JP2008278991A - Heel bone sound velocity measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heel bone sound velocity measuring device that improves the precision of a heel bone sound velocity measurement taking account of heel temperatures instantly measurable by the device with a simple means, and also performs the measurement within a short time. <P>SOLUTION: The device is provided with a pair of ultrasonic probes 8a, 8b to be placed at both the sides of a heel 2, a pair of digital calipers 11 to measure heel width when the heel 2 is placed between the ultrasonic probes 8a, 8b and a thermocouple 15 installed near the ultrasonic probe 8a to measure the temperature of the heel surface. The device measures the sound velocity of whole heel from the ultrasonic waves made to enter the interior of the heel 2 from the ultrasonic probes 8a, 8b. When the device calculates the heel bone sound velocity from the measured whole heel sound velocity and the heel width obtained with the digital calipers 11, the heel bone sound velocity calculated using the measured heel surface temperature obtained from the thermocouple 15 is corrected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rib sound velocity measuring device using ultrasonic waves.

  In recent years, with the increase in the elderly population, fractures such as lumbar spine, femur, and distal radius due to osteoporosis have become a major social problem, and a device that can easily and accurately measure the bone density causing osteoporosis Development is required.

  As an apparatus for measuring the bone density of the heel using ultrasonic waves, for example, a pair of ultrasonic probes sandwiches the heel and transmits and receives ultrasonic waves, and from a reception signal that receives ultrasonic waves transmitted through the heel bone. It is known that the speed of sound in bone is obtained and the bone density is measured based on this speed of sound.

  By the way, in the diagnosis of osteoporosis using such an ultrasonic wave, the measurement accuracy of the sound speed of the rib greatly affects the diagnosis result, but the measurement accuracy may be easily influenced by the temperature of the object to be measured. Are known. In particular, since the heel is located at the end of the body, the temperature of the heel varies greatly from person to person, and the temperature changes greatly depending on the season, which hinders accurate sound speed measurement.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a biological tissue evaluation apparatus that takes into account an error due to temperature in measurement of bone density using ultrasonic waves (see Patent Document 1). This biological tissue evaluation apparatus transmits / receives to / from a subject's heel, and includes a device main body including a measurement unit that measures the sound velocity of ultrasonic waves propagating through the ribs, and a cover that covers the entire upper surface and side surfaces of the device main body. And a temperature control device is provided on the back side of the cover member. The temperature control device includes a Peltier element, and the inside of the cover member is maintained at a predetermined temperature by heating or cooling the periphery of the measurement unit.

However, in the above-described conventional biological tissue evaluation apparatus, the temperature of the entire inside of the apparatus main body is controlled, and measurement must be waited until the apparatus main body covered with the cover member reaches a predetermined temperature. There was a problem that it took time to start the measurement. Further, since the surface temperature of the ridge is not directly measured, it is difficult to measure the speed of sound based on an accurate temperature.
JP 2002-136518 A

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to measure the surface temperature of the heel immediately while being a simple means, and improve the measurement accuracy of the sound speed of the ribs by correcting in consideration of the measurement temperature and for a short time. An object of the present invention is to provide a rib sound speed measuring device capable of measuring sound speed with the use of the above.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a rib sound speed measuring device according to the present invention includes a pair of ultrasonic probes that sandwich both sides of a heel, and a heel width when both sides of the heel are sandwiched between the ultrasonic probes.踵 width measuring means for measuring 音, sound speed measuring means for measuring the sound speed of the entire heel based on the ultrasonic wave incident on the inside of the heel from the ultrasonic probe, sound speed measurement value of the entire heel and the heel width Calculation means for calculating the sound speed of the ribs based on the measured value of the rib, a temperature sensor installed in the vicinity of the ultrasonic probe for measuring the temperature of the rib surface, and the rib surface obtained from the temperature sensor And a correction means for correcting the sound speed of the rib calculated by the calculation unit based on the measured temperature.

  According to the present invention, since the surface temperature of the heel is directly measured and the sound speed of the rib is corrected based on the measured value, the accuracy of the sound speed can be improved. Further, according to the present invention, since the surface temperature of the ridge is measured, the sound speed measurement can be started immediately and the measurement time can be shortened.

  Hereinafter, the best mode of a rib sound speed measuring device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rib sound speed measuring device of the present invention includes a measuring unit 3 that measures the sound speed of the heel 2, an ultrasonic flaw detector 4 that operates the measuring unit 3, and measurement conditions. And a computer device 5 for setting the above.

  The measurement unit 3 includes a recess 7 for setting the flange 2 in the center of the casing 6, and a pair of ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b that are disposed on both the left and right sides of the recess 7 and sandwich the flange 2 from both sides. A heel width measuring means for measuring the heel width. Attachments 10a and 10b are attached to the tips of the ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b, and the ultrasonic waves easily propagate to the transducer surface at the tips of the ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b via the attachments 10a and 10b. It is configured as follows. The attachments 10a and 10b are made of, for example, plastic in a truncated cone shape, and are fastened and fixed by screw members 9a and 9b in a state where the base ends are crimped to the transducer surfaces of the ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b. Note that, for example, sono jelly (manufactured by Toshiba Medical Supplies Co., Ltd.) is attached to the crimping surfaces of the ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b and the attachments 10a and 10b so that the ultrasonic waves can easily propagate to the ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b. It is desirable to fix after applying an acoustic medium such as

  The heel width measuring means is constituted by a digital caliper 11, for example. The digital caliper 11 includes a caliper plate 12. One caliper 8 a is fixed to an arm 13 a erected on one end of the caliper plate 12, and the caliper is slidably attached to the caliper plate 12. The other ultrasonic probe 8b is fixed to the scale 14 via an arm 13b.

  When measuring the heel width, after setting the heel 2 in the recess 7 of the measuring unit 3, the heel 2 is pressed against the fixed-side ultrasonic probe 8a, and in this state, the moving-side ultrasonic probe is pressed. The child 8 b is moved together with the caliper scale 14, and the ultrasonic probe 8 b is pressed against the heel 2 with an appropriate force to sandwich the heel 2. The width data between the ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b when both sides of the heel 2 are sandwiched are output from the caliper scale 14 to the computer device 5. The ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b can be adjusted in the vertical direction with respect to the arms 13a and 13b. The ultrasonic probes are used when measuring the width of the eyelids and when entering ultrasonic waves. It is desirable to adjust the height in advance so that the children 8a and 8b come into contact with the position of about 30 mm from the bottom surface of the basket 2.

  A characteristic point of the present invention is that a temperature sensor 15 is attached to the fixed-side ultrasonic probe 8a. This temperature sensor 15 has an ultrasonic probe so that when the heel 2 is sandwiched from both sides by a pair of ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b, the tip detection part of the temperature sensor 15 presses the surface of the heel 2 appropriately. It is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the child 8a. As the attachment means, for example, the tip detection portion of the temperature sensor 15 urged by an elastic member such as a spring is protruded slightly from the tip of the attachment 10a, and the temperature sensor is in contact with the tip of the attachment 10a. It is also possible to configure the 15 tip detection portions so as to surely hit the surface of the flange 2 by the biasing force of the elastic member. The temperature sensor 15 is configured by, for example, a thermocouple, and can be easily measured simply by bringing the tip detection unit into contact with the surface of the basket 2. Thermocouples are effective in shortening the measurement time because they respond quickly to temperature changes. The measured temperature data of the surface of the kite is output to the computer device 5 and used when correcting the temperature of the sound velocity measurement value of the entire kite.

  In this embodiment, in addition to the temperature correction, the position of the echo waveform of the sound velocity measured by the ultrasonic wave is corrected. For example, FIG. 3 shows a waveform of a transmitted echo that appears on the monitor of the ultrasonic flaw detector 4 when the sound speed of the entire eyelid is measured by ultrasonic waves. As the transmission echo, a first echo (a) when first transmitted through the entire bag and a second echo (b) when reflected after being transmitted and transmitted again are obtained. The waveform of the first echo (a) is clearly displayed on the monitor, but the waveform of the second echo (b) is not necessarily clearly displayed. Therefore, it is desirable to measure the sound speed of the entire kite from the position of only the first echo (a), but the position of the zero point on the X axis displayed on the monitor and the position of the initial pulse (c) are X Since it is shifted on the axis, the distance C between the two becomes an error amount, and an accurate sound velocity cannot be measured.

Therefore, in the present invention, the distance C is obtained in advance, and this is incorporated in the measurement software in the computer device 5 as a position correction value, thereby correcting the measured value when measuring the sound speed of the entire kite. Like to get. Specifically, since the inter-echo distance L _T ′ between the first echo (a) and the second echo (b) is obtained as an accurate value, the first echo from the zero point on the X axis displayed on the monitor. The distances A and B to (a) and the second echo (b) are measured, the distance between echoes _LT ′ is obtained by the following equation (1), and the correction distance C is obtained by the equation (2). Further, the correction time Z can also be obtained from the equation (3). In this embodiment, when five people were measured, Z = 2.9 μs was obtained, and this value was used as the correction time. By performing position correction in advance in this way, the sound velocity measurement of the entire kite requires only the measurement of the first echo with a very clear waveform of the transmitted echo, making it very easy to read the peak value of the echo. , Measurement accuracy is improved.
L _T ′ = B−A (1)
_{C = A-L T '/} 2 ····· (2)
Z = C / V _T '(3)
In Equation (3), V _T ′ is a provisional sound velocity value of the ultrasonic wave when the sound velocity of the entire kite is measured.

  It is desirable to perform the above-described position correction also for the reflected echo when measuring the thickness of the soft tissue of the eyelid. When the correction distance C or the correction time Z was obtained for five people in the same manner as described above, Z = 1.45 μs was obtained, and this value was used as the correction time.

  Next, the step of measuring the sound speed of the rib using the rib sound speed measuring apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the scissors 2 are set in the recesses 7 of the measuring unit 3, and both sides of the scissors 2 are sandwiched between the pair of ultrasonic probes 8 a and 8 b described above. At that time, the attachments 10a and 10b are adjusted so that the front end surfaces of the attachments 10a and 10b come into contact with the positions of 30 mm from the bottom surface and the rear surface, respectively. In addition, it is desirable to apply a jelly-like acoustic medium such as sono jelly (manufactured by Toshiba Medical Supplies Co., Ltd.) on both sides of the cocoon 2 so that ultrasonic waves can easily enter the cocoon 2.

After positioning the ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b, the measurement start switch is turned on to start measurement. First, by the digital caliper 11 of the measuring unit 3 actually measured heel width L _T, and outputs the measurement data to the computer device 5 (Step 1). Wherein the temperature sensor 15 at the same time as the actual measurement of the heel width L _T by actually measuring the surface temperature T of the heel 2, and outputs the measurement data to the computer device 5 (Step 2).

Next, the thickness dimensions L ₁ and L ₂ of the soft tissue 2b and 2c surrounding the rib 2a are obtained by ultrasonic measurement (step 3). Ultrasonic waves (sound velocity V _M = 1531 m / s) are incident on both sides of the heel 2 from each of the pair of ultrasonic probes 8a and 8b, and the reflected echoes from the ribs 2a are measured to thereby measure the left and right soft tissue 2b. , 2c, thicknesses L ₁ and L ₂ are obtained. Specifically, the waveform of the measured reflected echo is displayed on the monitor of the ultrasonic flaw detector 4, and the wall thickness dimensions L ₁ and L ₂ of the left and right soft tissues 2b and 2c can be obtained from the echo position of the image. . The position of the reflected echo waveform displayed on the monitor is corrected. It should be noted that the position-corrected thickness dimension is obtained by previously inputting the sound velocity V _M = 1531 m / s and the position correction time Z = 1.45 μs of the ultrasonic wave incident on the bowl 2 into the measurement software in the computer device 5. L ₁ and L ₂ can be obtained. Further, in order to easily obtain the peak position of the reflected echo, it is preferable to adjust the gain to about 80% of the waveform height.

Next, the ultrasonic probe 8a, 8b performs measurement of speed of sound propagating through the entire heel using a seek heel width of the entire heel L _{T '(step} 4). In this measurement, for example, V _T ′ = 1500 m / s and the position correction time Z = 2.9 μs of the entire kite are input to the measurement software in the computer apparatus 5 as temporary sound speed. Then, the measurement software in the computer device 9 is operated, and an ultrasonic flaw detector 4 causes 1500 m / s ultrasonic waves to be incident on the cage 2 from one ultrasonic probe 8a. The sound velocity of the entire kite is calculated by measuring the transmission echo when propagating through the kite using the transmission method. Specifically, the waveform of the first echo (a) is projected on the monitor of the ultrasonic flaw detector 4 and the overall width L _T ′ of the eyelid at the temporary sound speed is obtained from the peak position of the echo. The heel width dimension L _T ′ is calculated by automatically correcting the position, and the data is output to the computer device 5.

The arithmetic processing unit of the computer apparatus 5, the heel width L _T of the temporary sound velocity obtained above from ', and heel width L _T and the temporary sound speed V _T measured by a digital caliper _11', the following (4 ) of the entire heel acoustic velocity V _T is calculated by equation (step 5).
V _T = V _T '× L _T ' / L _T (4)

Next, temperature compensation sound velocity V _T of the entire heel calculated in the taking into account the surface temperature T of the heel 2, as measured by the temperature sensor 15 (Step 6). The inventors noticed that the sound speed of the entire kite is affected by the surface temperature of the kite 2, and found that the sound speed of the entire kite decreases linearly as the surface temperature of the kite 2 increases. According to the results based on Example 3 below, it was found that the sound speed of the entire bowl decreased by about 2.48 m / s every time the surface temperature of the bowl 2 increased by 1 ° C., and the temperature coefficient −2.48 (m / s) / ° C. Obtained. Using this temperature coefficient of −2.48 (m / s) / ° C., the sound speed of the entire kite when the reference temperature was set to 30 ° C., for example, was corrected. This calculation of temperature correction is performed by converting the measurement data of the surface temperature T of the bowl 2 input to the computer device 5 as the sound velocity at the reference temperature (30 ° C.). The sound speed V _T ″ of the entire kite after correction was calculated from the equation (5).
V _T ″ = V _T − (30−T) × (−2.48) (5)

Next, the acoustic velocity V _B of the from the reference temperature (30 ° C.) the acoustic velocity V _{T "of} the entire heel at determined in calcaneus 2a only calculated by the following formula (6) (step 7). Where L _B is the width dimension of only calcaneus 2a, the the heel lateral soft tissue 2b, a wall thickness L _1, L ₂ of 2c, the width L _T of the entire heel measured by digital caliper 11, the following (7 ).
L _T / V _T ″ = (L ₁ + L ₂ ) / V _M + L _B / V _B (6)
L _B = L _T − (L ₁ + L ₂ ) (7)

The operation of the ultrasonic flaw detector 4 as described above, the measurement of the sound velocity by ultrasonic waves, and the arithmetic processing in the computer device 5 are automatically performed according to the measurement software incorporated in the computer device 5 to correct the temperature. Finally, the sound velocity V _{B of} only the rib 2a to which position correction has been applied is obtained.

Next, a method for simply obtaining the sound speed of the rib 2a using only the sound speed of the entire rib without measuring the wall thickness dimensions L ₁ and L ₂ of the left and right soft tissues 2b and 2c will be described. This method is performed using the fact that the width L _B of width L _T and calcaneus 2a of the entire heel almost proportional. Although there are some individual differences, it is said that the rib 2a occupies about 64% of the entire heel. Since the, the width of the heel bone 2a L _B simplified manner calculated from the following equation (8), which can be easily calculated by inclusion in the above (6).
L _B = L _T × 0.64 (8)

In this simple method, the thicknesses L ₁ and L ₂ of the soft tissues 2b and 2c are not measured, but other measurements and arithmetic processes are performed by the same means as described above. In that case, the sound velocity measurement of the entire kite requires only the measurement of the first echo whose transmitted echo waveform is very clear, so that it is very easy to read the peak value of the echo, and the accuracy of automatic measurement is improved. There is an advantage that it is easy to measure.

Example 1
The speed of sound of the rib when the temperature correction value was taken into account and the speed of sound of the rib when not taken into account were compared with the bone density (BMD) obtained by the dual energy X-ray absorption method (DXA method). The speed of sound of the ribs was calculated by the calculation means described above, and the BMD measured the second to fourth lumbar vertebrae using the X-ray bone density measuring device QDR-4500W (Hologic, USA) and adopted the average value thereof. . In addition, a test subject is six men (AF) 23-25 years old.

  Table 1 shows the sound velocity of the ribs and the measured values of BMD. From the results in Table 1, the correlation coefficient r between the BMD and the sound speed of the ribs was 0.929 when the temperature correction value was not taken into account, and 0.948 when the temperature correction value was taken into account. It was found that the correlation between the two increases by adding the temperature correction value.

(Example 2)
In the above (6), and calculates the sound velocity V _B of the calcaneus using the value of the simple calculated as calcaneus width L _B (8) below. The subject is the same as in Example 1. Table 2 shows the measured values of sound velocity and BMD of the ribs. From the results in Table 2, the correlation coefficient r between the BMD and the sound speed of the ribs was 0.903 when the temperature correction value was not taken into account, and 0.936 when the temperature correction value was taken into account. In this case also, it was found that the correlation between the two increases by adding the temperature correction value.

(Example 3)
The effect of the temperature of the heel 2 on the speed of sound of the ribs was examined. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a measuring apparatus, which includes a water tank 20 and a pair of ultrasonic probes 21 a and 21 b, a thermocouple 22, and a heater 23 disposed in the water tank 20. The temperature of the water 24 in the water tank 20 was gradually raised by the heater 23, and the speed of sound of the entire basket 2 submerged in the water tank 20 was measured for each temperature. At this time, since the temperature of the water 24 is lower than the temperature of the cocoon 2, it takes time until the temperature of the cocoon 2 is stabilized, and after measuring the temperature of the cocoon 2 with the thermocouple 22, the sound speed measurement of the entire cocoon starts. did. Specifically, the provisional sound velocity is set as V _T ′ = 1500 m / s, and is made incident from one ultrasonic probe 21a, and the sound velocity V of the entire kite is determined from the peak position of the transmitted echo obtained by the other ultrasonic probe 21b. _T was determined from the above equation (4). Actually, for four subjects (A to D), when the temperature of the cocoon 2 by the thermocouple 22 changes from about 28 to 36 ° C., the sound speed of the whole cocoon is measured to increase by about 1 ° C. A temperature coefficient α, which is a value of the influence of the surface temperature of 踵 2 on the sound speed, was obtained. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the measurement results of the sound velocity of the entire cocoon accompanying the temperature change of the cocoon, and Table 3 shows the temperature coefficient and the average value thereof. From this experimental result, a temperature coefficient of −2.48 (m / s) / ° C. was obtained.

  The rib sound speed measuring apparatus according to the present invention can correct the sound speed of the ribs in consideration of the surface temperature of the ribs, so that the accurate sound speed of the ribs can be measured while being a simple measurement method. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of an osteoporosis diagnostic apparatus using ultrasound.

It is the schematic of the measurement part of the radius sound speed measuring apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a general view which shows the system of the radius sound speed measuring apparatus of this invention. It is the schematic of the echo waveform which permeate | transmits the whole bag. It is a step figure of the sound speed measurement of a rib using the rib sound speed measuring apparatus of this invention. It is an experimental model diagram for measuring the relationship between the temperature of the kite and the sound speed of the entire kite. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the temperature change of a kite, and the sound speed of the whole kite.

Explanation of symbols

2 踵 2a Ribs 2b, 2c Soft tissue 3 Measuring unit 4 Ultrasonic flaw detector 5 Computer device 8a, 8b Ultrasonic probe 10a, 10b Attachment 11 Digital caliper (踵 width measuring means)
12 Caliper plate 14 Caliper scale 15 Thermocouple (temperature sensor)

Claims (4)

A pair of ultrasonic probes sandwiching both sides of the heel, a heel width measuring means for measuring the heel width when the both sides of the heel are sandwiched by the ultrasonic probe, and installed in the vicinity of the ultrasonic probe And a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the heel surface,
The sound speed of the entire eyelid is measured based on the ultrasonic wave incident on the inside of the eyelid from the ultrasonic probe, and the sound speed measurement value of the whole eyelid and the measurement value of the eyelid width measured by the eyelid width measuring means When calculating the sound speed of the rib based on this, the calculated sound speed of the rib is corrected based on the measured temperature of the rib surface obtained from the temperature sensor.   The rib sound speed measuring device according to claim 1, wherein an attachment contacting the surface of the heel is attached to each tip of the pair of ultrasonic probes.   The rib speed of sound according to claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor is attached to at least one side of the pair of ultrasonic probes, and contacts the surface of the rib when both sides of the rib are sandwiched between the pair of ultrasonic probes. measuring device.   The rib sound speed measuring device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the temperature sensor is a thermocouple.

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