JP2011062471A - Portable medical equipment and data transmission system using the portable medical equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide portable medical equipment and a data transmission system for the same which can credibly incorporate and use history data by informing a user that the equipment being used is within a communicable range with a management computer displaying blood sugar measurement data or storing the blood sugar measurement data in a database and by credibly transmitting measurement history data to the management computer. <P>SOLUTION: The portable medical equipment 10 is small and light enough to be carried around. The portable medical equipment is managed by the management computer 40 and includes a communication section 51 that communicates by radio with a communication section 41 of the management computer. The portable medical equipment houses a sound notification section 32. When the management computer and the portable medical equipment are within a radio communicable range, the notification section 32 makes a sound. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable medical device mainly used for treatment and examination of a patient in a medical facility and a data transmission system using the portable medical device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various portable medical devices that measure biological data such as a patient's body temperature, blood pressure, and blood glucose level have been used in hospitals and homes.
For example, in a diabetic patient, the patient himself / herself measures the blood glucose level several times a day and manages himself / herself, and regularly visits a hospital or the like to receive appropriate treatment. As described above, an apparatus that is easy to carry and can accurately measure a blood glucose level for a diabetic patient to perform self blood glucose measurement has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-318928

  In this blood glucose level measuring instrument, the specimen component is infiltrated into a test paper carrying a coloring reagent, the color is measured by irradiation with pulsed light, and the component is accurately detected from the difference in intensity of the reflected light. Therefore, it is suitable for carrying. The blood glucose level measuring device stores blood glucose measurement data measured in the past, and the history data is used to graph the transition of the blood glucose level so that the doctor can use it for guidance to the patient.

  In order to use blood glucose measurement data, it is necessary to capture the data into a general-purpose terminal (PC = personal computer). Conventionally, this work has been performed using a serial cable or a USB cable. However, in order to save labor, an attempt has been made to transmit measurement data to a general-purpose terminal using proximity wireless communication such as contactless IC card communication.

  However, for example, when communicating with a blood glucose level measuring device equipped with a proximity wireless communication device close to a reader / writer provided in a general-purpose terminal, it is assumed that the communication range is accidentally or unexpectedly removed during communication. In this case, the data transmission to the general-purpose terminal is interrupted, and the operator may misunderstand that the data transmission is completed without completing the data transmission.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and informs the user that the device in use is within a communication range with a management computer that displays or stores blood glucose measurement data as a database. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable medical device and its data transmission system that can reliably capture and use history data by reliably transmitting measurement history data to a management computer.

In the present invention, the above-described problem is a handheld portable medical device, and a communication unit capable of wireless communication with a communication unit of a management computer that manages inspection / measurement data of the portable medical device; This is achieved by a portable medical device that includes a sound notification unit and that causes the notification unit to ring in a state where the management computer and the portable medical device are in a range where wireless communication is possible.
According to the above configuration, in the state where the management computer and the portable medical device are in a range where wireless communication is possible, a buzzer or the like is ringing. During that time, data measured by the portable medical device is used. Can be reliably transmitted to the management computer. For this reason, when a portable medical device is misaligned from a communication unit such as a reader / writer of the management computer, the user immediately notices that, so the user can reliably send data to the management computer. be able to.

According to the present invention, there is provided a data transmission system comprising a hand-held portable medical device and a management computer for managing data by inputting inspection / measurement data of the portable medical device. The portable medical device and the management computer each include a communication unit capable of wireless communication with each other, and the portable medical device includes a sound notification unit, and the management computer This is achieved by a data transmission system for a portable medical device that is configured to ring the notification unit in a state where the portable medical device and the portable medical device are within the wireless communication range.
According to the above configuration, for example, when a patient who is a user visits a clinic with measurement data stored in the portable medical device, the portable medical device is connected to the management computer of the clinic at the time of medical examination, By performing wireless communication with a portable medical device that is brought, stored measurement data can be sent to a management computer.
In this case, in the state where the management computer and the portable medical device are in the range where the wireless communication is possible, a buzzer or the like is ringing, and during that time, the data measured by the portable medical device is surely Can be sent to the management computer. For this reason, a user such as a medical worker immediately notices when the portable medical device is misaligned from a communication unit such as a reader / writer of the management computer. Data can be sent reliably to.

Preferably, the wireless communication by each of the communication units is close proximity wireless communication.
According to the above configuration, data can be transmitted simply by bringing the portable medical device close to the management computer.

Preferably, the management computer contacts the portable medical device when all the measurement data is received, and the portable medical device terminates ringing of the notification unit in response to the notification. It is characterized by.
According to the above configuration, in the portable medical device, when the data transmission is completed, the communication unit can be disconnected, and unnecessary battery consumption can be effectively prevented.

  The present invention informs the user that the device in use is within a communication range with a management computer that displays or stores blood glucose measurement data as a database, and reliably transmits the measurement history data to the management computer. By doing so, it is possible to provide a portable medical device and its data transmission system that can reliably capture and use history data.

The image block diagram of the data transmission system concerning embodiment of this invention is shown. The block block diagram of the portable blood glucose level measuring device as a portable medical device used for the data transmission system of FIG. 1 is shown. FIG. 2 shows a block configuration diagram of the data transmission system of FIG. 1. 3 is a time chart showing an example of data transmission in the data transmission system of FIG. 1. The flowchart explaining the operation example of the portable medical device used with the data transmission system of FIG.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The embodiments described below are preferable specific examples of the present invention, and thus various technically preferable limitations are given. However, the scope of the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise stated, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

FIG. 1 is an image configuration diagram of a data transmission system of a portable medical device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, the data transmission system is, for example, a portable blood glucose level measuring device 10 as a portable medical device that is light and small enough to be carried, and test / measurement data of the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10 are input. And a management computer 40 for managing data, and the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10 incorporates a communication unit to be described later.
The management computer 40 is a general-purpose information processing terminal placed at a clinic or the like, for example, and is a personal computer used at the clinic, for example. The management computer 40 is provided with, for example, a reader / writer as the communication unit 41 for proximity communication. When the portable blood glucose measuring device 10 is brought close to the management computer 40 as shown in the drawing, the management computer 40 holds the portable blood glucose measuring device 10. Measurement data can be received by proximity wireless communication.

The portable blood glucose level measuring device 10 of FIG. 1 has a main body 11 that is slightly long in one direction, and a liquid crystal screen, which is a display unit 29 described later, is disposed near the center of the upper surface thereof. Adjacent to the display unit 29, operation buttons constituting the operation unit 20 described later are arranged.
An optical measurement unit 14 is provided at the tip of the portable blood glucose meter 10. A measuring chip (not shown) is attached to and detached from the optical measuring unit 14 by operating the eject lever 13. The measurement chip contains a test paper made of a porous film such as polyethersulfone.

Here, for example, the fingertip of the measurement subject is stabbed with a puncture tool (not shown) so that blood is oozed out and absorbed by the measurement chip described above. This blood develops color by reacting with the reagent carried on the test paper. A light emitting element (described later) built in the optical measuring unit 14 is pulse-driven in advance, the reflected light from the test paper is guided to the built-in light receiving element, the analog light reception signal is converted into a digital signal, and a signal after a predetermined time is converted. The blood glucose level is converted and displayed on the display unit 29.
A bar code reader 18 is provided at the other end of the main body 11.

  A plurality of operation buttons of the operation unit 20 are formed, and includes a power button 17a, an up scroll button 16a, a confirmation button 16b, a down scroll button 16c, a next screen button 15b, and a screen return button 15a.

The internal configuration of the portable blood glucose level measuring device will be further described with reference to FIG.
The following electrical configurations are formed by being connected to the bus line B1.
A CPU (Central Processing Unit) serving as a control unit connected to the bus line B1 is provided, and in addition to processing a predetermined program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 123, a ROM (Read) connected to the bus line B1. It is possible to control a storage device such as (Only Memory) 22, EPROM 124, or hard disk. The ROM 22 stores various programs and various information. The RAM has a function as an area for expanding a program to be used in the memory, comparing the contents of the memory being processed, and executing the program. The EPROM 124 is an erasable / writable ROM (nonvolatile storage), and stores a user table, a chip lot table, a prescription information table, a measurement prescription table, a measurement prescription result table, and the like. The EPROM 124 can of course use other storage means such as a flash memory. These data can be updated by communicating with the management computer 40 as described in FIG.

  In the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10, for the data input from the measurement chip (not shown) as described above, the thermistor 36 for obtaining the temperature data and the optical measurement unit 14, for example, the light emitting diode 34 and its Acquisition is performed using the drive circuit 33, the digital-analog converter 31 connected to the drive circuit, the light-receiving element 35 as a light-receiving unit, and the analog-digital converter 132 connected to the light-receiving element. It has become.

Further, the bus line B1 is connected with a bar code reader 18, a real-time clock 127, a display unit 29 such as a liquid crystal display device, and a sound notification unit, for example, a buzzer 32, a power source 17, and a management unit. A communication unit (external communication unit) 51 with the computer 40 is connected.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the entire data transmission system.
In FIG. 3, the data transmission system 50 includes a portable medical device 10 that is the above-described portable blood glucose level measuring device, and a management computer 40 that receives transmission of treatment / examination data from the portable medical device 10. Yes.
Here, the management computer 40 is configured by a personal computer or the like disposed in a clinic or clinic as described above.
The management computer 40 includes a control unit 44 that is a computer main body centered on a CPU, and includes ROM and RAM 47, a data storage device 46 such as a hard disk, input means such as a keyboard and input pad (not shown), and output means. A display unit 49 made of a liquid crystal screen, a driving power supply 48 made of a secondary battery, and the like.
The storage unit 46 stores a dedicated program for collecting and processing measurement data based on the results of examination / measurement sent from the portable medical device 10 described later.
Furthermore, the communication part 41 connected to the control part 44 via the external communication part 43 which consists of a communication circuit is provided.

The communication unit 41 uses short-range wireless communication, preferably magnetic coupling communication using ISO15693 or FeliCa (registered trademark), or IrDA (Infrared Data Association) (communication distance 0.3 to 1 m) of infrared communication. Things are suitable. This is because power consumption is low, and communication can be easily performed when entering a communicable range by being close to a target portable medical device. In this embodiment, a case using magnetic coupling communication will be described.
The communication unit 41 is a so-called reader / writer, and performs short-distance communication using a magnetic field with a built-in non-contact IC tag that is a communication unit on the portable medical device 10 side, and can read and write information. it can.

For example, the communication unit 41 is configured to send a loop antenna 71, a demodulation unit 72 that demodulates a signal received by the loop antenna 71, and the demodulated data to the control unit 44 via the interface 43.
Further, the communication unit 41 gives the carrier wave generated by the oscillator 74 to the modulation unit 73, and the modulation unit 73 radiates the modulated signal from the loop antenna 71. The loop antenna 73 radiates a predetermined electromagnetic wave, and detects that the communication unit 51 (portable medical device 10) formed of a non-contact IC tag has entered a communicable range based on a change in load with respect to the predetermined electromagnetic wave. ing. The center frequency of the frequency band used for data transfer to the first communication unit 41 of the management computer 40 is 13.56 MHz, and the communication distance is about 10 cm in radius.

With reference to FIG. 3, the functional block configuration centering on the communication unit of the portable medical device 10 will be described.
It is understood that the present invention can be applied not only to the portable blood glucose level measuring device described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 but also to portable medical devices such as a sphygmomanometer and a thermometer by providing the illustrated configuration. The The portable medical device 10 includes a control unit 24 that is a computer centered on the CPU 21 described in FIG.
In the control unit 24, as a part of the control unit or a part of a mechanism unit or a storage device driven by an instruction of the control unit 24, medical treatment is performed in the treatment or examination using the portable medical device 10 A prescription recording unit 25 that holds prescription data given by a person, etc., a treatment / inspection execution unit 27 for realizing a treatment or examination function uniquely provided for each type of portable medical device, and individual portable medical care An ID 28 for identifying the device, a treatment / inspection recording unit 26 as a part of a storage unit for temporarily storing and holding measurement results, a display unit 29 such as a display panel, and a secondary for supplying drive power A power supply unit 17 made of a battery or the like, and a buzzer 32 as an example of a sound notification unit are provided.
The buzzer 32 may be used as an alarm for notifying an error of the device, but in the present embodiment, rather, when the portable medical device 10 exists in the communication range of measurement data with the management computer 40. It is ringed by an instruction from the control unit 24 to notify the user of this fact.

Further, the control unit 24 includes an external connection unit 23 having a communication circuit for exchanging data with the outside, and a communication unit 51 such as a built-in IC tag is connected to the external connection unit 23.
The communication unit 51 is for exchanging the signal S1 with the above-described communication unit 41 of the management computer 40. Preferably, the communication unit 51 is a close proximity using magnetic coupling communication using ISO15693 or FeliCa (registered trademark). In the distance communication (NFC) and the infrared communication using IrDA or the like, the communication system of the same communication method as the communication unit 41 of the management computer 40 is naturally selected.

Specifically, the communication unit 51 includes, for example, an interface unit 83 connected to the external connection unit 23, and a loop antenna 81 connected to the interface unit 83. The interface unit 21 and the loop antenna 81 A capacitor 82 is provided between them. An LC circuit (resonance circuit) is formed by the loop antenna 81 and the capacitor 80, and a signal having a specific frequency is generated and extracted.
In the interface unit 21, a demodulation unit that demodulates a signal received via the loop antenna 81, a voltage regulator that stabilizes the demodulated signal, and the demodulated signal are transmitted to the external connection unit 23. The direct current by the voltage regulator is given to each part. The interface unit 21 incorporates an oscillator and a modulation unit that transmits a signal modulated to the loop antenna 81 using a carrier wave generated by the oscillator.

Thus, when the portable medical device 10 is brought close to the management computer 40 and the electromagnetic wave radiated by the communication unit 41 of the management computer 40 is received by the communication unit 51 of the portable medical device 10, the portable medical device 10 Identification information based on the ID 28 is sent from the device 10 to the communication unit 41 of the management computer 40.
As described above, the communication unit 51 of the portable medical device 10 is activated when it approaches the communication unit 41 that is the reader / writer of the management computer 40 and detects a 13.56 megahertz magnetic field radiated therefrom. Thereby, data transmission is performed as described later.

Next, an example of the operation of the data transmission system in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In a medical institution such as a clinic, the management computer 40 is activated at the time of medical treatment, and a data transmission system, which is a management system, is activated (ST1).
At the same time, the communication unit 41 (see FIG. 1) composed of a reader / writer or the like externally attached to the computer is set to enable communication (ST2).

  As described above, in the management computer 40, the communication unit 41 gives the carrier wave generated by the oscillator 74 described with reference to FIG. 3 to the modulation unit 73, and the modulation unit 73 radiates the modulated signal from the loop antenna 71. Then, a predetermined magnetic field is formed, and a signal from the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10 is waited (ST3). That is, a signal is generated by forming the magnetic field (T1), and there is no response when there is no adjacent device (T2).

Here, as a portable medical device, for example, a patient who has brought the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10 visits for examination, enters the examination room, and passes the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10 to a medical worker. Then, this is placed on the communication unit 41 such as a reader / writer of the management computer 40, or is held by hand to bring it close (see FIG. 1) (ST11).
In this state, since the signal T3 from the communication unit 41 of the management computer 40 is received through the loop antenna 81 of the communication unit 51 built in the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10, the communication unit 51 A response signal is issued (T4), and communication is started (ST11). That is, the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10 stores measurement data and the like measured by the patient at home or the like, and transmission for transmitting them to the management computer 40 is started (ST13). At this timing, the control unit 24 in FIG. 3 sounds the buzzer 32.
The buzzer sound is not particularly limited as long as it does not adversely affect the environment of the clinic and can be heard by medical personnel. Further, the buzzer sound may be a continuous sound, an intermittent sound, or any notification that performs auditory stimulation such as a musical melody sound.

While the buzzer is sounding, the portable blood glucose meter 10 and the management computer 40 perform data communication, and transmit the measurement history data stored in the portable blood glucose meter 10 to the management computer 40 (T6, T7). , ST4, ST14).
When the management computer 40 receives all the measurement history data stored in the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10, the end of the data communication is notified in order to end the data communication (T8). When the portable blood glucose level measuring device 10 receives the notification of the end of the data communication (T8), the data communication is ended (ST15), the communication end processing (the communication unit 51 is turned off), and the buzzer 32 sounds. The process ends (ST16). At the same time, the management computer 40 ends the communication (ST5).

  As described above, in the data transmission system of the present embodiment, since the buzzer sound is emitted during the transmission of the measurement history data from the portable blood sugar level measuring device 10, the portable blood sugar level measuring device 10 in FIG. If the position of the reader / writer 41 deviates from the communication range, it can be known immediately. Therefore, the reliability of data transmission can be confirmed with a buzzer sound.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example on the portable medical device 10 side.
In the figure, the portable medical device 10 is activated at the timing described in FIG. 4 (ST21) (see FIG. 2B), and a communication start process is performed (ST22). This is the same stage as ST12 in FIG.
“Data communication start”, “data communication”, and “data communication end” in ST23 are the same as those in ST4 in FIG. 4, or ST13, ST14, and ST15.
Until the end of such communication processing (ST24, ST25), that is, while the measurement history data of the portable medical device is being transmitted, the user is notified by the buzzer sounding. In the meantime, the portable medical device 10 transmits without disturbing other actions visually, that is, the actions necessary for the diagnosis of observing the patient or confirming the medical record. It is possible to work while confirming that it is in the possible range by hearing.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user is informed that the device in use is within a communication range with the management computer that displays blood glucose measurement data or stores the data as a database. By reliably transmitting the measurement history data to the management computer, it is possible to provide a portable medical device and its data transmission system that can reliably capture and use the history data.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.
In the above-described embodiment, the point where the invention can be applied to the blood glucose level measuring device has been described. As is clear from the above explanations, for example, if the portable medical device can incorporate a proximity communication means, for example, Any portable medical device such as a sphygmomanometer or a thermometer can be the subject of the present invention.
A part of the matters described in the above embodiments may be omitted, and the scope of the present invention is not deviated by combining with other configurations not described above.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Portable medical device, 32 ... Buzzer, 40 ... Management computer, 41 ... Communication part, 44 ... Control part, 51 ... Communication part

Claims (4)

A handheld portable medical device,
A communication unit capable of wireless communication with a communication unit of a management computer for managing inspection / measurement data of the portable medical device;
And a sound notification unit,
The portable medical device is characterized in that the notification unit is sounded in a state where the management computer and the portable medical device are in a range where wireless communication is possible. A handheld portable medical device,
A data transmission system comprising a management computer that performs data management by inputting inspection / measurement data of the portable medical device,
The portable medical device and the management computer each include a communication unit capable of wireless communication with each other,
The portable medical device has a built-in sound notification unit,
A data transmission system for a portable medical device, characterized in that the notification unit is sounded in a state where the management computer and the portable medical device are in a range where the wireless communication is possible.   The data transmission system according to claim 2, wherein the wireless communication by each of the communication units is proximity wireless communication.   The management computer is configured to notify the portable medical device when all measurement data is received, and the portable medical device terminates ringing of the notification unit in response to the notification. The data transmission system according to claim 2 or 3.

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