JP2011047711A - Method of measuring contact pressure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of contact pressure measurement for highly accurately measuring a contact pressure between a patient and bedclothes based on their positional relation. <P>SOLUTION: This contact pressure measuring instrument includes: a contact pressure sensor equipped with one sensor element in its middle and a plurality of sensor elements on concentric circles therearound, the sensor elements filled with air for applying an air pressure to the exterior via tubes connected thereto when being pressed; and a body with the pressure sensor connected thereto. The body comprises a power supply switch, a start button, a guidance button, a memory button, a memory, and a liquid crystal display, wherein an outline typical view of the pressure sensor is displayed on the crystal display while respective contact pressures are displayed correspondingly to the states of disposition of the respective sensor elements on the typical view when a contact pressure is applied to the pressure sensor. Subsequently, the pressure sensor is moved so to cause a sensor element showing a top pressure to be a sensor element positioned in the middle of the typical view, and thereafter, the start button is turned on to measure the top pressure of the contact pressure on the sensor element positioned in the middle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention, for example, can easily measure the contact pressure between each part of the body of a patient such as a patient sleeping on a bed and the bedding, and further save the measurement result in a memory or make it easy to visually recognize the measurement result. The present invention relates to a contact pressure measuring method.

  In recent years, nursing and care for bedridden patients in facilities and hospitals have been increasing with the aging of the population. In such situations, patients are often subjected to sustained compression for extended periods of time and are at risk of pressure sores (bed sores). Various pressure ulcer prevention tools such as air mattresses are currently distributed domestically and internationally based on the idea of preventing pressure sores by reducing the pressure.

  In addition to such measures, various contact pressure measuring devices have been developed because it is necessary to know how much pressure is actually applied to which part of the patient. For example, there are ones in which a large number of pressure-sensitive sensors are spread over the entire surface of a bed, and signals from these sensors are analyzed by a computer to display pressure distributions in different colors. Such a device is used for research purposes, and is a custom-made device that is remarkably expensive and large-sized, and requires advanced knowledge and technology when used.

  For this reason, it can be said that it is difficult to know in detail what kind of pressure the patient's body surface is subjected to in an actual nursing care site, and further, the degree of improvement in pressure environment due to the use of a pressure ulcer prevention device. For this reason, staff engaged in nursing, etc. have few ways of knowing the risk of pressure ulcers caused by invisible pressure, and they have caused or worsened pressure ulcers that can be prevented originally. The current situation is.

  In order to solve this problem, a contact pressure measuring device that measures the contact pressure generated between the patient's body surface and the bedding with a simple structure as shown in Patent Document 1 has been proposed.

  This contact pressure measuring device sandwiches the foamed plastic that returns to its original shape when the pressure is released between two air-impermeable sheets without pressing, and the air-impermeable from the vicinity of the foamed plastic. A tube extending to the outside of the sheet, and a contact pressure sensor configured by adhering the foamed plastic and the air-impermeable sheet around the tube to each other; and a tip portion of the tube of the contact pressure sensor The pressure detector arranged in the position and the pressure signal of the pressure detector are output as they are when the signal from the pressure detector is single, and the average value or maximum value of these signal values in the case of multiple signals And a display unit that digitally displays an output signal of the conversion circuit.

  According to Patent Document 1, when measuring the contact pressure, the device is turned on with the contact pressure sensor sandwiched between the patient and the bedding, and the display unit is contacted with the contact pressure sensor. It can be seen that the contact pressure measurement method of displaying the pressure is used.

JP2000-111420A

  In the measurement method in the contact pressure measuring device described in Patent Document 1, when there are a plurality of contact pressure sensors, either the average value or the maximum value of these sensor signals is output. Since it was not clear which part received the maximum contact pressure, there was a problem that it was very difficult to move the position where the contact pressure was highest to the desired position. Furthermore, since the measurement results are only displayed as numerical values, it is difficult to read temporal changes in the contact pressure applied to the contact pressure sensor. Also, it was not clear in which direction the patient's body part producing the maximum contact pressure was.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can measure the contact pressure between a patient and bedding with high accuracy based on the positional relationship, and further store the measurement result in a memory, or visually To provide a contact pressure measurement method that makes it easier to recognize

  The method for measuring contact pressure according to claim 1 is characterized in that one sensor element that applies air pressure to the outside through a tube connected when air is sealed inside and pressed is provided in a central portion and a plurality of concentric circles around the sensor element. A contact pressure sensor and a main body to which the contact pressure sensor is connected. The main body has a power switch, a start button for normal mode, a guidance button for guidance mode, a memory button, a memory, and a liquid crystal display. When the contact pressure sensor is connected and the power is turned on, an external schematic diagram of the contact pressure sensor is displayed on the liquid crystal display, and when the contact pressure is applied to the contact pressure sensor, each of the above-described external schematic diagrams A contact pressure measuring method of a contact pressure measuring device configured to display each contact pressure corresponding to the arrangement state of a sensor element, wherein the contact pressure is measured. In the process, first, the contact pressure sensor is sandwiched between a measurement site and an object with which the measurement site contacts, the power switch is turned on, the guidance button is turned on, and the liquid crystal display is shown on the schematic external view. The sensor element that displays the contact pressure to each sensor element at a display position corresponding to the arrangement state of each sensor element, and then displays the sensor element that exhibits the highest contact pressure in the central portion on the schematic external view; By moving the contact pressure sensor so that the start button is turned on, the maximum value of the contact pressure to the sensor element located in the central portion is measured.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the contact pressure measuring method according to the first aspect, after measuring the contact pressure to the sensor element and subsequently determining the maximum value of the contact pressure to the sensor element, the memory button Is turned on, the numerical value is stored in the memory, and then the start button is turned on to measure the contact pressure.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the contact pressure measuring method according to the first aspect, the contact pressure of each sensor element of the contact pressure sensor is sequentially measured at predetermined intervals by pressing and holding the start button to turn it on. In addition, the measurement result is displayed on the liquid crystal display as a graph and a numerical value so that the temporal change of the contact pressure to each sensor element can be recognized.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, when measuring the contact pressure, the contact pressure sensor is first sandwiched between the measurement site and the object that the measurement site contacts, and the guidance button is turned on after the power is turned on. The contact pressure to each sensor element is displayed at a display position corresponding to the arrangement state of each sensor element on the liquid crystal display, so that the sensor element showing the highest contact pressure becomes the sensor element located at the center of the contact pressure sensor The contact pressure sensor can be moved. Then, it is possible to easily measure the value at which the contact pressure is maximized by turning on the start button.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the start button is turned on, the contact pressure is measured, the maximum value of the contact pressure is determined, and then the memory switch is turned on to store the numerical value in the memory. After that, when the start button is turned on, the contact pressure is continuously measured, so that the storage in the memory and the measurement of the contact pressure can be performed alternately. And since the contact pressure to each sensor element preserve | saved at memory can be read, these time progress can be seen and the response | compatibility to a patient becomes easy.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, after the power switch is turned on, the guidance button is turned on to enter the guidance mode, and the start button is further pressed for a long time so that the contact pressure of each sensor element of the contact pressure sensor is set at a predetermined interval. Can be measured sequentially and displayed on a liquid crystal display with graphs and numerical values, so that changes in contact pressure over time can be seen in real time, and as a result, changes in contact pressure at each part can be easily recognized visually. It will be easier to see if special attention should be paid to the part.

It is an external view which shows embodiment which concerns on this invention and shows the state which connected the contact pressure sensor to the main body. (A) is explanatory drawing of the place which connects a contact pressure sensor (not shown) to a main body via a coupler, (b) is a figure which shows the state which locked the coupler with the locking mechanism with respect to the main body. The coupler mechanism which consists of the coupler convex part connected with the coupler concave part provided in the main body and a contact pressure sensor is shown, (a) shows before the coupling | bonding, (b) is a figure which shows a coupling | bonding state. It is a block diagram which shows the electric circuit of a main body. It is a flowchart when measuring a contact pressure. In the guidance mode, the contact pressure to each sensor element shown on the main unit liquid crystal display is illustrated, and the contact pressure to each sensor element changes as indicated by the arrow by moving the contact pressure sensor FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a contact pressure measuring device for carrying out the contact pressure measuring method according to the present invention. 10 is a contact pressure measuring device, 20 is a contact pressure sensor, 21 is an outer bag, 22 is a sensor element, 23 is a tube, 30 is a main body, 31 is a liquid crystal display, 32 is a plastic case, 33 is a start button, 34 is a guidance button, 35 is a power switch, 36 is a memory button, 37 is a feed button, and 50 is a coupler. Yes.

As shown in the figure, the contact pressure measuring device 10 includes a contact pressure sensor 20 sandwiched between a patient and bedding, and a main body 30 having a liquid crystal display 31. The contact pressure sensor 20 and the main body 30 are composed of a coupler 50. It is structured to connect with.

  The contact pressure sensor 20 is formed of an outer bag 21 having a substantially rhombus on the outside, and a balloon-shaped sensor element 22 is accommodated therein. The sensor element 22 is obtained by welding two air-impermeable sheets having a thickness of about 0.3 mm with the periphery of the tube 23 sandwiched therebetween. In this embodiment, the contact pressure sensor 20 has five sensor elements 22, one at the center (number 1) and another sensor element 22 (number 2, on the circumference surrounding it). 3, 4, 5) are arranged. In addition, a polyurethane film or a vinyl chloride film can be used for the air impermeable sheet of the sensor element 22, and the thickness can be appropriately set within a range of 0.02 mm to 0.5 mm. The tube 23 is made of polyurethane having a pressure resistance of about 1 mmφ.

  Each tube 23 communicates with each sensor element 22, extends from the outer bag 21, and is connected to the coupler 50. On the other hand, the main body 30 has a plastic casing 32, and a liquid crystal display 31 is disposed on the surface thereof. A start button 33, a guidance button 34 indicated by a G mark, a power switch 35, a memory button 36, a feed button 37, and the like are provided below the liquid crystal display 31.

  Further, when the power switch 35 is turned on, a schematic view of the contact pressure sensor 20 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 31, and the number of each sensor element 22 is displayed corresponding to the arrangement state. Here, since the contact pressure sensor 20 has a substantially rhombus shape, the schematic external view shows the rhombus line and a number corresponding to the arrangement state of the five sensor elements 22 housed therein. Is. Other displays displayed on the liquid crystal display 31 will be described later.

  Next, the coupler structure of the contact pressure measuring device used in the contact pressure measuring method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of a coupler 50 for connecting the contact pressure sensor 20 and the main body 30. FIG. 2A shows a state where a contact pressure sensor (not shown) is connected to the main body via the coupler. b) is a diagram showing a state in which the coupler is locked to the main body by a locking mechanism.

  The coupler structure for connecting the contact pressure sensor 20 and the main body 30 has a cylindrical tube 51 composed of five hard tubes provided at the tip of a tube 23 connected to the sensor element 22 as shown in FIG. Are provided on the main body side facing the cylindrical tube 51 of the coupler 50, and the cylindrical tube 51 is fitted in a watertight state. It is formed with a socket part.

FIG. 2B shows a concave groove (not shown) in which a lock claw 52 provided on the back surface of the coupler 50 is provided on the back surface of the main body 30 when the coupler 50 is fitted and connected to the socket portion of the main body 30. A lock mechanism that locks and retains is shown. When the lock is released, the lock claw 52 is lifted and removed from the concave groove against the force of the spring applied to the claw 52, and the coupler 50 is pulled out from the main body 30. In addition, the code | symbol 39 in a figure has shown the lid | cover for attaching / detaching the battery (006P) of the main body 30. FIG. Instead of the battery, power can be supplied by an AC adapter.

  Next, details of the coupler structure will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 shows a coupler mechanism comprising a coupler concave portion provided in the main body and a coupler convex portion connected to the contact pressure sensor. (A) shows a state before coupling, and (b) shows a coupling state. It is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the coupler 50 includes five hard cylindrical tubes 51 arranged in parallel, and tubes 23 extending from the sensor elements 22 are connected to the cylindrical tubes 51, respectively. On the other hand, the main body 30 is provided with five fitting holes 38 at positions facing the respective cylindrical tubes 51. An O-ring 38 a is disposed at the entrance of each fitting hole 38 and forms a watertight state with respect to the fitting of the cylindrical tube 51.

In addition, a pressure sensor 40 (for example, a silicon pressure sensor) that measures air pressure is fixedly disposed at the end of each fitting hole 38, and the cylindrical tube 51 is placed in the fitting hole 38. When inserted, a predetermined amount of air in the fitting hole 38 flows into the sensor element 22 through the tube 23, and an amount of air necessary for measuring the contact pressure is enclosed in the sensor element 22. It is like that. Actually, by connecting the coupler 50 to the main body 30, the amount of air enclosed in the sensor element 22 is 0.7 ml, and the signal from the pressure sensor 40 at that time is set to display 0.0 mmHg. Yes. Note that (b) shows a state in which the coupler 50 is completely fitted into the main body 30.

  Next, an electric circuit provided in the main body 30 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit of the main body. 40 is a pressure sensor, 41 is an A / D converter, 42 is a digital / voltage converter, 43 is a voltage / pressure converter, 44 is an LCD output device, 45 Indicates memory.

The main body 30 is provided with a pressure sensor 40 at the end of each fitting hole 38. The output signal of the pressure sensor 40 is A / D converted by an A / D converter 41 and converted into a digital signal. The output is converted into a voltage by the digital / voltage converter 42, and the converted voltage value is converted into a pressure value by the voltage / pressure converter 43, and a numerical value (unit) is applied to the liquid crystal display 31 through the LCD output unit 44. mmHg) or an image.

The memory 45 is a non-volatile memory and can store pressure data acquired by operating the memory button 36. SW1 to SW5 are switches corresponding to the start button 33, the guidance button 34, the power switch 35, the memory button 36, and the feed button 37.

  Next, a contact pressure measuring method using the contact pressure measuring device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart relating to a contact pressure measuring method, and FIG. 6A illustrates the contact pressure to each sensor element displayed on the main body liquid crystal display when the contact pressure measuring device is in the guidance mode. (B) shows a state in which the contact pressure to each sensor element changes by moving the contact pressure sensor.

  First, the contact pressure sensor 20 is set in the main body 30 via the coupler 50, and after the contact pressure sensor 20 is sandwiched between the patient and the bedding, the power switch 35 is turned on. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, a schematic external appearance of the substantially rhombic contact pressure sensor 20 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 31, a number is displayed at the position of each sensor element 22, and 0.0 mmHg is displayed on the lower side. The A state where no pressure is applied to the contact pressure sensor 20 is shown.

  Next, when the guidance button 34 is turned ON, the contact pressure to each sensor element 22 is simultaneously displayed on the liquid crystal display 31 at the display position corresponding to the arrangement state of each sensor element 22 on the external schematic diagram of the contact pressure sensor. Let At this time, a “guidance” mark is displayed in the liquid crystal display 31 to enter the guidance mode. By using this guidance mode, it is possible to visually recognize which sensor element is most subjected to the contact pressure.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the graphic display displays the strength of the contact pressure applied to the five sensor elements 22 in a four-stage concentric circle graph. In this embodiment, the single circle is less than 30.0 mmHg, the double circle is less than 60.0 mmHg, the triple circle is less than 90.0 mmHg, and the quadrant is 91.0 mmHg or more, and is displayed in order from the outside. It has become.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the contact pressure sensor 20 is moved so that the sensor element 22 showing the highest contact pressure becomes the number 1 sensor element which is the sensor element in the center. Thereafter, the start button 33 is turned on. By doing so, “normal” is displayed on the liquid crystal display 31, and the maximum value of the contact pressure to the sensor element of number 1 can be measured after a certain period of time has elapsed in the normal mode. At this time, the maximum contact pressure is displayed as a numerical value (unit: mmHg) on the liquid crystal display 31.

  Also at this time, the measured value for each sensor element 22 is displayed in the number of circles, and the number and graph of the sensor element 22 that has measured the maximum value are blinking. The measured value for each sensor element 22 can be viewed as a numerical value (unit: mmHg). When the guidance button 34 is not turned on, the contact pressure can be measured in the normal mode.

  The measured value can be stored by pressing the memory button 36 after measuring the contact pressure. The memory number at the upper right of the measured value blinks twice and the data is stored in the memory 45. Since the contact pressure can be continuously measured after the memory (start button 33 is turned on), the measurement and memory storage are alternately performed. Changes and the like can be displayed on the liquid crystal display and visually recognized.

  In addition, after the power switch 35 is turned on, the guidance button 34 is turned on to enter the guidance mode, and the start button 33 is pressed (for 2 seconds or longer) to set the long term mode. The contact pressure of the sensor element 22 can be measured sequentially at intervals of 0.8 seconds and displayed on the liquid crystal display with a graph and a numerical value. By doing so, it becomes easier to visually recognize temporal changes in contact pressure. To end the long term mode, the power switch 35 is turned off or the start button 33 is pressed again to return to the normal mode. In this embodiment, the measurement interval is set to 0.8 seconds, but this is an example, and an optimal time interval may be set.

Next, the memory function will be further described.
The memory 45 has 25 memory maximum values, the latest measurement value is the memory number 01, and the memory number is sequentially decreased from the new measurement value to the old measurement value. In normal mode (when the “normal” mark is displayed), press and hold the memory button 36 for 2 seconds or longer to display the latest measured value (memory number 01) recorded in the memory on the liquid crystal display. Can be made. In this state, “memory 01” is displayed in the liquid crystal display 31 and blinks, and each time the feed button 37 is pressed, the previous measurement value is displayed. Note that the memory number can be fast-forwarded when the feed button 37 is pressed and held. Further, the transition from the memory mode to the normal mode is performed by pressing the start button 33.

  When the memory button 36 is pressed again while the memory number is displayed by the above operation, the flashing of the memory number stops and the number of the sensor element 22 and the pie chart flash. Each time the feed button 37 is pressed, the measured values of the sensor elements 22 can be displayed in order. When the power switch 35 is turned on while pressing the “memory button” in the power switch OFF state, all data stored in the memory 45 can be erased.

  In the claims and the above embodiments, the power switch, the start button, the guidance button, the memory button, the feed button, and the like are referred to. It is not limited, and includes those for performing similar operations.

  In the above embodiment, the contact pressure measurement method has been described for measuring the contact pressure between the patient and the bedding. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the contact pressure between other objects can also be measured. it can. For example, when an object is placed on a flat surface, a contact pressure sensor is sandwiched between them to measure the position where the center of gravity is applied, or to check whether the object is horizontal.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Contact pressure measuring device 20 Contact pressure sensor 21 External body 22 Sensor element 23 Tube 30 Main body
31 Liquid crystal display 32 Housing 33 Start button 34 Guidance button 35 Power switch 36 Memory button 37 Feed button 38 Fitting hole 38a O-ring 40 Pressure sensor 50 Coupler 51 Cylindrical tube 52 Lock claw

Claims (3)

A contact pressure sensor having one sensor element at the center and a plurality of concentric circles around the sensor element for applying air pressure to the outside through a tube connected when air is enclosed and pressed; and the contact pressure sensor The main body has a power switch, a start button that is in a normal mode, a guidance button that is in a guidance mode, a memory button, a memory, and a liquid crystal display, and the contact pressure sensor is connected to the power source When the contact pressure sensor is turned on, a schematic view of the appearance of the contact pressure sensor is displayed on the liquid crystal display, and when contact pressure is applied to the contact pressure sensor, each of the sensor elements corresponding to the arrangement state of the sensor elements on the schematic view of the appearance is displayed. A contact pressure measuring method of a contact pressure measuring device configured to display a contact pressure,
When measuring the contact pressure, first, the contact pressure sensor is sandwiched between a measurement site and an object with which the measurement site is in contact, the power switch is turned on, the guidance button is turned on, and the liquid crystal display The contact pressure to each sensor element is displayed at a display position corresponding to the arrangement state of each sensor element on the external schematic diagram, and then the sensor element showing the highest contact pressure is displayed in the central part on the external schematic diagram. The contact pressure sensor measures the maximum value of the contact pressure to the sensor element located at the center by moving the contact pressure sensor so that the sensor element is located and then turning on the start button. Measuring method.   After measuring the contact pressure to the sensor element, and then determining the maximum value of the contact pressure to the sensor element, by turning on the memory button, the numerical value is stored in the memory, and then continued. The contact pressure measuring method according to claim 1, wherein the start button is turned on to measure the contact pressure.   By pressing and holding the start button for a long time, the contact pressure of each sensor element of the contact pressure sensor is sequentially measured at a predetermined interval, and the measurement result is displayed on the liquid crystal display as a graph and a numerical value. The contact pressure measuring method according to claim 1, wherein a change with time of the contact pressure to each sensor element can be recognized.

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