JP4891605B2 - Software management system and software distribution server - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a software management system for dealing with a failure that has occurred in software that controls a medical device, and more particularly to a software remote update technique.

  Conventionally, when a failure occurs in the basic software (operating system) or application software that is generally used, the service engineer on the software provider side refers to the operation status of the software itself and the information on the memory dump at the time of the failure. However, the cause of the failure is specified, and correction software and a coping procedure for solving the failure are provided to the user (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In recent years, a software management system having a function of storing update contents such as correction software in a server on a wide area network and distributing the update contents to a target client, a so-called remote software update function is used. (See, for example, Patent Document 2).

  This remote software update function operates, for example, as follows. When a client (computer terminal or the like) is turned on, a signal for confirming whether or not software update is necessary is transmitted from the client to the server. Based on this signal, the server confirms whether there is an update content to be confirmed. If there is an update, send the update to the client. The client receives the update content and updates the target software.

  By using such a system, a plurality of clients can be managed in a centralized manner, and the correction software transmission processing can be unified. Currently, many clients on a wide area network use this system for updates.

  When actually operating a system with such functions, it is important to smoothly distribute the contents of updates such as correction software and to accurately identify the content and cause of the failure that occurred on the client. It becomes.

  For example, if there is a large amount of data in the update contents such as a correction program, or if a large number of clients are started at the same time, the amount of processing that the server should perform may not be able to cope with it. Data transmission may take time. As a result, an excessive processing load is applied to the server, and the problem that the startup time of the client becomes long occurs. Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, it is desirable that the update content distribution processing can be smoothly performed even when the data amount of the update content is large or when a large number of clients are targeted for distribution.

  At present, the load design, that is, the maximum size of software data to be distributed is assumed in advance, the number of servers is increased to reduce the processing load on each server, and the allowable amount of communication data on the network is increased (network The distribution process is facilitated by reducing the load).

  On the other hand, it is natural that the contents and causes of software failures are identified in view of the fact that appropriate countermeasures cannot be applied to appropriate parts of software unless they are specified.

  Incidentally, in recent years, software updates for controlling various medical devices have also been performed by the above-described remote method. Such a software management system has a configuration in which a server installed on the update service provider side and various medical devices (clients) installed in a medical institution are connected by a wide area network (public communication network) such as the Internet. .

  Software that controls medical devices has the potential to cause serious situations such as misdiagnosis and patient misuse if a failure occurs. Therefore, before the operation (before shipment), a very detailed software test is performed as compared with ordinary office or personal software. Therefore, the occurrence frequency of failures is generally low compared to software in other fields. However, even if thorough testing before operation is performed, unexpected failures sometimes occur. For this reason, the trouble that occurs in the software for medical purposes becomes very complicated.

  In addition, since medical devices are often connected to other medical devices and peripheral devices, in order to identify the content and cause of the failure, not only the information on the software in which the failure occurred, but also other medical devices It is also necessary to analyze interrupt processing from peripheral devices. Further, when a plurality of pieces of software are operating in parallel, it is necessary to analyze the influence of other software on the software in which the failure has occurred. Furthermore, it is necessary to analyze other elements such as an operation procedure before the failure occurs. As described above, in order to identify the content and cause of the failure of the software for medical purposes, it is necessary to comprehensively analyze various events before the occurrence of the failure and reproduce the situation at the time of the failure.

  In this way, taking into account the fact that the failure itself is complex and the need to consider the effects of other hardware and software, it is necessary to accurately identify the content and cause of the software failure in the medical device. Is very difficult. This is one barrier for suitably performing remote software update in the medical field.

  On the other hand, many medical institutions such as hospitals start work at the same time (about 8 am to 10 am), so the time when the power is turned on to the medical device is concentrated at approximately 7 am to 9 am There is a present situation. As a result, the server must support many medical devices in the past few hours. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the number of servers (redundancy of server capacity) or increase the allowable amount of communication data on the network (expand network capacity) so that the processing load in about several hours can be achieved. However, such a load design is obviously excessive at a time other than about several hours, which increases the cost as a whole. In particular, when the allowable amount of the public line is increased, the ratio of the communication cost to the system maintenance cost increases, and as a result, the maintenance cost of the medical device borne by the user increases.

  In recent years, software is generally configured to include a plurality of software modules for each processing execution unit and each functional unit. Also in the medical field, software including a plurality of software modules is widely used in order to give various functions to one medical device, and a software module common to many medical devices is often installed. .

  When a failure occurs in such software, it is necessary to distribute software for updating the software module in which the failure has occurred to each medical device in order to uniformly control the quality of many medical devices.

  On the other hand, even if a common software module is installed, there are medical institutions that frequently use the software module and medical institutions that rarely (not at all) use the software module, depending on the type of medical device and on-site operation mode. . When a failure occurs, a medical institution that uses the software module more frequently seems to be more urgent to repair the failure than a medical institution that rarely uses the software module. However, with the conventional software distribution technology, it has been impossible to create a distribution schedule in consideration of such a difference in urgency.

JP-A-5-165626 JP 2004-265304 A

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and smoothly distributes update software to a plurality of medical devices without increasing system load such as server capacity redundancy and network capacity expansion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a software management system capable of doing this.

  Further, the present invention distributes software for update according to the urgency and necessity of fault repair in each medical institution operating the medical device when a fault occurs in the software that controls the medical device. It is another object to provide a software management system capable of performing the above.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a software management system capable of accurately identifying the content of a failure that has occurred in software for controlling a medical device and distributing appropriate update software. It is.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is provided with a plurality of medical devices respectively connected to a wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software. And a software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure that has occurred in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
And a specific process identification information for identifying the specific process when the specific process related to the software failure is performed for each of the plurality of medical devices. Recording means for recording the specific processing date and time information indicating the date and time of execution in association with each other as operation status information, and the software of each of the plurality of medical devices based on the operation status information recorded in the recording means The software distribution server further includes storage means for storing update software in advance, and the plurality of medical devices based on the recorded failure occurrence frequency information. A distribution schedule determining means for determining a distribution order of the update software And distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined distribution order, wherein each of the plurality of medical devices is the distributed update software. Updating the software.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and storing software, and each of the medical apparatuses controlled by the stored software, and the wide area network. A software distribution system connected to and distributed to the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network, and the software for updating that corrects the failure that has occurred in the software, wherein the software management system includes: Each time the medical device executes a specific process related to the software failure, specific process identification information for identifying the specific process and a specific process indicating the date and time when the specific process was executed Recording means for recording date and time information in association with each other, and the recording The occurrence frequency of generating the failure occurrence frequency information in the software by counting the number of the specific process identification information associated with the specific process date / time information indicating the date / time belonging to a predetermined period among the specified process identification information An information creation means, wherein the software distribution server sends a request signal for requesting an operation of the storage software and the occurrence frequency information creation means in advance through the wide area network. The transmission means for transmitting to each of the devices and the occurrence frequency information created by the occurrence frequency information creation means corresponding to the transmitted request signal are received from each of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network. Receiving means and the occurrence frequency information received from each of the plurality of medical devices The plurality of medical devices are compared by comparing the number of the specific process identification information shown, and specifying the order in which the update software is transmitted in order from the medical device having the largest number to each of the plurality of medical devices. A distribution schedule determining means for determining a distribution order of the update software for the distribution, and a distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined distribution order. Each of the medical devices updates the software by the distributed update software.

The invention according to claim 8 is provided with software storage means for storing software connected to a wide area network, respectively, and a plurality of medical devices controlled by the stored software, and the wide area network. A software distribution system connected to and distributed to the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network, and the software for updating that corrects the failure that has occurred in the software, wherein the software management system includes: Each time the medical device executes a specific process related to the software failure, specific process identification information for identifying the specific process and a specific process indicating the date and time when the specific process was executed and date and time information, every time the medical device uses the software Recording means for associating and recording the usage date information indicating the usage date, and counting the number of usage date information indicating the usage date and time belonging to a predetermined period among the recorded usage date and time information, Use frequency information creating means for creating use frequency information of the software in the medical device, and the software distribution server requests storage means for storing the update software in advance and operation of the use frequency information creating means Transmitting the request signal to be transmitted to each of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network, and the use frequency information created by the use frequency information creating unit corresponding to the transmitted request signal, Receiving means for receiving from each of the plurality of medical devices via a wide area network; The number of use date and time information indicated in the use frequency information received from each of the medical devices is compared, and the update software is transmitted to each of the plurality of medical devices in order from the largest number of medical devices. A distribution schedule determining means for determining a distribution order of the update software to the plurality of medical devices by designating the order, and the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined distribution order Distribution control means for distributing, wherein each of the plurality of medical devices updates the software with the distributed update software.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and storing software, each of which is controlled by the stored software, and the wide area network. A software distribution system connected to and distributed to the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network, and the software for updating that corrects the failure that has occurred in the software, wherein the software management system includes: Each time the medical device executes a specific process related to the software failure, specific process identification information for identifying the specific process and a specific process indicating the date and time when the specific process was executed and date and time information, every time the medical device uses the software Recording means for recording in association with date and time of use information indicating the date and time of use, each other, among the recorded date and time of use information, based on the use time information indicating the date and time of use belonging to a predetermined time period, the predetermined time period Storage means for calculating the software usage time in the medical device and creating usage frequency information of the software in the medical device, wherein the software distribution server stores the update software in advance And a transmission means for transmitting a request signal for requesting an operation of the usage frequency information creating means to each of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network, and the usage frequency information corresponding to the transmitted request signal. The usage frequency information created by the creating means is transmitted through the wide area network to the plurality of The receiving means that receives from each of the medical devices and the value of the usage time indicated in the usage frequency information received from each of the plurality of medical devices are compared, and the usage time is determined for each of the plurality of medical devices. A delivery schedule determining means for determining a distribution order of the update software to the plurality of medical devices by designating the order in which the update software is transmitted in order from a medical device having a larger value of the value; and the determined distribution order And a distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices, and each of the plurality of medical devices updates the software with the distributed update software. It is characterized by that.

  The invention according to claim 12 is provided with software storage means each connected to a wide area network and storing software, and a plurality of medical devices respectively controlled by the stored software, and the wide area network. A software distribution system connected to and distributed to the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network, and the software for updating that corrects the failure that has occurred in the software, wherein the software management system includes: Recording means for recording operation status information indicating the operation status of the software for each, and based on the recorded operation status information for each of two or more medical devices comprising a part of the plurality of medical devices, Each of the two or more medical devices. Occurrence frequency information creating means for creating occurrence frequency information indicating the occurrence frequency of faults in software, and the software distribution server stores storage means for storing update software in advance, and the created two or more medical devices Based on each occurrence frequency information of the device, a calculation means for estimating a distribution of the occurrence frequency of the failure in the plurality of medical devices, and based on the estimated distribution of the occurrence frequency of the failure, the distribution in the distribution The update software is distributed to the plurality of medical devices based on the transmission start date / time determining means for determining the transmission start date / time of the update software for each value of the occurrence frequency, and the determined transmission start date / time. Delivery control means, and the medical device is configured to deliver the delivered update. Performing update of the software by use software, and wherein the.

  The invention described in claim 14 is provided with software storage means for storing software connected to the wide area network, respectively, and a plurality of medical devices controlled by the stored software, and the wide area network. A software distribution system connected to and distributed to the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network, and the software for updating that corrects the failure that has occurred in the software, wherein the software management system includes: Recording means for recording operation status information indicating the operation status of the software for each, and based on the recorded operation status information for each of two or more medical devices comprising a part of the plurality of medical devices, In each of two or more medical devices Usage frequency information creating means for creating usage frequency information indicating the usage frequency of the software, the software distribution server storing in advance the update software, and the created two or more medical devices Computing means for estimating the distribution of the usage frequency of the software in the plurality of medical devices based on the respective usage frequency information, and based on the estimated distribution of the usage frequency, For each value, transmission start date / time determining means for determining the transmission start date / time of the update software, and distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined transmission start date / time. And the medical device includes the distributed update device. Performing update of the software by software, and wherein the.

The invention according to claim 15 is provided with software storage means each connected to a wide area network and storing software, and a plurality of medical devices respectively controlled by the stored software, and the wide area network. A software distribution system connected to and distributed to the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network, and the software for updating that corrects the failure that has occurred in the software, wherein the software management system includes: Each time the medical device executes a specific process related to the failure of the software, specific process identification information for identifying the specific process and a specific process indicating the date and time when the specific process is executed Recording means for recording date and time information in association with each other, and the recording Generation of the frequency of occurrence of the failure in the medical device by counting the number of pieces of specific process identification information associated with the specific process date and time information indicating the date and time belonging to a predetermined period among the specified specific process identification information Frequency information creating means, and a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of update software is transmitted to the software distribution server through the wide area network, and the software distribution server stores the update software in advance. And a transmitting means for transmitting a request signal for requesting an operation of the occurrence frequency information creating means to each of two or more medical devices comprising a part of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network, and the transmitted Occurrence frequency created by the occurrence frequency information creation means corresponding to the request signal Distribution means for receiving information from each of the two or more medical devices via the wide area network, and the distribution of the number of the specific processing identification information in the two or more medical devices based on the received occurrence frequency information And the number of the specific processing identification information in the plurality of medical devices based on the obtained distribution and the ratio of the number of the two or more medical devices to the number of the plurality of medical devices. Computing means for estimating the distribution; number of devices of the plurality of medical devices; preset number of devices that can be delivered within a predetermined period of time indicating the maximum number of medical devices that can be transmitted; and the estimation Based on the distribution of the number of specific processing identification information that has been made, for each value of the number of specific treatment identification information in the distribution, When a transmission start date and time determining means for determining the transmission start date and time of the update software and the transmission request signal transmitted by any one of the plurality of medical devices are received, they are recorded in the recording means of the medical device. Based on the specific process identification information and the specific process date / time information, the value of the number of specific process identification information indicated in the occurrence frequency information created by the occurrence frequency creation means is obtained, and the current date / time is the number of the obtained number A date and time determination means for determining whether or not it is after the transmission start date and time corresponding to the value, and distribution that transmits the update software to the medical device only when it is determined that the current date and time is after the transmission start date or later Control means, and the medical device updates the software by the transmitted update software. And wherein the door.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and storing software, and each of the medical apparatuses controlled by the stored software, and the wide area network. A software distribution system connected to and distributed to the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network, and the software for updating that corrects the failure that has occurred in the software, wherein the software management system includes: Each time the medical device uses the software, a recording unit that records usage date information indicating the usage date and time, and indicates a usage date and time belonging to a predetermined period of the recorded usage date information Count the number of usage date and time information to the medical device Use frequency information creating means for creating use frequency information of the software, and transmitting a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of update software to the software distribution server through the wide area network, and the software distribution server Each of two or more medical devices comprising a part of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network, a storage unit for storing update software in advance, and a request signal for requesting the operation of the usage frequency information generating unit. And a receiving means for receiving the usage frequency information created by the usage frequency information creating means corresponding to the transmitted request signal from each of the two or more medical devices through the wide area network. And based on the received usage frequency information Obtaining the distribution of the number of use date and time information in two or more medical devices, and based on the obtained distribution and the ratio of the number of the two or more medical devices to the number of the plurality of medical devices, The calculation means for estimating the distribution of the number of use date and time information in the plurality of medical devices, the number of devices of the plurality of medical devices, and the maximum number of medical devices capable of transmitting update software within a predetermined time. Based on the preset number of distributable devices information and the estimated distribution of the number of use date / time information, the transmission of the update software starts for each value of the number of use date / time information in the distribution When a transmission start date and time determining means for determining a date and time and the transmission request signal transmitted by any of the plurality of medical devices are received In addition, based on the use date information recorded in the recording means of the medical device, the value of the number of use date information shown in the use frequency information created by the use frequency creation means is acquired, and the current date is obtained Date and time determination means for determining whether or not it is after the transmission start date and time corresponding to the number of values determined, and only when it is determined that the current date and time is after the transmission start date, the update software is stored in the medical device. Distribution control means for transmitting the software, and the medical device updates the software by the transmitted update software.

The invention according to claim 17 is provided with software storage means each connected to a wide area network and storing software, and a plurality of medical devices respectively controlled by the stored software, and the wide area network. A software distribution system connected to and distributed to the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network, and the software for updating that corrects the failure that has occurred in the software, wherein the software management system includes: Each time the medical device uses the software, a recording unit that records usage date information indicating the usage date and time, and indicates a usage date and time belonging to a predetermined period of the recorded usage date information Based on the use date and time information, the previous period Use frequency information creating means for calculating the software use time and creating use frequency information of the software in the medical device, and sending a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of the update software through the wide area network, The software distribution server transmits a request signal for requesting operation of the storage means for storing update software in advance and the use frequency information creation means to the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network. Transmission means for transmitting to each of two or more medical devices comprising a part of the information, and the usage frequency information created by the usage frequency information creation means in response to the transmitted request signal through the wide area network, Receive from each of two or more medical devices And the distribution of the usage time in the two or more medical devices based on the received usage frequency information, and the two or more of the calculated distribution and the number of devices of the plurality of medical devices. Based on the ratio of the number of medical devices, the computing means for estimating the distribution of the usage time in the plurality of medical devices, the number of devices in the plurality of medical devices, and the update software can be transmitted within a predetermined time The update software for each value of the usage time in the distribution based on preset information on the number of distributable devices indicating the maximum number of medical devices and the estimated distribution of the usage time A transmission start date and time determining means for determining the transmission start date and time of the transmission, and the transmission request signal transmitted by any of the plurality of medical devices is received. The usage time value indicated in the usage frequency information created by the usage frequency creation means is acquired based on the usage date information recorded in the recording means of the medical device, and the current date and time is acquired. A date and time determination means for determining whether or not it is after the transmission start date and time corresponding to the used time value, and only when the current date and time is after the transmission start date and the determination is made to the medical device for the update Distribution control means for transmitting software, and the medical device updates the software with the transmitted update software.

  The software management system according to claim 1 is configured to include a software distribution server and a plurality of medical devices, and records software operation status information in each medical device, and the software distribution server stores the recorded operation status. Based on the information, the distribution order of the update software to the plurality of medical devices is determined, and the update software is distributed to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined distribution order. Each medical device is configured to update software using the distributed update software.

  According to such a software management system, unlike the conventional configuration in which update software is randomly distributed to a plurality of medical devices, the operation status of each medical device (for example, the frequency of occurrence of faults and software) Since the distribution order can be determined in accordance with the frequency of use, etc., the update software can be preferentially transmitted to medical devices that are highly urgent or necessary for update. Further, by executing such distribution processing, smooth distribution processing can be realized without increasing system load such as redundancy of server capacity and expansion of network capacity.

  A software management system according to a twelfth aspect includes a software distribution server and a plurality of medical devices, records operation status information of software in each medical device, and includes a part of the plurality of medical devices. Based on the operation status information of the medical devices described above, occurrence frequency information indicating the frequency of occurrence of failures in software in the two or more medical devices is created. The software distribution server estimates a distribution of failure occurrence frequencies in a plurality of medical devices based on the occurrence frequency information of the two or more medical devices, and updates each occurrence frequency value in the estimated distribution. Software transmission start date and time is determined, and update software is distributed to a plurality of medical devices.

  According to such a software management system, as in the first aspect of the invention, the update software can be preferentially transmitted to medical devices that are highly urgent or necessary for update, and server capacity is redundant. Smooth distribution processing can be realized without increasing system load such as networking or network capacity expansion.

  Furthermore, according to this software management system, the distribution schedule for all the medical devices can be determined simply by acquiring the occurrence frequency information of some medical devices, so that the distribution schedule determination process can be performed efficiently. There is a specific effect that it can be performed. In addition, there is a specific effect that the distribution schedule can be determined effectively even when the occurrence frequency information cannot be obtained from a certain medical device such as when there is a medical device that has not been used for a long period of time. is there.

  The software management system according to claim 14 includes a software distribution server and a plurality of medical devices, records software operation status information in each medical device, and includes a part of the plurality of medical devices. Based on the operation status information of the medical devices described above, usage frequency information indicating the usage frequency of software in the two or more medical devices is created. The software distribution server estimates the distribution of the software usage frequency in the plurality of medical devices as a whole based on the usage frequency information of the two or more medical devices, and updates each usage frequency value in the estimated distribution. Software transmission start date and time is determined, and update software is distributed to a plurality of medical devices.

  According to such a software management system, as in the invention of claim 12, the update software can be preferentially transmitted to a medical device having high urgency or necessity for update, and server capacity is redundant. Smooth distribution processing can be realized without increasing system load such as networking or network capacity expansion, and distribution schedule determination processing can be performed efficiently. Even if it is a case where it cannot acquire, a delivery schedule can be determined effectively.

  An example of a preferred embodiment of a software management system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, three embodiments of the software management system according to the present invention will be described.

  The software management systems of the first and second embodiments are intended to facilitate the distribution of update software to a plurality of medical devices without increasing system load such as server capacity redundancy or network capacity expansion. The update software can be preferentially transmitted to a medical device having high urgency or necessity for update.

  On the other hand, in the software management system according to the third embodiment, when a software failure occurs in a certain medical device, the content of the failure is accurately specified, so that an appropriate update software for a plurality of medical devices is provided. Is to be delivered.

  In the present invention, “software” may represent the entire software that controls the medical device, or may represent a software module that constitutes a part of the software. Therefore, the update software may update the entire software, or may update only a part of the software modules.

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment of a software management system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the present system. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of software for controlling the medical apparatus. 3 to 5 are diagrams illustrating examples of log information (operation status information) recorded by the medical apparatus. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for recording the log information. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a delivery schedule determination process based on the occurrence frequency of software failures. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of distribution processing of update software. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a delivery schedule determination process based on software usage frequency.

[System configuration]
A software management system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a server 2 and a plurality (n) of medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. The medical devices 3-1 to 3-n are installed in different medical institutions (hospitals, clinics, universities, research institutes, etc.). Each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is installed so as to be able to perform data communication with the server 2 through a wide area network N such as the Internet.

  Although only one server 2 is provided in the software management system 1 in FIG. 1, in practice, any number of one or more can be installed.

  Each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n has the same configuration. Hereinafter, only the medical device 3-1 (3) will be described in detail, and the other medical devices 3-2 to 3-n are based on the medical device 3.

[Configuration of medical device]
The medical device 3 is an arbitrary device used in the medical field, and is configured to operate according to control by predetermined software. Specific examples of the medical apparatus 3 include an electronic medical record management system, a medical image management system, a medical accounting management system, a medical image diagnostic apparatus (an X-ray diagnostic apparatus, an X-ray CT apparatus, an MRI apparatus, etc.), an imaging system, and an image interpretation system. There are systems.

  A predetermined external device 4 is connected to the medical device 3. For example, when a medical image management system such as a RIS (Radiology Information System) is used as the medical apparatus 3, a medical image diagnostic apparatus that provides a captured image to the medical image management system is installed as the external apparatus 4. (The reverse is also true.) A computer used by a doctor in an examination room or the like is an example of the external device 4. Note that the number of external devices 4 connected to the medical device 3 is arbitrary.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the medical device 3 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 30, a software storage unit 31, a log recording unit 32, a transmission information creation unit 33, a user interface (user I / F) 34, and a communication unit. 35.

(Control part)
The control unit 30 executes control of each unit of the medical device 3 and various data processing. In particular, the control unit 30 executes various control processes and data processes according to the medical software 310 stored in the software storage unit 31. The control unit 30 includes, for example, a microprocessor such as a CPU or MPU and a memory such as a RAM. The details of the operation of the control unit 30 will be described later as appropriate.

[Software storage section]
The software storage unit 31 corresponds to an example of the “software storage unit” of the present invention, and stores in advance various software (for example, an operating system and other application software) including the medical software 310.

  The medical software 310 is software according to the use of the medical device 3 such as electronic medical record management software, medical image management software, medical accounting management software, medical image diagnosis software, image inspection software, and interpretation software.

  The software storage unit 31 includes a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk drive. When connected to a local network such as a LAN in the medical institution, software may be stored on a local server.

  The medical software 310 is configured by a plurality of software modules provided for each processing execution unit or functional unit of the medical software 310. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the medical software 310 includes an overall control module 311, an ABC_module 312, a DEF_module 313, a GHI module 314, a JKL_module 315, an MNO_module 316, and a PQR_module 317.

  The overall control module 311 performs calling processing of the modules 312 to 317, processing executed by the overall control module 311 itself or each of the modules 312 to 317, processing for recording a log of operation contents by the user, and the like. Each of the modules 312 to 317 has a specific function, and is called by the overall control module 311 as necessary to execute a specific process.

  For example, when the medical apparatus 3 is an X-ray CT apparatus, the ABC_module 312 is a projection data collection software module, the DEF_module is a preprocessing software module, the GHI_module is a reconstruction processing software module, and the JKL_module is for postprocessing. Each of the modules 311 to 317 has a specific function such as a software module, an MNO_module is a software module for image display control, a PQR_module is a software module for gantry driving, and so on.

[Log recording part]
The log recording unit 32 corresponds to an example of the “recording unit” of the present invention, and records log information 320 (operation status information) indicating the operation status of the medical software 31. The log recording unit 32 includes a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk drive.

  Each time the process based on the medical software 310 is performed, the control unit 30 identifies process identification information (indicating the process content of the process) and process date / time information indicating the date and time when the process is performed. Log information 320 is recorded in the log recording unit 32.

  Further, every time the medical software 310 is used, the control unit 30 records use date information indicating the use date in the log recording unit 32 as log information 320. Here, the timing for recording the use date and time information is, for example, the timing at which the medical software 310 is activated or the timing at which it is terminated.

  Here, the “date and time” recorded as processing date and time information and usage date and time information may include “year, month, day, time” or only “month, day, time”. It may include only “day and time”, may include only “day”, or may include only “time”. Here, “time” includes “hour, minute, second” and “hour, minute”. Any one of these options is appropriately recorded according to the use of information. Note that the information indicating the “date and time” is acquired based on a timekeeping function installed in a general microprocessor.

  As an example of the log information 320 recorded in the log recording unit 32, the non-response log information 321 shown in FIG. 3, the forced termination log information 322 shown in FIG. 4, and the debug log information 323 shown in FIG. 5 will be described. Each piece of log information 321 to 323 has log identification information for identifying the type of log (no response log, forced termination log, debug log).

  The non-response log information 321 shown in FIG. 3 includes the module name (“no-response module name”) of the module that has become non-responsive to the request for system reset processing or termination processing (shutdown processing) of the medical device 3. The date and time when the no-response state is entered (“log date and time”; processing date and time information) are recorded in association with each other.

  When the user operates the user interface 34 to request a system reset or shutdown, the overall control module 311 sends a termination request to all the activated software modules (312 to 317). The software module responding to the termination request is terminated in response to the request. On the other hand, a software module that does not respond cannot be terminated, and is activated as it is even after a predetermined time has elapsed. In the no-response log information 312, the module name and log date and time of the software module that does not respond are recorded.

  The forced termination log information 322 shown in FIG. 4 includes the module name of the module that was forcibly terminated when the abnormal operation occurred in the medical software 310 (“forced module name”) and the date and time when the forced termination was performed (“log”). Date and time ”; processing date and time information) are recorded in association with each other.

  Usually, the operating system monitors the operation status of the medical software 310 to detect an abnormal operation such as access to an unexpected memory area or occurrence of a large number of request commands or events (that is, occurrence of a failure) The software module in which a failure has occurred is forcibly terminated. By using such an operating system function, the module name and log date and time of the forcibly terminated software module are recorded in the forced termination log information 322. A similar operation may be realized by separately installing a software module having the function. The control unit 30 detects a failure that has occurred in the medical software 301 by using such an operating system or software module.

  The debug log information 323 illustrated in FIG. 5 is information that is referred to in order to identify the cause of the failure that has occurred. In the debug log information 323, processing contents of processing executed by the modules 311 to 317 are recorded in time series. Specifically, “debug log” (processing content information) indicating the identification code of each processing content, “module name” of the module that executed the processing, and “log date and time” indicating the date and time when the processing was executed (Processing date and time information) are recorded in association with each other.

  The debug log information 323 is used to use the medical software 310 such as the start date and time and the end date and time together with a debug log indicating that the medical software 310 is started and ended every time the medical software 310 is used. The related log date and time (use date and time information) is recorded.

[Transmission information creation section]
The transmission information creation unit 33 counts the number of debug logs (specific process identification information) of a specific process executed within a predetermined period among the debug logs of the modules 311 to 317 recorded in the debug log information 323. . Here, the “specific process” is a process related to a failure of the medical software 310, and the “specific process identification information” is a debug log (character string information) for identifying the specific process. Further, the “log date / time” of the “specific processing” corresponds to “specific processing date / time information”.

  The “predetermined period” and the “specific processing identification information” are input from the server 2 to the medical device 3 as described later (the later-described confirmation period information and failure identification information 212), or at least one of them is the medical software 310. Included in advance. The transmission information creation unit 33 searches the debug log information 323 for a debug log that is associated with the “predetermined period” and corresponds to the “specific processing identification information”, and counts the number of searched debug logs. . This count result represents the number of occurrences of a failure (failure related to the specific process) within the predetermined period, and is information corresponding to an example of “occurrence frequency information” of the present invention.

  In addition, the transmission information creation unit 33 counts the number of log dates and times indicating start dates and times (or end dates and times) belonging to a predetermined period among the log dates and times recorded in the debug log information 323. The “predetermined period” is input from the server 2 as described above. The transmission information creation unit 33 searches the debug log information 323 for the log date and time associated with the debug log indicating the “predetermined period” and indicating “start (or end)” Count the number of logged logs. This count result represents the number of times the medical software 310 is used in the predetermined period, and is information corresponding to an example of “use frequency information” of the present invention.

  Further, the transmission information creation unit 33 searches the log date and time indicating the start date and time and the log date and time indicating the end date and time belonging to a predetermined period from the log date and time recorded in the debug log information 323, respectively. Based on the log date and time, the usage time (cumulative usage time) of the medical software 310 in the predetermined period is calculated. More specifically, the transmission information creation unit 33 calculates the usage time for each use of the medical software 310 based on the retrieved log date and time, and sums the usage time for each use. The accumulated usage time in a predetermined period is calculated. This calculation result is information corresponding to an example of “use frequency information” of the present invention.

  As described above, the transmission information creation unit 33 operates as an example of the “occurrence frequency information creation unit” and the “use frequency information creation unit” of the present invention. The transmission information creation unit 33 includes a CPU and the like including a microprocessor and a memory such as a RAM.

(Specific example of transmission information creation processing)
A specific example of processing by the transmission information creation unit 33 will be described. Here, the generation process of the occurrence frequency information will be described. The following three conditions are used as an example of the creation conditions: (1) The registered software module identification information 211 is “DEF_MODULE”; (2) the failure identification information 212 is the non-response log information 321. Log identification information and debug log “LMLogDlt (ID_FILE_LOG) return sts = 999”; (3) “predetermined period” is 30 days.

  First, the transmission information creation unit 33 recognizes the no-response log information 321 as a confirmation target based on the log identification information of the failure identification information 212 and also determines the module name from the no-response log information 321 based on the software module identification information 211. Search for “DEF_MODULE”. At this time, the module name corresponding to the log date and time belonging to the “predetermined period” from the present day to 30 days ago is searched. If searched, get the log date.

  On the other hand, if the search is not performed, it is determined that no failure that should be corrected by the failure correction software 210 has occurred in the medical device 3 (that is, occurrence frequency information “occurrence frequency of failure = 0” is created). )

  For example, the module name “DEF_MODULE” is recorded in the non-response log information 321 shown in FIG. 3, and the log date and time is “2005/5/18 8:11”.

  Next, the debug log information 323 is searched for a debug log that matches the debug log “LMLogDlt (ID_FILE_LOG) return sts = 999” in the failure identification information 212. When the search is not performed, the occurrence frequency information “fault occurrence frequency = 0” is created.

  On the other hand, if a search is made, the log date and time of the searched debug log is compared with the log date and time of the module name searched from the no-response log information 321. Then, a debug log having a log date before the module date and within a certain time is searched. When the search is not performed, the occurrence frequency information “fault occurrence frequency = 0” is created. In the case of searching, the number of searched debug logs is counted. This count result is used as occurrence frequency information. The “certain time” is set in advance, for example, about several minutes.

  For example, in the debug log information 323 illustrated in FIG. 5, a debug log that matches “LMLogDlt (ID_FILE_LOG) return sts = 999” is recorded, and the log date is “2005/5/18 8:10:03”. is there. Here, if the above “fixed time” is 2 minutes, the log date and time of the module name “DEF_MODULE” retrieved from the non-response log information 321 is “2005/5/18 8:11”. 5/18 8:09 ”to“ 2005/5/18 8:11 ”are searched for a debug log having a log date and time belonging to the range. The log date and time shown in FIG. 5 is “2005/5/18 8:10:03”. Therefore, the debug log “LMLogDlt (ID_FILE_LOG) return sts = 999” of the log date and time is considered in the count (that is, , The count is incremented by 1). In this manner, the occurrence frequency of a specific failure within the “predetermined period (past 30 days)” is obtained, and the count result is used as occurrence frequency information.

[User interface]
The user interface 34 is an operation means for the user to operate the medical device 3 and input data settings. As the user interface 34, for example, any operation device corresponding to the form and application of the medical apparatus 3 such as a mouse, a keyboard, a trackball, a joystick, an operation panel, and a tablet can be used.

[Communication Department]
The communication unit 35 includes a communication device such as a modem for performing data communication through the wide area network N, and a network adapter such as a LAN card for performing data communication with the external device 4.

[Server configuration]
Next, the configuration of the server 2 will be described in detail. The server 2 corresponds to an example of the “software distribution server” of the present invention, and includes a control unit 20, an information storage unit 21, a distribution order determination unit 22, a transmission start date determination unit 23, a date determination unit 24, a time measurement unit. 25 and the communication part 26 are comprised.

(Control part)
The control unit 20 executes control of each unit of the server 2 and various data processing. In particular, the control unit 20 executes processing for distributing software for updating the medical software 310 (failure correction software 210) to the plurality of medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. The control unit 20 includes, for example, a microprocessor such as a CPU and MPU and a memory such as a RAM.

  The control unit 20 is provided with a distribution control unit 200. The distribution control unit 200 corresponds to an example of a “distribution control unit” of the present invention, and a plurality of medical devices 3-1 to 3-1 are based on the distribution order of update software determined as described below. It acts to distribute update software to 3-n. Details of the operation of the control unit 20 other than this will be described later as appropriate.

[Information storage section]
The information storage unit 21 corresponds to an example of the “storage unit” of the present invention, and stores update software and various types of information used for the distribution process. The information storage unit 21 includes a nonvolatile storage device such as a hard disk drive.

  In the information storage unit 21, failure correction software 210, software module identification information (ID) 211, failure identification information 212, and distribution destination list information 213 are stored in advance. The software module identification information 211, the failure identification information 212, and the distribution destination list information 213 are generated for each failure correction software 210 and stored in the information storage unit 21 in association with the failure correction software 210.

  The fault correction software 210 is software created by a software developer or the like to correct a fault that has occurred in the medical software 310 (or to deal with a fault that may occur). It corresponds to "update software". Note that “correction” refers to inconveniences such as bugs and linkages between modules that existed in the medical software 310 by changing or replacing all or part of the medical software 310 using the fault correction software 210. It shall mean to be resolved.

  The software module identification information 211 is information for identifying software modules 311 to 317 (see FIG. 2) of the medical software 310 that are to be corrected by the fault correction software 210. The software module identification information 211 of each of the software modules 311 to 317 is configured by a character string that forms “module name” shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, for example. Specifically, for example, as the software module identification information 211 of the ABC_module 312, the character string “ABC_MODULE” can be used.

  The fault identification information 212 is information for specifying the type of fault that is to be corrected by the fault correction software 210, and is information that can also be used for specifying the type of fault that has occurred in the medical software 310. The failure identification information 212 includes, for example, log identification information (described above) of the log information 321 to 323 in FIGS. 3 to 5 and a character string (specific processing identification) forming the “debug log” in the debug log information 323 in FIG. Information).

  The use of the fault correction software 210, that is, the fault corrected by the fault correction software 210 is specified as follows by combining the software module identification information 211 and the fault specifying information 212.

  When the use of the fault correction software 210 is, for example, “to correct the non-response state of the DEF_module 313 caused by outputting the information“ LMLogDlt (ID_FILE_LOG) return sts = 999 ””, the software module identification The information 211 includes identification information “DEF_MODULE” of the DEF_module 313. Further, the failure specifying information 212 includes log identification information of the no-response log information 321 and a debug log “LMLogDlt (ID_FILE_LOG) return sts = 999”.

  The distribution destination list information 213 is, for example, the device type (modality name) of the medical device designated as the distribution target among the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n as information for specifying the medical device to which the failure correction software 210 is distributed. , System name, device / system model name, software version name), and network address (IP address, etc.) of the medical device in the wide area network N. Note that the distribution destinations specified by the distribution destination list information 213 may be all of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n, or only a part thereof.

  Further, the information storage unit 21 stores distribution order information 214 and transmission start date / time information 215. The distribution order information 214 is generated by the distribution order determination unit 22 and stored in the information storage unit 21. The transmission start date / time information 215 is generated by the transmission start date / time determination unit 23 and stored in the information storage unit 21 (details will be described later).

  The information storage unit 21 generally stores a plurality of fault correction software 210. In addition, software module identification information 211, failure identification information 212, and distribution destination list information 213 associated with each of the plurality of failure correction software 210 are stored. Furthermore, after the delivery schedule is determined, delivery order information 214 and transmission start date / time information 215 associated with each of the plurality of fault correction software 210 are stored.

[Distribution order determination unit]
The distribution order determination unit 22 is included in the “distribution schedule determination unit” of the present invention, and operates to determine the distribution order of the fault correction software 210 for the plurality of medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. . The determined distribution order is stored in the information storage unit 21 as the distribution order information 214 by the control unit 20 and sent to the transmission start date / time determination unit 23. The distribution order determining unit 22 includes a microprocessor such as a CPU and a memory such as a RAM. The specific operation contents of the distribution order determination unit 22 will be described later (see the description based on FIG. 7).

[Transmission start date and time determination section]
The transmission start date / time determination unit 23 corresponds to an example of “transmission start date / time determination means” included in the “distribution schedule determination means” of the present invention, and a plurality of medical devices designated as distribution destinations by the distribution destination list information 213. The transmission start date and time of the fault correction software 210 is determined for each of 3-1 to 3-n (part). The determined transmission start date / time is stored in the information storage unit 21 as transmission start date / time information 215 by the control unit 20. The transmission start date / time determination unit 23 includes, for example, a microprocessor such as a CPU and a memory such as a RAM.

  Here, “transmission start date and time” represents the date and time when the transmission prohibition state of the fault correction software 210 for the medical device is released. In other words, the transmission start date / time refers to the date / time when the transmission prohibition state is canceled and the failure correction software 210 is transmitted to the medical device, or the failure correction software 210 is transmitted in response to a transmission request from the medical device. It represents the date and time allowed to do.

  The transmission start date and time for the medical device 3-i (i = 1 to n) is the number of these medical devices (n) and the maximum number of medical devices (M) that can transmit the fault correction software 210 within a predetermined time. And the distribution order determined by the distribution order determination unit 22.

  The transmission start date determination process will be specifically described. In the information storage unit 21, information on the number of distributable devices indicating the maximum transmission capability by the server 2 is stored in advance (not shown). In this distributable device number information, the number of medical devices to which the server 2 can transmit the fault correction software 210 through the wide area network N within a predetermined time is recorded. For example, when the number of devices that can be transmitted by the server 2 per day (predetermined time) is 100 devices (M = 100 / day), “Distributable device number information = 100 (device / day)” is the information storage unit 21. Stored in This numerical value is determined in advance by performing calculations and actual measurements based on the information processing capability of the server 2, the processing load of other processes, and the allowable amount of communication data of the wide area network N.

  It is assumed that the number of distribution destination devices recorded in the distribution destination list information 213 is 1000 (in order to simplify the explanation, the total number of devices is n = 1000). In that case, a schedule is set so that the distribution is performed over a total of 10 days with 100 devices per day for these 1000 medical devices 3-1 to 3-1000.

  On the other hand, the distribution order determined by the distribution order determination unit 22 represents the distribution order for these 1000 apparatuses. Here, in order to simplify the explanation, it is assumed that the medical devices 3-1, 3-2, 3-3,..., 3-999 and 3-1000 are distributed in this order.

  The transmission start date / time determination unit 23 first determines the number of days required for distribution to all devices based on the number of devices that can be distributed (= 100 devices / day) and the total number of devices that are the distribution destinations (= 1000 devices). Calculate (1000 ÷ 100 = 10 days). If the calculation result is not an integer (that is, not divisible), the number of days required for distribution by adding one day for transmitting the remainder part to the number of days corresponding to the integer part of the quotient value. Is calculated.

  Next, the transmission start date / time determination unit 23 determines the distribution start date / time of each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-1000 according to the calculated distribution days. In the above example, the delivery start date and time of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-100 is the first day of delivery (for example, midnight), and the delivery start date and time of the medical devices 3-101 to 3-200 is the delivery date and time. On the second day (for example, midnight), ..., the delivery start date and time of the medical devices 3-901 to 3-1000 is the tenth day of delivery (for example, midnight).

  In addition, in order to determine the delivery date and time, the date and time at the time of determination is required, but the information can be acquired from, for example, the time measuring unit 25 described later. The user may manually set the current date and time or the first date of distribution.

[Date and time judgment section]
The date / time determination unit 24 operates when the server 2 receives a transmission request for the fault correction software 210 from the medical device, and determines whether the current date / time is after the transmission start date / time of the medical device. The date / time determination unit 24 corresponds to an example of the “date / time determination unit” of the present invention, and includes a microprocessor such as a CPU and a memory such as a RAM.

  When a transmission request of the fault correction software 210 is input from a certain medical device, the control unit 20 searches the transmission start date / time information 215 stored in the information storage unit 21 for the transmission start date / time of the medical device, The data is sent to the date / time determination unit 24.

  The date determination unit 24 first acquires the current date and time with reference to the time measuring unit 25 described later. Next, the date and time determination unit 24 compares the current date and time with the transmission start date and time of the medical device, and determines whether or not the current date and time is after the transmission start date and time of the medical device. Then, the determination result is sent to the control unit 20.

[Timekeeping section]
The timer unit 25 includes a general microprocessor having a timer function.

[Communication Department]
The communication unit 26 includes a communication device such as a modem for performing data communication through the wide area network N.

[System operation]
An example of the operation mode of the software management system 1 having such a configuration will be described. Hereinafter, various operation modes of the software management system 1 will be described.

[Recording process of medical software operation status: Fig. 6]
First, the operation status recording process of the medical software 310 by the medical apparatus 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the medical software 310 is activated in response to a power-on of the medical device 3 or an activation request from the user (S1), the control unit 30 includes a debug log indicating that the medical device 3 has been activated, and the log date and time ( (Start date and time) and the name of the started module are recorded in the debug log information 323 (S2).

  Each time the medical software 310 executes various processes, the control unit 30 records the log date and time, the module name, and the debug log corresponding to the processes in the debug log information 323 (S3). This process is sequentially performed until the use of the medical software 310 is finished.

  When the medical device 3 is turned off or an end request from the user is input to end use of the medical software 310 (S4; Y), the control unit 30 debugs the end of use. The log, the date / time (end date / time), and the name of the completed module are recorded in the debug log information 323 (S5). In this case, the recording process of the operation status of the medical software 310 ends here.

  On the other hand, when a failure occurs during use of the medical software 310 (S4; N), the control unit 30 detects this (S6). The medical software 310 in which the failure has occurred falls into a no-response state or is forcibly terminated by the user, the overall control module 311 or the operating system (S7).

  When the medical software 310 is in a non-response state (S7; no response), the control unit 30 displays a log date and time indicating a date and time when the medical software 310 is in a non-response state and a module name in the non-response state as a non-response log. Information is recorded in the information 321 (S8), and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the medical software 310 is forcibly terminated (S7; forcible termination), the control unit 30 records the log date and time indicating the date and time forcibly terminated and the module name forcibly terminated in the forced termination log information 322. (S9), and the process ends.

[Disability correction software distribution schedule determination processing (frequency of failure occurrence): FIG. 7]
Next, processing for determining the distribution schedule of the failure correction software 210 based on the failure occurrence frequency of the medical software 310 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  As a preparation stage, a software developer or the like newly develops fault correction software 210, its software module identification information 211, fault identification information 312, and distribution destination list information 213, and information storage unit 21 of server 2. And register (S11). As a registration method, the information 210 to 213 stored in the medium is inserted into the drive device (not shown) of the server 2 and read, or from the terminal device (not shown) of the software developer. Any method such as a method of uploading to the server 2 via a LAN or the like can be appropriately used.

  The control unit 20 sends a request signal for requesting confirmation of the frequency of failure occurrence of the medical software 310, failure identification information 212, and confirmation period information (not shown) to the communication unit 26. It transmits to each of the devices 3-1 to 3-n (S12).

  Note that the confirmation period information is information that specifies which period of the logs recorded in the log information 320 is to be confirmed when generating the occurrence frequency information, the usage frequency information, and the usage frequency information. It is. This period corresponds to the “predetermined period” of the present invention, and is set in advance. Note that this period can be changed as appropriate.

  Each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n operates the transmission information creation unit 33 in response to the request signal from the server 2, and the failure occurrence frequency information is based on the failure identification information 212 and the confirmation period information. And the generated occurrence frequency information is transmitted to the server 2 (S13).

  When the occurrence frequency information from each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is received, the distribution order determination unit 22 of the server 2 uses the occurrence frequency information for failure correction for the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. The distribution order of the software 210 is determined (S14).

  Specifically, the delivery order determination unit 22 compares the numbers of specific process identification information indicated in the occurrence frequency information of the medical devices 3-1 to 3 -n, and the medical devices 3-1 to 3 -n in descending order. Specify the ranking for each of the. At this time, ranks can be appropriately designated for medical devices having the same number. This order is the order in which the fault correction software 210 is transmitted. Thereby, the distribution order of the fault correction software 210 to the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is determined. The determined distribution order is sent to the transmission start date / time determination unit 23.

  The transmission start date / time determination unit 23 determines the transmission start date / time of the fault correction software 210 for each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n as described above based on the determined distribution order (S <b> 15).

  The control unit 20 stores the distribution order determined in step S14 in the information storage unit 21 as distribution order information 214, and the transmission start date / time determined in step S15 as the transmission start date / time information 215. (S16). At this time, the delivery order information 214 and the transmission start date / time information 215 are stored in association with the fault correction software 210, respectively. Thus, the distribution schedule determination process of the fault correction software 210 based on the fault occurrence frequency of the medical software 310 is completed.

[Correction software distribution processing: FIG. 8]
Next, distribution processing of the fault correction software 210 to the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The medical device 3 confirms the presence / absence of software for updating the medical software 310, and if there is, transmits a signal requesting transmission (transmission request signal) to the server 2 at a predetermined timing (S21). At this time, device identification information for identifying the medical device 3 is transmitted together with the transmission request signal. The “predetermined timing” is, for example, the time when the medical device 3 is activated or shut down, or a preset time.

  The control unit 20 of the server 2 refers to each distribution destination list information 213 stored in the transmission request signal information storage unit 21 and determines whether or not the medical device 3 is included in the transmission destination, thereby updating the update software (failure The presence or absence of correction software is confirmed (S22).

  If there is no update software for the medical device 3 (S23; N), the process is terminated. At this time, a signal indicating that there is no update software may be transmitted to the medical device 3.

  On the other hand, when there is update software for the medical device 3 (S23; Y), the control unit 20 selects the transmission start date / time of the medical device 3 from the transmission start date / time information 215 and sends it to the date / time determination unit 24 (S24). ), The current date and time is sent from the time measuring unit 25 to the date and time determination unit 24. The date and time determination unit 24 compares the current date and time with the transmission start date and time of the medical device 3, and determines whether or not the current date and time is after the transmission start date and time, that is, whether or not the transmission start date and time has passed (S25). .

  If it is determined that the transmission start date / time has not elapsed (S26; N), the process ends. At this time, a signal indicating that there is no update software may be transmitted to the medical device 3.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the transmission start date / time has passed (S26; Y), the distribution control unit 200 of the control unit 20 reads the fault correction software 210 from the information storage unit 21 and sends it to the communication unit 26. It is transmitted to the medical device 3 through the wide area network N (S27). The medical device 3 stores the fault correction software 210 in the software storage unit 31 and updates the medical software 31 (S28). This completes the distribution process of the fault correction software 210.

[Disability correction software distribution schedule decision processing (frequency of use): FIG. 9]
Next, processing for determining the distribution schedule of the fault correction software 210 based on the frequency of use of the medical software 310 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The information (use date / time information) used to create the usage frequency information in this process is, for example, log information (step S2) for starting up the medical software 310 recorded by the operation status recording process shown in the flowchart of FIG. Log information (steps S5 and S9). Hereinafter, a case where usage frequency information is created based on activation log information will be described.

  First, similarly to the case of failure occurrence frequency (FIG. 7), newly developed failure correction software 210, its software module identification information 211, failure identification information 312, and distribution destination list information 213 are registered. (S31), a request signal for requesting confirmation of the frequency of use of the medical software 310 and confirmation period information (not shown) are transmitted from the server 2 to each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n ( S32).

  Each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n operates the transmission information creation unit 33 in response to a request signal from the server 2. The transmission information creation unit 33 searches for the log date and time (use date and time information) indicating the start date and time belonging to the predetermined period indicated in the confirmation period information from the log date and time recorded in the debug log information 323, and the searched log Count the number of dates and times to create usage frequency information of the medical software 310. Each medical device 3-1 to 3-n transmits the created usage frequency information to the server 2 (S33).

  Upon receiving the usage frequency information from each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n, the distribution order determination unit 22 of the server 2 uses the failure frequency correction for the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n based on the usage frequency information. The distribution order of the software 210 is determined (S34).

  Specifically, the delivery order determination unit 22 compares the numbers of usage date information (start date / time log information) indicated in the usage frequency information of the medical devices 3-1 to 3 -n, and the medical device 3 in descending order. The order is specified for each of -1 to 3-n. At this time, ranks can be appropriately designated for medical devices having the same number. This order is the order in which the fault correction software 210 is transmitted. Thereby, the distribution order of the fault correction software 210 to the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is determined. The determined distribution order is sent to the transmission start date / time determination unit 23.

  The transmission start date / time determination unit 23 determines the transmission start date / time of the fault correction software 210 for each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n based on the determined distribution order (S <b> 35).

  The control unit 20 stores the distribution order determined in step S34 in the information storage unit 21 as distribution order information 214, and the transmission start date / time determined in step S35 as the transmission start date / time information 215. (S36). At this time, the delivery order information 214 and the transmission start date / time information 215 are stored in association with the fault correction software 210, respectively. Thus, the distribution schedule determination process of the fault correction software 210 based on the usage frequency of the medical software 310 is completed.

  The distribution process of the fault correction software 210 based on the distribution schedule determined in this way is executed in the same manner as in the case of FIG. 8 described above.

  In the case where the usage frequency information is created based on the accumulated usage time of the medical software 310 in a predetermined period, the following processing is executed. First, registration of newly developed fault correction software 210 and the like (S31) and transmission of request signals and confirmation period information from the server 2 to each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n (S32) are similarly performed. Do.

  The transmission information creation unit 33 of each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n includes a log date and time and an end date and time indicating the start date and time belonging to the predetermined period indicated in the confirmation period information among the log dates and times recorded in the debug log information 323. The log date and time (use date and time information) indicating is used, and the use time at each use is calculated. At this time, for example, the start date / time and end date / time belonging to a predetermined period are searched, and the time interval between each start date / time and the next end date / time is calculated as the use time at the time of use. Then, the usage time at each use is added to calculate the (cumulative) usage time in a predetermined period to create usage frequency information. Each medical device 3-1 to 3-n transmits the created usage frequency information to the server 2 (S33).

  When the usage frequency information from each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is received, the distribution order determination unit 22 of the server 2 determines the (cumulative) usage time indicated in the usage frequency information of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. The values are compared, and the rank is designated to each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n in descending order. At this time, ranks can be appropriately designated for medical devices having the same usage time value. This order is the order in which the fault correction software 210 is transmitted. Thereby, the distribution order of the fault correction software 210 to the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is determined (S34).

  The transmission start date / time determination unit 23 determines the transmission start date / time of the fault correction software 210 for each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n based on the determined distribution order (S <b> 35). The control unit 20 stores the distribution order determined in step S34 in the information storage unit 21 as distribution order information 214, and the transmission start date / time determined in step S35 as the transmission start date / time information 215. (S36). Thus, the distribution schedule determination process of the fault correction software 210 based on the usage frequency of the medical software 310 is completed.

[Function and effect]
The operation and effect of the software management system 1 according to the present embodiment as described above will be described.

  Each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n of the software management system 1 records log information 320 indicating the operation status of the medical software 310. Here, the log information 320 is information that is a basis for obtaining the frequency of occurrence of failures and the frequency of use of the medical software 310. On the other hand, the server 2 stores failure correction software 210 for update in the information storage unit 21 in advance. In the server 2, the distribution order determination unit 22 determines the distribution order of the failure correction software 210 for the medical apparatuses 3-1 to 3-n based on the log information 320, and the medical apparatus 3-1 based on the distribution order. Distribute software for updating to ~ 3-n. Each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n updates the medical software 310 using the distributed failure correction software 210.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the failure correction software 210 is preferentially applied to medical devices having a high urgency or necessity of update based on the failure occurrence frequency and the software use frequency based on the log information 320. Can be sent. Therefore, unlike conventional systems, distribution is not performed randomly to a plurality of medical devices, so that distribution processing can be facilitated, and system load such as redundancy of server capacity and expansion of network capacity can be achieved. There is no need to unnecessarily increase it.

  Each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is provided with a transmission information creation unit 33 that creates occurrence frequency information indicating a failure occurrence frequency in the medical software 310 based on the recorded log information 320. The distribution order determination unit 22 of the server 2 designates the transmission order in order from the highest occurrence frequency of the failure indicated in the occurrence frequency information to the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. Therefore, the failure correction software 210 can be preferentially transmitted to a medical device having a high occurrence frequency of failures in the medical software 310 and a high urgency of update.

  Further, the transmission information creation unit 33 of each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n can create usage frequency information indicating the usage frequency of the medical software 310 based on the recorded log information 320. The delivery order determining unit 22 designates the transmission order for the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n in descending order of the use frequency of the medical software 310 indicated in the use frequency information. Here, the usage frequency information of the medical software 310 is information representing the number of times of use or the cumulative usage time of the medical software 310 in a predetermined period. Therefore, the failure correction software 210 can be preferentially transmitted to a medical device having a high frequency of occurrence of failures in the medical software 310 and a high necessity for updating.

  The server 2 also includes the number of medical devices 3-1 to 3-n, the maximum number of medical devices that can transmit the fault correction software 210 within a predetermined time (distributable device number information), and the distribution order. Based on the distribution order determined by the determination unit 22, it is possible to determine the transmission start date and time of the fault correction software 210 for each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. Accordingly, an efficient distribution schedule can be created based on the number of distribution destinations and the distribution capability (number of distributable devices) of the system, and the distribution process can be facilitated.

  Further, when the server 2 receives a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of the correction software 210 from a certain medical device, the server 2 sets the medical device for failure correction unless the transmission start date / time of the medical device has elapsed. The software 210 is not transmitted. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly perform distribution processing in order from the medical device with the highest priority.

[Modification]
A modification of the software management system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. Note that these modifications can be applied as appropriate to the following embodiments.

  In this embodiment, each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n individually records the log information 320. However, the log information 320 of these medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is recorded together. It is also possible to keep it. For example, the server 2 is provided with recording means (such as a hard disk drive) for recording the log information 320. Each time the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n perform processing (or regularly / irregularly), log information of the processing is transmitted to the server 2 via the wide area network N and recorded. It can be configured to record on the means. At this time, device identification information for identifying each medical device is added to the log information and transmitted.

  In that case, the occurrence frequency information creating means for creating the occurrence frequency information indicating the occurrence frequency of the software failure, or the use frequency information creating means for creating the use frequency information indicating the use frequency of the software (both “transmission information” in this embodiment) The creation unit 33 ") can also be integrated into the server 2.

  In the present embodiment, the failure correction software 210 is distributed in response to a request from the medical device 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the failure correction software 210 can be sequentially distributed to the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n as the transmission start date and time arrives.

<Second Embodiment>
A second embodiment of the software management system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the present system. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a delivery schedule determination process based on the occurrence frequency of software failures. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a distribution process of update software. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a delivery schedule determination process based on software usage frequency. In addition, the same code | symbol is used about the component similar to 1st Embodiment, in order to avoid duplication of description.

  In the first embodiment, the distribution schedule is determined based on the failure occurrence frequency and use frequency of the medical software in all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n that are the distribution targets of the update software. On the other hand, the present embodiment determines the distribution schedule based on the failure occurrence frequency and the usage frequency in a part of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n to be distributed, and thus the same effect as the first embodiment. At the same time, there is a specific effect of labor saving in the distribution schedule determination process.

[System configuration]
A software management system 100 shown in FIG. 10 includes a server 2 and a plurality of medical devices 3-1 to 3-n as in the first embodiment. Each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is installed so as to be able to perform data communication with the server 2 through the wide area network N. Further, the external device 4 similar to that of the first embodiment is connected to the medical device 3 (3-1).

  Each of the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n has a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment. The server 2 is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but is different in that the server 2 includes an arithmetic processing unit 27. In addition, the transmission start date / time determination unit 23 according to the present embodiment executes processing different from that of the first embodiment to create transmission start date / time information 216.

[Operation processing unit]
Based on the occurrence frequency information and usage frequency information from some medical devices among the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n, the arithmetic processing unit 27 of the server 2 performs processing in all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. Processing to estimate the frequency of failure occurrence and usage frequency is performed. The arithmetic processing unit 27 corresponds to an example of the “arithmetic means” of the present invention, and includes a microprocessor such as a CPU and a memory such as a RAM.

  The number of the “partial medical devices” is at least two. These two or more medical devices are represented as “medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k)”. Here, k is a preset positive integer that satisfies 2 ≦ k ≦ n−1. For example, k is a divisor (k | n) of n. Hereinafter, the processing executed by the arithmetic processing unit 27 will be described more specifically.

  First, an example of the processing for estimating the distribution of failure occurrence frequencies of the medical software 310 will be described. First, the arithmetic processing unit 27 specifies specific process identification information in the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) based on the occurrence frequency information from some of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k). Find the distribution of the number of. In other words, as described in the first embodiment, the occurrence frequency information is information indicating the number of occurrences of a (specific) failure within a predetermined period. Specifically, the occurrence frequency information is stored in the log information 320 during a predetermined period. This is information indicating the number of recorded specific process identification information. The arithmetic processing unit 27 acquires the number of specific process identification information in each of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k), classifies them according to the number, and obtains the number of devices corresponding to each number. As a result, a distribution (discrete distribution) of the number of medical devices with the number of specific process identification information as a variable (discrete variable) is obtained.

  Subsequently, the arithmetic processing unit 27 distributes the number of devices for each number of the specific processing identification information and the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) with respect to the number of all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. Based on the ratio (k / n) of the number of devices, the distribution of the frequency of occurrence of failures is estimated by estimating the distribution of the number of specific process identification information in all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. That is, by dividing the value of the number of each specific process identification information in the distribution relating to some of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) by the above ratio, The distribution of the number of medical devices using the number of specific process identification information as a variable is obtained. The above is an example of the process of estimating the distribution of failure occurrence frequencies.

  Next, an example of a distribution frequency distribution estimation process of the medical software 310 will be described. First, the arithmetic processing unit 27 uses the usage date / time information in the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) based on the usage frequency information from each of some of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k). Find the distribution of numbers. That is, as described in the first embodiment, the usage frequency information is information indicating the number of times the medical software 310 is used within a predetermined period. Specifically, the usage frequency information is recorded in the log information 320 during the predetermined period. This is information indicating the number of debug logs (use date and time information) of start processing and end processing. The arithmetic processing unit 27 acquires the number of usage date information in each of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k), classifies them according to the number, and obtains the number of devices corresponding to each number. As a result, a distribution (discrete distribution) of the number of medical devices in which the number of use date and time information is a variable (discrete variable) is obtained.

  Subsequently, as in the case of the failure occurrence frequency, the arithmetic processing unit 27 distributes the number of devices for each number of use date and time information and the medical device 3 for the number of devices of all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. Based on the ratio (k / n) of the number of devices (1) to 3 (k), the distribution of the number of use date and time information in all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is estimated. Estimate the distribution of usage frequency (number of uses). The above is an example of the process of estimating the distribution of the usage frequency regarding the number of uses.

  Next, an example of processing for estimating the distribution of usage frequency (usage time) of the medical software 310 will be described. First, the arithmetic processing unit 27 distributes usage times in the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) based on the usage frequency information from each of some of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k). Ask for. That is, the usage frequency information is information indicating the cumulative usage time of the medical software 310 within a predetermined period, as described in the first embodiment. The arithmetic processing unit 27 acquires the usage time in each of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k), classifies them according to the usage time, and obtains the number of devices corresponding to each usage time. Thereby, the distribution of the number of medical devices with the usage time as a variable is obtained. Here, the usage time which becomes a variable is set for every predetermined unit time (1 hour unit etc.) by rounding off, for example.

  Subsequently, as in the case of the failure occurrence frequency, the arithmetic processing unit 27 distributes the number of devices for each usage time and the medical device 3 (1) for the number of devices of all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. Frequency of use of the medical software 310 (use time) by estimating the distribution of use time in all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n based on the ratio (k / n) of the number of devices of ˜3 (k) Estimate the distribution of. The above is an example of the estimation process of the distribution of the usage frequency regarding the usage time.

(Specific example of distribution estimation processing)
Here, a specific example of the above-described distribution estimation processing by the arithmetic processing unit 27 will be described by taking up the case of failure occurrence frequency. Assume that the number of all medical devices 3-1 to 3-n is n = 1000, and the number of some medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) is k = 100.

  The arithmetic processing unit 27 determines the number of pieces of specific process identification information in the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (100) based on the occurrence frequency information from each of some of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (100). Find the distribution of. In this distribution, it is assumed that the number of devices corresponding to the number of specific process identification information = 0 (no failure occurrence) is 0, and the number of devices corresponding to the number = 1 to 10 is 10, respectively.

  The arithmetic processing unit 27 uses the value of the number of each specific process identification information in this distribution as a ratio of the number of medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (100) to the number of all medical devices 3-1 to 3-1000. Divide by (100/1000 = 0.1). According to this, the number of devices corresponding to the number of specific process identification information = 0 = 0, and the number of devices corresponding to each of the number = 1-10 = 10 / 0.1 = 100 are obtained. This is an estimated value of the distribution regarding all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-1000.

[Transmission start date and time determination section]
The transmission start date and time determination unit 23 determines the value of the failure occurrence frequency and the value of the use frequency in the distribution based on the distribution of the failure occurrence frequency estimated by the arithmetic processing unit 27 and the distribution of the use frequency of the medical software 310. The transmission start date and time of the fault correction software 210 is determined for (that is, each value of the variable in the distribution). The determined transmission start date / time is stored in the information storage unit 21 as transmission start date / time information 216.

(Specific example of the transmission start date and time determination process)
The process executed by the transmission start date / time determination unit 23 will be described more specifically, taking the case of failure occurrence frequency. Similarly to the first embodiment, the information storage unit 21 stores distributable device number information indicating the maximum transmission capability of the server 2 (for example, distributable device number information: M = 100 (device / day). ).)

  Further, it is assumed that the total number of devices is n = 1000, and all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-1000 are set as distribution destinations. In this case, a schedule is set so that the distribution is performed for 100 devices per day for a total of 10 days for these 1000 medical devices 3-1 to 3-1000.

  Further, as the distribution regarding all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-1000 estimated by the arithmetic processing unit 27, the distribution of the above specific example, that is, the number of devices corresponding to the number of specific processing identification information = 0 = 0, the number = The number of devices corresponding to each of 1 to 10 = 100 is used.

  The transmission start date / time determination unit 23 first determines the number of days required for distribution to all devices based on the number of devices that can be distributed (= 100 devices / day) and the total number of devices that are the distribution destinations (= 1000 devices). Calculate (1000 ÷ 100 = 10 days). A case where the calculation result does not become an integer can be handled in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  Next, the transmission start date / time determination unit 23 assigns an earlier date / time to the larger number value of each specific process identification information in the estimated distribution in consideration of the calculated distribution days (10 days). In this way, the delivery start date and time is determined. In this example, the distribution start date and time of 100 devices with the number of specific process identification information = 10 is distributed on the first day (for example, midnight), and the distribution start date and time of 100 devices with the number = 9 is distributed on the second day. (For example, midnight), the distribution start date and time of 100 devices with the number = 8 is set on the third day (for example, midnight),..., And the distribution start date and time of the 100 devices with the number = 2 is set. On the ninth day of distribution (for example, midnight), the distribution start date and time of 100 devices with the number = 1 are allocated to the tenth day of distribution (for example, midnight).

  As described above, the transmission start date / time information 216 of the present embodiment is formed as information in which the number of specific process identification information (the number of times of use of the medical software 310, the cumulative use time) is associated with the distribution (start) date.

[System operation]
An example of the operation mode of the software management system 100 having such a configuration will be described. Note that the operation status recording process of the medical software 310 is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 6). Hereinafter, the distribution schedule determination process of the fault correction software 210 and the distribution process of the fault correction software 210 will be described.

[Disability correction software distribution schedule determination processing (frequency of failure occurrence): FIG. 11]
First, processing for determining the distribution schedule of the fault correction software 210 based on the fault occurrence frequency of the medical software 310 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  As a preparation stage, newly developed fault correction software 210, its software module identification information 211, fault identification information 312, and distribution destination list information 213 are stored in the information storage unit 21 of the server 2 and registered. (S41).

  The server 2 sends a request signal requesting confirmation of the failure occurrence frequency of the medical software 310, the failure identification information 212, and the confirmation period information to some of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) through the wide area network N. ) Respectively (S42).

  Each of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) operates the transmission information creation unit 33 in response to this request signal, and obtains failure occurrence frequency information based on the failure identification information 212 and the confirmation period information. The generated frequency information is transmitted to the server 2 (S43).

  When the occurrence frequency information from each of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) is received, the arithmetic processing unit 27 of the server 2 performs all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-3 in the manner described above based on the occurrence frequency information. The distribution of the occurrence frequency of failures at -n is estimated (S44).

  Based on the estimated distribution, the transmission start date / time determination unit 23 determines the transmission start date / time of the fault correction software 210 for each value of the occurrence frequency in this distribution as described above (S45).

  The control unit 20 stores the determined transmission start date and time in the information storage unit 21 as transmission start date and time information 216 (S46). At this time, the transmission start date / time information 216 is stored in association with the fault correction software 210. Thus, the distribution schedule determination process of the fault correction software 210 based on the fault occurrence frequency of the medical software 310 is completed.

[Correction software distribution processing: FIG. 12]
Next, distribution processing of the fault correction software 210 to the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The medical device 3 transmits a transmission request signal to the server 2 at a predetermined timing (S51). The control unit 20 of the server 2 confirms the presence / absence of update software having the medical device 3 as a distribution destination (S52).

  If there is no update software for the medical device 3 (S53; N), the process is terminated. At this time, a signal indicating that there is no update software may be transmitted to the medical device 3.

  On the other hand, when there is update software for the medical device 3 (S53; Y), the server 2 transmits to the medical device 3 a request signal for requesting generation of occurrence frequency information, failure identification information 212, and confirmation period information. (S54). In response to the request, the medical device 3 operates the transmission information creation unit 33 to create the occurrence frequency information, and transmits the created occurrence frequency information to the server 2 (S55).

  The control unit 20 of the server 2 selects a transmission start date corresponding to the number of specific process identification information indicated in the occurrence frequency information from the medical device 3 from the distribution start date information 216 and sends it to the date determination unit 24 (S56). . At this time, the current date and time is sent from the time measuring unit 25 to the date and time determination unit 24. The date and time determination unit 24 compares the current date and time with the transmission start date and time, and determines whether or not the current date and time is after the transmission start date and time, that is, whether or not the transmission start date has passed (S57).

  If it is determined that the transmission start date / time has not elapsed (S58; N), the process ends. At this time, a signal indicating that there is no update software may be transmitted to the medical device 3.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the transmission start date / time has passed (S58; Y), the server 2 reads out the fault correction software 210 from the information storage unit 21 and transmits it to the medical device 3 (S59). The medical device 3 stores the fault correction software 210 in the software storage unit 31 and updates the medical software 31 (S60). This completes the distribution process of the fault correction software 210.

[Disability correction software distribution schedule decision processing (frequency of use): FIG. 13]
Next, processing for determining the distribution schedule of the fault correction software 210 based on the frequency of use of the medical software 310 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Information (use date / time information) used to create use frequency information in this process is log information for starting up and ending log for the medical software 310. Hereinafter, a case where usage frequency information is created based on activation log information will be described.

  As a preparation stage, newly developed fault correction software 210 and the like are registered (S61).

  The server 2 transmits a request signal for requesting confirmation of the usage frequency of the medical software 310 and confirmation period information to some of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) (S62).

  Each of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) creates usage frequency information in response to the request signal and transmits it to the server 2 (S63). This use frequency information is information indicating the use frequency (number of uses / use time) of the medical software 310 in a predetermined period indicated in the confirmation period information.

  When the usage frequency information from each of the medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k) is received, the arithmetic processing unit 27 of the server 2 performs all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-3 in the manner described above based on the usage frequency information. The use frequency distribution at -n is estimated (S64).

  Based on the estimated distribution, the transmission start date / time determination unit 23 determines the transmission start date / time of the fault correction software 210 for each value of the use frequency (use count / use time) in this distribution in the manner described above. (S65).

  The control unit 20 stores the determined transmission start date and time in the information storage unit 21 as transmission start date and time information 216 (S66). At this time, the transmission start date / time information 216 is stored in association with the fault correction software 210. Thus, the distribution schedule determination process of the fault correction software 210 based on the usage frequency of the medical software 310 is completed.

  The distribution process of the fault correction software 210 based on the distribution schedule determined in this way is executed in the same manner as in the case of FIG.

[Function and effect]
The effect which the software management system 100 of this embodiment show | plays is demonstrated.

  First, according to the software management system 100, as with the software management system 1 of the first embodiment, the failure correction software 210 can be preferentially transmitted to medical devices that are highly urgent or necessary for updating. At the same time, the distribution process can be facilitated without increasing the system load such as server capacity redundancy and network capacity expansion.

  Further, as an effect unique to the present embodiment, it is possible to save labor in the distribution schedule determination process of the correction software 210. That is, in this embodiment, instead of determining the distribution schedule using the occurrence frequency information and the usage frequency information in all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n, some medical devices 3 (1) to 3 (k ) Occurrence frequency information and usage frequency information are used to estimate the failure frequency and usage frequency distribution in all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n. . And based on this estimated distribution, the transmission start date and time is determined for each value of failure occurrence frequency and usage frequency. As described above, since it is not necessary to collect the occurrence frequency information from all the medical devices 3-1 to 3-n, the distribution schedule determination process can be performed efficiently. In particular, even when the occurrence frequency information or the like cannot be acquired from a certain medical device, such as when there is a medical device that has not been used for a long period of time, according to the present embodiment, the distribution schedule is determined effectively. can do.

<Third Embodiment>
A third embodiment of the software management system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the present system. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation mode of the present system. Note that components similar to those in the first embodiment will be described using the same reference numerals.

[System configuration]
As in the first embodiment, the software management system 1000 illustrated in FIG. 14 includes the server 2 and a plurality of medical devices 3-1 to 3 -n, and further includes a developer terminal 5 used by the software developer. It has. Further, the external device 4 similar to that of the first embodiment is connected to the medical device 3 (3-1).

  The developer terminal 5 is configured to be able to communicate with the server 2. The communication mode may be a local network such as a LAN, a wide area network such as the Internet, a wireless communication, or a wired communication. Good. The developer terminal 5 is configured by an arbitrary terminal device having a screen display function and an audio output function, and may be an arbitrary mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), a laptop computer, or the like. It may be an arbitrary terminal such as a personal computer. Moreover, the terminal for exclusive use which receives the below-mentioned alerting | reporting information may be sufficient. The number of developer terminals 5 is not limited to one, and may be provided for each software developer, for example.

  The server 2 includes a control unit 20, an information storage unit 21, a communication unit 26, and a search unit 28. In the information storage unit 21, fault correction software 210 and fault history information 217 are stored in advance. The fault history information 217 is information representing a history of faults that have occurred in the medical software 310 in the past. The specific process identification information (debug log) of a specific process related to the fault and the software module in which the fault has occurred. Software module identification information. The information storage unit 21 stores a plurality of pieces of failure history information 217 and failure correction software 210 for correcting the failure indicated in each failure history information 217. Corresponding failure correction software 210 and failure history information 217 are associated with each other by predetermined identification information.

  The search unit 28 corresponds to an example of the “search means” of the present invention. When a debug log or the like is transmitted from the medical device 3 as described later, a failure including the same debug log information as the debug log or the like is transmitted. The history information 217 is searched from the information storage unit 21. The search unit 28 includes a microprocessor such as a CPU and a memory such as a RAM.

  The control unit 20 is provided with a distribution control unit 200 and a notification control unit 201. The notification control unit 201 corresponds to an example of the “notification control unit” of the present invention, and transmits predetermined notification information to the developer terminal 5 in response to the failure history information not being searched by the search unit 28. To work. Here, the predetermined notification information includes information in an arbitrary form that can be output by the developer terminal 5, such as text information and voice information such as “a new software failure has occurred”. Further, when the developer terminal 5 is a terminal having a vibration function, such as a mobile phone, the vibration of the developer terminal 5 can be used as notification information.

[System operation]
An operation mode of the software management system 1000 having such a configuration will be described. The flowchart shown in FIG. 15 represents an example of the operation mode of the software management system 1000. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to this flowchart.

  Each time the medical device 3 executes a process according to the medical software 310, the log 3 of the process is recorded (S71). When a failure occurs during the use of the medical software 310, the control unit 30 detects this (S72). At this time, the medical software 310 is in a no-response state and is forcibly terminated by the user, the overall control module 311 or the operating system (S73).

  When the control unit 30 is automatically forcibly terminated by the overall control module 311 or the operating system (S73; automatic), the control unit 30 records the log information 320 indicating that the system has been automatically terminated (S74). On the other hand, when the user manually forcibly terminates, log information 320 indicating that the user has manually terminated is recorded (S75).

  The medical device 3 transmits log information 320 regarding this failure to the server 2 (S76). The log information 320 includes a debug log recorded between a predetermined time before the occurrence of the failure and the occurrence of the failure, a module name (software module identification information) of each debug log, a forced termination log, and the like.

  The search unit 28 of the server 2 searches the information storage unit 21 for failure history information 217 including the same debug log (specific processing identification information) as the debug log included in the log information 320 from the medical device 3 (S77). .

  When such failure history information 217 is searched (S78; Y), the failure correction software 210 associated with the searched failure history information 217 is specified (S79) and transmitted to the medical device 3 (S80). . The medical device 3 stores the received fault correction software 210 in the software storage unit 31 and updates the medical software 310 (S81). The process in this case ends here.

  On the other hand, when the failure history information 217 is not searched (S78; N), the notification control unit 201 controls the communication unit 26 to transmit predetermined notification information to the developer terminal 5, and the existing failure information. The software developer is notified that a new failure that cannot be dealt with by the correction software 210 has occurred (S82).

  The software developer confirms the notified notification information, and develops fault correction software for this new fault (S83). At that time, analysis of the log information 320 is performed. The newly developed fault correction software is stored in the information storage unit 21 together with new fault history information (S84). This is the end of the process in this case. The new fault correction software is transmitted to the medical device 3 at an appropriate timing.

[Function and effect]
According to the software management system 1000 according to the present embodiment as described above, the following operations and effects are achieved.

  First, when a failure occurs in the medical software 310, the medical device 3 of the software management system 1000 transmits log information 320 related to the failure to the server 2. The server 2 specifies a failure that has occurred in the medical device 3 by searching the failure history information 217 corresponding to the log information 320 from the medical device 3. Then, the fault correction software 210 associated with the searched fault history information 217 is transmitted to the medical apparatus 3 to operate to correct the fault. As described above, according to the software management system 1000, it is possible to accurately identify the content of the failure that has occurred in the medical software 310, transmit the appropriate failure correction software 210 to the medical device 3, and correct the failure.

  In addition, when the failure that occurred in the medical software 310 is a new failure, the failure correction software 2 that corrects this failure has not been developed yet, and is therefore not stored in the information storage unit 21. In such a case, the server 2 transmits notification information to the developer terminal 5 and acts to notify the software developer that a new software failure has occurred. As a result, the software developer can quickly know the occurrence of a new failure. In particular, when the urgent level of fault correction is high, development of fault correction software can be started quickly.

It is a schematic block diagram showing an example of composition of a 1st embodiment of a software management system concerning the present invention. It is the schematic showing an example of the software configuration of the medical software which controls operation | movement of the medical device of 1st Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure showing an example of the log information which recorded the operation state of the medical device of 1st Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure showing an example of the log information which recorded the operation state of the medical device of 1st Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure showing an example of the log information which recorded the operation state of the medical device of 1st Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation | movement aspect of 1st Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation | movement aspect of 1st Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation | movement aspect of 1st Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation | movement aspect of 1st Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a structure of 2nd Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation | movement aspect of 2nd Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation | movement aspect of 2nd Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation | movement aspect of 2nd Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic block diagram showing an example of a structure of 3rd Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart showing an example of the operation | movement aspect of 3rd Embodiment of the software management system which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 100, 1000 Software management system 2 Server 20 Control part 200 Delivery control part 201 Information control part 21 Information storage part 210 Fault correction software 211 Software module identification information 212 Fault specific information 213 Delivery destination list information 214 Delivery order information 215 216 Transmission start date and time information 217 Failure history information 22 Delivery order determination unit 23 Transmission start date and time determination unit 24 Date and time determination unit 25 Timekeeping unit 26 Communication unit 27 Calculation processing unit 28 Search unit 3, 3-1 to 3-n Medical device 30 Control Unit 31 Software storage unit 310 Medical software 32 Log recording unit 320 Log information 321 No response log information 322 Forced termination log information 323 Debug log information 33 Transmission information creation unit 34 User interface 35 Communication unit 4 External device 5 Developer terminal Wide area network

Claims (19)

A plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software;
A software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
A software management system including
For each of the plurality of medical devices, specific processing identification information for identifying the specific processing and specific processing date and time indicating the date and time when the specific processing was executed when performing specific processing related to the software failure Recording means for recording information in association with each other as operation status information ,
Based on the operation status information recorded in the recording means, further comprising creating means for creating failure occurrence frequency information related to the software of each of the plurality of medical devices,
The software distribution server is
Storage means for storing update software in advance;
Distribution schedule determining means for determining a distribution order of the update software for the plurality of medical devices based on the recorded failure occurrence frequency information;
Distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined distribution order;
With
Each of the plurality of medical devices updates the software with the distributed update software.
A software management system characterized by that. The delivery schedule determination means determines the delivery order in order from the medical device having the highest occurrence frequency of the failure indicated in the created occurrence frequency information for each of the plurality of medical devices.
The software management system according to claim 1. Before Symbol occurrence frequency information generating means, for each of the plurality of medical devices, the out of recorded the specific process identification information, the specific processing identification information associated with a particular processing date information indicating the date and time belonging to a predetermined time period The occurrence frequency information is created by counting the number of
The delivery schedule determination unit compares the number of the specific process identification information indicated in the generated occurrence frequency information for each of the plurality of medical devices, and the number of the plurality of medical devices is larger for each of the plurality of medical devices. Determining the distribution order by designating the order of transmitting the update software in order from the medical device;
The software management system according to claim 2. The distribution schedule determination means determines the distribution order in order from a medical device having a high use frequency of the software indicated in the created use frequency information for each of the plurality of medical devices.
The software management system according to claim 1. For each of the plurality of medical devices, the recording means records use date information indicating the use date as the operation status information each time the software is used.
The usage frequency information creating means counts the usage frequency information by counting the number of usage date information indicating the usage date and time belonging to a predetermined period from the recorded usage date and time information for each of the plurality of medical devices. make,
The delivery schedule determination means compares the number of use date and time information indicated in the created use frequency information for each of the plurality of medical devices, and the medical device having a larger number for each of the plurality of medical devices. Determining the distribution order by designating the order of transmission of the update software in order from the device;
The software management system according to claim 1. For each of the plurality of medical devices, the recording means records use date information indicating the use date as the operation status information each time the software is used.
For each of the plurality of medical devices, the use frequency information creating unit is configured to use the software in the predetermined period based on use date information indicating a use date and time belonging to a predetermined period among the recorded use date and time information. To calculate the usage time and create the usage frequency information,
The distribution schedule determination means compares the use time values indicated in the created use frequency information for each of the plurality of medical devices, and sets the use time value for each of the plurality of medical devices. Determining the delivery order by designating the order in which the update software is transmitted in order from a larger medical device;
The software management system according to claim 4. A plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software;
A software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
A software management system including
Each of the plurality of medical devices is
Each time the medical device executes a specific process related to the software failure, specific process identification information for identifying the specific process, and specific process date / time information indicating the date and time when the specific process was executed, Recording means for associating with each other, and
Of the recorded specific process identification information, the number of specific process identification information associated with the specific process date / time information indicating the date / time belonging to a predetermined period is counted to generate failure occurrence frequency information in the software Occurrence frequency information creation means,
With
The software distribution server is
Storage means for storing the update software in advance;
A transmission means for transmitting a request signal for requesting an operation of the occurrence frequency information creating means to each of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
Receiving means for receiving the occurrence frequency information created by the occurrence frequency information creating means in response to the transmitted request signal from each of the plurality of medical devices via the wide area network;
The number of the specific process identification information indicated in the occurrence frequency information received from each of the plurality of medical devices is compared, and the update software is sequentially applied to each of the plurality of medical devices from the medical device having the largest number. Distribution schedule determination means for determining the distribution order of the update software for the plurality of medical devices by specifying the order of transmitting
Distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined distribution order;
With
Each of the plurality of medical devices updates the software with the distributed update software.
A software management system characterized by that. A plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software;
A software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
A software management system including
Each of the plurality of medical devices is
Each time the medical device executes a specific process related to the software failure, specific process identification information for identifying the specific process, and specific process date / time information indicating the date and time when the specific process was executed, ,
Each time the medical device uses the software, use date information indicating the use date,
Recording means for associating with each other, and
Of the recorded use date and time information, use frequency information creating means for counting the number of use date and time information indicating the use date and time belonging to a predetermined period and creating the use frequency information of the software in the medical device,
With
The software distribution server is
Storage means for storing the update software in advance;
A transmission means for transmitting a request signal for requesting an operation of the use frequency information creating means to each of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
Receiving means for receiving the usage frequency information created by the usage frequency information creating means in response to the transmitted request signal from each of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
The number of use date and time information indicated in the use frequency information received from each of the plurality of medical devices is compared, and the update software is sequentially applied to each of the plurality of medical devices in order from the largest number of medical devices. A delivery schedule determining means for determining a distribution order of the update software for the plurality of medical devices by designating a transmission order;
Distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined distribution order;
With
Each of the plurality of medical devices updates the software with the distributed update software.
The software management system according to claim 7. A plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software;
A software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
A software management system including
Each of the plurality of medical devices is
Each time the medical device executes a specific process related to the software failure, specific process identification information for identifying the specific process, and specific process date / time information indicating the date and time when the specific process was executed, ,
Each time the medical device uses the software, use date information indicating the use date,
Recording means for associating with each other, and
Of the recorded use date and time information, based on the use date and time information indicating the use date and time belonging to a predetermined period, the use time of the software in the predetermined period is calculated, and the use frequency of the software in the medical device is calculated. Usage frequency information creation means for creating information,
With
The software distribution server is
Storage means for storing the update software in advance;
A transmission means for transmitting a request signal for requesting an operation of the use frequency information creating means to each of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
Receiving means for receiving the usage frequency information created by the usage frequency information creating means in response to the transmitted request signal from each of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
The use time values indicated in the use frequency information received from each of the plurality of medical devices are compared, and for each of the plurality of medical devices, the update devices are sequentially updated from the medical device having the largest use time value. Distribution schedule determination means for determining the distribution order of the update software for the plurality of medical devices by designating the order of transmitting software;
Distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined distribution order;
With
Each of the plurality of medical devices updates the software with the distributed update software.
A software management system characterized by that. The distribution schedule determination means includes the number of devices of the plurality of medical devices, preset distributable device number information indicating the maximum number of medical devices capable of transmitting update software within a predetermined time, and the distribution schedule. A transmission start date and time determining means for determining a transmission start date and time of the update software for the medical device for each of the plurality of medical devices based on the distribution order determined by the determining means;
The software management system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein Each of the plurality of medical devices transmits a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of update software to the software distribution server through the wide area network,
The software distribution server, when receiving the transmission request signal transmitted by any of the plurality of medical devices, includes a date / time determining means for determining whether the current date / time is after the transmission start date / time of the medical device. In addition,
The delivery control means transmits the update software to the medical device only when it is determined that the current date and time is after the transmission start date.
The software management system according to claim 10. A plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software;
A software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
A software management system including
Recording means for recording operation status information indicating the operation status of the software for each of the plurality of medical devices;
Occurrence frequency information indicating the occurrence frequency of a failure in the software of each of the two or more medical devices based on the recorded operation status information for each of the two or more medical devices comprising a part of the plurality of medical devices. Occurrence frequency information creating means for creating
With
The software distribution server is
Storage means for storing update software in advance;
A computing means for estimating a distribution of the occurrence frequency of the failure in the plurality of medical devices based on the generated occurrence frequency information of the two or more medical devices;
A transmission start date and time determining means for determining a transmission start date and time of the update software for each value of the occurrence frequency in the distribution based on the estimated distribution of the occurrence frequency of the failure;
Distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined transmission start date and time;
With
The medical device updates the software by the distributed update software.
A software management system characterized by that. The recording means includes, for each of the plurality of medical devices, specific processing identification information for identifying the specific processing each time the medical device executes a specific processing related to the software failure, and the specific processing Specific process date and time information indicating the date and time when the process is executed is recorded in association with each other as the operation status information,
The occurrence frequency information creating means includes, for each of the two or more medical devices, specific process identification information associated with specific process date / time information indicating a date / time belonging to a predetermined period among the recorded specific process identification information. Count the number and create the occurrence frequency information,
The calculation means obtains the distribution of the number of the specific processing identification information in the two or more medical devices based on the generated occurrence frequency information, and the obtained distribution and the devices of the plurality of medical devices Estimating the distribution of the occurrence frequency by estimating the distribution of the number of the specific processing identification information in the plurality of medical devices based on the ratio of the number of the two or more medical devices to the number,
The transmission start date / time determining means includes the number of devices of the plurality of medical devices, the preset number of devices that can be delivered within a predetermined time and the maximum number of medical devices that can be transmitted, and the estimated And determining the transmission start date and time of the update software for each value of the number of the specific treatment identification information in the distribution based on the distribution of the number of the specific processing identification information that has been performed.
The software management system according to claim 12. A plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software;
A software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
A software management system including
Recording means for recording operation status information indicating the operation status of the software for each of the plurality of medical devices;
Use frequency information indicating the frequency of use of the software in each of the two or more medical devices is created based on the recorded operation status information for each of the two or more medical devices comprising a part of the plurality of medical devices. Usage frequency information creation means to
With
The software distribution server is
Storage means for storing update software in advance;
Calculation means for estimating a distribution of usage frequencies of the software in the plurality of medical devices based on the usage frequency information of the created two or more medical devices;
A transmission start date and time determining means for determining a transmission start date and time of the update software for each value of the usage frequency in the distribution based on the estimated distribution of the usage frequencies;
Distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined transmission start date and time;
With
The medical device updates the software by the distributed update software.
A software management system characterized by that. A plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software;
A software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
A software management system including
Each of the plurality of medical devices is
Each time the medical device executes a specific process related to the software failure, specific process identification information for identifying the specific process, and specific process date / time information indicating the date and time when the specific process was executed, Recording means for associating with each other, and
Of the recorded specific process identification information, count the number of specific process identification information associated with specific process date and time information indicating the date and time belonging to a predetermined period, and create the occurrence frequency information of the failure in the medical device Occurrence frequency information creating means,
A transmission request signal for requesting transmission of update software is transmitted to the software distribution server through the wide area network,
The software distribution server is
Storage means for storing update software in advance;
A transmission means for transmitting a request signal for requesting an operation of the occurrence frequency information creating means to each of two or more medical devices comprising a part of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
Receiving means for receiving the occurrence frequency information created by the occurrence frequency information creating means in response to the transmitted request signal from each of the two or more medical devices through the wide area network;
Based on the received occurrence frequency information, a distribution of the number of the specific processing identification information in the two or more medical devices is obtained, and the two or more with respect to the obtained distribution and the number of devices of the plurality of medical devices. Computing means for estimating a distribution of the number of the specific processing identification information in the plurality of medical devices based on a ratio of the number of medical devices
The number of devices of the plurality of medical devices, the preset number of distributable devices indicating the maximum number of medical devices capable of transmitting update software within a predetermined time, and the estimated specific process identification information A transmission start date and time determining means for determining a transmission start date and time of the update software for each value of the number of the specific treatment identification information in the distribution based on the distribution of the number;
When the transmission request signal transmitted by any of the plurality of medical devices is received, the occurrence frequency based on the specific processing identification information and the specific processing date / time information recorded in the recording unit of the medical device Date and time determination means for acquiring the value of the number of specific process identification information indicated in the occurrence frequency information created by the creation means and determining whether the current date and time is after the transmission start date and time corresponding to the acquired number of values; ,
Only when it is determined that the current date and time is after the transmission start date, distribution control means for transmitting the update software to the medical device;
With
The medical device updates the software by the transmitted update software.
A software management system characterized by that. A plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software;
A software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
A software management system including
Each of the plurality of medical devices is
Each time the medical device uses the software, recording means for recording use date information indicating the use date,
Of the recorded use date and time information, use frequency information creating means for counting the number of use date and time information indicating the use date and time belonging to a predetermined period and creating the use frequency information of the software in the medical device,
A transmission request signal for requesting transmission of update software is transmitted to the software distribution server through the wide area network,
The software distribution server is
Storage means for storing update software in advance;
A transmission means for transmitting a request signal for requesting an operation of the use frequency information creating means to each of two or more medical devices comprising a part of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
Receiving means for receiving the usage frequency information created by the usage frequency information creating means in response to the transmitted request signal from each of the two or more medical devices via the wide area network;
Based on the received usage frequency information, a distribution of the number of use date and time information in the two or more medical devices is obtained, and the two or more of the obtained distribution and the number of devices of the plurality of medical devices are calculated. Based on the ratio of the number of medical devices, a computing means for estimating a distribution of the number of use date and time information in the plurality of medical devices;
Number of devices of the plurality of medical devices, preset number of distributable devices indicating the maximum number of medical devices capable of transmitting update software within a predetermined time, and the estimated number of use date and time information Transmission start date and time determining means for determining the transmission start date and time of the update software for each value of the number of use date and time information in the distribution,
When the transmission request signal transmitted by any one of the plurality of medical devices is received, the use created by the use frequency creating unit based on the use date information recorded in the recording unit of the medical device Date and time determination means for acquiring the value of the number of use date and time information indicated in the frequency information and determining whether the current date and time is after the transmission start date and time corresponding to the acquired number of values;
Only when it is determined that the current date and time is after the transmission start date, distribution control means for transmitting the update software to the medical device;
With
The medical device updates the software by the transmitted update software.
A software management system characterized by that. A plurality of medical devices respectively connected to the wide area network and provided with software storage means for storing software, each controlled by the stored software;
A software distribution server that is connected to the wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
A software management system including
Each of the plurality of medical devices is
Each time the medical device uses the software, recording means for recording use date information indicating the use date,
Of the recorded use date and time information, based on the use date and time information indicating the use date and time belonging to a predetermined period, the use time of the software in the predetermined period is calculated, and the use frequency of the software in the medical device is calculated. Usage frequency information creation means for creating information,
A transmission request signal for requesting transmission of update software is transmitted to the software distribution server through the wide area network,
The software distribution server is
Storage means for storing update software in advance;
A transmission means for transmitting a request signal for requesting an operation of the use frequency information creating means to each of two or more medical devices comprising a part of the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network;
Receiving means for receiving the usage frequency information created by the usage frequency information creating means in response to the transmitted request signal from each of the two or more medical devices via the wide area network;
Based on the received use frequency information, the distribution of the usage time in the two or more medical devices is obtained, and the two or more medical devices corresponding to the obtained distribution and the number of devices of the plurality of medical devices are obtained. A calculation means for estimating a distribution of the usage time in the plurality of medical devices based on a ratio of the number of devices;
The number of devices of the plurality of medical devices, the preset number of distributable device information indicating the maximum number of medical devices capable of transmitting update software within a predetermined time, and the estimated distribution of the usage time A transmission start date and time determining means for determining a transmission start date and time of the update software for each value of the usage time in the distribution,
When the transmission request signal transmitted by any one of the plurality of medical devices is received, the use created by the use frequency creating unit based on the use date information recorded in the recording unit of the medical device A date and time determination means for acquiring a value of usage time indicated in the frequency information and determining whether or not the current date and time is after the transmission start date and time corresponding to the acquired usage time value;
Only when it is determined that the current date and time is after the transmission start date, distribution control means for transmitting the update software to the medical device;
With
The medical device updates the software by the transmitted update software.
A software management system characterized by that. Software storage means for storing software, respectively, each of a plurality of medical devices controlled by the stored software,
A software distribution server that is connected via a wide area network and distributes update software that corrects a failure occurring in the software to the plurality of medical devices through the wide area network,
For each of the plurality of medical devices, specific processing identification information for identifying the specific processing and specific processing date and time indicating the date and time when the specific processing was executed when performing specific processing related to the software failure Recording means for recording information in association with each other as operation status information,
Creating means for creating failure occurrence frequency information from processing content information in the software of each of the plurality of medical devices based on the operation status information recorded in the recording means;
Storage means for storing update software in advance;
A delivery schedule determination means for determining a distribution order of the update software for the plurality of medical devices based on the failure occurrence frequency information;
Distribution control means for distributing the update software to the plurality of medical devices based on the determined distribution order;
With
A software distribution server characterized by the above. The delivery schedule determination means determines the delivery order in order from the medical device having the highest occurrence frequency of the failure indicated in the created occurrence frequency information for each of the plurality of medical devices.
The software distribution server according to claim 18.

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