WO2013065246A2

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Publication number: WO2013065246A2
Application number: PCT/JP2012/006650
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hidenori Kikuchi; Jian Wang; Kaoru Kimura; Tomohiko Okazaki
Original assignee: Sony Corporation
Priority date: 2011-10-31
Filing date: 2012-10-18
Publication date: 2013-05-10
Also published as: JP2013117941A

Description

DIATHESIS DETERMINATION APPARATUS, DIATHESIS DETERMINATION METHOD, HEALTH ASSISTANCE APPARATUS, HEALTH ASSISTANCE METHOD, PROGRAM, TERMINAL APPARATUS, AND HEALTH ASSISTANCE SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a diathesis determination apparatus, a diathesis determination method, a health assistance apparatus, a health assistance method, a program, a terminal apparatus, and a health assistance system, and more particularly, to a diathesis determination apparatus or the like that determines diathesis serving as a barometer of a health state.

In general, doctors question patients about symptoms when doctors diagnose patients for the first time in the doctor's office or in a clinic. In the medical interview, patients are asked about when the patient had a certain subjective symptom, the current nature of the symptom, which diseases the patient has, which medicines the patient is now taking, the date of commencement and amount of drinking and smoking, occurrence of cancer in family and siblings, and the like. Further, the doctors do not ask patientsthese questions personally, but the patients generally fill out a question sheet on which medical interview questions called a medical interview questionnaire are written.

The doctors refer to the medical interview to diagnose the health states of the patients. The method of comprehending the health states of patients using the medical interview is used in not only Western medicine but also Oriental medicine. For example, in Chinese medicine, doctors diagnose the diatheses (health states) of patients, give the patients advice about foods that the patients need to eat, exercises that the patients need to do, or the like, and write a medical prescription.

For example, PLT 1 discloses a technique of performing a medical interview about the skin, body, and living habits of a patient in counseling and giving the patient advice about the skin, body, and living habits.

JP 2003-044715A

When doctors diagnose the health states of patients using a medical interview, as described above, the health states diagnosed by the doctors may sometimes be different depending on the knowledge, experiences, skills, or the like of the doctors. In this case, different advice or different medicines may be given to a plurality of patients in the same health state, and thus inappropriate advice or medicines may be given to some of the patients in some cases.

An object of the present technology is to determine the health state of a subject consistently and satisfactorily.

In one embodiment, there is provided a method comprising receiving medical information for a subject, where the medical information comprises responses to medical inquiries regarding the subject and/or biological information of the subject. The method further comprises determining, based at least in part on the medical information for the subject and using at least one programmed processor, at least one disposition of the subject and at least one diathesis of the subject. The method also comprises determining, based at least in part on the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis and using the at least one programmed processor, at least one recommendation for addressing the at least one diathesis of the subject.

In another embodiment, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method. The method comprises receiving medical information for a subject,where the medical information comprises responses to medical inquiries regarding the subject and/or biological information of the subject. The method further comprises determining, based at least in part on the medical information for the subject, at least one disposition of the subject and at least one diathesis of the subject. The method also comprises determining, based at least in part on the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis, at least one recommendation for addressing the at least one diathesis of the subject.

In a further embodiment, there is provided at least one first computing device configured to communicate with one or more second computing devices via a communication network. The at least one first computing device comprises at least one processor and at least one computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method. The method comprises receiving, via the communication network and from a second computing device of the one or more second computing devices, medical information for the subject, where the medical information comprises responses to medical inquiries regarding the subject and/or biological information of the subject. The method further comprises determining, based at least in part on the medical information for the subject, at least one disposition of the subject and at least one diathesis of the subject. The method also comprises determining, based at least in part on the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis, at least one recommendation for addressing the at least one diathesis of the subject, and transmitting, to the second computing device via the communication network, information regarding the at least one recommendation.

In some embodiments of the present technology, an information acquisition unit acquires one or both of the medical interview information and the biological information. In this case, the information may be input manually, may be provided through a removable memory, or may be acquired via the Internet. Then, the diathesis determination unit may determine the diathesis of the subject based on the acquired information.

For example, the diathesis determination unit may determine the diathesis using classification of combinations of dispositions which the subject innately has and diatheses formed based on the dispositions. The diathesis determination may be performed satisfactorily by determining the diathesis using the classification. For example, the diathesis determination unit may determine the diathesis using a machine learning technique. Thus, the diathesis determination may be performed with high accuracy.

In some embodiments of the present technology, there is provided a diathesis determination unit that determines the diathesis of a subject based on the medical interview information and/or the biological information. The diathesis determination unit can determine the health state of the subject consistently and satisfactorily.

In some embodiments of the present technology, the information acquisition unit acquires one or both of the medical interview information and the biological information. In this case, the information may be input manually, may be provided through a removable memory, or may be acquired via the Internet. Then, the diathesis determination unit determines the diathesis of the subject based on the acquired information.

Forexample, the diathesis determination unit may determine the diathesis using classification of combinations of dispositions which the subject innately has and diatheses formed based on the dispositions. The diathesis determination may be performed satisfactorily by determining the diathesis using the classification. For example, the diathesis determination unit may determine the diathesis using a machine learning technique. Thus, the diathesis determination may be performed with high accuracy.

The advice suggestion unit may determine and suggest the improvement advice for the health state of the subject based on the diathesis determination result. In this case, the determination result of the diathesis serving as a barometer of the health state of the subject may be obtained. For example, the improvement advice may be displayed directly on a display unit, may be transmitted to a terminal apparatus via the Internet, or may be stored in a removable memory.

In some embodiments of the present technology, the health assistance apparatus may include a diathesis determination unit that determines a diathesis of a subject based on medical interview information and/or the biological information. The diathesis determination unit can determine a health state of the subject consistently and satisfactorily. Further, in some embodiments of the present technology, improvement advice for the health state of the subject may be determined and suggested based on the diathesis determination result and the improvement advice suitable for the health state can be suggested to the subject.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, a health assistance apparatus may further include a service supply and recommendation information suggestion unit that determines and suggests information on supply or recommendation of a product or a service corresponding to the suggested improvement advice. In this case, since the information on the supply or the recommendation of the product or the service corresponding to the improvement advice is suggested to the subject,the subject can easily realize food ingestion, exercise, or the like in accordance with the improvement advice.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, a health assistance apparatus may further include a service use history information acquisition unit that acquires use history information of the suggested product or service of the subject. The advice suggestion unit may determine the suggested improvement advice for the health state based on both the diathesis determination result and the acquired service use history information. Thus, since only the improvement advice for the health state which is likely to be selected by the subject is suggested, the improvement advice for the health state can be suggested efficiently.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, a health assistance apparatus may further include a medical interview question suggestion unit that determines and suggests a medical interview question. A medical interview question to be suggested subsequently is determined based on at least the diathesis determination result. Thus, since the number, contents, order, or the like of meaningful medical interview questions can be determined in accordance with the health state of the subject, the diathesis determination can be performed subsequently with high accuracy.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, the health assistance apparatus may further include a social network service function unit. The advice suggestion unit may add information on improvement advice for the health state acquired by the social network service function unit to the improvement advice for the health stateand may suggest the information. Thus, since the subject can know the evaluations (feedback and reputation) of other users of the suggested improvement advice, the subject can utilize the evaluations as advice selection reference information.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, the advice suggestion unit may add information on afuture predicted health state of the subject corresponding to the improvement advice to the improvement advice for the health state and may suggest the information. Thus, the subject can obtain a reference of the future health state when the subject follows the suggested advice. Therefore,the subject may utilize the reference of the future health state as advice selection reference information.

Moreover,according to still other embodiments of the present technology, there is provided a terminal apparatus including: a transmission unit that transmits medical interview information and/or biological information; and a reception unit that receives improvement advice for a health state corresponding to a diathesis determination result of a subject based on the transmitted information.

In some embodiments of the present technology, the transmission unit may transmit the medical interview information and/or the biological information. Then,the reception unit may receive improvement advice for a health state corresponding to a diathesis determination result of a subject based on the transmitted information. For example, the diathesis determination result may be shown by classification of combinations of dispositions which the subject innately has and diatheses formed based on the dispositions.

Thus,in some embodiments of the present technology, the improvement advice for the health state corresponding to the diathesis determination result of the subject may be acquired easily by transmitting the medical interview information and/orthe biological information. Further, when the diathesis determination result is shown by the classification of combinations of dispositions which the subject innately has and diatheses formed based on the dispositions, the subject may acquire the more effective improvement advice suitable for the health state of the subject by performing the diathesis determination satisfactorily.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, the reception unit may further receive suggestion information of supply or recommendation of a product or a service corresponding to the improvement advice for the health information. Thus, the subject may easily realize food ingestion, exercise, or the like in accordance with the improvement advice for the health state.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, the reception unit may further receive a request of use history information of a service suggested to the subject. The transmission unit may transmit the requested use history information of the service. Thus, for example, the user can receive a more suitable advice,product, or service when the improvement advice for the health state received by transmitting the medical interview information and/or the biological information subsequently is received, or the product or the service is supplied or recommended.

Moreover,according to further still other embodiments of the present technology, there is provided a health assistance system including: a client terminal; and a server apparatus connected to the client terminal via a network. The client terminal includes a transmission unit that transmits medical interview information and/or biological information to the server apparatus, and a reception unit that receives, from the server apparatus, improvement advice for a health state corresponding to a diathesis determination result of a subject based on the transmitted information. The server apparatus includes a reception unit that receives the medical interview information and/or the biological information from the client apparatus, a diathesis determination unit that determines a diathesis of the subject based on the received information, and atransmission unit that determines the improvement advice for the health state of the subject based on the diathesis determination result and transmits the improvement advice for the health state to the client apparatus.

In some embodiments of the present technology, the client terminal and the server apparatus are connected to each other via the network. The transmission unit of the client terminal transmits the medical interview information and/or the biological information to the server apparatus. The reception unit of the server apparatus receives this information. The diathesis determination unit of the server apparatus determines the diathesis of the subject based on the received information. The transmission unit of the server apparatus determines the improvement advice for the health state of the subject based on the diathesis determination result and transmits the improvement advice for the health state to the client apparatus. Then, the reception unit of the client apparatus receives the improvement advice.

Thus,in some embodiments of the present technology, when the client terminal transmits the medical interview information and/or the biological information to the server apparatus, the client terminal can receive the improvement advice for the health state corresponding to the diathesis determination result from the server apparatus. Thus, when the subject of the client terminal merely inputs the medical interview information and/or the biological information through the client terminal, the subject can easily acquire the improvement advice for the health state of the subject.

In accordance with some embodiments the present technology, it is possible to determine the health state of a subject consistently and satisfactorily.

Hereinafter,modes (hereinafter, referred to as "embodiments") for carrying outthe invention will be described. The description will be made in the following order.
1. Embodiment
2. Modified Examples

<1.Embodiment>
"Example of Configuration of Health Assistance System"
Fig.1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of ahealthassistance system 10 according to an embodiment. Thehealth assistance system 10 includes aclient terminal 100 and aserver apparatus 200 that are connected to each other via anetwork 300 such as the Internet. Theclient terminal 100 is an Internet terminal such as a personal computer, a tablet, or a mobile terminal.

Fig.2 is a block diagram illustrating the functions of thehealth assistance system 10. That is, thehealth assistance system 10 includes aninput unit 11, adiathesis determination unit 12, anadvice unit 13, a service supply andrecommendation unit 14, a service usehistory collection unit 15, and there-input unit 16.

Theinput unit 11 is a functional unit included in theclient terminal 100. Theinput unit 11 is a functional unit that is used to input medical interview information and/or biological information. Theclient terminal 100 transmits the medical interview information and/or biological information input through theinput unit 11 to theserver apparatus 200 via thenetwork 300.

The medical interview information is input for each medical interview question whena subject selects or input an answer. For example, when a health advicerequest is transmitted from theclient terminal 100 to theserver apparatus 200, the medical interview questions are transmitted from theserver apparatus 200 to theclient terminal 100 and the medical interview questions are each displayed on a display unit. For example, the subject inputs answers by selecting one of options for each of the medical interview questions or inputting a character or a sign. Further, any format of a method or the like of answering the medical interview may be used.

Examples of kinds of medical interview information include the following:
(1)Most painful bodily symptoms of the subject,
(2)Number of years of duration of the symptoms,
(3)Types of medicine that the subject takes,
(4)Number of hours slept,
(5)Recent feelings (depressed, restless, or the like)
for example, "Do you feel depressed or restless?"
(6)Physical and psychological states at work or during usual activities
for example, "Do you feel gloomy and Are you improving?", and
(7)Interpersonal relationships.

Specifically,for example, the subject is asked about when the patient had a certain subjective symptom, the current nature of the symptom, which diseases the patient has, which medicines the patient is now taking, the date of commencement and amount of drinking and smoking, occurrence of cancer in family and siblings, and the like. Moreover, the medical interview may be considered in accordance with race, sex, season, place, job, or the like.

Examples of the biological information include biological information of the subject based on Oriental medicine, biological information of the subject based on Western medicine, and information such as the image or voice of the subject or infrared rays. The biological information based on Oriental medicine is information such as a face diagnosis, a tongue diagnosis, a pulse diagnosis, a sound diagnosis, a touch diagnosis, meridian, or the like. Specifically,the face diagnosis is a diagnosis for complexion, the shape of a face, skin fat, a hair thickness, gloss, skin boils, an eye state (color or blood vesselstate), physical constitution, or the like. The tongue diagnosis is a diagnosis for the surface color of the tongue, the rear surface color of the tongue,the shape of the tongue, a coated tongue, or the like. The sound diagnosis is a diagnosis for body odor, bad breath, voice tone, manner of speaking, or the like. The touch diagnosis is a diagnosis for a pulse state, a stomach resiliency, or the like.

Forexample, the biological information based on Western medicine is information such as blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, body weight, body fat, blood flow rate, sleeping hours, an electrocardiogram, or the like. Theserver apparatus 200 can be considered to authenticate individuals and distinguish the individuals from each other based on the input biological information. For example, the individuals can be distinguished based on a face recognition technique, the waveform of pulse waves, the waveform of the electrocardiogram,vein authentication, or the like.

Thediathesis determination unit 12 is a functional unit included in theserver apparatus 200. Theserver apparatus 200 receives the medical interview information and/or the biological information transmitted from theclient terminal 100. Thediathesis determination unit 12 determines the diathesis of the subject based on the medical interview information and/or the biological information received from theclient terminal 100. Thediathesis determination unit 12 is configured to improve accuracy of the diathesis determination using a machine learning technique.

Thediathesis determination unit 12 determines a diathesis using classification of combinations of the dispositions which the subject innately has and diathesesformed based on the dispositions. The subject innately has the dispositions. In some cases, dispositions of a person may be immutable or difficult to change. Some dispositions that are difficult to change may be changeable over the course of one or more years or decades, or over the course of a lifetime, but may not be changeable over the course of days or weeks. There are a plurality of dispositions in Oriental medicine, such as vital substance deficiency, vital substance congestion, and vital substance inversion, and a plurality of dispositions in Western medicine, such as genetic conditions, allergies or other substance intolerances, or some mental or physical disorders that are permanent or otherwise difficult to treat or fix. Likewise, there are the plurality of diatheses such as blood deficiency, dirtyblood, and fluid deficiency. A disposition may form a basis for adetermination of a diathesis or a comprehensive diathesis determination, as discussed below. For example, a disposition of a subject may effect adiathesis of the subject, such that the diathesis is directly related to the disposition. As another example, the disposition may affect a diathesis so as to cause a variation of the diathesis as experienced by a subject as compared to the diathesis as experienced by a subject without that disposition. When the diathesis determination is performed with the classification of one or more combinations of a diathesis and a disposition, the diathesis determination serving as a barometer of the health state of the subject may be determined satisfactorily.

Fig.3 is a diagram illustrating an example in which thediathesis determination unit 12 outputs a subject diathesis determination result using both the medical interview information and the biological information. Fig. 4(a) is a diagram illustrating classification of the diathesis results as the classification of the combinations of the dispositions and the diatheses. Fig. 4(b) is a diagram illustrating a tree format of the classification.

Fig.5 is a diagram schematically illustrating a diathesis determination method based on the biological information and the medical interview information inthediathesis determination unit 12. In the diathesis determination method, determination functions f (disposition) and f (diathesis) are produced in advance from a large amount of medical interview data (including the biological information) through a machine learning technique. Then, the determination function f (disposition) is input to adisposition determination unit 12a and the determination function f (diathesis) is input to a diathesi sdetermination unit 12b.

When the medical interview information and the biological information are input, the disposition determination unit and the diathesis determination unit determine the disposition and the diathesis, respectively, and input the determination results to a comprehensive determination unit. Then, the comprehensive determination unit performs comprehensive determination based on a determination function f (comprehension) = f (disposition) * f(diathesis). Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating specific contents examples(classification examples of the diatheses) of the diathesis determination results in thediathesis determination unit 12.

Theadvice unit 13 is a functional unit included in theserver apparatus 200. An advice database is connected to theadvice unit 13. Theadvice unit 13 determines improvement advice for a health state of the subject based on the diathesis determination result and suggests the improvement advice. For example, advice is uniquely determined for the diathesis.

Fig.7 is a diagram schematically illustrating an advice suggestion method in theadvice unit 13. In the advice suggestion method, for example, a determination function f (advice) is produced based on the previous history of the subject or the histories of subjects having the same diathesis through the machine learning technique. Then, the determination function f (advice) is input to an advice generation unit. When the diathesis determination result is input, the advice generation unit generates and suggests advice.

Here, examples of the suggested advice are as follows:
(1)AA calories needs to be consumed,
(2)the amount of meals is suppressed to BB calories, and
(3)sleeping of CC hours is necessary.

The advice of theadvice unit 13 can be suggested on, for example, a display of an electronic apparatus such as a portable electronic device, a cellular phone, or a PC. Alternatively, the advice can also be printed on a paper sheet and can be delivered by post.

Further, the following may be performed automatically in accordance with the advices suggested by theadvice unit 13.
(1)A menu of a training gym is automatically updated.
(2)Menu contents of a home-delivery lunch or a restaurant are automatically changed.
(3)Light, music, the height of a pillow, or the like during sleeping is changed.
(4)When a subject has a tendency toward obesity, a high-calorie food becomes high-priced when the high-calorie food is purchased.
(5)When a subject needs to do exercise, an elevator or the like automatically stops.

Theserver apparatus 200 transmits the determined advice to theclient terminal 100. Theadvice unit 13 determines advice in accordance with, for example, season or place. In this case, not only the improvement advice but also information associated with the reason for the advice may be suggested so that the subject can learn from the advice and the information.

Theadvice unit 13 determines and suggests a plurality of pieces of advice so that the subject of theclient terminal 100 can select improvement advice. Theadvice unit 13 uses the machine learning technique so that the subject can determine appropriate advice. Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of improvement advice for the health state displayed on theclient terminal 100. In this display example, three pieces of improvement advice are suggested.

The service supply andrecommendation unit 14 is a functional unit included in theserver apparatus 200. The service supply andrecommendation unit 14 determines and suggests information on supply or recommendation of products and services (hereinafter, simply referred to as "services") corresponding to the improvement advice suggested by theadvice unit 13. Theserver apparatus 200 transmits the information on the supply or the recommendation of the determined service to theclient terminal 100.

Here, examples of the suggested information are as follows.
(1)Let's walk 10000 steps with a pedometer of DD Co., Ltd.
(2)Let's run 10 km/h for 35 minutes on a running machine at EE fitness club.
(3)Eat peperoncino pasta, the menu of the day in FF.

As described above, when the plurality of pieces of improvement advice are suggested to the subject, the service supply andrecommendation unit 14 determines and suggests information on the supply or the recommendation of the service corresponding to the improvement advice selected by the subject. The service supply andrecommendation unit 14 uses the machine learning technique so that the subject can determine the information on the supply or the recommendation of an appropriate service.

For example, the service supply andrecommendation unit 14 determines and suggests information on sale or introduction of services of related business (food, cosmetics, daily commodities, spas, massage, fitness, Chinese medicine, insurance, or medical institutions). This information includes a payment method and a delivery method for a service, the number of times of purchase, and purchasetiming. Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating a display example of information on supply or recommendation of products and services displayed on theclient terminal 100. In this example, three pieces of information on food sale are suggested.

The service usehistory collection unit 15 is a functional unit included in theserver apparatus 200. The service usehistory collection unit 15 acquires use history information on the service suggested by the service supply andrecommendation unit 14. The service usehistory collection unit 15 uses the machine learning technique so that appropriate service use history information is acquired. The service use history information includes a service purchase history, a use status, and an effect.

For example, when theserver apparatus 200 transmits the service use history information to theclient terminal 100 via thenetwork 300, the service use history information is transmitted from theclient terminal 100. In this case, for example, use history information on a service used by the subject may be transmitted in addition to the service suggested by the service supply andrecommendation unit 14.

The above-describedadvice unit 13 determines the improvement advice for the health state to be suggested subsequently to theclient terminal 100 based on not only the determination result of the above-describeddiathesis determination unit 12 but also the use history information on the service acquired by the service usehistory collection unit 15. The use history information on the serviceacquired by the service usehistory collection unit 15 may be supplied to related businesses so as to be utilized for development of better services. Further, the use history information on the services of the service usehistory collection unit 15 may be collected using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) or the like without passing via thenetwork 300.

There-input unit 16 is a functional unit included in the client termina l100. There-input unit 16 is a functional unit that re-inputs the medical interview information and/or the biological information after the above-described service usehistory collection unit 15 acquires the use history information on a service from theclient terminal 100. Theclient terminal 100 transmits the medical interview information and/or the biological information input by there-input unit 16 to theserver apparatus 200 via thenetwork 300.

Even in this case, for example, when theclient terminal 100 transmits a request for a health advice to theserver apparatus 200, the medical interview questions are transmitted from theserver apparatus 200 to theclient terminal 100 and the medical interview questions are each displayed on the display unit. The subject selects one of the options in each of each medical interview question or inputs characters or signs to input a reply. In this case, the number, order, and contents of the medical interview questions are changed from the first medical interview questions.

That is, theserver apparatus 200 changes the second and subsequent medicalinterview questions based on the previous medical interview result, the diathesis determination result, the advice result, and the service supply and recommendation result of the subject. Thus, the diathesis determination result, the advice result, and the service supply and recommendation result of the second and subsequent and subsequent medical interview questions are specialized for the subject, that is, are individualized for the subject.

"Operation of Health Assistance System"
An example of the operation of thehealth assistance system 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 will be described with reference to a sequence shown in Fig. 10. (1) Theclient terminal 100 transmits a health advice request to theserver apparatus 200 in response to an operation of the subject. (2) Theserver apparatus 200 receiving the health advice request determines the medical interview questions. In this case, since the medical interview questions are the first questions, the general medical interview questions are used. (3) Theserver apparatus 200 transmits the determined medical interview questions to theclient terminal 100.

(4) The subject selects or inputs a reply to each of the medical interview questions transmitted from theserver apparatus 200 through theclient terminal 100. Here, the subject also inputs the biological information through theclient terminal 100. (5) Theclient terminal 100 transmits the medical interview information and the biological information to theserver apparatus 200.

(6) In theserver apparatus 200, thediathesis determination unit 12 performs diathesis determination based on the medical interview information and the biological information transmitted from theclient terminal 100. In theserver apparatus 200, theadvice unit 13 determines the improvement advice for the health state based on the diathesis determination result and the information on the supply or the recommendation corresponding to the improvement advice is determined. (7) Theserver apparatus 200 transmits the improvement advice and the information on the supply or the recommendation of the service to theclient terminal 100.

In this case, when the plurality of pieces of improvement advice for the health state are transmitted from theserver apparatus 200 to theclient terminal 100, only the improvement advice for the heath state are first transmitted from theserver apparatus 200 to theclient terminal 100. Thereafter, theserver apparatus 200 transmits, to theclient terminal 100, the information on the supply or the recommendation of the service corresponding to the improvement advice selected by the subject through theclient terminal 100.

(8) After a given period, theserver apparatus 200 transmits a service use history request to theclient terminal 100. (9) A reply to the service use history is made in response to this request from theclient terminal 100 to theserver apparatus 200, when the subject performs an operation.

(10) Thereafter, theclient terminal 100 transmits the second health advice request to theserver apparatus 200 in response to an operation of the subject. (11) Theserver apparatus 200 receiving this health advice request determines the medical interview questions. In this case, since these medical interview questions are the second questions, these medical interview questions are specialized for the subject based on the first diathesis determination result, the first advice result, the first service supply and recommendation result, and the first service use history information. (12) Theserver apparatus 200 transmits the determined medical interview questions to theclient terminal 100.

(13)The subject selects or inputs a reply to each of the medical interview questions transmitted from theserver apparatus 200 through theclient terminal 100. Here, the subject also inputs the biological information through theclient terminal 100. (14) Theclient terminal 100 transmits the medical interview information and the biological information to theserver apparatus 200.

(15)In theserver apparatus 200, thediathesis determination unit 12 performs diathesis determination based on the medical interview information and the biological information transmitted from theclient terminal 100. In theserver apparatus 200, theadvice unit 13 determines the improvement advice for the health state based on the diathesis determination result the service supply andrecommendation unit 14 determines the information on the supply or the recommendation corresponding to the improvement advice. (16) Theserver apparatus 200 transmits the improvement advice and the information on the supply or the recommendation of the service to theclient terminal 100. Hereinafter, the above-described operations are repeated.

In thehealth assistance system 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, as described above, theserver apparatus 200 includes thediathesis determination unit 12 that determines the diathesis of a subject based on the medical interview information and/or the biological information. Therefore, the health state of the subject can be determined satisfactorily. In this case, the diathesis is determined using the classification of the combinations of the dispositions which the subject innately has and the diatheses formed based on the dispositions, and the diathesis serving as the barometer of the health state can be determined satisfactorily. In this case, the diathesis is determined using the machine learning technique and the diathesis can be determined with high accuracy.

In thehealth assistance system 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, theadvice unit 13 of theserver apparatus 200 determines and suggests the improvement advice for the health state of the subject based on the diathesis determination result. Therefore, the appropriate improvement advice suitable for the health state can be suggested to the subject of theclient terminal 100.

In thehealth assistance system 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the service supply andrecommendation unit 14 of theserver apparatus 200 determines and suggests the information on the supply or the recommendation of the service corresponding to the suggested improvement advice. Since the subject of theclient terminal 100 receives the suggestion of the information on the supply or the recommendation of the service corresponding to the improvement advice, the subject can easily realize the food ingestion, exercise, or the like in accordance with the improvement advice.

In thehealth assistance system 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the service usehistory collection unit 15 of theserver apparatus 200 acquires the use history information of the service for the subject from theclient terminal 100. Theadvice unit 13 of theserver apparatus 200 can determine the suggested improvement advice for the health state based on the acquired service use history information in addition to the diathesis determination result. Therefore, since only the improvement advice for the health state which is likely to be selected by the subject can be suggested after the second time, the improvement advice for the health state can efficiently be suggested.

In thehealth assistance system 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the medical interview questions are determined based on the previous diathesis determination result, the previous advice result, the previous service supply and recommendation result, and the previous service use history information after the second time in theserver apparatus 200. That is, the number, contents, order, and the like of the medical interview questions which are worth corresponding to the health state of the subject are determined. Then, these medical interview questions are transmitted to theclient terminal 100. Therefore, since thediathesis determination unit 12 of theserver apparatus 200 can determine the diathesis with high accuracy after the second time, theadvice unit 13 candetermine and suggest the improvement advice which is more suitable for the health state of the subject.

Fig.11 is a diagram illustrating medical interview questions, diathesis determination, improvement advice for health states, and the service supply and recommendation specialized, that is, individualized for the subject everytime. That is, the medical interview questions and the advice are improved and changed in accordance with the determination result of the "disposition"and the "diathesis" of the subject. Further, the medical interview and the advice are improved and changed in accordance with the previously selected advice and the use history of the products or services related to the previous selected advice.

Although not described above, the medical interview and the advice are improved and changed based on data from another health information management system such as PHR (Personal Health Record) or EHR (Electronic Health Record). The timings at which the medical interview is carried out are determined in accordance with the "disposition" and the "diathesis" of the subject, the use history of the products or services, or the like. When the subject has a problem, the frequency of the medical interview is changed in accordance with a normal time.

<2.Modified Examples>
Although not described above, all of the histories of the subject, all of the histories of other users, and evaluations (feedback and reputation) of other users may be considered to be used, as shown in Fig. 12. In this case, the "disposition",the "diathesis", the advice selection history, and the use history of the products or services as the previous health state of the subject are compared to those at the present time, and thus the future health state, advice, product, and service are predicted.

Further, the "disposition", the "diathesis", the advice selection history, and the use history of the products or services as the health state of another user similar to the subject are compared to those of the subject at the present time, and thus the future health state, advice, product, and service are predicted. Furthermore, advice suitable for the subject taste is suggested based on the advice selection history and the use history of the products or services of the subject at the previous time and another person similar to the subject.

A social network service (SNS) as an information exchange tool between users of this system can be used to search for the evaluations of the products or services used by other users other than the subject and to select the advice of the subject or use the products or services. Further, even when the histories of other users or the evaluations of other users are used, the machine learning technique can be used, and thus the more efficient use can be realized.

Fig.13 is a diagram illustrating another display example of the improvement advice for the health state displayed on theclient terminal 100. In this display example, three pieces of improvement advice are suggested, as in the display example shown in Fig. 5. In the display example shown in Fig. 10, the evaluations and comments of other users corresponding to the improvement advice are displayed. Thus, since the subject can evaluate the improvement advice suggested by other users, the subject can utilize the evaluations as reference information of advice selection.

In the display example shown in Fig. 13, future prediction is also displayed. For example, a message of "There is the number of subjects who have gained GG effects in accordance with execution of the advice of option A" is displayed in the future prediction. Thus, the subject can obtain references to the future health state when the subject follows the suggested improvement advice. Therefore, the subject can utilize the future prediction as reference information of the advice selection.

In the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which thesubject receiving the improvement advice for the health state inputs the medical interview information or the biological information on theclient terminal 100 personally. However, as shown in Fig. 14, a case can be considered in which a subject receiving the improvement advice for the health state is different from an input person who inputs the medical interview information or the biological information on theclient terminal 100.

For example, the input person who inputs the medical interview information or the biological information may be a family or a friend of the subject receiving the improvement advice for the health state. In this case, for example, the input person comprehends the state of the subject from the viewpoint of the input person and makes a reply to the medical interview. In this case, for example, when the input person is a member of the family of the subject, the improvement advice for meals, exercise, or the like common to the family can be received for a family unit. Further, when the subject is a family, the medical interview questions different from those of an individual can be transmitted from theserver apparatus 200 to theclient terminal 100 by providing information indicating that the subject is a family in advance from theclient terminal 100 to theserver apparatus 200.

In this case, the subject of the improvement advice for the health state received from theserver apparatus 200 is not the input person, but the input person can determine whether the improvement advice is suitable for the subject in terms of the viewpoint of the other person different from the subject and can select the improvement advice. For example, when the subject is a child, the mother (input person) can select improvement advice. Further, for example, when the subject is an older person, a care assistant (input person)can select improvement advice.

The present technology may be realized in various ways, including in accordance with the illustrative embodiments listed below.

In some embodiments, there is provided a method comprising receiving medical information for a subject, where the medical information comprises responses to medical inquiries regarding the subject and/or biological information of the subject. The method further comprises determining, based at least in part on the medical information for the subject and using at least one programmed processor, at least one disposition of the subject and at least one diathesis of the subject. The method also comprises determining, based at least in part on the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis and using the at least one programmed processor, at least one recommendation for addressing the at least one diathesis of the subject.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, in the method, determining the at least one recommendation comprises determining at least one medical recommendation of at least one treatment for the at least one diathesis of the subject.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, in the method, determining the at least one disposition of the subject comprises determining at least one innate characteristic of the subject, and determiningthe at least one diathesis of the subject comprises determining at least one condition of the subject at a time to which the medical information relates.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, in the method, determining the at least one innate characteristic of the subject comprises determining at least one immutable characteristic of the subject.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, the method further comprises distributing the at least one recommendation such that the subject is able to receive the at least one recommendation.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, in the method, distributing the at least one recommendation comprises displaying, via a user interface, the at least one recommendation and information provided by at least one other subject regarding the at least one recommendation.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, in the method, determining the at least one recommendation comprises determining one or more of a food to recommend, an exercise or rest regimen to recommendation, or one or more services to recommend.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, in the method, determining the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis comprises evaluating the medical information by executing at least one function on the at least one programmed processor. The at least one function may be configured to output diatheses and/or dispositions based on input medical information. The at least one function may have been trained on previously-received medical information.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, the method further comprises receiving second medical information for the subject and training, by executing a machine learning algorithm on the at least one processor, the at least one function using the second medical information. Additionally, in the method, determining the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis comprises executing the at least one function trained in the training.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, the method further comprises receiving third medical information for at least one other subject, and, in the method, training the at least one function further comprises training the at least one function, by executing the machine learning algorithm on the at least one processor, using the third medical information.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, in the method, determining the at least one disposition comprises determining at least one innate characteristic of the subject from a set of innate characteristics that are possible diagnoses according to a traditional Oriental medical diagnosis.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such embodiments, in the method, receiving the medical information comprises receiving information resulting from a physician's visual, aural, and/or tactile observations of the subject.

In other embodiments, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one computer-readable storage medium having encoded thereon executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out a method. The method comprises receiving medical information for a subject, where the medical information comprises responses to medical inquiries regarding the subject and/or biological information of the subject. The method further comprises determining, based at least in part on the medical information for the subject, at least one disposition of the subject and atleast one diathesis of the subject. The method also comprises determining, based at least in part on the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis, at least one recommendation for addressing the at least one diathesis of the subject.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such other embodiments, in the apparatus, determining the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis comprises evaluating the medical information by executing at least one function on the at least one processor. Additionally, the at least one function may be configured to output diatheses and/or dispositions based on input medical information, and the at least one function may have been trained on previously-received medical information.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such other embodiments, in the apparatus, the method further comprises receiving second medical information for the subject, and training, by executing a machine learning algorithm on the at least one processor, the at least one function using the second medical information. Additionally, determining the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis comprises executing the at least one function trained in the training.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such other embodiments, in the apparatus, the method further comprises receiving third medical information for at least one other subject. Additionally, training the at least one function further comprises training the at least one function, by executing the machine learning algorithm on the at least one processor, using the third medical information.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such further embodiments, in the at least one first computing device, determining the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis comprises evaluating the medical information by executing at least one function on the at least one processor, the at least one function being configured to output diatheses and/or dispositions based on input medical information, the at least one function having been trained on previously-received medical information.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such further embodiments, in the at least one first computing device, the method further comprises receiving second medical information for the subject and training, by executing a machine learning algorithm on the at least one processor, the at least one function using the second medical information. Additionally, determining the at least one disposition and the at least one diathesis comprises executing the at least one function trained in the training.

Additionally or alternatively, in some such further embodiments, in the at least one first computing device, the method further comprises receiving third medical information for at least one other subject. Additionally, training the at least one function further comprises training the at least one function, by executing the machine learning algorithm on the at least one processor, using the third medical information.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, a health assistance apparatus may further include a service supply and recommendation information suggestion unit that determines and suggests information on supply or recommendation of a product or a service corresponding to the suggested improvement advice. In this case, since the information on the supply or the recommendation of the product or the service corresponding to the improvement advice is suggested to the subject, the subject can easily realize food ingestion, exercise, or the like in accordance with the improvement advice.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, the health assistance apparatus may further include a social network service function unit. The advice suggestion unit may add information on improvement advice for the health state acquired by the social network service function unit to the improvement advice for the health state and may suggest the information. Thus, since the subject can know the evaluations (feedback and reputation) of other users of the suggested improvement advice, the subject can utilize the evaluations as advice selection reference information.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, the advice suggestion unit may add information on a future predicted health state of the subject corresponding to the improvement advice to the improvement advice for the health state and may suggest the information. Thus, the subject can obtain a reference of the future health state when the subject follows the suggested advice. Therefore, the subject may utilize the reference of the future health state as advice selection reference information.

Moreover, according to still other embodiments of the present technology, there is provided a terminal apparatus including: a transmission unit that transmits medical interview information and/or biological information; and a receptionunit that receives improvement advice for a health state corresponding to a diathesis determination result of a subject based on the transmitted information.

In some embodiments of the present technology, the transmission unit may transmit the medical interview information and/or the biological information. Then, the reception unit may receive improvement advice for a health state corresponding to a diathesis determination result of a subject based on the transmitted information. For example, the diathesis determination result may be shown by classification of combinations of dispositions which the subject innately has and diatheses formed based on the dispositions.

Thus,in some embodiments of the present technology, the improvement advice for the health state corresponding to the diathesis determination result of the subject may be acquired easily by transmitting the medical interview information and/or the biological information. Further, when the diathesis determination result is shown by the classification of combinations of dispositions which the subject innately has and diatheses formed based on the dispositions, the subject may acquire the more effective improvement advice suitable for the health state of the subject by performing the diathesis determination satisfactorily.

Moreover, in some embodiments of the present technology, for example, the reception unit may further receive a request of use history information of a service suggested to the subject. The transmission unit may transmit the requested use history information of the service. Thus, for example, the user can receive a more suitable advice, product, or service when the improvement advice for the health state received by transmitting the medical interview information and/or the biological information subsequently is received, or the product or the service is supplied or recommended.

Moreover, according to further still other embodiments of the present technology, there is provided a health assistance system including: a client terminal; and aserver apparatus connected to the client terminal via a network. The client terminal includes a transmission unit that transmits medical interview information and/or biological information to the server apparatus, and a reception unit that receives, from the server apparatus, improvement advice for a health state corresponding to a diathesis determination result of a subject based on the transmitted information. The server apparatus includes a reception unit that receives the medical interview information and/or the biological information from the client apparatus, a diathesis determination unit that determines a diathesis of the subject based on the received information, and a transmission unit that determines the improvement advice for the health state of the subject based on the diathesis determination result and transmits the improvement advice for the health state to the client apparatus.

Thus, in some embodiments of the present technology, when the client terminal transmits the medical interview information and/or the biological informationto the server apparatus, the client terminal can receive the improvement advice for the health state corresponding to the diathesis determination result from the server apparatus. Thus, when the subject of the client terminal merely inputs the medical interview information and/or the biological information through the client terminal, the subject can easily acquire the improvement advice for the health state of the subject.

10 HEALTH ASSISTANCE SYSTEM
11 INPUT UNIT
12 DIATHESIS DETERMINATION UNIT
13 ADVICE UNIT
14 SERVICE SUPPLY AND RECOMMENDATION UNIT
15 SERVICE USE HISTORY COLLECTION UNIT
16 RE-INPUT UNIT
100 CLIENT TERMINAL
200 SERVER APPARATUS
300 NETWORK