Monitor Subject Monitoring Device And Method, And Monitor Subject Monitoring System

• US 20160220114A1
• Filed: 04/28/2014
• Published: 08/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Inc.
• Inventors: NORITA, Toshio
• Granted Patent: US 9,801,544 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/002 Monitoring the patient using a local or closed circuit, e.g. in a room or building A61B5/0017 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0026 characterised by the transmission medium
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1128 using image analysis A61B5/1127 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/746 Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms alarms per se G08B
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0476 Cameras to detect unsafe condition, e.g. video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/04 using a single signalling line, e.g. in a closed loop
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

Disclosed are a monitor subject monitoring apparatus, a monitor subject monitoring method, and a monitor subject monitoring system configured to determine a first body state of a subject, based on an image data of the subject, and to determine a second body state of the subject, based on physiological data of the subject, wherein the subject monitoring apparatus, the subject monitoring method and the subject monitoring system are operable, when it is determined that one of the first and second body states of the subject is not abnormal, to re-perform a corresponding one of the determinations, and then determine whether or not a notification indicating that the subject is in an abnormal state should be issued, based on a result of the re-performed determination about the one of the first and second body states.

Claims

1. A subject monitoring apparatus comprising:

an image data input unit for inputting image data of a subject to be monitored;

a physiological data input unit for inputting physiological data of the subject;

a first body state determination unit operable, based on the image data of the subject input from the image data input unit, to determine a first body state of the subject;

a second body state determination unit operable, based on the physiological data of the subject input from the physiological data input unit, to determine a second body state of the subject; and

,

a notification control unit operable,

to issue a notification indicating that the subject is in an abnormal state, when the each of the first and second body states of the subject determined by respective ones of the first and second body state determination units is the abnormal state, and

to cause the one of the first and second body state determination units to re-perform the determination, and then determine whether or not the subject'"'"'s abnormal state-indicating notification should be issued, based on a result of the determination about the one of first and second body states of the subject by the one of the first and second body state determination units, when one of the first and second body states of the subject, determined by a corresponding one of the first and second body state determination units, is not an abnormal state.

2. The subject monitoring apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification control unit is operable, in response to ascertaining a situation where the body state of the subject determined by one of the first and second body state determination units is a given first abnormal state, and the body state of the subject determined by a remaining one of the first and second body state determination units is a second abnormal state corresponding to the first abnormal state, as the situation where each of the body states of the subject determined by respective ones of the first and second body state determination units is an abnormal state, to issue the subject'"'"'s abnormal state-indicating notification.

3. The subject monitoring apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the notification control unit is operable, in response to ascertaining a situation where the body state of the subject determined by one of the first and second body state determination units is the first abnormal state, and the body state of the subject determined by a remaining one of the first and second body state determination units is not the second abnormal state corresponding to the first abnormal state, as the situation where one of the first and second body states, determined by a corresponding one of the first and second body state determination units, is not an abnormal state, to cause the remaining one of the first and second body state determination units to re-perform the determination about the corresponding body state of the subject, for a given period of time or by a given number of times, and then determine whether or not the subject'"'"'s abnormal state-indicating notification should be issued, wherein the notification control unit is operable, when the corresponding body state of the subject is determined to be the second abnormal state, within the given period of time or the given number of times, to issue the subject'"'"'s abnormal state-indicating notification.

4. The subject monitoring apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the first body state determination unit is operable, based on the image data of the subject, to further detect a location of the subject, and wherein the notification control unit is operable, during the determination as to whether or not the subject'"'"'s abnormal state-indicating notification should be issued, to re-determine the second body state of the subject determined by the second body state determination unit, based on the location of the subject detected by the first body state determination unit.

5. The subject monitoring apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the physiological data is data representing a Doppler-shifted reflected wave of a microwave obtained by emitting the microwave to the subject.

6. The subject monitoring apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification control unit is operable to issue the subject'"'"'s abnormal state-indicating notification to a watcher via e-mail.

7. The subject monitoring apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the notification control unit is operable to send an image of the subject as the subject'"'"'s abnormal state-indicating notification, or further send an image of the subject together with the subject'"'"'s abnormal state-indicating notification.

9. A subject monitoring system comprising:

an image data generator configured to generate image data of a subject to be monitored;

a physiological data generator configured to generate physiological data of the subject; and

the subject monitoring apparatus as recited in claim 1,

wherein the subject monitoring apparatus is configured such that the image data of the subject generated by the image data generator is input into the image data input unit, and the physiological data of the subject generated by the physiological data generator is input into the physiological data input unit.

8. A subject monitoring method comprising:

an image data accepting step of accepting image data of a subject to be monitored;

a physiological data accepting step of accepting physiological data of the subject;

a first body state determination step of, based on the image data of the subject accepted in the image data accepting step, determining a first body state of the subject;

a second body state determination step of, based on the physiological data of the subject accepted in the physiological data accepting step, determining a second body state of the subject; and

a notification control step of,

issuing a notification indicating that the subject is in an abnormal state, when each of the first and second body states of the subject determined in respective one of the first and second body state determination steps is an abnormal state, and

re-performing the determination in the one of the first and second body state determination steps, and then determining whether or not the subject'"'"'s abnormal state-indicating notification should be issued, based on a result of the determination about the corresponding body state of the subject in the one of the first and second body state determination steps, when one of the first and second body states of the subject, determined in a corresponding one of the first and second body state determination steps, is not an abnormal state.