ASOURCE Navi

With the declining birthrate and aging population, the number of elderly people who need to be watched over is increasing, and the burden of nursing care is increasing. Most of the accidents at nursing homes are tumbles and falls, so it is essential to keep an eye on them. In order to overcome this situation, there is a movement to use monitoring equipment that utilizes the latest technology.

Monitoring devices are devices installed in nursing care facilities, etc., where sensors are installed in the beds and living spaces of users, etc., and by linking them with the system, staff in other locations are notified of the user's situation. Signals obtained from the sensor are processed in a sophisticated manner, recognizing various situations other than simply getting out of bed, enabling setting of notifications according to the user, and there are types that can provide image information along with notifications. The features of these devices include: 1) the ability to detect actions that lead to falls, 2) the ability to grasp situations in real time from a remote location, etc., and the latest models are equipped with 3) artificial intelligence (AI) to record history and recorded data. It is also possible to predict the movement of the user from the accumulation of information, and (4) privacy can be considered by using silhouette images.

The main types of monitoring devices are classified as follows. (1) A type in which a sensor is installed under the bed mat to detect the user's vital signs such as body movement, heartbeat, and breathing, and notify the user when an abnormality is detected in the user's vital signs. (2) A sensor that utilizes image processing technology is attached to the ceiling of the user's living room. This sensor analyzes the state of the room and the movement of the user in real time, and detects movements that require attention, such as lying down/getting out of bed and falling. perceive and notify. (3) A sensor is attached to the wall above the pillow side of the bed, and infrared rays emitted from the sensor are used to recognize the posture and body movement of the user on the bed, detect and notify a dangerous state. Some even use AI. The user can be monitored even in dark places, and the user's situation can be confirmed using a silhouette image. ④It is a sensor type that can be attached to the wall, and it uses infrared rays to detect sitting up, sitting on the edge, going over a fence, leaving the bed, etc. The sensor camera captures the bed as a three-dimensional electronic mat and judges the movement by sensing in 3D, Notifies you of dangerous behavior. Check the user's status with a silhouette image.

Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare 2015 Project for Supporting Practical Use of Welfare Equipment and Nursing Care Robots Textbooks for Nursing Care Robot Lecturer Training by Priority Areas
From Chapter 4 Monitoring Support Equipment (Nursing Facilities)

The national and local governments are recommending the use of nursing care robots and ICT equipment at nursing care sites, and are providing various support to reduce the burden of introduction costs. 80-90% of the installed nursing care robots are monitoring devices.

The use of monitoring devices is expected not only to protect the safety of users, but also to reduce the burden on nursing care staff. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's 2020 Nursing Care Robot Introduction Support and Demonstration Research Project on the Effects of Introducing Nursing Care Robots, research shows that working hours (direct nursing care and patrol travel time) at nursing care facilities are reduced by about 26% when monitoring devices are installed in all rooms. Against the backdrop of the spread of the new coronavirus infection, the shortage of nursing care personnel is becoming increasingly serious. The number of nursing care workers was about 2.11 million as of fiscal 2019, but it is said that there will be a shortage of about 320,000 in fiscal 2025 and about 690,000 in fiscal 2040, when the baby boomer generation will be over 75 years old.

Efforts to introduce monitoring equipment at nursing care sites have also been evaluated in terms of nursing care fees. In the 2021 revision of long-term care fees, the requirements for adding night shift staff when introducing monitoring equipment at special nursing homes for the elderly will be relaxed. We have reduced the number of people to place from 0.9 to 0.6. In addition, in the daily life continuation support addition for special nursing homes and the occupancy continuation support addition for living care for residents of specific facilities, if monitoring equipment, income, recording software, etc. are used, the placement requirements for care workers for the addition are 6 to 1. from 7 to 1.

The introduction of monitoring equipment is expected to reduce the physical and mental burden on nursing care staff, improve work efficiency, and improve the quality of nursing care.