Abstract:
Objects  
     To provide a medical device that achieves ease of operation an its operation input unit and patient&#39;s safety simultaneously.  
     Mean of Achieving the Object  
     A medical device comprising an operation input unit  12  for an operator to enter instructions and a operation unit for performing prescribed operations required for medical treatment based on input from said operation input unit  12 , consisting of a dialysis device that purifies patient&#39;s blood by means of extracorporeal circulation, further comprising a human body detection means  18  for detecting the operator&#39;s presence in the vicinity of operation input unit  12 , and a control unit  19  that provides control for allowing input operation unit  12  to instruct the operation unit&#39;s operations, or allowing the operation unit to operate based on the input entered into operation input unit  12 , only when said human body detection means  18  is detecting the operator.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The invention relates to a blood purifying device for purifying the patient&#39;s blood by means of extracorporeal circulation or an infusion device for administering drugs into the patient&#39;s body.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    In a conventional dialysis treatment, a puncture needle attached to the distal end of the blood circuit is caused to puncture into the patient&#39;s body, while the patient&#39;s blood is caused to make an extracorporeal circulation in order to purify the blood by means of a dialyzer connected to the circuit. Such a dialyzer is connected to a dialysis device, wherein said dialysis device provides a dialysate and discharges the dialysate containing waste products of the blood.  
           [0005]    In other words, a blood passage (the ends of which are connected to the arterial side blood circuit and the venous side blood circuit respectively), through which the patient&#39;s blood flows, and a dialysate passage (the ends of which are connected to the dialysate induction line and the dialysate discharge line respectively), through which the dialysate flows, are formed in the dialyzer, and these passages are separated by a hollow thread membrane, so that it is possible to diffuse the products contained in the blood flowing through the blood passage across the membrane into the dialysate, thus purifying the blood, and return the purified blood back to the patient&#39;s body.  
           [0006]    The dialysis device is provided, primarily inside the device, with an operating input unit for the operator, such as a medical doctor, to start or stop the dialysis treatment, or to set up or change the dialysis treatment condition, as well as a operation unit that executes prescribed operations (including the start and stop of the device and controls based on various setups) based on input signals entered through said input unit. The operation input unit contains touch operating type switches displayed on the liquid crystal display panel, operating switches and operating dials that can be operated for entering input data mechanically, etc.  
           [0007]    There is a possibility, for example, that the terminal point of an operating switch can be held in a contacting state temporarily or continuously due to a malfunction of said operation input unit or an external noise, while the operator is not operating. Such a problem must be avoided as it can threaten the patient&#39;s life in a medical device such as a dialysis device.  
           [0008]    In order to avoid the operation unit from functioning due to a temporary contact of the terminal point of an operating switch although the operator is not operating, a medical device has been proposed wherein a switch is not recognized to be pressed unless said switch is continued to be pressed for a prescribed period of time (hereinafter called “maintained operation”). Also, another medical device has been proposed wherein a timer is provided for detecting the same operating condition is held continuously over a prescribed period of time and determines that a malfunction has occurred when said timer detects such an incidence in order to avoid the operation unit from operating when the same operating condition continues over a prescribed (long) period of time although the operator is not operating. Those medical devices improve the safety during treatments as they prevent the operation unit from causing unintended operations due to malfunctions or external noises. These prior arts are not related to any publicized inventions, so that there is no prior art documents to be referred here.  
           [0009]    PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION  
           [0010]    However, those medical devices of the prior art needing maintained operations accept operating input only when a switch is pressed continuously for a prescribed time, it presented a problem that it is difficult to achieve the ease of operation and safety of the device simultaneously. In other words, it tends to cause misrecognition of an error signal as a normal signal if the prescription time for a maintained operation is set too short, while it may reduce the ease of operation as it requires to be pressed too long if said prescription time is set too long.  
           [0011]    Moreover, in case of a medical device of the prior art equipped with a timer, it may deteriorate the ease of operation as it tends to cause normal operation input by the operator as a malfunction if the set time for recognizing malfunctions is chosen too short, while safety may be jeopardized in the operation of the operation unit as it takes too long to recognize malfunctions if the set time is chosen too long, thus making it extremely difficult to properly set the time for avoiding malfunctions.  
           [0012]    The invention was made under such a circumstance, and provides a medical device which makes it possible to achieve both the ease of operation at the operation input unit and the patient&#39;s safety at the same time.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    The invention according to claim 1 is a medical device comprising an operation input unit for an operator to enter instructions and a operation unit for performing prescribed operations required for medical treatment based on input from said operation input unit, characterized by further comprising a human body detection means for detecting the operator&#39;s presence in the vicinity of said operation input unit, and a control unit that provides control function for allowing the input operation unit to instruct the operation unit&#39;s operations, or allowing the operation unit to operate based on the input entered into the operation input unit, only when said human body detection means is detecting the operator.  
           [0014]    The invention according to claim 2 is a medical device wherein said control function provided by said control unit can be cancelled.  
           [0015]    The invention according to claim 3 is a medical device further comprising a display means for displaying specific information such as operation status of said operation unit, wherein said display means executes a specific display when said human body detection means detects an operator.  
           [0016]    The invention according to claim 3 is a medical device wherein said display means comprises a liquid crystal display panel equipped with a backlight, and executes the specific display by lighting said backlight or raising its intensity when said human body detection means detects an operator.  
           [0017]    The invention according to claim 5 is a medical device further comprising a sound output means for issuing specific sounds in accordance with operation conditions of said operation unit, and the output by said sound output means is controlled based on the detection of the presence of an operator by said human body detection means.  
           [0018]    The invention according to claim 6 is a medical device further comprising an external indicator light that illuminates in accordance with operation conditions of said operation unit, wherein the luminescence intensity of said external indicator light is made controllable based on the detection of an operator by said human body detection means.  
           [0019]    The invention according to claim 7 is a medical device wherein said human body detection means comprises an illumination means for irradiating an infrared light and a light receiving means for receiving its reflection, and the presence of an operator in the vicinity of said operation input unit is detected as said light receiving means receives the reflection. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a front view of a dialysis device according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a view showing a frame format of the inside of the main body of the dialysis device according to the embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control unit of the dialysis device according to the embodiment of the present invention and peripheral equipment electrically connected thereto.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the operation input unit of the dialysis device according to the embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5 is a view showing a frame format for describing the operation of the human body detection means of the dialysis device according to the embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0025]    A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described below referring to the accompanying drawings. The medical device according to this embodiment comprises a dialysis device that circulates the patient&#39;s blood extracorporeally through a blood circuit, supplies a dialysate to a dialyzer (blood purifier) connected to said blood circuit, and collects the dialysate containing waste products found in the blood as it is discharged from the dialyzer, and consists primarily of a dialysis device main body  1  and an operation input unit  12  as shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0026]    Dialysis device main body  1  have two ports (a supply port  1   a  for supplying the dialysate into the dialyzer, and an induction port  1   b  for inducing the dialysate discharged from the dialyzer) to be connected to the dialyzer formed on its front, and these supply port  1   a  and induction port  1   b  are connected to dialysate induction port  2   a  and dialysate discharge port  2   b  connected to a blood circuit  3  respectively as shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0027]    A supply line L 1  connecting a port A connected to a washing water supply source with supply port  1   a  as well as a discharge line L 2  connecting a port B for discharging the dialysate after dialysis with induction port  1   b  are provided inside dialysis device main body  1 , and a reciprocating pump  4  is provided across these supply line L 1  and discharge line L 2 . Reciprocating pump  4  is provided with a plunger  4   a  that reciprocates separating the internal pump chamber into two sections, a pump chamber  4   b  that communicates with supply line L 1  and a pump chamber  4   c . A reverse flow check mechanism for reciprocating pump  4  is not shown.  
         [0028]    Supply line L 1  is provided with a deaeration mechanism comprising a heater  5 , a deaeration pump  6 , a deaeration chamber  7 , a circulation line L 3  and an air discharge line L 4  in order to make it possible to remove air contained in the washing water supplied by port A, and also with a mixing mechanism comprising tank lines L 5  and L 6  connected with a tank T containing the stock solution of the dialysate, suction pumps  8  and  9  connected to tank lines L 5  and L 6 , and mixing chambers  10  and  11 , thus making it possible to prepare a dialysate with a specified concentration. Although it is not shown in the diagram, an ultra filtration pump and others are provided on the discharge line L 2  side of reciprocating pump  4 .  
         [0029]    The operation unit of the invention consists of various devices formed on said dialysis device main body  1 , and performs certain operations on the patient&#39;s body based on input signals from operation input unit  12 . In other words, the discharge volume control of a pump, opening and closing of a solenoid valve and others are primarily executed based on the input information from operation input unit  12  constituting the treatment conditions set up by the operator such as a medical doctor, and are the so-called operations provided by the operation unit.  
         [0030]    Furthermore, formed on top of dialysis device main body  1 , are a syringe pump  13  (drug infusion pump) for administering a drug into blood circuit  3 , an air bubble detector  20  for detecting bubbles in the blood flowing through the venous side blood circuit of blood circuit  3 , and connection ports P 1  through P 3  of the detection line for detecting the blood circuit pressure by being connected to a drip chamber (not shown) of said blood circuit  3 . An arm  14  is formed on the side of dialysis device main body  1  and a pole  15  is extending upward from said arm  14 . At the distal end of said pole  15  formed is an external indicator light  16  that consists of LED and lights in accordance with operation conditions of the operation unit.  
         [0031]    Lighting of external indicator light  16  makes it possible to notify medical staff including doctors who are located far away about the operating conditions (in process of dialysis, completion of dialysis, abnormality, etc.) of the dialysis device, thus saving their troubles in checking the status. The luminance (lightness) of such an external indicator light  16  is adjustable and is turned on and off based on the signal from a control unit  19  (FIG. 3) to be described later.  
         [0032]    Operation input unit  12  is provided for the operator such as a medical doctor or a nurse to give instructions to the operation unit on dialysis device main body  1 , and mainly consists of a liquid crystal display panel  12   a  (display unit) for displaying operating conditions of the operation unit, and its cabinet  12   b . A backlight (not shown) is built into liquid crystal panel  12   a , and when a human body detection means  18 , which is to be described later, detects an operator, it gets turned on or its light intensity is increased to make the prescribed display more visible.  
         [0033]    As shown in FIG. 4, in addition to displaying various operating statuses (including the setup status) of the operation unit such as the dialysis remaining time and the water removal speed, liquid crystal display panel  12   a  displays touch-operation type switches that can be operated by finger-touching specific areas of the screen (for example, rectangular areas provided on the right side of the screen with notations such as “Alarm Reset,” “Start Treatment,” “HP Quick Feed,” “Continuous HP,” and “End Dialysis,” as well as rectangular areas provided in the middle of the screen with notations such as “Treatment Mode,” “SN Mode,” “Water Removal Profile,” and “Conductance Profile”).  
         [0034]    In addition to the operation input unit comprising the abovementioned touch-operation type switches, operating dial  12   ba  and a plurality of operating buttons  12   bb  through  12   be  are provided on the bottom part of cabinet  12   b  or display panel  12   a  so that specific instructions for the operation unit can be entered by means of these operating dial  12   ba  and operating buttons  12   bb  through  12   be . All of these are integrally called the operation input unit.  
         [0035]    A speaker  17  is provided inside cabinet  12   b  as a sound output means for generating specific sounds such as alarm sound depending on the operating status of the operation unit. The sound volume of said speaker  17  is adjustable and is turned on based on the signal from a control unit  19  (FIG. 3) to be described later. A plurality of openings are provided on the wall of cabinet  12   b  that faces the output part of said speaker  17  in order to cause the sound to be emitted efficiently to the outside.  
         [0036]    A human body detection means  18  is provided at the bottom part of cabinet  12   b  for detecting the presence of the operator in the vicinity of operation input unit  12 . Human body detection means  18  comprises, as shown in FIG. 5, an light irradiating means  18   a  for irradiating infrared light in the forward direction and a reflection infrared sensor equipped with a light receiving means  18   b  for receiving the reflection wave in order to detect the presence of the operator in the forward vicinity of operation input unit  12  as light receiving means  18   b  receives the reflection.  
         [0037]    When the operator is in the forward vicinity of operation input unit  12 , infrared rays irradiated forward of operation input unit  12  by light irradiating means  18   a  bounce off the operator so that they are received by light receiving means  18   b , thus causing it to detect the presence of the operator, while the infrared rays irradiated by light irradiating means  18   a  do not bounce off the operator if the operator is not in the forward vicinity of operation input unit  12  so that they are not received by light receiving means  18   b , thus causing it to recognize that the operator is not in the vicinity.  
         [0038]    Hence, the presence of the operator can be always accurately detected by irradiating and receiving infrared rays. Since the infrared rays are constituted in such a way as to be irradiated only forward of operation input unit  12 , it is not affected by the patient being treated by dialysis on the side, so that it detects only the operator and prevents any misdetection. It is also possible to use other means that can detect the presence of the operator in the vicinity of operation input unit  12  (e.g., a sensor that detects the heat a human body emits, or image recognition means that detects the operator based on an image of the vicinity of operation input unit  12 , etc.) in place of such a human body detection means constituted as described above.  
         [0039]    On the other hand, a control unit  19  that comprises an arithmetic means such as a microcomputer is provided inside dialysis device main unit  1  as shown in FIG. 3, and said control unit  19  is electrically connected electrically with operation input unit  12 , external indicator light  16 , speaker  17 , and human body detection means  18  as well as to the operating unit. Control unit  19  is constituted in such a way to allow the operation unit to perform its operations based on the input from the operation input unit only when human body detection means  18  is detecting the operator.  
         [0040]    When human body detection means  18  detects the operator, it transmits a detection signal to control unit  19 , control unit  19  recognizes the presence of the operator, accepts an input signal when it receives the operation signal for the operation unit  12  while the detection signal is being received, but rejects an input signal received from operation input unit  12  while the detection signal is not being received, judging that it is not an input by the operator, and issues no operation instruction to the operation unit based on said input signal Therefore, control unit  19  accepts the operation input and the operation unit executes operations based on input from operation input unit  12  only when human body detection means  18  is detecting the operator, so that operations due to malfunction when the operator is not present in the vicinity of operation input unit  12  are prevented, thus providing both the ease of operation at operation input unit  12  and the patient&#39;s safety simultaneously.  
         [0041]    For example, in case when an air bubble detector  20  (see FIG. 1) is used as an operation unit of the invention, there is a possibility of malfunction when air bubble detector  20  turns off during the treatment due to a malfunction of operation input unit  12 . According to this embodiment, there is no way air bubble  20  gets turned off without the operator being detected and no input is accepted when the operator is not in the vicinity of operation input unit  12 , so that a problem mentioned above can be avoided.  
         [0042]    Moreover, if the quick feed switch of syringe pump  13  (see FIG. 1) (drug infusion pump) is stuck in the ON position due to a malfunction of operation input unit  12  while there is nobody in the vicinity of operation input unit  12 , it can cause as excessive infusion of the drug, but this embodiment prevents such an input operation when there is nobody in the vicinity of operation input unit  12  so that such an erroneous operation cannot occur.  
         [0043]    Although it is controlled in this embodiment to allow operation input by operation input unit  12  only when the operator is detected by human body detection means  18 , it can be controlled additionally to allow the operation unit to operate only when the operator is detected by human body detection means  18 . In other words, it is possible to constitute in such a way that, if operation input is executed by operation input unit  12  while no detection is made by human body detection means  18 , the input by operation input unit  12  may be allowed but no operation based on the input is allowed.  
         [0044]    It is also possible to constitute in such a way as to increase the safety when the operator is not present by reducing the control quantity compared to the control quantity of the operation unit when the operator is detected by human body detection means  18 .  
         [0045]    Moreover, it can be constituted in such a way that, in case the operation unit is supposed to operate after a prescribed time period according to an operating condition entered through operation input unit  12 , said operation condition input is accepted only when the operator is in the vicinity of the dialysis device, but the operation unit&#39;s operation based on said input information can be executed without having to have a doctor, etc. This prevents not only erroneous input operation, but also allows a smooth treatment as the operation can be performed based on the preset condition without having to have a doctor, etc.  
         [0046]    The abovementioned control by means of control unit  19  can be cancelled by other operating means (e.g., mechanical switches provided on cabinet  12   b ). This enables the operator to choose either to allow operations of the operation unit based on input information through operation input unit  12  only when the operator is detected by human body detection means  18 , or to allow operations of the operation unit based on input information through operation input unit  12  regardless of whether the operator is detected by human body detection means  18  or not, thus improving the ease of operation on the dialysis device.  
         [0047]    As mentioned before, it is controlled in such a way that the backlight of liquid crystal display panel  12   a  is turned on or the intensity of the light is increased when human body detection means  18  detects the operator and transmits the detection signal to control unit  19 . By turning on the light, the display of liquid crystal display panel  12   a  becomes more visible and makes it possible to perform input operation by means of the aforementioned touch operation type switches. Consequently, as the display and input operation by means of liquid crystal display panel  12   a  having the dual functions of display means and operation input means are enabled only when the operator is detected by human body detection means  18 , it is not only possible to achieve ease of operation and safety simultaneously, but also to minimize the power consumption of the display means, thus reducing the running cost of the medical device.  
         [0048]    Moreover, in contrast to the prior art in which the operator such as a medical doctor had to turn on or increase the intensity of the backlight each time when they want to check the data displayed on liquid crystal display panel  12   a , which they need to do regularly during a dialysis treatment, the abovementioned constitution of the present invention turns on or increases the intensity of the backlight automatically when the operator such as a medical doctor walks up to the front of operation input unit  12 , making it a labor saving device.  
         [0049]    It is also controlled in such a way as to turn off the output sound of speaker  17  when the detection signal is transmitted to control unit  19 . In a case of a device wherein speaker  17  emits a warning sound when an abnormality occurs or a dialysis treatment is finished, this makes it possible for the operator such as a medical doctor to turn off the sound by simply walking up to the front of operation input unit  12 , making it labor saving compared to a case where the sound has to be turned off by a manual operation. The output sound can be controlled not only by turning it off completely but also by reducing the output volume when the detection signal is received by control unit  19 . This way the effect of the sound to the environment can be minimized.  
         [0050]    It is also controlled to reduce the light  16  intensity of external indicator light  16  when control unit  19  receive the detection signal. This makes it possible to recognize various operating statuses of the operation unit or the operator&#39;s operation from a far off place while minimizing the effect of the lighting of the external indicator light on the environment. In other words, although it is necessary to make external indicator light  16  to be bright enough to be recognizable from a far off place, it may be bothering to the patient being treated (or other patients in the vicinity), so that it can contribute to the comfort of the patient if the light reduces its intensity when the operator approaches operation input unit  12 .  
         [0051]    In a case of a device wherein external indicator light  16  emits light when an abnormality occurs or a dialysis treatment is finished, this makes it possible for the operator such as a medical doctor to reduce the intensity by simply walking up to the front of operation input unit  12 , making it labor saving compared to a case where the intensity has to be reduced by a manual operation. It can also be controlled in such a way as to turn off external indicator light  16  when the detection signal is received by control unit  19 , which not only minimizes the effect of the lighting on the environment but also contributes to labor saving.  
         [0052]    In the abovementioned constitution wherein external indicator light  16  is turned off or its intensity is reduced when control unit  19  receives the detection signal, the following effect can be achieved: In a typical dialysis treatment facility, where a plurality of dialysis devices arranged, the abovementioned constitution makes it possible for other operators such as medical doctors to see from a distance which of the external indicator lights  16  is turned off or reduced intensity thereof because it is attended by an operator, and allow them to decide which dialysis device they should go to.  
         [0053]    The invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but rather it can be applied to other type of dialysis devices. In other words, the device according to the embodiment is a type wherein dialysate is supplied to the dialyzer while the dialysate of a specific concentration is produced from a condense dialysate in dialysis device main unit  1 , the present invention can also be applied to a dialysis device wherein the dialysate of said specific concentration is prepared beforehand in a separate device and is supplied to the dialyzer. Moreover, the present invention can be applied to, in addition to the medical device of the embodiment where blood dialysis (HD) is applied, to all other kinds of blood purifying devices wherein blood is purified through extracorporeal circulation, such as, hemo filtration (HF), hemo dialyzing filtration (HDF), and plasma separating.  
         [0054]    The invention is also applicable, in addition to blood purifying devices, to infusion devices comprising an operation input unit and an operation unit. Such an infusion device is for administering a drug into the patient&#39;s body and comprises an input detection means that detects the presence of the operator in the vicinity of the operation input unit as in the abovementioned embodiment and a control unit for controlling the operation unit to perform operations based on input through the operation input unit only when the operator is detected by the human body detection means, so that it can prevent the operation unit&#39;s operation when the operator is not present in the vicinity of the operation input unit and achieve both the ease of operation through the operation input unit and the patient&#39;s safety at the same time.  
         [0055]    Of course, in addition to the blood purifying devices and infusion devices mentioned above, the invention can be applied to all kinds of medical devices that can adversely affect the patient&#39;s body if the operation unit operates based on an error signal from the operation input unit.  
       THE EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION  
       [0056]    The invention according to claim 1 controls to allow input operations through the operation input unit for instructing the operation unit&#39;s operations or allow the operation unit to operate based on the input through the operation input unit only when the operator is detected by means of the human body detection means, so that the input operations to the operation unit or the operation unit&#39;s operations due to malfunctions or external noises when the operator is not present in the vicinity of the operation input unit can be prevented, thus achieving both the ease of operation through the operation input unit and the patient&#39;s safety at the same time.  
         [0057]    The invention according to claim 2 makes it possible to cancel the control unit&#39;s controls, so that the operator can choose either to allow operations of the operation unit based on input information through the operation input unit only when the operator is detected by the human body detection means, or to allow operations of the operation unit based on input information through the operation input unit regardless of whether the operator is detected by the human body detection means or not, thus improving the ease of operation on the medical device.  
         [0058]    The invention according to claim 3 provides a display means that displays specific information such as the operation unit&#39;s operation status, and said display means displays only when the operator is detected by the human body detection means, it makes it possible not only to achieve ease of operation and safety simultaneously, but also to minimize the power consumption of the display means, thus reducing the running cost of the medical device.  
         [0059]    The invention according to claim 4 provides a display means comprising a liquid crystal display panel with a backlight, which turns on or increases its intensity to performs its specified display when the human body detection means detects the operator, so that it not only reduces the running cost of the medical device but also improves its ease of operation.  
         [0060]    The invention according to claim 5 provides a sound output means that emits a specific sound depending on the operation status of the operation unit and the output of said sound output means is controlled by the detection of the operator by the human body detection means, so that it is not only capable of achieving ease of operation and safety simultaneously, but also minimizing the deterioration of the environment due to sound.  
         [0061]    The invention according to claim 6 provides an external indicator light that turns on in accordance with the operation status of the operation unit and is capable of controlling the intensity of said external indicator light based on the detection of the operator by means of the human body detection means, so that it makes it possible to recognize various operation statuses of the operation unit or whether it is operated by the operator from a distance while minimizing the deterioration of the environment due to the illumination of the external indicator light.  
         [0062]    The invention of claim 7 provides a human body detection means equipped with an illumination means that irradiates infrared light and a light receiving means for receiving its reflection for detecting the presence of the operator in the vicinity of the operation input unit, so that the detection of the operator can be performed always accurately.  
                                             Description of keys used in the drawings                                     1   Dialysis device main body            2   Dialyzer (blood purifier)            3   Blood circuit            4   Reciprocating pump            5   Heater            6   Deaeration pump            7   Deaeration chamber            8, 9   Suction pump           10, 11   Mixing chamber           12   Operation input unit           12a   Liquid crystal panel (display means)           12b   Cabinet           13   Syringe pump (operation unit)           14   Arm           15   Pole           16   External indicator light           17   Speaker (sound output means)           18   Human body detection means           18a   Light emitting means           18b   Light receiving means           19   Control unit           20   Air bubble detector (operation unit)