JP2010227334A - Detector and measuring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide information related to pulses of a body to be measured without making the body to be measured feel inconvenience. <P>SOLUTION: A sheet-like flexible detector 1 is stuck to a living body 100 such that a sensor 11 faces the artery. When electromagnetic waves are outputted from a measuring apparatus 2, the detector 1 rectifies a current generated by mutual induction and obtains power. Then, when the sensor 11 receives force from the artery and outputs signals indicating pulse waves, reflected waves, for which the electromagnetic waves outputted from the measuring apparatus 2 are amplitude-modulated by the signals outputted from the sensor 11, are outputted from the detector 1. The measuring apparatus 2 receives and demodulates the reflected waves, obtains the waveform of the pulse waves, and displays an image indicating the obtained waveform at a display part 26. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for obtaining information related to a pulse of a living body.

There are devices disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 as devices for obtaining information related to the pulse of the human body.
The sensor disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which a sheet-like dielectric is sandwiched between a pair of conductive cloths. When the distance between the conductive cloths is changed by the force of the human body, The capacitance between them changes. Since the change in capacitance is in accordance with the pulsation of the human body, the measuring device disclosed in Patent Document 1 detects the change in capacitance and obtains the heart rate.
In addition, the sensor disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a configuration including a pair of electrodes arranged at a distance. When this sensor is pressed against the human body, the sensor receives a force along with the pressure fluctuation in the artery, the distance between the electrodes fluctuates, and the capacitance of the sensor changes. Since the change in capacitance is in accordance with the change in pressure in the human artery, the change in capacitance is detected by detecting this change in capacitance.

JP 2005-315831 A JP 2007-310232 A

  By the way, in the invention disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a sensor in contact with a human body and a measuring device that processes a signal from the sensor are connected by a cable, and measurement is performed by the connected measuring device. In this way, when the sensor and measurement device are connected by wire, the length of the cable is limited, so the person being measured has difficulty in taking a free posture and feels inconvenience during measurement. There is.

  The present invention has been made under the above-described background, and an object thereof is to make it possible to obtain information on a pulse of a living body without causing the living body to feel inconvenience.

The detector according to the present invention converts a received force into a signal when receiving a force transmitted from a biological artery formed on the substrate, an antenna formed on the substrate, and an antenna formed on the substrate. And a sensor that outputs the signal, and a modulation unit that is formed on the substrate and that modulates the electromagnetic wave received by the antenna with the signal output from the sensor, and outputs the modulated electromagnetic wave from the antenna. It is characterized by.
According to the present invention, a sheet-like substrate can be bent along the living body and attached to the living body, a signal corresponding to the pulse of the living body is output from the sensor, and an electromagnetic wave modulated by the output signal is output. Since the information about the pulse of the living body is output wirelessly, the information about the pulse of the living body can be obtained without causing the living body to feel inconvenience.

In the present invention, around the sensor formed on the substrate, there are at least two holes penetrating the substrate, and when the finger is applied, the finger is on the opposite side to the side on which the finger is applied. An exposed positioning hole may be provided.
According to this configuration, the sensor can be easily positioned at a position that receives a force from the artery.
In the present invention, the substrate may be provided with a plurality of holes smaller than the positioning holes.
According to this configuration, since heat and moisture from the living body pass through the hole, there is no discomfort to the living body.

The measurement system according to the present invention includes a flexible sheet-like substrate, a first antenna formed on the substrate, a signal formed on the substrate and receiving the force received from a living artery. A sensor that converts the signal into a signal and outputs the signal; and an electromagnetic wave formed on the substrate and received by the first antenna is modulated by a signal output from the sensor, and the modulated electromagnetic wave is output from the first antenna. A detector having a modulation unit; a second antenna that transmits and receives electromagnetic waves; and an electromagnetic wave that is output from the second antenna and received by the second antenna. A communication unit that demodulates a signal flowing through the second antenna and outputs a signal obtained by demodulation; and a signal obtained by demodulation at the communication unit, and Characterized in that it comprises an analysis unit for determining the distribution, the measurement device having a.
According to the present invention, a sheet-like substrate can be bent along a living body and attached to the living body, a signal corresponding to the pulse of the living body is output from the sensor, and an electromagnetic wave modulated by the output signal is output. Since the information about the pulse of the living body is output wirelessly, the information about the pulse of the living body can be obtained without causing the living body to feel inconvenience.

The schematic diagram of the apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which showed the hardware constitutions of the detector 1 and the measuring apparatus 2. FIG. The figure which showed the structure of the sensor 11. FIG. The figure which showed the detector 1 which concerns on the modification of this invention. The figure which showed the detector 1 which concerns on the modification of this invention.

[Embodiment]
(overall structure)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the external appearance of a detector 1 and a measuring device 2 of a measurement system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the detector 1 and the measuring device 2.
The sheet-like flexible detector 1 is a device that detects a pulse wave of the living body 100. The detector 1 is bent and affixed along the skin of the living body 100, and transmits a signal indicating the detected pulse wave. The measuring device 2 is a device that measures a pulse wave of a living body. The measuring device 2 receives the signal output from the detector 1 and obtains the waveform of the pulse wave of the living body from the received signal. The measuring device 2 generates and stores data indicating the obtained pulse wave, and displays the obtained pulse wave.
In the present embodiment, the detector 1 has the same function as a tag in an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) system employing an electromagnetic induction method, and the measuring device 2 is a system using RFID technology. Has the function of a reader. The detector 1 and the measuring device 2 exchange signals using electromagnetic waves output from the measuring device 2.

(Configuration of detector 1)
In the detector 1, a control unit 10, a sensor 11, an antenna 12, a rectifier circuit 13, and a communication unit 14 are formed on a flexible sheet-like synthetic resin substrate 3 by photolithography. For this reason, when the board | substrate 3 bends, the control part 10, the sensor 11, the antenna 12, the rectifier circuit 13, and the communication part 14 will also bend with the board | substrate 3. FIG.

The sensor 11 is a sensor that detects a pulse wave of the living body 100. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the sensor 11 has a first electrode 11A and a second electrode 11B that are rectangular and have flexibility and conductivity, and the first electrode 11A and the second electrode 11B. 11B opposes at a predetermined distance d, and the first electrode 11A and the second electrode 11B are connected to the control unit 10.
When the detector 1 having the sensor 11 is affixed to the living body 100, a force is applied from the skin to the sensor 11 due to pressure fluctuation in the artery 110, and the sensor 11 is bent by this force, and the first electrode 11A and the second electrode 11B. The distance between and changes. When the capacitance of the sensor 11 changes with the change of the distance d in a state where a signal of a constant voltage is supplied to the first electrode 11A, a signal corresponding to the change of the capacitance is sent from the second electrode 11B. Is output. Here, since the change in capacitance corresponds to the pressure fluctuation in the artery, that is, corresponds to the pulse wave, the signal output from the sensor 11 is a signal representing the pulse wave.
In the detector 1, two positioning holes 15 penetrating from the front surface to the back surface of the sheet-like detector 1 at a predetermined distance from the sensor 11 are provided near both ends in the longitudinal direction of the sensor 11. Is provided.

The antenna 12 is an antenna used for communication with the measuring apparatus 2 and is a planar coil.
The rectifier circuit 13 is a circuit that obtains electric power for driving the detector 1 by rectifying the current flowing through the antenna 12 by the electromagnetic wave received by the antenna 12. The detector 1 is driven by the electric power obtained by the rectifier circuit 13.
The control unit 10 is connected to the sensor 11 and the communication unit 14. When power is supplied from the rectifier circuit 13, the control unit 10 supplies a predetermined voltage signal to the first electrode 11A. Further, the control unit 10 supplies a signal output from the sensor 11 to the communication unit 14.
The communication unit 14 is a circuit (modulation unit) that outputs from the antenna 12 an electromagnetic wave that has been amplitude-modulated according to a signal output from the sensor 11. In the communication unit 14, the impedance inside the communication unit 14 is changed according to the signal output from the control unit 10. As a result, a reflected wave obtained by amplitude-modulating the electromagnetic wave received by the antenna 12 is output from the antenna 12.

(Configuration of measuring device 2)
The measuring device 2 includes a control unit 20, an antenna 22, a communication unit 24, a storage unit 25, a display unit 26, and an operation unit 27.
The antenna 22 is an antenna used for communication with the measuring apparatus 2 and is a planar coil.
The communication unit 24 supplies an alternating current signal having a predetermined frequency and amplitude to the antenna 22 in order to output an electromagnetic wave used for communication with the detector 1 from the antenna 22. The communication unit 24 includes a circuit that demodulates a reflected wave output from the antenna 12 and received by the antenna 22, and supplies a signal obtained by the demodulation to the control unit 20.
The display unit 26 includes a display device (for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display) that displays an image. Under the control of the control unit 20, an image that represents a pulse wave or the measurement device 2. Displays the screen and character string for operating.

The storage unit 25 has a nonvolatile memory, and stores data generated by the control unit 20 under the control of the control unit 20.
The control unit 20 is a so-called microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 20A, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 20B, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20C, and the like. When the control unit 20 executes the program stored in the ROM 20B, the function of analyzing the signal demodulated in the communication unit 24 to obtain a pulse wave of a living body and displaying an image indicating the obtained pulse wave on the display unit 26. In addition, a function of generating data indicating the obtained pulse wave and storing the generated data in the storage unit 25 is realized.
The operation unit 27 has a plurality of operators for operating the measuring device 2 and is connected to the control unit 20. When the operator is operated by the user, a signal indicating the operated operator is supplied to the control unit 20. The control unit 20 specifies an operation performed by the operator and an instruction from the operator based on this signal, and controls each unit.

(Operation of the embodiment)
Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
First, when the pulse wave of the living body 100 is measured, the detector 1 is attached to the measurement subject whose pulse is to be measured. Here, the measurer who operates the measuring device 2 presses the finger against the two positioning holes 15 of the detector 1, touches the living body 100 with the finger exposed to the opposite side through the positioning hole 15, and the artery of the measurement subject. Search for. When the fingers passing through the positioning hole 15 both touch the artery and the two fingers feel a pulse, the measurer fixes the detector 1 to the subject with adhesive tape.
Here, since the two positioning holes 15 are on the extension line of the sensor 11 in the longitudinal direction, when the detector 1 is fixed at a position where two fingers feel a pulse, the sensor 11 is arterial as shown in FIG. The sensor 11 can be easily disposed at a position where the force is applied from the artery. That is, the positioning hole 15 is used for positioning the detector 1. In the present embodiment, the two positioning holes 15 are on the extension line in the longitudinal direction of the sensor 11, but may be on the extension line in the short direction of the sensor 11.

  Next, when the measurer brings the measuring device 2 close to the detector 1 and performs an operation for instructing the start of pulse wave measurement on the operation unit 27, the control unit 20 receives an AC signal having a predetermined frequency and amplitude. The communication unit 24 is controlled so as to be supplied from the communication unit 24 to the antenna 22. When an AC signal is supplied from the communication unit 24 to the antenna 22, an electromagnetic wave generated by the AC signal flowing through the antenna 22 reaches the antenna 12 of the detector 1.

  In the detector 1, a current flows through the antenna 12 due to mutual induction by electromagnetic waves from the antenna 22. This current is rectified by the rectifier circuit 13, and power for driving the detector 1 is supplied from the rectifier circuit 13 to each part of the detector 1. When electric power is supplied from the rectifier circuit 13, the control unit 10 supplies a predetermined voltage signal to the first electrode 11A.

  Here, when the pressure in the artery changes due to the heartbeat of the measurement subject, a force corresponding to the change in pressure is applied to the sensor 11 from the measurement subject's skin, and the sensor 11 is deformed to form the first electrode 11A. The distance d with the second electrode 11B changes. When the capacitance of the sensor 11 changes with the change of the distance d, a signal corresponding to the change of the capacitance is output from the second electrode 11B. In addition, the signal output from the 2nd electrode 11B here becomes a signal showing a pulse wave as mentioned above.

  When the control unit 10 receives the signal from the second electrode 11 </ b> B, the control unit 10 supplies the received signal to the communication unit 14. Then, a reflected wave obtained by amplitude-modulating the electromagnetic wave from the antenna 22 with a signal (a signal representing a pulse wave) output from the sensor 11 is output from the antenna 12.

  When this reflected wave is received by the antenna 22, a signal flows through the antenna 22 by the reflected wave received by the antenna 22, and the signal is supplied to the communication unit 24. When this signal is supplied to the communication unit 24, the communication unit 24 demodulates the supplied signal. Since the signal before demodulation is modulated according to the signal representing the pulse wave, the signal obtained by demodulation here is a signal representing the pulse wave.

When the signal obtained by this demodulation is supplied to the control unit 20, the control unit 20 analyzes the supplied signal and, based on this signal, shows the waveform of this signal, that is, the waveform of the pulse wave. An image is generated, and the display unit 26 is controlled so that the waveform image is displayed on the display unit 26. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the waveform of the pulse wave of the measurement subject is displayed on the display unit 26, and the measurement person can observe the pulse wave of the measurement subject. That is, here, the control unit 20 functions as an analysis unit that analyzes a signal obtained by demodulation and obtains a pulse wave waveform.
Note that the control unit 20 converts the signal supplied from the communication unit 24 into a digital signal, and stores the converted digital signal in the storage unit 25.

  Next, when an operation for instructing the end of pulse wave measurement is performed on the operation unit 27, the control unit 20 controls the communication unit 24 to stop the output of the AC signal from the communication unit 24 to the antenna 22. Then, in the antenna 12, the electromagnetic wave from the antenna 22 does not reach, and the power supply from the rectifier circuit 13 to each part of the detector 1 is stopped. Further, the control unit 20 stops storing the digital signal in the storage unit 25.

  Here, the storage unit 25 stores a digital signal representing the pulse wave of the measurement subject. When an operation for instructing display of the waveform of the pulse wave indicated by the digital signal is performed on the operation unit 27, the control unit 20 reads the digital signal stored in the storage unit 25. Then, an image of a pulse wave waveform represented by the read digital signal is generated, and the display unit 26 is controlled so that the waveform image is displayed on the display unit 26. As described above, the measuring device 2 not only displays the pulse wave while detecting the pulse wave with the detector 1, but also stores the data indicating the pulse wave and displays the pulse wave based on the stored data. it can.

[Modification]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, It can implement with another various form. For example, the above-described embodiment may be modified as follows to implement the present invention, or may be implemented in combination with each modification.

In the embodiment described above, the detector 1 is a passive type that obtains electric power using electromagnetic waves from the measuring device 2, but may be an active type that provides a battery in the detector 1 and supplies electric power from the battery. .
Moreover, in embodiment mentioned above, although the communication between the detector 1 and the measuring apparatus 2 is an electromagnetic induction system, the communication between the detector 1 and the measuring apparatus 2 is limited to an electromagnetic induction system. Instead, other methods used in RFID technology such as an electromagnetic coupling method may be used.

In the embodiment described above, the detector 1 is affixed to only one place, but a plurality of detectors 1 are affixed to a plurality of positions (both wrists, both ankles, necks, etc.) of the living body 100, respectively. You may receive the signal from the detector 1 by making the measuring apparatus 2 approach.
Alternatively, an identifier may be stored in each of the plurality of detectors 1, and the detector 1 may output a signal indicating the identifier and the pulse wave.

In the above-described embodiment, the detector 1 is attached to the living body 100 with an adhesive tape. However, the detector 1 may be fixed to the living body 100 with the belt 16 as shown in FIG. .
In the embodiment described above, the shape of the first electrode 11A and the second electrode 11B is a rectangle, but the shape of the first electrode 11A and the second electrode 11B is not limited to a rectangle, but a polygon or an ellipse. Other shapes such as a shape and a circle may be used.

In place of the two positioning holes 15, marks 17 may be provided at both ends of the detector 1 on the longitudinal extension of the sensor 11, as shown in FIG. In this configuration, the measurer searches for the artery of the person to be measured next to the mark portion of the detector 1 and fixes the detector 1 to the person to be measured at a position where the finger touches the artery and feels a pulse. Similarly to the case shown in FIG. 1, the sensor 11 is fixed along the artery, and the sensor 11 can be easily arranged at a position where the force from the artery is received.
Further, in order to evaporate sweat from the skin, the detector 1 may be provided with a plurality of holes that are smaller than the positioning holes 15 and do not expose the fingers to the opposite side, in addition to the positioning holes 15.

In the above-described embodiment, the sensor 11 detects the pressure fluctuation in the artery using the change in capacitance, but the sensor 11 is not limited to the configuration using the change in capacitance. Other sensors may be used as long as they receive force and output a signal corresponding to the received force.
For example, a resistance film formed by photolithography may be used as a strain gauge, and this strain gauge may be used instead of the sensor 11 shown in FIG.
When the detector 1 having the strain gauge is attached to the living body 100, a force is applied from the skin to the strain gauge due to pressure fluctuation in the artery 110, and the strain gauge is deformed by this force and the resistance value of the strain gauge changes. . When the resistance value in the strain gauge changes in a state where a signal of a constant voltage is supplied to the strain gauge, a signal corresponding to the change in the resistance value is output from the strain gauge. Here, since the change in the resistance value corresponds to the pressure fluctuation in the artery, that is, corresponds to the pulse wave, the signal output from the strain gauge is a signal representing the pulse wave.
Note that when a strain gauge is used, a bridge circuit may be used. In this case, the pressure fluctuation in the artery can be detected with higher accuracy.

  In the embodiment described above, the measuring device 2 obtains and displays the pulse wave, but may obtain the heart rate from the pulse wave and display the obtained heart rate. That is, the measuring device 2 may analyze the pulse wave and display information about the pulse in addition to the pulse wave waveform.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Detector, 2 ... Measuring apparatus, 10 ... Control part, 11 ... Sensor, 11A ... 1st electrode, 11B ... 2nd electrode, 12 ... Antenna, 13 ... Rectifier circuit, 14 ... Communication part, 15 ... Positioning hole, 16 ... Belt, 17 ... Mark, 20 ... Control part, 20A ... CPU, 20B ... ROM 20C ... RAM, 22 ... antenna, 24 ... communication unit, 25 ... storage unit, 26 ... display unit, 27 ... operation unit

Claims (4)

A sheet-like substrate having flexibility;
An antenna formed on the substrate;
A sensor that is formed on the substrate and receives the force transmitted from the artery of the living body and converts the received force into a signal and outputs the signal;
And a modulator configured to modulate an electromagnetic wave formed on the substrate and received by the antenna with a signal output from the sensor, and to output the modulated electromagnetic wave from the antenna. Around the sensor formed in the substrate, there are at least two holes penetrating the substrate, and the positioning hole through which the finger is exposed to the side opposite to the side where the finger is applied when the finger is applied The detector according to claim 1, wherein the detector is provided.   The detector according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is provided with a plurality of holes smaller than the positioning holes. A sheet-like substrate having flexibility;
A first antenna formed on the substrate;
A sensor that is formed on the substrate and that receives a force from a living artery and converts the received force into a signal and outputs the signal;
A detector that is formed on the substrate and modulates an electromagnetic wave received by the first antenna with a signal output from the sensor, and outputs a modulated electromagnetic wave from the first antenna;
A second antenna for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves;
A communication unit that outputs an electromagnetic wave from the second antenna, demodulates a signal flowing through the second antenna by the electromagnetic wave output from the first antenna and received by the second antenna, and outputs a signal obtained by the demodulation When,
An analysis unit that obtains information related to the pulse of the living body based on a signal obtained by demodulation in the communication unit;
Measuring system.

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