JP5287687B2 - Blood glucose concentration measuring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable blood glucose concentration measuring device in which a measured glucose concentration and an image are stored in association with each other.

  In recent years, the number of diabetic patients is increasing in each country. An example of a treatment for diabetes is insulin therapy. Insulin is known as a drug that controls blood glucose levels and is administered to diabetic patients as a therapeutic agent for diabetes. The need to administer insulin is determined based on the blood glucose level of the diabetic patient. For this reason, grasping the blood glucose level is important for diabetic patients. The blood glucose level is the glucose concentration in the blood. A simple blood glucose measuring device has been developed for the purpose of allowing a diabetic patient to easily measure his blood glucose level.

  The blood glucose measurement device includes a nonvolatile semiconductor memory that stores the measured blood glucose level. The stored blood glucose level can be displayed on a liquid crystal panel or the like provided in the main body. Thereby, a doctor can confirm the blood glucose level which the patient himself measured later.

  In addition, some blood glucose measuring devices that can store blood glucose levels as described above include a diagnostic function that determines whether the accumulated blood glucose level tends to increase or decrease (Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2008-79994 A

  During chewing in a meal, when food moves from the mouth to the stomach, and when food is digested in the stomach, starch and glycogen in the food are broken down into glucose by digestive enzymes. Five to ten minutes after the start of the meal, glucose begins to be absorbed in the small intestine. The absorbed glucose enters the blood, and as a result, the blood sugar level begins to rise. The blood glucose control system in humans responds with a slight delay from an increase in blood glucose level, so that even a healthy person has a slight increase in blood glucose level after meals.

  A 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (75 g OGTT) is known as a means for confirming an increase in blood glucose level. In this test, 75 g of glucose is ingested in the early morning fasting after fasting for 10 hours or more, and then the change in blood glucose level is examined. Diabetes is mainly diagnosed with blood sugar levels. The disease type is determined to be “diabetes type”, “normal type”, or “boundary type” depending on the numerical value of the blood glucose level. When the early morning fasting blood glucose level is less than 110 mg / dl and the blood glucose level at 75 gOGTT for 2 hours is less than 140 mg / dl, it is judged as “normal”, and the early morning fasting blood glucose level is less than 126 mg / dl and at 75 gOGTT for 2 hours. When the blood glucose level is less than 200 mg / dl, it is determined as “diabetic type”, and when it does not belong to either one, it is determined as “boundary type”.

  “Diabetes” and “border” patients often develop postprandial hyperglycemia due to lack of additional secretion of insulin in response to an increase in blood glucose level, a delay in timing thereof, and a failure of the liver to suppress gluconeogenesis. Therefore, control of postprandial blood glucose level is important for patients with “diabetes” and “border”.

  In recent years, “hidden diabetes” has attracted attention. Hidden diabetes has a blood glucose level of more than 200 mg / dl at 75 gOGTT for 2 hours, even though the fasting blood glucose level is “normal” or “boundary”. Hidden diabetic patients have normal fasting blood glucose levels, so information about postprandial blood glucose levels is needed for proper diagnosis. However, when a diabetic patient self-measures a blood glucose level, after a few days have passed, he often forgets the meal he / she ingested, and the doctor often cannot accurately observe the diabetic patient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and its purpose is to confirm the relationship between the food and drink consumed by the person to be measured and the blood sugar level in a portable blood glucose concentration measuring device. It is to provide a possible means.

  (1) A portable blood glucose concentration measuring device according to the present invention includes a measuring unit that generates and outputs a signal indicating the glucose concentration in blood, and a camera that generates and outputs an image signal of a photographed subject. A storage means for storing a signal indicating the glucose concentration and an image signal, a first display means for displaying the glucose concentration based on a signal indicating the glucose concentration stored by the storage means, and the storage means storing Second display means for displaying an image based on the image signal.

  Here, the image signal is an electrical signal generated by a CMOS sensor or the like in accordance with light reflected from a subject. This image signal includes a signal that has been shaped, AD-converted, and encoded in an optimal form.

  The measured glucose concentration and the photographed subject image are stored in the storage means. The glucose concentration and the image stored in the storage unit are displayed on the first display unit or the second display unit. The first display means and the second display means may be the same. Thereby, for example, a blood glucose concentration measurement device that displays an image of food and drink taken when the person to be measured eats and drinks and a blood glucose concentration is realized.

  (2) The measurement unit generates a signal indicating the glucose concentration in the blood and outputs it as a first signal together with the date / time signal.The camera unit generates an image signal of the photographed subject, The second signal may be output together with the signal, and the storage unit may store the first signal and the second signal as first data and second data, respectively. The blood glucose concentration measuring device enables an operator to make an input for selecting an arbitrary one from the glucose concentrations displayed by the first display means, and the input one is Based on a first input means for outputting a signal indicating, a measurement date and time corresponding to the glucose concentration indicated by the signal output from the first input means, and an image display standard in the third data stored in advance in the storage means And selecting means for selecting the second data in which the photographing date and time satisfies a specific condition. The second display means displays at least one of the subject images among the photographing date and time indicated by the selected second data and the corresponding subject image.

  Here, the date signal is an electric signal including date information. This date / time signal includes a digital signal expressed numerically.

  The photographed image of the subject and the measured glucose concentration are stored in the storage means together with the date / time signal. At the time of display, first, the stored glucose concentration is displayed. Subsequently, based on the measurement date and time of the glucose concentration selected from them and an image display criterion stored in advance, an image of the subject that satisfies the specific condition of the shooting date and time is displayed.

  For example, as an image of the subject, a food and drink image taken by the measurement subject at the time of eating and drinking can be used. Thereby, the food-drink image in which the date of eating and drinking has a specific relationship with the measurement date of blood glucose concentration is displayed.

  (3) The measurement unit may be configured to generate an electrical signal indicating the glucose concentration by using an electrical measurement unit for the collected blood sample. Here, the blood sample is a concept including blood, serum, plasma and the like collected from the measurement subject. The electrical measurement means refers to a means capable of measuring the glucose concentration in the blood sample by an electrical signal having an electric quantity corresponding to the glucose concentration by an electrochemical reaction with glucose in the blood sample.

  In the electrical measurement means, the sensor of the measurement unit can be realized with a simple configuration. For this reason, the blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus using the electrical measuring means can be easily miniaturized.

  (4) The blood glucose concentration measuring device according to the present invention, the first linear list generation means for generating the data string of the first linear list by sorting the stored first data in descending order or ascending order of the measurement date and time And first display updating means for referring to the first linear list in the upstream or downstream direction based on the operation of the operator and updating the display of the first display means based on the acquired data. It may be. The first display means displays at least a part of the glucose concentration among the measurement date and time and the glucose concentration in the first linear list according to the arrangement of the first linear list.

  At the time of display, at least a part of the stored glucose concentration is displayed according to the descending order or the ascending order of the measurement date and time. The displayed glucose concentration can be updated to the future or the past by the operation of the operator. Therefore, the operator can understand the change of the glucose concentration along the time series at a glance.

  (5) The blood glucose concentration measuring device according to the present invention allows the operator to input a time range, and outputs an image display reference indicating the input time range as a third signal. It may be further provided with means. The storage means may be configured to store the image display reference as the third data therein.

  Thereby, the operator can input arbitrary said image display reference | standard in advance.

  (6) The sorting means is configured to capture the imaging in the stored second data based on the measurement date and time corresponding to the glucose concentration indicated by the output signal of the first input means and the time range indicated by the image display standard. The second data having a time interval from the date and time to the measurement date and time within the time range is selected to generate a list data string, and the second display means includes at least one second data item in the list. May be configured to display at least the subject image of the subject image and the shooting date and time indicated by.

  When the glucose concentration is selected, an image of the subject taken within a certain period is displayed retroactively from the measurement date and time. Therefore, by using the food and drink image taken by the person to be measured as the subject image, the operator can know what was eaten and consumed within a certain period before the measurement of the glucose concentration.

  (7) The blood glucose concentration measuring device according to the present invention sorts the second data in the list in descending order or ascending order of the photographing date and time, and generates a second linear list data sequence. Means, third display means for displaying at least a part of the shooting date and time in the second linear list according to the arrangement of the second linear list, and upstream or downstream of the second linear list based on the operation of the operator The operator selects any one of the second display update means for updating the display of the third display means based on the acquired data and the shooting date and time displayed by the third display means. And a third input means for outputting a signal indicating one of the inputted ones. The second display means may be configured to display at least the image of the subject among the photographing date and time indicated by the output signal of the third input means and the image of the subject corresponding thereto.

  When the glucose concentration is selected, first, the shooting date and time of the images of the subject taken within a certain period of time from the measurement date and time are displayed in a list in time series. Subsequently, an image of the subject selected from among them is displayed. Therefore, the operator can confirm the shooting date and time of the image to be displayed before displaying it.

  (8) The blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus according to the present invention is a thumbnail for generating thumbnail image data having a resolution lower than that of the subject image based on the subject image indicated by the second data in the list. Image generating means, fourth display means for displaying a list of the thumbnail images, and enabling an operator to make an input for selecting one from the displayed thumbnail images. And a fourth input means for outputting a signal to be indicated. The second display means may be configured to display an original image corresponding to the thumbnail image indicated by the output signal of the fourth input means.

  When the glucose concentration is selected, first, a list of thumbnail images of the subject images taken within a certain period from the measurement date and time is displayed. Subsequently, an image of the subject selected from among them is displayed. Therefore, the operator can confirm the thumbnail image of the image to be displayed before displaying it.

  (9) The blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus according to the present invention is the glucose indicated by the signal output by the first input means from the photographing date and time corresponding to the image of the subject displayed by the second display means. You may further provide the imaging | photography-measurement interval calculation means which calculates the time interval over the said measurement date corresponding to a density | concentration. The second display means may be configured to display the time interval together with the image of the subject.

  Therefore, by using the food and drink image taken by the person to be measured as the image of the subject, the operator can determine how many minutes before the measurement that the displayed food and drink image is eaten or consumed. Can be confirmed.

  According to the present invention, a portable blood glucose concentration measuring device capable of displaying a glucose concentration and an image of a subject is realized. Therefore, by displaying an image of the food and drink of the person to be measured, the operator can know the food and drink that are closely related to the measured value of the glucose concentration.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a blood glucose concentration measuring device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 27. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing data stored in the storage unit 24. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the control unit 27 when the blood sugar level is displayed. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a blood glucose level is displayed. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing performed by the control unit 27 when food and drink image candidates related to the selected blood glucose level are selected. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen when a food or drink image is displayed. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third data input screen according to the first modification.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Each embodiment described below is only an example of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the embodiment of the present invention can be changed as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Schematic configuration of blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the blood glucose concentration measuring device 10 is configured such that a sensor 16 is detachable from a main body 11. The main body 11 has a thin box shape. On the front side of the main body 11, a display 12 and three operation buttons 13a, 13b, and 13c are provided. The display 12 forms part of the display unit 25 described later, and can display a blood sugar level, an image, and the like. The operation buttons 13a, 13b, and 13c form part of an operation unit 26 described later, and generate predetermined input signals when pressed by the user. The number of operation buttons 13a, 13b, 13c is designed as appropriate.

  A sensor insertion opening 14 is provided on the side surface of the main body 11. The sensor insertion port 14 is for the sensor 16 to be inserted and held. Although not shown in the figure, an electrode is provided in the back of the sensor insertion opening 14, and the control unit 27 of the main body 11 and the sensor 16 are connected through the electrode so as to be able to transmit an electrical signal. The sensor 16 introduces blood as a measurement sample, and causes an electrochemical reaction with glucose in the blood. Such a sensor 16 is known as a so-called biosensor. In the sensor 16, an electrochemical reaction occurs with glucose in the blood, and the control unit 27 receives a current generated in the reaction. The sensor 16, the electrode of the sensor insertion port 14, and the like constitute the measurement unit 21.

  A lens 15 is provided on the back side of the main body 11. The lens 15 forms a part of a camera unit 22 described later. The reflected light of the subject enters the camera unit 22 via the lens 15 and the incident light is converted into an electrical signal by a CMOS sensor or the like.

[Internal structure of main body 11]
As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 11 is provided with a control unit 27. The control unit 27 is an arithmetic unit configured by a CPU for performing various calculations, a ROM for storing various programs, a RAM for temporarily storing data for various calculations, a bus for transmitting data, and the like. The measurement unit 21, the camera unit 22, the clock unit 23, the storage unit 24, the display unit 25, and the operation unit 26 are connected to the control unit 27 so as to be able to transmit and receive electrical signals.

  The control unit 27 includes a program for calculating the glucose concentration based on the current flowing through the sensor 16, a program for selecting image data satisfying a predetermined condition for the selected glucose concentration, and sorting the accumulated glucose concentration. A program for generating a data string, a program for generating a thumbnail image of accumulated image data, a program for calculating a time interval between a measurement date and time of a predetermined glucose concentration and a shooting date and time of the predetermined image data, etc. Yes. Based on these programs, the control unit 27 performs selection means, first linear list generation means, first display update means, second linear list generation means, second display update means, thumbnail image generation means, and photographing in the present invention. -Functions as a measurement interval calculation means.

  The measurement unit 21 generates an electrical signal corresponding to the glucose concentration by generating an electrochemical reaction with blood glucose introduced into the sensor 16 as a sample. The sensor 16 is provided with a working electrode and a counter electrode, and glucose dehydrogenase or glucose oxidase and a mediator are fixed to the working electrode. For example, glucose in the blood is decomposed into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide by glucose oxidase fixed to the working electrode, and the hydrogen peroxide is decomposed into water and electrons. The electrons generated in this way are transmitted to the working electrode. On the other hand, electrons are supplied from the counter electrode into the blood. In this way, a current flows between the working electrode and the counter electrode due to the reaction between glucose oxidase and glucose. Then, based on the flowing current value, the glucose concentration in the blood, that is, the blood glucose level is calculated. Such a reaction is referred to herein as an electrochemical reaction. Note that the measurement unit 21 may be provided with a dedicated circuit for shaping the electrical signal from the sensor 16 or converting it into a digital signal expressed numerically.

  The camera unit 22 includes a lens 15 on which light reflected by a subject is incident, a CMOS sensor that converts light incident on the lens 15 into an electrical signal, and an AD conversion circuit that converts an image signal generated by the CMOS sensor into digital data. And a circuit including an image compression algorithm for compressing the image data to an appropriate size for storage.

  The clock unit 23 is a built-in clock for the control unit 27 to acquire a time signal during blood glucose level measurement and food / beverage image shooting. The clock unit 23 has a crystal resonator for controlling the time signal. Further, the clock unit 23 may include a receiver and a dedicated circuit that are linked to the terrestrial time information and automatically adjust the time.

  The storage unit 24 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory. Further, a dedicated slot for a standardized flash memory may be provided in the main body 11, and the storage unit 24 may be configured as a removable external medium. The storage unit 24 stores data therein based on the control unit 27, thereby functioning as a storage unit in the present invention.

  The display unit 25 includes the display 12 and a circuit that controls the display 12. Characters and images can be displayed on the display 12. Examples of the display 12 include a liquid crystal display and an organic EL display. The display unit 25 functions as the first display unit, the second display unit, the third display unit, and the fourth display unit in the present invention by displaying various information based on the control unit 27.

  The operation unit 26 includes operation buttons 13a, 13b, and 13c provided on the main body 11, and a circuit that generates a predetermined input signal corresponding to pressing of the operation buttons 13a, 13b, and 13c. For example, the operation button 13a accepts an input for mode selection, the operation button 13b accepts an input for data selection, and the operation button 13c accepts an input for determination. In response to the input signal generated by the operation unit 26, the control unit 27 performs various operations. The operation unit 26 is not necessarily provided independently of the measurement unit 21, the camera unit 22, and the display unit 25. For example, a pressure-sensitive touch panel sensor is provided on the display 12, and the touch panel sensor May function as the operation unit 26. The operation unit 26 functions as a first input unit, a second input unit, and a third input unit in the present invention.

[Operation of Blood Glucose Concentration Measuring Device 10]
Next, functions provided in the blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus 10 will be described. The main functions of the blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus 10 are a function for measuring blood glucose concentration (blood glucose level), a function for photographing food and drink, and a function for referring to accumulated data. . Further, the blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus 10 has a function for setting an image display standard as a function accompanying a function for referring to accumulated data. The blood glucose concentration measuring device 10 also has a function of deleting unnecessary data in the storage unit 24, a function of adjusting the date and time of the clock unit 23, and the like, which are appropriately designed by those skilled in the art. Can do. Hereinafter, main functions will be described in order.

[Function for measuring blood glucose concentration]
The person to be measured depresses the operation button 13a of the main body 11 to put the main body 11 into a mode for measuring the blood glucose concentration. In addition, the sensor 16 is set on the main body 11. When measuring the blood glucose concentration, the blood of the measurement subject is collected. The blood can be collected by the person himself / herself using, for example, a lancet. This blood corresponds to the blood sample in the present invention. The collected blood is introduced into the sensor 16 as a sample. Although not shown in detail in each drawing, an opening for introducing blood is formed in the sensor 16, and when blood is attached to the opening, blood is introduced into the sensor 16 by capillary action. . The introduced blood is held between the working electrode and the counter electrode to cause an electrochemical reaction as described above. By this electrochemical reaction, an electric current having an electric quantity corresponding to the blood glucose concentration is generated between the working electrode and the counter electrode of the sensor 16. This current corresponds to a signal indicating the glucose concentration in blood in the present invention. A series of methods for generating an electric current from blood corresponds to the electrical measurement means in the present invention.

  The current is converted into numerical data indicating blood glucose concentration by the control unit 27 performing amplification, shaping, AD conversion, etc. on the current flowing in the sensor 16. The numerical data is stored in the storage unit 24. These shaping / AD conversion processes are performed using a circuit of the control unit 27 and a program stored in the ROM of the control unit 27. Alternatively, these shaping / AD conversion processes may be performed by a dedicated circuit included in the measurement unit 21 before the signal is passed to the control unit 11. It should be noted that such measurement of blood glucose concentration may be programmed to be performed automatically by introducing blood into the sensor 16.

  At the time of measurement, the measurement unit 21 obtains a date / time signal from the clock unit 23 and outputs it along with a signal indicating the glucose concentration in the blood. The set of the signal indicating the glucose concentration in the blood and the date / time signal corresponds to the first signal in the present invention. The control unit 27 stores the date / time signal in the storage unit 24 in a state of being associated with the measurement value data. For example, this association may be realized by providing a dedicated area in the storage unit 24. Alternatively, this association may be realized by storing date and time as header information of measurement value data. This set of measurement value data and date / time data corresponds to the first data in the present invention.

[Shooting food and drink]
A person to be measured takes a picture of food and drinks before eating. Specifically, the operation button 13a is pressed to place the main body 11 in the shooting mode. The person to be measured points the lens 15 toward the food or drink to be eaten and presses the operation button 13c to release the shutter. Reflected light from the food and drink is sensed by the CMOS sensor through the lens 15 and converted into an electrical signal at the timing when the shutter is released. This electric signal includes image information. This electric signal corresponds to the image signal of the subject in the present invention. The control unit 27 receives an electrical signal from the camera unit 22 and performs processing such as shaping, AD conversion, and compression on the electrical signal to convert it into digital image data. This digital image data is stored in the storage unit 24. These processes such as shaping, AD conversion, and compression are performed using a circuit of the control unit 27 and a program that the control unit 27 has in the ROM. Alternatively, the processing such as shaping / AD conversion / compression may be performed by a dedicated circuit of the camera unit 22 before the signal is passed to the control unit 27. Alternatively, some of these processes may be performed inside the CMOS sensor. Moreover, those skilled in the art can select an optimal image data size and compression algorithm according to the resolution of the display 12 and the capacity of the storage unit 24.

  At the time of shooting, the camera unit 22 acquires a date / time signal from the clock unit 23 and outputs it along with the image signal. The set of the image signal and the date / time signal corresponds to the second signal in the present invention. The control unit 27 stores the date / time signal in the storage unit 24 in a state of being associated with the image data. This acquisition and association procedure can be performed in the same manner as in the blood glucose level measurement. This set of image data and date / time data corresponds to the second data in the present invention. FIG. 3 shows an outline of data held in the storage unit 24. The third data in the figure is explained below.

  The third data indicates the image display standard. The image display reference is used by the control unit 24 as a reference for selecting an image to be displayed in the step of displaying a food and drink image to be described later. In the present embodiment, the image display reference is set to indicate the upper limit of the time interval from the date and time when the food and drink image was taken to the date and time when the blood sugar level was measured.

[Image display standard settings]
The image display standard is set to “120 minutes” at the time of factory shipment. This value can be changed by the operator. At that time, the operator causes the display 12 to display an input screen for inputting the image display reference by pressing the operation button 13a. On the input screen, a pull-down menu is displayed in which a time interval from 15 minutes to 300 minutes can be selected in increments of 15 minutes. The operator selects one of the buttons by pressing the operation button 13b, and the operation button 13c.
By pressing, an operation for determining the selected time interval can be performed. At that time, each operation button functions as the second input means in the present invention under the control of the control unit 27. The image display standard output by each operation button and indicated by the signal is converted into an appropriate data format by the control unit 27. The image display reference is stored in the storage unit 24 as third data.

[Refer to blood glucose concentration and food and drink images]
The blood glucose concentration and the food and drink image stored in the storage unit 24 can be displayed on the display unit 25. This display is roughly divided into a step of displaying a blood glucose concentration and a step of displaying a food and drink image based thereon.

  Hereinafter, the step of displaying the blood glucose concentration will be described. The control unit 27 refers to the first data stored in the storage unit 24, that is, the set of measurement data and date / time data, by the operation of the measurement subject or the doctor. The blood glucose concentration is displayed in the order of the measurement date. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 27 sequentially reads the measurement date and time stored in the storage unit 24. And the control part 27 produces | generates the linear list (first linear list) arranged in order of the measurement date with respect to the set of the measurement data and date data memorize | stored in the recording part 24 with an appropriate sort algorithm. The control unit 27 displays each measurement date and time and a part of the corresponding blood glucose level side by side on the display 12 in the order of the sorted linear list. Thereby, the blood glucose concentration is displayed in the order of the measurement date. At this time, a series of processes in which the control unit generates the first linear list corresponds to the first linear list generation means in the present invention. The display 12 functions as the first display means in the present invention under the control of the control unit 27. FIG. 5 is an example of the display screen.

  A flow chart of the steps for displaying the blood glucose concentration is shown in FIG. S11 is the start of loop 1, and S13 is its end. In the processing of S12 in the loop, the first data stored in the storage unit 24, that is, one of the set of measurement data and date / time data is read by the control unit 27 and loaded into the RAM. In S11, the loop end condition is specified, and the loop ends when all the first data in the storage unit 24 is referred to. Accordingly, in the loop, the first data in the storage unit 24 is loaded into the RAM one by one, and the loop 1 ends when all the data is loaded into the RAM. Subsequently, in the process of S14, the loaded first data is sorted. The control unit 27 sorts the first data in descending order of the date and time indicated by the date and time data. This sorting is performed using a program having an appropriate sorting algorithm stored in the ROM. The control unit 27 generates a linear list of the first data based on the sorting result. Subsequently, in S15, the glucose concentration is displayed. The control unit 27 refers to the first data in order from the first node (data measured last) in the linear list. After referring to the number of pieces of first data that can be simultaneously displayed on the display 12 (five in this embodiment), the control unit 27 determines the glucose concentration and measurement indicated by the first data so that the upper part of the screen becomes past data. The date and time are displayed vertically on the display 12.

  The display described above can be updated to the past or future by the operation of the subject or the doctor. The control unit 27 follows the linear list upstream or downstream by pressing the operation button 13b. Then, the control unit 27 updates the display on the display 12 based on the newly acquired data. As a result, the displayed object can be slid to the past side or the future side in the measurement date. For example, when an operation for referring to past data is performed from the state illustrated in FIG. 5, the control unit 27 follows the linear list downstream, and is one more than data at 19:35 on October 1, 2009. Get past data. Then, the newly acquired data is displayed on the top of the display 12. Other data is slid down the screen by one data. Then, the data of 9:12 on October 3, 2009 is deleted from the screen. As described above, a series of processes in which the control unit 27 updates the display on the display 12 corresponds to the first display update unit in the present invention.

[Displaying food and drink images]
Hereinafter, the display of food and drink images will be described. The step of displaying the food and drink image is performed continuously from the step of displaying the blood glucose concentration. The measurement subject or doctor presses the operation button 13b, selects one of the plurality of blood glucose concentrations displayed on the display 12, and presses the operation button 13c to select the selected blood glucose concentration. Perform the operation to determine. At that time, each operation button functions as the first input means in the present invention under the control of the control unit 27. The control unit 27 acquires the measurement date and time corresponding to the blood glucose concentration indicated by the signal output from each operation button from the storage unit 24. Further, the control unit 27 acquires the image display reference stored in the storage unit 24.

  Next, the control unit 27 refers to the second data stored in the storage unit 24, that is, the set of image data and date / time data, and from the date / time data therein, the measurement date / time of the selected blood glucose concentration is calculated. Those whose time interval does not exceed the upper limit indicated by the image display standard are selected. The control unit 27 generates a list of display candidates from the selected image data and date / time data. As shown in FIG. 6, the second data is sequentially read after the selection of the blood glucose concentration and the acquisition of the image display standard. It is then determined whether each meets the above conditions. The second data that meets the conditions is added to the list of display candidates. At this time, a series of processes in which the control unit generates a list corresponds to the selection unit in the present invention.

  A flowchart of a series of processes for generating a list of display candidates is shown in FIG. S21 is a process for the operator to select a glucose concentration. Based on the glucose concentration selected by the operator by the method described above, the control unit 27 obtains the measurement date and time corresponding to the glucose concentration from the storage unit 24 and loads it into the RAM. In step S22, the control unit reads the image display standard. The control unit 27 acquires the image display reference stored in the storage unit 24 and loads it into the RAM. S23 is the start of loop 1, and S27 is its end. In this loop, a list of display candidates is generated based on the second data stored in the storage unit 24. First, in S24, the second data, that is, one of the set of image data and date / time data is read and loaded into the RAM. In S25, it is determined whether or not the read second data should be added to the display candidate list. The control unit 27 calculates a time interval from the shooting date / time in the second data to the measurement date / time read in S21. Here, if the shooting date / time is later than the measurement date / time, the time interval is calculated as a negative value. Subsequently, the calculated time interval is compared with the time interval indicated by the image display reference read in S22. When the calculated time interval is a positive value and is equal to or less than the time interval indicated by the image display standard, the process is branched to a route of “YES”. Otherwise, the process branches to the “NO” route. If the process branches to the “NO” route, this is the end of the loop, but if the process branches to the “YES” route, the process of S26 is executed. In the process of S26, the second data is added to the list of display candidates. This list is a data structure capable of holding a plurality of second data, and is generated in the RAM by the control unit. In S23, the loop end condition is specified, and the loop ends when all the second data in the storage unit 24 is referred to. Accordingly, it is determined whether or not all the second data in the storage unit 24 is added to the list of display candidates, and after the list is generated, the loop 1 ends.

  At least a part of the shooting date and time in the list is displayed on the display 12 in chronological order. The display procedure can be performed in the same manner as the blood glucose level display described above. That is, the control unit 27 refers to the shooting date / time in the list. Then, a linear list (second linear list) in which the second data in the list is arranged in ascending order or descending order of the photographing date and time is generated. The control unit 27 displays the shooting date and time on the display 12 according to the arrangement of the linear list. Along with the list of shooting dates and times, the upper part of the display 12 displays the selected blood glucose level and that the list of shooting dates and times is within 120 minutes before the measurement. At this time, a series of processes in which the control unit generates the second linear list corresponds to the second linear list generation means in the present invention. The display 12 functions as the third display means in the present invention under the control of the control unit 27. An example of the display screen is shown in a display example (third display means) in FIG.

  The display described above can be updated to the past or future by the operation of the subject or the doctor. The method can be performed in the same manner as the above-described update of the blood glucose level display. At this time, a series of processes in which the control unit updates the display corresponds to the second display update unit in the present invention.

  The operator can select one of the displayed shooting dates by pressing the operation button 13b, and can perform an operation of determining the selected shooting date by pressing the operation button 13c. At that time, each operation button functions as the third input means in the present invention under the control of the control unit 27. The control unit 27 acquires the food and drink image corresponding to the shooting date and time indicated by the signal output from each operation button from the second data in the list and causes the display 12 to display the image.

  In addition to the food and drink image, the date and time of the food and drink and how many minutes before the measurement of the blood glucose level is displayed. The control unit 27 displays the shooting date and time corresponding to the food and drink image as the food and drink date and time, calculates a time interval from the shooting date and time to the measurement date and time of the selected glucose concentration, and displays it on the display 12. At this time, a series of processing in which the control unit calculates the time interval corresponds to the photographing-measurement interval calculation means in the present invention. The display 12 functions as the second display means in the present invention under the control of the control unit 27. An example of the display screen is shown in a display example (second display means) in FIG.

[Operational effects of this embodiment]
According to the portable blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment, the captured food and drink image and the measured blood glucose concentration (blood glucose level) are stored in the storage unit 24 together with the date / time signal. At the time of display, first, the stored glucose concentration is displayed. Subsequently, based on the measurement date and time of the glucose concentration selected from them and the image display standard stored in advance, a food and drink image whose shooting date and time satisfies a specific condition is displayed. Therefore, the operator can easily understand the relationship between the measured glucose concentration and the meal.

  In addition, since the measurement unit 21 uses an electrical measurement means, the sensor 16 can be realized with a simple configuration. Thereby, the blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment can be easily miniaturized. Therefore, a patient who needs daily measurement can reduce the burden of carrying the device. Moreover, the measurement in a short time is attained by using an electrical measuring means. Therefore, the burden on the patient can be further reduced.

  In addition, at the time of display, at least a part of the stored glucose concentration is displayed according to the descending or ascending order of the measurement date and time, and the displayed glucose concentration is updated to the future or the past by the operation of the operator. Therefore, the necessary measurement values can be sequentially displayed on the display 12 regardless of the size of the display 12. Therefore, the operator can understand the change of the glucose concentration along the time series at a glance.

  In addition, since an arbitrary image display standard can be input in advance, the doctor can set an image display standard suitable for the patient.

  In addition, when the glucose concentration is selected, since the food and drink image taken within a certain period is displayed retroactively from the measurement date and time, the operator knows what was eaten and consumed within the certain period before measuring the glucose concentration. be able to.

  In addition, when the glucose concentration is selected, first, the shooting date and time of the food and drink images taken within a certain period from the measurement date and time are displayed in a list in time series, and the food and drink image selected from the list is displayed. Since it is displayed, the operator can check the shooting date and time of the image to be displayed before displaying it. In addition, it is possible to understand at a glance how long before the measurement the food was consumed.

  Moreover, since it has a means to calculate the time interval from the photographing date and time of the food and drink image displayed on the display 12 to the measurement date and time of the selected glucose concentration, the operator can view the displayed food and beverage image. , How many minutes before the measurement can be confirmed. For this reason, the doctor can judge the magnitude | size of the relationship between glucose concentration and food / drinks immediately within the limited examination time.

  As a summary, the portable blood glucose concentration measuring device according to the present embodiment can easily store and refer to the relationship between food and drink and blood glucose level. As a result, the doctor can appropriately observe the patient. Further, those skilled in the art can add necessary functions in addition to the above. For example, an input / output interface for transmitting and receiving blood glucose level data and food and drink images stored in the storage unit 24 to and from an external computer can be additionally provided. This makes it possible to apply the transferred data to a database, or to analyze blood glucose level fluctuations using dedicated software developed separately.

[Modification 1]
Hereinafter, a first modification of the above-described embodiment will be described. In this modified example, when the food or drink image to be displayed does not exist when the food or drink image is displayed, the shooting date and time is earlier than the measurement date and time of the selected glucose concentration, and the measurement is performed. Settings can be made so that the image closest to the date and time is forcibly displayed.

  In this modification, the image display reference includes a forced display flag in addition to the numerical value indicating the time interval. This compulsory display flag indicates whether or not the above-described setting has been made.

[Image display standard settings]
The image display reference setting screen according to the present modification additionally includes a check box for selecting whether or not to perform the above setting in addition to a pull-down menu capable of selecting a time interval. An example of the input screen is shown in FIG. The operator can perform an operation of switching between a pull-down menu and a check box as a setting target by pressing the operation button 13a. Since the procedure for setting the pull-down menu is the same as that in the above-described embodiment, details are omitted. When a check box is selected as a setting target, the operator can switch whether or not the check box is checked by pressing the operation button 13b, and can perform an operation of determining the check state by pressing the 13c. . In the example of FIG. 8, the stored image display standard is “120” as the upper limit of the time interval and “1” of the forced display flag. If the setting for not performing the forced display is made, the forced display flag is “0” indicating it.

  In this modification, when generating a list of display candidates, the control unit generates a display determination flag indicating whether or not a display target exists in the RAM. As an initial value of the display determination flag, “0” indicating that there is no display target is set. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, S26 performs a process of updating the display determination flag to “1” in addition to the process described above. That is, if there is even one second data added to the list, the display determination flag is updated to “1”.

  When the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 ends, the control unit 27 checks the forced display flag and the display determination flag.

  When the forced display flag is “1” and the display determination flag is “0”, the control unit 27 refers to the second data in the storage unit 24 in order. Then, the time interval from the photographing date / time in each second data to the measurement date / time of the selected glucose concentration is calculated. The control unit uses a program having a selection algorithm stored in the ROM, so that the time interval is positive and the smallest one is selected, and the corresponding image is displayed on the display 12. In other words, an image taken on the date and time closest to the measurement date and time is displayed on the display 12, the shooting date and time being earlier than the measurement date and time of the selected glucose concentration. It is the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment that the date and time of eating and drinking and the number of minutes before the measurement of the blood glucose level is displayed together with the food and drink image.

  When the forced display flag is “0” or the display determination flag is “1”, the same processing as in the above-described embodiment is continued.

  According to such a modification, even if there is no food / drink image to be displayed within the time range set by the operator as the image display reference, a setting is made such that one food / beverage image is always displayed. Therefore, it is possible to omit the time and effort for the operator to repeat the re-display by extending the time range.

[Modification 2]
Hereinafter, a second modification of the above-described embodiment will be described. In this modification, in the step of displaying food and drink images, thumbnail images of food and drink images are displayed in a list on the display 12 instead of the shooting date and time in the list.

  The control unit 27 generates low-resolution thumbnail image data from the display target images in the list, and causes the display 12 to display a list of the generated thumbnail images. The thumbnail image data can be generated by a program having an image processing algorithm stored in the ROM of the control unit 27. At this time, a series of processes in which the control unit generates thumbnail image data corresponds to the thumbnail image generation means in the present invention. The display 12 functions as the fourth display means in the present invention under the control of the control unit 27. An example of the display screen is shown in a display example (fourth display means) in FIG.

  The operator can select one of the displayed thumbnail images by pressing the operation button 13b, and can perform an operation of determining a thumbnail image by pressing the operation button 13c. At this time, each operation button functions as the fourth input means in the present invention under the control of the control unit 27. The control unit 27 acquires the original image of the thumbnail image indicated by the signal output from each operation button from the second data in the list, and displays it on the display screen 12. In addition to the food and drink images, the date and time of the food and drink and the number of minutes before the measurement of the blood sugar level is displayed are the same as in the embodiment described above.

  According to such a modification, the list of thumbnail images to be displayed is displayed in advance, and then the original image of the selected thumbnail image is displayed. Objects can be narrowed down by thumbnail images. Then, by confirming the original image, it is possible to know in detail the ingredients contained in the food or drink.

11 ... Main body 12 ... Display (first display means, second display means, third display means, fourth display means)
13a ... Operation buttons 13b ... Operation buttons (first input means, second input means, third input means, fourth input means)
13c ... operation buttons (first input means, second input means, third input means, fourth input means)
14 ... Sensor insertion slot (measurement part)
15 ... Lens (camera part)
16 ... Sensor (measurement part)
21 ... Measurement unit (measurement unit)
22 ... Camera part (camera part)
23 ... Clock unit 24 ... Storage unit (storage means)
25... Display section (first display means, second display means, third display means, fourth display means)
26... Operation unit (first input means, second input means, third input means, fourth input means)
27... Control unit (selection means, first linear list generation means, first display update means, second linear list generation means, second display update means, thumbnail image generation means, photographing-measurement interval calculation means)

Claims (8)

A measurement unit that generates a signal indicating the glucose concentration in the blood and outputs it as a first signal together with a date and time signal ;
A camera unit that generates an image signal of a photographed subject and outputs it as a second signal together with a date and time signal ;
Storage means for storing the first signal and the second signal as first data and second data, respectively ;
First display means for displaying the glucose concentration in the first data stored by the storage means;
First input means for enabling an operator to make an input for selecting an arbitrary one from the glucose concentrations displayed by the first display means, and for outputting a signal indicating the input one When,
Based on the measurement date and time corresponding to the glucose concentration indicated by the signal output from the first input means and the image display standard in the third data stored in advance in the storage means, the photographing date and time satisfies a specific condition. Sorting means for sorting the second data;
A portable blood glucose concentration measurement comprising: a photographing date and time indicated by the selected second data and a second display means for displaying at least one of the subject images among the corresponding subject images. apparatus. The portable blood glucose concentration measurement apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the measurement unit generates an electrical signal indicating the glucose concentration by using an electrical measurement unit for the collected blood sample. First linear list generation means for generating a data string of a first linear list by sorting the stored first data in descending or ascending order of the measurement date and time;
A first display updating means for referring to the first linear list in the upstream or downstream direction based on the operation of the operator and updating the display of the first display means based on the acquired data;
The first display means, at least a portion of at least the glucose concentration of the measurement time and the glucose concentration in the first linear list according to claim 1 or 2, presented in accordance with the arrangement of the first linear list Portable blood glucose concentration measurement device. A second input means for allowing the operator to input a time range, and outputting an image display reference indicating the input time range as a third signal;
The storage means is a portable blood glucose concentration measuring apparatus according to any one of the image display criteria from claim 1 for storing therein as the third data 3. The selecting means is based on the measurement date and time corresponding to the glucose concentration indicated by the output signal of the first input means and the time range indicated by the image display standard from the photographing date and time in the stored second data. The second data in which the time interval multiplied by the measurement date and time falls within the time range is selected to generate a list data string, and the second display means displays the at least one second data in the list. The portable blood glucose concentration measuring device according to claim 4 , wherein at least the image of the subject among the image of the subject and the shooting date and time is displayed. Sorting the second data in the list in descending order or ascending order of the shooting date and time, and generating a second linear list data sequence;
Third display means for displaying at least a part of the shooting date and time in the second linear list according to the arrangement of the second linear list;
Based on the operation of the operator, referring to the second linear list in the upstream or downstream direction, second display update means for updating the display of the third display means based on the acquired data;
Third input means for enabling an operator to perform an input for selecting an arbitrary one from the photographing dates and times displayed by the third display means, and outputting a signal indicating the input one; Further comprising
6. The portable blood glucose according to claim 5 , wherein the second display means displays at least the image of the subject among the photographing date and time indicated by the output signal of the third input means and the image of the subject corresponding thereto. Concentration measuring device. Thumbnail image generating means for generating thumbnail image data having a lower resolution than the image of the subject based on the image of the subject indicated by the second data in the list;
A fourth display means for displaying a list of the thumbnail images;
A fourth input means for enabling an operator to perform an input for selecting one from the displayed thumbnail images, and outputting a signal indicating the input one;
6. The portable blood glucose concentration measuring device according to claim 5 , wherein the second display means displays an original image corresponding to a thumbnail image indicated by an output signal of the fourth input means. Photographing for calculating a time interval from the photographing date and time corresponding to the image of the subject displayed by the second display means to the measurement date and time corresponding to the glucose concentration indicated by the signal output by the first input means -Further comprising a measurement interval calculation means,
The portable blood glucose concentration measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the second display means displays the time interval together with the image of the subject.

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