JP2007130038A - Bio-optical measurement instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rectangular probe which allows the number of sampling points to be increased and therefore provides high density measurement, and a highly practical bio-optical measurement instrument using the probe. <P>SOLUTION: The probe for the bio-optical measurement instrument is provided in which photoirradiation means and light receiving means are alternately arranged at grid points of a rectangular grid, a different photoirradiation means or light receiving means is added to the almost center part of the photoirradiation means and the light receiving means adjacent in the long side direction of a rectangle further and the added photoirradiation means and light receiving means are alternately arranged. With the use of the probe, the set of the photoirradiation means and the light receiving means of two systems is switched to perform measurement, and the information of a measurement area where the sampling points are arranged highly densely is obtained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring information inside a living body with light, and more particularly to a living body optical measuring apparatus that performs multipoint measurement by alternately arranging a plurality of light irradiation means and a plurality of light receiving means.

  A living body light measurement device irradiates a living body with light having a wavelength in the visible to near-infrared region, and detects light reflected from the living body to measure the inside of the living body non-invasively. In such biological light measurement, a light source (light irradiating means) and a light detector (light receiving means) are arranged at intervals of 30 mm, so that metabolites in the body associated with brain activity inside the skull (for example, oxygenated hemoglobin, desorption) It is known that a change in the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin can be measured. In order to image changes in the concentration of metabolites in the living body using this measurement method, a measurement method with multiple sampling points is required.

  In Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, light is irradiated from a plurality of light irradiation positions, detected at a plurality of light detection positions, and optical measurement of a plurality of sampling points located between the light irradiation positions and the light detection positions. And an apparatus for imaging a region including the plurality of sampling points has been proposed. The light irradiation position and the light detection position are alternately arranged on the lattice points of the lattice. In order to realize such an arrangement, a probe for fixing a plurality of optical fiber tips connected to a light source and a plurality of optical fiber tips connected to a photodetector to an inspection object is used.

  The probe has a square lattice shape in which the light irradiation position and light detection position are arranged in the same number of vertical and horizontal lattices, or a rectangular shape in which the number of light irradiation positions and light detection positions is different in the vertical and horizontal directions. There is. For example, the rectangular probe can simultaneously cover the language area and the frontal lobe, and can easily grasp the cooperation of the activity states of higher brain functions, and thus has high practicality. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, in a 3 × 5 probe in which 3 points are arranged vertically and 5 points are arranged horizontally, when the light irradiator and the detector are arranged at intervals of 30 mm, 6 × 12 cm at 22 sampling points. Can be measured.

  When imaging the above-described change in the concentration of the in-vivo metabolite, it is necessary to increase the sampling points in order to improve the accuracy of the image. However, with the conventional probe in which the light irradiation position and the detection position are alternately arranged on the lattice point, when measuring the in vivo metabolite concentration at a predetermined depth, the distance between the light irradiation position and the detection position is determined by the depth. It is difficult to reduce the interval between sampling points. In the probe shown in FIG. 9, the sampling point interval is 30 mm.

On the other hand, in order to measure parts with different depths, it is proposed to measure the square lattice-shaped probes by placing two probes on top of each other and changing the combination of the light irradiation position and the detection position according to the depth. (Patent Document 3). Although it is possible to increase the number of sampling points in the same depth measurement using this arrangement, Patent Document 3 does not consider a rectangular probe.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-19408 JP-A-9-149903 JP 2001-178708 A

  The present invention provides an optimal arrangement that enables high-density measurement by increasing sampling points for a rectangular probe, and enables high-density measurement by using such a probe with high spatial resolution. It is an object of the present invention to provide a biological light measurement device that can display the above image and has high practicality.

  The biological light measurement device of the present invention includes a light source unit, a light irradiation unit for irradiating light from the light source unit to a plurality of positions of a test object, and a light receiving unit for detecting passing light from the test object at a plurality of positions , A light detection unit that detects light from the light receiving unit and outputs a signal corresponding to the passing light, and a processing unit that creates an image of the inspection object using the signal from the light detection unit And a control unit that controls the light source unit, the light detection unit, and the processing unit, and the probe includes a first and a first unit in which the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are alternately arranged on lattice points of a rectangular lattice. The light source unit and the light detection unit are arranged such that the two probes are shifted in the long side direction so that the other light irradiation unit or light reception unit is positioned between the one light irradiation unit and the light reception unit. Is the two systems corresponding to the first and second probes? Becomes, the processing unit is to create an image of the inspected object by using the signals obtained from these two systems together.

In the biological light measurement device of the present invention, the control unit switches and controls the two light source units and the light detection unit.
Further, in the biological light measurement device, preferably, the processing unit creates a moving image of the specimen using both time-series signals obtained from these two systems. In this case, for example, the processing unit calculates the minimum value or the maximum value of the signals obtained from the two systems, and displays the position at which the minimum value or the maximum value is obtained on the moving image of the inspection object.

  The probe for a biological light measurement device of the present invention is a probe for a biological light measurement device for disposing a plurality of light irradiation means and a plurality of light receiving means on an inspection object. Additional light irradiation means or light receiving means are added to the center of the light irradiation means and the light receiving means that are alternately arranged at the lattice points of the grid, and are adjacent in the long side direction of the rectangle. The means and the light receiving means are arranged so as to be alternately arranged.

  According to the present invention, a probe in which the sampling points are most efficiently densified is provided. By using this probe, it is possible to obtain a position accuracy image for a relatively wide region of the subject. Further, in the moving image display, it is possible to display the state of change of the region with high accuracy.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the general outline of the biological light measurement device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the external appearance thereof. This biological light measuring device is a device that irradiates light from the skin surface of the head of the subject 50 and images the inside of the cerebrum with passing light detected on the skin surface of the head, as shown in FIG. A light source unit 10, a light detection unit 20, and a control unit 30 are mainly provided.

  The light source unit 10 includes two systems 10A and 10B, each of which emits light of a predetermined wavelength in the visible to infrared wavelength region, and light irradiation position on the light output from the semiconductor laser 11. And an optical module 12 that gives different modulations depending on the type of optical module. Although only one semiconductor laser 11 is shown in the figure, normally, two semiconductor lasers 11 each emitting light having a plurality of wavelengths, for example, two wavelengths of 780 nm and 830 nm, are used. However, the value of two wavelengths is not limited to 780 nm and 830 nm, and the number of wavelengths is not limited to two wavelengths. A light emitting diode may be used instead of the semiconductor laser 11.

  The light from the semiconductor laser 11 is modulated by an oscillation unit (not shown) composed of oscillators having different oscillation frequencies. The modulation method employs analog modulation using a sine wave in this embodiment, but is not limited to this, and digital modulation using rectangular waves at different time intervals may be used. The optical module 12 includes an optical fiber coupler (not shown) that introduces light having wavelengths of 780 nm and 830 nm emitted from each semiconductor laser into one optical fiber (irradiation optical fiber 13).

  As shown schematically in FIG. 2, the tip of the irradiation optical fiber 13 is fixed to the optical fiber fixing member 41 together with the tip of the detection optical fiber 21 so as to have a predetermined positional relationship. The measuring probe 40 attached to the subject 50 is provided with a socket for receiving the tip of the optical fiber fixed to the optical fiber fixing member 41. The measurement probe 40 is attached to the head of the subject 50, and the tip of the optical fiber fixed to the optical fiber fixing member 41 is fitted into the socket, whereby the irradiation optical fiber 13 and the detection optical fiber 13 are detected on the skin surface of the head. Each tip of the optical fiber 21 can be brought into contact. As will be described later, the biological light measurement device of the present invention is characterized by the arrangement of the irradiation optical fiber 13 and the detection optical fiber 21 in the optical fiber fixing member 40, and corresponds to the above-described two systems of the light source units 10A and 10B. The arrangement is a combination of two arrangements.

  The light detection unit 20 also includes two systems 20A and 20B corresponding to the arrangement of the light source unit 10 and the tip of the optical fiber, each connected to the other end of each detection optical fiber 21, and the living body passing light is an electric signal (passing through the living body). A light intensity signal), a discrimination circuit 23 for selectively detecting a modulation signal, and an A / D converter 24 for A / D converting the output of the discrimination circuit 23. In the present embodiment, a photodiode 22 is used as the photodetector 22. As the photodiode 11, for example, a known avalanche photodiode capable of realizing highly sensitive optical measurement is desirable. However, as the photodetector, in addition to a photodiode, a photoelectric conversion element such as a photomultiplier tube can be used. As the discrimination circuit 23, for example, a lock-in amplifier module including a plurality of lock-in amplifiers is used. The number of lock-in amplifiers in the lock-in amplifier module is the same as or more than the sampling point of the probe. [Number of sampling points] × [number of used light wavelengths (here, two wavelengths)] is the number of channels.

  The light irradiated to the head from the irradiation optical fiber 13 and passed through the head, that is, the light passing through the living body, is collected by the detection optical fiber 21 and detected by the photodiode 22, and then the lock-in amplifier module 23. The modulation signal corresponding to the irradiation position and wavelength is selectively detected. The modulation signal output from the lock-in amplifier module 23 is separated into biological passage intensity signals corresponding to the wavelength and the irradiation position. The living body light intensity signal analog-output from the lock-in amplifier module 23 is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter (analog-digital converter) 24, respectively.

  The control unit 30 records a biological passage light intensity signal (digital signal) input from the two systems of light detection units 20A and 20B, and the biological passage light intensity signal at each detection position from the recording unit 32. A processing unit 31 that generates readout graphs and distribution images representing time-lapse information at a plurality of measurement positions, and calculates a change in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration, a deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration change, a total hemoglobin concentration, and the like associated with brain activity. And an input / output unit 33 for inputting a command by the user. Data necessary for processing in the processing unit 31 and data before and after processing are also recorded in the recording unit 32. References 1 and 2 describe a method of calculating oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration changes and total hemoglobin concentration from the biological light intensity signal at each detection position.

  The control unit 30 controls measurement by the light source unit 10 and the light detection unit 20 in addition to the signal processing described above. The control includes switching control of the two light source units 10 and the light detection unit 20 in addition to the start and end of measurement, the interval in the case of repeated measurement, and the like based on a command sent via the input / output unit 33. In order to switch and control the light source unit 10 and the light detection unit 20, the control unit 30 is switched to send the on / off control signal to the light source units 10A and 10B and to switch the acquisition of the signals from the light detection units 20A and 20B in synchronization therewith. Means (sequencer) 35 is provided.

  Next, the arrangement of the probe of the present invention, the irradiation optical fiber 13 and the detection optical fiber 21 will be described. FIG. 3 shows an example of the probe 400. In the figure, ● represents the tip of the irradiation optical fiber (that is, the light irradiator), ◯ represents the tip of the detection optical fiber (that is, the light receiver), and the square between them represents the sampling point.

  In the probe 400 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), two 3 × 5 probes 401A and 401B (FIGS. (A) and (b)) are arranged at a half pitch (between adjacent optical fibers). The arrangement is such that one optical fiber tip position comes to the other sampling point position and is shifted in the long side direction (the interval is 1 pitch). That is, the arrangement density in the horizontal direction (longitudinal direction) of the two arrangement directions in the vertical and horizontal directions is twice the arrangement density in the vertical direction. The portion corresponding to the probe 401A of the probe 400 is connected to the first system 10A of the light source unit and the first system 20A of the light detection unit, and the portion corresponding to the probe 401B is connected to the second system 10B of the light source unit and the light detection. Connected to the second system 20B.

Next, the operation of the biological light measurement device of the present embodiment will be described.
In biological light measurement, a probe is attached to the subject's head, and the subject's surface is irradiated with light while subjecting the subject to problems such as language generation and fingertip tapping, and light is detected by a light receiver. By giving such a problem and subtracting signals before and after the task load, it is possible to measure a change in hemoglobin concentration associated with brain activity. Usually, tasks are repeatedly performed after a certain period of pause, and the measurement including the period including one task load and pause is repeated as a unit of measurement, and statistical processing of signals obtained by multiple measurements is performed. I do.

  In the biological light measurement apparatus of the present embodiment, such biological light measurement is performed while the control unit 30 switches the first system 10A and the second system 10B of the light source unit at a predetermined frequency (time interval). The switching time interval is not particularly limited, but is set to a time (for example, several milliseconds) in which a sufficient signal can be acquired from each light detection unit when each is turned on. As described above, when the measurement is repeated with the period including one task load and the pause as the measurement unit, the measurement repeat unit may be the same. In addition, a certain rest period may be provided so that the amount of light when one is turned on does not affect the other.

  The state of the switching control is shown in FIG. As shown in the drawing, the first system 10A and the second system 10B are on / off controlled in a time-sharing manner, and only the light intensity signal passing through the living body from the light detection unit 20A of the first system is captured while the first system 10A is on. While the second system 10B is on, only the biological light intensity signal from the light detection unit 20B of the second system is captured. For example, when the first system 10A is driven and light is irradiated from the portion 401A of the probe 400 to the head surface, the light passing through the living body is detected not only by the light receiver of the portion 401A but also by the light receiver of the portion 401B. However, this light is light obtained from sampling points where the intervals between the light irradiator and the light receiver are different, and is information from different depths, which is noise for the intended measurement. While the first system 10A is on, the living body light intensity signal from the second system light detection unit 20B is not captured, and while the second system 10B is on, the living body from the first system light detection unit 20A. By not capturing the passing light intensity signal, it is possible to prevent noise from being mixed.

As a result, when the first system 10A is driven, light is emitted from the portion 401A of the probe 400 to the head surface, and a biological light intensity signal is measured from the sampling point indicated by the portion 401A in FIG. When the second system 10B is driven, the head surface is irradiated with light from the portion 401B of the probe 400, and a biological light intensity signal is measured from the sampling point indicated by the portion 401B in FIG. Since the sampling points of the part 401A and the sampling point of the part 401B are shifted from each other by a half pitch, as shown in FIG. 3D, 40 sampling points are arranged at a high density. Is equal to If the distance between adjacent fibers (1 pitch) is 30 cm, the high-density area is in the range of 63 (10.5 × 6) cm ² , and high spatial resolution information can be obtained in this area.

  The biological light intensity signals from the light detection units 20A and 20B are sequentially recorded in the recording unit 32. The processing unit 31 uses the biologically transmitted light intensity signal of the light detecting unit 20A continuously measured and the biologically transmitted light intensity signal from the light detecting unit 20B as a set, and changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration at each position. A change in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration, a total amount of hemoglobin concentration, and the like are calculated, and graphs and distribution images representing time-lapse information at a plurality of measurement positions are created. The distribution image is obtained by connecting the positions having the same value of hemoglobin concentration change with lines (topography) and displaying the change in hemoglobin concentration in gradation. FIG. 5 shows an example of the topography display. In the illustrated example, the topography is displayed superimposed on the brain morphological image. The morphological image of the brain may be an image of a subject to be captured by another imaging device, or may have a general morphological image as a model. A known method (for example, a method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-19408) is used for the alignment between the morphological image and the topography. In such a display, it is possible to know the position having the minimum value or the maximum value from the shape of the contour line or the color of the gradation display, and the determination of the active part of the brain associated with the task, the determination of the abnormality of the active part, etc. It can be carried out.

  The display example of FIG. 5 is an example of the display of the input / output unit 33. In this embodiment, in addition to the distribution image 501 created by the processing unit 31, a display unit 502 for displaying subject information, time course, set parameters, and the like is provided, and a measurement interface is provided as a user interface. A button for inputting a command such as start, pause, end, processing in the processing unit, a button 503 for setting a probe, and setting a parameter are displayed.

  In the living body optical measurement device of the present embodiment, a probe in which two rectangular probes are arranged so as to be shifted in the long side direction as a probe is used, and the same region as one probe is efficiently obtained by switching driving. Since the density can be increased well, the accuracy of the distribution image can be increased and information effective for the above-described determination can be obtained. Note that when creating a distribution image, it is possible to employ interpolation using values of sampling points adjacent to the sampling points as necessary to further increase the density.

  Next, as a comparative example, a probe having an arrangement in which two rectangular probes are shifted and overlapped in the short side direction will be described. FIG. 6 shows a probe 500 (FIG. (A)) of the comparative example and its sampling point (FIG. (B)). This probe 600 is also similar to the probe of this embodiment in that two 3 × 5 probes 401A and 401B are overlapped with each other with a half-pitch shift. However, it differs from the probe 400 in that the shifting direction is the short side direction.

In this case, the sampling point located at one end in the long side direction does not contribute to high density, and therefore the efficiency is lower than that of the probe 400 of the present embodiment. Specifically, if the distance between adjacent fibers (1 pitch) is 30 cm, the high-density region is 54 (12 × 9) cm ² and the sampling points are 36 points. It can be seen from this comparative example that the probe of this embodiment can efficiently increase the density.

  Next, a second embodiment of the biological optical measurement device using the probe of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation flow of the second embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example.

  The configuration of this biological light measurement apparatus is the same as that of the biological light measurement apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and it is the same as switching between the two light source units 10 and the light detection unit 20 to measure a high-density region. However, in this biological light measurement device, the processing unit 31 has a moving image display function. The moving image display function is a function of repeatedly measuring a biological passage light intensity signal and creating / displaying a distribution image in time series and displaying a temporal change of the distribution image as a moving image.

  First, the processing unit 31 takes in biological light intensity signals from the two systems of light detection units 20A and 20B, and creates and displays a distribution image as a set (steps 701 and 702). Here, for example, the position having the maximum value among the light intensity signals passing through the living body obtained from a plurality of positions is set as the center position of the brain activity site and displayed on the image (step 703). For example, a method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-237618 can be employed as a method for obtaining the center position. The display method of the center position is, for example, setting a corresponding pixel value as a maximum value or superimposing a color different from other parts. When there are a plurality of positions having the maximum value and they are adjacent to each other, the center is set as the center position. Such calculation of the center position is performed every time the distribution image is updated, and a line connecting the newly determined center position P and the previous center position P 'is displayed (step 704). This line can also be displayed in the same way as when the center position is displayed first.

By connecting the lines every time the distribution image is updated, the transition state (history) of the center position corresponding to the active site of the brain is depicted as a line on the moving image, as shown in FIG. Since the state of this transition is created based on information obtained by measuring a wide range at a high density, it has high positional accuracy and is useful for diagnosis.
In order to display the activity history of the brain, it is possible to use a minimum value instead of the maximum value. The method for obtaining the center position is not limited to the above-described method, and can be changed as appropriate, for example, using a weighted average.

  As described above, the living body optical measurement device of the present invention has been described by taking head measurement as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the head as a measurement target, and can be applied to other parts, and other living bodies other than human bodies or living bodies. is there. Further, by further increasing the number of light irradiation positions and light detection positions, the number of measurement channels can be increased, and the measurement area can be expanded.

The block diagram which shows the whole outline | summary of the biological light measuring device of this invention The figure which shows the appearance of a living body light measuring device The figure which shows one Embodiment of the probe for biological light measuring devices of this invention The figure explaining the switching control of the light source part and light detection part in the biological light measuring device of this invention The figure which shows an example of the display screen of the biological light measuring device of this invention Diagram showing probe of comparative example The figure which shows operation | movement of other embodiment of the biological light measuring device of this invention. The figure which shows the other example of the display screen of the biological light measuring device of this invention The figure which shows the conventional probe for biological light measuring devices of a rectangle

Explanation of symbols

10, 10A, 10B ... light source unit, 20, 20A, 20B ... light detection unit, 30 ... control unit, 31 ... processing unit, 32 ... recording unit, 33 ... input / output Part, 40, 400... Probe, 50.

Claims (5)

A probe having a light source unit, a light irradiating unit for irradiating light from the light source unit to a plurality of positions of the inspection object, and a light receiving unit for detecting the passing light from the inspection object at a plurality of positions; A light detection unit that detects light from the light and outputs a signal corresponding to the passing light, a processing unit that creates an image of the inspection object using a signal from the light detection unit, the light source unit, and a light detection unit And a biological light measurement device comprising a control unit for controlling the processing unit,
The probe irradiates the first and second probes in which the light irradiating means and the light receiving means are alternately arranged on the lattice points of a rectangular lattice between the one light irradiating means and the light receiving means. Having the arrangement shifted in the long side direction so that the means or the light receiving means is located,
The light source unit and the light detection unit are composed of two systems corresponding to the first and second probes, and the processing unit creates an image of the inspection object using signals obtained from these two systems. A biological light measuring device as a feature. The biological light measurement device according to claim 1,
The biological light measuring device, wherein the control unit controls switching between two light source units and a light detection unit. In the living body light measuring device according to claim 1 or 2,
The biological light measuring device, wherein the processing unit creates a moving image of the test object by using both time-series signals obtained from these two systems. The biological light measurement device according to claim 3,
The said processing part calculates the minimum value or maximum value of the signal obtained from two systems, and displays the position which becomes minimum value or maximum value on the moving image of the said test body, The biological light measuring device characterized by the above-mentioned. A probe for a biological light measurement device for arranging a plurality of light irradiation means and a plurality of light receiving means on an inspection body,
The light irradiating means and the light receiving means are alternately arranged at lattice points of a rectangular lattice, and another light irradiating means or light receiving means is provided at a substantially central portion of the light irradiating means and the light receiving means adjacent to each other in the long side direction of the rectangle. A probe for a biological light measurement device, characterized in that means are added and the added light irradiation means and light receiving means are arranged alternately.

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