JP2002045347A - Somatic fat ratio indicator and sphygmomanometer equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sphygmomanometer equipped with a somatic fat ratio indicator that can hardly be affected by contact resistance. SOLUTION: An impedance is measured by strongly pressing an electrode 11 attached to a cuff 1 onto the skin surface when a somatic fat ratio is determined, adding an appropriate pressure on the cuff 1 to be employed for the measurement of blood pressure, thereby making it possible to accurately determine an impedance not affected by contact resistance and perform the measurement of somatic fat contents based on the accurately determined impedance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a body fat percentage meter for measuring a body fat percentage of a human body, and to a blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter capable of measuring a blood pressure and a body fat percentage with one unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art First, as a conventional body fat percentage meter, a density method of measuring the density of a human body and calculating a body fat percentage from a difference in specific gravity between fat and other tissues is used as a standard measurement method by a doctor. This method requires the entire body to be immersed in water in order to determine the volume and specific gravity of the human body, which places a large physical burden on the subject and is used for home use. Not. Therefore, for home use, the impedance and light transmittance of the living body, which is said to be correlated with the body fat percentage, the reflectance and transmittance of ultrasonic waves are measured, and the measured values are measured by the density method described above. Indirect methods for indirectly obtaining the body fat percentage by associating with the body fat percentage obtained are often used.

[0003] In the conventional electronic sphygmomanometer, a cuff is wrapped around an arm or a wrist, and a pressure higher than the systolic blood pressure is applied to the cuff to temporarily inhibit blood flow. The Korotkoff sound method, which determines the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values based on the pressure at the time when the pulse sound occurs and when it disappears, and the amplitude of minute pressure fluctuations of the cuff generated in synchronization with the heartbeat in the process of depressing the cuff pressure In many cases, the blood pressure of a human body is determined by using an oscillometric method that determines the blood pressure value using the change in the blood pressure, and is actually widely used for home use.

There has also been proposed a sphygmomanometer with a body fat meter that can simultaneously measure these conventional electronic sphygmomanometers and body fat meter. For example, Japanese Patent No. 2534019 has two cuffs for pressurizing at the time of blood pressure measurement. The two cuffs are attached to both wrists, and the impedance between electrodes arranged on the two cuffs is measured. Body fat percentage is measured.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a conventional blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter. In the figure, 31 is a left arm cuff, 32 is a right arm cuff,
33 is a main body, 34 and 35 are air pipes which connect the main body 33 and left and right cuffs 31 and 32 and transmit pressure generated by the main body to the left and right cuffs 31 and 32, and 36 and 37 are main bodies 33 and left and right cuffs respectively. 31 and 32 are leads for measuring impedance between both wrists. The main body 33 includes a pressure generating means for generating a pressure applied to the cuff at the time of measuring the blood pressure, a pressure detecting means for measuring the pressure generated by the pressure generating means, a fine speed reducing valve for gradually reducing the pressure of the cuff, and a body fat percentage. Displays the impedance measurement means for measuring the impedance between the arms when measuring the blood pressure, the input means 38, 39, 40 for inputting height and weight data for calculating the impedance, and the measurement results of blood pressure and body fat percentage. And a control unit for controlling the entire apparatus.

The operation of this conventional example will be described. First, the height and weight of the subject are input from the input means 38, 39, and 40, and the cuff 31, which the subject wears on the left and right wrists,
The artery at the wrist portion is compressed and anesthetized by 32, and blood pressure is measured using a cuff on one side or both wrists. Simultaneously, the impedance of the human body is measured by an electrode device arranged on the back side of both wrist parts. The body fat percentage is calculated from the value and the height / weight data input from the input means 38, 39, 40 and displayed on the display device 41. With this configuration, the blood pressure and the body fat percentage can be measured simultaneously, and the electrode device can be sufficiently pressed against the skin of the human body by pressurizing the cuff, and good contact with the skin can be achieved.

[0007]

However, in the conventional blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter, the cuff is attached to both wrists, so that the hands are not free before and after the measurement. In addition to the difficulty in operation and the feeling of restraint, there are many discomforts during use, and lead wires and air pipes need to be routed to both wrists, resulting in troublesome handling. In addition, it is described that it is possible to improve the contact between the electrode arranged on the wrist side of the cuff and the wrist by pressurizing the cuff, but when the size of the device is reduced, the size of the electrode is reduced. The extent to which the electrodes can be made smaller depends on how to suppress the increase in contact resistance. However, in the above-mentioned conventional blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter, it is not described in the specification how much pressurization is specifically required to reduce contact resistance, and it is not known how much pressurization is necessary. There was a disadvantage.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a mounting means to be mounted on an upper limb of a human body and a first body arranged to be in contact with a part of a living body to which the mounting means is mounted. An electrode, a second electrode that makes contact with the skin of a living body in a different upper limb from the part where the mounting means is mounted, and an impedance measuring means for measuring impedance between the first electrode and the second electrode And body fat percentage calculating means for calculating the body fat percentage of the human body from the output of the impedance measuring means, wherein the wearing means makes the first electrode contact the living body by applying a pressure in a predetermined range to the living body. This is a configuration having a pressure applying means.

According to the above invention, the contact resistance can be reduced because the first electrode is pressed against the skin of the wrist by the pressure applying means at the time of measuring the body fat percentage. Since the body fat percentage of the human body can be measured from the impedance at the time, a body fat percentage meter capable of accurately measuring the body fat percentage can be provided. Further, such a body fat percentage meter is configured to add a body fat percentage measurement function to a sphygmomanometer that determines biological pressure by detecting biological information when a wearing part of the upper limb is pressurized using pressure applying means. , Can be more easily realized.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A body fat percentage meter according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a mounting means mounted on an upper limb of a human body and a first body arranged so as to be in contact with a part of a living body to which the mounting means is mounted. An electrode, a second electrode for contacting the skin of a living body in an upper limb different from the portion where the mounting means is mounted, and an impedance measurement for measuring an impedance between the first electrode and the second electrode. Means, and a body fat percentage calculating means for calculating the body fat percentage of the human body from the output of the impedance measuring means, wherein the mounting means contacts the living body by applying a pressure in a predetermined range to the living body. It has a configuration having pressure applying means for causing the pressure to be applied.

When the body fat percentage is measured, the impedance of the human body is measured when the contact resistance is reduced by pressing the first electrode against the skin of the wrist by applying pressure at a predetermined strength by the pressure applying means. Then, the body fat percentage of the human body is calculated, so that a body fat percentage meter that can accurately calculate the body fat percentage even when the electrodes are small can be provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter, wherein the sphygmomanometer is mounted on an upper limb of a human body and detects 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 a blood pressure value of the human body from a first electrode disposed so as to be in contact with a part of the living body to which the biological information detecting means is mounted, and the biological information detecting means being mounted. A second electrode that makes contact with the skin of the living body in the upper limb separate from the part, an impedance measuring unit that measures the impedance between the first electrode and the second electrode, and an output from the impedance measuring unit. A body fat percentage calculating means for calculating a body fat percentage of a human body, wherein the biological information detecting means has a pressure applying means for bringing the first electrode into contact with the living body by applying a predetermined pressure. In which was formed.

Also, when measuring the body fat percentage, the impedance of the human body when the contact resistance is reduced by pressing the first electrode against the skin of the wrist by applying pressure with a predetermined strength by the pressure applying means is described. Since the body fat percentage of the human body is calculated by measurement, a blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter that can accurately calculate the body fat percentage even when the electrodes are small can be provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a body fat percentage meter or a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter has pressure detection means for detecting a pressure of a pressure applying means, and the pressure detection means has a predetermined pressure range. The body fat percentage of the human body was determined from the sometimes measured impedance value.

[0015] Since the optimum state where the first electrode is in contact with the skin of the wrist can be detected from the output of the pressure detecting means, the impedance can be detected with a small contact resistance. In addition, it is possible to provide a body fat percentage meter or a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter capable of accurately measuring the body fat percentage.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the body fat percentage meter or the sphygmomanometer with the body fat percentage meter, the pressure range of the pressure applying means when measuring the impedance used for calculating the body fat percentage is from 20 mmHg to 180 mmHg. , More desirably between 50 mmHg and 100 mmHg.

The pressure of the pressure applying means is set to a maximum of 18
By setting the pressure to 0 mmHg, an unnecessary burden is not imposed on the human body. By setting the pressure to 20 mmHg at the minimum, the impedance can be detected in a state where the contact resistance does not become unstable. Furthermore, by measuring between 100 mmHg and 50 mmHg, accurate impedance measurement can be performed in a state where the blood flow immediately below the pressure applying means is stable.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a body fat percentage meter or a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter, wherein the pressure range of the pressure applying means for measuring the impedance used for calculating the body fat percentage is the blood pressure of the human body. The configuration is determined by the value.

Since the pressure of the pressure applying means at the time of measuring the impedance is optimized using the blood pressure value of the human body, accurate impedance measurement can be performed in a state where the blood flow immediately below the pressure applying means is stable.

According to the body fat percentage meter or the blood pressure monitor with the body fat percentage meter of the present invention, the upper limit of the pressure range of the pressure applying means when measuring the impedance used for calculating the body fat percentage is average. The configuration is such that the pressure is equal to or higher than the blood pressure value and equal to or lower than the maximum blood pressure value of the human body.

Since the impedance is measured when the pressure of the pressure applying means is equal to or higher than the average blood pressure value of the subject and equal to or lower than the systolic blood pressure value, accurate impedance measurement can be performed in a state where the blood flow immediately below the pressure applying means is stable. .

A sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to a seventh aspect of the present invention measures a blood pressure value and a body fat percentage simultaneously or continuously, and measures an impedance used for calculating the body fat percentage. In this case, the pressure range of the pressure applying means is determined from the blood pressure values measured simultaneously or continuously.

Since the pressure value of the pressure applying means for performing impedance measurement is determined from the state of measuring the body fat percentage or the blood pressure value immediately before the state, the impedance measurement can be performed according to the condition of the subject.

[0024] The body fat percentage meter or the sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to the present invention has a pressure control means for controlling the pressure of the pressure applying means, and the pressure of the pressure applying means is a predetermined pressure. When the pressure is out of the range, the pressure is returned to the pressure range.

When the pressure value of the pressure applying means falls below the pressure range in which the measurement can be stably performed before the impedance measurement is completed, the pressure is increased again to increase the pressure of the pressure applying means and the impedance is measured. Therefore, accurate impedance measurement can be performed even when the pressure of the pressure applying unit decreases.

In a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the biological information detecting means detects the biological information when the wearing part of the upper limb is pressurized using the pressure applying means, and determines the blood pressure value. The means is configured to determine a blood pressure value of a human body from an output of the biological information detecting means.

Since the cuff used in the sphygmomanometer is pressurized, the cuff can be used for both blood pressure measurement and body fat percentage measurement.

[0028]

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

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of the same device. The sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to the present embodiment detects a vibration of a blood vessel that changes due to a relationship between the blood pressure and the applied pressure by being attached to the left wrist of the human body and pressurized as biological information detecting means. Sphygmomanometer that measures the blood pressure of the wrist using a cuff to perform and a wrist-type body fat percentage meter that measures the impedance between the left and right upper limbs to calculate the body fat percentage of the subject Here is an example.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cuff which is attached to a wrist of a human body and is a biological information detecting means for detecting a vibration of a blood vessel due to pulsation of blood by pressurizing the wrist and a pressurizing pump 2 for supplying pressure to the cuff 1 3 is a very slow pressure reducing valve that gradually reduces the pressure of the cuff 2, 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 pressure that detects the pressure in the cuff 1 Sensor 6 receives D from the output signal of pressure sensor 5
A pulse wave detecting means 7 which cuts out the C component and extracts and outputs a pulse wave indicating a minute pressure change synchronized with the activity of the heart. It is a blood pressure value determining means for determining a value.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a first electrode provided on a portion of the cuff 1 which comes into contact with the skin of the subject, 12 denotes a second electrode which makes contact with a part of the upper limb to which the cuff 1 is not attached, 13
Is an impedance measuring means for measuring the impedance between the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12, and 14 is for inputting the body information of the subject required to calculate the body fat percentage from the measured impedance. The input means 15 is a body fat percentage calculating means for calculating the body fat percentage of the subject from the output of the impedance measuring means 13 and the subject's physical information inputted by the input means 14.

Further, at 19, the subject turns on the power.
A control switch operated to turn off or select a measurement item and start measurement, 20 is a display means for displaying a measurement result, and 21 is a control means for controlling these controls. The control switch 19 includes a power button 19a, a blood pressure measurement start button 19b, and a body fat measurement start button 19c.
The subject can press the buttons with his / her finger or the like to turn on / off the power and select measurement items.

The input switch 14 includes a selection / decision button 14a, an increase button 14b, and a decrease button 14c.
a, increase button 14b and decrease button 14c
The number is increased / decreased to match the number of the subject, and the body information is input by pressing the selection / decision button 14a again.

The impedance measuring means 13 comprises a current applying means 16, a voltage detecting means 17, and an impedance calculating means 18, and in this embodiment, the first electrode 11
And the second electrode 12 are two electrodes of electrodes (11-a, 12-a) connected to the current applying means 16 and electrodes (11-b, 12-b) connected to the voltage detecting means 17, respectively. And a four-terminal method of measuring impedance using a total of four electrodes. Further, the slow speed pressure reducing valve 3 does not receive the control of the control means 21 and gradually removes the air inside the cuff 1 according to the pressure of the cuff 1 to gradually reduce the pressure.

Next, the operation and operation will be described. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the control means 21. Power button 19
When a is pressed to turn on the power (ST1), the process waits until the blood pressure measurement start button 19b (ST2) or the body fat percentage measurement start button 19c (ST3) is pressed.
In this state, when the subject who measures the blood pressure wears the cuff 1 on the wrist of the left arm and presses the blood pressure measurement start button 19b, the control means 21 permits the blood pressure measurement, and the blood pressure measurement is started. The control means 21 first closes the quick exhaust valve 4 (ST
16) Then, the pressurizing pump 2 is operated, and the generated pressure is supplied to the cuff 1 to pressurize the left wrist of the subject to which the cuff 1 is attached (ST17). At this time, the control means 21 monitors the output of the pressure sensor 5 and determines whether or not the pressure of the cuff 1 exceeds a predetermined pressurization target value so as to be higher than the maximum blood pressure of the human body (ST18). When the pressurization target value is exceeded, the operation of the pressurization pump 2 is stopped to stop pressurization (ST19), and the operation shifts to a pressure reducing operation in which the pressure of the cuff 1 is gradually reduced by the slow speed pressure reducing valve 3.

At this time, since the vibration of the blood vessel due to the activity of the heart is transmitted to the cuff 1, a minute pressure change appears in the output of the pressure sensor 5, 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 (ST20). 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,
Using this swing width and the output value of the pressure sensor 5 at that time,
The blood pressure value of the subject is calculated and determined by the oscillometric method of determining the blood pressure value of the human body using the fact that the change of the swing width due to the cuff pressure is correlated with the blood pressure of the subject. In the oscillometric method, the systolic blood pressure and the diastolic blood pressure are determined by using the maximum amplitude of the pulse wave when the cuff pressure is equal to the average blood pressure. If the amplitude is not sufficiently large, the amplitude of the pulse wave appears large from the beginning, but the systolic blood pressure cannot be accurately detected unless the amplitude of the pulse wave at the average blood pressure is sufficiently small.

Therefore, after the pressurization is completed, the amplitude of the pulse wave is examined for a while, and after confirming that the magnitude is sufficiently small, the routine is shifted to a blood pressure value determination routine (ST21). If it is determined that the amplitude of the pulse wave is large, the pressurizing target value is reset to a large value (ST22), and then the process shifts to the pressurizing operation again (ST17). If it is determined that the amplitude of the pulse wave is sufficiently small, the pulse wave collection is continued, and when the pressure at which the amplitude of the pulse wave becomes maximum when the cuff pressure is equal to the average blood pressure is detected (ST24), the minimum is obtained. The amplitude of the pulse wave serving as the blood pressure is calculated (ST25), and it is detected that the amplitude of the detected pulse wave is smaller than the calculated amplitude of the lowest blood pressure pulse (ST26). At this time, the systolic blood pressure and the diastolic blood pressure are calculated and the heart rate is calculated (ST28), the result is displayed on the display 20 (ST29), and the rapid exhaust valve 4 is opened (ST30) to terminate the blood pressure measurement. Step of waiting until the blood pressure measurement start button 19a or the body fat percentage measurement start button 19b is pressed again (S
Return to T2, ST3).

When the subject performing the body fat percentage measurement wears the cuff 1 on the left wrist and presses the body fat percentage measurement start button 19c, the control means 21 permits the body fat percentage measurement (ST3). Then, the measurement of the body fat percentage is started. First, the subject receives data input from the input means 14 to have the subject enter his / her height (ST4), weight (ST5), age (ST6), and gender (ST7) physical information. Select / Set button 14a
After the selection, the number is increased or decreased with the increase button 14b and the decrease button 14c to match the number of the subject, and the body information is input by pressing the select / determine button 14a again.

At this time, the input information is displayed on the display means 20, and the subject performs the input while checking the numerical value. When the physical information of the subject is input, the impedance measurement means 13 measures the impedance between the upper limbs of the subject. When the measurement is started, first, the quick exhaust valve is closed (ST8), the pressure pump 2 is operated, and the generated pressure is supplied to the cuff 1 to pressurize the left wrist of the subject to which the cuff 1 is attached (ST9). The first electrode 11 arranged on the wrist side of the cuff 1 is pressed against the skin of the wrist and makes strong contact. At this time, the control means 21 monitors the output of the pressure sensor 5, and when the pressure of the cuff 1 exceeds a predetermined pressure target value (ST10), the pressure pump 2
Is stopped (ST11), and the operation shifts to a pressure reducing operation in which the pressure of the cuff 1 is gradually reduced by the slow speed reducing valve 3.

Thereafter, the current applying means 16 is connected to the first electrode 1
A current is to flow between the first and second electrodes 12, but the second electrode 12 is arranged such that the palm of the right arm to which the subject does not wear the cuff 1 is exposed on the right arm side surface of the case 23. , A current flows between the left and right upper limbs of the subject, and a voltage corresponding to the impedance between the left and right upper limbs of the subject is generated between the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12. The voltage thus generated is detected by the voltage detecting means 17, and this voltage value is divided by the current applied by the current applying means 16 to measure the impedance between the upper limbs of the subject (S
T12). In this embodiment, the current applied by the current applying means 16 between the first electrode 11 and the second electrode is adjusted to be constant even if the impedance changes.
The impedance calculating means stores this value in advance and calculates the impedance. When the impedance between the left and right upper limbs of the subject is measured by the impedance measuring means 13, the body fat percentage calculating means 15 uses the value of the impedance and the body information of the subject input by the input means 14 in advance to calculate the impedance. The body fat percentage of the subject is determined by the determined conversion formula (ST1).
3).

The conversion formula used here is obtained by measuring the body fat percentage of a large number of human bodies by a direct method such as a density method, and using the measured body fat ratio between both upper limbs, body information such as height, weight, age, and sex. The regression equation has been determined. As the body fat percentage increases, so does the amount of fat in the tissue. However, since the resistivity of fat is much higher than that of tissues other than fat or body fluids, when the amount of fat in the tissue increases, the two points Also increases. This relationship is stable under certain conditions of height, weight, gender and age,
By examining the relationship between body fat percentage and impedance using people of various heights, weights, genders, and ages, an effective regression equation can be obtained for all subjects. The body fat percentage of the subject calculated based on such a regression equation is displayed on the display means 20 (ST14) and is notified to the subject,
The step of releasing the quick exhaust valve to return the pressure of the cuff 1 to the atmospheric pressure (ST15), ending the measurement, and waiting for the blood pressure measurement start button 19a or the body fat percentage measurement start button 19b to be pressed again (ST2, ST3). Return to).

In the sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter of this embodiment, the cuff 1 is pressurized at the time of measuring the body fat as described above, and the first electrode 11 arranged on the wrist side of the cuff 1 is pressed against the skin surface of the wrist. This enables stable contact and is effective in reducing contact resistance. When the contact resistance is large, the voltage applied between the electrodes of the current application circuit 16 also increases in accordance with the contact resistance, and when the voltage becomes larger than the power supply of the current application circuit 16, a sine wave cannot be applied correctly, resulting in distortion. In addition to performing erroneous impedance detection based on the applied current, the input impedance needs to be sufficiently larger than the contact resistance in the voltage detection circuit 17 in order to avoid the influence of the contact resistance. In the development of a body fat meter, it is necessary to determine the design specifications.

FIG. 4 shows the results of measuring the contact resistance of a subject at various cuff pressures.
In other words, it can be seen that when pressure is not applied by the cuff, the contact resistance is larger than when pressure is applied by the cuff, and that the contact resistance varies greatly at each measurement. Cuff pressure is 1
The contact resistance greatly changes between 0 and 20 mmHg, because the effect of the cuff pressure is noticeable during this time. Here, the light contact without the cuff pressure is a stable contact by the cuff pressure. It is considered that this indicates that the cuff pressure is changing in the contact state. As the pressure is further increased, the contact resistance gradually decreases, and when the pressure exceeds 50 mmHg, there is almost no change. At 50 to 150 mmHg, the contact resistance is low and stable, and is optimal for impedance measurement. If the pressure exceeds 150 mmHg, the pressure applied to the wrist increases and the test subject is burdened, so it is not good to set the pressure too high. Furthermore, at 150 mmHg or more, the contact resistance may be rather large,
It is expected that there will be an optimal range for cuff pressurization.

It is considered that the reason why the contact resistance is rather increased at a pressure higher than a certain cuff pressure is that the blood flow under the cuff changes due to the pressurization of the cuff and the water state changes. Until now, the impedance component other than the impedance used for measuring the body fat percentage has been simply described as the contact resistance. However, in actuality, as shown in FIG.
-A, 12-a) and the voltage detection electrodes (11-b, 12-
b) is separated and two current applying electrodes (11
-A, 12-a) between the voltage detection electrodes (11-b, 12-a).
-B) placing, but tissue resistance R _bL between the electrodes, the actual contact resistance R _bR R _IL, that is acquired by summing the R _IR.

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the wrist under cuff pressure. In the cross section, tissues such as skin 25, muscle 26, fat 27, and bone 28, and blood vessels 29, and circulatory channels such as lymph vessels (not shown) are formed. Are classified into non-flowable substances that are not easily separated and associated with other tissues, and flowable substances that flow through blood vessels such as arteries, veins, and capillaries and lymph vessels. Fluid water supplied from the outside through blood vessels and lymph glands is used for transporting oxygen, nutrients, waste, etc.,
When the pressure of the cuff is increased, if it is applied with a pressure greater than the pressure applied to the water, the cuff is pushed out from just below the cuff. It has been found that the resistivity of a tissue is greatly affected by the amount of water in the tissue, and the resistivity increases when the amount of water serving as a conductor is small.

Therefore, when water is extruded from the tissue or skin surface by the cuff pressure, the resistance just below the cuff increases,
It is believed that the more water that is extruded, the greater the resistance in the tissue. Considering the relationship between cuff pressure and blood pressure, when the cuff pressure becomes 20-50 mmHg or more, venous blood or lymph having a pressure in the vicinity is pushed out from just below the cuff, and when the cuff pressure rises and becomes more than the diastolic blood pressure, temporary As a result, the arterial blood vessels close and the flow of arterial blood is also inhibited. When the blood pressure reaches or exceeds the systolic blood pressure, all blood flow immediately below the cuff disappears, and all available fluid is pushed out.
As described above, the water content immediately below the cuff gradually decreases in accordance with the pressure of the cuff, so that the tissue resistance immediately below the cuff also increases.

On the other hand, when the cuff pressure increases, the contact resistance decreases as the electrode comes into closer contact with the skin. However, when the cuff pressure increases to a certain extent, the contact resistance hardly decreases. The increase in tissue resistance due to the decrease in water in the tissue is greater than the decrease in contact resistance due to close contact with the skin, and in such a case, if the cuff pressure increases, the resistance other than the bioimpedance used for measuring body fat percentage will increase. The components also increase. This is shown in FIG.

In this example, a person having a systolic blood pressure of 140 mmHg, an average blood pressure of 100 mmHg, and a diastolic blood pressure of 80 mmHg, the tissue resistance B increases and the contact resistance C decreases as the cuff pressure increases. The combined amount A of the two drops sharply at a cuff pressure of 0 to 20 mmHg, gradually decreases at 20 to 50 mmHg, stabilizes at 50 to 100 mmHg, and gradually increases again at 120 mmHg or more. The cuff pressure that changes from stable to ascending is between the mean blood pressure and the systolic blood pressure, which is the same in other subjects, and as a result of confirming in a large number of subjects, it was almost always 100 mmHg or more.

Therefore, the range in which there is no large variation is 2
A range of 50 mmHg to 100 mmHg is required as long as a stable result can be obtained. In the present embodiment, a stable result can be obtained by the majority of people.
The body fat percentage is calculated using the bioimpedance obtained at a cuff pressure of mmHg to 100 mmHg. The range of the optimal cuff pressure can be further increased by measuring the blood pressure of the individual and changing the range controlled by the blood pressure of the subject. However, if the pressurization is too large, the burden on the subject is increased. Therefore, pressurization of 180 mmHg or more should be avoided. The control means 21 measures the bioimpedance with a pressure target of 100 mmHg in consideration of the reaction of the living body as described above.

In the sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter of the present embodiment, the first electrode is pressed against the skin with a predetermined pressure using a pressure applying means in consideration of the above reaction of the living body to reduce the contact resistance. Since it is reduced, the contact resistance can be more effectively reduced, and a more accurate measurement of the body fat percentage with less influence of the contact resistance can be performed.

In the case of a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter, it is also possible to easily change the target pressurization pressure using the blood pressure of the subject measured by the sphygmomanometer. In this case, the subject changes. Even low contact resistance can be stably realized.

In this embodiment, the blood pressure monitor is provided with a blood pressure monitor having a body fat percentage measuring function with a body fat percentage measuring function added. However, the first electrode is applied to the skin of the mounting portion by the pressure applying means. If it is a configuration to hold down, it can be applied to a single body fat percentage meter. Of course, in the case of an oscillometric household electronic sphygmomanometer having a pressure applying unit, it is needless to say that the effect of the present invention can be easily realized because the cuff serving as the pressure applying unit is already prepared for blood pressure measurement. . Further, if the blood pressure measurement and the body fat percentage measurement are continuously performed, it is possible to determine the pressurization target value using the previously measured blood pressure value. Furthermore, if blood pressure measurement and body fat percentage measurement are measured simultaneously, impedance at various cuff pressures is measured at the time of blood pressure measurement, and the impedance value at any time of the cuff pressure is measured from the blood pressure measurement result. It is possible to select a more appropriate impedance by judging whether to use it or not, and it is possible to more accurately measure the body fat percentage.

In the sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to the present embodiment, the pressure detection means detects the pressure of the cuff and determines whether the pressure has reached the target pressure. Alternatively, the amount of pressurization may be controlled by the operation time of the pressurizing unit without using the pressure detecting unit. In this case, the contact pressure of the electrode with the skin changes depending on the thickness of the subject's arm and the wearing state of the cuff, but if the pressure range is as wide as 20 to 180 mmHg as described above, the pressure in the pressure range can be increased by a considerable number of people. It is feasible.

In the sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to the present embodiment, since the pressure reducing valve is provided at a very low speed, the pressure is reduced at a very low speed during the measurement of the body fat percentage, and the pressure of the cuff may be excessively reduced during the measurement. . In order to avoid this, it is effective to pressurize the cuff again by the pressurizing means when the pressure of the cuff becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value, and to return the cuff pressure to an appropriate range. Further, a configuration may be adopted in which a valve is arranged in front of the slow speed decompression valve and the slow speed depressurizing operation is not performed when measuring the body fat percentage. Further, the control means 21 can control the slow speed pressure reducing valve, and it is of course possible to switch the pressure reducing speed between the measurement of blood pressure and the measurement of body fat percentage.

In this embodiment, the pressurizing means presses the human body under the control of the control means. However, the pressurizing means may be configured to be pressurized at the time of mounting, or the measurement start button may be manually pressed. A similar effect can be realized with a simple configuration such as pressing.

In this embodiment, the blood pressure is measured using the oscillometric method that uses the change in the cuff pressure for measuring the blood pressure. The Korotkoff sound method for determining the value may be used. Further, any sphygmomanometer based on the PWV method of calculating the time difference between the electrocardiographic signal and the appearance time of the pulse wave without using the cuff and converting the sphygmomanometer into a blood pressure value may be used as long as the sphygmomanometer of the subject is known. of course,
Since the cuff is used in the body fat percentage meter, it is needless to say that the one using the cuff is optimal.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the four-terminal method in which the current electrode and the voltage electrode are separately provided for each of the first electrode and the second electrode is used for measuring the impedance. This is an effective impedance measurement method for the present invention, since it is possible to eliminate the influence of contact resistance, and in particular, the second electrode often cannot have a sufficient area. However, if the problem of contact resistance can be solved by measures such as enlarging the contact area, a two-terminal method may be used.

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

[0059]

As described above, in the body fat percentage meter according to the first aspect of the present invention, when measuring the body fat percentage, the first electrode is pressed by applying a predetermined strength by the pressure applying means. Since the body fat percentage of the human body is calculated by measuring the impedance of the human body when the contact resistance is reduced by pressing against the skin of the wrist, the accurate body fat percentage can be calculated.

Further, in the sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to the second aspect of the present invention, also at the time of measuring the body fat percentage, the first electrode is wrist-pressed by applying a predetermined strength by a pressure applying means. Since the body fat percentage of the human body is calculated by measuring the impedance of the human body when the contact resistance is reduced by pressing against the skin of the human body, an accurate body fat percentage can be calculated. The blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter can detect the optimal state where the first electrode is in contact with the skin of the wrist from the output of the pressure detecting means, so that the bioimpedance can be detected with a small contact resistance. Therefore, it is possible to provide a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter capable of accurately measuring the body fat percentage.

The body fat percentage meter or the sphygmomanometer with the body fat percentage meter according to claim 4 increases the pressure of the pressure applying means by a maximum of one.
By setting the pressure to 80 mmHg, an unnecessary burden is not imposed on the human body. By setting the pressure to 20 mmHg at the minimum, the impedance can be detected in a state where the contact resistance does not become unstable. Further, by measuring between 50 mmHg and 100 mmHg, accurate impedance measurement can be performed in a state where the blood flow immediately below the pressure applying means is stable.

According to the body fat percentage meter or the sphygmomanometer with the body fat percentage meter according to the fifth aspect, the pressure of the pressure applying means at the time of measuring the impedance is optimized using the blood pressure value of the human body. An accurate impedance measurement can be performed in a state where the blood flow immediately below the means is stable.

The body fat percentage meter or the sphygmomanometer with the body fat percentage meter according to claim 6 measures the impedance when the pressure of the pressure applying means is equal to or higher than the average blood pressure of the subject and equal to or lower than the systolic blood pressure value. Accurate impedance measurement can be performed in a state where the blood flow immediately below the application means is stable.

In the blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter according to the present invention, the pressure value of the pressure applying means for performing impedance measurement is determined from the state of measuring the body fat percentage or the blood pressure value immediately before the measurement. Impedance measurement can be performed according to the situation.

The body fat percentage meter or the sphygmomanometer with the body fat percentage meter according to the present invention can be used when the pressure value of the pressure applying means falls below the measurable pressure range before the impedance measurement is completed. Since the impedance is measured by applying pressure again to increase the pressure of the pressure applying means, accurate impedance measurement can be performed even when the pressure of the pressure applying means decreases.

In the sphygmomanometer according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the cuff used in the sphygmomanometer is pressurized, the cuff can be shared between the blood pressure measurement and the body fat percentage measurement. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the blood pressure monitor.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the blood pressure monitor.

FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing a relationship between cuff pressure and contact resistance of the sphygmomanometer.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating a four-terminal method of the blood pressure monitor.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a wrist of a human body.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between tissue resistance and contact resistance of the sphygmomanometer and cuff pressure.

FIG. 8 is an external view of a conventional blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 cuff (biological information detecting means, wearing means) 5 pressure sensor (pressure detecting means) 7 blood pressure value determining means 11 first electrode 12 second electrode 13 impedance measuring means 15 body fat percentage calculating means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2G028 AA01 BC07 CG08 DH22 4C017 AA08 AA09 AA10 AA18 AB01 AC16 AD01 AD08 BC17 CC04 FF05 4C027 AA00 AA06 EE01 GG00 KK00 KK01

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A mounting means to be mounted on an upper limb of a human body, a first electrode arranged to be in contact with a part of a living body to which the mounting means is mounted, and a part to which the mounting means is mounted is different. A second electrode for contacting the skin of a living body in the upper limb, impedance measuring means for measuring impedance between the first electrode and the second electrode, and body fat of the human body from an output of the impedance measuring means. A body fat percentage meter, comprising: a body fat percentage calculating unit for calculating a ratio, wherein the mounting unit has a pressure applying unit for bringing the first electrode into contact with a living body by applying a pressure in a predetermined range. 2. A 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, a blood pressure value determining means for calculating a blood pressure value of the human body from an output of the biological information detecting means, A first electrode disposed so as to be in contact with the part of the living body on which the biological information detecting means is mounted, and a second electrode for making contact with the skin of the living body on a separate upper limb from the part on which the biological information detecting means is mounted. Electrodes, impedance measuring means for measuring the impedance between the first electrode and the second electrode, comprising a body fat percentage calculating means for calculating the body fat percentage of the human body from the output of the impedance measuring means, A sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter, wherein the living body information detecting means has a pressure applying means for bringing the first electrode into contact with the living body by applying a pressure in a predetermined range. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pressure detecting means for detecting a pressure of the pressure applying means, wherein the pressure detecting means determines the body fat percentage of the human body from an impedance value measured in a predetermined pressure range. Or a body fat percentage meter or a sphygmomanometer with a body fat percentage meter according to 2. 4. A pressure range of a pressure applying means for measuring an impedance used for calculating a body fat percentage is 20.
The body fat percentage meter or the blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the blood pressure is between mmHg and 180 mmHg, more preferably between 50 mmHg and 100 mmHg. 5. A body fat percentage meter or a body fat percentage meter according to claim 3, wherein the pressure range of the pressure applying means when measuring the impedance used for calculating the body fat percentage is determined by the blood pressure value of the human body. Sphygmomanometer. 6. The body fat percentage according to claim 5, wherein the upper limit of the pressure range of the pressure applying means when measuring the impedance used for calculating the body fat percentage is not less than the average blood pressure value of the human body and not more than the systolic blood pressure value. Sphygmomanometer with meter or body fat meter. 7. A method for simultaneously or continuously measuring a blood pressure value and a body fat percentage, wherein a pressure range of a pressure applying unit when measuring an impedance used for calculating a body fat percentage is simultaneously or continuously measured. The blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter according to claim 5, which is determined from a measured blood pressure value. 8. A pressure control means for controlling the pressure of the pressure applying means, wherein the pressure control means controls the pressure to be returned to the pressure range when the pressure of the pressure applying means is out of a predetermined pressure range. The body fat percentage meter or the blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter according to any one of the above. 9. The biological information detecting means detects biological information when the upper limb wearing part is pressurized using the pressure applying means, and the blood pressure value determining means determines a blood pressure value of a human body from the output of the biological information detecting means. The blood pressure monitor with a body fat percentage meter according to any one of claims 2 to 8, which is determined.