DIALYSIS TREATMENT INSTRUMENT MONITORING SYSTEM AND DIALYSIS TREATMENT INSTRUMENT MONITORING METHOD

• US 20130270160A1
• Filed: 04/16/2013
• Published: 10/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ITI Limited (Government of India)
• Original Assignee: ITOH & Company Limited
• Inventors: ENJOUJI, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 9,509,963 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 210/96.2
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/14 Dialysis systems; Artificial kidneys; Blood oxygenators semi-permeable membranes characterised by the material, manufacturing processes therefor B01D71/00; Reciprocating systems for treatment of body fluids, e.g. single needle systems for hemofiltration or pheresis
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/1656 Apparatus for preparing dialysates
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/1666 by dissolving solids
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/1668 Details of containers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3584 using modem, internet or bluetooth
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/40 relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

Provided is a dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system capable of communicating with an extrahospital terminal via the Internet without affecting an intrahospital network. In the hospital equipped with a dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system monitoring dialysis treatment instruments including a dialysate feeding device, a bulk powder dissolving device, and a RO device, while a staff is absent in the hospital, the dialysate feeding device and the bulk powder dissolving device perform a dialysis preparation processing of cleaning and sterilizing inside the devices, and stop if an error occurs during execution of the dialysis preparation processing. If an error occurs in any of the dialysis treatment instruments, a network camera takes an image of a display of the dialysis treatment instrument in which the error occurred, and transmits image data to the terminal on the Internet via a mobile router dedicated to the dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system.

Claims

1. A dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system monitoring each of a plurality of dialysis treatment instruments operable to perform a dialysis treatment on a patient in a facility during a time period when an operator of the dialysis treatment instruments is absent in the facility, the dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system comprising:

an imaging device taking an image of an indicator indicative of information on an operating condition of the dialysis treatment instruments;

a control unit controlling the imaging device to selectively take an image of the indicator of any dialysis treatment instrument among the indicators mounted on each dialysis treatment instrument;

a data transmission unit acquiring image data indicative of an image of the indicator taken by the imaging device and transmitting the image data; and

a relay instrument establishing a connection with an external communication network when the data transmission unit transmits the image data to a terminal outside the facility connected to the external communication network, wherein

the plurality of dialysis treatment instruments monitored by the dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system include;

a refining device refining raw water with a reverse osmosis membrane,

a dissolving device dissolving bulk powder of dialysate, and

a dialysate feeding device mixing refined water obtained by the refining device refining the raw water with undiluted dialysate obtained by the dissolving device dissolving the bulk powder and thereby delivering the dialysate,

during the time period, among the dialysis treatment instruments, the dissolving device and the dialysate feeding device perform a dialysis preparation processing of cleaning and sterilizing inside the devices and stop the dialysis preparation processing when the operating condition is turned into an abnormal condition during execution of the dialysis preparation processing,

during the time period, if the operating condition of any one of the refining device, the dissolving device, and the dialysate feeding device turns into an abnormal condition, the control unit controls the imaging device after identifying the dialysis treatment instrument of which operating condition is turned into an abnormal condition, the imaging device selectively images the indicator of the dialysis treatment instrument identified by the control unit, and the data transmission unit transmits the image data indicative of the image of the indicator taken by the imaging device to the terminal via the relay instrument, and

the relay instrument is provided as a device dedicated to the dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system in the facility and connected to the external communication network via a wireless communication line.

2. The dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the dissolving device does not start dissolving the bulk powder in a state where the dialysis preparation processing is not completed, and the dialysate feeding device does not start delivering the dialysate in a state where the dialysis preparation processing is not completed.

3. The dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein

the relay instrument is a mobile router connected to the Internet as the external communication network via a mobile communication line, and

the data transmission unit transmits an e-mail to which the image data is attached to a registered terminal that is the terminal corresponding to a registered e-mail address via the mobile router.

4. The dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system according to claim 3, including:

a camera body as the imaging device and a network camera equipped with a camera control unit as the control unit controlling the camera body, wherein

the terminal is capable of communicating with the network camera via the mobile router, and

a global IP address assigned to the mobile router to identify the mobile router is a static global IP address.

5. The dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein

the data transmission unit and the mobile router operate by receiving electric power from an uninterruptible power source provided in the facility, and

in the case where the dialysis treatment instrument operates by receiving electric power from a commercial power source, if power supply from the commercial power source to the dialysis treatment instrument is interrupted, the data transmission unit transmits an alarming e-mail alarming interruption of the power supply to the registered terminal via the mobile router.

6. The dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system according to claim 5, further including:

an I/O module having an input port for an abnormal signal output from the dialysis treatment instrument of which operating condition is turned into an abnormal condition and an output port for a control signal output to image the indicator of the dialysis treatment instrument that outputs an abnormal signal, wherein

the I/O module includes at least an equal to or greater number of input ports than that of the dialysis treatment instruments and at least an equal to or greater number of output ports than that of the imaging device.

7. The dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein

the refining device outputs an abnormal signal at least when a water leak occurs in the refining device, when a storage volume in a water storage tank that reserves the raw water is less than or equal to a management value, and when a water pump pumping the raw water is in failure,

the dissolving device outputs an abnormal signal at least when a leak of the undiluted dialysate occurs to the dissolving device and when an internal temperature of a dissolution bath in which the bulk powder is dissolved is greater than or equal to a management value, and

the dialysate feeding device outputs an abnormal signal at least when a feeding pressure for feeding the dialysate is less than or equal to a management value, when a solute concentration of the dialysate is out of a management range, and when the solute concentration of the undiluted dialysate in an undiluted solution tank that reserves the undiluted dialysate is out of a management range.

8. A dialysis treatment instrument monitoring method using a dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system monitoring each of a plurality of dialysis treatment instruments operable to perform a dialysis treatment on a patient in a facility during a time period when an operator of the dialysis treatment instruments is absent in the facility, the method comprising:

taking, at an imaging device, an image of an indicator indicative of information on an operating condition of the dialysis treatment instruments;

controlling, at a control unit, the imaging device to selectively take an image of the indicator of any dialysis treatment instrument among the indicators mounted on each dialysis treatment instrument; and

acquiring, at a data transmission unit, image data indicative of an image taken by the imaging device and transmits the acquired image data, wherein

the plurality of dialysis treatment instruments monitored by the dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system include a refining device refining raw water with a reverse osmosis membrane, a dissolving device dissolving bulk powder of dialysate, and a dialysate feeding device mixing refined water obtained by the refining device refining the raw water with undiluted dialysate obtained by the dissolving device dissolving the bulk powder and thereby delivering the dialysate,

during the time period, among the dialysis treatment instruments, the dissolving device and the dialysate feeding device perform a dialysis preparation processing of cleaning and sterilizing inside the devices and stop the dialysis preparation processing when the operating condition is turned into an abnormal condition during execution of the dialysis preparation processing,

during the time period, if the operating condition of any one of the refining device, the dissolving device, and the dialysate feeding device is turned into an abnormal condition, the control unit controls the imaging device, the imaging device takes an image of the indicator, and the data transmission unit transmits the image data,

when controlling the imaging device, the control unit controls the imaging device after identifying the dialysis treatment instrument of which operating condition is turned into an abnormal condition,

when taking an image of the indicator, the imaging device selectively takes an image of the indicator of the dialysis treatment instrument identified by the control unit, and

when transmitting the image data, in a state in which a relay instrument provided as a device dedicated to the dialysis treatment instrument monitoring system in the facility is connected to an external communication network via a wireless communication line, the data transmission unit transmits the image data indicative of the image of the indicator taken by the imaging device to a terminal outside the facility connected to the external communication network via the relay instrument.