JP2009233226A - Blood vessel shape measuring instrument and vascular compliance measuring method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a blood vessel shape measuring instrument capable of measuring the outer diameter-displacement of a blood vessel from a plurality of directions of the blood vessel in a living body or an artificial blood vessel, and acquiring various kinds of pieces of information in the blood vessel in the living body and the artificial blood vessel, and also to provide a vascular compliance measuring method using the blood shape measuring instrument. <P>SOLUTION: The blood vessel shape measuring instrument 100 includes: a vertical direction measuring device 10 for detecting the displacement of two blood vessel contact parts in contact with the blood vessel at both upper and lower sides of the blood vessel; and a horizontal direction measuring device 20 for detecting the horizontal displacement of two blood vessel contact parts in contact with the blood vessel at both the right and left sides of the blood vessel, and detects the outer diameter and displacement of the blood vessel in vertical and horizontal directions. The vascular compliance measuring method includes calculating vascular compliance through the use of the outer diameter and displacement of the blood vessel in the vertical and horizontal directions to be measured by the blood vessel shape measuring instrument. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a blood vessel shape measuring device for acquiring information about a blood vessel shape at each moment from a beating blood vessel exposed from a living body, and a blood vessel compliance measuring method using the blood vessel shape measuring device.

  Today's artificial blood vessels have been put to practical use up to a diameter of 4 mm or more and a length of about 100 to 800 mm. However, a small-diameter artificial blood vessel having a diameter of less than 4 mm has a problem that a thrombus is easily generated, and has not yet been put into practical use. There are various possible causes that do not lead to practical use, but it is thought that the characteristics of the artificial blood vessel are mainly different from the characteristics of the blood vessels of the living body.

  One of the characteristics of this blood vessel is compliance. Compliance indicates the degree of softness of blood vessels. The difference in compliance between the artificial blood vessel and the blood vessel in the living body is considered to contribute to the generation of thrombus in the artificial blood vessel. In a living blood fluid that is a pulsatile flow, if the compliance is different between the artificial blood vessel and the blood vessel of the living body, the degree of expansion and contraction of the blood vessel when the blood flows also differs.

  In such a case, it is considered that a thrombus tends to adhere to the inner wall at an artificial blood vessel with little movement (that is, with low compliance) or at an anastomosis portion between a blood vessel and an artificial blood vessel in a living body. Therefore, in order to develop an artificial blood vessel, it is necessary to know characteristics of a blood vessel in a living body such as compliance. Also, when evaluating the produced artificial blood vessel, it is necessary to know the characteristics of the artificial blood vessel.

As an example of an apparatus for knowing such blood vessel characteristics, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-259836, name of invention “blood vessel stiffness measuring apparatus”) discloses the first prior art. .
This first prior art includes a pulse wave sensor provided with a plurality of pressure sensitive elements, a pressing means for pressing the pulse wave sensor against the skin on the blood vessel, and blood output from the pulse wave sensor pressed against the skin. A blood vessel sclerosis degree measuring apparatus comprising: a calculation unit that calculates a vascular degree of sclerosis based on a pulse wave signal generated by a flow. This vascular stiffness measuring device acquires a large number of pulse wave signals while changing the pressing force, and obtains the relationship between the pulse wave amplitude in the pressed state and the position of the pressure sensitive element, particularly when the pulse wave signal having the maximum amplitude is generated. Then, the degree of vascular sclerosis is calculated based on a curve indicating this relationship.

As another example of the apparatus, for example, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-70754, name of invention “blood vessel elasticity measuring apparatus”) discloses a second conventional technique.
This second prior art is a device that measures the blood pressure measured for a certain part of the blood vessel and the internal volume of the blood vessel in the vicinity of the part where the blood pressure is measured as a state representing the elasticity of the blood vessel. In this device, the Lissajous figure is displayed every time with the blood vessel volume on the X axis and the blood pressure on the Y axis. From the Lissajous figure that changes depending on the volume of the blood vessel and the level of blood pressure, The elasticity of the blood vessels representing the contraction is measured.

As another example of the device, for example, Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-317130, title of the invention “arteriosclerosis diagnosis device using an intravascular ultrasonic transducer”) includes a third prior art. It is disclosed.
This third prior art has a pressure sensor for measuring blood pressure, and a catheter provided with an ultrasonic transducer at its tip, and changes in the diameter of the blood vessel, the change in the diameter of the blood vessel due to the pulse, and This is an arteriosclerosis diagnostic apparatus for measuring the thickness of a blood vessel wall. In this arteriosclerosis diagnostic apparatus, the degree of vascular stiffness is obtained based on the measured state.

As another example of the device, for example, Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-31745, name of invention “blood vessel state measuring device and blood vessel state measuring method”) discloses the fourth prior art. .
The fourth conventional technique exposes a blood vessel from a living body, surrounds a measurement target portion, forms a closed space, a pressure adjusting unit that communicates with the closed space and adjusts the pressure of the closed space, It has a pressure measurement unit that measures pressure and a state measurement unit that measures the state of the measurement target portion at the pressure adjusted by the pressure adjustment unit, and measures the pressure outside the blood vessel, the shape of the blood vessel, and the like This is a blood vessel state measuring device that measures the compliance of blood vessels.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-259836 JP 2003-70754 A JP 63-317130 A JP 2005-31745 A

The conventional techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 have the following problems (1) to (5).
(1) In the prior art 1 described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to press the pulse wave sensor from the surface of the skin, the places where measurement is possible are limited, and necessary data is obtained about blood vessels and the like existing deep in the body Is difficult.

(2) In the prior art 2 described in Patent Document 2, the internal volume of a blood vessel is measured using a pulse oximeter. The pulse oximeter is attached to a fingertip and is locally present at a desired location. It is difficult to make an accurate measurement.

(3) In the prior art 3 described in Patent Document 3, since it is necessary to provide an ultrasonic transducer at the tip of the catheter, it is difficult to measure a thin blood vessel.

(4) Furthermore, in the prior art 1, 2, and 3 described in these Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3, it is assumed that there is another tissue (for example, muscle tissue) existing around the blood vessel. It is difficult to eliminate the influence of other tissues, and there is a problem that the measurement accuracy of the characteristics of a single blood vessel is impaired.
In addition, since the apparatus is premised on the presence of another tissue, it is not considered to measure the characteristics of the artificial blood vessel before being connected to a living body.

(5) Furthermore, in the prior art 4 described in Patent Document 4, there is no influence of other tissues existing around the blood vessel, and it is possible to measure the characteristics of the artificial blood vessel, but the pressure outside the blood vessel is adjusted. Furthermore, it is difficult to measure the state of blood vessels in a narrow space. Further, when measuring the displacement of the blood vessel surface from only one direction, it is difficult to grasp the cross-sectional shape of the blood vessel.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide an extravasation of blood vessels from two or more directions regardless of whether the measurement object is a biological blood vessel or an artificial blood vessel. An object of the present invention is to provide a blood vessel shape measuring apparatus capable of measuring diameter and displacement and realizing acquisition of various types of information on blood vessels and artificial blood vessels in a living body. Another object of the present invention is to provide a blood vessel compliance measuring method using such a blood vessel shape measuring apparatus.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided.
The two blood vessel contact portions come into contact with each other at two intersections of the reference diameter direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the blood vessel and the surface layer surface of the blood vessel, and the displacement sensor detects the displacement of the two blood vessel contact portions in the reference diameter direction. A reference diameter direction measuring device that detects and outputs a detection signal;
Two blood vessel contact portions are in contact with each other at the intersection of the cross diameter direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the blood vessel and intersecting the reference diameter direction, and the surface layer surface of the blood vessel, and the cross diameter of the two blood vessel contact portions At least one cross-diameter direction measuring device in which a displacement sensor detects a displacement in a direction and outputs a detection signal;
And detecting the outer diameter and displacement of the blood vessel in the reference diameter direction and at least one or more cross diameter directions based on detection signals respectively output from the reference diameter direction measurement device and at least one or more cross diameter direction measurement devices. It is characterized by.

Moreover, the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention includes:
The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 1,
The reference diameter direction is a vertical direction in a direction from the lower side to the upper side of the surface layer of the blood vessel, and the cross diameter direction is a horizontal direction in a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention is
The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 2,
The vertical direction measuring device is
An L-shaped contactor having a bent blood vessel contact portion at a right angle at the tip of a long rod;
A support spring portion that supports the L-shaped contactor so as to move in the vertical direction and urges the L-shaped contactor to be in a predetermined position;
A displacement sensor for measuring the vertical position of the L-shaped contact;
A sensor base for fixing the support spring part and the displacement sensor,
A vertical sensor unit having a pair of left and right sensor units,
The two L-shaped contacts are configured to sandwich the blood vessel by bringing the two blood vessel contact portions into contact with the upper and lower sides of the blood vessel against the biasing force of the respective support spring portions,
The two displacement sensors output the vertical positions of the two L-shaped contacts that are displaced in conjunction with the respective blood vessel contact portions as detection signals indicating the positions of the blood vessel contact portions on both the upper and lower sides of the blood vessel. It is characterized by that.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 4 of the present invention is
In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 3,
The support spring portion is a parallel spring.

A blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 5 of the present invention is
In the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
The two sensor units of the vertical sensor unit are connected to each other, and the two position adjusting units that determine the relative positions of the two sensor units in the vertical direction and the two position adjusting units are fixed, respectively. And a coarse motion part having a reference base.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 6 of the present invention is
In the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
The horizontal direction measuring device is
A rotating contact having a blood vessel contact portion at the tip of a long rod;
A support spring portion that supports the rotary contact so as to rotate and move in response to the movement of the blood vessel contact portion in the left-right direction and biases the rotary contact so as to be in a predetermined position;
A displacement sensor for measuring the position of the rotating contact in the rotational direction;
A sensor base for fixing the support spring part and the displacement sensor,
A left-right direction sensor unit having a pair of left and right sensor units,
The two rotary contacts are configured to sandwich the blood vessel by bringing the two blood vessel contact portions into contact with the left and right sides of the blood vessel against the urging force of the respective support spring portions,
The two displacement sensors output the position in the left-right direction of the two rotating contacts that are displaced in conjunction with the respective blood vessel contact portions as detection signals indicating the positions of the blood vessel contact portions on the left and right sides of the blood vessel. Features.

A blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 7 of the present invention is
The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 6,
The support spring portion is an L-shaped leaf spring.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 8 of the present invention is
In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 6 or 7,
A coarse motion unit having two slide parts to which the two sensor parts of the left and right direction sensor parts are respectively connected, and a position adjusting part for determining a relative position in the left and right direction of the two slide parts. It is characterized by providing.

A blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 9 of the present invention is
In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to any one of claims 2 to 8,
It has a reference part that is a straight rod,
The vertical direction measuring device and the horizontal direction measuring device have a common reference hole penetrating in an axial direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and a reference portion inserted through the common reference hole serves as a rotation shaft. And is supported so as to be movable in the axial direction of the reference portion.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 10 of the present invention is
In the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 9,
The up-down direction measuring device and the left-right direction measuring device have a shape that narrows to a V shape as it goes in the direction of the blood vessel contact portion along the up-down direction.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 11 of the present invention is
In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to any one of claims 2 to 10,
The displacement sensor is an eddy current displacement sensor.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 12 of the present invention is
In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to any one of claims 2 to 11,
Two blood vessel position fixing devices are provided on both sides so as to sandwich the vertical direction measuring device and the horizontal direction measuring device, and determine the position of the blood vessel.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 13 of the present invention is
The blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 12,
The blood vessel position fixing device includes a J-shaped bent portion formed in a J-shape.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 14 of the present invention is
The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 13,
A pressing portion disposed at the tip of the J-shaped bent portion and having a lowermost portion formed at a position lower than the lowest level of the blood vessel contact portion of the vertical direction measuring device and the lowest level of the blood vessel contact portion of the horizontal direction measuring device. It is characterized by providing.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 15 of the present invention is
The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 2,
The vertical direction measuring device is arranged in a casing,
Two L-shaped contacts having a bent blood vessel contact portion perpendicular to the tip of the long rod;
A support provided on the casing and supporting each of the two L-shaped contacts so as to move in the vertical direction;
Two spring portions for energizing each of the two L-shaped contacts so that the blood vessel contact portions of the two L-shaped contacts approach each other;
Two stoppers provided on the two L-shaped contacts, respectively, for positioning the two L-shaped contacts by contacting the protrusions of the casing;
Two displacement sensors that respectively measure the vertical positions of the two L-shaped contacts;
With
The two L-shaped contacts are configured to sandwich the blood vessel by bringing the two blood vessel contact portions into contact with the upper and lower sides of the blood vessel against the urging force of each spring portion,
The two displacement sensors output the vertical positions of the two L-shaped contacts that are displaced in conjunction with the respective blood vessel contact portions as detection signals indicating the positions of the blood vessel contact portions on both the upper and lower sides of the blood vessel. It is characterized by that.

A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 16 of the present invention provides:
In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 2 or 15,
The left-right direction measuring device is arranged in a casing,
Two rotating contacts having a blood vessel contact portion at the tip of a long rod,
A support part for supporting each of the two rotary contacts so as to rotate and move according to the movement of the blood vessel contact part in the left-right direction;
A slider that is supported so that the support portion is fixed and moves along the elongated hole portion of the casing;
A spring portion that urges the blood vessel contact portions of the two rotary contacts to approach each other;
Two displacement sensors for measuring the left and right positions of the two rotating contacts,
With
The two rotating contacts are moved in and out of the casing by the movement of the slider, and the two blood vessel contact portions are brought into contact with the left and right sides of the blood vessel against the urging force of the spring portion so as to sandwich the blood vessel,
The two displacement sensors output the position in the left-right direction of the two rotating contacts that are displaced in conjunction with the respective blood vessel contact portions as detection signals indicating the positions of the blood vessel contact portions on the left and right sides of the blood vessel. Features.

A blood vessel compliance measurement method according to claim 17 of the present invention includes:
The blood vessel shape measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is used to measure the outer diameter and displacement of the blood vessel in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the vicinity of the blood vessel measured by the blood vessel shape measuring device is used as a measurement point. Blood pressure is measured, and blood vessel compliance is calculated using the outer diameter, displacement, and blood pressure in the vertical and horizontal directions.

  According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to measure the outer diameter / displacement of a blood vessel from two or more directions regardless of whether the measurement target is a biological blood vessel or an artificial blood vessel. It is possible to provide a blood vessel shape measuring apparatus that realizes acquisition of various types of information with an artificial blood vessel. Moreover, the blood vessel compliance measuring method using such a blood vessel shape measuring apparatus can be provided.

  Hereinafter, a blood vessel shape measuring apparatus of the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view for explaining the use of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus. The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 is configured to be easily positioned by the apparatus fixture 200. The apparatus fixture 200 is, for example, a multi-joint arm and is disposed near the operating table 300. There is a living body 400 on the operating table 300, and an incision 500 is formed in advance. It is assumed that the blood vessel 600 is exposed in the incision 500. The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 directly contacts the blood vessel 600 and acquires necessary information. The blood vessel shape measuring device 100 includes an up-down direction measuring device 10 and a left-right direction measuring device 20, which will be described in detail later. The up-down direction measuring device 10 measures the vertical position and displacement of the blood vessel 600, and the left-right direction measurement. The apparatus 20 measures the horizontal position and displacement of the blood vessel 600.

  Next, the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. 2A and 2B are explanatory views of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus of the present embodiment, in which FIG. 2A is a front view, FIG. 2B is a right side view, and FIG. 2C is a rear view. As shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 includes a vertical direction measuring apparatus 10, a horizontal direction measuring apparatus 20, a reference unit 30, a blood vessel position fixing tool 40, and a blood vessel position fixing. A tool 50 is provided.

The vertical measuring device 10 detects the vertical diameter of the blood vessel 600 (see FIG. 1) and the vertical displacement according to the movement of the blood vessel 600.
The lateral direction measuring device 20 detects the lateral diameter of the blood vessel 600 (see FIG. 1) and the lateral displacement according to the movement of the blood vessel 600.

  The reference unit 30 is, for example, a round bar, and is inserted into a common reference hole of the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the horizontal direction measuring device 20 to support the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the horizontal direction measuring device 20 so as to be movable. . The vertical direction measuring device 10 and the horizontal direction measuring device 20 are movable in the axial direction of the reference portion 30 that is substantially parallel to the blood vessel axial direction (the axial direction to the left and right in FIG. 2B). The measuring device 10 and the left-right direction measuring device 20 are arranged as close as possible to bring the measurement points in the up-down direction and the left-right direction close to each other. In addition, the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the horizontal direction measuring device 20 are movable in a rotation direction (rotation direction in FIG. 5A) with the reference portion 30 as a central axis, but particularly in the vertical direction with respect to the blood vessel 600. The direction measuring device 10 can be attached from the side.

  The blood vessel position fixing tool 40 is attached to the vertical direction measuring apparatus 10, and the blood vessel position fixing tool 50 is attached to the left and right direction measuring apparatus 20. These blood vessel position fixtures 40 and 50 determine the position of the blood vessel 600 between them. Therefore, the blood vessel 600 positioned between the blood vessel position fixing devices 40 and 50 is at a position where the placement (positioning) of the blood vessel 600 by the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the horizontal direction measuring device 20 is optimal, and the blood vessel The arrangement (positioning) of the blood vessel 600 on the shape measuring apparatus 100 is facilitated.

Next, each part will be described. First, the vertical direction measuring apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the vertical direction measuring apparatus, FIG. 3 (a) is a front view, and FIG. 3 (b) is a right side view.
The vertical direction measuring device 10 is roughly provided with a coarse motion unit 11 and a vertical direction sensor unit 12.

The coarse movement unit 11 further includes a reference base 111, two position adjustment units 112, and one common reference hole 113.
The reference base 111 is, for example, a plate body or a rectangular parallelepiped, and each component is attached and fixed at a predetermined position.
The position adjustment unit 112 is a variety of devices that linearly move the position of the tip. For example, the position adjustment unit 112 is a micrometer that adjusts the position by rotating a dial (in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 3A). Two position adjusters 112 are fixed to the left and right of the reference base 111.
The common reference hole 113 is a through hole provided at the center of the reference base 111 as shown in FIG.

  The vertical sensor unit 12 includes two sensor bases 121, two displacement sensors 122, two L-shaped contacts 123, and two support springs 124. Here, one sensor unit is formed by one displacement sensor 122, one L-shaped contact 123, and one support spring portion 124 included in one sensor base 121. Have two sensor parts.

The sensor base 121 is an L-shaped member as viewed from the front of FIG. 3A, and is fixed to the tip of the position adjusting unit 112 of the coarse motion unit 11. The sensor base 121 is moved in the vertical direction (in the direction of arrow b in FIG. 3A) by the position adjusting unit 112.
The displacement sensor 122 is fixed to the sensor base 121 and is positioned immediately above the L-shaped contact 123 as described later.
The L-shaped contact 123 is a member having a bent blood vessel contact portion 123a perpendicular to the tip of a long rod. The L-shaped contact 123 is attached to the support spring portion 124.
The support spring portion 124 is a parallel spring including a U-shaped spring 124 a and a parallel link 124 b and is fixed to the sensor base 121. The support spring portion 124 functions as a spring portion that urges the L-shaped contact 123 so that the L-shaped contact 123 is normally in a predetermined position, and when a vertical force is applied to the L-shaped contact 123. It also functions as a support portion that supports the L-shaped contact 123 so as to move in the vertical direction. The L-shaped contact 123 moves not only in the vertical direction but also in the horizontal direction. However, the L-shaped contact 123 has a sufficiently small amount of movement and can be ignored. The following description also assumes that it simply moves in the vertical direction. To proceed. The sensor unit on the opposite side also has the same function, and redundant description is omitted.

The difference between the left and right sensor parts is the height of the blood vessel contact part 123a. When the left and right sensor bases 121 are set to the same height by the coarse motion part 11, the height of the two blood vessel contact parts 123a is designed to contact at the vertical position of the blood vessel 600 having a predetermined diameter. And if the coarse motion part 11 is adjusted, it can contact the up-and-down position of the blood vessel 600 of arbitrary diameters. Since the measurement range of the displacement sensor 122 is narrow, the coarse movement unit 11 is used so as to be within the measurement range.
Then, if the two blood vessel contact portions 123a move in the vertical direction due to the contraction of the blood vessel 600, the L-shaped contactor 123 also moves in the vertical direction (in the direction of arrow c in FIG. 3A) as it is. The displacement sensor 122 represents the distance between the position of the upper tip of the L-shaped contact 123 that changes in accordance with the vertical movement of the L-shaped contact 123 and the position of the tip of the displacement sensor 122. A detection signal is output. A method for acquiring information about a blood vessel using the detection signal will be described later.

Next, the horizontal direction measuring device 20 will be described with reference to the drawings. 4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams of the horizontal direction measuring apparatus, in which FIG. 4A is a front view and FIG. 4B is a right side view.
The left-right direction measuring device 20 includes a coarse movement unit 21 and a left-right direction sensor unit 22 roughly.

The coarse movement part 21 further includes a reference base 211, two position adjustment parts 212, two slide parts 213, and one common reference hole 214.
The reference base 211 is, for example, a plate body or a rectangular parallelepiped, and each component is attached and fixed at a predetermined position.
The position adjustment unit 212 is various devices that linearly move the position of the slide unit 213 in the left-right direction (the direction of arrow d in FIG. 4A). For example, the dial is rotated in the direction of rotation (the direction of arrow e in FIG. 4A). ) To adjust the position.
The slide part 213 is a member formed in an L shape when viewed from the right side surface of FIG. 4B, and moves by adjusting the position of the position adjusting part 212.
The common reference hole 214 is a through hole provided at the center of the reference base 211 as shown in FIG.

  The left-right direction sensor unit 22 includes two sensor bases 221, two displacement sensors 222, two rotary contacts 223, and two support springs 224. Here, one sensor unit is formed by one displacement sensor 222, one rotary contact 223, and one support spring 224 included in one sensor base 221, and the left and right direction sensor unit 22 has two on both the left and right sides. It has one sensor part.

The sensor base 221 is an L-shaped member as viewed from the front of FIG. 4A, and is fixed to the tip of the slide portion 213 of the coarse movement portion 21. The sensor base 221 moves in the left-right direction (the direction of the arrow d in FIG. 4A) together with the slide part 213 by the position adjustment of the position adjustment part 212.
The displacement sensor 222 is fixed to the sensor base 221 and is positioned immediately above the rotary contact 223 as will be described later.
The rotary contact 223 is an L-shaped member in which long side plates or round bars / square bars (hereinafter simply referred to as bars) on two sides are connected at an angle of 90 °. This is a member having a blood vessel contact portion 223a at the tip and the displacement sensor 222 facing the other rod. The rotary contact 223 is attached to the support spring part 224.
The support spring portion 224 is an L-shaped leaf spring formed in an L shape, and is attached so as to rotate about a right angle portion of the rotary contact 223 as a central axis, and is fixed to the sensor base 221. The support spring portion 224 functions as a spring portion that biases the rotary contact 223 so that it is normally in a predetermined position, and the rotary contact 223 is centered when a rotational force is applied to the rotary contact 223. It also functions as a support part that supports the motor so as to rotate. Note that the sensor unit on the opposite side also has the same function, and a duplicate description is omitted.

  The difference between the left and right sensor parts is the position of the blood vessel contact part 223a in the left-right direction. The left and right slide portions 213 are adjusted by the coarse movement portion 21 so that the left and right positions of the two blood vessel contact portions 223a are in contact with the left and right positions of the blood vessel 600 having a predetermined diameter. And if the coarse movement part 21 is adjusted, it can contact the left-right position of the blood vessel 600 of arbitrary diameters. Since the measurement range of the displacement sensor 222 is narrow, the coarse movement unit 21 is used so as to be within the measurement range.

  If the two blood vessel contact portions 223a move in the left-right direction (in the direction of arrow f in FIG. 4A) due to the contraction of the blood vessel 600, the rotary contact 223 rotates and moves around the central axis as it is to the displacement sensor 222. At the opposite location, the plate rotates and moves in the vertical direction (the direction of arrow g in FIG. 4A), and the distance between the displacement sensor 222 and the rotating contact 223 changes. The displacement sensor 222 outputs a detection signal indicating the distance between the position of the upper end of the rotary contact 223 that changes in accordance with the rotational movement of the rotary contact 223 and the position of the end of the displacement sensor 222. A blood vessel information acquisition method using the detection signal will be described later.

  The vertical direction measuring device 10 (see FIG. 3A) and the horizontal direction measuring device 20 (see FIG. 4A) described above have a shape that narrows in a V shape as it goes in the vertical direction toward the blood vessel contact portion. . As a result, it is possible to measure the blood vessel in contact with a blood vessel which is in the back of the living body and has incisions on the left and right sides.

Next, the reference unit 30 will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the reference portion 30, FIG. 5 (a) is a front view, and FIG. 5 (b) is a right side view. 5A and 5B, the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the horizontal direction measuring device 20 are also illustrated.
The reference portion 30 is, for example, a round bar, and is inserted into the common reference hole 113 of the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the common reference hole 214 of the horizontal direction measuring device 20. These common reference holes 113 and 214 are holes that penetrate in the axial direction perpendicular to both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. The vertical measurement device 10 and the horizontal measurement device 20 are supported rotatably in a rotation direction (in the direction of arrow h in FIG. 5A) with the reference portion 30 as a rotation axis, and the axial direction of the blood vessel. It is slid along the reference portion 30 that is substantially parallel and supported so as to be movable in the axial direction (the direction of arrow i in FIG. 5B). In particular, when the vertical direction measuring apparatus 10 is rotated downward in the direction of the arrow h as shown in FIG. 5A, the blood vessel 600 is placed (positioned) from the lateral side into the blood vessel contact portion 123a. There is an advantage that the arrangement (positioning) is simplified.

Next, the blood vessel position fixtures 40 and 50 will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the blood vessel position fixing tool 40, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the blood vessel position fixing tool 50.
A blood vessel position fixing tool 40 shown in FIG. 6 is attached to the reference base 111 of the vertical direction measuring apparatus 10 and includes an attachment portion 41, a fixing hole 42, a rod body 43, a J-shaped bending portion 44, and a pressing portion 45. Prepare. The attachment portion 41 is fixed to the reference base 111. Various methods such as fixing by inserting a screw through the fixing hole 42 can be adopted as the fixing method. The rod body 43 is connected to the mounting portion 41 and is integrally formed, and is a member extending in the vertical direction. The J-shaped bent portion 44 is connected to the rod body 43 and formed integrally. A pressing portion 45 is integrally formed below the J-shaped bent portion 43. The pressing portion 45 can be a semi-oval shape shown in FIG. 6, or a circular shape (not shown).

7 is attached to the sensor base 221 of the left-right direction measuring device 20, and includes an attachment portion 51, a fixing hole 52, a rod 53, a J-shaped bending portion 54, and a pressing portion. A portion 55 is provided. The attachment portion 51 is fixed to the sensor base 221. Various methods such as fixing by inserting a screw into the fixing hole 52 can be adopted as the fixing method. The rod 53 is connected to the mounting portion 51 and is integrally formed, and is a member extending in the vertical direction. The J-shaped bent portion 54 is connected to the rod body 53 and formed integrally. A pressing portion 55 is integrally formed below the J-shaped bent portion 53. The pressing portion 55 may be a semi-oval shape shown in FIG. 7 or a circular shape (not shown).
A method for operating the blood vessel position fixtures 40 and 50 will be described later.

  The structure of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 of this embodiment has been described above. The displacement sensor 122 of the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the displacement sensor 222 of the horizontal direction measuring device 20 have been described without any particular limitation. However, an eddy current type displacement sensor is particularly preferably used as the displacement sensor. The measurement principle of the eddy current displacement sensor uses a high-frequency magnetic field, and a high-frequency magnetic field is generated by flowing a high-frequency current through a coil inside the sensor head, and a metal L-shaped contact or rotating contact is generated in this magnetic field. If there is a child, the electromagnetic induction action causes an eddy current in the direction perpendicular to the passage of magnetic flux to flow on the surface of the L-shaped contact or rotary contact, and the impedance of the sensor coil changes. The distance is measured by the change. Such a displacement sensor may be adopted.

  Next, a method for acquiring information about blood vessels using the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 will be described. First, the measurement of the outer diameter of the blood vessel in the vertical and horizontal directions, the measurement of the cross-sectional shape and area of the blood vessel, and the grasp of changes in the outer diameter, the cross-sectional shape, and the area will be described.

First, the origins of the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the horizontal direction measuring device 20 are aligned in advance. A cylinder (outer diameters Y _S and X _{S in} FIG. 8) whose outer diameter is known in advance with respect to the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the horizontal direction measuring device 20 is brought into contact with the blood vessel contact portion 123a and the blood vessel contact portion 223a. .
First, the position adjustment unit 112 of the vertical direction measuring apparatus 10 is adjusted. Since the position adjustment unit 112 has a scale, the amount of coarse movement can be easily grasped. And it adjusts so that the height of the upper and lower blood vessel contact parts 123a may be a position in contact with the outer diameter of the cylinder. As a result, the upper and lower blood vessel contact portions 123a are determined to be separated from each other by Y _S in the schematic diagram of the blood vessel in FIG. These positions are the origins of the upper and lower blood vessel contact portions 123a, that is, positions where the displacement amount is zero.

Subsequently, the position adjustment unit 212 of the horizontal direction measuring device 20 is adjusted. Since the position adjusting unit 212 has a scale, the amount of coarse movement can be easily grasped. Then, adjustment is made so that the positions of the left and right blood vessel contact portions 223a are in contact with the outer diameter of the cylinder. Thus the X _S by the left and right of the vessel contacting portion 223a in the schematic view of the vessel of FIG. 8 is determined to be located away. These positions are the origins of the left and right blood vessel contact portions 223a, that is, positions where the amount of displacement is zero.

Subsequently, a calibration operation that represents the relationship between the output voltage of the displacement sensor 122 and the displacement amount of the blood vessel surface is performed. Specifically, the height of the lower blood vessel contact portion 123a is displaced by a certain amount in the vertical direction by moving the above-described cylinder having a known outer diameter in the vertical direction by a moving stage or the like. The output voltage of the displacement sensor 122 is plotted on a graph, and a linear expression is calculated using the slope of the linear approximation line as a coefficient. A specific example is shown in the output characteristic diagram of FIG. The coefficient in this case is about 200 μm / V. According to the output characteristic diagram of FIG. 9, when the output voltage of the displacement sensor 122 changes from, for example, about 6V to about 2V, that is, about 4V, the distance changes from about 700 μm to about 1500 μm, that is, about 800 μm. It can be determined that there was a displacement. In this way, ΔY ₁ on the lower side of FIG. 8 is calculated from the output voltage of the displacement sensor 122. Further, the upper ΔY ₂ detected from the upper blood vessel contact portion 123a is also calculated by the same method. If ΔY ₁ or ΔY ₂ is negative, it indicates that it is smaller than Y _S. Such calibration work processing is connected to the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 10 and is performed by a signal processing apparatus that acquires the output voltage value of the displacement sensor 122.

Similarly, a calibration operation that represents the relationship between the output voltage of the displacement sensor 222 and the displacement amount of the blood vessel surface is performed. Specifically, the left blood vessel contact portion 223a is displaced by a certain amount in the left-right direction by moving the above-described cylinder having a known outer diameter in the left-right direction using a moving stage or the like, and the displacement sensor 222 at that time The output voltage is plotted on a graph, and a linear expression is calculated using the slope of the linear approximation line as a coefficient. For example, the characteristic diagram as shown in FIG. 9 is acquired. Thus, ΔX ₁ on the left side of FIG. 8 of the left blood vessel contact portion 223a is calculated from the output voltage of the displacement sensor 222. Further, by the same method, ΔX ₂ on the right side of the right blood vessel contact portion 223a is also calculated from the output voltage of the displacement sensor 222. Note If [Delta] X ₁ and [Delta] X ₂ is negative, indicating that less than _{X S.} Such a process is connected to the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 10 and is performed by a signal processing apparatus that acquires the output voltage value of the displacement sensor 222.
If the output voltage can be measured in this way, the displacement of the blood vessel contact portion 123a and the blood vessel contact portion 223a is calculated.

In the above method, originally (1) output voltage of the displacement sensor → (2) distance between the displacement sensor and the contact → (3) the displacement amount of the blood vessel surface is omitted in the order of (2). (1) → (3). The correspondence of the displacement amount of the blood vessel surface layer to the output voltage of the displacement sensor is obtained. Even in this way, the outer diameter can be calculated from the amount of change in the sensor output voltage.
As described above, when a certain output voltage value is detected, the displacement of the blood vessel corresponding to the output voltage value is uniquely determined, so that the outer diameter and displacement can be easily grasped.

Next, actual measurement processing will be described. First, a method for attaching the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, an incision 500 is formed in the living body 400 in advance to expose the blood vessel 600. Then, the apparatus fixture 200 is operated to lower the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 from the upper side of the blood vessel 600, and the blood vessel 600 is first fixed to the blood vessel position fixing tool 40 and the blood vessel position fixing tool 50.

  At this time, the pressing portion 45 of the blood vessel position fixing tool 40 and the pressing portion 55 of the blood vessel position fixing tool 50 are pressed against the living body 400. The lowest parts of the pressing parts 45 and 55 are the same height, and are further lower than the lowest part of the blood vessel contact part 123a of the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the lowest part of the blood vessel contact part 223a of the left and right direction measuring apparatus 20. Since it is in a sufficiently low position, the blood vessel contact portion 123a of the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the blood vessel contact portion 223a of the left and right direction measuring device 20 are freely positioned without being interfered even if they are located higher than the living body 400 on the lower side. Can move to.

  Under such circumstances, the blood vessel 600 is moved in the direction of the arrow j in FIG. 6 (the direction of the arrow k in FIG. 7) to place the blood vessel 600 in the blood vessel position fixtures 40 and 50, and the blood vessel 600 is fixed. The In this case, the vertical measuring device 10 is arranged at a position rotated with respect to the reference portion 30 as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Here, the openings of the blood vessel position fixing devices 40 and 50 are on the same side, and the arrangement (positioning) of the blood vessels is easy.

  Subsequently, the blood vessel 600 is arranged (positioned) by the vertical direction measuring device 10 and the horizontal direction measuring device 20. First, the horizontal direction measuring device 20 is lowered from the upper side to the lower side so that the blood vessel 600 is sandwiched between the left and right blood vessel contact portions 223a, and then the vertical direction measuring device 10 is rotated about the reference portion 30 as a rotation axis. It is assumed that the blood vessel 600 is arranged from the lateral direction and is sandwiched between the upper and lower blood vessel contact portions 123a. In this manner, the blood vessel 600 can be easily fixed.

Then, the acquisition method of various information using this blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 is demonstrated.
First, the diameter and change of the blood vessel in the vertical direction are detected by the following method. A detection signal from the displacement sensor 122 of the vertical direction measuring device 10 is output to a signal processing device (not shown). In the signal processing device, the detection signal is A / D converted to obtain an output voltage value, and the displacement ΔY _{1 at} the upper intersection of the vertical direction and the surface layer surface and the vertical direction and the surface layer surface are calculated from the previously calculated equation. It calculates the displacement amount [Delta] Y ₂ at the intersection of the bottom with.
Similarly, a detection signal from the displacement sensor 222 of the left / right direction measuring device 20 is output to a signal processing device (not shown). In the signal processing apparatus, the detection signal is A / D converted to obtain an output voltage value, and the displacement ΔX _{1 at} the left intersection of the left-right direction and the surface layer surface and the left-right direction and the surface layer surface are calculated from the previously calculated equation. It calculates the amount of displacement [Delta] X ₂ in the right side of the intersection of the. As apparent from the schematic diagram of the blood vessel in FIG. 8, the outer diameter Y _{0 in the} vertical direction is determined from these Y _S , ΔY ₁ , ΔY ₂ , and the outer diameter in the left-right direction is determined from these X _S , ΔX ₁ , ΔX _2. X ₀ is calculated.

Here [Delta] Y _1, [Delta] Y ₂ and [Delta] X _1, since [Delta] X ₂ is constantly moving, but to determine the outer diameter _{Y 0} and _{X 0} requires some reference, for example, the outer diameter _{Y 0} and _{X 0} Is the outer diameter Y ₀ = Y _S + ΔY ₁ + ΔY ₂ and the outer diameter X ₀ = X _S + ΔX ₁ + ΔX ₂ using the values ΔY ₁ , ΔY ₂ , ΔX ₁ , ΔX ₂ when the lower limit value of the blood pressure is detected. calculate. The calculation of the outer diameters Y ₀ and X ₀ is not limited to the case where the lower limit value of the blood pressure is detected, but the outer diameters Y ₀ and X ₀ may be determined by other determination methods. .

Further, the signal processing apparatus assumes that the cross section of the blood vessel 600 is elliptical as shown in the schematic diagram of the blood vessel by the dotted line in FIG. 8, and from the two outer diameters X ₀ and Y ₀ obtained from the left and right and up and down, The cross-sectional shape can be calculated by approximating an ellipse or a perfect circle (X ₀ = Y ₀ ). In addition, the blood vessel cross-sectional area of an ellipse or a perfect circle can be easily calculated by a known method such as integration. In this case, the calculation accuracy is improved by visually installing the measuring device so that the vertical direction and the horizontal direction of the sensor match the major axis direction and the minor axis direction of the ellipse, respectively.

  Next, measurement of blood vessel compliance will be described. Although there are several interpretations of blood vessel compliance, in this embodiment, evaluation is performed using a parameter called vascular extensibility D (Distensibility). In this evaluation, blood pressure needs to be acquired. In order to measure blood pressure, blood pressure data is acquired using a sphygmomanometer (a commercially available sphygmomanometer used clinically) that is inserted into a blood vessel and measures blood pressure.

  The blood vessel extensibility D is expressed by the following equation, where A is the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel when the blood pressure is P, and ΔA is the change in cross-sectional area when the blood pressure increases by ΔP.

[Equation 1]
D = (ΔA / A) / ΔP

Here, when the blood pressure is P ₀ , the outer diameters of the blood vessels in the up-down direction and the left-right direction (for example, when the lower limit value of the blood pressure is detected as described above) are set as the reference values X ₀ , Y ₀ , and the blood pressure from here When ΔP (difference value between the lower limit value and the upper limit value) is changed by ΔX (= ΔX ₁ + ΔX ₂ ) and ΔY (= ΔY ₁ + ΔY ₂ ), respectively, D is expressed as the following equation.

[Equation 2]
D = {(X ₀ + ΔX) × (Y ₀ + ΔY) −X ₀ Y ₀ } / X ₀ Y ₀ / ΔP

In order to perform such processing, the signal processing apparatus acquires blood pressure data for each sample time from the sphygmomanometer, and simultaneously calculates the displacement amounts ΔX and ΔY of the blood vessels at the same time, and the displacement amount ΔX for each sample time. , ΔY. Then, the signal processing device calculates a difference value between the blood pressure when the blood pressure data indicates the lower limit value and when the blood pressure data indicates the upper limit value. Next, the displacement amounts ΔX and ΔY are extracted, the outer diameters X ₀ and Y ₀ are determined by the above formula using the displacement amounts ΔX and ΔY when the blood pressure data indicates the lower limit value, and the lower limit value of the blood pressure data is indicated. The compliance by the vascular extensibility D is easily obtained by using the above-described equation 2 using the displacement amounts ΔX and ΔY that are the difference values between the displacement amount when the blood pressure data indicates the lower limit value. be able to.

  Next, another embodiment of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 ′ will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another type of blood vessel shape measuring apparatus. 11A and 11B are cross-sectional views of another embodiment of the blood vessel shape measuring device. FIG. 11A is a configuration diagram of the vertical direction measuring device, and FIG. 11B is a configuration diagram of the horizontal direction measuring device. 12A and 12B are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to another embodiment. FIG. 12A is an operation diagram of the vertical direction measuring apparatus, and FIG. 12B is an operation diagram of the horizontal direction measuring apparatus. In FIG. 12, the upper side of the casing is opened.

As shown in FIG. 10, the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 ′ includes a casing 60, a vertical direction measuring apparatus 70, a horizontal direction measuring apparatus 80, and a cable 90.
As shown in FIG. 11, the casing 60 includes two protrusions 61, two spring locking portions 62, four support portions 63, and two long hole portions 64.
The vertical direction measuring device 70 includes two L-shaped contacts 71, two spring portions 72, and two displacement sensors 73.
The horizontal direction measuring device 80 includes two rotary contacts 81, a support portion 82, a slider 83, a spring portion 84, and two displacement sensors 85.

First, the vertical direction measuring apparatus 70 shown in FIG.
Each of the two L-shaped contacts 71 has a bent blood vessel contact portion 71a at the tip of a long rod. In addition, the taper part 71b for not damaging the blood vessel 600 is also formed in the vicinity of the opening into which the blood vessel 600 is inserted. The L-shaped contact 71 is provided with a stopper portion 71c for positioning. The L-shaped contact 71 (on the left side in FIG. 11A) with the blood vessel contact portion 71a on the lower side is in contact with the projection 61 of the casing 60 from the lower side, and the blood vessel contact portion 71a is on the upper side. In the L-shaped contact (on the right side in FIG. 11A), the stopper portion 71 c comes into contact with the protruding portion 61 of the casing 60 from above. As a result, the position determined by the stopper portion 71c becomes the home position between the two blood vessel contact portions 71a. The two L-shaped contacts 71 are moved in the axial direction of the rods of the two L-shaped contacts 71, that is, in the vertical direction, by the four support portions 63 that are holes provided in the casing 60. So that each is supported.

The spring portion 72 urges the two L-shaped contacts 71 so that the blood vessel contact portions 71a of the two L-shaped contacts 71 approach each other. One of the spring parts 72 is attached to a spring locking part 62 in the casing 60. The blood vessel contact portion 71a is biased upward in the lower L-shaped contact 71 (left side in FIG. 11A), and the blood vessel contact portion 71a is biased in the upper L-shaped contact 71 (FIG. 11A). The right side) is biased downward.
The two displacement sensors 73 are disposed immediately above the two L-shaped contacts 71 and measure the positions of the L-shaped contacts 71 in the vertical direction. The two displacement sensors 73 are in contact with the two L-shaped contacts 71, but the distal ends of the displacement sensors 73 have elasticity, and the two L-shaped contacts 71 further move upward. Also move to. These two displacement sensors 73 are connected to a signal processing device (not shown) by a cable 90 (see FIG. 10).

Next, the horizontal direction measuring device 80 shown in FIG. 11B will be described.
The two rotary contacts 81 have a blood vessel contact portion 81a at the end of a long rod. A tapered portion 81b is also formed in the vicinity of the opening into which the blood vessel 600 is inserted so as not to damage the blood vessel 600.
The support portions 82 respectively support the two rotary contacts 81 so as to rotate.
The slider 83 pivotally supports the support portion 82. The slider 83 is inserted into the long hole portion 64 of the casing 60 and is supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction.
The spring portions 84 bias the blood vessel contact portions 81a of the two rotary contacts 81 so as to approach each other.
The two displacement sensors 85 respectively measure the positions of the two rotary contacts 81 in the rotational direction. When the two rotary contacts 81 are moved in the vertical direction by the slider 83, the two displacement sensors 85 are also moved simultaneously. Therefore, the two displacement sensors 85 and the two rotary contacts 81 are always in contact with each other. Yes. At the same time, the two rotary contacts 81 are pressed against the two displacement sensors 85 by the urging force of the spring portion 84 at all times. These two displacement sensors 85 are connected to a signal processing device (not shown) by a cable.

Next, the operation of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 100 ′ will be described.
First, a blood vessel is placed on the vertical direction measuring device 70. Here, the horizontal measurement device 80 is raised by the slider 83, and the blood vessel contact portion 81a of the horizontal measurement device 80 is pulled upward as shown in FIG.

  Subsequently, the upper and lower blood vessel contact portions 71 a are inserted from the lateral side of the blood vessel 600. In this case, the blood vessel 600 is attached to the upper and lower blood vessel contact portions 71a without being damaged by the taper portion 71b. The two L-shaped contactors 71 cause the two blood vessel contact portions 71 a to resist the urging force of the spring portion 72 and have a diameter direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the blood vessel 600 and the surface layer surface of the blood vessel 600. The blood vessel 600 is sandwiched in the vertical direction so as to contact at the two intersections of the vertical direction which is the direction from the lower side (biological side) to the upper side (sensor side) and the surface layer surface of the blood vessel.

Subsequently, the slider 83 is lowered and the blood vessel contact portion 81a of the horizontal direction measuring device 80 is inserted from the upper side of the blood vessel 600 as shown in FIG. In this case, the blood vessel 600 is disposed in the left and right blood vessel contact portions 81a without being damaged by the tapered portion 81b. The two rotary contacts 81 move the two blood vessel contact portions 81a against the urging force of the spring portion 84 in the up and down direction and the right and left direction which is a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the blood vessel 600, and the blood vessel 600. The blood vessel 600 is sandwiched in the vertical direction.
The placement of the blood vessel 600 is performed in this way.

Then, the two displacement sensors 73 of the vertical direction measuring device 70 determine the vertical positions of the two L-shaped contactors 71 that are displaced in conjunction with the blood vessel contact portion 71a, and the blood vessel contacts on both sides of the blood vessel 600. It outputs as a detection signal showing the position of the part 71a. Similarly, the two displacement sensors 85 of the left-right direction measuring device 80 indicate the positions in the left-right direction of the two rotary contacts 81 that are displaced in conjunction with the blood vessel contact portion 81a, and the positions of the blood vessel contact portions 81a on the left and right sides of the blood vessel. Output as a detection signal indicating the position. Here, the output voltage values of the detection signals from the two displacement sensors 73 are uniquely associated with the values of ΔY ₁ and ΔY ₂ described above, and the output voltage values of the detection signals from the two displacement sensors 85 are By uniquely matching the values of ΔX ₁ and ΔX ₂ , the outer diameter and displacement in the vertical and horizontal directions of the blood vessel 600 can be easily calculated.

Note that the shape, cross-sectional area measurement method, and compliance measurement method based on the outer diameter and displacement of the blood vessel are the same as the method performed in the above-described form, and redundant description is omitted.
The present invention can be explained as such a form.

The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus of the present invention has been described above.
In the present invention, it has been particularly described that the outer diameter and displacement of a blood vessel in two directions are obtained. However, in addition to the above configuration, if a separate vertical measuring device and horizontal measuring device are separately prepared, and if these vertical measuring devices and horizontal measuring devices are tilted by 45 degrees, they are added in the vertical and horizontal directions. It is also possible to acquire the outer diameter and displacement in the tilt direction, and to determine the outer diameter and displacement of the blood vessel in the four directions.

When generalized, one reference diameter direction measuring device and one or more cross diameter direction measuring devices are prepared.
The reference diameter direction measuring device is such that two blood vessel contact portions are in contact with each other at two intersections of a reference diameter direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the blood vessel and the surface layer surface of the blood vessel, and the reference diameters of the two blood vessel contact portions are The displacement sensor detects the displacement in the direction and outputs a detection signal.
The cross diameter direction measuring device has two blood vessel contact portions in contact with each other at two cross points of the cross diameter direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the blood vessel and intersecting the reference diameter direction, and the surface layer surface of the blood vessel. The displacement sensor detects the displacement of the blood vessel contact portion in the cross diameter direction and outputs a detection signal.
Such a blood vessel shape measuring device has a blood vessel reference diameter direction and at least one or more cross diameter direction outer diameters based on detection signals respectively output from the reference diameter direction measuring device and at least one or more cross diameter direction measuring devices. And detect displacement. Such a configuration may be adopted.

The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus of the present invention described above has the following advantages.
(1) The outer diameter of a blood vessel in a living body and its change can be obtained with high accuracy and high responsiveness.
(2) Since the outer diameter and displacement in two or more directions can be measured simultaneously, the cross-sectional shape and area of the blood vessel and the state of deformation thereof can be grasped.
(3) Since the blood vessel shape measuring device has a V shape toward the blood vessel contact portion at the tip, when the blood vessel is exposed from the living body and measured, the blood vessel contact portion of the blood vessel shape measuring device is located behind the incision portion of the living body. Easy to put in. Therefore, there is no need to force the blood vessel to be pulled out, and the blood vessel can be measured in a state close to the original.
(4) Since the blood vessel position fixing tool is provided, the blood vessel at the bottom of the incised portion can be slightly lifted, and the positional relationship between the blood vessel contact portion and the blood vessel can be kept fixed, and the breathing of the living body, etc. It is not affected by the movement of the incision.
(5) By combining with blood pressure measurement in the blood vessel, a correlation between blood pressure and the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel is obtained, whereby blood vessel compliance can be measured.
(6) Since the blood vessel is separated from the surrounding tissue and measured, the characteristics of the blood vessel alone can be grasped in the state of the living body.

It is explanatory drawing explaining use of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus of the best form for implementing this invention, Fig.2 (a) is a front view, FIG.2 (b) is a right view, FIG.2 (c) is a rear view. . It is explanatory drawing of an up-down direction measuring apparatus, Fig.3 (a) is a front view, FIG.3 (b) is a right view. It is explanatory drawing of the left-right direction measuring apparatus, Fig.4 (a) is a front view, FIG.4 (b) is a right view. It is explanatory drawing of a reference | standard part, Fig.5 (a) is a front view, FIG.5 (b) is a right view. It is explanatory drawing of the blood vessel position fixing tool. It is explanatory drawing of the blood vessel position fixing tool. It is a schematic diagram of a blood vessel. It is a characteristic view showing a displacement-displacement sensor voltage. It is a perspective view of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus of another form. It is sectional drawing of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus of another form, Fig.11 (a) is a block diagram of an up-down direction measuring apparatus, FIG.11 (b) is a block diagram of a left-right direction measuring apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of operation of the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus of another form, Fig.12 (a) is an operation figure of an up-down direction measuring apparatus, FIG.12 (b) is an operation figure of the left-right direction measuring apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100: Blood vessel shape measuring apparatus 10: Vertical direction measuring apparatus 11: Coarse movement part 111: Reference base 112: Position adjustment part 113: Common reference hole 12: Vertical direction sensor part 121: Sensor base 122: Displacement sensor 123: L-shape Contactor 123a: Blood vessel contact part 124: Support spring part 124a: U-shaped spring 124b: Parallel link 20: Horizontal direction measuring device 21: Coarse movement part 211: Reference base 212: Position adjustment part 213: Slide part 214: Common reference Hole 22: Left-right direction sensor part 221: Sensor base 222: Displacement sensor 223: Rotating contact 223a: Blood vessel contact part 224: Support spring part 30: Reference part 40: Blood vessel position fixture 41: Attachment part 42: Fixing hole 43: Rod 44: J-shaped bent portion 45: Pushing portion 50: Blood vessel position fixture 51: Mounting portion 52: Fixing hole 53: Rod 54: J-shaped bent portion 5 5: Pushing portion 100 ': Blood vessel shape measuring device 60: Casing 61: Protruding portion 62: Spring locking portion 63: Supporting portion 64: Long hole portion 70: Vertical direction measuring device 71: L-shaped contactor 71a: Blood vessel Contact part 71b: Tapered part 71c: Stopper part 72: Spring part 73: Displacement sensor 80: Left and right direction measuring device 81: Rotary contactor 81a: Blood vessel contact part 81b: Tapered part 82: Support part 83: Slider 84: Spring part 85 : Displacement sensor 90: Cable 200: Device fixture 300: Operating table 400: Living body 500: Incision part 600: Blood vessel

Claims (17)

The two blood vessel contact portions come into contact with each other at two intersections of the reference diameter direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the blood vessel and the surface layer surface of the blood vessel, and the displacement sensor detects the displacement of the two blood vessel contact portions in the reference diameter direction. A reference diameter direction measuring device that detects and outputs a detection signal;
Two blood vessel contact portions are in contact with each other at the intersection of the cross diameter direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the blood vessel and intersecting the reference diameter direction, and the surface layer surface of the blood vessel, and the cross diameter of the two blood vessel contact portions At least one cross-diameter direction measuring device in which a displacement sensor detects a displacement in a direction and outputs a detection signal;
And detecting the outer diameter and displacement of the blood vessel in the reference diameter direction and at least one or more cross diameter directions based on detection signals respectively output from the reference diameter direction measurement device and at least one or more cross diameter direction measurement devices. A blood vessel shape measuring device characterized by the above. The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 1,
The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus, wherein the reference diameter direction is a vertical direction in a direction from the lower side to the upper side of a surface layer of the blood vessel, and the intersecting diameter direction is a horizontal direction in a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction . The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 2,
The vertical direction measuring device is
An L-shaped contactor having a bent blood vessel contact portion at a right angle at the tip of a long rod;
A support spring portion that supports the L-shaped contactor so as to move in the vertical direction and urges the L-shaped contactor to be in a predetermined position;
A displacement sensor for measuring the vertical position of the L-shaped contact;
A sensor base for fixing the support spring part and the displacement sensor,
A vertical sensor unit having a pair of left and right sensor units,
The two L-shaped contacts are configured to sandwich the blood vessel by bringing the two blood vessel contact portions into contact with the upper and lower sides of the blood vessel against the biasing force of the respective support spring portions,
The two displacement sensors output the vertical positions of the two L-shaped contacts that are displaced in conjunction with the respective blood vessel contact portions as detection signals indicating the positions of the blood vessel contact portions on both the upper and lower sides of the blood vessel. An apparatus for measuring a blood vessel shape. In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 3,
The blood vessel shape measuring device, wherein the support spring portion is a parallel spring. In the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
The two sensor units of the vertical sensor unit are connected to each other, and the two position adjusting units that determine the relative positions of the two sensor units in the vertical direction and the two position adjusting units are fixed, respectively. A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus comprising: a coarse motion unit having a reference base. In the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
The horizontal direction measuring device is
A rotating contact having a blood vessel contact portion at the tip of a long rod;
A support spring portion that supports the rotary contact so as to rotate and move in response to the movement of the blood vessel contact portion in the left-right direction and biases the rotary contact so as to be in a predetermined position;
A displacement sensor for measuring the position of the rotating contact in the rotational direction;
A sensor base for fixing the support spring part and the displacement sensor,
A left-right direction sensor unit having a pair of left and right sensor units,
The two rotary contacts are configured to sandwich the blood vessel by bringing the two blood vessel contact portions into contact with the left and right sides of the blood vessel against the urging force of the respective support spring portions,
The two displacement sensors output the position in the left-right direction of the two rotating contacts that are displaced in conjunction with the respective blood vessel contact portions as detection signals indicating the positions of the blood vessel contact portions on the left and right sides of the blood vessel. A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus as a feature. The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 6,
The blood vessel shape measuring device, wherein the support spring portion is an L-shaped leaf spring. In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 6 or 7,
A coarse motion unit having two slide parts to which the two sensor parts of the left and right direction sensor parts are respectively connected, and a position adjusting part for determining a relative position in the left and right direction of the two slide parts. A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus comprising: In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to any one of claims 2 to 8,
It has a reference part that is a straight rod,
The vertical direction measuring device and the horizontal direction measuring device have a common reference hole penetrating in an axial direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and a reference portion inserted through the common reference hole serves as a rotation shaft. A blood vessel shape measuring device characterized in that the blood vessel shape measuring device is supported so as to be freely rotatable and movable in the axial direction of the reference portion. In the blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 9,
2. The blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the vertical direction measuring device and the left and right direction measuring device have a shape that narrows in a V shape as it goes in the direction of the blood vessel contact portion along the vertical direction. In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to any one of claims 2 to 10,
The blood vessel shape measuring device, wherein the displacement sensor is an eddy current displacement sensor. In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to any one of claims 2 to 11,
A blood vessel shape measuring device, comprising two blood vessel position fixtures arranged on both sides so as to sandwich the vertical direction measuring device and the left and right direction measuring device and determining the position of a blood vessel. The blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 12,
The blood vessel position fixing device includes a J-shaped bent portion formed in a J shape. The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 13,
A pressing portion disposed at the tip of the J-shaped bent portion and having a lowermost portion formed at a position lower than the lowest level of the blood vessel contact portion of the vertical direction measuring device and the lowest level of the blood vessel contact portion of the horizontal direction measuring device. A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus comprising: The blood vessel shape measuring apparatus according to claim 2,
The vertical direction measuring device is arranged in a casing,
Two L-shaped contacts having a bent blood vessel contact portion perpendicular to the tip of the long rod;
A support provided on the casing and supporting each of the two L-shaped contacts so as to move in the vertical direction;
Two spring portions for energizing each of the two L-shaped contacts so that the blood vessel contact portions of the two L-shaped contacts approach each other;
Two stoppers provided on the two L-shaped contacts, respectively, for positioning the two L-shaped contacts by contacting the protrusions of the casing;
Two displacement sensors that respectively measure the vertical positions of the two L-shaped contacts;
With
The two L-shaped contacts are configured to sandwich the blood vessel by bringing the two blood vessel contact portions into contact with the upper and lower sides of the blood vessel against the urging force of each spring portion,
The two displacement sensors output the vertical positions of the two L-shaped contacts that are displaced in conjunction with the respective blood vessel contact portions as detection signals indicating the positions of the blood vessel contact portions on both the upper and lower sides of the blood vessel. An apparatus for measuring a blood vessel shape. In the blood vessel shape measuring device according to claim 2 or 15,
The left-right direction measuring device is arranged in a casing,
Two rotating contacts having a blood vessel contact portion at the tip of a long rod,
A support part for supporting each of the two rotary contacts so as to rotate and move according to the movement of the blood vessel contact part in the left-right direction;
A slider that is supported so that the support portion is fixed and moves along the elongated hole portion of the casing;
A spring portion that urges the blood vessel contact portions of the two rotary contacts to approach each other;
Two displacement sensors for measuring the left and right positions of the two rotating contacts,
With
The two rotating contacts are moved in and out of the casing by the movement of the slider, and the two blood vessel contact portions are brought into contact with the left and right sides of the blood vessel against the urging force of the spring portion so as to sandwich the blood vessel,
The two displacement sensors output the position in the left-right direction of the two rotating contacts that are displaced in conjunction with the respective blood vessel contact portions as detection signals indicating the positions of the blood vessel contact portions on the left and right sides of the blood vessel. A blood vessel shape measuring apparatus as a feature.   The blood vessel shape measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 16 is used to measure the outer diameter and displacement of the blood vessel in the vertical and horizontal directions, and the vicinity of the blood vessel measured by the blood vessel shape measuring device is used as a measurement point. A blood vessel compliance measurement method, comprising: measuring blood pressure and calculating blood vessel compliance using an outer diameter, displacement, and blood pressure in the vertical and horizontal directions.

Images