阅读说明：本技术 认知功能评估装置、认知功能评估系统及程序 (Cognitive function evaluation device, cognitive function evaluation system, and program ) 是由 中岛博文 阿部贤吾 西山高史 松村吉浩 角贞幸 笹部孝司 于 2018-11-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：认知功能评估装置(100)具备：取得部(110),其取得表示被评估者使用厕所的使用状况的使用信息；计算部(120),其基于取得部(110)所取得的使用信息,来计算被评估者使用厕所的使用次数；评估部(130),其基于计算部(120)所计算出的使用次数,来评估被评估者的认知功能；以及输出部(140),其输出评估部(130)所评估出的评估结果。(A cognitive function assessment device (100) is provided with: an acquisition unit (110) that acquires usage information indicating the usage status of the toilet by the person being evaluated; a calculation unit (120) that calculates the number of uses of the toilet by the person to be evaluated, based on the usage information acquired by the acquisition unit (110); an evaluation unit (130) that evaluates the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated on the basis of the number of uses calculated by the calculation unit (120); and an output unit (140) that outputs the evaluation result evaluated by the evaluation unit (130).)

1. A cognitive function assessment device is provided with:

an acquisition unit that acquires usage information indicating a usage situation of a toilet by an evaluators;

a calculation unit that calculates the number of uses of the toilet by the person to be evaluated based on the usage information acquired by the acquisition unit;

an evaluation unit that evaluates the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of uses calculated by the calculation unit; and

and an output unit that outputs the evaluation result evaluated by the evaluation unit.

2. The cognitive function assessment device according to claim 1,

the evaluation unit evaluates that: the cognitive function of the evaluated person whose number of uses is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value is lower than that of the evaluated person whose number of uses is higher than the threshold value.

3. The cognitive function assessment device according to claim 1 or 2,

the acquisition unit acquires, as the usage information, the amount of power consumed by the toilet, the amount of water used by the toilet, the amount of toilet paper used by the toilet, or the number of times of detection by the human body sensor of the toilet.

4. The cognitive function assessment device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

further comprises a storage unit for storing reference data indicating a relationship between the number of times a person uses the toilet and the cognitive function of the person,

the evaluation unit evaluates the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated by comparing the number of times the person to be evaluated uses the toilet calculated by the calculation unit with the reference data stored in the storage unit.

5. A cognitive function assessment system is provided with:

the cognitive function assessment device according to any one of claims 1 to 4; and

and a detection device that detects the usage information indicating a usage state of the toilet by the person to be evaluated, and outputs the usage information to the acquisition unit provided in the cognitive function evaluation device.

6. The cognitive function assessment system according to claim 5,

the detection device is an electricity meter for detecting the power consumption of the toilet, a water meter for detecting the water consumption of the toilet, a detection sensor for detecting the use amount of toilet paper in the toilet, or a human body sensor.

7. A program for causing a computer to execute a cognitive function assessment method comprising the steps of:

an acquisition step of acquiring use information indicating a use state of a toilet by an evaluated person;

a calculation step of calculating the number of times of use of the toilet by the person to be evaluated based on the use information acquired in the acquisition step;

an evaluation step of evaluating a cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of uses calculated in the calculation step; and

and an output step of outputting the evaluation result evaluated in the evaluation step.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cognitive function evaluation device, a cognitive function evaluation system, and a program.

Background

Conventionally, there is a device that evaluates cognitive functions of an evaluated person (see, for example, patent document 1).

Patent document 1 discloses a device including a database in which evaluation contents, case information, and the like of a plurality of evaluation items are stored in association with one another, and the device derives an evaluation item and derives a next evaluation item from an evaluation result input by an evaluator for the evaluation item. According to the device described in patent document 1, evaluation can be performed not in a predetermined content and order but in a content and order corresponding to the evaluation result of the person to be evaluated.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the evaluation of cognitive function, it is required to evaluate the cognitive function of a subject easily.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cognitive function assessment apparatus and the like that can easily assess cognitive functions of a person to be assessed.

Means for solving the problems

A cognitive function assessment device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an acquisition unit that acquires usage information indicating a usage situation of a toilet by an evaluators; a calculation unit that calculates the number of uses of the toilet by the person to be evaluated based on the usage information acquired by the acquisition unit; an evaluation unit that evaluates the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of uses calculated by the calculation unit; and an output unit that outputs the evaluation result evaluated by the evaluation unit.

In addition, a cognitive function assessment system according to an aspect of the present invention includes: the cognitive function assessment device described above; and a detection device that detects the usage information indicating a usage state of the toilet by the person to be evaluated, and outputs the usage information to the acquisition unit provided in the cognitive function evaluation device.

A program according to an aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute a cognitive function assessment method including the steps of: an acquisition step of acquiring use information indicating a use state of a toilet by an evaluated person; a calculation step of calculating the number of times of use of the toilet by the person to be evaluated based on the use information acquired in the acquisition step; an evaluation step of evaluating a cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of uses calculated in the calculation step; and an output step of outputting the evaluation result evaluated in the evaluation step.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the cognitive function assessment device and the like of the present invention, the cognitive function of the person to be assessed can be assessed easily.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a cognitive function assessment system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a characteristic functional configuration of a cognitive function assessment apparatus and a cognitive function assessment system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of evaluating the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated by the cognitive function evaluation device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a graph showing scores obtained when a person is tested by the amnesic consultation procedure.

Fig. 5A is a line graph showing the average value of the power consumption of the toilets per month in healthy subjects and MCI patients.

Fig. 5B is a line graph showing the average value of the power consumption of the toilets per month for healthy subjects and patients with dementia.

Fig. 6A is a graph showing the power consumption of the toilets of a healthy subject and an MCI subject on a daily basis in a box diagram.

Fig. 6B is a graph showing the total power consumption of the toilets per month by healthy and MCI patients in a box diagram.

Fig. 6C is a graph showing the power consumption of the toilet in one day per month in a healthy subject, an MCI subject, and a dementia subject in a box diagram.

Fig. 6D is a graph showing the total power consumption of the toilet per month in the absence or presence of the gasket in the form of a box diagram.

Fig. 7A is a graph showing the average value of the power consumption amount per day per month versus the score of the forgetfulness consultation procedure.

Fig. 7B is a graph showing the average of the total power consumption per month versus the fraction of the forgetful consultation procedure.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a cognitive function evaluation system according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, structural elements, arrangement positions and connection modes of the structural elements, steps, order of the steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are examples, and the gist thereof is not limited to the invention. Among the components of the following embodiments, components not recited in the independent claims indicating the highest concept will be described as arbitrary components.

The drawings are schematic and are not strictly shown. In the drawings, substantially the same structure is denoted by the same reference numeral, and a repetitive description may be omitted or simplified.

(embodiment mode)

[ Structure of cognitive function assessment device ]

The configuration of the cognitive function assessment system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a cognitive function assessment system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a characteristic functional configuration of the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 and the cognitive function assessment system 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The cognitive function assessment system 200 is a device for assessing the degree of cognitive function of an assessable person based on the number of times the evaluators use toilets as subjects for assessing cognitive functions. The cognitive function means the ability to recognize, memorize, or judge. In one specific example, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 assesses whether or not the person is mild dementia (MCI) or a person suspected to have dementia (MCI patient or dementia patient).

Dementia means a symptom in which the deterioration of cognitive function is found. One specific example of dementia includes Alzheimer's dementia. Since dementia does not have subjective symptoms, it is necessary to have a doctor make a doctor's visit to a hospital to examine a patient with dementia, by a family member of the patient with dementia, a third person, or the like. In addition, for example, whether or not the subject is dementia can be confirmed by subjecting the subject to a batch test for diagnosing dementia, such as a "forgetfulness consultation program" (manufactured by japan electric and portable corporation). MCI indicates a symptom of a degree that cognitive function is found to be deteriorated but not to hinder daily life, and dementia indicates a symptom of a degree that cognitive function is found to be deteriorated and to hinder daily life.

However, the following problems exist in such a batch test for diagnosing dementia: the precision of judgment of dementia is lowered because the subject repeatedly remembers the test items and the like. In addition, as described above, since dementia has no subjective symptom, the subject may not receive the examination from the doctor as long as the family or the third person of the patient with dementia is not prompted to go to the hospital for examination.

As a result of intensive discussion, the inventors of the present invention found that: the number of uses of the toilet by the subject has a correlation with the degree of cognitive function of the subject.

As shown in fig. 1, the cognitive function assessment device 100 is connected to a distribution board 550 in a toilet 500, for example.

The distribution board 550 supplies electric power from an external commercial power supply, not shown, to the electric devices in the toilet 500. For example, the distribution board 550 is electrically connected to a heater (not shown) for adjusting the temperature, water temperature, and the like of the toilet seat of the toilet 510, a toilet facility control button 520 having a button for controlling the heater by the user of the toilet 500, and the like. For example, the distribution board 550 is electrically connected to electrical devices in the toilet 500, such as a drain button 530 having a button for draining water in the toilet 510, and a human body sensor 540 for detecting whether or not a user is present in the toilet 500.

For example, the distribution board 550 includes an electricity meter 551 as an example of the detection device 300, and the electricity meter 551 measures the electric power used in the toilet 500. The electricity meter 551 outputs the measured amount of electricity consumption to the acquisition unit 110 included in the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 as usage information indicating the usage state of the toilet 500 by the person to be assessed. The usage information is, for example, information for causing the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 to determine whether or not the person to be assessed uses the toilet 500. For example, the power distribution board 550 acquires the number of times of detection by the motion sensor 540 as another example of the detection device 300 in the toilet 500, and outputs the acquired number of times of detection as the use information to the acquisition unit 110 included in the cognitive function assessment device 100.

As shown in fig. 2, the cognitive function assessment system 200 includes: a cognitive function evaluation device 100; a detection device 300 for detecting use information indicating a use state of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated; and a notification means 400.

The cognitive function evaluation device 100 is a computer that: the degree of cognitive function is evaluated by calculating the number of times the toilet 500 is used by the person to be evaluated during a predetermined period of time based on the use information indicating the use state of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated, which is detected by the detection device 300. The cognitive function evaluation device 100 outputs the evaluation result to the notification device 400 after evaluating the degree of cognitive function of the evaluated person. The notification device 400 notifies the evaluated person, the family of the evaluated person, and the doctor of the evaluated person, etc. of the evaluation result obtained from the cognitive function evaluation device 100 by voice, image, etc. The predetermined period may be set arbitrarily, and may be, for example, one day, one week, or one month.

The detection device 300 is a sensor that detects usage information indicating the usage status of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated and outputs the usage information to the acquisition unit 110 included in the cognitive function evaluation device 100. The detecting device 300 is, for example, an electricity meter 551 for detecting the amount of electricity consumed in the toilet 500, a water meter 511 for detecting the amount of water consumed in the toilet 500, a detecting sensor 552 for detecting the amount of used toilet paper in the toilet 500, or a human body sensor 540. The cognitive function evaluation system 200 may have at least one of the electricity meter 551, the water meter 511, the detection sensor 552 and the human body sensor 540 as the detection device 300.

The electricity meter 551 is a measuring instrument for measuring the electricity consumption of the electric appliances in the toilet 500.

The water meter 511 is a meter that measures the amount of water consumed in the toilet 500. For example, the water meter 511 is disposed in the tank of the toilet 510, and detects a change in the amount of water in the tank as usage information. The water meter 511 is not particularly limited as long as it can measure the amount of water used in the toilet 500, and is, for example, an ultrasonic flow meter.

The detection sensor 552 is a sensor for detecting the usage amount of toilet paper. The detection sensor 552 is not particularly limited as long as it can detect the usage amount of the toilet paper, and may be a weight sensor for detecting the weight of the toilet paper, for example.

The motion sensor 540 is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a person in the toilet 500. The motion sensor 540 is not particularly limited as long as it can detect the presence or absence of a human being, and is, for example, an infrared sensor.

In addition, the cognitive function evaluation system 200 may also include two or more of the electricity meter 551, the water meter 511, the detection sensor 552 and the human body sensor 540 as the detection device 300. By providing a plurality of devices as the detection device 300 capable of detecting the use information, the cognitive function assessment device 100 can improve the accuracy of the number of times the toilet 500 is used by the person to be assessed calculated by the calculation unit 120.

The notification device 400 notifies the result of evaluation output from the cognitive function evaluation device 100 to the person to be evaluated or the like by voice, image or the like. The notification device 400 is, for example, a monitor formed of a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL panel, a speaker, a television, a smart phone, an information terminal such as a tablet computer terminal, or the like.

The cognitive function evaluation device 100, the detection device 300, and the notification device 400 may be connected by wire or by wireless communication, as long as they can transmit and receive data indicating usage information, evaluation results, and the like.

The cognitive function evaluation device 100 is, for example, a personal computer, but may be a server device.

As shown in fig. 2, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 includes an acquisition unit 110, a calculation unit 120, an assessment unit 130, an output unit 140, and a storage unit 150.

The acquisition unit 110 acquires use information indicating the use state of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated. Specifically, the acquisition unit 110 acquires the use information detected by the detection device 300 from the detection device 300. The acquisition unit 110 is, for example, an interface such as an adapter for connecting the detection device 300 and the cognitive function assessment device 100.

The acquisition unit 110 acquires the amount of power consumed in the toilet 500, the amount of water consumed in the toilet 500, the amount of toilet paper used in the toilet 500, or the number of times of detection by the motion sensor 540 in the toilet 500 as the information on the use of the toilet 500 by the subject. Examples of the detection device 300 include an electricity meter 551 that detects the amount of electricity consumed in the toilet 500, a water meter 511 that detects the amount of water consumed in the toilet 500, a detection sensor 552 that detects the amount of used toilet paper in the toilet 500, and a human body sensor 540. The acquisition unit 110 acquires the usage information detected by the detection device 300.

The calculation unit 120 calculates the number of times the toilet 500 is used by the person to be evaluated based on the use information acquired by the acquisition unit 110. For example, the calculation unit 120 may be implemented by software using a processor or a microcomputer, or may be implemented by hardware using a dedicated circuit.

The evaluation unit 130 evaluates the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of uses calculated by the calculation unit 120. Specifically, the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated by comparing the number of times the person uses the toilet 500, which is calculated by the calculation unit 120, with the reference data 151 stored in the storage unit 150. For example, the storage unit 150 stores a threshold value for the number of times the toilet 500 is used to distinguish a healthy person from a mild dementia patient or a dementia patient, as the reference data 151. The evaluation unit 130 compares the number of uses of the toilet 500 calculated by the calculation unit 120 with a threshold value stored as the reference data 151, and thereby evaluates whether the subject is a healthy subject, a mild dementia patient, or a dementia patient. For example, the evaluation unit 130 may be implemented by software using a processor or a microcomputer, or may be implemented by hardware using a dedicated circuit. The calculation unit 120 and the evaluation unit 130 may be realized by one processor, microcomputer, or dedicated circuit having their respective functions, or may be realized by combining two or more of the processors, microcomputers, or dedicated circuits.

In addition, for example, the evaluation unit 130 evaluates that: the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated who has used the toilet 500 less than or equal to the predetermined threshold is lower than that of the person to be evaluated who has used the toilet 500 more than (more than) the predetermined threshold.

The output unit 140 outputs the evaluation result of the degree of cognitive function of the evaluated person evaluated by the evaluation unit 130 to the notification device 400. For example, the output unit 140 is a communication interface such as a communication adapter for connecting the reporting apparatus 400 and the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100.

The storage unit 150 is a storage device that stores reference data 151 indicating a relationship between the number of times a person uses the toilet 500 and the cognitive function of the person. The reference data 151 is data stored in the storage unit 150 in advance, which is referred to by the evaluation unit 130 when evaluating the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated. In other words, the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated by comparing the number of times the person to be evaluated uses the toilet 500 calculated by the calculation unit 120 with the reference data 151 stored in the storage unit 150. The storage unit 150 is realized by, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a nonvolatile RAM (Random Access Memory), or the like.

The storage unit 150 also stores programs executed by the calculation unit 120 and the evaluation unit 130, and image data and/or voice data indicating an evaluation result used when outputting the evaluation result of the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated.

[ processing procedure of cognitive function assessment apparatus ]

Next, specific processing steps in the cognitive function assessment method executed by the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 will be described.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention for assessing the cognitive function of the person to be assessed.

First, the acquisition unit 110 acquires use information indicating the use state of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated, which is detected by the detection device 300 (step S101). In step S101, for example, when the detection device 300 is an electricity meter, the acquisition unit 110 acquires the amount of electricity consumed in the toilet 500 from the detection device 300. In addition, in the case where the toilet 500 is used by a plurality of persons, an authentication device for determining the person to be evaluated may be provided in the toilet 500. The authentication device includes, for example, a camera for performing retinal authentication, fingerprint authentication, and the like, and a memory in which information such as the retina, fingerprint, and the like of an examinee to be authenticated is stored. The authentication device identifies the person to be evaluated using the toilet 500 by the camera, and transmits information for identifying the person to be evaluated to the cognitive function assessment device 100 or the detection device 300. In this way, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 can more accurately calculate the power consumption when the person to be assessed uses the toilet 500.

Next, the calculation unit 120 calculates the number of times the toilet 500 is used by the person to be evaluated based on the use information acquired in step S101 (step S102). In step S102, for example, in the case where the detecting device 300 is the electricity meter 551, the calculating part 120 may obtain the change of the electricity consumption. For example, the calculation unit 120 may determine that the person to be evaluated has used the toilet 500 when the amount of change in the amount of power consumption rapidly changes.

For example, the storage unit 150 may store an estimated value of the amount of power consumption of the toilet 500 used once by the person to be evaluated. In this case, for example, the calculation unit 120 may calculate the number of times the person to be evaluated uses the toilet 500 a day based on the estimated value and the total power consumption amount in the day.

Similarly, when the detection device 300 is the water meter 511 or the detection sensor 552 that detects the amount of used toilet paper, the calculation unit 120 may acquire a change in each amount and determine that the person to be evaluated has used the toilet 500 when the change amount changes abruptly. Alternatively, the estimated value of each consumption amount per day may be stored in the storage unit 150 in advance, and the calculation unit 120 may calculate the number of times the person to be evaluated uses the toilet 500 per day based on the estimated value and the total consumption amount per day. In addition, in the case where the detection device 300 is the human body sensor 540, for example, the calculation unit 120 may calculate the number of times the person to be evaluated uses the toilet 500 in one day based on the number of times the human body sensor 540 detects the person.

Next, the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of times of use calculated in step S102 (step S103). In step S103, for example, the evaluation section 130 evaluates that: the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated who has used the toilet 500 less than or equal to the predetermined threshold is lower than that of the person to be evaluated who has used the toilet 500 more than the predetermined threshold. Specifically, the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the degree of cognitive function of the person to be evaluated by comparing the number of times the person to be evaluated uses the toilet 500 calculated by the calculation unit 120 with the reference data 151 stored in the storage unit 150 as a threshold value.

Finally, the output unit 140 outputs the evaluation result evaluated by the evaluation unit 130 in step S103 (step S104). For example, in a case where the notification device 400 is a monitor device and the evaluation result output in step S104 is image data, the notification device 400 acquires the evaluation result and displays the image data.

As described above, the cognitive function assessment method executed by the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 includes the steps of: an acquisition step (step S101) of acquiring use information indicating a use state of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated; a calculation step (step S102) of calculating the number of times of use of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated based on the use information acquired in the acquisition step; an evaluation step (step S103) of evaluating the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of uses calculated in the calculation step; and an output step (step S104) of outputting the evaluation result evaluated in the evaluation step.

In step S104, the output unit 140 may output the evaluation result to the notification device 400 only when the evaluation unit 130 determines in step S103 that the evaluated subject is in a state of cognitive function deterioration (i.e., mild dementia or dementia). In this way, the output unit 140 can notify the person to be evaluated, the family of the person to be evaluated, and the like only when diagnosis by a doctor is required, which is considered to be particularly important.

[ details of reference data ]

The details of the reference data 151 used by the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 in assessing the degree of cognitive function of the person to be assessed are described below. The reference data 151 may be a threshold value of the number of uses of the toilet 500 for the evaluation unit 130 to determine whether or not the subject is a healthy person. The usage information may be, for example, the power consumption of the toilet 500, the water consumption of the toilet, or the number of times of detection by the motion sensor 540. Hereinafter, a case where the electricity meter 551 is used as the detection device 300 will be described.

In addition, regarding the diagnosis of dementia, whether a person is dementia can be determined by subjecting the person to a batch test for diagnosing dementia, i.e., a forgetfulness consultation program.

Figure 4 is a graph showing scores obtained when a person is tested by the amnesic consultation procedure.

The present invention provides people with amnesia consultation by collecting many people including healthy people, patients with mild dementia (MCI patients) and patients with dementia. In the No. column of the table shown in fig. 4, numbers arbitrarily set for identifying a person are described, in the score column, scores of the forgetfulness consultation program of the person are described, and in the judgment column, results of judgment of the person as to whether the person is a healthy person, an MCI patient, or a dementia patient are described based on the scores. In the table shown in fig. 4, persons with a score of 14 or more are judged as healthy (healthy persons), persons with a score of 7 to 13 are judged as MCI (MCI patients), and persons with a score of 6 or less are judged as dementia (dementia patients).

In addition, the reference data 151 showing the relationship between the number of uses of the toilet 500 and the degree of cognitive function of each person who has been detected by the forgetfulness consultation program is created by acquiring the amount of power consumption of the toilet 500 by each person and calculating the number of uses of the toilet 500 based on the acquired amount of power consumption.

For example, when the evaluation unit 130 determines whether the subject is a healthy subject, an MCI patient, or a dementia patient, the threshold value (predetermined threshold value) of the number of uses of the toilet 500 is used as the reference data 151. For example, the evaluation unit 130 compares the number of uses of the toilet 500 calculated by the calculation unit 120 with the reference data 151 including a threshold value, and if the number is less than or equal to the threshold value, the evaluated subject is evaluated as an MCI patient or a dementia patient, and if the number is more than the threshold value, the evaluated subject is evaluated as a healthy subject.

Fig. 5A is a line graph showing an average value of the power consumption amount of the toilet 500 per month for healthy subjects and MCI patients. Fig. 5B is a line graph showing an average value of the power consumption amount of the toilet 500 per month for healthy subjects and patients with dementia.

As shown in fig. 5A and 5B, the average value of the power consumption of the toilet 500 per day per month was lower in MCI patients and patients with dementia compared to healthy patients. Specifically, the average of the power consumption of the toilet 500 per month per day of the healthy person is higher than about 48 Wh. In addition, the average of the electricity consumption in the toilet 500 per day of the month for MCI patients and patients with dementia is less than about 48 Wh. In this way, healthy subjects can be distinguished from MCI patients and patients with dementia by evaluating the average value of the power consumption of the toilet 500 for each day of the month.

Here, for example, if the power consumption amount per use of the toilet 500 is set to 8Wh, the threshold value of the number of times of use of the toilet 500 is set to 6 times in the example shown in fig. 5A and 5B. In this case, for example, 6 is stored in the storage unit 150 as the reference data 151 as a threshold value of the number of times the toilet 500 is used. The acquisition unit 110 acquires the day of the person to be evaluated as a predetermined period and the power consumption of the person to be evaluated as usage information of the toilet 500. The calculation unit 120 calculates the number of uses of the toilet 500 based on the power consumption amount acquired by the acquisition unit 110, and calculates the number of uses of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated based on the acquired power consumption amount. The evaluation unit 130 evaluates the subject as a healthy subject when the number of uses of the toilet 500 by the subject calculated by the calculation unit 120 exceeds 6, which is a threshold value, and evaluates the subject as MCI or suspected to have dementia when the number of uses of the toilet 500 is 6 or less. The output unit 140 outputs the evaluation result of the evaluation unit 130 to, for example, the notification device 400.

In addition, the present inventors conducted a significance difference test (t test) in order to investigate whether there was a significant difference in the power consumption of the toilet 500 per month and the total power consumption of the toilet 500 per month between healthy subjects and MCI patients. The t-test is to assume that both populations follow a normal distribution and then to test whether the mean values of the two populations are equal. In the present embodiment, the significance level is set to 0.05.

Fig. 6A is a graph showing the power consumption of the toilet 500 in a single day per month in a healthy subject and an MCI subject in a box diagram. Fig. 6B is a graph showing the total power consumption of the toilet 500 per month for healthy subjects and MCI patients in a box diagram.

When comparing the power consumption of the toilet 500 for one day per month with MCI patients, when the probability of exceeding the 95% confidence interval is defined as p, p is 0.00007279. Thus, it can be determined that there is a significant difference in the amount of electricity consumed in the toilet 500 per month between the healthy person and the MCI patient.

When the total power consumption of the toilet 500 per month is compared between a healthy subject and an MCI patient, if the probability of exceeding the 95% confidence interval is defined as p, p is 0.000033382. Thus, it can be determined that the total power consumption of the toilet 500 per month is significantly different between the healthy person and the MCI patient.

Fig. 6C is a graph showing the power consumption of the toilet 500 in one day per month in a healthy subject, an MCI subject, and a dementia subject in a box diagram.

As shown in fig. 6C, it is found that the power consumption of the toilet 500 is different between the healthy person and the patient with dementia every month.

Here, since there are users of urine leakage pads (hereinafter, referred to as pads) such as diapers among MCI or persons suspected of having dementia, the present inventors examined whether or not the use of the pads may affect the number of times the toilet 500 is used.

Fig. 6D is a graph showing the total power consumption of the toilet per month in the absence or presence of the gasket in the form of a box diagram. In addition, the number of evaluated persons (N number) of healthy persons in fig. 6D is 4, wherein the user of the pad is 0. In addition, the number of N without spacers (the spacer-free MCI shown in fig. 6D) in the MCI patient in fig. 6D was 3. In addition, the number of N used gaskets (gasketed MCI shown in fig. 6D) for the MCI patient in fig. 6D was 1. In addition, the number of subjects (N number) evaluated in the dementia patient in fig. 6D is 3, and the number of users of the pad is 3.

As shown in fig. 6D, the subjects with no MCI, MCI with gaskets, and dementia were different from the healthy subjects, and had similar tendencies each other, and the power consumption was low per day of the month. For example, the shimmerless MCI has a tendency similar to that of the shimmed MCI and dementia, and a significant difference from the shimmed MCI and dementia cannot be confirmed. That is, the number of times the toilet 500 is used can be determined to be different between a healthy person and an MCI patient or a dementia patient regardless of the presence or absence of a spacer. Therefore, it is understood that the difference in the number of uses of the toilet 500 between the healthy person and the MCI patient or the dementia patient is not the degree of cognitive function but the spacer.

Fig. 7A is a graph showing the average value of the power consumption amount per day per month versus the score of the forgetfulness consultation procedure. Fig. 7B is a graph showing the average of the total power consumption per month versus the fraction of the forgetful consultation procedure. The data shown in fig. 7A and 7B are each 60 in the number of plots. The straight lines shown in fig. 7A and 7B are regression lines calculated by the least square method.

As shown in fig. 7A, it can be seen that the score of the amnesic consultation procedure has a positive correlation with the average of the power consumption for one day per month. The correlation coefficient is approximately 0.3376.

Similarly, as shown in fig. 7B, it can be seen that the score of the forgetfulness consultation procedure has a positive correlation with the average of the total power consumption per month. The correlation coefficient is approximately 0.3336.

As described above, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 may acquire the power consumption amount or the total power consumption amount per day of the month as the use information of the toilet 500 by the person to be assessed, and may assess the degree of cognitive function of the person to be assessed in a stepwise manner, instead of determining whether the healthy person is a MCI patient or a dementia patient.

For example, although the reference data 151 has one threshold in the above description, the number of thresholds is not particularly limited. The threshold used as the reference data 151 may be one, or two or more. For example, two thresholds may be used for the reference data 151, and the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 may assess whether the patient is a healthy person, an MCI patient, or a dementia patient based on the two thresholds.

(modification example)

In the above embodiment, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 evaluates the degree of cognitive function by calculating the number of times the toilet 500 is used by the person to be assessed within a predetermined period of time based on the use information indicating the use state of the toilet 500 by the person to be assessed detected by the detection apparatus 300. Here, the description has been made by using the detection device 300 as an electricity meter 551 that detects the amount of electricity consumed in the toilet 500, a water meter 511 that detects the amount of water consumed in the toilet 500, a detection sensor 552 that detects the amount of toilet paper used in the toilet 500, or a human body sensor 540.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of a cognitive function assessment system 200 according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention.

In fig. 8, a pressure sensor 560 is illustrated as another example of the detection device 300.

The pressure sensor 560 is a sensor that detects pressure. Specifically, the pressure sensor 560 detects whether or not the subject is stepped on. Thus, the pressure sensor 560 can also detect the use information of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated. That is, regarding the detecting device 300, for example, the pressure sensor 560 may be adopted instead of the human body sensor 540 shown in fig. 1. The pressure sensor 560 is connected to a communication device 570, for example.

The communication device 570 outputs the change in pressure detected by the pressure sensor 560 to the cognitive function assessment device 100 as information on the use of the toilet 500 by the person to be assessed. In the example shown in fig. 8, the communication device 570 is connected to the cognitive function assessment device 100 so as to be able to perform wireless communication. In this case, the acquisition unit 110 may include a wireless communication module for performing wireless communication. In this way, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 can acquire the use information of the toilet 500 by the person to be assessed without requiring a large facility.

In addition, the cognitive function assessment system 200 may include at least two of the electricity meter 551, the water meter 511, the detection sensor 552, the human body sensor 540 shown in fig. 1, and the pressure sensor 560 shown in fig. 8 as the detection device 300, and may include both the pressure sensor 560 and the human body sensor 540, for example.

The pressure sensor 560 and the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 (specifically, the acquisition unit 110) may be connected by wire without the communication device 570.

[ Effect and the like ]

As described above, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: an acquisition unit 110 that acquires use information indicating a use state of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated; a calculation unit 120 that calculates the number of uses of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated based on the use information acquired by the acquisition unit 110; an evaluation unit 130 that evaluates the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of uses calculated by the calculation unit 120; and an output unit 140 that outputs the evaluation result evaluated by the evaluation unit 130.

Thus, according to the cognitive function assessment device 100, the degree of cognitive function of the person to be assessed can be assessed on the basis of the number of times the toilet 500 is used. Therefore, according to the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100, the cognitive function of the person to be assessed can be assessed easily. In particular, according to the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100, it is possible to easily determine whether the subject is healthy or MCI in which cognitive function has degraded to such an extent that it does not hinder daily life.

In addition, since the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 can notify the level of cognitive function to the mentally disordered patient without subjective symptoms based on the information acquired in the daily life of the person to be assessed, it is possible to prompt the mentally disordered patient to receive the doctor's examination, for example. In other words, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 can assist an mentally disabled patient to receive the doctor's examination by notifying the mentally disabled patient of the degree of cognitive function.

For example, the evaluation unit 130 may evaluate that: the cognitive function of the subject whose number of uses of the toilet 500 is equal to or less than the threshold value is lower than that of the subject whose number of uses of the toilet 500 is higher than the threshold value set in advance.

As described above, the inventors of the present invention found that MCI patients and patients with dementia use the toilet 500 less frequently than healthy patients. Thus, the evaluation unit 130 can evaluate whether the cognitive function of the subject is healthy, and whether the MCI patient is suspected to have dementia, by comparing the number of times the subject is used with a predetermined threshold value.

For example, the acquisition unit 110 may acquire the amount of power consumed in the toilet 500, the amount of water consumed in the toilet 500, the amount of toilet paper used in the toilet 500, or the number of times of detection by the motion sensor 540 in the toilet 500 as the usage information.

By using the use information, the calculation unit 120 can easily calculate the number of uses of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated.

For example, the cognitive function assessment device 100 may include a storage unit 150, and the storage unit 150 may store reference data 151 indicating a relationship between the number of times the person uses the toilet 500 and the cognitive function of the person. The evaluation unit 130 may evaluate the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated by comparing the number of times the person to be evaluated uses the toilet 500 calculated by the calculation unit 120 with the reference data 151 stored in the storage unit 150.

That is, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 may assess the cognitive function of the person to be assessed by communicating with an external server apparatus or the like in which the reference data 151 is stored, but may include the storage unit 150 which is a storage device in which the reference data 151 is stored. Thus, the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 can assess the cognitive function of the person to be assessed without connecting to a network for communicating with an external server apparatus. Therefore, the convenience of the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 is improved.

In addition, the cognitive function assessment system 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: a cognitive function evaluation device 100; and a detection device 300 that detects usage information indicating a usage state of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated, and outputs the usage information to the acquisition unit 110 included in the cognitive function evaluation device 100.

Thus, the cognitive function assessment system 200 can assess the degree of cognitive function of the person to be assessed based on the number of uses of the toilet 500. Therefore, according to the cognitive function assessment system 200, the cognitive function of the person to be assessed can be assessed easily. In addition, since the cognitive function assessment system 200 can notify the level of cognitive function of an mentally asymptomatic patient based on information acquired in the daily life of the subject, it is possible to prompt the mentally asymptomatic patient to receive the doctor's examination, for example. In other words, the cognitive function assessment system 200 can assist an mentally disabled patient to receive a physician's visit by informing him of the degree of cognitive function to the mentally disabled patient without subjective symptoms.

For example, the detection device 300 may be an electricity meter 551 that detects the amount of electricity consumed in the toilet 500, a water meter 511 that detects the amount of water consumed in the toilet 500, a detection sensor 552 that detects the amount of toilet paper used in the toilet 500, or a human body sensor 540.

By using these devices as the detection device 300, the cognitive function assessment system 200 can easily calculate the number of times the person uses the toilet 500.

In addition, the cognitive function assessment method executed by the cognitive function assessment apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: an acquisition step of acquiring use information indicating a use state of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated; a calculation step of calculating the number of times of use of the toilet 500 by the person to be evaluated based on the use information acquired in the acquisition step; an evaluation step of evaluating the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of uses calculated in the calculation step; and an output step of outputting the evaluation result evaluated in the evaluation step.

The present invention can also be realized as a program that causes a computer to execute the steps included in the cognitive function assessment method.

Thus, a program capable of evaluating the degree of cognitive function of the person to be evaluated based on the number of uses of the toilet 500 is realized, and therefore, according to such a program, the cognitive function of the person to be evaluated can be evaluated easily.

(other embodiments)

The cognitive function evaluation device and the like according to the embodiment of the present invention and the modification of the embodiment of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

In the above embodiment, alzheimer's dementia is mentioned as a specific example of the symptom of deterioration of cognitive function. However, the cognitive function means the ability to recognize, memorize or judge, and the dementia means the symptom that the deterioration of the cognitive function is found. That is, the degree of cognitive function evaluated by the cognitive function evaluation device is not limited to alzheimer-type dementia, and for example, vascular dementia, drunkenness, or the like may be evaluated.

In the above embodiment, in order to evaluate the degree of cognitive function of the person to be evaluated, the storage unit 150 stores data indicating the correlation between the "score of the forgetful consultation program" and the "number of times the person uses the toilet 500" as the reference data 151 in advance. However, the reference data 151 is not limited to data indicating the correlation between the score of the forgetfulness inquiry program and the number of times of use of the toilet 500, as long as the degree of cognitive function can be evaluated by matching the number of times of use of the toilet 500. For example, the reference data 151 may be data indicating a relationship between a score of MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) test, MMSE (Mini-Mental State evaluation) test, or the like and the number of times the toilet 500 is used.

In the above-described embodiments, the description is made of "greater than the threshold value" and "less than the threshold value", but the description is not intended to be strict. For example, when the description is "larger than the threshold", it may mean a case of being equal to or larger than the threshold. In addition, when "greater than the threshold" and "less than the threshold" are described in contrast, the case where the data is divided with the threshold as a boundary may be referred to as the case where the data is "greater than the threshold" and "less than the threshold".

The present invention can be realized not only as a cognitive function evaluation device and a cognitive function evaluation system, but also as a program including steps of processes executed by each component of the cognitive function evaluation device and the cognitive function evaluation system, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded, such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, a BD (Blu-ray Disc, registered trademark), a semiconductor memory, and the like. The program may be distributed via a communication path such as the internet.

That is, the general or specific aspects described above may be realized by a system, an apparatus, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording medium, or may be realized by any combination of a system, an apparatus, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium. For example, each component included in the cognitive function evaluation device need not be located in one frame, and may be connected so that various data can be transmitted and received when the components are disposed at different positions.

In addition, the present invention includes an embodiment obtained by performing various modifications to the embodiments or an embodiment obtained by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

100: a cognitive function evaluation device; 110: an acquisition unit; 120: a calculation section; 130: an evaluation unit; 140: an output section; 150: a storage unit; 151: referencing the data; 200: a cognitive function assessment system; 300: a detection device; 500: a toilet; 511: measuring the water quantity; 540: a body sensor; 551: an electricity meter; 552: and (5) detecting the sensor.