JPH09325145A - Organic component inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable high precision detection by providing an inspection cell where a biological egesta is housed with a photo-acoustic sensor and detecting a biological component of the egesta from its detection signal. SOLUTION: In the state seated on a seat 2, the temperature of biological egesta such as urine discharged from a living body is detected with an inferred ray sensor 24, and a drop position of the egesta is detected. A urine collection nozzle 21 is driven with a motor 22 to be moved to a urine dropping position, and the urine is recovered by an egesta recovering part 23 at a tip of the nozzle 21, and then it is sent to an inspection cell 14 which is sealed with a sealing chamber 19 by such transportation means 13 as a pump. The light of absorption wavelength of organic components in the egesta is emitted from a light emitting part 15 to the inspection cell 14, and the light is shielded intermittently with an optical chopper 16, and the organic components in egesta are intermittently heated for expansion/contraction of ambient air. The sound wave generated with this is measured with a microphone 17, and with an organic component detecting means 18, the organic components in the egesta is detected. Thus, by raising brightness of the light emitting part 15, measurement precision can be raised.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting a living body component for measuring a living body component in a living body excrement in a daily living environment at home.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a daily living environment at home, measurement of components in biological excrement leads to early detection and prevention of adult diseases and the like, and is becoming very important.

[0003] Conventionally, as a biological component testing device for performing a urinalysis test for urinary sugar, urine protein, occult blood, urobilinogen, etc. in urine in a toilet, urine is automatically collected and a test paper or liquid impregnated with a reagent is used. The reagent and urine are reacted, the degree of color development, that is, the absorbance is measured, and the test result is recorded on an IC card or the like.

Further, a test paper for urinalysis is used by some people with diabetes, for example, for biological component inspection for the purpose of disease management at home. People who are worried about their health, but who think that they are not in the condition to go to the hospital, do not carry out daily tests, so
Since it is not necessary to use so much test paper and the test paper has a limited storage period, the test paper was often inspected on the day of purchase, and if the storage period was exceeded, the test paper was often discarded. As a result, there is a problem that it is difficult to continuously carry out home inspections, and the troublesomeness of purchasing test strips impedes the spread of biological component inspections in the daily living environment.

Therefore, in order to eliminate the need to replenish test means such as a test strip at each test, urine is collected from the urinal and returned to the urinal. A biological component testing device in which an analysis device incorporating a sensor is arranged has been proposed (for example, JP-A-6-5).
8929).

Further, a biological component testing device which outputs an electric signal corresponding to the concentration of glucose component of the collected urine sample from a polarographic cell and calculates a glucose content by an arithmetic circuit (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-198678). (See the official gazette), and a biological component testing device that detects the urinary sugar concentration with an electrode on which glucose oxidase is immobilized (for example,
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-230006) and the like have been proposed.

An example of a conventional biological component inspection apparatus will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, 1 is a toilet bowl, 2 is a toilet seat, 3 is a urine collection nozzle provided on the toilet seat 2, 4 is a toilet lid, 5 is a buffer solution tank provided on the toilet lid 4, 6 is a urine collection nozzle 3 and a buffer solution tank 5. Means for transporting the liquid to the cell 7, 7 is a cell for inspecting biological components, 8 is a reference electrode provided in the cell 7, 9 is a working electrode carrying a glucose oxidase enzyme-immobilized membrane provided in the cell 7, 10 Is a counter electrode provided in the cell 7, 11 is a reference electrode 8, a working electrode 9 and a counter electrode 10.
The calculation means calculates the amount of glucose in urine based on the potential difference.

In the above structure, urine is collected from living body excretions such as urine and feces excreted from the living body while sitting on the toilet seat 2 by the urine collecting nozzle 3, and the urine collected by the urine collecting nozzle 3 and the buffer solution tank. The buffer solution of No. 5 and the buffer solution of No. 5 are transferred to the cell 7 by the transfer unit 6.

When urine delivered to the cell 7 contains glucose, glucose is oxidized by the action of glucose oxidase on the surface of the working electrode 9 carrying the glucose oxidase enzyme-immobilized membrane, and the amount of glucose varies depending on the amount of glucose. As a result, a potential difference is generated between the reference electrode 8 and the counter electrode 10.
The calculation means 11 calculates the amount of glucose in urine from the potential difference due to the action of glucose oxidase.

As the buffer solution, distilled water is the main component, and a pH adjusting agent such as potassium hydrogen phosphate and sodium hydrogen phosphate, a chloride ion strength adjusting agent such as potassium chloride, and a preservative are added.

Further, as a urine component testing device for detecting a protein concentration by a physical detection method, a light emitting part and a light receiving part are provided, and light having a specific wavelength is irradiated from the light emitting part to urine, and the transmitted light is received by the light receiving part. There is a method in which the protein concentration in urine is detected by measuring the absorbance of urine by measuring (see, for example, JP-A-2-27264).

Further, regarding photoacoustic spectroscopy in which absorption of light is regarded as sound, "Pharmacia" Vol. 21, N
o. 6 (1985), "Listen to Light-Analysis of Biological Components and Drugs by Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (Masushima et al.)", Reports on measurement of hemoglobin in blood by photoacoustic spectroscopy. .

[0013]

In the conventional biological component testing apparatus using the working electrode 9 on which glucose oxidase is immobilized, since the enzymatic reaction is affected by the pH, the buffer solution is supplied at each test. In addition, since the activity of glucose oxidase significantly affects the detection sensitivity, baseline drift, decrease in electrode response speed, and decrease in measurement sensitivity occur. There was a problem that the activity had to be checked.

Further, since the enzyme is inactivated even when the temperature rises, it is difficult to store the working electrode 9 on which the enzyme is immobilized, and the number of times of use is limited.

When the protein concentration in urine is detected by the absorbance of urine, the measurement is performed by the ratio of the incident light and the transmitted light, so that the measurement accuracy cannot be improved even if the light intensity is increased.
In order to improve the measurement accuracy, it is necessary to lengthen the light passage distance, and if the passage distance is lengthened, the inspection cell becomes large, and if the cell becomes large, the amount of excrement required for measurement increases. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to improve the measurement accuracy.

[0016] Further, the application of photoacoustic spectroscopy has not been carried out to measure biological components in biological excrement.

[0017]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a living body in excrement from a signal detected by a photoacoustic sensor provided in an inspection cell for accommodating the excrement from the living body. A biological component detecting means for detecting the component is provided.

The biological component in the excrement can be detected with high accuracy by the biological component detecting means from the signal generated by the intermittent heat generation of the biological excrement by absorbing the light detected by the photoacoustic sensor. It becomes unnecessary to inspect and supply the inspection means and the like at every inspection.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an inspection cell for storing excrement from a living body, a photoacoustic sensor provided in this inspection cell, and a biological component in the excrement from a signal detected by this photoacoustic sensor. And a biological component detecting means for detecting.

Then, the excrement from the living body is stored in the test cell, and the photoacoustic sensor intermittently irradiates the living body excrement stored in the test cell with light. When light is absorbed by living body components in living body excretion, the molecules of the living body components excited by the absorption of light return to the ground state while changing the movement of each atom in the molecule, that is, vibration and rotation. . At this time, the molecules actively start moving by emitting heat rays of infrared light or using the vibrational energy generated by collision with other molecules for translational movement of surrounding molecules. Therefore, the molecule absorbs light to generate heat, and the living body excrement generates heat intermittently. The signal generated by this heat generation is detected by the photoacoustic sensor, and the excrement is detected from the signal detected by the photoacoustic sensor by the biological component detecting means. Detects biological components inside.

Further, the photoacoustic sensor includes a closed chamber for sealing the inspection cell, a light emitting portion for irradiating the excrement in the inspection cell with light, and an optical chopper for intermittently dividing the light from the light emitting portion. A microphone for detecting sound generated by intermittent heat generation due to light absorption of biological components in excrement.

Then, the living body excretions generate heat intermittently, and this heat causes the air in the closed chamber to periodically expand and contract. Since the expansion and contraction of the air are pressure waves (sound waves), the absorption of light by the biological components in the biological excrement can be captured as sound by the microphone. Therefore, the biological component in the biological excrement can be detected by the biological component detecting means. The component can be detected.

Further, the acoustic sensor uses a light emitting section for irradiating the excrement in the inspection cell with light, an optical chopper for intermittently dividing the light from the light emitting section, and light absorption of biological components in the excrement. A piezoelectric element for detecting a distorted wave generated by intermittent heat generation.

Then, the biological excrement generates heat intermittently, and the local expansion and contraction generated in the biological excrement due to the heat generation propagates as a distorted wave. Since the piezoelectric element can detect the absorption of light by the biological component in the biological excrement as a distorted wave, the biological component in the biological excrement can be detected by the biological component detecting means.

Further, a test cell for storing excrement from a living body, a light emitting portion for irradiating the excrement in the test cell with light, and a calorific value measurement for measuring heat generation due to light absorption of biological components in the excrement. It is provided with a means and a biological component detecting means for detecting a biological component in excrement from the calorific value measured by the calorific value measuring means.

Then, the excrement from the living body is housed in the test cell, and the light from the light emitting portion is applied to the living body excrement in the test cell, and the light is absorbed by the living body component in the biological excrement. , Excretions in the body produce heat. By detecting this calorific value with the calorific value measuring means, it is possible to capture the absorption of light by the biological component in the biological excrement as the calorific value. Therefore, the biological component in the biological excrement is detected by the biological component detecting means. You can

If an infrared detector is used as the calorific value measuring means, it is possible to perform detection in an open system.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a biological component testing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a toilet bowl, 2 is a toilet seat, 13
Is an excrement conveying means for conveying the excrement collected by an excrement collecting means (not shown) for collecting excrement from a living body to the inspection cell 14, 14 is an inspection cell for component inspection, and 15 is an inspection cell 14 A light emitting unit that irradiates the internal excrement with light, 16 is an optical chopper that intermittently divides the light from the light emitting unit 15, 1
Reference numeral 7 is a microphone for measuring sound generated by intermittent heat generation due to absorption of light by biological components in excrement, 18
Is a biological component detecting means for detecting a biological component in the excrement from a signal detected by the microphone 17, and 19 is an inspection cell 14.
And 20 is a main body for warm water washing toilet seat.

The excrement collecting means is provided with a urine collecting nozzle 21, a motor 22 for driving the urine collecting nozzle 21 back and forth, left and right, a excrement collecting section 23 provided at an end of the urine collecting nozzle 21, and a tip of the urine collecting nozzle 21. The infrared sensor 24 is provided.

With the above configuration, the infrared sensor 24 detects the temperature of the biological excrement such as urine or feces excreted from the living body while sitting on the toilet seat 2 to detect the dropping position of the excrement. The motor 22 drives the urine collection nozzle 21 forward, backward, leftward and rightward to move the urine collection nozzle 21 to the urine drop position, and collects urine in the excrement collection unit 23 at the tip of the urine collection nozzle 21. The urine collected in the waste collection unit 23 is collected in the closed chamber 19 by the waste transport means 13 such as a pump.
It is conveyed to the inspection cell 14 which is closed by.

The light emitted from the light emitting portion 15 to the urine of the inspection cell 14 is intermittently divided by the optical chopper 16. When light is absorbed by a living body component in living body excrement, the living body component generates heat intermittently, and this heat causes the surrounding air to periodically expand and contract. The sound wave generated by the expansion and contraction of the air is measured by the microphone 17, and the biological component detecting means 18 detects the biological component in the biological excrement.

A case where occult blood is detected as a biological component in urine will be described. The urine containing occult blood transported to the test cell 14 by the excrement transporting means 13 is irradiated with intermittent light from the light emitting section 15 which has passed through the optical chopper 16.

The visible light absorption band of hemoglobin, which is a pigment in occult blood, has a peak at 540 to 580 nm, and there is no component in urine that absorbs visible light of 500 nm or more. , 500-600
A light source that emits light in the wavelength range of nm is used. As the light source, a semiconductor laser, a small high-intensity light source such as a light emitting diode, or an argon ion laser, a sodium lamp, a xenon lamp, a halogen lamp, or the like can be used, but when heat generated by absorption of light is detected as a sound, Since the amount of heat generated by the absorption of light increases as the brightness increases, it is desirable to use a semiconductor laser, which is a high brightness light source, as the light source.

The light intermittently divided by the optical chopper 16 is used for the inspection cell 1 sealed in the sealed chamber 19.
4 and is absorbed by hemoglobin in urine. The excited hemoglobin molecule that absorbs light generates heat when returning to the ground state while changing the movement of each atom in the molecule, that is, the vibration and rotation. Since light is emitted intermittently, heat generation by hemoglobin also occurs intermittently, and this heat causes the air inside the closed chamber 19 to periodically expand and contract. Since the expansion and contraction of the air become pressure waves and sound waves, this sound can be measured by the microphone 17 and the occult blood in the urine can be detected by the biological component detecting means 18.

When other biological components such as urinary sugar, protein, urobilinogen and fecal occult blood are detected, the biological components are similarly irradiated by irradiation with light having the absorption wavelength of the biological components such as urine sugar, protein and urobilinogen. The component can be detected.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the biological component in the biological excrement is detected by the sound generated by the intermittent absorption of light, so that the buffer solution, the test paper, etc. are supplied each time the inspection is performed. It becomes unnecessary to do.

Further, since the amount of heat generated also increases as the amount of light increases, the accuracy of measurement can be improved by increasing the brightness of the light source.

Further, by detecting the temperature of the excrement by the infrared sensor 24 and detecting the dropping position of the excrement, the excrement can be collected without forcing the user to take an uncomfortable posture. The burden on the person can be reduced.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a biological component testing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, 1 is a toilet bowl, 2 is a toilet seat, and 13
Is an excrement conveying means for conveying the excrement collected by an excrement collecting means (not shown) for collecting excrement from a living body, 14 is an inspection cell for component inspection, and 15 is an inside of the inspection cell 14. A light emitting part for irradiating the excrement with light, a light chopper 16 for intermittently dividing the light from the light emitting part 15,
Is a living body component detecting means for detecting living body components in the excrement from the distorted wave measured by the piezoelectric element 25, 20 is a main body of a warm water washing toilet seat, and 25 is light absorption of the living body components in the excrement provided inside the inspection cell 14. This is a piezoelectric element that measures a distorted wave due to intermittent heat generation due to.

The excrement collection means includes a urine collection nozzle 21, a motor 22 for driving the urine collection nozzle 21 forward, backward, leftward and rightward, and a excrement collection section 23 provided at the tip of the urine collection nozzle 21.
The infrared sensor 24 is provided at the tip of the urine collection nozzle 21.

With the above structure, the infrared sensor 24 detects the temperature of the biological excrement such as urine or feces excreted from the living body while sitting on the toilet seat 2 to detect the dropping position of the excrement. The motor 22 drives the urine collection nozzle 21 forward, backward, leftward and rightward to move the urine collection nozzle 21 to the urine drop position, and collects urine in the excrement collection unit 23 at the tip of the urine collection nozzle 21. The urine collected in the excrement collection unit 23 is conveyed to the inspection cell 14 by the excrement conveying means 13 such as a pump.

The light emitted from the light emitting portion 15 to the urine of the inspection cell 14 is intermittently divided by the optical chopper 16. When light is absorbed by the biological components in the biological waste, the biological components generate heat intermittently, and this heat causes the biological waste to periodically expand and contract. The expansion and contraction are measured as a distorted wave by the piezoelectric element 25, and the biological component detecting means 18 detects the biological component in the biological excrement.

A case of detecting occult blood as a biological component in urine will be described. The urine containing occult blood transported to the test cell 14 by the excrement transporting means 13 is irradiated with intermittent light from the light emitting section 15 which has passed through the optical chopper 16.

The visible band absorption band of hemoglobin, which is a pigment in occult blood, has a peak at 540 to 580 nm, and there is no component in urine that absorbs visible light of 500 nm or more. , 500-600
A light source that emits light in the wavelength range of nm is used. As the light source, a semiconductor laser, a small high-intensity light source such as a light emitting diode, or an argon ion laser, a sodium lamp, a xenon lamp, a halogen lamp, or the like can be used, but when the heat generated by absorption of light is detected as a sound, the brightness of the light source Since the higher the value, the larger the amount of heat generated by light absorption, it is desirable to use a semiconductor laser, which is a high brightness light source, as the light source.

The light intermittently divided by the light chopper 16 is absorbed by hemoglobin in urine, and the hemoglobin molecule excited by absorbing light excites the movement of each atom in the molecule, that is, vibration and rotation. Heat is generated when returning to the ground state while changing. Since light is emitted intermittently, heat generation by hemoglobin also occurs intermittently, and this heat periodically expands and contracts biological waste. The expansion and contraction are detected as a distorted wave by the piezoelectric element 25, and the occult blood in the urine can be detected by the biological component detecting means 18.

Other biological components can be detected in the same manner as described in the first embodiment.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the biological component in the biological excrement is detected as a distorted wave due to light absorption, so that it is not necessary to supply a buffer solution, a test strip or the like each time the test is performed. Become.

Further, by directly measuring the biological excretion by the piezoelectric element 25, it is possible to perform an accurate measurement without being influenced by the surrounding environment, and since the amount of light is increased, the amount of heat generation is also increased. It is possible to improve the measurement accuracy by increasing.

Further, by detecting the temperature of excrement by detecting the temperature of the excrement by the infrared sensor, it is possible to collect the excrement without forcing the user to take an unnatural posture. It is possible to reduce the burden of.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a biological component testing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, 1 is a toilet bowl, 2 is a toilet seat, 13
Is an excrement conveying means for conveying the excrement collected by an excrement collecting means (not shown) for collecting excrement from a living body, 14 is an inspection cell for component inspection, and 15 is an inside of the inspection cell 14. , 18 is a light emitting portion for irradiating the excrement with light, 18 is a biological component detecting means for detecting a biological component in the excrement from the calorific value measured by the calorific value measuring means 26, 20 is a warm water washing toilet seat main body, 26 is an inspection cell 14 A calorific value measuring means for detecting heat generation due to light absorption of biological components in excrement provided inside. The calorific value measuring means 26 is composed of an infrared detector (not shown).

The excrement collecting means includes a urine collecting nozzle 21, a motor 22 for driving the urine collecting nozzle 21 forward, backward, leftward and rightward, and a excrement collecting section 23 provided at the tip of the urine collecting nozzle 21.
The infrared sensor 24 is provided at the tip of the urine collection nozzle 21.

With the above structure, the temperature of the biological excrement such as urine and feces excreted from the living body while sitting on the toilet seat 2 is detected by the infrared sensor 24 to detect the dropping position of the excrement. The motor 22 drives the urine collection nozzle 21 forward, backward, leftward and rightward to move the urine collection nozzle 21 to the urine drop position, and collects urine in the excrement collection unit 23 at the tip of the urine collection nozzle 21. The urine collected in the excrement collection unit 23 is conveyed to the inspection cell 14 by the excrement conveying means 13 such as a pump.

The light emitted from the light emitting portion 15 to the urine of the test cell 14 is absorbed by the living body components in the living body excretion, so that the living body components generate heat, and the heat is measured by the calorific value measuring means 26. The biological component detection means 26 is measured by an infrared detector.
The biological component in the biological excrement is detected by.

The biological components can be detected in the same manner as described in the first and second embodiments.

As described above, according to this embodiment, since the biological component in the biological excrement is detected as the amount of heat generated by the light absorption, it is not necessary to supply the buffer solution, the test paper, etc. each time the test is performed. Become.

Further, by directly measuring the calorific value, it is possible to perform an accurate measurement that is not affected by the surrounding environment, and since the calorific value is also increased by increasing the light amount, by increasing the brightness of the light source, The measurement accuracy can be improved.

Further, by directly measuring the heat generation of the biological component with the infrared detector, it is possible to perform the measurement in an open system without contact.

[0061]

The biological component testing device of the present invention is carried out in the form as described above, and has the effects as described below.

(1) Since the photoacoustic sensor detects a living body component in living body excrement, the measurement accuracy can be improved by increasing the brightness of the light emitting source, and the device can be downsized.

(2) Since the biological component in the biological excrement is detected by the sound generated by the intermittent absorption of light, it is not necessary to supply a buffer solution, a test paper or the like each time the inspection is performed.

(3) Since the biological component in the biological excrement is detected as a distorted wave generated by the intermittent absorption of light, it is not necessary to supply a buffer solution or a test paper each time the inspection is performed, and the piezoelectric element By directly measuring biological excretion by
Accurate measurement can be performed without being affected by the surrounding environment.

(4) Since the biological component in the biological excrement is detected as the amount of heat generated by light absorption, it is not necessary to supply a buffer solution, a test paper or the like each time the test is performed.

(5) It is possible to measure in an open system by directly measuring the heat generation of biological components with an infrared detector.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a biological component testing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a biological component testing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a biological component testing device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a conventional biological component inspection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 Inspection Cell 15 Light Emitting Section 16 Optical Chopper 17 Microphone 18 Biological Component Detecting Unit 19 Closed Chamber 24 Infrared Sensor 25 Piezoelectric Element 26 Heat Generation Measuring Unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location // G01N 33/48 G01N 33/48 F

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A test cell for storing excrement from a living body,
A biological component testing device comprising: a photoacoustic sensor provided in the inspection cell; and a biological component detecting means for detecting a biological component in excrement from a signal detected by the photoacoustic sensor. 2. A photoacoustic sensor, a sealed chamber for sealing a test cell, a light emitting unit for irradiating the excrement in the test cell with light, and an optical chopper for intermittently dividing the light from the light emitting unit. The biological component testing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a microphone that detects a sound generated by intermittent heat generation due to light absorption of a biological component in excrement. 3. A photoacoustic sensor, a light emitting part for irradiating the excrement in a test cell with light, an optical chopper for intermittently dividing the light from this light emitting part, and a light absorption of biological components in the excrement. The biological component testing device according to claim 1, further comprising a piezoelectric element that detects a distorted wave generated by intermittent heat generation by the device. 4. A test cell for storing excrement from a living body,
A light emitting part for irradiating the excrement in the inspection cell with light, a calorific value measuring means for detecting heat generation due to light absorption of biological components in the excrement, and a calorific value detected by the calorific value measuring means in the excrement. And a biological component detecting device for detecting the biological component of. 5. The biological component testing device according to claim 4, wherein the calorific value measuring means is an infrared detector.