JP2006305094A - Health evaluation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problems such that an early prevention of a disease is difficult to achieve with conventional health check because a state just before getting sick or a state just before a disease starts to affect a person is difficult to detect objectively. <P>SOLUTION: A health evaluation apparatus is provided which comprises an oxygen supplying device 1 for supplying air having various oxygen concentrations to a subject 3 and a physiological information measuring device 5 for measuring various physiological information (an electroencephalogram, an electrocardiogram, blood flow or the like) with respect to each concentration. The apparatus determines whether the subject is in a healthy state or in an unhealthy state just before getting sick on the basis of differences of sensitivities to various oxygen concentrations. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a health evaluation apparatus that determines human health from objective physiological information.

  Conventional health evaluation (diagnosis) methods have been performed by measuring physical information such as body temperature, blood pressure, and electrocardiogram, or measuring biochemical information such as urine and blood tests (see, for example, Patent Document 1). FIG. 3 shows a health management device disclosed in Patent Document 1, which includes heart rate measuring means 11, 12, 13 for measuring heart rate data in every situation from static heart rate to dynamic heart rate, and the heart rate data. Health information output means 14 for outputting health information based on the health information output means 14, the health information output means 14 for inferring a health condition from the heart rate data, and the logical result of the heart rate data and health condition inference means 15. Display means 16 for outputting.

In addition, in the examination of diabetes and the like, there is a glucose tolerance test in which glucose is administered and a diagnosis of diabetes is made by a change in blood glucose level thereafter.
JP-A-5-154116

  However, most of the conventional health evaluation methods merely evaluate the subject's intact state (at rest or low stress), and maintain the human homeostasis (ability to adjust whether normal or not; homeostasis) It seems that it is difficult to find potential illnesses in the state of being demonstrated.

  In other words, when there is any disease, even if body temperature and blood pressure measurements and blood tests are performed in a resting or low stress state, the body's homeostasis maintenance function is exhibited to some extent, and body temperature and blood pressure approach normal levels. In many cases, it is adjusted so that it shows the same value as normal. The tendency should increase if the degree of the disease is low. It was difficult to detect by a conventional method until a state just before the disease, just before the disease became apparent. In other words, the conventional health assessment method has a problem that it cannot be detected until it is clearly understood that the disease is ill.

  Some tests, such as the glucose tolerance test, are not under low stress and are under stress, but this is an evaluation method limited to diabetes.Because this test is performed at a stage where diabetes is known to some extent, The implications of finding a disease that is becoming irrelevant are few.

  In view of the above-described conventional problems, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a health evaluation apparatus capable of capturing a precursor of a disease in daily life.

  In order to solve the above problems, a health evaluation apparatus of the present invention includes an oxygen supply device that supplies air having an arbitrary oxygen concentration so that the subject can inhale, and a physiological information measurement device that measures physiological information of the subject, When the subject is supplied with air with various oxygen concentrations from the oxygen supply device, and the subject sucks air with various oxygen concentrations, the physiological information of the subject for each of the various oxygen concentrations is measured by the physiological information measuring device. The health condition of the subject is judged from the physiological information of the subject and the oxygen concentration at that time.

  As a result, the subject measures the physiological information while inhaling air with an oxygen concentration different from normal, so the response of the living body to the load of different oxygen concentration appears in the physiological information in a delicate non-health state, It becomes possible to find even a disease of a low degree.

  The health evaluation apparatus of the present invention can catch signs of disease with a relatively low load of air having an oxygen concentration different from normal, and is useful for health management in daily life.

  A first invention includes an oxygen supply device that supplies air having an arbitrary oxygen concentration so that the subject can inhale, and a physiological information measurement device that measures physiological information of the subject. The oxygen supply device has various oxygen concentrations. When air is supplied to the subject and the subject inhales air of various oxygen concentrations, the physiological information of the subject for each of the various oxygen concentrations is measured by a physiological information measuring device, and the subject's physiological information and the oxygen concentration at that time are measured. This is a health evaluation device for judging the health condition of a subject.

  Normally, we breathe air with an oxygen concentration of 20.9%, but when we breathe medium oxygen with 30%, various physiological effects appear (Nonoma et al. "Evaluation" Lecture of Architectural Institute of Japan (2004), pp897-898, etc.). In the inventors' tests, the oxygen concentration of 50% is the peak, and an effect is found on the concentration and the autonomic nervous function index.

  However, the present inventors have found that those effects do not appear to anyone but tend to appear more prominently as those who feel slightly sick, such as those who feel tired. It is. In other words, a healthy person is insensitive to changes in the oxygen concentration of the air to be sucked, but a person who is unwell is sensitive to the oxygen concentration of the air to be sucked. In other words, even if the healthy person changes the oxygen concentration somewhat, the body's homeostasis maintenance function works normally, so no change in physiological information appears. A person who is in a poor physical condition is that changes in the oxygen concentration of the inhaled air are likely to affect the homeostasis maintenance function.

  On the other hand, it is known that the higher oxygen concentration of the sucked air is toxic to the body. Inhalation of pure oxygen air with an oxygen concentration of 100% causes oxygen poisoning within a few hours, leading to symptoms such as difficulty breathing and clouding of consciousness. In general, air with an oxygen concentration of 70% is considered dangerous to the body. The present inventors have found that if such high-concentration oxygen air is sucked, various effects appearing in the concentration and the autonomic nervous function index disappear, and conversely, negative effects are exerted.

  The present inventors have also found that the influence of air having a high oxygen concentration of 70% or more tends to be slightly different between healthy and unwell individuals. On the contrary, the result was that healthy subjects were more sensitive to oxygen concentration, and those who were unwell were less sensitive. In other words, a healthy person works well against high concentrations of oxygen, which is a poison, but a person who is in poor health does not work well.

  As described above, since the influence of a living body is different between a healthy person and a person with poor physical condition depending on the oxygen concentration of the air to be sucked, physiological information obtained is different. Utilizing this, as in the present invention, by sucking air with an oxygen concentration different from normal from the oxygen supply device and measuring the electroencephalogram at that time, the health state and the poor physical condition in front of becoming a clear disease The difference can be clarified.

  In a second invention, the physiological information measuring apparatus of the first invention is an electroencephalogram measuring apparatus. The brain is the most oxygen consuming organ in the body. On the other hand, it is also an organ that produces various hormones for regulating autonomous functions. In other words, it is the organ most sensitive to the oxygen concentration of the air it inhales, and it is also the center that governs the homeostatic function of the body. Therefore, it is sensitive to changes in the oxygen concentration, and the effect thereof directly appears. Therefore, if there is an influence on the oxygen concentration, it tends to appear as a change in electroencephalogram. Therefore, as in the present invention, by sucking air with an oxygen concentration different from normal from the oxygen supply device and measuring the electroencephalogram at that time, the difference between the healthy state and the state of poor physical condition before becoming a clear disease can be obtained. It can be clarified.

  In a third aspect of the invention, the physiological information measuring apparatus of the first aspect is an electrocardiographic measuring apparatus. By analyzing the heartbeat, it is possible to know the stress state and the function of the autonomic nervous function. For example, a coefficient of variation (CVRR) of a beat-to-beat interval (RR interval) represents a stress state, and values derived from HF and LF of a heartbeat frequency component represent an autonomic nervous function.

  The present inventors have found that these indices are influenced by the oxygen concentration of the air to be sucked, and the degree of the influence varies depending on the health condition of the subject. Therefore, as in the present invention, by sucking air with an oxygen concentration different from normal from the oxygen supply device and measuring various electrocardiographic indices at that time, the health condition and physical condition before becoming a clear disease are obtained. The difference between the defective states can be clarified.

  In a fourth invention, the physiological information measuring device of the first invention is a blood flow measuring device. Blood flow is affected by autonomic nervous function. For example, blood pressure, blood flow, acceleration pulse wave, and the like. The present inventors have found that these indices are influenced by the oxygen concentration to be sucked, and the degree of the influence varies depending on the health condition of the subject. Therefore, as in the present invention, by sucking air with an oxygen concentration different from normal from an oxygen supply device and measuring various blood flow indices at that time, the health condition and physical condition before becoming a clear disease are obtained. The difference between the defective states can be clarified.

  In a fifth aspect, the physiological information measuring apparatus according to the first aspect is a body temperature measuring apparatus. The body temperature regulation function is one of the homeostasis maintenance functions, and the function of keeping the body temperature constant even when the environmental temperature changes is one of the most important regulation functions of the body. The present inventors have found that this body temperature regulation function is affected by the oxygen concentration of the air to be sucked, and the degree of the influence varies depending on the health condition of the subject. Therefore, as in the present invention, by sucking air with an oxygen concentration different from normal from the oxygen supply device and measuring various body temperature indices at that time, the health condition and poor physical condition before becoming a clear disease The difference in state can be clarified.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of the health evaluation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a graph of physiological information processed by the health evaluation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the oxygen supply device 1 has an element (not shown) having oxygen ion conductivity inside, and oxygen in the air taken in is concentrated when a current is passed through the element. The amount of oxygen generated can be changed depending on the magnitude of the current, and if air on the side opposite to the concentration is used, the oxygen concentration of the air can be reduced.

  Further, there is a blower means (not shown) inside the oxygen supply device 1, and the oxygen-concentrated air passes through the flow meter 4 and is supplied in the vicinity of the mouth of the subject 3, that is, the subject 3 can be sucked. is there. The oxygen concentration meter 2 measures the oxygen concentration of the supplied air through the flow meter 4 so that the user can generate an arbitrary oxygen concentration.

  The oxygen supply device 1 only needs to have a function of generating an arbitrary oxygen concentration, and may be constituted by an oxygen cylinder and a pump, or an oxygen permeable membrane and a pump. However, since an oxygen cylinder cannot generate low-concentration oxygen, it is desirable to use a nitrogen cylinder together.

  A physiological information measuring device 5 is connected to the subject 3, and the physiological information (electroencephalogram, electrocardiogram, blood flow, blood pressure, body temperature, etc.) of the subject 3 is measured, and the data that is the physiological information is a personal computer (personal computer). 6 and processed. The personal computer 6 stores physiological data processing means 6a for processing the data, display means 6b for displaying processed data, and the data.

  About the health evaluation apparatus comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement, an effect | action, etc. are demonstrated below. First, the user turns off the oxygen concentration in the oxygen supply apparatus 1 and supplies air with a normal oxygen concentration (20.9%) to the subject. After confirming that the value of the oxygen concentration meter 2 is 20.9%, the flow rate is adjusted to 3 to 5 (L / min) by the flow rate type 4, and air is discharged near the mouth of the subject 3.

  The physiological information of the subject 3 at this time is measured by the physiological information measuring device 5 for about 3 minutes. When the physiological information measuring device 5 is an electroencephalograph, useful information is easily obtained. This is because the brain is an organ sensitive to oxygen. When measuring an electroencephalogram, for example, the average frequency and appearance frequency of α waves are effective. Further, instead of an electroencephalograph, a measuring device capable of mapping in the brain such as fMRI capable of measuring blood flow in the brain may be used.

  The physiological information measuring device 5 may be an electrocardiogram measuring device. This is because information that is easily affected by autonomic nervous function can be obtained from the electrocardiogram. Or it is effective if it is an index representing an autonomic nerve function such as blood flow, acceleration pulse wave, blood pressure, and body temperature, and it is more desirable to measure them in combination. The physiological information thus obtained is recorded in the personal computer 6.

  Next, the user operates the oxygen concentration of the oxygen supply device 1 to supply, for example, air having an oxygen concentration of 30% to the subject 3. Thereafter, the electroencephalogram is measured for about 3 minutes by the physiological information measuring device 5 in the same manner as described above, and the information is recorded in the personal computer 6.

  Next, the user increases the oxygen concentration output of the oxygen supply device 1 and supplies air having an oxygen concentration of 50% to the subject 3, for example. Thereafter, the electroencephalogram is measured for about 3 minutes by the physiological information measuring device 5 in the same manner as described above, and the information is recorded in the personal computer 6.

  Next, the user raises the oxygen concentration output of the oxygen supply device 1 and supplies air having an oxygen concentration of 70% to the subject 3, for example. Thereafter, the electroencephalogram is measured for about 3 minutes by the physiological information measuring device 5 in the same manner as described above, and the information is recorded in the personal computer 6.

  Next, the user increases the oxygen concentration output of the oxygen supply device 1 and supplies air having an oxygen concentration of 90% to the subject 3, for example. Thereafter, the electroencephalogram is measured for about 3 minutes by the physiological information measuring device 5 in the same manner as described above, and the information is recorded in the personal computer 6.

  Next, the user reverses the direction of oxygen concentration of the oxygen supply device 1 and operates to supply air on the low oxygen concentration side, and supplies the subject 3 with air having an oxygen concentration of 10%, for example. Thereafter, the electroencephalogram is measured for about 3 minutes by the physiological information measuring device 5 in the same manner as described above, and the information is recorded in the personal computer 6.

  The physiological information obtained in this way is displayed on the display means 6b using a personal computer 6, for example, as a graph showing physiological information index values on the vertical axis and oxygen concentration in the air on the horizontal axis, as shown in FIG. The tendency of A and B can be shown. If the subject is in a healthy state, the tendency as shown in graph A is often exhibited. That is, when the oxygen concentration is 30 to 50%, it is not much different from the normal time when the oxygen concentration is 20.9%, but as the concentration increases, the physiological index tends to gradually decrease in a bad direction. On the other hand, when the subject complains of a slight physical condition, the tendency as shown in the graph B of FIG. 2 is often exhibited. That is, when the oxygen concentration is 30 to 50%, the physiological index rises in the direction of improvement, and even if the concentration further rises, the tendency to decrease is slower than in graph A.

  That is, the subject is evaluated by the method of the present invention, and if it is a pattern like the graph A, it can be regarded as almost healthy, and if a pattern like the graph B is shown, it is from a health state to a non-health state. Since the judgment can be made, the subject 3 can be encouraged to improve their lives, and further precise examination can be recommended.

  In addition, it is better to measure for each subject on a daily basis by the method of the present invention. This is because patterns such as graphs A and B shown in FIG. 2 have individual differences, and it is difficult to make an accurate determination with a single measurement. Accordingly, the subject accumulates physiological information data in the physiological information processing means 6a through daily life, and processes the data to establish a graph A and a graph B specific to the subject. It becomes possible to judge the health condition appropriately by comparing with.

  As described above, the present invention supplies air with various oxygen concentrations from the oxygen supply device 1 to the subject 3 and measures various physiological information (eg, electroencephalogram, electrocardiogram, blood flow) for each concentration by the physiological information measuring device 5. The measured physiological information is processed by the physiological information processing means 6a, and the result of the processing is displayed on the display means 6b so that the non-health condition such as the health condition and the poor physical condition before the disease can be expressed with respect to the oxygen concentration. This embodiment is a method for evaluating from the difference in sensitivity, and the present embodiment provides a health evaluation apparatus that performs the health evaluation method, and can be used for health management in daily life by capturing signs of disease.

  In the above embodiment, the physiological information data is processed by the physiological information processing means and both the health state graph A and the non-health state graph B are displayed on the display means. The health condition and the non-health condition may be determined based on a tendency similar to or not similar to the graph obtained by processing the measured physiological information. In the above embodiment, an electroencephalogram is used as physiological information data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and electrocardiogram, blood flow, blood pressure, body temperature, and the like may be used.

  As described above, since the health evaluation apparatus according to the present invention can be used for human health diagnosis, physical condition check, and health management, there is a possibility that it may be useful for safety management of occupations that save lives.

The block block diagram of the health evaluation apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention Graph of physiological information processed by health evaluation apparatus in Embodiment 1 of the present invention Block diagram of a conventional health management device

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Oxygen supply apparatus 3 Test subject 5 Physiological information measuring apparatus 6 Personal computer (physiological information processing means 6a, display means 6b)

Claims (5)

The apparatus includes an oxygen supply device that supplies air having an arbitrary oxygen concentration so that the subject can inhale, and a physiological information measurement device that measures physiological information of the subject. Air having various oxygen concentrations is supplied to the subject from the oxygen supply device. When the subject inhales air of various oxygen concentrations, the physiological information of the subject for each of the various oxygen concentrations is measured by the physiological information measuring device, and the health condition of the subject is judged from the physiological information of the subject and the oxygen concentration at that time Health evaluation device. The health evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physiological information measurement apparatus is an electroencephalogram measurement apparatus. The health evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physiological information measurement apparatus is an electrocardiogram measurement apparatus. The health evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physiological information measuring apparatus is a blood flow measuring apparatus. The health evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physiological information measuring apparatus is a body temperature measuring apparatus.

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