JP2018198792A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To objectively evaluate a muscle amount and an exercise effect necessary for daily life of an elderly person, such as independent walking.SOLUTION: An image acquisition part 51 acquires data of an ultrasonic image of a thigh front part transmitted from an ultrasonic image generation device 1 through a communication part 29. An area recognition part 52 recognizes data of a muscle area from the data of the ultrasonic image. A thickness acquisition part 53 acquires information about the thickness of a muscle in the muscle area from data of a subcutaneous fat area, data of a fascia area, or data of the muscle area in the data of the ultrasonic image. A muscle-saving index computing part 54 calculates a muscle-saving index on the basis of information about the thickness of a muscle acquired by the thickness acquisition part 53. An evaluation part 55 performs an evaluation by using the muscle-saving index calculated by the muscle-saving index computing part 54.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

Conventionally, it is known that humans lose muscle mass and exercise ability as they get older. As the decline in athletic ability progresses, it may become difficult to walk independently or become bedridden, which may have a significant impact on the personal life of the individual.
In this regard, exercises that store muscles like savings by continuously performing strength training as a preventive measure for lowering of exercise ability, such as when it is difficult to stand on its own or bedridden Exercise is known.
Here, for example, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is provided as a technique for acquiring image data for measuring muscle mass in the body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-087267 A

  However, in recent years, it has been required to objectively evaluate muscle mass and exercise effects necessary for daily life of elderly people, such as self-supporting walking. It is a situation where the demand cannot be fully met.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to objectively evaluate muscle mass and exercise effects necessary for the daily life of elderly people, such as independent walking.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention provides:
Image data generated based on the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor in the probe, bounced from the body of the user's front thigh, and received by the probe is used as the image data of the front thigh of the user. Image acquisition means for acquiring;
Region recognition means for recognizing at least muscle region data from the image data of the user's front thigh;
Thickness acquisition means for acquiring the muscle thickness of the user's front thigh from the data of the muscle region;
A stored muscle index calculating means for calculating a user's stored muscle index based on the thickness of the muscle of the user's front thigh;
An evaluation means for performing a predetermined evaluation on the muscle mass of the front thigh of the user based on the stored muscle index of the user;
Is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to objectively evaluate the muscle mass and exercise effects necessary for daily life of elderly people, such as independent walking.

It is a figure showing an example of an information processing system concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of an ultrasonic image analysis apparatus among the information processing systems of FIG. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration for executing a stored muscle index calculation process among the functional configurations of the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus of FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows an example of the ultrasonic image acquired by the ultrasonic image analysis measure of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the recognition result of the area | region recognition part of the ultrasonic image of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the ultrasonic image acquired by the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus of FIG. 3, and the value of the stored muscle index obtained from it. It is a figure which shows an example of the corresponding information which shows the relationship between the value of a storage muscle index, and age. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a flow of a stored muscle index calculation process executed by the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus of FIG. 3.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The information processing system includes an ultrasonic image generation device 1 and an ultrasonic image analysis device 2.
The ultrasonic image generation apparatus 1 and the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus 2 are connected via a network N such as a LAN (Local Area Network).
The network N need not be a LAN, and may be the Internet. Further, the network N is not an essential component, and the ultrasonic image generation device 1 and the ultrasonic image analysis device 2 may directly communicate according to a predetermined communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The ultrasonic image generation apparatus 1 includes an ultrasonic probe 11 and an ultrasonic transducer device 12.
The ultrasonic probe 11 irradiates, for example, the inside B of the measurement site in the front thigh of the living body A such as the user and receives the ultrasonic echo reflected from the inside B.
The ultrasonic transducer device 12 is connected to the ultrasonic probe 11 and generates image data (hereinafter referred to as “ultrasonic image data”) based on the ultrasonic echo received from the ultrasonic probe 11. It transmits to the image analysis apparatus 2.
The generation location of the ultrasonic image data is the ultrasonic transducer device 12 in the present embodiment, but is not particularly limited thereto, and may be, for example, the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus 2 described later.

The ultrasonic image analysis apparatus 2 executes various processes for performing various analyzes on the ultrasonic image data transmitted from the ultrasonic image generation apparatus 1.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus in the information processing system of FIG.

  The ultrasonic image analysis apparatus 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 22, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 23, a bus 24, an input / output interface 25, an output unit 26, An input unit 27, a storage unit 28, a communication unit 29, and a drive 30 are provided.

The CPU 21 executes various processes according to a program stored in the ROM 22 or a program loaded from the storage unit 28 to the RAM 23.
The RAM 23 appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 21 to execute various processes.

  The CPU 21, ROM 22, and RAM 23 are connected to each other via a bus 24. An input / output interface 25 is also connected to the bus 24. An output unit 26, an input unit 27, a storage unit 28, a communication unit 29, and a drive 30 are connected to the input / output interface 25.

The output unit 26 includes a display, a printer, a speaker, and the like, and outputs various types of information as images, printed materials, and sounds.
The input unit 27 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like, and inputs various information.

The storage unit 28 includes a hard disk, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and the like, and stores various data.
The communication unit 29 communicates with the ultrasonic transducer device 12 of the ultrasonic image generating apparatus 1 via a network N (FIG. 1) including the Internet.

A removable medium 31 made of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like is appropriately attached to the drive 30. The program read from the removable medium 31 by the drive 30 is installed in the storage unit 28 as necessary.
The removable medium 31 can also store various data stored in the storage unit 28 in the same manner as the storage unit 28.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration for executing the stored muscle index calculation process among the functional configurations of the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus of FIG. 2.

The stored muscle index calculation processing is based on acquiring the muscle thickness of the measurement site based on the ultrasonic image data at the measurement site of the front thigh and calculating the stored muscle index from the muscle thickness of the measurement site A series of processes.
Here, the thickness of the muscle is a value indicating the thickness of the muscle region in the front part of the thigh of the human body, and is used for calculation of a stored muscle index, which will be described later.
Specifically, for example, the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus 2 is based on a difference in luminance value among ultrasonic image data obtained by imaging each region of the front thigh, data on the subcutaneous fat region, data on the muscle region, Recognize three areas of fascia area data. The ultrasonic image analyzer 2 specifies the thickness (distance) of the muscle region based on the recognized muscle region data. Then, the ultrasonic image analysis device 2 calculates a stored muscle index, which will be described later, based on the thickness of the muscle region.

  In the CPU 21 of the ultrasonic image analyzing apparatus 2, when executing such a stored muscle index calculation process, the image acquisition unit 51, the region recognition unit 52, the thickness acquisition unit 53, and the stored muscle index calculation unit 54 The evaluation unit 55 and the display control unit 56 function.

The image acquisition unit 51 transmits ultrasonic image data generated based on the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor in the ultrasonic probe 11, rebounded from the body of the user's front thigh, and received by the probe. , Acquired as image data of the user's front thigh.
That is, the image acquisition unit 51 acquires the ultrasonic image data of the front thigh transmitted from the ultrasonic image generation device 1 via the communication unit 29.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an ultrasound image acquired by the ultrasound image analysis measure of FIG.
The ultrasound image 301 in the example of FIG. 4 is an ultrasound image of the internal B corresponding to the measurement site of the ultrasound probe 11 in the living body A such as the user, that is, the front of the thigh. When the amplitude (signal intensity) of a sound wave echo (reflected wave signal) is converted into a luminance value, it is an image corresponding to data composed of each pixel having the luminance value.

The region recognition unit 52 recognizes at least muscle region data from ultrasonic image data of the user's front thigh.
That is, for each of the ultrasonic image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 51, the region recognition unit 52 determines, for example, the data of the subcutaneous fat region, the data of the muscle region, and the data of the fascial region from the difference in luminance value. Recognize three areas of data.

Here, the case of recognizing subcutaneous fat region data, muscle region data, and fascia region data from the above-described ultrasonic image data will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a recognition result of the region recognition unit of the ultrasonic image of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the subcutaneous fat region 401, the muscle region 402, and the fascia region 403 are recognized from the ultrasound image 301.
In FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, the subcutaneous fat region 401 and the muscle region 402 are illustrated with hatching in different directions, but are actually displayed on the monitor (output unit 26) of the ultrasonic image analysis device 2. In such a case, it may be displayed in a different color.
In the example of FIG. 5, the bone region described as “bone” is recognized. However, it is not particularly essential to recognize the bone region and the deep internal organs behind it.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the thickness acquisition unit 53 acquires the thickness of the muscle of the user's front thigh from the above-described muscle region data.

The stored muscle index calculating unit 54 calculates the user's stored muscle index based on the muscle thickness of the user's front thigh.
Here, the stored muscle index will be briefly described. The stored muscle index is an index indicating the degree of health regardless of health, gender, and physique, and is specifically expressed by the following equation (1).
Stored muscle index = muscle thickness at the front of the thigh ÷ BMI (body mass index: body mass index)
... (1)
Note that the method for calculating the storage index is not particularly limited to the above-described method. Further, it is sufficient that the muscle thickness can be used for calculating the stored muscle index, and the form of the data is not particularly limited.

First, the evaluation unit 55 manages information indicating the correspondence relationship between the stored muscle index and the age as correspondence information.
Here, information indicating the correspondence relationship between the stored muscle index of a large number of users (users to be measured and other users) calculated by the stored muscle index calculation unit 54 and the age of each user is stored information index DB 61 as correspondence information. Stored in A specific example of the correspondence information will be described later with reference to FIG.

Furthermore, the evaluation part 55 performs predetermined | prescribed evaluation regarding the muscle mass of a user's front thigh based on a user's stored muscle index. In addition to the user's stored muscle index, the evaluation unit 55 performs a predetermined evaluation on the muscle mass of the user's front thigh based on the above-described correspondence information.
That is, the evaluation unit 55 evaluates the user's current muscle mass and the exercise effect of the stored muscle exercise by calculating the stored muscle index from the muscle thickness of the ultrasound image of the front thigh for each time series, for example. be able to.
Further, the evaluation unit 55 evaluates the user's current muscle mass and the exercise effect of the stored muscle exercise while comparing with other users by using the above correspondence information in addition to the stored muscle index, for example. Can do.
Furthermore, the evaluation unit 55 can also take into account the user's age, sex, and the like in the above evaluation.

  The display control unit 56 performs control to display an image indicating the evaluation result of the evaluation unit 55 on the display of the output unit 26 or the like. At that time, the display control unit 56 may execute control for displaying various images such as the ultrasonic image 301 of FIG. 5 together.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an ultrasound image acquired by the ultrasound image analysis apparatus of FIG. 3 and a stored muscle index value obtained therefrom.
In FIG. 6, in order from the right, an ultrasound image of the anterior thigh (before muscle storage exercise) 511, an ultrasound image of the anterior thigh (after 3 months of muscle accumulation exercise) 512, an ultrasound image of the anterior thigh ( Respectively, an ultrasonic image of the anterior thigh (after June 1 year of stored muscle movement) 514 is shown.

As described above, the region recognizing unit 52 recognizes data of a plurality of regions from each ultrasonic image data based on a difference in luminance value or the like.
For example, when the ultrasound image (before the stored muscle movement) 511 of the front thigh in FIG. 6 is viewed, the boundaries A, B, C, and D of each region are recognized. Here, between the boundary X and the boundary Y (X and Y are independent codes, and any one of A, B, C, and D) is expressed as “between XY”. . Furthermore, the region between A and B is the subcutaneous fat region, the region between B and C is the rectus thigh region, the region between C and D is the intermediate vastus region, and the region between B and D is the muscle region. Are recognized.
The distance (thickness) of each region is shown below each region in FIG. That is, the distance (thickness) of each region in the ultrasonic image (before the stored muscle movement) 511 is 9.8 mm in the subcutaneous fat region (region between A and B), and the rectus femoris region (between B and C). (Region) is 11.4 mm, the intermediate vastus muscle region (region between CDs) is 8.8 mm, and the muscle region (region between BDs) is 20.2 mm.
That is, the above-described muscle thickness refers to the distance between B and D on the ultrasound image, that is, the distance from the boundary between the rectus femoris region and the subcutaneous fat region to the boundary between the intermediate vastus muscle region and the bone. The value of the muscle thickness calculated in this way is used for calculation of a stored muscle index, which will be described later. For example, in the above example, the muscle thickness is 20.2 mm.
Furthermore, referring to FIG. 6, below the distance (thickness) value of each region described above, a stored muscle index calculated from the value of the muscle thickness is displayed. In addition, the method for calculating the stored muscle index is as the above-described formula (1).

In the example of FIG. 6, the stored muscle index is calculated with the BMI of the user being 20.6. Specifically, for example, the value of the stored muscle index in the example of the ultrasonic image 511 is expressed as the following equation (2).
0.98 (storing muscle index) = 20.2 (thickness of the thigh muscle) ÷ 20.6 (BMI)
... (2)
Similarly, in each example of an ultrasound image (3 months after stored muscle exercise) 512, an ultrasound image (1 year after stored muscle exercise) 513, and an ultrasound image of the anterior thigh (1 year after stored muscle exercise 6 months) The savings index is 1.11, 1.20, and 1.37, respectively.

Here, the ultrasonic image 512 to the ultrasonic image 514 are images that are captured after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since a predetermined stored muscle movement is started for the user who has captured the ultrasonic image 511. That is, the ultrasound image 512 is an ultrasound image of the front thigh of the user who has taken the ultrasound image 511 and has performed a stored muscle exercise such as thigh lift or toe lift for half a year. is there. Similarly, the ultrasonic image 513 is an image at the time when the user performs a stored muscle exercise for one year, and the ultrasonic image 514 is an image at a time when the user performs the muscle storage exercise for one and a half years. is there.
That is, it can be seen that each stored muscle index calculated from each of the above-described ultrasonic images 511 to 514 gradually increased as the stored muscle movement continued.

In this specification, the muscle mass (muscle thickness) required for independent walking is 1.0 (hereinafter referred to as “threshold”). That is, when the ultrasonic image 511 is captured, the stored muscle index is 0.98 (less than 1.0), and thus the user is below the amount of muscle necessary for independent walking. Details of the threshold will be described later with reference to FIG.
The user can recognize that his / her muscle mass is insufficient based on such an objective index, and can recognize the necessity of performing the muscle accumulation exercise.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of correspondence information indicating the relationship between the value of the stored muscle index and age.
The stored muscle index diagram 601 illustrated in FIG. 7 is an example of a correspondence relationship. The vertical axis shows the stored muscle index, and the horizontal axis shows the age. Each point plotted in the stored muscle index diagram 601 indicates the value of the stored muscle index calculated from the ultrasonic image of the user at the age of each user.
According to FIG. 7, for example, it can be seen that the value of the savings index is distributed between about 2.0 and 3.0 for a user whose age is around 20 years old. On the other hand, for users who are around 60 years old, most of the users are distributed between the storage muscle indexes of 1.5 to 2.5.
That is, the user's savings index around 20 years old is relatively high, whereas the user's savings index around 60 years old is greatly reduced (specifically, about 1.5 to 2.5). I understand that.
In addition, when FIG. 7 is seen, the fall of this savings index shows a tendency to fall gradually from around 20 years old to around 50 years old, and to fall rapidly after 60 years old.
And about the user mainly after 80 years old, the user whose savings index is less than the above-mentioned threshold is seen occasionally.
Here, the above threshold value will be described. The threshold (stored muscle index 1.0) indicates a stored muscle index (muscle mass) that is the minimum necessary for daily life such as independent walking, based on various reference data including the data of FIG.
That is, it means that a user (mainly a user after the 80s) whose stored muscle index is less than 1.0 does not have the muscle mass necessary for daily life such as independent walking. Need to do muscle storage exercise (training).

Further, the following evaluation can be performed by comparing the stored muscle index of the user to be measured and the corresponding relationship.
In other words, the user to be measured can grasp the relative standing position of the muscle mass of the same generation among the same generation by comparing the own muscle storage index with that of the user of the same generation.
In summary, the user can objectively evaluate (understand) his / her muscle mass and exercise effect based on his / her muscle storage index. Furthermore, a doctor or a trainer who gives advice to the user can give advice to perform pooled muscle exercise (training) that matches the age of the user and the current muscle mass.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of a stored muscle index calculation process executed by the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus of FIG.

  In step S <b> 1, the image acquisition unit 51 acquires the ultrasonic image data of the front thigh transmitted from the ultrasonic image generation device 1 via the communication unit 29.

  In step S2, the region recognition unit 52 recognizes muscle region data from the ultrasonic image data of the front thigh acquired in step S1.

  In step S3, the thickness acquisition unit 53 acquires the muscle thickness from the muscle region data recognized in step S2.

  In step S4, the stored muscle index calculator 54 calculates the user's stored muscle index from the muscle thickness acquired in step S3.

In step S5, the evaluation unit 55 performs a predetermined evaluation relating to the muscle mass of the user's front thigh based on the stored muscle index calculated in step S4.
For example, the evaluation unit 55 compares the correspondence information indicating the correspondence relationship between the stored muscle index and the age of a large number of users in the stored muscle index DB 61 with the user's stored muscle index, Evaluate.

Here, the predetermined evaluation regarding the muscle mass of the front thigh by the stored muscle index is presented to the user by the output unit 26. As a result, the user can recognize the amount of muscle in the front of the thigh by the stored muscle index by an objective numerical value.
Thereby, for example, the relationship between one's age and muscle mass can be objectively recognized.

In step S6, the CPU 21 determines whether or not there is an instruction to end the process. Here, an instruction to end the process is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, an instruction to shift to a so-called sleep state or the like is adopted. That is, unless an instruction to shift to the sleep state or the like is issued in the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus 2, it is determined NO in step S6, the process returns to step S1, and the subsequent processes are repeated.
On the other hand, when an instruction to shift to the sleep state or the like is given in the ultrasonic image analyzing apparatus 2, it is determined as YES in Step S6, and the stored muscle index calculation process is ended.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, and the like within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention. It is.

For example, the hardware configuration of FIG. 2 is merely an example for achieving the object of the present invention, and is not particularly limited.
Further, the functional block diagram shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and is not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient if the information processing system has a function capable of executing the above-described series of processing as a whole, and what functional block is used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the example of FIG. . Further, the location of the functional block is not limited to that shown in FIG.
One functional block may be configured by hardware, may be configured by software alone, or may be configured by a combination thereof.

When processing of each functional block is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed on a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. Further, the computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, for example, a general-purpose smartphone or a personal computer in addition to the ultrasonic image analysis device 2.

  A recording medium including such a program is distributed separately from the apparatus main body in order to provide the program to each user. It is not only constituted by a removable medium, but also constituted by a recording medium provided to each user in a state of being incorporated in advance in the apparatus main body.

  Further, in the present specification, the term “system” means an overall apparatus composed of a plurality of devices, a plurality of means, and the like.

In summary, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied only needs to have the following configuration, and can take various embodiments.
That is, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied (for example, the ultrasonic image analysis apparatus 2 in FIG. 1)
Image data generated based on the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor in the probe (for example, the ultrasonic probe 11 in FIG. 1), rebounded from the body of the user's front thigh, and received by the probe, Image acquisition means (for example, the image acquisition unit 51 in FIG. 3) for acquiring image data of the user's front thigh;
Region recognition means for recognizing at least muscle region data from the image data of the user's thigh (for example, the region recognition unit 52 in FIG. 3);
A thickness acquisition means (for example, a thickness acquisition unit 53 in FIG. 3) for acquiring the muscle thickness of the front thigh of the user from the data of the muscle region;
A stored muscle index calculating means (for example, a stored muscle index calculating unit 54 in FIG. 3) that calculates the user's stored muscle index based on the thickness of the user's front thigh muscle;
An evaluation unit (for example, the evaluation unit 55 in FIG. 3) that performs a predetermined evaluation on the muscle mass of the front thigh of the user based on the stored muscle index of the user;
It is enough to have

The user recognizes the thickness of the muscle in the muscle region as a stored muscle index. Then, by comparing the stored muscle index and the threshold value, it is possible to recognize whether or not the muscle mass necessary for the independent walking is present and whether the effect of the exercise is exerted.
This makes it possible to objectively evaluate the muscle mass and exercise effects necessary for the daily life of the elderly, such as independent walking.

In addition, the information processing apparatus
Management means for managing the information indicating the relationship between the stored muscle index and age as correspondence information,
In addition to the user's stored muscle index, the evaluation means further performs a predetermined evaluation on the muscle mass of the front thigh of the user based on the correspondence information.
be able to.

The user can recognize the relationship between his / her own muscle saving index and age from the information indicating the correspondence relationship between the muscle saving index and age.
Thereby, the user can recognize the relationship between his / her age and muscle mass, and can compare it with other users' stored muscle index.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic image generation apparatus 2 ... Ultrasonic image analysis apparatus 11 ... Ultrasonic probe 12 ... Ultrasonic transducer device 21 ... CPU
22 ... ROM
23 ... RAM
24 ... Bus 25 ... Input / output interface 26 ... Output unit 27 ... Input unit 28 ... Storage unit 29 ... Communication unit 30 ... Drive 31 ... Removable media 51 ... -Image acquisition unit 52 ... Area recognition unit 53 ... Thickness acquisition unit 54 ... Storage muscle index calculation unit 55 ... Evaluation unit 56 ... Display control unit 61 ... Storage muscle index DB
301 ... Ultrasound image 302 ... Area data A ... Living body B ... Target of determination

Claims (2)

Image data generated based on the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor in the probe, bounced from the body of the user's front thigh, and received by the probe is used as the image data of the front thigh of the user. Image acquisition means for acquiring;
Region recognition means for recognizing at least muscle region data from the image data of the user's front thigh;
Thickness acquisition means for acquiring the muscle thickness of the user's front thigh from the data of the muscle region;
A stored muscle index calculating means for calculating a user's stored muscle index based on the thickness of the muscle of the user's front thigh;
An evaluation means for performing a predetermined evaluation on the muscle mass of the front thigh of the user based on the stored muscle index of the user;
An information processing apparatus comprising: Management means for managing the information indicating the relationship between the stored muscle index and age as correspondence information,
In addition to the user's stored muscle index, the evaluation means further performs a predetermined evaluation on the muscle mass of the front thigh of the user based on the correspondence information.
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.