JP2010082226A - Measurement apparatus, information processing apparatus, and information processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve simple and stable measurement and to improve diagnostic accuracy in diagnosis of SAS (Sleep Apnea Syndrome). <P>SOLUTION: A measurement apparatus for measuring the condition of a subject includes: a plate member 304 to be attached to the chin of the subject; a chin myoelectricity measuring electrode 301 arranged on a first surface 304-1 of the plate member 304 and detecting myoelectricity generated when chin muscle of the subject constricts; an acceleration sensor 302 arranged on a second surface 304-2 and detecting the posture of the subject; a microphone 303 arranged on the second surface 304-2 and detecting sounds of the subject; and a transmitting means for synchronizing and transmitting a first signal detected by the chin myoelectricity measuring electrode 301, a second signal detected by the acceleration sensor 302, and a third signal detected by the microphone 303. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a measuring apparatus for measuring a state of a subject, an information processing apparatus for processing a measurement result in the measuring apparatus, and an information processing method.

  Conventionally, a symptom called sleep apnea syndrome (hereinafter abbreviated as “SAS”) is known in which breathing becomes impossible during sleep. One typical symptom of such SAS patients is airway obstruction during sleep.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state of an airway during sleep. FIG. 1A shows the airway state of a normal person, and FIG. 1B shows the airway state of a SAS patient.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, in the case of a SAS patient, the airway 103 is blocked by the tongue 101 and the soft palate 102 falling to the airway side during sleep.

  When the airway is blocked due to the onset of SAS and becomes temporarily in an apnea state, oxygen in the body during sleep is deficient. As a result, it causes various symptoms such as lack of sleep, headache, and lethargy, and in severe cases, it may lead to death due to brain death or heart failure. For this reason, it is extremely important to detect the onset of SAS at an early stage.

On the other hand, conventionally, various monitoring devices for detecting the onset of SAS have been proposed. For example, in US Pat. No. 5,275,159, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of sensors are arranged at each part (201 to 206), and the heartbeats read from each sensor via the wire (207). A configuration is proposed in which data such as number, breathing, presence / absence of snoring, blood oxygen concentration, posture, etc. are transmitted to the main body (208), and these data are processed in the main body (208) to diagnose whether it is SAS or not. Yes.
US Pat. No. 5,275,159 Oksenberg et al, Journal of Sleep Research, Vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 307-320 (4) Lee et al, Laryngoscope, 2007 Jun; Vol. 117, no. 6, pp. 1102-1106

  However, in the case of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, various sensors are attached to each part of the subject, and data is transmitted via a plurality of wires, and the subject is forced to feel uncomfortable during the measurement. It will be. Therefore, the measurement is performed under a situation different from the normal situation, and the depth of sleep is different, which may hinder diagnosis with high accuracy. Further, when these wirings are pulled because the subject turns over, there is a problem that the measurement itself is hindered, for example, the sensor mounting position is shifted or the sensor is detached.

  Precise measurement with a device using multiple sensors is essential for definitive diagnosis of SAS, but because the load on the subject is large, the test itself is not performed easily, and those who need treatment are themselves. I couldn't find it. Thus, there is a demand for a screening apparatus for determining the necessity of precise measurement, which can detect the possibility of the onset of SAS without loading the subject.

  On the other hand, attention has recently been paid to the causal relationship between airway obstruction and open jaw during sleep. For example, in the non-patent documents 1 and 2, the causal relationship between the two is proved. For this reason, in diagnosing whether or not it is a SAS, it is effective to detect the open / closed state of the chin, and it is considered that the diagnosis accuracy is improved.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in the diagnosis of SAS, by finally realizing a screening apparatus that detects the possibility of the onset of SAS without loading the subject, the treatment of SAS is finally achieved. The purpose is to improve the accuracy of detecting the person who needs to. It is another object of the present invention to improve diagnosis accuracy by taking into account information of an apparatus according to the present invention that realizes simple and stable measurement in SAS diagnosis.

In order to achieve the above object, a measuring apparatus according to the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
A measuring device for measuring the state of a subject,
A plate-like member attached to the mental part of the subject;
When the plate-like member is attached to the genital portion, the first member is arranged on the first surface side that comes into surface contact with the genital portion, and detects a myoelectricity generated when the genital muscle of the subject contracts. Detection means;
A second detection means disposed on the second surface side opposite to the first surface and detecting the posture of the subject and the inclination of the jaw;
A third detection means arranged on the second surface side for detecting a change in temperature of the sound of the subject and / or the expiration of the subject;
The first signal obtained by the detection by the first detection means, the second signal obtained by the detection by the second detection means, and the detection by the third detection means Transmission means for transmitting the third signal obtained by the above.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize simple and stable measurement and to improve diagnostic accuracy in SAS diagnosis.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1. System Configuration 3 appearance configuration and status monitoring system of the measuring device, the appearance configuration of a measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a system configuration of a condition monitoring system including the measuring device. Hereinafter, the system configuration of the state monitoring system and the external configuration of the measuring apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

(1) System Configuration of State Monitoring System As shown in FIG. 3, the state monitoring system is acquired by the measuring device 300 attached to the genital part of the subject (the lower jaw portion where the genital muscle is present) and the measuring device 300. And an information processing device 310 that receives a signal and performs storage processing / signal processing. Note that transmission / reception of signals between the measurement apparatus 300 and the information processing apparatus 310 is performed wirelessly.

  With such a configuration, even when the subject turns over, the wiring is not caught. For this reason, the subject does not have to feel uncomfortable during the measurement. In addition, even when the subject moves, the measurement apparatus 300 can be kept stably attached to the subject, so that stable measurement can be performed.

(2) Appearance Configuration of Measuring Device Next, an appearance configuration of the measuring device 300 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the measurement apparatus 300 includes a plate-like member 304 that is attached to the mental part of the subject. The plate-like member 304 includes a first surface (304-1) that is in surface contact with the chin portion and a second surface (304-) opposite to the first surface when the measuring device 300 is mounted on the chin portion. 2).

  The first surface 304-1 is provided with a mental myoelectric measurement electrode 301 as a first detection means. The second surface 304-2 is provided with an acceleration sensor 302 serving as a second detection unit and a microphone 303 serving as a third detection unit. The third detection means may be a thermistor.

  The genital myoelectric measurement electrode 301 is an electrode for measuring myoelectricity generated during contraction of the genital muscle, and when the plate-like member 304 is attached to the genital part, it is in close contact with the skin of the genital part surface. It is arranged. The genital muscle is a muscle in the chin portion that holds the tongue.

  The acceleration sensor 302 detects the movement (posture) of the head of the subject and the movement of the jaw of the subject (depression of the jaw) in three dimensions.

  The microphone 303 is an acoustic sensor that detects sound generated during breathing and snoring. Or when using a thermistor, the temperature change of the expiration is detected.

2. Functional Configuration of State Monitoring System FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the state monitoring system. Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the state monitoring system will be described with reference to FIG.

(1) Functional Configuration of Measuring Device 300 First, the functional configuration of the measuring device 300 will be described. Reference numerals 301 to 303 denote a geniomyoelectric measurement electrode, an acceleration sensor, and a microphone, respectively. Details of the geniomyoelectric measurement electrode 301, the acceleration sensor 302, and the microphone 303 have already been described with reference to FIG.

  Reference numeral 401 denotes a power supply unit that supplies power to the geniomyoelectric measurement electrode 301, the acceleration sensor 302, the microphone 303, and the transmission unit 402.

  Reference numeral 402 denotes a transmission unit, which is connected to the mental myoelectric measurement electrode 301, the acceleration sensor 302, and the microphone 303. The transmission unit 402 includes a signal (first signal) obtained by detection by the genital myoelectric measurement electrode 301, a signal (second signal) obtained by detection by the acceleration sensor 302, and a microphone. The signal (third signal) obtained by the detection by 303 is wirelessly transmitted to the information processing apparatus 310 in synchronization.

(2) Functional Configuration of Information Processing Device 310 Next, the functional configuration of the information processing device 310 will be described. Reference numeral 411 denotes a receiving unit that receives various signals transmitted from the transmitting unit 402.

  Reference numeral 412 denotes an airway obstruction detection unit. Whether the airway is occluded based on the contracted state of the muscular muscle represented by the first signal received by the receiving unit 411 and the state of the jaw depression obtained from the second signal. Judge whether or not. In general, the genital muscles are associated with tongue depression, and if the genital muscles are stretched above a certain level, it can be assumed that the tongue is depressed on the airway side, in which case the airway is obstructed. Can be determined (or in the blocking direction). In the following, “airway obstruction” includes not only the state in which the airway is completely obstructed but also the state in which the airway is obstructed as compared to the normal state due to the tongue dropping into the airway side. . In order to determine this, the state of the jaw drop obtained from the second signal is included in the determination criteria, and the contraction state of the muscular muscle and the state of the jaw drop are determined in combination.

  The determination result in the airway obstruction detection unit 412 is stored in the data storage unit 416 as “airway obstruction data” in association with the time information.

  Reference numeral 413 denotes a posture calculation unit that determines whether the posture of the subject is supine, prone, or sideways based on the second signal received by the receiving unit 411. The determination result is stored as “attitude data” in the data storage unit 416 in association with the time information.

  Reference numeral 414 denotes a breathing / snoring detection unit, which determines whether the subject is breathing and whether snoring is present based on the third signal received by the receiving unit 411. The determination result is stored in the data storage unit 416 in association with time information as “breathing / snoring data”.

  A CPU 420 controls the entire information processing apparatus 310. Reference numeral 415 denotes a memory in which a measurement application 421 and a diagnostic application 422 described later are stored. The measurement application 421 and the diagnostic application 422 are executed by the CPU 420, thereby realizing measurement processing and diagnostic processing described later.

  Reference numeral 417 denotes an input unit used when the user inputs various instructions. A display unit 418 displays various data, and is a display device such as an LCD. A clock unit 419 provides time information associated with the received first to third signals.

3. Flow of Measurement Processing in Information Processing Device Next, the flow of measurement processing in the information processing device 310 will be described. The measurement application 421 performs a predetermined process on the first to third signals transmitted from the measurement apparatus 300 and controls the measurement process stored in the data storage unit 416.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of measurement processing in the measurement application 421. When execution of the measurement application 421 is started, in step S501, the CPU 420 receives an instruction to start measurement from the user via the input unit 417.

  In step S <b> 502, the CPU 420 transmits a reception start instruction to the reception unit 411, and the reception unit 411 starts receiving signals (first to third signals). As a result, the first to third signals detected by the respective detection means arranged in the measurement apparatus 300 and transmitted from the transmission unit 402 are received by the reception unit 411. The power supply unit 401 of the measurement apparatus 300 is provided separately from the information processing apparatus 310. When the power supply unit 401 is turned on, each detection unit starts operating regardless of the operation status of the information processing apparatus 310. It is assumed that a signal is transmitted.

  In step S503, the airway obstruction detection unit 412 processes the first signal and generates airway obstruction data, and then stores the airway obstruction data in the data storage unit 416 in association with the time information. In addition, after the posture calculation unit 413 processes the second signal and generates posture data, the posture data is stored in the data storage unit 416 in association with time information. Further, after the respiration / snoring detection unit 414 processes the third signal to generate respiration / snoring data, the respiration / snoring data is stored in the data storage unit 416 in association with the time information.

  In step S504, CPU 420 determines whether or not a measurement end instruction has been received from the user via input unit 417. If it is determined in step S504 that no measurement end instruction has been received, the process returns to step S502.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S504 that a measurement end instruction has been received, the measurement process ends.

4). Description of Data Stored in Data Storage Unit Next, details of airway obstruction data, posture data, and breathing / snoring data stored in the data storage unit 416 will be described.

  FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of airway obstruction data stored in the data storage unit 416. In FIG. 6A, the horizontal axis represents time information, and the vertical axis represents the presence or absence of airway obstruction.

  FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example of posture data stored in the data storage unit 416. In FIG. 6B, the horizontal axis represents time information, and the vertical axis represents whether it is in the supine state or the other state.

  FIG. 6C is a diagram illustrating an example of respiration / snoring data stored in the data storage unit 416. In FIG. 6C, the horizontal axis represents time information, and the vertical axis represents a state without breathing, a state with breathing, and a state with snoring.

5. Flow of diagnostic processing in information processing apparatus Next, the flow of diagnostic processing in the information processing apparatus 310 will be described. In the diagnosis application 422, each data stored in the data storage unit 416 is displayed in different colors, and based on each data, it is diagnosed whether a SAS caused by airway obstruction due to tongue depression has occurred. Supervises diagnostic processing.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of diagnostic processing in the diagnostic application 422. In step S701, based on the airway obstruction data stored in the data storage unit 416, a time zone in which the subject's airway is obstructed is extracted. In the case of the airway obstruction data shown in FIG. 6A, the time zone from 0:00 AM to 3:00 AM and from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM is extracted as the time zone in which the airway is blocked.

  In step S702, the time zone of the supine posture is extracted based on the posture data stored in the data storage unit 416. In the case of the posture data shown in FIG. 6B, a time zone from 22:00 PM to 23:00 PM and from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM is extracted as a time zone of the supine posture.

  In step S703, it is determined whether the time zone extracted in step S701 and the time zone extracted in step S702 overlap each other. If it is determined in step S703 that they overlap, the process proceeds to step S704, and yellow is assigned to the overlapping time zone.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S703 that there is no overlap, the process proceeds to step S705, and blue is assigned to the non-overlapping time zone.

  In step S706, based on the respiration / snoring data stored in the data storage unit 416, it is determined whether or not there is a time zone in which the subject's respiration has stopped.

  If it is determined in step S706 that there is no time period during which breathing has stopped, the process proceeds to step S707. In step S707, a snoring time zone is extracted based on the breathing / snoring data. In the case of the respiration / snoring data shown in FIG. 6C, a time zone from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM is extracted as a time zone with snoring.

  In step S708, a dark yellow color is assigned to the time zone extracted in step S707. In step S709, it is diagnosed that it is not a SAS.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S706 that there is a time zone during which breathing has stopped, the process proceeds to step S710. In step S710, a red color is assigned to the time zone when breathing stopped. In the case of the respiration / snoring data shown in FIG. 6C, each time zone that frequently occurs between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM is extracted as a time zone when the breathing stopped.

  In step S711, the occurrence frequency of the time period when breathing stopped is calculated, and it is determined whether or not the occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than a predetermined occurrence frequency.

  If it is determined in step S711 that the occurrence frequency is not equal to or higher than the predetermined occurrence frequency, the process proceeds to step S709 to diagnose that it is not a SAS.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S711 that the occurrence frequency is equal to or higher than the predetermined occurrence frequency, the process proceeds to step S712.

  In step S712, it is determined based on the airway obstruction data and the posture data whether or not the posture of the subject in the time zone when the breathing is stopped is supine and the airway is obstructed.

  If it is determined in step S712 that the subject's airway during the time period when breathing stopped is obstructed and the posture is supine, the process proceeds to step S713. In step S713, it is diagnosed that the SAS is caused by airway obstruction caused by tongue depression.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S712 that the posture of the subject during the time period in which breathing has stopped is not lying on his back or the airway is not blocked, the process proceeds to step S714. In step S714, it is diagnosed that the SAS is caused by something other than airway obstruction caused by tongue depression.

  As described above, red time is assigned to the time zone in which breathing has stopped due to the execution of diagnostic processing, and breathing has not stopped, but the airway is blocked on its back and snoring The belt will be assigned a dark yellow color. In addition, yellow is assigned to a time zone in which breathing is normal but the airway is obstructed, lying on the back and not snoring. Further, blue is assigned to a time zone in which the airway is not occluded or a time zone in a posture other than the supine position. By using the display identified by the color in this way, it becomes possible to instantly understand the state of the subject in each time zone during sleep.

6). Display Example on Display Unit FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example of data after the diagnosis processing is performed by the diagnosis application 422 and colors are assigned to the respective time zones.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the time zone from 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM in which breathing is stopped is shown in red. Also, the time zone from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM where the airway is obstructed, lying on its back and snoring is shown in dark yellow.

  In addition, the time zone from 0:00 AM to 2:00 AM and the time zone from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM that are obstructed with the airway obstructed are shown in yellow. Further, in the state where the airway is not obstructed or in a posture other than the supine position, the time zone from 21:00 PM to 0:00 AM, 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM is shown in blue.

7). Example of the use of this embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 9 for an example of using the measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a usage example of the measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The subject 900 who is a user attaches the measuring apparatus 300 to the mental section 901, activates the information processing apparatus 310, and goes to sleep. In the usage example shown in FIG. 9, a rubber band 902 or the like is used as a method of mounting the measuring device 300, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, it may be configured such that it is integrated with a mouthpiece or the like generally used for the treatment of SAS, and the measuring device portion is arranged in the chin portion with the mouthpiece portion in the mouth. Alternatively, it may be fixed with an adhesive tape or the like.

  In the information processing apparatus 310, the measurement process is executed by continuously receiving the signal transmitted from the measurement apparatus 300 attached to the subject while the subject is sleeping. Since the measuring apparatus 300 is attached to the chin portion 901 and has no wiring or the like, it does not shift or fall even if the subject 900 moves. For this reason, stable measurement can be performed. Furthermore, the subject 900 can sleep with peace of mind.

  As is clear from the above description, in the present embodiment, in diagnosing the occurrence of SAS caused by airway obstruction, the measurement device is provided with a geniomyoelectric measurement electrode, an acceleration sensor, and a microphone, The signal detected by is wirelessly transmitted to the information processing apparatus.

  Based on the signal wirelessly transmitted from the measuring device, the presence / absence of the subject's airway obstruction, posture (whether on the back), snoring / breathing are determined, and the cause of the airway obstruction is determined based on the determination result. It is set as the structure which diagnoses whether it is SAS.

  As a result, it has become possible to realize simple and stable measurement and to improve diagnosis accuracy in SAS diagnosis.

It is a figure which shows the state of the airway at the time of sleep. It is a figure which shows an example of the conventional monitoring apparatus for detecting the onset of SAS. It is a figure which shows the external appearance structure of the measuring apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and the system structure of a state monitoring system provided with this measuring apparatus. It is a figure which shows the function structure of a state monitoring system. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of measurement processing in a measurement application 421. It is a figure which shows an example of the airway obstruction | occlusion data stored in the data storage part 416. It is a figure which shows an example of the attitude | position data stored in the data storage part 416. It is a figure which shows an example of the respiration and snoring data stored in the data storage part 416. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of diagnostic processing in a diagnostic application 422. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the data after a diagnostic process was performed by the diagnostic application 422, and the color was allocated to each time slot | zone. It is a figure which shows the usage example of the measuring apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

Claims (13)

A measuring device for measuring the state of a subject,
A plate-like member attached to the mental part of the subject;
When the plate-like member is attached to the genital portion, the first member is arranged on the first surface side that comes into surface contact with the genital portion, and detects a myoelectricity generated when the genital muscle of the subject contracts. Detection means;
A second detection means arranged on the second surface side opposite to the first surface and detecting the posture of the subject and the inclination of the jaw;
A third detection means arranged on the second surface side for detecting a temperature change of the voice of the subject and / or the breath of the subject;
The first signal obtained by the detection by the first detection means, the second signal obtained by the detection by the second detection means, and the detection by the third detection means Transmitting means for transmitting the third signal obtained by the above.   2. The measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first detection means is an electrode, the second detection means is an acceleration sensor, and the third detection means for detecting the sound is a microphone. .   The measurement according to claim 1, wherein the first detection means is an electrode, the second detection means is an acceleration sensor, and the third detection means for detecting the temperature change is a thermistor. apparatus. Receiving means for receiving the first to third signals transmitted by the transmitting means of the measuring apparatus according to claim 1;
An information processing apparatus comprising: storage means for storing the first to third signals in association with time information. Based on the genital muscle contraction state of the subject represented by the first signal received by the receiving means and the jaw depression state obtained from the second signal, the presence or absence of tongue depression is estimated and the airway First determination means for determining whether or not is closed;
Based on the second signal received by the receiving means, second determining means for determining whether or not the posture of the subject is in a state of lying on its back;
5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a third determination unit that determines presence or absence of breathing of the subject based on the third signal received by the reception unit.   The display device further comprises display means for displaying the first to third signals stored in the storage means by color-coding for each time zone according to the respective determination results in the first to third determination means. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that:   It is determined that the air passage is determined to be obstructed by the first determination means, the second determination means determines that the patient is sleeping on his back, and the third determination means A diagnostic means for diagnosing the subject as having sleep apnea syndrome caused by airway obstruction caused by tongue depression when the time zone in which it is determined that there is no breathing is a predetermined frequency or more; The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: A receiving step of receiving the first to third signals transmitted by the transmitting means of the measuring apparatus according to claim 1;
An information processing method comprising: a storing step of storing the first to third signals in association with time information. Based on the contracted state of the genital muscle of the subject represented by the first signal received in the receiving step and the state of the jaw depression obtained from the second signal, the presence or absence of tongue depression is estimated and the airway A first determination step of determining whether or not is closed;
Based on the second signal received in the receiving step, a second determination step of determining whether or not the posture of the subject is in a state of lying on its back;
The information processing method according to claim 8, further comprising: a third determination step of determining presence or absence of breathing of the subject based on the third signal received in the reception step.   The method further comprises a display step of displaying the first to third signals stored in the storing step by color-coding for each time zone according to the respective determination results in the first to third determination steps. The information processing method according to claim 9, wherein:   In the first determination step, it is determined that the airway is obstructed, and in the second determination step, it is determined that the patient is sleeping on his back, and in the third determination step A diagnostic step of diagnosing the subject as having sleep apnea syndrome caused by airway obstruction caused by tongue depression when the time zone determined as having no breathing is a predetermined frequency or more; The information processing method according to claim 9, further comprising:   A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method according to any one of claims 8 to 11.   The program for making a computer perform the information processing method of any one of Claims 8 thru | or 11.

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