JP4555001B2 - Portable biological signal measuring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a biological signal measuring apparatus, and more particularly to a small and portable biological signal measuring apparatus typified by a Holter electrocardiograph.

Conventionally, an electrocardiogram has been widely used as a diagnostic index for heart disease, and has been measured continuously for a relatively long time, such as 24 hours, from a short time measurement in a health checkup to a subject exhibiting symptoms such as arrhythmia. Various measurement methods and measurement devices (electrocardiographs) suitable for each measurement method are used. In addition to the electrocardiogram, other biological signals such as respiratory state, arterial oxygen saturation (SpO ₂ ), and blood pressure are also used as useful information for diagnosis.

Among electrocardiographs, holter electrocardiographs used for continuous measurement for 24 hours during daily life, and electrocardiogram telemeters used for remote and constant measurement of electrocardiograms of subjects in hospital rooms It is necessary to record and transmit an electrocardiogram for a long time while being worn on the subject. Therefore, in order to realize low power consumption and reduction of the burden on the subject, downsizing of the apparatus has been actively performed. As a result, miniaturized, weighing electrocardiographs and electrocardiogram telemeters incorporating digital technologies such as semiconductor memory and digital signal processing have been realized. In addition, this type of electrocardiograph often has a function capable of measuring various biological signals such as arterial oxygen saturation (SpO ₂ ) and blood pressure in addition to the electrocardiogram. In this specification, the biological signal measuring device refers to a device having a function of measuring a biological signal, and there is also a device that only transmits a measured biological signal to an external device and does not have a function of recording in a memory or the like. Including.

  In this type of small electrocardiograph (hereinafter referred to as a portable biological signal measuring device), a small display device is used in order to notify a user who is a user of the operating state of the device, the remaining battery level, and the occurrence of an error. In general, a liquid crystal display device is usually built in. From the viewpoint of usability and functional improvement, a larger display device is preferable. On the other hand, if the thickness of the device is large, the feeling of wearing becomes worse, so the device is often designed to have a thin shape. For this reason, the display device is generally provided on the largest side surface of the electrocardiograph, that is, the front surface of the device when worn (see, for example, FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-263075 A (FIG. 1)

  When such a portable biological signal measuring device is worn on, for example, a belt of clothes, when trying to check the content displayed on the display device, the user takes a forward-bending posture or the display device It was necessary to lift the entire portable biological signal measuring device together with the clothes so as to face. However, such an operation is cumbersome and inconvenient.

  Moreover, when the display device is viewed in this way, the display content is upside down, so it is not easy to grasp the display content.

  This point will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows a state in which the portable biological signal measuring device is attached to the belt of clothing as viewed from the subject. When the device is looked down from the subject in this state, it can hardly be seen except for the upper surface of the device (FIG. 5B). For this reason, it is necessary to confirm the display content by lifting the lower part of the device and pointing the display device upward (FIG. 5C).

  In the state of FIG. 5 (c), the display contents can finally be seen, but since the display is upside down, the display contents cannot be grasped instantaneously. Therefore, there may be a subject who confirms the display content by removing it from the belt once and putting the display content in a correct viewing state.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable biological signal measuring device that can easily and accurately grasp the display contents even in a mounted state.

The above-described object is a portable biological signal measuring device that receives a biological signal detected by a sensor and outputs it to an external device or records it in a built-in storage device, the device main body, the operating state of the device, and measured data. a display unit for displaying, the position detection for detecting that the display unit that will be supported by the rotatable apparatus main body upper end portion as an axis, the display unit has rotated a predetermined amount or more with respect to the apparatus main body and means, responsive to the detection of the position detecting means, is achieved by the portable biological signal measurement apparatus according to claim Rukoto which have a control means for changing the display direction of the display unit.

  With such a configuration, according to the portable biological signal measurement device of the present invention, it is possible to easily and accurately grasp the contents displayed on the display screen even in the mounted state.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.
(Circuit configuration)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration example of a Holter electrocardiograph as an example of a portable biological signal measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, 1 is a CPU that executes a control program stored in a ROM 2 to control the entire Holter electrocardiograph, 2 is a ROM that stores programs executed by the CPU 1, parameters necessary for processing, and the like. A RAM 4 for temporarily storing the progress of various processes, etc., 4 is a memory card as a storage device for storing the electrocardiogram information collected from the subject in the form of digital data.

  Reference numeral 5 denotes a card slot for mounting the memory card 4, and reference numeral 6 denotes a display unit composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device. 7 is a display position detection unit for detecting whether the display unit 6 is in the closed position or the open position, and 8 is for turning on / off the power, starting / stopping measurement, inputting various events, etc. An operation unit including switches and buttons for setting.

Reference numeral 9 denotes an analog-digital converter (A / D converter) that converts analog detection information from a living body into corresponding digital information, and 10 denotes a sensor for connecting electrodes, sensors, and the like for acquiring biological information. I / F. An SpO ₂ (arterial blood oxygen saturation) sensor 11, an electrocardiogram measurement electrode 12, and a blood pressure / pulse wave measurement cuff 13 can be connected to the portable electrocardiograph of this embodiment.
Reference numeral 20 denotes a communication interface for communicating with an external device 40 such as a host computer, a printer, or an electrocardiograph.

  For example, when measuring and recording an electrocardiogram using the Holter electrocardiograph having such a configuration, the electrode portion of the electrocardiogram electrode 12 is attached to a predetermined position on the body surface of the subject, and the connector portion is attached to the sensor I Connect to / F10. Then, personal information (for example, name, age, sex, etc.) of the subject is input from the operation unit 8 and recorded in the memory card 4 as user information.

  Measurement and recording are started in response to a measurement start instruction by the subject, and the detected electrical signal is subjected to noise removal, amplification processing, and the like, converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 9, and then the memory card 4 Remembered.

(Configuration of display unit 6)
2A and 2B are views showing an example of the appearance of the Holter electrocardiograph according to the present embodiment, in which FIG. 2A is a perspective view and FIG. 2B is a right side view. The same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
The Holter electrocardiograph of this embodiment is attached to the main body via a hinge 61 so that the display unit 6 can change the angle between the display screen and the main body. Specifically, the display unit 6 is supported by the main body via a hinge 61 so that the display unit 6 can rotate about the upper end portion, and the display unit 6 is moved upward by lifting the lower end portion of the flat display unit 6. To turn.

  The display unit 6 is provided with switches and buttons used for operations performed while viewing the display unit 6 among the various switches and buttons constituting the operation unit 8. Such operations include, for example, a hierarchical menu type user interface operation, a display content switching operation (for example, a display format change, a display item change, etc.) operation, and the like. In the example of FIG. 2, a cursor button for selecting a setting item, a menu button for displaying a menu such as a setting screen, an INFO button for temporarily displaying measured data, and confirmation of a set menu item An enter button for instructing execution is provided on the display unit 6.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the display unit is rotated and the display screen is directed upward. Here, the state in which the display unit 6 is in the state of FIG. 2 is referred to as a closed state, and the state in which the display unit is rotated from the closed state and the angle θ between the display screen and the main body is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is referred to as an open state. . The angle θ regarded as the open state can be arbitrarily set as a positive value, but is set so that at least the angle at which the subject can visually recognize the characters on the display screen is judged to be in the open state. It is preferable. Specifically, for example, it can be set to be determined to be in the open state at θ = 30 °, or can be set to be determined to be in the open state if any rotation is recognized. Therefore, at least the state of FIG. 3 is included in the open state.

  The detection of whether the display unit 6 is in the closed state or the open state can be performed by an arbitrary method. For example, when the display unit 6 is in the closed state, external light is blocked, and when the display unit 6 is in the open state, An optical sensor provided at a position where light can be detected, a switch that is closed when in a closed state, or an open switch when in an open state can be used as the display unit position detecting unit 7. Of course, the state (position) can be detected by any other method such as detecting the state change of the display unit 6 by detecting the rotation amount of the shaft of the hinge 61.

  As described above, when the display unit 6 is supported so that the display unit 6 can be rotated with respect to the electrocardiograph body and the display screen is directed upward by the rotation, the display unit can be confirmed when the display contents are to be confirmed at the time of wearing. It is possible to operate only 6 and turn the screen upward, which is very convenient.

  Further, in the holter electrocardiograph of the present embodiment, when the display unit 6 is in the open state, the display content is rotated by 180 ° so that the display screen is displayed in the correct direction when the display screen is viewed in the open state. Therefore, it is possible to immediately and correctly grasp the display contents.

  Since the display unit 6 is provided with buttons used for operations performed while viewing the display screen, various operations such as various settings and data being measured are displayed while viewing the display screen without having to search for the buttons. Thus, it is possible to easily perform operations such as confirming whether or not the measurement is correctly performed.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining display control processing in the Holter electrocardiograph of this embodiment. This process is realized by the CPU 1 executing a control program stored in the ROM 2, for example.

  First, for example, when the power is turned on, the detection state of the display unit position detection unit 7 is confirmed (step S101), and it is determined whether the detection state is an open state (step S103). If it is in the open state, for example, the display unit 6 is set or instructed to rotate the display direction by 180 ° from the present (step S105).

  Thereafter, for example, the detection state of the display unit position detection unit 7 is periodically checked (step S107). If the state is changed (step S109, “Y”), the display direction is rotated by 180 ° (step S111). If there is no change (step S109, “N”), the process of keeping the display direction is repeated.

  As described above, when the display unit 6 is in the open state and when the display unit 6 is returned from the open state to the closed state, the display direction is rotated by 180 °, so that characters are displayed in the correct orientation in any state. Thus, the display contents can be easily and reliably grasped without the subject being particularly conscious.

  In the example of FIG. 3, the detection state of the display unit position detection unit 7 is checked. However, for example, when the display unit position detection unit 7 detects a change in state, the CPU 1 is interrupted. Rotation processing in the display direction may be performed as interrupt processing.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the display unit of the portable electrocardiograph can be rotatably supported with respect to the main body, and the angle of the display screen can be changed only by operating the display unit. Therefore, it is easy to grasp the display contents at the time of wearing. In addition, when the display unit is in the open state, it is possible to easily and accurately grasp the display contents even in the mounted state by changing the display direction so that characters are correctly displayed in the open state. . Furthermore, by providing the display unit 6 with switches, buttons, and the like constituting the operation unit that are necessary for the operation performed while viewing the display content, the operation in the open state can be easily performed.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the Holter electrocardiograph which concerns on embodiment of this invention. , It is a figure which shows the example of an external appearance of the Holter electrocardiograph which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the display control processing in the Holter electrocardiograph according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the problem in the conventional portable biological signal measuring device.

Claims (2)

A portable biological signal measurement device that receives a biological signal detected by a sensor and outputs it to an external device or records it in a built-in storage device,
The device body;
A display unit for displaying the operating state and the measured data of the device, and a display unit that will be supported rotatably the apparatus main body upper end portion as an axis,
Position detecting means for detecting that the display unit has rotated a predetermined amount or more with respect to the apparatus main body;
In response to said detection, the portable biological signal measurement apparatus according to claim Rukoto which have a control means for changing the display direction of the display unit of the position detecting means. An operation unit including a plurality of input means for giving an instruction to the portable biological signal measurement device;
Wherein the plurality of claims 1 Symbol mounting part of the input means, characterized in that it is provided on the display unit portable biological signal measurement device constituting the operation portion.

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