JP2001204697A - Electronic sphygmomanometer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic sphygmomanometer which can be used easily even when the sphygmomanometer is fitted to either one of right and left upper limbs. SOLUTION: The electronic sphygmomanometer is composed of a cuff 1 which is a bio-information detecting means that is fitted to the upper limb of a human body and detects the bio-information of the human body which changes depending upon the blood pressure of the human body, a blood pressure value deciding means 7 which calculates the blood pressure value of the human body from the bio-information obtained from the cuff 1, and a fitted upper limb discriminating means 9 which discriminates whether the upper limb fitted with the cuff 1 is a right upper limb or left upper limb. Since the discriminating means 9 discriminates the fitted upper limb, an appropriate function can be presented in accordance with the fitted upper limb. In addition, the blood pressures measured from both upper limbs can be computed and this sphygmomanometer can be used for the discovery of a disease, such as the arteriosclerotic peripheral arterial obstruction, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic sphygmomanometer for non-invasively measuring the blood pressure of a human body with an upper limb,
In particular, the present invention relates to an electronic sphygmomanometer capable of measuring blood pressure on both sides of an upper limb and examining the difference to examine the state of the artery of the upper limb.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, in a conventional electronic blood pressure monitor, a cuff is wrapped around an arm or a wrist to apply a pressure higher than the systolic blood pressure to temporarily interrupt blood flow, and then gradually reduce the pressure of the cuff. The Korotkoff sound method, which determines the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values from the pressures at which the pulse sound occurs and disappears during the process, and small pressure fluctuations of the cuff generated in synchronism with the heartbeat during the cuff pressure reduction process In many cases, the blood pressure of the human body is determined using an oscillometric method of determining the blood pressure value using the change in the amplitude of the blood pressure, and is actually widely used for home use.

[0003] In addition, the blood pressure of the upper limb and the lower limb is measured, and the diagnosis of peripheral arterial occlusion is made based on the ratio of the blood pressure at different sites. For example, the systolic blood pressure of the upper limb and the ankle joint on both sides is measured, and when the ratio of the blood pressure of the upper limb to the lower limb is 0.9 or less, it is diagnosed that there is an abnormality.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional electronic blood pressure monitor is generally designed to be worn only on the left arm of the upper limb for the purpose of making it easier for a right-handed user to handle. There are many. In this case, there is a disadvantage that handling is somewhat difficult for a small number of left-handed users. In addition, although a sphygmomanometer designed for the left arm can be mounted on the right arm, measurement is possible, but the operation buttons and display are configured in the opposite direction to normal, which also makes the usability worse.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a biological information detecting means mounted on an upper limb of a human body for detecting biological information which changes according to the blood pressure of the human body, and an output of the biological information detecting means. A blood pressure value determining means for calculating the blood pressure value of the human body, and a mounted upper limb determining means for determining which of the two right and left upper limbs to which the biological information detecting means is mounted.

According to the above-mentioned invention, the upper limb attached is determined by the attached upper limb discriminating means, so that appropriate functions such as display directions and button arrangement can be presented according to the attached upper limb. Further, the blood pressure measured in each upper limb can be easily calculated, and can be used for early detection of a disease such as atherosclerotic peripheral arterial occlusion.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An electronic sphygmomanometer according to a first aspect of the present invention is provided with biological information detecting means mounted on an upper limb of a human body and detecting biological information that changes according to the blood pressure of the human body, and an output of the biological information detecting means. A blood pressure value determining means for calculating the blood pressure value of the human body, and a mounted upper limb determining means for determining which of the two right and left upper limbs to which the biological information detecting means is mounted.

Then, since the mounted upper limb is determined by the mounted upper limb determining means, an appropriate function can be presented according to the mounted upper limb.

An electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 2 of the present invention comprises:
The blood pressure value determining means has a display means for displaying the determined blood pressure value, and the display means changes the display direction according to the upper limb side determined by the wearing upper limb determining means.

Since the direction of the display can be changed in accordance with the upper limb attached, an electronic sphygmomanometer in which the display of the measurement result and the like can be easily viewed regardless of which upper limb is attached can be realized.

An electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 3 of the present invention comprises:
A storage unit for storing the blood pressure value determined by the blood pressure value determination unit, the upper limb side determined by the wearing upper limb determination unit, and the time at which the blood pressure measurement was performed, based on the stored content of the storage unit; Is provided.

Since the storage means stores the measured blood pressure value together with the upper limb on which the sphygmomanometer is mounted and the time when the blood pressure was measured, and the calculating means calculates the blood pressure value based on the stored contents. The calculation results of various blood pressure values required by the subject can be presented immediately.

An electronic sphygmomanometer according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises:
The apparatus has peripheral artery state determination means for determining the state of the peripheral artery from the calculation result of the calculation means, and the calculation means is determined by different upper limbs measured within a certain time from the time information stored in the storage means. Calculate the difference or ratio of blood pressure values,
The peripheral artery state determining means notifies that there is a suspected abnormality in the peripheral artery state when the difference or ratio of the blood pressure values output from the storage means satisfies a predetermined condition.

Then, the output of the time measuring means calculates the difference or ratio between the blood pressure values determined in the right and left upper limbs measured within a predetermined time, and the state of the peripheral artery is determined based on the magnitude of this value. The state of the artery can be correctly determined.

An electronic sphygmomanometer according to a fifth aspect of the present invention comprises:
A first electrode arranged to be in contact with the upper limb on which the biological information detection means is mounted, and a second electrode arranged to be in contact with the upper limb on which the biological information detection means is not mounted Has a potential difference detecting means for detecting a potential difference between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the wearing upper limb determining means uses the voltage waveform of the potential difference detecting means to determine which of the upper limbs has the biological information detecting means. Determine the side of the upper limb that is worn.

Then, since an electrocardiographic waveform is obtained from the potential difference between the two upper limbs to determine which upper limb is worn, it is possible to automatically determine the upper limb that is mounted with a simple configuration.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic sphygmomanometer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of the same device. The electronic sphygmomanometer according to the present embodiment uses a cuff that is attached to a wrist of a human body and pressurized as biological information detection means,
An example using an oscillometric method of measuring blood pressure of a wrist by detecting vibration of a blood vessel that changes according to a relationship between a pressure applied by a cuff and a blood pressure will be described. 1 is a cuff which is a biological information detecting means for detecting a vibration of a blood vessel due to pulsation of blood by pressurizing a wrist of a human body, 2 is a pressurizing pump for supplying pressure to the cuff 1,
3 is a slow exhaust valve for gradually exhausting the air in the cuff 2 and gradually reducing the pressure, 4 is a rapid exhaust valve that opens rapidly at the end of the measurement or at the time of abnormality and returns the cuff pressure to the atmospheric pressure, and 5 is a cuff 1 A pressure sensor for detecting a pressure in the inside; a pulse wave detecting means for cutting a DC component from an output signal of the pressure sensor and extracting and outputting a pulse wave indicating a minute pressure change synchronized with the activity of the heart;
Reference numeral 7 denotes a blood pressure value determining unit that determines a blood pressure value of a human body from the output of the pressure sensor 5 and the output of the pulse wave detecting unit 6. Also,
8 is a blood pressure measurement start switch operated when the subject starts measuring blood pressure, 9 is a display changeover switch for reversing the display direction according to the worn arm, 10 is a display means for displaying the measurement result, and 11 is a control for these. Is a control means for controlling the operation. The display means 10 is a liquid crystal display composed of fine dots, and has a configuration in which the display can be rotated by 180 ° each time the display changeover switch 9 is pressed. FIG. 2A shows a display when the left arm is inserted and attached from the side of A, and FIG. 2B shows a display when the right arm is inserted from the side of B. By this operation, it is possible to determine the side of the upper limb on which the electronic sphygmomanometer is mounted. In this embodiment, the display changeover switch 9 is used as a mounting upper limb determination unit. Is switched.

Next, the operation and operation will be described. First,
When the subject to measure blood pressure wears the cuff 1 on one of the right and left wrists and presses the blood pressure measurement start switch 8 arranged on the case 12, the control means 11 permits the blood pressure measurement and the blood pressure measurement is started. You. First, the control unit 11 operates the pressurizing pump 2 to supply the generated pressure to the cuff 1 and pressurize the wrist of the subject to which the cuff 1 is attached. At this time,
The control means 11 monitors the output of the pressure sensor 5 and, when the pressure of the cuff 1 exceeds a predetermined pressure target value so as to be higher than the maximum blood pressure of the human body, the pressure pump 2
Is stopped, the pressurization is stopped, and the air in the cuff 1 is gradually exhausted by the slow exhaust valve 3 to gradually reduce the pressure, and the operation shifts to a pressure reducing operation.

At this time, since the vibration of the blood vessel due to the activity of the heart is transmitted to the cuff 1 at the output of the pressure sensor 5, a small pressure change appears, and the pulse wave detecting means 6 converts the DC component from the signal of the pressure sensor 5. The pulse wave is extracted by extracting only the pulsation component and extracting the pulse wave. The blood pressure value determining means 7 obtains the amplitude of the pulse wave waveform for each beat of the heart from the output of the pulse wave detecting means 6, and calculates the amplitude and the pressure at that time. Using the output value of the sensor 5, the blood pressure value of the subject is calculated and determined by an oscillometric method that determines the blood pressure value of the human body by using the fact that the change accompanying the cuff pressure of the swing width is correlated with the blood pressure of the subject. are doing. When the blood pressure value is determined, the quick exhaust valve 4 is opened to rapidly return the pressure of the cuff to the atmospheric pressure, and at the same time, the measured blood pressure is displayed on the display means 10. This display will be up and down depending on the side of the upper limb on which the sphygmomanometer is worn, and depending on the display direction, it will be displayed upside down from the subject, so in this case the subject switched the display to make it easier to see the display By pressing the switch 9, it is possible to rotate the display direction by 180 ° and display in the forward direction.

The direction of the display can be changed by pressing the display changeover switch 9 at any time after the measurement is started by pressing the blood pressure measurement button with the electronic sphygmomanometer of this embodiment mounted. it can.

In the electronic sphygmomanometer of the present embodiment, the display on the display means is rotated by 180 °. However, the liquid crystal of the display means is made square, and every time the display switch is pressed, the display is rotated by 90 °. The configuration may be such that

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electronic sphygmomanometer according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an external view of the same device. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment of the present invention in that a storage unit 13 for storing a measured value of blood pressure, an attached direction, and a time when the blood pressure is measured, and a blood pressure value stored in the storage unit 13 is calculated. It has a calculating means 14 and a display changeover switch 15 for displaying the information stored in the storage means 13 and the numerical value calculated by the calculating means 14 on the display means, and further determines the peripheral artery state of the subject from the calculation result of the calculating means 14. It has a peripheral artery state determining means 16.

In the electronic sphygmomanometer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the display direction is changed according to the side of the upper limb worn. In the present embodiment, the measured blood pressure value is further calculated, and the same blood pressure value is calculated. Calculate the average value only with the blood pressure value measured with the arm, or calculate and output the difference or ratio value of the left and right blood pressure values when the blood pressure is measured with the left and right upper limbs continuously for a short time I have. Further, the state of the peripheral artery of the subject is also determined by using the difference or ratio value of the left and right blood pressure values, and the subject is notified.

When the subject wears the sphygmomanometer of this embodiment on one of the left and right arms and presses the blood pressure measurement start switch 8, the blood pressure measurement is performed in the same manner as described in the first embodiment, and the display means is displayed simultaneously with the end. At 10, the blood pressure value is displayed. At this time, the storage unit 13 stores the measured value of the blood pressure, the time at that time, and the display direction. In addition, the orientation of the display can specify the worn arm in order for the subject to change the direction with the worn arm, and therefore, as information indicating which arm the electronic sphygmomanometer is worn on Can be used. The calculating means 14 retrieves only the blood pressure value when worn on the same arm from the storing means and calculates the average value of the three most recent times. Can be displayed.

It should be noted that the three most recent blood pressure values can also be selected based on the time stored in the storage means 13 at the same time.
For example, an average value can be calculated for each time period in one day such as morning, afternoon, evening, and night, or an average value when repeatedly measured in a short time can be calculated.

Further, in the electronic sphygmomanometer of the present embodiment, the right and left blood pressures are measured in a short time, the difference or ratio is calculated, and the peripheral artery state determining means 16 uses this value to determine the state of the peripheral artery. Is determined. This is to determine the state of atherosclerotic peripheral arterial occlusion, etc., in which blood pressure in the peripheral part is reduced as a result of obstruction of the peripheral arteries of the upper and lower limbs, resulting in a decrease in peripheral blood pressure. This is common in patients with peripheral arteries that have hardened. Diagnosis techniques include palpation of differences between the left and right upper limbs and lower limbs according to the location of the pulse, and a method of measuring the distance that can be continuously walked using a toledo mill. There is also a method of diagnosing by measuring the ratio of the lower limb and using the ratio value. In this case, when the value of the lower limb / upper limb is 0.9 or less, it is diagnosed as abnormal.

This atherosclerotic peripheral arterial occlusion often occurs on one side of the upper limb or lower limb. In the case of the upper limb, it is possible to measure the blood pressure of the right and left sides and to grasp the progress state by taking the difference or ratio. it can. In the electronic sphygmomanometer of the present embodiment, the display shift switch 15 is pressed several times to shift to this measurement mode, in which the left and right upper limbs are measured in a short time and the left and right blood pressure values are stored in the storage means 13. The calculating means 14 calculates the difference in blood pressure. When the difference is 10 mmHg or less, a display (の) indicating that there is no abnormality in the peripheral artery is displayed.
At ~ 20 mmHg, there is a display indicating that there is a possibility that an abnormality will occur in the peripheral arteries in the future (△). When the difference is 21 mmHg or more, a display indicating that there is already a possibility that the peripheral artery has an abnormality (×)
Is output to the display means 10. This makes it possible to easily check the state of the peripheral arteries and prevent various disorders caused by atherosclerotic peripheral artery occlusion from occurring.

The incidence of arteriosclerotic peripheral artery occlusion is higher in the lower limb than in the upper limb, and an electronic blood pressure monitor for an ankle may be prepared to perform the same determination.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electronic sphygmomanometer of the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an external view of the same device. This embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments of the present invention in that the first electrode for detecting the electric potential of the upper limb on which the cuff is mounted and the electric potential by contacting the upper limb on which the cuff is not mounted are used. And a potential difference detecting means for detecting a potential difference between the first electrode and the second electrode. The wearing upper limb determining means uses the voltage waveform of the potential difference detecting means to cuff one of the upper limbs. Is to determine the side of the upper limb attached.

In each of the first and second embodiments of the present invention, discrimination of the upper limb is realized by pressing the display changeover switch 9 according to the arm on which the electronic sphygmomanometer is mounted. However, in this case, if the display changeover switch 9 is forgotten to be depressed, the determination of the upper limb attached will be wrong. Therefore, when calculating the average value for each attached side or when judging the state of the peripheral artery, accurate calculation and determination are not possible. In some cases, it was not possible. Therefore, the electronic sphygmomanometer of the present embodiment induces an electrocardiographic signal from the potential difference between the left and right upper limbs,
The upper limb worn is determined using the waveform of the electrocardiographic signal.

The operation and operation will be described below. Of the pair of electrodes for detecting the potential difference between the left and right upper limbs, the first electrode 17 is attached to the surface of the cuff 1 and detects the potential of the upper limb on which the electronic sphygmomanometer is attached, and the second The electrode 18 is attached to the surface of the case 12 and detects the electric potential on the side where the cuff 1 is not attached by bringing the subject into contact with the palm or finger of the upper limb on which the cuff 1 is not attached.
When the potential difference between the two electrodes is detected and amplified, an electrocardiographic waveform due to the upper limb bipolar lead appears.

FIG. 7 shows the waveform at this time. A characteristic waveform appears as shown in FIG. 7A, and P wave, Q wave, R wave, S wave
A peak called a wave or a T wave appears. Among them, Q wave, R
Waves and S waves appear as a group with sharp peaks,
In particular, the R wave forms a large and sharp peak, and is often used as a temporal reference of an electrocardiogram, for example, indicating the activity cycle of the heart by the interval of the R wave. Such a characteristic waveform is caused by a change in the excitation site of the myocardium. The potential of the left arm is representative of the potential of the left side of the heart, and the potential of the right arm is representative of the potential of the right side of the heart. Therefore, when the left and right sides of the upper limb contacting the pair of electrodes are switched, the + and-of the waveform shown in the figure are reversed, and an inverted waveform as shown in FIG. 7B appears. , It is possible to determine which upper limb is in contact with the pair of electrodes. In addition, Q wave, R
The appearance of the waves and S-waves varies depending on the subject, and it may be difficult to determine the up-and-down direction. Therefore, the electronic sphygmomanometer according to the present embodiment uses P-waves and T-waves that form gentle peaks.
By examining the direction of the peak with respect to the baseline, the upper limb on which the electronic sphygmomanometer is mounted is determined.

In the above embodiment, when blood pressure is measured, pressure is applied once and then the gas is evacuated slowly, and a pulse wave is collected from a slight change in the cuff pressure generated in the cuff 1 at the time of evacuation.
Instead of evacuation at a slow speed, pressure may be gradually increased and a change in a pulse wave in the process may be used. Alternatively, the blood pressure may be determined by using Korotkoff sound generated by a change in the cuff pressure without using a pulse wave due to a small change in the cuff pressure. further,
A blood pressure signal can be determined by collecting a biological signal on one side of the upper limb, such as a method of determining a blood pressure value using a time difference between the time of occurrence of an R wave of an electrocardiographic waveform and the time of occurrence of a pulse wave in the periphery without using a cuff. Any method may be used as long as it is a method.

Further, in the above embodiment, the slow exhaust valve is controlled by the control means. However, the control may not be performed and the decompression speed of the cuff may be mechanically kept constant.

As described above, the sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter of the present invention can measure blood pressure and accurately measure other fat percentages, so that a single device can measure a plurality of health indicators.
It can be used for daily health management.

[0037]

As described above, the electronic sphygmomanometer according to the first aspect of the present invention discriminates the mounted upper limb by the mounted upper limb discriminating means, so that an appropriate function can be presented according to the mounted upper limb. .

Further, in the electronic sphygmomanometer according to the second aspect, the display direction can be changed according to the side of the upper limb to which the electronic sphygmomanometer is attached, so that the display of the measurement result or the like is easy to see regardless of which upper limb is attached. A blood pressure monitor can be realized.

The electronic sphygmomanometer according to a third aspect of the present invention stores the blood pressure value measured by the storage means and the side of the upper limb on which the sphygmomanometer is mounted and the time when the blood pressure was measured, and the arithmetic means stores the stored contents in the storage contents. Since the blood pressure value is calculated based on the blood pressure value, various blood pressure value calculation results required by the subject can be immediately presented.

Further, the electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 4 calculates the difference or ratio between the left and right blood pressure values measured within a predetermined time by the output of the time measuring means, and determines the peripheral artery state by the magnitude of this value. Since the determination is made, the state of the peripheral artery can be correctly determined.

The electronic sphygmomanometer according to the fifth aspect obtains an electrocardiographic waveform from the potential difference between the two upper limbs to determine which upper limb is to be mounted. Can be determined.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic sphygmomanometer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is an external view when the cuff of the device is attached to a left wrist; FIG. 2B is an external view when the cuff of the device is attached to a right wrist;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an electronic sphygmomanometer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an external view of the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electronic sphygmomanometer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an external view of the apparatus.

FIG. 7A is an output diagram of the potential difference detecting means when the cuff is worn on the left arm. FIG. 7B is an output diagram of the potential difference detecting means when the cuff is worn on the right arm.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 cuff (biological information detecting means) 7 blood pressure value determining means 9 display changeover switch (wearing upper limb discriminating means) 10 display means 13 storage means 14 calculating means 16 peripheral artery state determining means 17 first electrode 18 second electrode 19 wearing Upper limb determination means

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. Biological information detecting means mounted on an upper limb of a human body and detecting biological information that changes according to the blood pressure of the human body, blood pressure value determining means for calculating a blood pressure value of the human body from an output of the biological information detecting means, An electronic sphygmomanometer comprising: an upper limb discriminating unit for discriminating which of the left and right upper limbs to which the biological information detecting unit is attached is the upper limb. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying the blood pressure value determined by the blood pressure value determining means, wherein the display means changes the display direction according to the upper limb side determined by the wearing upper limb determining means. Sphygmomanometer. 3. A storage means for storing the blood pressure value determined by the blood pressure value determination means, the upper limb side determined by the wearing upper limb determination means, and the time at which the blood pressure was measured, and the contents stored in the storage means. The electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 1, further comprising a calculation unit configured to calculate a blood pressure value based on the electronic blood pressure value. 4. A peripheral artery state judging means for judging a state of a peripheral artery from an operation result of the operation means, wherein the operation means detects different ones measured within a certain time from time information stored in the storage means. The difference or ratio of the blood pressure value determined by the upper limb is calculated, and the peripheral artery state determining unit determines the state of the peripheral artery when the difference or ratio of the blood pressure value output from the storage unit satisfies a predetermined condition. The electronic sphygmomanometer according to claim 3, wherein the electronic sphygmomanometer notifies that there is a suspected abnormality. 5. A first electrode arranged so as to be in contact with the upper limb on the side on which the biological information detecting means is mounted, and a first electrode arranged so as to be in contact with the upper limb on which the biological information detecting means is not mounted. The second electrode, has a potential difference detecting means for detecting a potential difference between the first electrode and the second electrode, the wearing upper limb determining means to which upper limb using the voltage waveform of the potential difference detecting means The electronic sphygmomanometer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the side of the upper limb to which the biological information detecting means is attached is determined.