data in a hospital may also be used instead of a terminal that is dedicated to the measurement data.
The server 3 stores various types of data such as the measurement data, information of the measurement device 1, and information of patients. The server 3 stores a patient and the measurement device 1 used by the patient in association with each other. Also, the server 3 stores information of the measurement device 1 and the measurement data in association with each other. Accordingly, when a patient is identified, the measurement data of the patient may be extracted.
Note that transmission/reception of data between the measurement device 1 and the mobile terminal 2, and transmission/reception of data between the mobile terminal 2 and the server 3 may be performed by wireless communication such as infrared rays or Bluetooth, or by wired communication by connecting communication interfaces, not shown, of the transmission unit 11, the communication unit 21a, the communication unit 21b, and the server 3 by cables. Moreover, one communication (for example, the communication between the measurement device 1 and the mobile terminal 2) may be performed wirelessly, and the other communication (for example, the communication between the mobile terminal 2 and the server 3) may be performed in a wired manner. Furthermore, a configuration of performing communication by switching between wireless communication and wired communication is also possible.
Next, a procedure of registering various types of information and data in the server 3, that is, the biological data management method according to the present embodiment will be described. As described above, information of a patient, the measurement data, and information of the measurement device 1 are registered in the server 3. First, registration of the information of a patient will be described. The information of a patient to be registered in the server 3 is, for example, personal information such as the name of the patient, and an ID for uniquely identifying the patient (patient identification information; hereinafter referred to as a user ID). Registration of information may be performed by directly writing the information to the server 3, or by transmitting the information from the mobile terminal 2 to the server 3 and registering the same in the server 3. Also, registration may be performed by using a terminal other than the mobile terminal 2 (for example, a system sharing terminal of a hospital).
When the information of a patient is registered in the server 3, it becomes possible to access the server 3 by using the user ID, and to view only the measurement data associated with the user ID among the measurement data registered in the server 3. (That is, the user ID is a log-in ID for the biological data management system.)
Next, a procedure of registering the measurement data in the server 3 will be described.
Next, the procedure proceeds to step S2, and information for identifying the measurement device 1 (in the following description, the device ID is used as an example) and the measurement data are transmitted to the mobile terminal 2. The measurement device 1 includes, regarding the timing for transmitting the measurement data and the like to the mobile terminal 2, two types of transmission modes, namely, a mode for automatic transmission and a mode for manual transmission. One of the modes is selected and is set in the memory 17 before measurement of the biological data (selection of a mode, and setting information regarding the transmission timing in the automatic transmission mode are registered in the memory 17 via the input unit 12). Thus, step S2 is performed according to the transmission mode set in the measurement device 1.
For example, in the case where the automatic transmission mode is selected for the measurement device 1, and the transmission timing is set such that transmission of biological data to the mobile terminal 2 is started immediately after measurement is completed, step S2 is also performed immediately after step S1 is performed. Also, for example, in the case where the automatic transmission mode is selected, and the transmission timing is set such that transmission to the mobile terminal 2 is started at a predetermined time (for example, eight in the morning, twelve noon, seven in the evening, etc.), step S2 is not performed until the predetermined time is reached even if step S1 is completed, and a transmission wait state is reached.
Note that in the case where biological data is measured by the same measurement device 1 again during the transmission wait state, the measurement data which is already stored in the measurement device 1 but is not yet transmitted is replaced with the measurement data acquired by the remeasurement, for example. When the predetermined time is reached, the measurement data acquired by the remeasurement is transmitted to the mobile terminal 2. Alternatively, both of the measurement data which is already stored in the measurement device 1 but is not yet transmitted and the measurement data acquired by the remeasurement may be stored in the memory 16 without performing replacement of the measurement data, and all the pieces of measurement data which are stored in the memory 16 but are not yet transmitted may be transmitted to the mobile terminal 2 at the predetermined time.
Also, in the case where a mode is not selected, or in the case where the manual transmission mode is selected, step S2 is not performed until a nurse or the like inputs a data transmission instruction from the input unit 12, and the transmission wait state is reached.
When the measurement data is transmitted from the measurement device 1 to the mobile terminal 2, the mobile terminal 2 transmits the received measurement data and the device ID of the measurement device 1 which is the transmission source of the measurement data to the server 3 (step S3). Also with respect to the transmission timing of data from the mobile terminal 2 to the server 3, there are an automatic transmission mode and a manual transmission mode, as in the case of the measurement device 1 described above.
Note that in the case where the measurement data is transmitted from the measurement device 1 to the mobile terminal 2 during the transmission wait state, the measurement data which is already stored in the mobile terminal 2 but is not yet transmitted is replaced with the measurement data which is newly transmitted from the measurement device 1. When the predetermined time is reached, the newly acquired measurement data is transmitted to the server 3. Alternatively, both of the measurement data which is already stored in the mobile terminal 2 but is not yet transmitted and the measurement data which has newly been transmitted from the measurement device 1 may be stored in the memory 25 without performing replacement of the measurement data, and all the pieces of measurement data which are stored in the memory 25 but are not yet transmitted may be transmitted to the server 3 at the predetermined time.
The mobile terminal 2 transmits the device ID and the measurement data to the server 3 according to the mode set in advance. Note that in the case of replacing (overwriting) the measurement data already registered in the server 3 with the measurement data to be transmitted, an instruction for replacement is transmitted together with the data.
Subsequently, the server 3 registers the measurement data which has been received, in association with the device ID. For example, the device ID and the measurement data are registered in the server 3 in association with each other as shown in
First, the server 3 searches for the device ID which has been received (step S4). Then, whether the device ID which has been received is registered or not is determined (step S5). In the case where the device ID is not registered, the measurement data which has been received is registered as data measured by a non-registered measurement device (step S6).
More specifically, for example, a row is created in the table shown in
On the other hand, in the case where the device ID is registered, whether the measurement data which is already registered is to be replaced with the measurement data which has been received is determined (step S7). In the case where a replacement instruction regarding the measurement data is not received from the mobile terminal 2, the procedure proceeds to step S8, and the measurement data is registered in association with the device ID.
In the case where, in step S7, a replacement instruction regarding the measurement data is received from the mobile terminal 2, the procedure proceeds to step S9, and the measurement data which is already registered is deleted, and the measurement data which has been received is registered in association with the device ID. More specifically, for example, a cell corresponding to the device ID which has been received is extracted from the column of device IDs in the table shown in
When registration of the measurement data is completed in step S6, S8 or S9, the procedure proceeds to step S10, and a notification to the effect that registration of the measurement data which has been received is completed is issued to the mobile terminal 2. At this time, in the case where the measurement data of a non-registered device ID is registered, a notification to the effect that the device ID is not registered may be issued by the server 3 to the mobile terminal 2, together with the notification regarding registration completion. When the registration completion notification is received from the server 3, the mobile terminal 2 displays a registration completion message on the display unit 23 (step S11). With the series of processes described above, registration of the biological data measured by the measurement device 1 in the server 3 is completed.
Note that in
The procedure described above is a procedure of registering the measurement data in association with the device ID, but the data to be registered is not restricted to the measurement data, and information that is auxiliary to the measurement data (for example, date of measurement) may be transmitted together and be registered in association with the measurement data.
Lastly, a procedure of registering the device ID in the server 3 will be described.
The server 3 registers the device ID which has been received, in association with the user ID (step S24). For example, the user ID and the device ID are registered in the server 3 in association with each other as shown in
When registration of the device ID is completed, the procedure proceeds to step S25, and a notification to the effect that registration of the device ID which has been received is completed is issued to the mobile terminal 2. When the registration completion notification is received from the server 3, the mobile terminal 2 displays a registration completion message on the display unit 23 (step S26). Registration of the device ID in the server 3 is completed by the series of processes described above.
Note that according to the procedure shown in
Also, registration of the device ID does not have to be performed after the registration of the measurement data, and may be performed before the registration of the measurement data or at the same timing. For example, when measuring the biological data by using a non-registered measurement device 1, the device ID may be registered at the same timing as simultaneous registration of the device ID and the measurement data in the server 3 at the time of first measurement. Nevertheless, the user ID has to be registered in the server 3 before the device ID and the measurement data.
Furthermore, the correspondence table of user ID and device ID and the correspondence table of device ID and measurement data may be combined into one table as shown in
As described, according to the present embodiment, when registering the measurement data in the server 3, the user ID, which is personal information of a patient, and the measurement data do not have to be transmitted together except for when registering the device ID at the same timing as the simultaneous registration of the device ID and the measurement data, and leakage of personal information may be restrained, and the security may be increased.
Also, according to the present embodiment, the biological data measured by the measurement device 1 is transmitted to the server 3 via the mobile terminal 2 in a state of electronic data, and is registered. Accordingly, the conventional burden of a nurse to write the measurement data on a predetermined sheet of paper and to input the data in an electronic terminal may be eliminated, and the work efficiency may be increased. Moreover, since data does not have to be manually input, an input error may be prevented, and the reliability of data may be increased.
Note that in the example described above, the biological data measured by the measurement device 1 is registered in the server 3 via the mobile terminal 2, but the mobile terminal 2 does not necessarily has to be used. That is, the measurement device 1 and the server 3 may be directly connected in a wireless or wired manner, and the measurement data may be transmitted and registered in the server 3 from the measurement device 1.
Each “unit” in the present specification is a concept corresponding to each function in the embodiment, and does not necessarily correspond to specific hardware or a software routine in a one-to-one manner. Accordingly, in the present specification, the embodiment has been described assuming a virtual circuit block (unit) having each function of the embodiment.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such farms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-136866 | Jun 2013 | JP | national |
