JP2002301066A - Remote stethoscopic system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem in a conventional remote stethoscope for transmitting a stethoscopic sound from the respiratory system or digestive system through a telephone line, in which a lot of high frequencies cannot transmitted in detail when the pulse sound of the heart containing a lot of low frequencies is transmitted, because the transmittable frequency band is narrow. SOLUTION: A transmission part comprises a sound receiving part 1 for converting an inputted stethoscopic sound to an electric signal, BPF 3 and 5 for passing mutually different bands, and encoders 4 and 6 for outputting corresponding encoded data. A receiving part comprises decoders 12 and 14 for outputting electric signals decoded in conformation to the encoders 4 and 6, PBF 3 and 5 corresponding thereto, and an output part 18 for converting the electric signals to voice or the like followed by outputting. A selector 7 is arranged in the transmission part, and selectors 11 and 16 are arranged in the receiving part so as to be mutually conformable switchable by a selector switch 19. Accordingly, for example, a voice of high frequency band and a voice of low frequency band can be separately transmitted and received, and detailed voices of both bands can be transmitted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote stethoscope for transmitting the sound of a stethoscope using a narrow-band transmission line such as a telephone line (digital or analog) in remote medical treatment or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a conventional remote auscultation device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H10-209,004.
In FIG. 4, 1 is a sound receiving unit, 2 is an amplifier, 29 is a modulator, 30 is an oscillator, 31 is an acoustic coupler, 32 is an analog telephone line, 33 is an acoustic coupler, 34 is a demodulator, 17 is an amplifier, 18 is an output unit.

Next, the operation will be described. In FIG. 4, a signal picked up by a sound receiving unit 1 that converts a stethoscope sound into an electric signal is amplified by an amplifier 2. here,
If the amplified signal is a heart beat sound or the like, it contains many signal components (close to direct current) lower than the frequency band that can be transmitted as an audio signal of the analog telephone line 32, so that the analog telephone line 32 uses it as it is. The low-frequency component cannot be transmitted when trying to transmit.

Therefore, in the example of FIG. 4, the modulator 29 modulates the signal with a signal of a constant frequency in the transmission band of the analog telephone line 32 generated by the oscillator 30. By this modulation, the low frequency component moves to the vicinity of the oscillation frequency of the oscillator 30. The modulated signal is sent to an analog telephone line 32 via an acoustic coupler 31. On the receiving side, after the transmitted signal is received by the acoustic coupler 33, the demodulator 34 demodulates the modulated signal, and the amplified signal is amplified by the amplifier 17 and then heard as a stethoscope sound from the output unit 18. it can.

FIG. 5 shows, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional heart sound transmission method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. In FIG. 5, 1 is a sound receiving unit, 2 is an amplifier, and 35 is S
A B-ADPCM encoder, 8 a transmission interface for a digital telephone line 9, 9 a digital telephone line,
10 is a transmission interface of the digital telephone line 9, 3
Reference numeral 6 denotes an SB-ADPCM decoder, and reference numeral 37 denotes a spectrum analyzer connected as an output unit.

Next, the operation will be described. In FIG. 5, a signal picked up by a sound receiving unit 1 that converts a stethoscope sound into an electric signal is amplified by an amplifier 2. In this conventional example, when an artificial valve is attached to the heart of a patient, it is necessary to pay attention to a high frequency component whose frequency is 6 kHz in order to early detect a malfunction of the artificial valve.
The encoder 35 and the decoder 36 of the SB-ADPCM system capable of transmitting up to the signal of z are adopted.

[0007] The encoded data is transmitted via the digital telephone line transmission interfaces 8 and 10 for communication over the digital telephone line 9. SB-AD
Although the stethoscope sound decoded by the PCM decoder 36 can be output and heard as sound, the present conventional example shows an example in which a high-frequency component of interest is visualized and evaluated by the spectrum analyzer 37. ing.

[0008]

The conventional remote auscultation device shown in FIG. 4 transmits heart beat sounds including many frequencies lower than a frequency band that can be normally transmitted through the analog telephone line 32. Since modulation / demodulation is performed, it is no longer possible to transmit high-frequency signals.
There is a problem that the performance is insufficient to transmit a stethoscope sound when paying attention to a high frequency component, such as a sound emitted from a respiratory tract or a digestive organ, or a heartbeat sound.

The conventional heart sound transmission system shown in FIG.
Since the application is limited to high frequency components of heart sounds, the SB that can transmit the frequency components through the digital telephone line 9 is used.
-Adopts ADPCM coding, but SB-A
In the DPCM system, there is a problem that it is not possible to transmit a frequency component close to a direct current which can be transmitted in the conventional example of FIG.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and transmits a required stethoscope sound through a telephone line without limiting its use as a normal stethoscope. It is an object to provide a remote auscultation device that enables it.

[0011]

A remote auscultation device according to the present invention comprises a sound receiving unit for converting a signal picked up by a stethoscope into an electric signal, and a plurality of transmitting units each passing the electric signal through a different band. A plurality of sideband-pass filters, each of which is connected to any one of the plurality of transmission-side bandpass filters and outputs encoded data in accordance with the characteristics of each of the plurality of transmission-side bandpass filters. A first selector for selecting any of the encoded data output from the plurality of encoders, and a transmitting unit for outputting the selected encoded data using a line, Decoders that decode in accordance with the characteristics of the encoded data output by any of the decoders, each of which is connected to correspond to any of the plurality of decoders, and limits the bandwidth in accordance with the characteristics of each of the decoders Multiple receivers that output electrical signals A receiving section provided with a side band-pass filter, a second selector for selecting any of the plurality of decoders, a third selector for selecting any of the plurality of receiving-side band-pass filters, And a changeover switch for switching the third selector in correspondence with the third selector.

[0012] Further, a remote auscultation device according to the following invention is provided.
A changeover switch is arranged on the receiving unit side, and the switching of the second and third selectors is performed directly, and the switching of the first selector is performed through a line.

[0013] The remote auscultation device according to the next invention is:
The transmitting unit is provided with a selection signal multiplexing unit for multiplexing the selection signal on the encoded data, and the receiving unit is provided with a selection signal separating unit for reading the selection signal multiplexed on the encoded data and switching the second and third selectors. The switching signal output from the switch is output to the first selector through the line for switching and output to the selection signal multiplexing unit. The selection signal multiplexing unit that receives the switching signal multiplexes the switching signal with the encoded data, and The selection signal separation unit that outputs the signal to the selection signal separation unit and inputs the switching signal switches the second and third selectors.

Further, a remote auscultation device according to the following invention is provided.
A sound receiving unit that converts a signal picked up by a stethoscope into an electric signal, a transmission-side characteristic variable band-pass filter that varies a band through which the electric signal can pass, and a characteristic that matches the characteristics of the transmission-side characteristic variable band-pass filter. A characteristic variable encoder for outputting encoded data according to the encoding characteristics, a transmitting unit for outputting encoded data of a selected predetermined band, and decoding corresponding to the encoding characteristic of the characteristic variable encoder. Characteristic variable decoder, a receiving unit provided with a reception-side characteristic variable band-pass filter that outputs an electric signal whose band is limited according to the characteristic of the characteristic variable decoder, and the transmission-side characteristic variable band-pass filter, And a changeover switch for switching the characteristics of the variable characteristic encoder, variable characteristic decoder, and variable characteristic bandpass filter on the receiving side in correspondence with each other.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the remote auscultation device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a sound receiving unit, 2 is an amplifier, 3 is a band-limited filter (BPF), 4 is an encoder for encoding a signal passed through the band-limited filter 3, and 5 is different from the band-limited filter 3. A band-limited filter having characteristics, 6 is an encoder for encoding a signal passed through the band-limited filter 5, and 7 is a selection signal for describing one of the encoded data from the encoder 4 and the encoder 6. 21
Is a transmission interface on the transmission side, 9 is a telephone line, and 10 is a transmission interface on the reception side.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a selector for assigning the received encoded data to a corresponding decoder according to a selection signal 21 to be described later, 12 a decoder for decoding the data encoded by the encoder 4, 13 Is a band-limited filter corresponding to the band of the signal decoded by the decoder 12, 14 is a decoder for decoding data encoded by the encoder 6, and 15 is a decoder 1
4 is a band-limited filter corresponding to the band of the signal decoded.

A selector 16 selects one of the signals from the band-limiting filter 13 and the band-limiting filter 15 in accordance with a selection signal 21 described later.
Is an output unit for converting an input signal into sound or the like and outputting the converted signal,
9 is a changeover switch, and 21 is a selection signal output in response to the operation of the changeover switch 19.

Next, the operation will be described. The stethoscope sound picked up by the sound receiving unit 1 of FIG.
, And input to a plurality of band-limited filters 3 and 5 and encoders 4 and 6 having different frequency characteristics.

Here, the encoder 4 is capable of encoding a low frequency component including a DC component, but has an insufficient band for encoding a high frequency component. In addition, the band-limited filter 3 combined with the encoder 4 ensures that low frequency components, including the DC component, are sufficiently ensured including the DC component, while the encoder 3 encodes the high frequency components. It has a characteristic of blocking high frequency components higher than the tunable band.
Also, the encoder 6 is an encoding system that has excellent high-frequency characteristics and has low-frequency characteristics limited. In this case, the band-limiting filter 5 combined with the encoder 6 is also used as the encoder 6
Frequency characteristics in accordance with.

As described above, a plurality of encoders 4 having different characteristics are provided.
Or which of the data encoded in 6 is to be transmitted, is determined by the selection signal 21 output from the changeover switch 19 provided in the receiving unit.
Determined by The selection signal 21 is output from the transmission interface 10 on the reception side to the selector 7 via the transmission line 8 of the transmission unit via the telephone line 9. As a result, the selector 7 outputs the encoded data output by the encoder selected by the selection signal 21 to the transmission interface 8, and the encoded data output by the transmission interface 8 is transmitted by the receiving unit after being transmitted through the telephone line 9. Interface 1
Output to 0.

Further, the receiving section outputs the encoded data inputted by the selector 11 to the decoder selected by the selection signal 21. That is, the encoded data is output to a decoder corresponding to the encoder selected by the selector 7. For example,
When the selector 7 selects the encoded data of the encoder 4 having the low-band priority characteristic by the selection signal 21, the selector 11 that has input the same selection signal 21 as the selector 7
, And the selector 16 that has input the same selection signal 21 as the selector 7 selects the band-pass filter 13. As a result, the stethoscope sound encoded / decoded with the frequency characteristic giving priority to the low frequency band enters the amplifier 17 and can be heard from the output unit 18.

When the selector 7 selects the encoder 6 having the high-frequency priority characteristic by the selection signal 21, the selector 11 which has inputted the same selection signal 21 as the selector 7 selects the decoder 14, and selects the decoder 14. The selector 16 to which the same selection signal 21 as 7 is input selects the band-pass filter 15.
As a result, the stethoscope sound encoded / decoded with the frequency characteristic giving priority to the high frequency enters the amplifier 17 and can be heard from the output unit 18.

That is, in the remote auscultation device shown in this embodiment, for example, an operator such as a doctor switches the selectors 7, 11, and 16 in correspondence with each other by the changeover switch 19, thereby limiting the auscultation sounds of different frequencies. It is possible to hear and hear each with more detailed sound by separating the heart beat sound containing many low frequencies and the sound emitted by the respiratory and digestive organs containing many high frequencies Become.

In FIG. 1, for simplicity, a combination of band-pass filters 3, 13, an encoder 4, and a decoder 12 and a combination of band-pass filters 5, 15, encoder 6, and decoder 14 are shown. The above two types of frequency bands have been described as examples. However, it goes without saying that the frequency band to be divided may be variously changed according to the situation in which the frequency band to be divided is used, such as two or more combinations.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a remote auscultation device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same or equivalent functions, and a description thereof will be omitted. In the figure, reference numeral 22 denotes a selection signal multiplexing unit for multiplexing the selection information of the selection signal 21 transmitted from the reception unit to the transmission unit to the encoded data, and 23 separates the selection signal 21 from the encoded data input from the transmission interface 10. It is a selection signal separation unit.

Next, the operation will be described. The point that the selection signal 21 output from the changeover switch 19 is output to the selector 7 from the transmission interface 8 of the transmission unit via the telephone line 9 from the transmission interface 10 on the receiving side, as in FIG. 2, the selection signal 21 from the transmission interface 8 is further output to the selection signal multiplexing unit 22. Also,
The selection signal multiplexing unit 22 multiplexes the selection signal 21 with the encoded data input from the selector 7 and outputs the multiplexed data to the transmission interface 8.

The coded data input to the transmission interface 8 is output to the transmission interface 10 of the receiving unit via the telephone line 9 and further output to the selection signal separating unit 23. Further, the selection signal separating section 23 separates the selection signal 21 from the encoded data and outputs it to the selectors 11 and 16. Thus, the selector 7 switches first, and then the selectors 11 and 16 switch.

That is, the coded data switched by the selector 7 is multiplexed with the coded data with the change timing of the selection signal 21 being matched. Thereby, the selection signal separation unit 23
And the output timings of the encoded data and the selection signal 21 coincide with each other. Thereby, for example, the coded data from the encoder 4 having a low frequency band is converted into the decoder 14 having a high frequency band.
In this case, there is no need to generate a meaningless signal that occurs when decoding is performed, and the reliability is improved.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a remote auscultation device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 denote the same or equivalent functions, and a description thereof will be omitted. In the figure, reference numeral 25 denotes a characteristic variable band-pass filter in which the passable band varies according to the selection signal 21; 26, a characteristic variable encoder whose encoding characteristic varies according to the selection signal 21; Variable characteristic decoder,
Reference numeral 28 denotes a characteristic variable band-pass filter in which the band that can be passed by the selection signal 21 is variable.

In recent audio signal processing, a high-speed digital signal processing device can be realized by a DSP or the like. Therefore, in the signal processing firmware, only the program flow and parameters are switched according to a selection signal.
Variable characteristic bandpass filters and variable characteristic encoders / decoders can be easily realized.

Next, the operation will be described. The selection signal 21 from the changeover switch 19 is output to the variable characteristic decoder 27 and variable bandpass filter 28 on the receiving side. Further, the selection signal 21 is also transmitted to the transmission-side characteristic variable band-pass filter 25 and the characteristic variable encoder 26 through the transmission interfaces 8 and 10.
Is output. Thereby, the characteristic variable band-pass filter 2
5. The characteristics of the variable characteristic encoder 26, the variable characteristic decoder 27, and the variable characteristic band-pass filter 28 on the receiving side can be changed in correspondence with each other. This eliminates the need for disposing a plurality of variable band-pass filters, encoders, and decoders for each device, thereby reducing the size of the entire apparatus.

In FIG. 3, the selection signal 21 from the changeover switch 19 is output directly to the variable characteristic decoder 27 and the variable band pass filter 28 on the receiving side. A selection signal separation unit may be arranged on the signal multiplexing unit and reception side, and the selection signal from the selection signal separation unit may be directly output to the variable characteristic decoder 27 and the variable reception bandpass filter 28 on the reception side. For example, the decoding timing of the encoded data can be matched in the same manner as in FIG.

[0033]

According to the present invention, a remote stethoscope includes a sound receiving unit for converting a signal picked up by a stethoscope into an electric signal, and a plurality of transmitting bands each passing different bands of the electric signal. A plurality of encoders each of which is connected to any one of the plurality of transmission-side band-pass filters and outputs encoded data in accordance with the characteristics of each of the transmission-side band-pass filters; A first selector that selects any of the encoded data output by the plurality of encoders, and a transmission unit that outputs the selected encoded data using a line;
Decoders each of which decodes according to the characteristics of the encoded data output by any of the plurality of encoders, each of which is connected correspondingly to any of the plurality of decoders, and the characteristics of each of the decoders A plurality of reception-side band-pass filters that output an electric signal whose band is limited in accordance with the following, a second selector that selects any of the plurality of decoders, and a selection of any of the plurality of reception-side band-pass filters A receiving unit provided with a third selector that performs
Since a changeover switch is provided for switching the first to third selectors in correspondence with each other, transmission and reception with limited auscultation sounds of different frequencies can be performed, so that each can be heard with more detailed sound. effective.

According to the next invention, in the remote stethoscope, the changeover switch is arranged on the receiving unit side, and the second and third selectors are switched directly, and the first selector is switched over the line. Switching from the receiving unit side becomes possible, and there is an effect that operability is improved.

According to the next invention, the remote auscultation device reads a selection signal multiplexing unit for multiplexing the selection signal on the encoded data on the transmitting unit, and reads a selection signal multiplexed on the encoded data on the receiving unit side. A selection signal separation unit for switching between the second and third selectors is provided, and a switching signal output from the changeover switch is output to the first selector through a line for switching and output to the selection signal multiplexing unit, and the switching signal is input. The selection signal multiplexing unit multiplexes the switching signal on the coded data and outputs the multiplexed switching signal to the selection signal separation unit through the line. The selection signal separation unit that receives the switching signal switches the second and third selectors. This has the effect that the output timings of the encoded data from the section and the selection signal can be matched.

Further, according to the next invention, the remote stethoscope comprises a sound receiving section for converting a signal picked up by a stethoscope into an electric signal, and a transmission-side characteristic variable band for changing a band through which the electric signal can pass. A transmission unit that includes a pass filter and a variable characteristic encoder that outputs encoded data with encoding characteristics that match the characteristics of the transmission-side characteristic variable band-pass filter, and outputs encoded data of a selected predetermined band; And a characteristic variable decoder for decoding corresponding to the encoding characteristic of the characteristic variable encoder,
A receiving unit provided with a reception-side characteristic variable band-pass filter that outputs an electric signal whose band is limited in accordance with the characteristic of the characteristic-variable decoder, and the transmission-side characteristic variable band-pass filter, a characteristic variable encoder, A changeover switch for switching the characteristics of the characteristic variable decoder and the reception-side characteristic variable bandpass filter in correspondence with each other is provided, so that it is not necessary to dispose a plurality of variable bandpass filters, encoders, and decoders. This improves the size of the entire device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a remote auscultation device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a remote auscultation device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a remote auscultation device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a conventional remote auscultation device.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a conventional heart sound transmission system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Receiving part 2,17 Amplifier 3,5 Band-limited filter 4,6 Encoder 7,11,16 Selector 8,10 Transmission interface 9 Telephone line 12,14 Decoder 13,15 Band-limited filter 18 Output part Reference Signs List 19 switch 21 selection signal 22 selection signal multiplexing unit 23 selection signal separation unit 25, 28 variable characteristic band limiting filter 26 variable characteristic encoder 27 variable characteristic decoder

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sound receiving unit for converting a signal picked up by a stethoscope into an electric signal, a plurality of transmission-side band-pass filters each passing different bands of the electric signal, A plurality of encoders connected to any one of the band-pass filters and outputting encoded data in accordance with the characteristics of each of the transmission-side band-pass filters; an encoding output by the plurality of encoders; A first selector for selecting any one of the data, a transmission unit for outputting the selected encoded data using a line, and a transmission unit for outputting the selected encoded data using a line. A plurality of receiver-side band-pass filters each of which is connected to any one of the plurality of decoders and outputs an electric signal whose band is limited in accordance with the characteristics of the respective decoder; Any one of the plurality of decoders A second selector for selecting, a receiving section provided with a third selector for selecting any of the plurality of bandpass filters on the receiving side, and a changeover switch for switching the first to third selectors in a corresponding manner. A remote stethoscope. A second switch disposed on a side of the receiving unit;
The remote auscultation device according to claim 1, wherein the switching of the first selector and the third selector are performed directly through the line. 3. A selection signal multiplexing unit for multiplexing a selection signal on coded data on the transmission unit side, and a selection signal separation unit for reading the selection signal multiplexed on the coded data on the reception unit side and switching the second and third selectors. And a switching signal output from the changeover switch is output to the first selector through the line for switching, and is output to the selection signal multiplexing unit. The selection signal multiplexing unit that receives the switching signal converts the switching signal into encoded data. The multiplexed signal is output to the selection signal separation unit through a line, and the selection signal separation unit that has received the switching signal receives the second and third selection signals.
The remote auscultation device according to claim 2, wherein the selector is switched. 4. A sound receiving section for converting a signal picked up by a stethoscope into an electric signal, a variable band pass filter on a transmission side characteristic for varying a passable band of the electric signal, and a variable band pass filter on a transmission side characteristic. A variable characteristic encoder for outputting encoded data according to encoding characteristics adapted to the characteristic of the encoder, a transmitting unit for outputting encoded data of a selected predetermined band, and an encoding characteristic of the variable characteristic encoder. A variable-characteristic decoder for decoding corresponding to the following; a receiving unit provided with a receiving-side variable-bandpass filter that outputs an electric signal whose band is limited in accordance with the characteristics of the variable-characteristic decoder; A remote auscultation device comprising: a changeover switch for switching the characteristics of a band-pass filter, a variable characteristic encoder, a variable characteristic decoder, and a variable characteristic band-pass filter on the reception side in correspondence with each other.