Patent Grant
11877871
This is a U.S. national phase application under 35 USC 371 of international application PCT/JP2019/025194, filed on Jun. 25, 2019, which claims priority to Japanese patent application No. 2018-124713, filed on Jun. 29, 2018. The entire disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments of the present invention relate to an infectious disease prevention supporting device, method and program.
It is said that a person, as an adult, catches a cold about 2 to 5 times a year on average. The cause of a person catching a cold is a cold virus. It is difficult to take measures with vaccines against colds because there are at least 200 types of cold viruses, and therapeutics for acting on cold viruses have not yet been developed. It is therefore important to prevent the morbidity itself against colds.
Many of the cold viruses are known to enter the body from the mucosa, such as the nasal cavity of a person's face. Also, it has been confirmed that cold viruses enter the body through the lacrimal gland when a person touches his/her eye's mucosa.
It has been traditionally said that hand washing and gargling are effective in preventing a person from catching a cold. However, a cold virus may already have attached to an environmental surface that is routinely contacted by a person, such as a switch or a doorknob in a room.
Thus, even if, for example, a person washes his/her hands immediately after coming home from outside, if the person touches his/her mucosa with a hand that has touched the environmental surface described above, he/she may become infected with the cold virus. It has been therefore difficult for a person to sufficiently reduce the possibility of being infected with a cold virus by only hand washing or gargling.
Meanwhile, technologies for wearable devices such as smart watches have been developed. For example, an attempt has been made in which a wearable device is used for sensing a dietary habit of a person wearing the device (for example, see Non Patent Literature 1).
As described above, it is difficult to sufficiently reduce the possibility of catching a cold only by hand washing or the like. Here, even if the person tries to be careful not to unnecessarily touch his/her own mucosa with their hand, since such an action is unconsciously performed, it is difficult to suppress the action only by his/her own consciousness. Thus, in the current state, a person's action of touching his/her mucosa with their hand and causing a cold or other infectious disease cannot be appropriately suppressed.
Meanwhile, attempts have been made to sense various conditions, such as dietary habits, of a person by using a wearable device. However, currently, sensing a behavior causing a cold or other infectious disease has not been considered.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an infectious disease prevention supporting device, method and program capable of appropriately supporting prevention of an infectious disease caused by viral entry into a person's mucosa.
In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of an infectious disease prevention supporting device according to one embodiment of the present invention is an infectious disease prevention supporting device including a processor, wherein the processor is configured to perform a detection process that detects a motion of a forearm or a wrist by a user, a proximity determination process that determines, based on the motion detected by the detection process for a predetermined period of time, whether the hand of the user is in proximity to a mucosa of a face of the user, and a warning generation process that generates, when it is determined by the proximity determination process that the hand of the user is in proximity to the mucosa, a warning to suppress the proximity.
A second aspect of the infectious disease prevention supporting device of the present invention is the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to the first aspect, wherein the processor is configured to further perform a direction determination process that determines, based on the motion detected by the detection process for a predetermined period of time, a direction of the motion of the forearm of the user, before the user brings the hand in proximity to the mucosa of the face, and to determine, in the proximity determination process, based on the motion detected by the detection process for the predetermined period of time, that the hand of the user is in proximity to the mucosa of the face when a direction of the motion of the forearm determined by the direction determination process is in a predetermined direction.
A third aspect of the infectious disease prevention supporting device of the present invention is the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the processor generates a warning to the user by a vibration, in the warning generation process, when it is determined by the proximity determination process that the hand of the user is in proximity to the mucosa.
A fourth aspect of the infectious disease prevention supporting device of the present invention is the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the processor generates a warning to the user by a visual means, in the warning generation process, when it is determined by the proximity determination process that the hand of the user is in proximity to the mucosa.
A fifth aspect of the infectious disease prevention supporting device of the present invention is the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the processor generates a warning to the user by an auditory means, in the warning generation process, when it is determined by the proximity determination process that the hand of the user is in proximity to the mucosa.
One aspect of a method of supporting prevention of an infectious disease according to one embodiment of the present invention is performed by a device including a processor, the method including detecting, by the processor, a motion of a forearm or a wrist by a user, determining, by the processor, whether the hand of the user is in proximity to a mucosa of a face of the user based on the motion detected for a predetermined period of time, and generating, by the processor, a warning to suppress the proximity when the processor determines that the hand of the user is in proximity to the mucosa.
One aspect of the infectious disease prevention support processing program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes the processor included in the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects to execute the processes performed by the infectious disease prevention supporting device.
In a first aspect of the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to one embodiment of the present invention, a warning is generated to the user when the user brings the hand in proximity to the mucosa of the face. This can prevent a motion of the user's hand from causing an infectious disease.
In a second aspect of the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to one embodiment of the present invention, it is determined whether the user's hand is in proximity to the mucosa of the face considering a direction of a motion of the user's forearm at a timing before the user brings the hand in proximity to the mucosa of the face. This enables an appropriate determination of the user touching the mucosa of his/her face.
In a third aspect of the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to one embodiment of the present invention, a warning to the user is generated by a vibration when the proximity is determined. Thus, a warning can be reliably notified to, for example, a user with a visual or hearing disability to suppress the motion of his/her hand from causing an infectious disease.
In a fourth aspect of the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to one embodiment of the present invention, a warning to the user is generated by a visual means when the proximity is determined. Thus, a warning can be reliably notified to, for example, a user with a hearing disability to suppress the motion of his/her hand from causing an infectious disease.
In a fifth aspect of the infectious disease prevention supporting device according to one embodiment of the present invention, a warning to the user is generated by an auditory means when the proximity is determined. Thus, in a case where the user is in a dark location or when the user has a visual disability, a warning can be properly notified to the user to prevent the motion of the user's hand from causing an infectious disease.
That is, the present invention enables an appropriate support for the prevention of an infectious disease caused by viral entry into a person's mucosa.
Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a cold prevention supporting device configured by installing a sensor and a vibrator in a wristwatch device that people (hereinafter, users) can wear in everyday life.
In the cold prevention supporting device, an acceleration of a forearm (which may hereinafter be referred to simply as an arm) or wrist (which may hereinafter be referred to as a “forearm or the like”) when his/her hand is brought close to a mucosa of the eyes, nose, or mouth of his/her face or a periphery thereof is detected by a sensor. During this detection, a vibration is generated by activating the vibrator installed in the device. With this vibration, the cold prevention supporting device alerts to users. This prevents a habit of a person of touching a mucosa or its periphery, such as his/her nose or mouth.
However, assuming that a user is alerted by the vibrator only based on a detection result of an acceleration of a motion of the forearm or the like, for example, when the user brings his/her hand close to his/her eyes, nose, or the like, the following case would activate the vibrator to annoy the user. The case is, for example, an action taken during a meal when the user is not intending to touch a mucosa or the like of his/her eyes, nose, or the like.
Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, the following will describe functions of the cold prevention supporting device distinguishing an action in which a user raises and brings his/her arm close to his/her face in order to pick up a dish or the like during a meal from an action in which the user raises and brings his/her arm close to his/her face to touch a mucosa or the like of his/her eyes, nose, or the like with his/her hand.
The user presses a notebook or a document with a light force or uses a keyboard of a personal computer (PC) when sitting at a desk for work or study, for example. Thus, the user's arm is directed in a pronation direction where the palm faces downward.
Meanwhile, the user usually holds a dish or the like by hand during a meal. Thus, the user's forearm or the like is directed rather in a supination direction (here, a direction in which the palm faces upward) as compared with the pronation direction, specifically, in an intermediate direction between pronation and supination.
When the user brings his/her hand close to the vicinity of his/her face during a meal, it is highly likely that the user is carrying food to the mouth. It is therefore desirable not to activate the vibrator. On the other hand, when the user brings his/her hand close to the vicinity of his/her face while working or studying, for example, it is highly likely that the user is intending to touch a mucosa or the like of his/her eyes or nose. It is therefore desirable to activate the vibrator in order to suppress the hand motion.
Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, before detecting by the sensor an acceleration when the user brings his/her hand close to his/her eyes, nose, or the like, the cold prevention supporting device detects by the sensor and records the direction of the arm immediately before the detection of the acceleration.
Then, the cold prevention supporting device activates the vibrator when the sensor detects the acceleration of the hand brought in vicinity to the user's face and the sensor detects that the user's arm faces in the pronation direction or downward immediately before the detection of the acceleration. On the other hand, when the sensor detects that the user's arm is directed in another direction immediately before the above detection, the cold prevention supporting device does not activate the vibrator.
Thus, the cold prevention supporting device suppresses an operation of the vibrator when the user is not intending to touch a mucosa or the like of his/her eyes, nose, or the like.
That is, in one embodiment of the present invention, a cold prevention supporting device does not activate the vibrator when the user brings his/her hand close to his/her face with a cup, a bowl, or the like during a meal. On the other hand, when the user is intending to touch a mucosa or the like of the eyes, nose, or the like, the cold prevention supporting device activates the vibrator. This enables the cold prevention supporting device to break the user's bad habit and prevent a cold effectively.
Hereinafter, the cold prevention supporting device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described.
Here, a cold prevention supporting device that supports prevention of infection of a cold will be described. However, this device is not only used for colds but also used as an infectious disease prevention supporting device that supports prevention of other infectious diseases, such as influenza, which are caused by viral entry into the mucosa of a person's head. As described above, since there is currently no cold therapeutics, a cold prevention supporting device has a great advantage in preventing the morbidity of such infectious diseases.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the cold prevention supporting device is achieved by a system using a computer device that is installed in a smart watch 1 worn by a user and is capable of executing programs.
In the example illustrated in
The RAM 11 and the storage 12 are connected to the CPU 10. The RAM 11 is used as a working memory by the CPU 10. The RAM 11 includes a volatile memory such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). The storage 12 is configured by a storage device having a storage medium using a non-volatile memory capable of writing and reading at any time. The non-volatile memory is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage 12 stores various programs including processing programs by the CPU 10, and various data in processing by the CPU 10.
Each program stored in the storage 12 includes a computer-executable instruction. The programs (computer-executable instructions), when executed by the CPU 10, cause the CPU 10 to perform a predetermined process. For example, the programs to implement functions of parts in the smart watch 1, when executed by the CPU 10, cause the CPU 10 to perform a series of processes described about each unit in the smart watch 1.
The battery 13 generates power to drive each unit in the smart watch 1. The display 14 may be achieved by, for example, a liquid crystal display (LED) or an electronic display.
The triaxial acceleration sensor 15 detects accelerations in X-axis direction (horizontal direction), Y-axis direction (horizontal direction and a direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction), and Z-axis direction (vertical direction) shown in
The functions of the sensor value output unit 100, the proximity determination unit 101, the immediately-preceding-direction determination unit 102, and the warning generation unit 103 are achieved by, for example, the CPU reading and executing the programs stored in the storage 12. Some or all of these functions may be achieved by a circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The count value recording unit 101b and the immediately-preceding-direction recording unit 102b can be achieved, for example, by the RAM11 or the storage 12 described above.
In
That is, the triaxial acceleration sensor 15 can detect a motion of the user's forearm or wrist while the smart watch is worn in the vicinity of the user's wrist. The position at which the smart watch 1 is worn is not limited to the vicinity of the wrist as long as the acceleration representing the motion of the forearm or the like is detected correctly by the triaxial acceleration sensor 15.
The triaxial acceleration sensor 15 can acquire the sensor values of the acceleration in each axial direction at a sampling period of 10 Hz. However, when a program of the cold prevention supporting device 20 is activated for every sampling period, the power consumption of the battery 13 of the smart watch 1 has a great impact on normal use of the smart watch 1.
Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, the sensor values acquired at the sampling period are temporarily stored in the RAM 11 or a buffer (not illustrated), and the program of the cold prevention supporting device 20 is called only at one sampling per 10 samplings, that is, every one second. This may reduce the power consumption of the battery 13 of the smart watch 1.
This program is a program that is driven by a so-called event and is activated only when the program is called. When the program is called, the sensor value output unit 100 collectively receives the sensor values in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction detected at 10 samplings from the RAM 11, and stores the sensor values, for example, in storage 12.
Here, when, for example, a sensor value equal to or greater than “650” in the X-axis direction is continuously detected, it is considered that the user leaves the forearm and the like substantially downward.
The example shown in
In the example shown in
Thus, for example, when sensor values of equal to or less than “−900” in the Z-axis direction are continuously detected, the cold prevention supporting device achieved by the smart watch 1 can determine that the user is at a desk with their forearm and hand turned in the pronation direction. Accordingly, the cold prevention supporting device can determine that the user is at the desk for a purpose other than a meal.
The example shown in
In the example shown in
The example shown in
In the example shown in
Note that the sensor values in the Z-axis direction are values of about “−400” in
Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, for example, when the sensor values in the X-axis direction are continuously detected within a range of “−850” to “−650”, the cold prevention supporting device in the smart watch 1 can determine that the user has brought his/her hand close to his/her face.
When the sensor values detected by 10 samplings, in the XYZ-axis directions, detected by the triaxial acceleration sensor 15 are accumulated in the RAM 11, for example, the sensor value output unit 100 outputs the sensor values to the proximity determination unit 101 and the immediately-preceding-direction determination unit 102 (S100).
By outputting the sensor values detected by a plurality of samplings collectively to the proximity determination unit 101 in this way, a frequency of determination by the proximity determination unit 101 can be reduced. Accordingly, the power consumption of the battery 13 of the smart watch 1 can be reduced. It is assumed that the output sensor values in the axis directions are output in chronological order, here as 10 arrays.
Next, the proximity determination unit 101 determines whether the user's hand is in proximity to the user's face (see
Here, when of the output 10 sensor values in the X-axis direction, the number of sensor values corresponding to continuous time for a predetermined period of time is within a specified range, the proximity determination unit 101 determines that the user's hand is in proximity to the user's face. Here, the predetermined period of time is set to 0.7 seconds, the number corresponding to the continuous time is seven, and the specified range is set to a range of, for example, “−850” or greater and “−650” or less.
As described above, the sensor values in the X-axis direction are output from the sensor value output unit 100 every 1 second as 10 arrays. Thus, a group of sensor values within the above specified range that are continuous for the above predetermined period of time (0.7 seconds) may span the previously output group of sensor values (here, a sensor value group of 10 sensor values) and the next output group of sensor values (here, a sensor value group of 10 sensor values) arranged in chronological order.
Here, it is assumed that the chronologically continuous 10 sensor values in the X-axis direction output at a single time do not satisfy a condition that continuous sensor values over the predetermined period of time (0.7 seconds), or here, seven or more chronologically continuous sensor values are within the specified range (range of “−850” to “−650”).
In a case where the condition is not satisfied, when the end of the above 10 sensor values or the chronologically continuous sensor values including the end of the sensor values are within the specified range, the proximity determination unit 101 counts the number of the sensor values, for example, three, and this counted number will be held in the count value recording unit 101b.
Then, upon receiving a new chronologically continuous plurality of sensor values output from the sensor value output unit 100, the proximity determination unit 101 can count the beginning of these sensor values or the number of chronologically continuous sensor values within the specified range including the beginning of the sensor values together with the number of sensor values that have been held.
For example, it is assumed that the number of chronologically continuous sensor values in the X-axis direction within the specified range which acquired at the previous sampling period and held in the count value recording unit 101b is three as described above.
It is also assumed that the beginning of the new 10 chronologically continuous sensor values obtained at the next sampling period or the chronologically continuous sensor values in the X-axis direction including the beginning of the sensor values are within the specified range.
At this time, when the sum of the number of sensor values within the specified range (four, for example) acquired in the next sampling period and the number of sensor values held in the count value recording unit 101b is 7 or greater, the proximity determination unit 101 can determine that the following condition is satisfied. The condition is that the continuous sensor values in the X-axis direction for the predetermined period of time (0.7 seconds) are within the specified range (“−850” or greater and “−650” or less).
In a case where it is determined that the user has not brought his/her hand close to his/her face (NO in S101), the proximity determination unit 101 sends the result of this determination to the immediately-preceding-direction determination unit 102. In response to this result, the immediately-preceding-direction determination unit 102 determines a “state immediately before raising the arm” of the user (S102).
This determination result is utilized by the proximity determination unit 101 to determine whether the user has brought his/her hand close to the vicinity of his/her face based on the new sensor values obtained at the next sampling period. The above “state immediately before raising the arm” means the latest state of the direction of the motion of the forearm or the like before the user brings his/her hand close to the vicinity of his/her face.
Here, the immediately-preceding-direction determination unit 102 first determines whether the user's forearm or the like is facing downward, that is, whether the direction of the user's forearm or the like is vertically downward (hereinafter, also referred to as downward), based on whether the chronologically continuous sensor values in the X-axis direction are equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 650 or greater) for a predetermined period of time (see
When it is determined that the user's forearm or the like faces downward, the immediately-preceding-direction determination unit 102 records data indicating that the “state immediately before raising the arm” is “downward” in the immediately-preceding-direction recording unit 102b.
Also, when it is not determined that the user's forearm or the like is facing downward, the user's forearm or the like should be directed in a direction above the vertically downward position.
Thus, the immediately-preceding-direction determination unit 102 determines whether the user's forearm or the like is facing in the pronation direction based on whether the sensor values in the Z-axis direction for a predetermined period of time satisfy a condition (for example, −900 or less) (see
When it is determined that the user's forearm or the like is facing in the pronation direction, the immediately-preceding-direction determination unit 102 records data indicating that the “state immediately before raising the arm” is the “pronation direction” in the immediately-preceding-direction recording unit 102b.
When it is not determined that the user's forearm or the like is facing in the pronation direction or downward, the immediately-preceding-direction determination unit 102 determines that the user's forearm or the like is facing in another direction, and records data indicating that the “state immediately before raising the arm” is “other” in the immediately-preceding-direction recording unit 102b.
After recording in the immediately-preceding-direction recording unit 102b, the processing returns to S100, and S101 is processed based on the new sensor values detected at the next sampling period.
Further, the processing when the proximity determination unit 101 determines that the user has brought his/her hand close to the vicinity of his/her face (YES in S101) and the data is stored in the immediately-preceding-direction recording unit 102b (YES in S103) will be described.
In this case, when the direction of the user's forearm or the like immediately before this determination recorded in the immediately-preceding-direction recording unit 102b is the “pronation direction” or “downward” (YES in S104), the proximity determination unit 101 determines that the user has brought his/her hand close to the vicinity of his/her face to touch the mucosa or the like of his/her eye, nose, or the like, and sends the result of this determination to the warning generation unit 103.
Note that, when the data is not recorded in the immediately-preceding-direction recording unit 102b (NO in S103) after “YES” is determined in S101, the processing proceeds to S102.
In response to the result of the determination that the user has brought his/her hand close to the vicinity of his/her face, the warning generation unit 103 activates the vibrator 16 to generate a vibration in order to suppress the proximity of his/her hand to his/her face (S105).
Alternatively, instead of activating the vibrator 16, the warning generation unit 103 may cause the display 14 to flash or otherwise signal sound output or the like by a speaker (not illustrated). Further, the warning generation unit 103 may cause the display 14 to display a message to indicate to the user that the user should not touch the mucosa or the like of his/her eyes, nose, or the like on the display 14, or output audio from the speaker to indicate to the user that the user should not touch the mucosa or the like of his/her eyes, nose, or the like.
Further, the warning generation unit 103 may generate a warning by a visual means other than the display 14 or by an auditory means other than the speaker.
As described above, the warning generation unit 103 may warn the user to suppress his/her proximity of his/her hand to his/her face.
Here, in a case where the user has a visual or hearing disability, for example, when a warning is generated to the user by a vibration, the warning can be reliably notified to the user to prevent a motion of the user's hand from causing infectious diseases.
Further, in a case where the user has a hearing disability, for example, when a warning is generated to the user by a visual means, the warning can be reliably notified to the user to prevent a motion of the user's hand from causing infectious diseases.
In a case where the user is in a dark location or the user has a visual disability, when a warning to the user is generated by an auditory means, a warning can be properly notified to the user to prevent the motion of the user's hand from causing infectious diseases.
Subsequently, the proximity determination unit 101 records the data indicating that the “state immediately before raising the arm” is “other” in the immediately-preceding-direction recording unit 102b (S106).
This data is referenced in the next determination in S101 by the proximity determination unit 101. After S106, the processing returns to S100. In S104, the processing is similar when it is determined that the direction of the user's forearm or hand is not the “pronation direction” or “downward” (NO in S104).
As explained above, in one embodiment of the present invention, when the user brings his/her hand close to his/her face, and the direction of the forearm or hand immediately before is in the pronation direction or downward, the infectious disease prevention supporting device determines that the user's hand has brought his/her hand to his/her face to touch the mucosa or the like of his/her eyes, nose, or the like, and generates a warning. Thus, the user can be properly warned for the prevention of a cold.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention in an implementing stage. Furthermore, the embodiments may be implemented in combination appropriately as long as it is possible, and in this case, combined effects can be obtained. Further, the above embodiments include inventions on various stages, and various inventions may be extracted by appropriate combinations of the disclosed multiple configuration requirements.
Further, a scheme described in each embodiment can be stored in a recording medium such as a magnetic disk (a Floppy (trade name) disk, a hard disk, or the like), an optical disc (a CD-ROM, a DVD, an MO, or the like), a semiconductor memory (a ROM, a RAM, a Flash memory, or the like) or transferred by a communication medium for distribution, as a program (a software unit) that can be executed by a computing machine (a computer). Note that the program stored on the medium side includes a setting program for configuring, in a computing device, a software means (including not only an execution program but also a table and a data structure) to be executed by the computing device. The computing device which achieves this device reads the program recorded in the recording medium, optionally builds the software means by the setting program, and executes the above-described processing by controlling the operation with the software means. Note that the recording medium referred to herein is not limited to a recording medium for distribution, but includes a storage medium such as a magnetic disk or a semiconductor memory provided in a computing machine or a device connected via a network.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-124713 | Jun 2018 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2019/025194 | 6/25/2019 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2020/004399 | 1/2/2020 | WO | A |
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