KR101628218B1 - Blood flow measuring machine and brain activity measuring machine using blood flow measuring machine - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to accurately measure blood flow.

The brain activity measuring apparatus 100 includes a blood flow measuring device 20 mounted on a head part, a blood flow measuring device 20 for measuring the activity state (red blood cell distribution) of the brain based on a detection signal of the amount of transmitted light measured by the blood flow measuring device 20 And a wireless communication device 40 that wirelessly transmits the measurement result (blood flow data) output from the control unit 30 to an external device. The blood flow measuring apparatus 20 is provided with a plurality of optical sensor units 24 (24 ₁ to 24 _n ) for forming light waveguides by irradiating light to the base 22 of the hat type. The data management device 50 includes a wireless communication device 60 that receives blood flow measurement data transmitted from the wireless communication device 40 and a database 70 that stores blood flow measurement data obtained from the wireless communication device 60. [ A measurement data image display control device 80 for generating image data based on the blood flow measurement data supplied through the database 70, and a measurement result image display control device 80 for generating an image of the measurement result generated by the measurement data image display control device 80 And a monitor 90 for displaying data.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a brain activity measuring apparatus and a brain activity measuring apparatus using a blood flow measuring apparatus and a blood flow measuring apparatus,

The present invention relates to a blood flow measuring apparatus and a brain activity measuring apparatus using the blood flow measuring apparatus configured to accurately measure the supply state of blood without being influenced by the oxygen saturation concentration contained in the blood.

For example, an apparatus for measuring the flow of blood includes a brain activity measuring apparatus that mounts a probe for forming an optical waveguide on a head, measures blood flow in the brain, and displays an image related to the activity state of the brain on a monitor See Patent Document 1, for example).

The other brain activity measuring apparatuses include a light source for emitting light to a living body, a light measuring means including a light receiver (light receiver) for detecting light of a plurality of wavelengths emitted from the living body, And a blood flow calculating means for calculating the blood flow from the ratio of the specific component to the blood and the ratio of the specific component to the blood (See, for example, Patent Document 2). The apparatuses according to Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a configuration in which a plurality of light emitting units and a plurality of light receiving units are mounted on a head unit and the amount of transmitted light propagated in the brain is detected using near infrared spectroscopy Which is also referred to as an optical photographic apparatus.

Further, as a blood flow measuring apparatus for measuring blood flow other than the brain, there is a device for measuring the amount of transmitted light passing through the blood layer by irradiating light to the blood layer to measure the presence or absence of thrombus (for example, see Patent Document 3).

The method of measuring the blood flow using the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion forming the optical waveguide as in the apparatuses described in the above Patent Documents 1 to 3 is a method in which the amount of light transmitted through the blood changes but the amount of red blood cells It does not measure the amount or density (hematocrit). On the other hand, hemoglobin (Hb) contained in red blood cells has a property of absorbing and reflecting light, and its optical characteristics are known to be influenced by Hb density, oxygen saturation, and optical path length in the blood. Therefore, in the measurement method of measuring the blood flow using the optical measurement means as described above, the measurement result changes according to two conditions, that is, hemoglobin contained in the cells of erythrocytes and oxygen saturation (oxygen amount carried by erythrocytes).

Therefore, when the oxygen saturation in the blood is constant, the blood flow can be accurately measured based on the amount of transmitted light according to the amount or density (hematocrit) of red blood cells. However, depending on the activity of the brain or muscle, , And oxygen partial pressure (PaO2), and the absorption rate of light changes according to the degree of oxygen saturation, so that the fluctuation of the amount of transmitted light according to the degree of oxygen saturation may also be measured as a change in blood flow.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-149137

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-144401

[Patent Document 3] JP-A-2002-345787

In the case of measuring the blood flow of a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain or muscle using the measuring devices of the above Patent Documents 1 to 3, when the activity of the brain or the muscle becomes active, the oxygen partial pressure in the blood changes, It has been difficult to accurately measure activity of the brain or muscle by fluctuations.

Also, in the case of the brain, as the activity becomes active, the oxygen consumption in the brain is increased, so that blood is supplied to the brain by the innumerable capillaries. Therefore, the blood flow in a predetermined range in which a plurality of capillary vessels are present is measured according to the size of the sensor (the diameter of the probe forming the optical waveguide). However, in the conventional blood flow measuring apparatus and brain activity measuring apparatus, when blood having a different degree of oxygen saturation flows through a plurality of capillaries, a change in the amount of transmitted light according to a change in oxygen saturation is also detected. It was difficult to do.

When the oxygen saturation in the blood is not constant even when the blood flow of a blood vessel other than the brain is measured, the amount of transmitted light varies depending on two factors, that is, the amount or density (hematocrit) of red blood cells and the oxygen saturation , It was difficult to accurately measure blood flow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a blood flow measuring apparatus and a brain activity measuring apparatus using the blood flow measuring apparatus that solve the above problems in view of the above circumstances.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following means.

The present invention relates to a sensor unit having a sensor unit having a light emitting unit for irradiating light to a measurement region and a light receiving unit for receiving light propagated to the measurement region, and a sensor unit for measuring the blood flow state of the measurement region based on the signal output from the light receiving unit Wherein the light receiving portion receives light emitted from the light emitting portion by at least two light receiving portions disposed at positions different from the light emitting portion, And calculating the blood flow state of the measurement region by performing an arithmetic processing for canceling the component due to the oxygen saturation contained in the measurement region.

According to the present invention, there is provided a blood flow measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit has a first light having a wavelength at which optical characteristics are not easily affected by oxygen saturation in the blood, And the second light having an affected wavelength is emitted, thereby solving the above problem.

Further, the present invention is the blood flow measuring apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the control unit is configured to calculate the first transmitted light amount when the light receiving unit receives the first light and the second transmitted light amount when the second light is received And measuring the blood flow state of the measurement area by comparing the amount of transmitted light.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a blood flow measuring apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, wherein the control unit controls the blood flow measuring apparatus according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, The above problem is solved.

Further, the present invention is the blood flow measuring apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sensor unit has a refractive index for light traveling from the light emitting portion to the measurement region, And the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit perform light emission and light reception through the optical path separation member to solve the above problems.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the blood flow measurement of the brain is performed using the blood flow measuring apparatus described in any one of claims 1 to 5, and the activity state of the brain is measured based on the result of the measurement by the blood flow measuring apparatus And solves the above problems.

Further, the present invention is the brain activity measuring apparatus according to the sixth aspect, wherein a plurality of the sensor units are provided at different positions, and the control unit causes the light emitting unit of one of the plurality of sensor units to emit light And detects the amount of transmitted light of the light received by the light receiving unit of at least two of the sensor units that are spaced apart from the one sensor unit by a different distance and measures measurement data according to the amount of transmitted light of the first and second light output from the two light receiving units To measure the brain activity state of the to-be-measured region on the basis of the brain activity state.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for measuring brain activity according to the seventh aspect, wherein the control unit sequentially emits the light emitting units of the plurality of sensor units and sequentially emits light from at least two Detecting the intensity of the light received by the light receiving units of the sensor units and measuring the brain activity state of the to-be-measured region based on the measurement data according to the amount of transmitted light of the first and second lights output from the two light receiving units, And solves the problem.

Further, the present invention is the brain activity measuring apparatus according to the sixth to eighth aspects, wherein the sensor unit has an electrode for brain wave measurement for measuring brain waves, thereby solving the above-mentioned problem.

Further, the present invention is the brain activity measuring apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein the electroencephalogram measuring electrode is formed on the side surface from the front end surface of the optical path separation member, thereby solving the problem.

According to the present invention, the light emitted from the light emitting portion is received by at least two light receiving portions disposed at different distances from the light emitting portion, and the blood flow state of the to-be-measured region is measured based on the signals obtained from at least two light receiving portions The components due to the oxygen saturation contained in the signals obtained from the two or more light receiving portions can be canceled and the blood flow and brain activity state can be precisely measured from the signal according to the volume ratio of red blood cells contained in the blood flowing in the measurement region .

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Example 1)

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a brain activity measuring apparatus using a blood flow measuring apparatus according to the present invention. 1, the brain activity measuring system 10 includes a brain activity measuring device 100 and a data managing device 50 for managing data measured by the brain activity measuring device 100. [ 1, the brain activity measuring device 100 is shown on only one side of the head, but the opposite side to the inside of the paper surface has the same configuration.

The brain activity measuring apparatus 100 includes a blood flow measuring apparatus 20 mounted on a head and a blood flow measuring apparatus 20 for measuring an activity state of the brain (distribution of red blood cells) based on a detection signal of the amount of transmitted light measured by the blood flow measuring apparatus 20 And a wireless communication device 40 for wirelessly transmitting the measurement result (blood flow data) output from the control unit 30 to an external device.

The control unit 30 stores a control program for performing an arithmetic process (see an arithmetic expression to be described later) for canceling the component due to the oxygen saturation included in the signal obtained from at least two light-receiving units.

The blood flow measuring apparatus 20 is provided with a plurality of optical sensor units 24 (24 ₁ to 24 _n ) for forming light waveguides by irradiating light to the base 22 of the hat type. In the present embodiment, since the diameter of the sensor unit 24 is about 10 mm to 50 mm, about 150 to 300 sensor units 24 are arranged in the hemispherical base 22 in a predetermined arrangement pattern Is attached. The plurality of sensor units 24 are managed separately by address data in accordance with the measurement position of the measurement object in advance, and the measurement data obtained from each sensor unit 24 is transmitted together with the respective address data and stored .

The arrangement pattern of the plurality of sensor units 24 ₁ to 24 _n is preferably arranged in a matrix at regular intervals. However, the shape of the head portion to be measured is not constant, and the size of the head portion and the shape of the curved surface are various So that they are arranged at irregular intervals.

Since the brain activity measuring apparatus 10 has the wireless communication apparatus 40 as the output means, the brain activity measuring apparatus 10 is provided with the data management apparatus 50 for managing the blood flow data transmitted from the wireless communication apparatus 40 in this embodiment, However, it is also possible to transmit data to another external device (for example, an electronic device such as a personal computer or an apparatus to be controlled such as an actuator).

The data management device 50 includes a wireless communication device 60 that receives blood flow measurement data transmitted from the wireless communication device 40 and a database 70 that stores blood flow measurement data obtained from the wireless communication device 60. [ A measurement data image display control device 80 for generating image data based on the blood flow measurement data supplied through the database 70, and a measurement result image display control device 80 for generating an image of the measurement result generated by the measurement data image display control device 80 And a monitor 90 for displaying data.

Further, since the data management device 50 is capable of wireless communication with the brain activity measurement device 100, the data management device 50 can be installed at a place remote from the brain activity measurement device 100. For example, have.

2A is an enlarged view showing an attaching structure of the sensor unit 24. Fig. In Fig. 2A, the sensor units 24A, 24B and 24C among the plurality of sensor units 24 arranged are shown. 2A, each of the sensor units 24A, 24B, 24C is inserted into an attachment hole 26 of a hemispherical base 22 having flexibility and is fixed with an adhesive or the like. Thus, as each sensor unit 24A, 24B, 24C is fixed to the attachment hole 26 of the base 22, the tip portion is held in contact with the head portion surface 220 of the subject. Each of the sensor units 24A, 24B, and 24C has the same configuration, and the same reference numerals are used for the same parts.

The sensor unit 24 includes a light emitting portion 120 composed of a laser diode for emitting a laser beam (emitted light A) to the head portion surface 220 and a light receiving element for outputting an electric signal according to the amount of transmitted light The refractive index of the laser light A irradiated from the light emitting portion 120 toward the measurement area and the refractive index of the incident light B, C The optical path separating member 140 is made of a hologram configured to have a different refractive index.

An EEG electrode 150 for measuring brain waves is inserted and coupled to the outer periphery of the optical path separating member 140. The EEG electrode 150 is formed in a cylindrical shape, And is formed on the side surface from the front end surface. The upper end of the electrode for electroencephalogram measurement 150 is electrically connected to the wiring pattern of the flexible wiring board 160.

The upper surface of the light emitting portion 120 and the light receiving portion 130 are mounted on the lower surface of the flexible wiring board 160. A wiring pattern connected to the control section 30 is formed in the flexible wiring board 160. The connection pattern of the light emitting section 120 and the light receiving section 130 is formed in the wiring pattern at a position corresponding to each sensor unit 24 And is electrically connected by soldering or the like. Further, the flexible wiring board 160 may be formed in accordance with the shape of the head portion when the tip of the sensor unit 24 contacts the measurement area, so that the flexible wiring board 160 is configured so as not to be broken when the mounting or detachment / .

The electrode for electroencephalogram measurement 150 is protruded from the end face of the optical path separation member 140 by a contact 152 bent inward from the tip end. Therefore, when the end face of the optical path separating member 140 comes into contact with the measurement area, the contactor 152 also comes into contact with the measurement area and can measure the brain waves. The EEG electrode 150 may also be formed by coating a conductive film on the outer periphery and leading edge of the optical path separation member 140 by a thin film formation method such as vapor deposition or plating. As a material of the electrode 150 for electrophysiological measurement, for example, a transparent conductive film of indium tin oxide called indium tin oxide (ITO) may be formed on the outer periphery and the tip end edge of the optical path separation member 140. When the electrode 150 for electroencephalogram measurement is formed with such a transparent conductive film, since the electrode 150 for electroencephalogram measurement becomes transparent, the entire periphery and the entire end surface of the optical path separation member 140 can be used as an electrode for electroencephalogram measurement 150).

Normally, brain waves can not be measured while measuring the state of the blood flow by photographing a tomographic image of the brain or the like. However, by installing the electrode 150 in the sensor unit 24, blood flow and brain waves can be measured simultaneously , And it becomes possible to analyze in detail the correlation between the blood flow in the brain and the EEG.

The control unit 30 selects an arbitrary sensor unit 24 among the plurality of sensor units 24 arranged in the array and outputs laser light A from the light emitting unit 120 of the sensor unit 24 And emits light. At this time, the laser light emitted from the light emitting portion 120 is outputted at a wavelength (?? 805 nm) which is not affected by the degree of oxygen saturation.

Each of the sensor units 24 is held in a state in which the front end (the end face of the optical path separation member 140) is in contact with the measurement area of the head part. The laser light A emitted from the light emitting portion 120 is transmitted through the optical path separation member 140 and is incident toward the inside of the brain from a direction perpendicular to the scalp of the head portion. In the brain, the laser light A propagates toward the center of the brain, and propagates toward the periphery as the laser light A follows the brain surface starting from the incident position. The light propagating path 170 inside the brain of the laser light A is formed into an arc shape when seen from the side and passes through the blood vessel 180 of the head part and returns to the head part surface 220.

The light that has passed through the light propagation path 170 reaches the sensor units 24B and 24C on the light receiving side while changing the amount of transmitted light according to the amount or density of red blood cells contained in the blood flowing through the blood vessel 180. [ Since the amount of transmitted light gradually decreases in the process of propagating in the brain, the light receiving level of the light receiving section 130 decreases in proportion to the distance from the starting point of the laser light A do. Accordingly, the amount of transmitted light that is received also varies depending on the distance from the incidence position of the laser light A.

2A, assuming that the sensor unit 24A located at the left end is a light emitting side origin, the sensor unit 24A itself, the right side sensor unit 24B and the right side sensor unit 24C Becomes a light receiving side starting point (measuring point).

The optical path separating member 140 is formed so as to guide the incident light B and C to the light receiving unit 130 by linearly advancing the laser light A, for example, by changing the density distribution of the transparent acrylic resin. The optical path separating member 140 also has an outgoing side transmissive region (laser side) for transmitting laser light A emitted from the light emitting portion 120 from the base end side (upper side in FIG. 2A) to the leading side 142), an incident-side transmissive area 144 for transmitting the light propagated inside the brain from the distal end side (lower side in Fig. 2A) to the proximal end side (upper side in Fig. 2A) And a refraction region 146 formed between the incident-side transmissive regions 144. The refraction region 146 transmits the laser light A, but has a property of reflecting the light (incident light B, C) that has passed through the blood stream. The refraction region 146 is formed by, for example, changing the density of the acrylic resin, installing a metal thin film in the region, or dispersing the metal fine particles. Thus, all light incident from the tip of the optical path separating member 140 is condensed by the light receiving unit 130.

Fig. 2B is a view showing a modification of the sensor unit 24. Fig. 2B, in the sensor unit 24X according to the modified example, a diffraction grating 190 is provided at the lower end of the optical path separation member 140. [ The lower side edge portion of the diffraction grating 190 is held by a contactor 152 which inwardly bends the tip of the EEG electrode 150 inward. The diffraction grating 190 has a fine concavo-convex pattern formed on its back surface and its surface. When the incident light from the head portion surface 220 passes through the boundary portion of the concavo-convex pattern, the diffraction grating 190 is refracted toward the light- Optical element.

Here, the principle of the blood flow measurement method will be described.

3 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the blood flow measurement method. 3, when the laser beam A is irradiated to the blood from the outside, the laser beam A incident on the blood layer 230 is reflected by the reflected red light component due to the normal red blood cell 240, The light is transmitted through the blood as light of two components, that is, a reflected scattered light component caused by the thrombus.

Since the influence of the light passing through the blood layer changes continuously depending on the state of the blood, the amount of transmitted light (which may be the reflected light amount) is continuously measured and the change in the amount of light is observed, Can be observed.

As the activity of the brain becomes active, the oxygen consumption in the brain increases, so that the hematocrit of the red blood cells carrying oxygen and the state of the blood flow due to the oxygen saturation of the blood appear as a change in the amount of light.

Here, the change in the hematocrit (Hct: volume ratio of red blood cells per unit volume, that is, the volume concentration of red blood cells per unit volume, also referred to as Ht) is also a factor related to the change in hemoglobin density. It goes crazy. The basic principle in this embodiment is to measure the state of blood flow by the change of the optical path and the amount of transmitted light by the blood flow using the laser light A and measure the state of the brain activity from the blood flow state inside the brain .

Further, the features of the present invention will be explained by its principle structure. The optical properties of blood are determined by the hemocyte component (especially the hemoglobin inside the cells of red blood cells). In addition, since red blood cells have a property that hemoglobin easily binds to oxygen, it also carries oxygen to brain cells. The degree of oxygen saturation of blood is a numerical value indicating how many percent of hemoglobin in blood is bound to oxygen. In addition, oxygen saturation correlates with oxygen partial pressure (PaO2) in the arterial blood and is an important index of respiratory function (gas exchange).

It is known that when oxygen partial pressure is high, oxygen saturation is also increased, and when oxygen saturation is changed, the amount of light transmitted through the blood also fluctuates. Therefore, when the blood flow is measured, accurate measurement can be performed by eliminating the influence of the oxygen saturation.

In addition, factors affecting the oxygen partial pressure (PaO2) include alveolar ventilation amount (alveolar ventilation amount), and also environmental conditions such as atmospheric pressure and intake oxygen concentration (FiO2), ventilation / blood flow ratio, gas diffusion ability, (Short-circuit ratio), and the like.

The control unit 30 has calculation means for performing processing of signals in accordance with the amount of transmitted light (light intensity) generated by the light receiving unit 130 of the sensor units 24A, 24B, and 24C. The calculation means performs arithmetic processing for detecting the blood flow state based on the measurement value output from the light receiving unit 130 of the sensor units 24B and 24C as described later.

The laser light A of the light emitting portion 120 is irradiated as pulse light or continuous light which is intermittently irradiated at a predetermined time interval (for example, 10 Hz to 1 MHz). In this case, when pulse light is used, the diminishing frequency, which is the frequency at which the pulse light is diminished, is determined according to the flow rate of the blood, and is measured continuously or at a measurement sampling frequency which is twice or more as large as the diminishing frequency. When continuous light is used, the measurement sampling frequency is determined according to the flow rate of blood and is measured.

Hemoglobin (Hb) in the blood reacts chemically with oxygen in the lungs as it breathe and becomes HbO2, bringing oxygen into the blood. The degree of oxygenation (oxygen saturation) of the blood depends on the respiration state. That is, in the present invention, when the blood is irradiated with light, a phenomenon that the absorption rate of light changes according to the degree of oxygen saturation is found. This phenomenon is caused by a disturbance factor in the measurement of blood flow by the laser light (A) Therefore, it is decided to remove the influence of oxygen saturation.

4 is a graph showing the relationship between the wavelength of laser light and the absorption state of light when the oxygen saturation of blood is changed. In the body, hemoglobin contained in red blood cells is divided into oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2: graph II) and unoxidized hemoglobin (Hb: graph I). In these two states, the light absorption rate with respect to light is greatly different. For example, blood containing oxygen is vivid and has a clear color. Venous blood, on the other hand, consumes oxygen, so it has a dimly black light. The state of the light absorption rate thereof changes in a wide light wavelength region as shown in graphs I and II in Fig.

From graphs I and II in FIG. 4, even when the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in red blood cells largely changes due to oxygen metabolism in the living body by selecting a specific wavelength, the light absorption rate is not influenced, It can be seen that

Regardless of the degree of oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in red blood cells, the light absorptivity is low in a certain wavelength region. As a result, it is determined whether or not the light is easy to pass through the blood layer according to the wavelength?. Therefore, when light in a predetermined wavelength range (for example, around 1300 nm in the vicinity of? = 800 nm) is used, the influence of the oxygen saturation can be suppressed to be small so that the blood flow can be measured.

Therefore, in the present invention, the laser light (A) having a wavelength region of approximately 1500 nm at approximately 600 nm is used, whereby the light absorption rate of hemoglobin (Hb) is practically low enough and the isosorbide point ; X) are included, it is possible to regard the measurement points of two or more wavelengths as calculation points. That is, it is possible to obtain a specification that is not affected by the degree of oxygen saturation. In other wavelength regions, when λ is less than 600 nm, the light absorptivity increases and the S / N ratio decreases. At a wavelength exceeding λ = 1500 nm, the photosensitivity of the light-receiving unit 130 is insufficient, Disturbance factors are affected, and measurement can not be performed with good precision.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, the wavelength of the laser light A emitted from the light-emitting portion 120 is used as a light-emitting element made of a tunable semiconductor laser in the light-emitting portion 120, (Second light) of? 1 = 805 nm (first light) which is the light absorption coefficient X and the wavelength? 2 = 680 nm (second light) which has the lowest light absorption ratio in the graph I.

Here, a method of detecting red blood cell concentration (R, Rp, Rpw) based on the amount of transmitted light when laser light A receives light propagated through a photoelectric waveguide 170 (see Fig. 2) .

The equation (1) of the erythrocyte concentration (R) when the one-point-one-wavelength method performed by the conventional measurement method is used can be expressed by the following equation.

R = log10 (Iin / Iout) = f (Iin, L, Ht) (One)

In the method of (1) above, the erythrocyte concentration is determined by the incident light transmission amount Iin of the laser light A emitted from the light emitting portion 120 and the distance between the light emitting portion 120 and the light receiving portion 130 L) and the above-described hematocrit (Ht). Therefore, when calculating the red blood cell concentration by the method of (1), it is difficult to measure the red blood cell concentration accurately because the red blood cell concentration varies depending on the three factors.

The equation (2) of the erythrocyte concentration Rp when the two-point one-wavelength system according to the present embodiment is used can be expressed by the following equation.

Rp = log10 {Iout / (Iout -? Iout)} =? (? L, Ht) (2)

2, since light is received at two points (the light receiving portions 130 of the sensor units 24B and 24C) which are different from the laser light A as shown in FIG. 2, the red blood cell concentration is The distance? L between the two light-receiving portions 130, and the above-described hematocrit (Ht). Therefore, when the erythrocyte concentration is determined by the method of (2), the erythrocyte concentration is measured as a value obtained by counting the hematocrit (Ht) since the distance L between the light receiving portions 130 is known in advance . Therefore, in this calculation method, the erythrocyte concentration can be accurately measured as a measurement value according to the hematocrit (Ht).

Further, the equation (3) for calculating the erythrocyte concentration Rpw in the case of using the two-point two-wavelength system according to the modification of this embodiment can be expressed by the following equation.

Iout / (Iout-Iout)} lambda 2] / log10 {Iout / (Iout-

    = ξ (Ht) ... (3)

In the method (3), the wavelength of the laser light A emitted from the light emitting portion 120 is set to different? 1 and? 2 (? 1 = 805 nm and? 2 = 680 nm in this embodiment) It can be measured as a function consisting of only hematocrit (Ht). Therefore, according to the calculation method, the erythrocyte concentration can accurately be measured as a measurement value according to the hematocrit (Ht).

Here, the brain that becomes the measurement area will be described. 5 is a view showing the brain from the left side. As shown in Fig. 5, the human brain 300 comprises the cerebral 301, the cerebellum 302, and the brainstem 303. The cerebral cortex 301 is the central body that controls the human motor function. The cerebral cortex 301 corresponds to each part of the human body (hand, elbow, shoulder, waist, knee, ankle joint, etc.) It is divided. For example, the cerebrum 301 has a prefrontal cortex 330, a premotor area 340, an exercise area 350, a somatosensory area 360, and the like. In addition, the cerebrum 301 has a frontal lobe oculomotor region 332, a broker region 334 and a olfactory region 336, and a full motion region 340 has a motion association region 342.

Further, the exercise area 350 has an area for performing the movement of the hands and feet of the human body, for example, a shoulder exercise area 352 and an elbow exercise area 354. Therefore, it is possible to detect how the shoulder or elbow is moved by measuring the blood flow in the shoulder moving area 352 and the elbow moving area 354 and mapping the change in the blood flow in each area.

6 is a view for explaining the principle of measuring brain activity from the blood flow of the brain. As shown in FIG. 6, the brain 300 is covered with a liquid 400, a skull 410, and a scalp 420. Each sensor unit 24 measures the blood flow by bringing the distal end surface of the optical path separation member 140 into contact with the scalp 420. The laser light A emitted from the light emitting unit 120 of the sensor unit 24A passes through the scalp 420, the skull 410, and the liquid 400 and proceeds into the brain 300. [ The light irradiated on the head portion is propagated in the radial direction (depth direction and radial direction) by the circular pattern 440 as shown by the broken line in Fig.

Since the propagation of such light is longer in the radial direction from the starting point (base point) 450 irradiated with the laser light, the light propagation path becomes longer and the light transmittance decreases. Therefore, The light receiving level (the amount of transmitted light) of the sensor unit 24B is stronger than the light receiving level of the sensor unit 24B Weakly detected. Also, the light receiving unit of the sensor unit 24A on the light emitting side receives light from the brain 300. By mapping the detection signals according to the intensity of the light received by the plurality of sensor units 24, the light intensity distribution corresponding to the change of the blood flow is obtained as stripes (contour lines).

Further, by setting the detection signal (a signal according to the amount of transmitted light received) output from each sensor unit 24 to Iout in the above-mentioned formula (2) or (3), the red blood cell concentration is changed according to the hematocrit It becomes possible to measure accurately as a measurement value (a value not affected by the oxygen saturation).

Here, the blood flow measurement processing of the brain executed by the control unit 30 of the brain activity measurement apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 7, the control unit 30 performs blood flow measurement processing by dividing the cerebral cortex into blocks for each exercise area, and for example, the prefrontal cortex 330, the pre-exercise area 340, the exercise area 350, , And the somatic sensory area 360 are processed in parallel. Hereinafter, the case of mapping the activity state of the exercise area 350 by measuring the blood flow in the exercise area 350 will be described.

First, the control unit 30 selects an arbitrary sensor unit 24A (sensor unit with address number n = 1) from a plurality of sensor units arranged in S11 of Fig. 7 and controls the light emitting unit 120 of the sensor unit 24A, (The head portion region including the moving region 350) from the laser beam. Subsequently, in S12, the detection signal (electric signal corresponding to the amount of transmitted light received) output from the light receiving unit 130 of the sensor unit 24B of n = n + 1 adjacent to the address number n = 1 is transmitted to the radio communication apparatus 40 To the data management apparatus 50. [ The data management device 50 stores n = n + 1 data obtained from the radio communication device 60 in the database 70. [

In S13, a detection signal (electrical signal corresponding to the received amount of transmitted light) output from the light receiving unit 130 of the sensor unit 24C of n = n + 2 adjacent to the address number n = n + (40) to the data management device (50). The data management device 50 stores n = n + 2 data obtained from the radio communication device 60 in the database 70. [

As described above, the detection signals of all the sensor units 24 disposed around the sensor unit 24A emitting the laser light A are transmitted to the data management device 50 starting from the sensor unit 24A.

Then, in S14, the address of the sensor unit that becomes the light emitting point is changed to n + 1. In next step S15, it is checked whether or not all of the sensor units 24 are lighted. When the light emission of all the sensor units 24 is not completed in S15, the process of S11 to S15 is repeated by irradiating the laser light A from the light emitting portion 120 of the (n + 1) th sensor unit 24B .

When the light emission of all the sensor units 24 is completed in S15, the blood flow measurement processing of the measurement block may be terminated or the blood flow measurement processing of the measurement block may be performed again from the beginning.

Here, measurement data image display processing executed by the measurement data image display control device 80 of the data management device 50 will be described with reference to FIG. The measurement data image display control device 80 reads the measurement data (data based on the amount of transmitted light according to the blood flow) stored in the database 70 in S21 of Fig. Subsequently, the process proceeds to S22, where the erythrocyte concentration Rp or Rpw is calculated using the measurement data and the above-described equation (2) or (3).

In the next step S23, a distribution chart of the erythrocyte concentration (contour line) for each measurement point is created, and the image data of this distribution chart is stored in the database 70. [ Then, in S24, it is checked whether or not the calculation of the red blood cell concentration (Rp or Rpw) for all measurement points is completed. When the calculation of the red blood cell concentration (Rp or Rpw) for the entire measurement point is not completed in S24, the process returns to S21 and the process from S21 is repeated.

When the calculation of the red blood cell concentration (Rp or Rpw) for all the measurement points is completed in S24, the flow proceeds to S25, and the brain activity state diagram showing the distribution of the red blood cell concentration is displayed on the monitor 90. [

In this way, the erythrocyte concentration Rp or Rpw is calculated from the measurement data according to the blood flow measured by the brain activity measuring apparatus 100, and the brain activity state based on the erythrocyte concentration distribution in the measurement block is displayed on the monitor 90 The brain activity state of the measurement area can be accurately confirmed.

Here, in the measurement data image display control device 80, measurement data transmitted from the brain activity measurement device 100 is analyzed to explain an example of display of image data obtained as the measurement result of the blood flow volume (erythrocyte concentration) of the brain do. 9A is a diagram schematically showing a state before measurement of the shoulder moving region 352 and the elbow moving region 354. As shown in Fig. Fig. 9B is a diagram schematically showing image data obtained from the measurement data when the arm is lifted. Fig. Fig. 9C is a diagram schematically showing image data obtained from measurement data when the arm is lifted while bending the elbow. Fig.

9A, the shoulder joint region 352a of the shoulder joint, the abduction muscle region 352b of the shoulder joint region 352b ), And the elbow movement region 354 (the region indicated by the broken line) includes a flexion muscle region 354a and an extension muscle region 354b of the elbow joint.

As shown in Fig. 9B, when the brain 300 is about to raise his / her arms, an active area 352a of the shoulder motion area 352, an active area such as a contour line centering on the outer- 360 are created and displayed on the monitor 90. [ In the image data of this active area 360, the dense part indicates strong light intensity and large blood flow, and the coarse part indicates weak light intensity and low blood flow. Therefore, it can be seen that the brain activity is active in the adductor muscle area 352a and the abduction muscle area 352b of the shoulder movement area 352 in the figure shown in Fig. 9B.

As shown in FIG. 9C, for example, when the brain 300 is considered to lift the arm while bending the elbow, the adductor muscle area 352a, the abduction muscle area 352b and the elbow exercise area 354 of the shoulder exercising area 352 The image data of the active area 370 such as a contour line centering on the curved-line area 354a of the display area 354 is created and displayed on the monitor 90. [ In the image data of this active area 370, the dense part indicates strong light intensity and large blood flow, and a sparse part indicates weak light intensity and low blood flow. 9C, brain activity in the adductor muscle area 352a, the abduction muscle area 352b, and the flexion muscle area 354a of the elbow exercise area 354 is active, , You can see that the command has been issued to lift the arm while bending the elbow.

10A to 10D, display examples of measurement results of blood flow in the depth direction will be described. 10A is a diagram schematically showing a light propagation path of light emitted from the light emitting portion 120. FIG. 10B is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line A-A showing a state immediately after the light is emitted from the light emitting portion 120 (elapsed time t1). 10C is a vertical sectional view along the line A-A showing a state in which the elapsed time t2 has elapsed after the light is irradiated from the light emitting portion 120. Fig. 10D is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line A-A showing a state in which the elapsed time t3 has elapsed after the light is irradiated from the light emitting portion 120. As shown in Fig.

As shown in Fig. 10A, the laser light A emitted from the light emitting portion 120 is propagated so as to trace an almost arc-shaped locus, for example, as indicated by three photoelectric wavewaves 170. [ In Figs. 10B to 10D, changes in the light intensity at the measurement points A1, A2, and A3 where the three photoelectric waveguides 170 intersect with the A-A line are shown as images.

10B, the photoelectric waveguide 170 in a state immediately after the light is irradiated from the light emitting portion 120 (elapsed time t1) is the one in which the blood flow amount (received light intensity) at the measurement point A3 is detected most strongly Able to know.

As shown in Fig. 10C, the photoelectric waveguide 170 in a state where the elapsed time t2 has elapsed after the light is irradiated from the light-emitting portion 120 has the strongest detection of the blood flow amount (received light intensity) at the measurement point A2 Able to know.

10D, the photoelectric waveguide 170 in a state where the elapsed time t3 has elapsed after the light is irradiated from the light emitting portion 120 is determined to be most intensively detected in the blood flow amount (light receiving intensity) at the measurement point A1 .

As described above, it is possible to measure the distribution of the blood flow amount in the depth direction based on the amount of transmitted light at the measurement points A1, A2, and A3 in the depth direction along the photoelectric waveguide 170. [ For example, in the case of FIGS. 10B to 10D, it is possible to measure the movement of the point of the blood flow from the inside of the brain to the surface layer with the passage of time.

Next, a modified example of the brain activity measuring apparatus 100 will be described.

11A is a view showing a mounting state according to a variation 1 of the brain activity measuring apparatus. 11A, the blood flow measuring apparatus 20A of the brain activity measuring apparatus 100A of Modified Example 1 is configured such that a plurality of sensor units 24 are attached to a net base 22A formed into a spherical shape . In Fig. 11A, the brain activity measuring apparatus 100A is shown only on one side of the head, but the opposite side to the inside of the paper is also configured similarly.

Each of the sensor units 24 is held in a state of passing through an intersection portion of the net. In addition, the net-shaped base 22A can be deformed into a spherical shape corresponding to the surface shape of the head portion because the rectangular-shaped connecting structure is deformed into a rhomboid shape and expanded or contracted according to the surface shape of the mounted head portion.

Since the net-like base 22A has net-shaped arm portions (four to eight) connected to the respective intersecting portions formed of a resin material having elasticity, the net- It is possible to bring the end portions of the plurality of sensor units 24 into contact with the surface of the head portion to be measured regardless of the surface shape of the head portion.

In the first modification, since the diameter of the sensor unit 24 is about 10 mm to 50 mm, about 150 to 300 sensor units 24 are arranged in the net base 22A in a predetermined arrangement pattern (predetermined interval) Respectively. Similarly to the first embodiment, the plurality of sensor units 24 are managed separately by address data corresponding to the measurement position of the measurement object in advance, and the measurement data obtained from each sensor unit 24 is, And is stored in the data management device 50 together with the respective address data.

The net-shaped base 22A is divided into a plurality of blocks A to N and small wireless communication devices 400A to 400N (indicated by black circles in FIG. 11) are installed for each of the blocks A to N . Therefore, the measurement data by the plurality of sensor units 24 can be transmitted from the wireless communication apparatuses 400A to 400N to the data management apparatus 50 for each block (A to N).

Fig. 11B is a block diagram showing a configuration of each device according to a modification 1; Fig. As shown in Fig. 11B, the plurality of sensor units 24 are classified into, for example, 24A1 to 24An, 24B1 to 24Bn, and 24A1 to 24Bn, respectively, for each block A to N that divides the brain 300 by function, for example. 24N1 to 24Nn. The wireless communication apparatuses 400A to 400N installed for each of the blocks A to N carry out transmission and reception with a wireless signal with the data management apparatus 50. When receiving the light emission command transmitted from the data management apparatus 50, And outputs the light emission signals to the sensor units 24 of the blocks A to N in parallel. Thus, each of the light emitting portions 120 of each of the blocks A to N sequentially emits a laser beam and irradiates the surface of the head portion (measured area) of each block. The measurement data corresponding to the amount of transmitted light received by the light receiving unit 130 of the sensor units 24A1 to 24An and 24B1 to 24Bn to 24Nn to 24Nn provided for each of the blocks A to N is transmitted to the wireless communication apparatuses 400A to 400N, To the data management apparatus 50. For this reason, in the data management device 50, each data of each of the blocks A to N measured by the sensor units 24A1 to 24An, 24B1 to 24Bn ... 24N1 to 24Nn is processed in parallel.

Since the brain activity measuring apparatus 100A has a plurality of radio communication apparatuses 400A to 400N in the present modified example 1, the measurement data measured by the sensor units 24A1 to 24An, 24B1 to 24Bn ... 24N1 to 24Nn, The data management device 50 can analyze the measurement data for each of the blocks A to N and efficiently create the image data for each of the blocks A to N by parallel processing .

The net shape base 22A is formed by two conductive members that are connected to the respective intersecting portions and the two conductive members are connected to the light emitting unit 120 of the sensor unit 24, (130) to perform an instruction of light emission and detection of the received measurement data.

12 is a view showing a mounting state of a variation 2 of the brain activity measuring apparatus. 12, in the blood flow measuring apparatus 20B of the brain activity measuring apparatus 100B of Modification 2, a plurality of notches 510A to 510N are formed radially in the flexible wiring board 500 made of a resin material have. In Fig. 12, the brain activity measuring apparatus 100B is shown on only one side of the head, but the opposite side to the inside of the paper has the same configuration. In the flexible wiring board 500, similarly to the first embodiment, a plurality of sensor units 24 are held at predetermined intervals.

Since the flexible wiring board 500 has flexibility, it can be easily deformed into a curved surface shape corresponding to the surface shape of the head by the plurality of notches 510A to 510N. Furthermore, a plurality of notches 510A to 510N are formed from the outside of the flexible wiring board 500 formed in a flat plate shape toward the central portion, and various notches can be formed by adjusting the notch angle and the notch length. Therefore, in the present modified example, the flexible wiring board 500 can be simply mounted on the surface of the head while bending the flexible wiring board 500, and the flexible wiring board 500 can be easily separated It is possible.

The plurality of sensor units 24 held by the flexible wiring board 500 are controlled for each of the areas partitioned by the notches 510A to 510N and are connected to the flexible wiring boards 500 through 24A1 to 24An and 24B1 to 24Bn. 24N1 to 24Nn. Therefore, since the plurality of notches 510A to 510N can be formed at arbitrary positions, it is possible to set an area for each block (A to N) in accordance with the measurement area.

Also, in Modification 2 of the present modification, small wireless communication apparatuses 400A to 400N (indicated by black circles in Fig. 12) are provided for each block (A to N) in the same manner as Modified Example 1 described above. Therefore, the measurement data by the plurality of sensor units 24 can be transmitted from the radio communication apparatuses 400A to 400N to the data management apparatus 50 for each block (A to N).

13 is a view showing a mounting state of a variation 3 of the brain activity measuring apparatus. 13, the blood flow measuring apparatus 20C of the brain activity measuring apparatus 100C of Modified Example 3 is configured such that a flexible wiring board 600 made of a resin material is formed in a strip shape and the flexible wiring board 600 ) In a spiral. In Fig. 13, the brain activity measuring apparatus 100C is shown on only one side of the head, but the opposite side to the inside of the paper is also configured similarly. A plurality of sensor units 24 and radio communication apparatuses 400A to 400N (indicated by black circles in Fig. 13) are held at predetermined intervals in the flexible wiring board 600 in the same manner as in the second modification described above.

Since the flexible wiring board 600 is formed in a flexible strip shape, the flexible wiring board 600 can be freely rolled up to the surface shape of the head portion and easily attached to the curved surface of the head portion. In addition, the shape of the head of the measured person varies, but it can be mounted so as to adjust the winding range of the flexible wiring board 600 appropriately.

14 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modification of the sensor unit. In Fig. 14, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts as those of the sensor unit 24 of Fig. 2 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted. As shown in Fig. 14, the sensor unit 700 of the modified example has an optical path separating member 720 formed in a tapered shape inside of an electrode for electroencephalogram measurement 710 formed in a tapered cylindrical shape. In the present modified example, the EEG electrode 710 is integrally fitted to the outer periphery of the optical path separation member 720. The taper angle of the electrode for electroencephalogram measurement 710 and the optical path separation member 720 is arbitrarily set according to the total length, upper and lower end areas, and the like. The optical path separating member 720 is formed of a hologram in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above. The optical path separating member 720 emits laser light from the light emitting portion 120 from the tip portion 722, propagates to the brain 300, And converges the light incident from the light receiving unit 130.

Since the distal end portion 712 of the electrode for electroencephalogram measurement 710 protrudes slightly below the distal end portion 722 of the optical path separation member 720, Can be measured.

A flange portion 714 having a large diameter is provided at the proximal end side of the electrode 710 for measuring the electroencephalogram. The flange portion 714 is inserted so that the inner wall of the outer cylinder member 730 formed of a conductive material can slide in the axial direction (vertical direction). The outer casing member 730 includes a space 740 for sliding the electroencephalogram measurement electrode 710 and the optical path separation member 720 in the axial direction and an upper wall portion 732 formed to surround the upper portion of the space 740. [ And a lower wall portion 734 formed to surround the lower portion of the space 740.

Between the flange portion 714 of the electrode 710 for measurement and the upper wall portion 732, a pressing member (coil spring) 750 for pressing down the EEG electrode 710 is fitted. The pressing member 750 is compressed by the pressing force when the tip of the electrode for electroencephalogram measurement 710 and the optical path separating member 720 comes into contact with the surface of the head portion 220. Therefore, The tip of the measurement electrode 710 and the optical path separation member 720 is pressed to the head portion surface 220. [

Therefore, by pressing the outer cylinder member 730 downward, the pressing force of the pressing member 750 acts to bring the tip of the EEG electrode 710 and the optical path separation member 720 close to the head portion surface 220 You can. Therefore, even when the hair is present in the measurement area, the tip of the EEG electrode 710 and the optical path separation member 720 can be reliably contacted to the head part surface 220.

A light emitting portion 120 and a light receiving portion 130 are mounted on an upper end surface 724 of the optical path separating member 720. [ The optical path separating member 720 of this modified example is formed in a tapered shape so that the diameter of the top end thereof is larger than that of the light path separating member 720. Therefore, Can be set. The diameter of the distal end portion 722 of the optical path separation member 720 can be made smaller and the contact area with the head portion surface 220 can be reduced regardless of the size of the light emitting portion 120 and the light receiving portion 130. [ Thus, when the top end surface 724 of the optical path separating member 720 is brought into contact with the head portion surface 220, the case where the head is stuck is reduced, and the measurement accuracy is enhanced.

In this modification, light received from the laser light A emitted from the head portion surface 220 and the tip portion 722 of the optical path separation member 720 is reflected on the inner wall of the tapered shape to form a waveguide Therefore, there is no influence on the amount of transmitted light.

(Example 2)

15 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a blood flow measuring apparatus according to the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 15, the blood flow measuring apparatus 800 of the second embodiment is an apparatus for measuring the blood flow amount at the time of artificial dialysis. The blood flow measuring apparatus 800 includes a sensor unit 810, which is attached to a dialysis tube 812 connected to the artificial dialyzer 810, And a control unit 830 for controlling the artificial dialyzer 810 based on the measurement data output from the sensor unit 820. [

The dialysis tube 812 is made of a translucent resin tube having elasticity. The dialysis tube 812 is connected to the blood vessels 842 and 844 of the patient 840 undergoing dialysis and supplies the blood taken out from the blood vessels 842 and 844 to the artificial dialysis apparatus 810. The artificial dialyzer 810 is provided with an artificial kidney (dial riser) for filtering blood and supplying a dialysis liquid and a pump device for sending blood.

The control unit 830 calculates the blood flow amount and erythrocyte concentration from the measurement data measured by the sensor unit 820 and controls the supply amount of the dialysis solution and the pump rotation number to the artificial dialyzer 810 according to the blood flow amount. The control unit 830 outputs the measurement result of the sensor unit 820 and the dialysis data to the personal computer 850. [ The personal computer 850 accumulates and analyzes measurement results and dialysis data.

16 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of the sensor unit 820 according to the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 16, the sensor unit 820 has a holding member 860 for holding a part of the dialysis tube 812 in a pressurized state in the up-and-down direction, and two sets of sensor units 870 and 880. The first sensor unit 870 includes a first light emitting unit 872 disposed at an upper portion of the dialysis tube 812 and first and second light receiving units 874 and 876 disposed at a lower portion of the dialysis tube 812 . The second sensor unit 880 includes a second light emitting unit 882 disposed at an upper portion of the dialysis tube 812 and a second light emitting unit 882 disposed at a lower portion of the dialysis tube 812, 3, and a fourth light receiving section 884, 886.

In the second embodiment, the erythrocyte concentration Rpw is measured by the measurement method of the two-point two-wavelength system using the above-described equation (3). That is, by setting the wavelength of the laser beam emitted from the first light emitting portion 872 and the second light emitting portion 882 to different wavelengths lambda 1 and lambda 2 (in this embodiment, lambda 1 = 805 nm, lambda 2 = 680 nm) It can be measured as a function consisting of only hematocrit (Ht). Therefore, according to this calculation method, the erythrocyte concentration can be accurately measured as a measurement value according to the hematocrit (Ht).

(Example 3)

17 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a blood flow measuring apparatus according to the third embodiment. 17, the blood flow measuring apparatus 900 of the third embodiment includes a measuring unit 920 that is in contact with the skin surface 910 of the measurement region, a sensor unit 930 that is built in the measuring unit 920, And a control unit 940 for generating a blood flow measurement image based on the measurement data output from the sensor unit 930. [

The measuring unit 920 is formed in a size that can be moved by hand, and can be appropriately moved depending on, for example, the blood flow in which part of the human body is measured. The measuring unit 920 is a side surface 924 on which the bottom surface of the conical portion 922 is brought into contact with the measurement area and a gripping portion 926 protrudes from the top of the conical portion 922. Therefore, the meter for measuring the blood flow can measure the blood flow in the measurement area by holding the gripping part 926 and bringing the system side surface 924 into contact with the skin surface 910 of the measurement area appropriately.

The sensor unit 930 has a light emitting portion 950 for emitting laser light A, a pair of light receiving portions 960 and 962 arranged at different distances from the light emitting point, and an optical path separating member 970 made of a hologram . A light emitting portion 950 and a pair of light receiving portions 960 and 962 are mounted on the upper surface of the optical path separating member 970 and the lower surface of the optical path separating member 970 forms a side surface 924.

Therefore, when the laser light A from the light emitting portion 950 passes through the optical path separation member 970 and is irradiated to the skin surface 910 of an arbitrary to-be-measured region, the laser light A passes through the skin surface 910 Through the blood vessel 912 disposed on the lower side of the blood vessel 912 and propagates to the system side 924. Each of the pair of light receiving portions 960 and 962 receives the light propagated to the optical path separating member 970 and outputs an electric signal corresponding to the amount of the received light to the control portion 940.

In this embodiment, the erythrocyte concentration Rp flowing through the blood vessel 912 is measured by the measurement method of the two-point one-wavelength method using the above-described equation (2). That is, the erythrocyte concentration is a function between the distance (? L) between the two light receiving portions (960, 962) and the above-mentioned hematocrit (Ht). Therefore, when the erythrocyte concentration Rp is determined, the erythrocyte concentration is measured as a value obtained by counting the hematocrit Ht because the distance DELTA L between the light-receiving units 960 and 962 is known beforehand in the two factors. Therefore, according to this calculation method, the erythrocyte concentration can be accurately measured as a measurement value according to the hematocrit (Ht).

The control unit 940 is connected to the monitor 980 and generates image data from the measurement data of the blood flow measured by the sensor unit 930 of the measurement unit 920 and outputs the measurement image 982 And displays it on the monitor 980. This allows the meter to see the measurement image 982 displayed on the monitor 980 while keeping the measurement unit 920 in the hand and make the system side 924 contact the skin surface 910 to check whether the blood flow is normal or not .

Since the blood flow measuring apparatus 900 can appropriately move the measuring unit 920, it is possible to easily measure the blood flow in a region other than the head portion, and it is also possible to carry out the measurement, It can also be used in places other than the consultation room (for example, buildings other than medical clinics or medical institutions in tsunami areas, tents or outdoors).

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a brain activity measuring apparatus using a blood flow measuring apparatus according to the present invention.

2A is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the attachment structure of the sensor unit 24. As shown in Fig.

Fig. 2B is a vertical sectional view showing a modification of the sensor unit 24. Fig.

3 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the blood flow measurement method.

4 is a graph showing the relationship between the wavelength of laser light and the light absorption state when the oxygen saturation of blood is changed.

5 is a view showing the brain from the left side.

6 is a view for explaining the principle of measuring brain activity from the blood flow of the brain.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the blood flow measurement processing of the brain executed by the control unit 30 of the brain activity measurement apparatus 100. Fig.

8 is a flowchart for explaining the measurement data image display processing executed by the measurement data image display control device 80 of the data management device 50. [

9A is a diagram schematically showing the state before measurement of the shoulder moving region 352 and the elbow moving region 354. As shown in Fig.

Fig. 9B is a diagram schematically showing image data obtained from the measurement data when the arm is to be lifted. Fig.

9C is a diagram schematically showing image data obtained from the measurement data when the arm is lifted while bending the elbow.

10A is a diagram schematically showing a light propagation path of light emitted from the light emitting portion 120. As shown in FIG.

10B is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line A-A showing a state immediately after the light is emitted from the light emitting portion 120 (elapsed time t1).

10C is a vertical sectional view along the line A-A showing a state where the elapsed time t2 has elapsed after the light is irradiated from the light emitting portion 120. As shown in Fig.

10D is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line A-A showing a state in which the elapsed time t3 has elapsed after the light is irradiated from the light emitting portion 120. Fig.

11A is a view showing a mounting state according to a first modification of the brain activity measuring apparatus.

Fig. 11B is a block diagram showing the configuration of each device according to Modification 1. Fig.

12 is a view showing a mounting state according to a second variation of the brain activity measuring apparatus.

13 is a view showing a mounting state according to a variation 3 of the brain activity measuring apparatus.

14 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modification of the sensor unit.

15 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a blood flow measuring apparatus according to the second embodiment.

16 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of the sensor unit 820 according to the second embodiment.

17 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a blood flow measuring apparatus according to the third embodiment.

               Description of the Related Art [0002]

10: Brain activity measuring system 20, 800: Blood flow measuring device

22: base 22A: net shape base

24 (24 ₁ to 24 _n ), 24A to 24C, 24A1 to 24An, 24B1 to 24Bn ... 24N1 to 24Nn, 24X, 700,

820, 930: sensor unit

30, 830, 940: control unit 40, 60: wireless communication device

50: data management device 70: database

80: Measurement data image display control device 90: Monitor

100, 100A to 100C: brain activity measuring device 120, 950:

130, 960, 962: light receiving section 140, 720:

150, 710: Electrodes for EEG measurement 160, 500, 600: Flexible wiring board

170: light propagation path 180: blood vessel

220: head portion surface 230: blood layer

240: red blood cell 300: brain

301: cerebral 400A ~ 400N: wireless communication device

810: artificial dialysis apparatus 812: dialysis tube

860: holding member 870, 880:

872: First light emitting portion 874, 876, 884, 886: First to fourth light receiving portions

882: second light emitting portion 900: blood flow measuring device

910: Skin surface 920:

924: system side 970: optical path separation member

980: Monitor

Claims (17)

A sensor unit having a light emitting unit that emits light to the measurement area and a light receiving unit that receives light propagated to the measurement area and a control unit that measures the blood flow state of the measurement area based on the signal output from the light receiving unit The blood flow measuring apparatus comprising: Wherein the light emitting unit emits first light having a wavelength that is not susceptible to optical characteristics due to oxygen saturation in blood and second light having a wavelength to which optical characteristics are influenced by oxygen saturation of blood, Receiving the first light and the second light emitted from the light emitting portion by at least two light receiving portions disposed at positions different in distance from the light emitting portion, Wherein the control section performs arithmetic processing such as canceling a component due to an oxygen saturation degree contained in at least signals obtained from the two light-receiving sections to measure a blood flow state of the to-be-measured region. The method according to claim 1, The control unit sets a ratio between the red blood cell concentration in the first light emitted from the light emitting unit and the red blood cell concentration in the second light so that at least the component due to the oxygen saturation included in the signal obtained from the two light receiving units And calculating the concentration as a function of only hematocrit (Ht) representing the volume concentration of red blood cells per unit volume, thereby measuring the blood flow state of the measurement region. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The control unit compares the amount of first transmitted light when the light receiving unit receives the first light and the amount of second transmitted light when the second light is received to measure the blood flow state of the measured region The blood flow measuring apparatus comprising: The method of claim 3, Wherein the control section measures the blood flow state of the to-be-measured region based on measurement data corresponding to the amount of transmitted light of the first and second light output from at least the two light-receiving sections. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The sensor unit includes: And an optical path separation member configured to have a refractive index for light traveling from the light emitting portion to the measurement region and a refractive index of light traveling from the measurement region to the light receiving portion to be different from each other, And the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit perform light emission and light reception through the optical path separation member. The brain activity measuring apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the blood flow measuring apparatus measures the blood flow of the brain using the blood flow measuring apparatus according to claim 5, and measures the activity state of the brain based on the result of measurement by the blood flow measuring apparatus. The method according to claim 6, A plurality of sensor units are provided at different positions, Wherein the control unit emits light from a light emitting unit of one of the plurality of sensor units and detects an amount of transmitted light of light received by the light receiving unit of at least two sensor units spaced apart from the one sensor unit And measures the brain activity state of the measurement region based on measurement data corresponding to the amount of transmitted light of the first and second light output from the two light receiving portions. 8. The method of claim 7, Wherein the control unit sequentially emits the light emitting units of the plurality of sensor units and detects the intensity of the light received by the light receiving unit of at least two sensor units spaced apart from each other by a distance from the light emitting unit, And measures the brain activity state of the to-be-measured region based on measurement data corresponding to the amount of transmitted light of the first and second light output from the light-receiving units. The method according to claim 6, Wherein the sensor unit has an electrode for brain wave measurement for measuring brain waves. 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the brain-wave measuring electrode is formed on a side surface of the optical path separating member from a front end surface thereof. The method of claim 3, The sensor unit includes: And an optical path separation member configured to have a refractive index for light traveling from the light emitting portion to the measurement region and a refractive index of light traveling from the measurement region to the light receiving portion to be different from each other, And the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit perform light emission and light reception through the optical path separation member. 5. The method of claim 4, The sensor unit includes: And an optical path separation member configured to have a refractive index for light traveling from the light emitting portion to the measurement region and a refractive index of light traveling from the measurement region to the light receiving portion to be different from each other, And the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit perform light emission and light reception through the optical path separation member. The brain activity measuring apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the blood flow measuring apparatus measures the blood flow of the brain using the blood flow measuring apparatus according to claim 3, and measures the activity state of the brain based on the result measured by the blood flow measuring apparatus. The brain activity measuring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the blood flow measuring apparatus measures the blood flow of the brain using the blood flow measuring apparatus according to claim 4, and measures the activity state of the brain based on the result measured by the blood flow measuring apparatus. A blood flow measuring apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the blood flow measuring apparatus measures the blood flow of the brain, and measures the activity state of the brain based on the result of measurement by the blood flow measuring apparatus Device. 8. The method of claim 7, Wherein the sensor unit has an electrode for brain wave measurement for measuring brain waves. 9. The method of claim 8, Wherein the sensor unit has an electrode for brain wave measurement for measuring brain waves.

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