JP2006187641A - Optical measuring device and optical measuring method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical measuring device and an optical measuring method which measure a subject optically and are suitable for acquiring an image of a specified item easily based on the information acquired by the measurement. <P>SOLUTION: An initial displaying process (S1) which selects and indicates any one of choosing the optical measurement, analyzing the optical measurement result, or ending a program, a process (S2) which inputs a condition item including a measurement mode, a process (S4) which displays a light irradiation position, a photo-detection position, and a situation to indicate a measurement positional relation according to the mode, an indication process for creating a file to memorize the optical measurement result, a process (S10) which indicates a measurement condition for detecting a light signal from a subject irradiated from multiple wavelength multichannel, and a process (S11) which displays every channel signal detected according to the indication result, are included. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical measurement device and an optical measurement method, and more particularly to an optical measurement device suitable for being used for optically measuring the inside of a living body and imaging the inside of the living body based on an information signal obtained thereby.

A technique for measuring the inside of a living body simply and without causing harm to the living body is desired in the field of clinical medicine. In response to this demand, measurement using light is very effective. The first reason is that the oxygen metabolism function in the living body corresponds to the concentration of a specific pigment (hemoglobin, cytochrome a3, myoglobin, etc.) in the living body, that is, the concentration of the light absorber. This is because it can be obtained from the amount of absorption in the near-infrared region. The second reason is that light is easy to handle with an optical fiber. The third reason is that optical measurement does not cause harm to the living body when used within the range of safety standards (ANSIZ 136-1973, JISC6802 standard: ² mW / mm ² ).

  Utilizing the advantages of living body measurement using light, the living body is irradiated with light having a wavelength from visible to near infrared, and the inside of the living body is reflected from the reflected light at a position about 10-50 mm away from the irradiation position. Apparatuses for measuring are described in, for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and the like. Further, for example, Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4 describe an apparatus that measures a CT image of an oxygen metabolism function from light transmitted through a living body having a thickness of about 100 to 200 mm.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-277038 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5300887 JP-A-60-72542 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-231625

  Examples of clinical applications based on biological light measurement include measurement of the activation state of brain oxygen metabolism and local intracerebral hemorrhage when the head is a measurement target. In addition, in relation to oxygen metabolism in the brain, it is also possible to measure higher brain functions, such as movement, sensation, and thought. In such measurement, the effect is greatly increased by measuring and displaying an image rather than a non-image. For example, it is indispensable to measure and display as an image in the detection of a local site of oxygen metabolism change.

In a multi-channel optical measuring device, it is difficult to quickly find a defective channel unless the actual measurement position and the measurement signal are associated with each other and presented to the operator operator.
In addition, there has been a problem of causing a serious situation in clinical practice unless the operator inputs many measurement conditions before the start of measurement.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an optical measurement device and an optical measurement method suitable for optically measuring a subject and easily obtaining an image of a predetermined item based on information obtained by the measurement.

 In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the measurement positions and optical fiber arrangements unique to the multi-channel optical measurement device are presented to the operator using a display device. Further, by providing the displayed layout diagram with a function that changes in accordance with the measurement signal, it becomes easy to grasp the channel status. Further, in the present invention, a window for inputting a limited number of measurement conditions is presented on the display device, and the measurement conditions of the next hierarchy are presented after the input.

  According to the present invention, an optical measurement device and an optical measurement method suitable for optically measuring a subject and easily obtaining an image of a predetermined item based on information obtained by the measurement are provided.

  According to the present invention, even an unskilled operator can quickly make an error-free input, and thus can perform measurement operation with light without being familiar with the operation manual.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately grasp the state of change of the subject, for example, the activation state of cerebral oxygen metabolism.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a main part of an embodiment of an optical measuring device to which the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, for example, an embodiment in which the inside of the cerebrum is imaged by irradiating the skin of the head with light and detecting scattered light passing through the body from the skin is described as the number of measurement channels, that is, the number of measurement positions. Is shown in the case of 12. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the head as a measurement target, and can be implemented for other parts, and other than a living body.

  The light source unit 1 is composed of four optical modules 2. Each optical module is composed of two semiconductor lasers that emit light of two wavelengths, for example, 780 nm and 830 nm, in the visible to infrared wavelength region. These two wavelength values are not limited to 780 nm and 830 nm, and the number of wavelengths is not limited to two wavelengths. For the light source unit 1, a light emitting diode may be used instead of the semiconductor laser. Light from all the eight semiconductor lasers included in the light source unit 1 is modulated by the oscillation unit 3 composed of eight oscillators having different oscillation frequencies.

  FIG. 23 shows the configuration of the optical module 2 by taking the optical module 2 (1) as an example. The optical module 2 (1) includes semiconductor lasers 3 (1-a), 3 (1-b), and drive circuits 4 (1-a), 4 (1-b) for these semiconductor lasers. It is. Here, as for the characters in parentheses, numbers indicate the included optical module numbers, and a and b indicate symbols indicating wavelengths of 780 nm and 830 nm, respectively. In these semiconductor laser drive circuits 4 (1-a) and 4 (1-b), a DC bias current is applied to the semiconductor lasers 3 (1-a) and 3 (1-b), and the oscillator 3 By applying different frequencies f (1-a) and f (1-b), the light emitted from the semiconductor lasers 3 (1-a) and 3 (1-b) is modulated. As this modulation, the present embodiment shows the case of analog modulation by a sine wave, but of course, digital modulation by rectangular waves at different time intervals may be used. The optical beam thus modulated is individually introduced into the optical fiber 6 by the condenser lens 5 for each semiconductor laser. The two-wavelength light introduced into each optical fiber is introduced into one optical fiber, for example, the irradiation optical fiber 8-1 by the optical fiber coupler 7 for each optical module. For each optical module, a two-wavelength optical beam is introduced into the irradiation optical fibers 8-1 to 8-4, and four different points on the surface of the subject 9 from the other end of these irradiation optical fibers. Light is irradiated from the irradiation position. The light reflected from the subject is detected by detection optical fibers 10-1 to 10-5 arranged at five detection positions on the subject surface. The end faces of these optical fibers are in light contact with the surface of the subject 9, and the optical fibers are attached to the subject 9 by a probe described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-149903.

  FIG. 24 shows an example of the geometric arrangement of the irradiation positions 1 to 4 and the detection positions 1 to 5 on the surface of the subject 9. In this embodiment, the irradiation and detection positions are alternately arranged on a square lattice. Assuming that the midpoint between adjacent irradiation and detection positions is a measurement position, in this case, there are 12 combinations of adjacent irradiation / detection positions, so the number of measurement positions, that is, the number of measurement channels, is 12. The arrangement of the light irradiation and detection positions is described in, for example, “Near-infrared light topography measurement system: imaging of an absorber localized in a scattering medium (Near) by JP-A-9-149903 and Yuichi Yamashita et al. -infrared topographic measurement system: Imaging of absorbers localized in a scattering medium), 1996, Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 67, pp. 730-732 (Rev. Sci. Instrum., 67,730 (1996)). When the adjacent irradiation and detection position interval is set to 3 cm, the light detected at each detection position passes through the skin and skull, and has information on the cerebrum. For example, Pc Double McCormick (PWMcCormic ) Et al., “Intracerebral penetration of infrared light”, 1992, Journal of Neurosurgery, Vol. 76, pp. 315-318 (J. Neurosurg., 33, 315 (1992). )).

  From the above, if 12 measurement channels are set with this arrangement of irradiation / detection positions, the cerebrum can be measured in a 6 cm × 6 cm region as a whole. In this embodiment, the number of measurement channels is 12 for simplicity, but the number of measurement channels can be further increased by further increasing the number of light irradiation positions and light detection positions arranged in a grid pattern. It is also possible to easily enlarge the measurement area.

  In FIG. 1, the reflected light detected by each of the detection optical fibers 10-1 to 10-5 is detected independently for each detection position, that is, for each detection optical fiber corresponding to each detection position. Detectors such as photodiodes 11-1 to 11-5 are used for detection. The photodiode is preferably an avalanche photodiode capable of realizing highly sensitive optical measurement. A photomultiplier tube may be used as the photodetector. After the optical signal is converted into an electrical signal by these photodiodes, the modulation signal is selectively detected by, for example, a lock-in amplifier module 12 composed of a plurality of lock-in amplifiers, and modulated according to the irradiation position and wavelength. Selectively detect signals. In this embodiment, a lock-in amplifier as a modulation signal detection circuit corresponding to the case of analog modulation is shown, but when digital modulation is used, a digital filter or a digital signal processor is used for detection of the modulation signal.

  FIG. 25 shows the configuration of the lock-in amplifier module 12 of FIG. First, the modulation signal separation of the detection signal detected by the photodiode 11-1 at the detection position 1 in FIG. 24 will be described. In “detection position 1”, the light emitted from the adjacent “light irradiation position 1”, “light irradiation position 2”, “light irradiation position 3”, and “light irradiation position 4” can be detected. “Measurement position 4”, “Measurement position 6”, “Measurement position 7”, and “Measurement position 9” in 24 are measurement target positions. Here, the light detected by the photodiode 11-1 at “detection position 1” is irradiated at each of “irradiation position 1”, “irradiation position 2”, “irradiation position 3”, and “irradiation position 4”. The modulation frequencies corresponding to the wavelengths of light are f (1-a), f (1-b), f (2-a), f (2-b), f (3-a), f (3-b ), F (4-a) and f (4-b) are included. An optical signal including these eight signal components is introduced into eight lock-in amplifiers 13-1 to 13-8 via eight amplifiers 14-1 to 14-8. The eight lock-in amplifiers 13-1 to 13-8 include f (1-a), f (1-b), f (2-a), f (2-b), and f (3-a, respectively. ), F (3-b), f (4-a) and f (4-b) modulation frequency signals are given as reference signals. Accordingly, the optical signal components of 780 nm and 830 nm irradiated at “irradiation position 1” are locked in by the lock-in amplifiers 13-1 and 13-2, and the optical signal components of 780 nm and 830 nm irradiated at “irradiation position 2” are locked in. The optical signal components of 780 nm and 830 nm irradiated at the “irradiation position 3” by the amplifiers 13-3 and 13-4 are 780 nm irradiated by the lock-in amplifiers 13-5 and 13-6 and at the “irradiation position 4”. And 830 nm optical signal components are selectively separated and separately locked in by lock-in amplifiers 13-7 and 13-8.

  Similarly, the desired light is detected for the detection signals detected by the photodiodes 11-2 to 11-5 at the "detection position 2", "detection position 3", "detection position 4", and "detection position 5", respectively. The signal components are selectively separated and lock-in detection is performed. That is, the optical signal detected by the photodiode 11-2 at the “detection position 2” is transferred to the four lock-in amplifiers 13-9 to 13-12 via the four amplifiers 14-9 to 14-12. The optical signal components of 780 nm and 830 nm irradiated at “irradiation position 1” and the optical signal components of 780 nm and 830 nm irradiated at “irradiation position 2” are selectively separated and lock-in detected, The optical signal detected by the photodiode 11-3 at the "detection position 3" is introduced into the four lock-in amplifiers 13-13 to 13-16 via the four amplifiers 14-13 to 4-16. 780 nm and 830 nm optical signal components emitted at “irradiation position 1” and 780 nm and 830 nm optical signals emitted at “irradiation position 3” are selectively locked in, respectively. The optical signal detected by the photodiode 11-4 at the “detection position 4” is passed through the four amplifiers 14-17 to 4-20, and the four lock-in amplifiers 13-14 to 13-20. The 780 nm and 830 nm optical signal components irradiated at “irradiation position 3” and the 780 nm and 830 nm optical signal components irradiated at “irradiation position 4” are selectively lock-in detected and “detection”, respectively. The optical signal detected by the photodiode 11-5 at the position 5 "is introduced into the four lock-in amplifiers 13-21 to 13-24 via the four amplifiers 14-21 to 4-24. The light signal components of 780 nm and 830 nm irradiated at “irradiation position 2” and the light components of 780 nm and 830 nm irradiated at “irradiation position 4” are selectively locked in, respectively. It is issued.

  As can be seen from FIG. 24, the measurement target positions when the detection positions are “detection position 2”, “detection position 3”, “detection position 4”, and “detection position 5” are “measurement position 1” and “ They are “measurement position 3”, “measurement position 2” and “measurement position 5”, “measurement position 10” and “measurement position 12”, and “measurement position 8” and “measurement position 11”.

  As described above, when the number of wavelengths is 2 and the number of measurement positions is 12, the number of signals to be measured is 24. Therefore, the lock-in amplifier module 12 has a total of 24 lock-in amplifiers 13-1 to 13-1. 13-24 is used. The analog output signals output from these lock-in amplifiers 13-1 to 13-24 (channels 1 to 24) are integrated for a predetermined time by the sample hold circuit of the corresponding channel of the sample hold circuit module 16, respectively. Is done. After the integration is completed, the switches (multiplexers) 17 are sequentially switched, and the signals accumulated in the respective sample hold circuits are converted into digital signals by, for example, a 12-bit analog / digital converter (A / D converter) 18. The converted signals of all channels are stored in a storage device outside the computer 19. Of course, this storage may be performed in a storage device inside the computer 9.

  When the sample hold circuit module 16 is not used, the switch 16 is repeatedly switched at a high speed. At each switching, the analog signal of each channel is converted into a digital signal by the analog / digital converter 18 and stored in the storage device 20, and the digital signal obtained a predetermined number of times for each channel is averaged by the computer 19, Store in the storage device 20. This method can also reduce high-frequency component noise.

  Based on the stored data, the computer 19 changes oxygenated hemoglobin concentration change and deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration change associated with brain activity, and further changes in total hemoglobin concentration as the total amount of hemoglobin concentration. No. 9-19408 and Atsushi Maki et al., “Spatial and temporal analysis of human moter activity using noninvasive NIR topography”, 1995. Year, Medical Physics, Vol. 22, pp. 1997-2005 (Medical physics, 22, 1997 (1995)), and a topography image is displayed on the display unit 20.

  In FIG. 1, the computer 19 may be a personal computer. An operation unit 22 is connected to the computer 19, and the operation unit includes a keyboard and a mouse for inputting and outputting various information and for adding and deleting data.

  FIG. 26 is a graph showing changes over time of the measurement signal 30 at a certain detection position and the predicted no-load signal 31 obtained from the measurement signal. This graph is displayed on the display unit 21, the horizontal axis represents the measurement time, and the vertical axis represents the relative change in hemoglobin concentration, that is, a specific function of the living body (for example, moving a part of the body such as a finger). Corresponds to hemoglobin concentration changes in specific parts of the brain due to the action of. The predicted no-load signal 31 excludes signals from the measurement signal 30 at the time when the load is applied (load time) Tt and the time after the load is applied until the signal returns to the original state (relaxation time) T2. It is obtained by fitting an arbitrary function to the measurement signal 31 at time T3 after application using the least square method. In this embodiment, a second-order linear polynomial is used as the arbitrary function, and T1 = 40 seconds, T2 = 30 seconds, and T3 = 30 seconds.

FIG. 27 is a graph displayed on the display unit 21 that represents a temporal change in the relative change amount of the concentration of oxidized and reduced hemoglobin at a certain measurement position. The horizontal axis represents the measurement time, and the vertical axis represents the relative density change amount. Also, the time indicated by diagonal lines is the load application time (right finger movement period). 26, based on the no-load signal 31 and the predicted no-load signal 32, the relative change amount due to the load application of the concentration of oxidized and reduced hemoglobin (H _b O ₂ , H _b ) is determined by a predetermined calculation process. Desired.

  FIG. 28 and FIG. 29 are contour images displayed on the display unit 21, which are created from changes in the relative change amount of oxyhemoglobin concentration at each measurement point with the exercise of the left and right fingers of the subject as loads. (Topography image) is shown. For the topography image, the processing unit 19 calculates a time integration value (or a time average value) of the relative change amount signal 32 during the load application time (the hatched period in FIG. 27), and the value between each measurement position is the X-axis direction. And the linear interpolation in the Y-axis direction. The topographic image may be a black and white grayscale image or a color identification display image in addition to the contour lines as shown in FIGS. From the comparison of the images of FIGS. 28 and 29, it can be clearly seen that the concentration of oxyhemoglobin increases at a specific position during right hand movement.

  By displaying such spatial distribution information as an image, the measurement result can be recognized quickly and easily. The images shown in FIG. 28 and FIG. 29 were created with the time integral value of the concentration relative change amount during the load application time, but similarly, depending on the relative change amount of oxyhemoglobin concentration at each measurement position for the same measurement time. It is also possible to create a topographic image. If the created topographic images are displayed or displayed as a moving image in the order of the measurement time, it is possible to capture temporal changes in the amount of relative change in oxyhemoglobin concentration.

  Furthermore, the self-correlation function of the time change of the relative change amount of the oxyhemoglobin concentration at any one measurement position and the time change of the relative change amount of the oxyhemoglobin concentration at the other measurement position is calculated, and the correlation function at each measurement position is calculated. A topographic image can also be created. Since the correlation function at each measurement position is a function defined by the time lag τ, if a topography image is created from the value of the correlation function at the same time lag τ and displayed according to the order of τ or displayed as a moving image, the hemodynamics You can visualize how changes are propagated. Here, the relative change amount of oxyhemoglobin concentration is described as a representative, but the relative change of total hemoglobin concentration calculated by the sum of the relative change amount of reduced hemoglobin concentration or the relative change amount of oxidized and reduced hemoglobin concentration. A topographic image can be created in the same way for the amount.

  FIG. 30 shows a display example in which the topography image 34 created by the method described above is superimposed on the brain surface image 35 of the subject. Since the topographic image 34 is a change in the blood dynamics of the brain that has changed in relation to the function of the living body, it is desirable to display the topographic image 34 so as to overlap the brain surface image. The brain surface image 35 is measured and displayed by 3D MRI or 3D X-ray CT. The topography image 34 is coordinate-transformed so that the coordinates of each measurement position are located on the brain surface, and a topography image is created by interpolating values between the measurement positions after the coordinate conversion. When the created topography image 34 and the brain surface image 35 are superimposed and displayed, the color of the superimposed topography image 34 is made translucent so that the underlying brain surface image can be seen through.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a flow according to the present invention, in which a subject is measured using the optical measuring device shown in FIG. The operation can be sequentially advanced while the operator sees the screen displayed on the screen display surface of the display unit 21 shown in FIGS.

  When the operating system of the apparatus is started up, first, an initial screen for main menu selection shown in FIG. 3 is displayed (S1). In FIG. 3, when the button 301 is selected, the process proceeds to measurement processing, when the button 302 is selected, the process proceeds to data analysis, and when the button 303 is selected, the program is terminated.

  If the button 301 is selected, the initial screen shown in FIG. 3 is deleted and the process proceeds to measurement processing. First, the condition input screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed at the center of the display surface of the display unit 21 ( S2). In FIG. 4, the meaning and function of each part are as follows.

401: A bar for inputting a title. Specifically, the name of the examination to be performed is input.
402: Date and time are displayed, and the date and time when the screen is displayed are displayed by default (numbers and characters displayed automatically).
403: A part for inputting the type of stimulus (for example, finger movement, writing, speech, drug administration, etc.). Press the list display button (inverted triangle button) and select the registered type from the list box. The selected type is displayed with the background color changed or reversed. Data can be added and deleted.
404: The type item selected by the stimulus input unit can be deleted.
405: A part for selecting a measurement mode. The measurement mode is determined by the number of measurement channels and the number of surfaces to be measured. For example, when the number of measurement channels is 12 and the number of surfaces to be measured is 2, the measurement mode 1 is set.
406: A free memo writing portion.
407: A part for inputting a subject name.
408: A part for inputting the age of the subject.
409: A part for inputting the gender of the subject.
410: A part for inputting the type of the subject, that is, a patient or a healthy person.
411: A setting end button.
412: A button for returning to the initial screen.

  When the above conditions are input and set, when the button 412 is pressed, the condition input screen shown in FIG. 4 is deleted and the flow returns to the initial screen display. However, when the button 411 is pressed, the condition input screen shown in FIG. The condition input screen to be displayed is deleted, and the display screen for gain adjustment shown in FIG. 5 is displayed at the center of the display surface (S3). This indicates that the measurement system is performing automatic gain adjustment. When the adjustment is completed, the gain adjustment screen shown in FIG. 5 is deleted, and the measurement position display screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed in the center of the display surface ( S4). This screen is basically always displayed at a predetermined position on the display surface of the display unit 21 thereafter. By constantly displaying this measurement position display screen, it is possible to easily and quickly grasp the correspondence between a large number of measurement signals and actual measurement positions. Here, normally, the irradiation optical fibers 8-1 to 8-4 and the detection optical fibers 10-1 to 10-5 in FIG. 1 are fixed to a helmet worn by the subject. Therefore, if the measurement channel number is clearly indicated on the helmet and the positional relationship with the number 602 in FIG. 6 is clarified in advance, the operator is further recognized.

  In FIG. 6, reference numeral 601 denotes a portion for displaying the selected measurement mode, and the displayed measurement position display screen corresponds to the selected measurement mode. Reference numeral 602 denotes a portion that displays the number of measurement channels on the measurement surface. Reference numeral 603 denotes a set position of the irradiation and detection optical fibers, that is, a light irradiation position and a detection position. Reference numeral 604 represents a measurement channel number. When automatic gain adjustment is successful, the measurement channel is displayed in green.

  If there is even one measurement channel for which gain adjustment has failed, the measurement channel is displayed in red. In this case, the abnormality display screen shown in FIG. 7 is also displayed in the vicinity of the measurement position display screen shown in FIG. 6 (S5). If the gain adjustment is not successful, it means that there may be a problem with the measurement positions on the left and right or top and bottom of the red display. In the case of red display, it is considered that the setting of the optical fiber is bad, so it is necessary to reset the setting of the optical fiber. Therefore, after resetting the optical fiber, 701 in FIG. 7 is used when returning to the screen of FIG. 3 or 4 to stop the measurement. When the button 702 in FIG. 7 is pressed, the abnormality display screen shown in FIG. 7 is deleted, the gain adjustment in-progress display screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed, and automatic gain adjustment is performed again. If there is an abnormality again after gain adjustment, the display screen during gain adjustment shown in FIG. 5 is deleted, and the abnormal measurement channel on the measurement position display screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed in red again, as shown in FIG. The abnormality display screen is expressed in the vicinity of the measurement position display screen shown in FIG. If no abnormality occurs, the gain adjustment display screen shown in FIG. 5 is deleted, all measurement channels in the measurement position display screen shown in FIG. 6 are changed to green display, and the file creation screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed. Is displayed.

  In FIG. 7, reference numeral 703 denotes a button to be pressed when ignoring the abnormality. When this button is pressed, the abnormal measurement channel in the measurement position display screen shown in FIG. 6 is ignored (red display) and shown in FIG. A file creation screen is displayed (S6). Regardless of the presence or absence of abnormality, the file creation screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed in the center of the display surface, and the measurement position display screen shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display screen along with the display of the file creation screen shown in FIG. The position moves to the lower left of the inside. With this display method, the operator can always pay attention to the conditions to be input.

In FIG. 8, the meaning and function of each part are as follows.
801: A part for inputting a file name.
802: A part for displaying a list of all files existing in the hierarchy selected by the button 804. For example, here, the data name measured before is displayed. 803: A part for displaying the current path.
804: A part for displaying a directory list (hierarchical list).
805: A button for giving permission to proceed to the measurement process.
806: A button that is pressed to cancel and return to the condition input screen of FIG. When this button is pressed, the file creation screen shown in FIG. 8 and the measurement position display screen shown in FIG. 6 are deleted, and the condition input screen shown in FIG. 4 is displayed.
807: A button used when the directory creation screen shown in FIG. 9 is displayed to create a new directory. When this button is pressed, the directory creation screen is displayed with a slight shift on the file creation screen shown in FIG. At this time, the directory creation screen shown in FIG. 9 cannot be operated.
808: A button for specifying a drive.

  When the button 807 is pressed, the directory creation screen shown in FIG. 9 is displayed (S7). In FIG. 9, 901 is a part for inputting the name of a directory to be created, 902 is a directory creation end button, 903 is a cancel button, and the directory creation screen shown in FIG. Returning to the file creation screen shown in FIG.

In FIG. 8, when the button 805 is pressed, the file creation screen shown in FIG. 8 is deleted, the measurement screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the upper left of the display surface (S8), and the measurement data shown in FIG. One or more time-series display screens are displayed on the right most part of the surface (S11). FIG. 8 is used to control the execution of the measurement. In FIG. 10, the meaning and function of each part are as follows.
1001: When Info is selected with a button for selecting Info, a screen for selecting Condition or Tuneup as a submenu is displayed as shown in FIG. When Condition in the submenu of FIG. 11 is selected, the same condition input screen as that of FIG. 4 is displayed (S9). This is for the purpose of confirming the current situation or inputting additional conditions. When Tuneup in the submenu of FIG. 11 is selected, an input screen for measurement conditions and display conditions shown in FIG. 12 is displayed (S10). When the cancel button is pressed in step 9 or step 10, the condition input screen shown in FIG. 4 or the measurement condition and display condition input screen shown in FIG. 12 is deleted, and the measurement screen returns to FIG.
1002: A button for selecting Option. When Option is selected, a sub-menu screen is displayed as shown in FIG. Here, conditions such as graph display conditions during measurement, data backup interval, and signals output from other measuring devices, which will be described later, are input, but the values set during the previous measurement are automatically reflected. It is not necessary to set every time because of the learning function.
1003: A part for designating and displaying a data acquisition time interval.
1004: A part for displaying the number of times of data acquisition (the number of times of sampling).
1005: A part for displaying the elapsed measurement time.
1006: A part for displaying the next measurement state.
Run: Measuring
Completion: Measurement ends normally
Overrun: A / D converter overflow due to measurement overrun
Stop: Other measurement abnormal termination
File error: Measurement file write error
Back up file error: Backup file write error
1007: A button for starting measurement. When this button is pressed, measurement is performed and a measurement data time series signal graph is displayed on each axis in FIG. 14 (S11). The displayed graph represents the rate of change.
1008: A button for ending data acquisition.
1009: A button for finishing measurement and inspection.
1010: A part for displaying an elapsed time after the mark button 1011 is pressed. This provides the convenience of not having to manage the stimulation time with a stopwatch.
1011: A mark button. This is for putting a mark consisting of a vertical line in the graph of FIG. 14 during measurement. Normally, this mark is input at the end of the stimulus as a reference for data analysis, but it may be input arbitrarily when an event for which time is desired to be recorded occurs during measurement.

  In the measurement condition and display condition input screen shown in FIG. 12, measurement conditions corresponding to the selected measurement mode are displayed. The measurement conditions represent correspondences of measurement channels (measurement positions), A / D converter channels, wavelengths, signal amplification factors, and the like. Here, it is also possible to specify a channel to be measured and a channel to be displayed in a graph. Further, it is possible to instruct to input another signal to a vacant channel. The meaning and function of each part in the screen of FIG. 12 are as follows.

1201: There is a table showing measurement conditions and display conditions for each wavelength used in the selected measurement mode, and a table relating to the wavelength to be presented is selected using this tab.
1202: A part for specifying and displaying the necessity of graph display. True means graph display, false means graph non-display. Select in advance for each measurement channel you want to hide the graph (select by clicking in the Visible column and the background color will change or be highlighted), and select 1212 False button to select The measurement channel changes from TRue to False.
1203: A part for displaying the gain of the lock-in amplifier.
1204: A part for displaying the dynamic range of the A / D converter. 1203 and 1204 display values determined by automatic gain adjustment.
1205: A part for displaying the wavelength.
1206: A part for displaying the type of signal. Optical means optical measurement. For example, when an electroencephalogram signal is simultaneously measured on an additional channel (addition can be specified in 1208), an EEG and an operator are input. At the time of data analysis, signals other than Optical can be distinguished and processed.
1207: A part for displaying a measurement channel number.
1208: A part for designating and displaying valid (True) / invalid (False) of the channel number of the A / D converter. The designation method is the same as in the case of 1202. When set to False, measurement is not performed on the specified channel.
1209: A character string, a number, or the like is input at the selected position of 1202-1208.
1210: A part for changing the dynamic range of the A / D converter. Effective when 1204 is selected.
1211: A part for changing the gain of the lock-in amplifier. Effective when 1203 is selected.
1212: A part for switching between True and False in columns 1202 and 1208.
1213: A part for selecting a measurement mode to be displayed. Each displays the table to be displayed in multiple tables for each wavelength, and All displays all measurement channels in a single table.
1214: A button for ending the setting.
1215: A button for canceling the setting.

  According to the screen of FIG. 12, the monitor of the measurement conditions (1203 to 1208) and the graph display (1202) conditions are displayed on one screen, and confirmation and setting change can be easily performed. In addition, signals from other measuring devices (devices) can be captured using this screen. Furthermore, the screen of FIG. 12 is the only screen for inputting conditions for the operator to select whether or not to measure the input signal.

In the Option sub-menu screen in the measurement screen of FIG. 10 shown in FIG. 13, the following screens are displayed depending on what is selected. However, in FIG. 13, the display of Trigger Pulse and External Trigger to be selected is omitted.

Graph: Display condition input screen for the graph of FIG. 14 (FIG. 15)
・ Backup: File backup condition input screen (Fig. 16)
・ Other CH: Input setting screen for other measurement device output signal (Fig. 17)
・ Trigger Pulse: Rectangular wave output signal setting screen (Fig. 18)
・ External Trigger: External input trigger-synchronous measurement condition setting screen (Figure 20)
・ Measurement
Parameter: Measurement data acquisition condition setting screen (Fig. 21)
・ Prescan: Measurement signal confirmation screen (Fig. 22)
• Position: Measurement position display screen (FIG. 6) (return to step S6)
The meaning and function of each part of the screens of FIGS. 15 to 18 and 20 to 22 will be described below.

  FIG. 15 (graph display condition input screen of FIG. 14) (S12) 1). Enter the X-axis range. There are two types of input methods for inputting the range: input at the magnification performed in 1501 and input at the display time performed in 1503.

1501: A button for selecting display magnification input for the X-axis of the graph.
1502: A portion for inputting the display magnification of the X-axis of the graph as a percentage. For example, when displaying a period of 3600 seconds at 100%, changing to 1000% results in a range of 360 seconds. In this case, when 360 seconds are exceeded, the screen scrolls to the left. Specifically, when 362 seconds of data are acquired, the X-axis range of the graph of FIG. 14 displays signals from 2 seconds to 362 seconds.
1503: A button for selecting display time input for the X-axis of the graph. When this button is selected, 1501 is automatically deselected. The buttons 1501 and 1503 are mutually exclusive.
1504: A part for inputting the display time of the X-axis of the graph.
1505: A portion for displaying the number of data acquired within the display time designated by 1504.
2). Enter the Y-axis range.
1506: A part for inputting the display magnification of the Y-axis of the graph. The idea is the same as in the case of X-axis magnification input.
3). The graph display format of FIG. 14 is selected.
1507: A button for selecting display of all channels (all channels selected and displayed in FIG. 12) in the order of measurement channels. When this button is selected, the number of wavelengths used for measurement of each measurement channel (two wavelengths in the embodiment (the same number as the screen of FIG. 14 is displayed without overlapping. At this time, the first screen is the first wavelength). The second screen displays a signal in the order of the measurement channel in the second wavelength, and if not set, Together is selected.
1508: A button for displaying all channels in one window.
1509: A button for displaying a graph in an individual window for each channel. Furthermore, there are the following two types of display methods.
Title: Display the graphs in tiles.
Cascade: Display graphs in an overlapping manner.
1510: A graph of only one designated channel is displayed (the channel displayed in FIG. 12 can be selected).
1511: A part for forcing not to display the graph.
1512: A part for finishing the setting. When the setting is completed, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.
1513: A part for canceling. Even in the case of cancellation, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.

FIG. 16 (file backup condition input screen) (S13)
This is to set a condition for the function to back up data at any time during measurement in anticipation of a power failure during measurement or a case where the file specified on the file creation screen in FIG. .

1601: A part for designating whether or not back-up is necessary.
1602: A part for inputting a backup interval time.
1603: A part for inputting a backup file name with a full path.
1604: A part for referring to a directory and a file. The file creation screen of FIG. 8 is displayed, and the designated file name enters the Backup File Name area 1603.
1605: A button for finishing setting. When the setting is completed, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.
1606: A cancel button. Even in the case of cancellation, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.

FIG. 17 (input setting screen for other measuring device output signal) (S14)
Using this screen, the vacant A / D converter channel data is acquired from the signals output from other measuring devices. The channel number of the A / D converter at the time of acquisition, the signal type name (EEG etc.), and the dynamic range of the A / D converter are selected.
1701: A part for displaying a channel number of an available A / D converter for input. The lowest number of the vacant A / D converter channel is automatically assigned.
1702: A part for inputting a signal type name.
1703: A part for selecting the dynamic range of the A / D converter of other input.
1704: A button for ending setting. When the setting is completed, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.
1705: A cancel button. Even in the case of cancellation, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.

FIG. 18 (rectangular wave output signal setting screen) (S15)
A rectangular voltage signal is periodically output from the optical measuring device. By inputting this signal to another measuring device (such as an electroencephalograph), the measurement time can be strictly matched between the devices. The rectangular wave signal is output from a sill alport of a personal computer, for example.

  There are three types of rectangular wave signals to be output as shown in FIG. The first type is a rectangular wave signal output only at the start. The second type is a rectangular wave signal that is periodically output until the end of measurement. The third type is a rectangular wave signal output in synchronization with pressing the mark button 1011 in FIG. Conditions for these three types of rectangular wave signals can be set on the screen of FIG.

1801: A part for selecting whether or not to output a rectangular wave.
1802: A part for selecting a terminal for outputting a rectangular wave.
1803: A part for inputting the time width of the first type of rectangular wave (see A in FIG. 19). 1804: A part for inputting the number of repetitions of the first type of rectangular wave (see B in FIG. 19).
1805: A part for inputting the number of repetitions of the second type of rectangular wave (see C in FIG. 19).
1806: A part for inputting the time width of the second type of rectangular wave (see D in FIG. 19). 1807: A part for inputting the time width of the third type of rectangular wave (see E in FIG. 19). 1808: A setting end button. When the setting is completed, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.
1809: A cancel button. Even in the case of cancellation, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.

FIG. 20 (external input trigger-synchronous measurement condition setting screen) (S16)
This screen is used when measuring in synchronization with an external trigger signal. By synchronous measurement, time can be completely synchronized with other measuring devices and stimulators.

2001: A part for designating whether external input trigger synchronous measurement is necessary.
2002: A part for inputting the channel number of the A / D converter used for the external input trigger signal.
2003: A part for inputting a measurement time for one trigger signal.
2004: A part for inputting a threshold value of a voltage value recognized as a trigger signal.
2005: A button for ending the setting. When the setting is completed, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.
2006: A cancel button. Even in the case of cancellation, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.

FIG. 21 (Measurement data acquisition condition setting screen) (S17)
Here, the operation frequency (Burst Rate) of the channel of the A / D converter, the sampling frequency (Coversion Rate) per channel of the A / D converter, the average number of acquisition data (Number of Samples), the acquisition It is possible to set a data addition time (Acquisition Time), a data acquisition time interval (Sampling Period: the same as 1003 in FIG. 10), and a previous measurement time.

2101: A part for displaying and inputting a Burst Rate.
2102: A part for displaying and inputting the Convewrsion Rate.
2103: A part for displaying and inputting the number of samples acquired by one sampling.
2104: A part for displaying the data acquisition time.
2105: A part for displaying and inputting a data acquisition time interval.
2106: A part for displaying and inputting the measurement time.
2107: A button for finishing setting. When the setting is completed, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.
2108: A cancel button. Even in the case of cancellation, the screen display returns to the screen display of FIG.

FIG. 22 (Measurement signal confirmation screen) (S18)
This screen is used for the operator to perform preliminary measurement before entering the main measurement, if necessary, and for the operator to check the signal state. The value of the signal displayed in the graph represents the voltage value.

2201: A part for displaying a data acquisition interval.
2202: A part for displaying the number of times of data acquisition (sampling number).
2203: A portion for displaying the measurement elapsed time.
2204: A unit for displaying the measurement state (see FIG. 10).
2205: A part for designating the magnification in the X direction of the graph (see FIG. 15).
2206: A unit for displaying numerical values for each channel for writing the preliminary measurement result.
2207: A button for starting output signal confirmation. When this button is pressed, one or a plurality of measurement signals are displayed in the screen shown in FIG. 14 according to the style of the graph set in the screen shown in FIG.
2208: A button for interrupting measurement.
2209: A button for ending preliminary measurement. When this button is pressed, the display screen returns to the screen of FIG.

  According to the embodiment described above, even an unskilled operator can quickly input without error. The operator is also provided with optional functions that allow detailed settings.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of the Example of the optical measuring device with which this invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram as an example based on the present invention, in which a subject is measured using the optical measurement apparatus shown in FIG. 1. The figure which shows the initial screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the condition input screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the display screen during gain adjustment displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the measurement position display screen shown on a display part. The figure which shows the abnormality display screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the file creation screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the directory creation screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the measurement screen shown on a display part. The figure which shows the submenu screen of Info of FIG. 10 displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the measurement condition displayed on a display, and the input screen of a display condition. The figure which shows the submenu screen of Option of FIG. 10 displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the measurement data time series display screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the display condition input screen of the graph of FIG. 14 displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the file backup condition input screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the input setting screen of the other measurement apparatus output signal displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the rectangular wave output signal setting screen displayed on a display part. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a rectangular wave output signal waveform whose conditions are set in FIG. 18. The figure which shows the external input trigger-synchronous measurement condition setting screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the measurement data acquisition condition setting screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the measurement signal confirmation screen displayed on a display part. The block diagram which shows the structure in the optical module of FIG. The figure which shows the example of geometric arrangement | positioning of an irradiation position and a detection position on the subject surface. The block diagram which shows the structure of the lock-in amplifier module of FIG. The graph as an example showing the time-dependent change of the measurement signal in a certain detection position, and the prediction no load signal calculated | required from this measurement signal. The graph as an example showing the time change of the relative variation | change_quantity of the density | concentration of oxidation and reduction | restoration hemoglobin in a certain measurement position. The figure which shows the contour image (topography image) produced from the time change of the relative variation | change_quantity of the oxyhemoglobin density | concentration of each measurement point by making the exercise | movement of a subject's left finger into a load. The figure which shows the contour-line image (topography image) created from the time change of the relative variation | change_quantity of the oxyhemoglobin density | concentration of each measurement point by making the exercise | movement of a subject's right finger into a load. The figure which shows the example of a display which overlapped the topography image with the brain surface image of a subject.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Light source part, 2: Optical module, 3: Oscillating part, 8-1 to 8-4: Optical fiber for irradiation, 9: Subject, 10-1 to 105: Optical fiber for detection, 11-1 11-5: Photo diode, 12: Lock-in amplifier module, 16: Sample hold circuit module, 17: Switch (multiplexer), 18: Analog / digital converter, 19: Computer, 20: Storage device, 21: display unit, 22: operation unit.

Claims (5)

A plurality of light irradiators for irradiating the subject's head with light;
A plurality of light receivers for receiving light propagated in the subject head;
A calculation unit that calculates a change in blood flow of the subject's head from light received by the light receiver; and a display unit that displays a calculation result of the calculation unit;
The biological light measuring device, wherein the display unit displays a correspondence table indicating correspondence between measurement channels and channels of the A / D converter.   The biological light measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a channel used for measurement can be specified in the correspondence table.   The biological light measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a channel to be displayed in a graph can be specified in the correspondence table.   The biological light measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the correspondence table, a gain of a lock-in amplifier or a dynamic range of an A / D converter can be changed.   The biological light measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the correspondence table, whether or not an input signal from the outside is input to the channel can be set.

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