JP2011212231A - Spoon for ingestion function evaluation, ingestion function evaluation system, and ingestion function evaluation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more correctly evaluate the ingestion function of a subject through daily meal scenes than by a conventional method.SOLUTION: A magnetic field change detecting part is arranged close to a bowl part 23 of an ingestion function evaluation spoon 20. A magnet 11 is attached to a region close to the lips of the subject, so as to determine a timing when the bowl part 23 of the spoon 20 approaches the lips b and is inserted into a mouth, based on the output of the magnetic field change detecting part. Besides, the state of the function related to the ingestion is detected by respective sensors with the detected timing for the approach of the bowl part to the lips and the insertion into the mouth as a trigger.

Description

  The present invention relates to a suitable eating function evaluation spoon applied for evaluating a eating function, a eating function evaluation system and a eating function evaluation method performed using the spoon.

Eating dysfunction refers to one or more movements of a series of eating movement processes such as food intake into the oral cavity, mastication, bolus formation, bolus feeding, swallowing reflex, transport to the esophagus It is a failure. In particular, due to the delay or disappearance of the swallowing reflex, aspiration occurs in which part of the bolus that should flow into the esophagus originally enters the trachea. In the worst case, aspiration pneumonia, suffocation, etc. There is a risk that will occur.
This disorder is caused by primary disorders (disorders caused directly by the disease) or secondary disorders (disease rest) such as cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Appears as an obstacle). Furthermore, the number of persons with this disorder is increasing in patients with dementia and frail elderly.
Eating dysfunction can be improved by performing rehabilitation. For this purpose, it is important to correctly diagnose and respond to what kind of eating dysfunction is occurring.

Known methods for diagnosing eating dysfunction include swallowing contrast imaging, endoscopy, and cervical auscultation. Among these diagnostic methods, swallowing contrast examination is an examination that ingests simulated foods containing a contrast medium using an X-ray device and reliably checks for the presence or absence of aspiration. Therefore, it is not possible to inspect the state of daily eating function due to the restriction of the inspection place and the risk of exposure. In addition, since there are few doctors who can diagnose the cause of aspiration and the state of eating function from the results of swallowing contrast examination, it is difficult to obtain an appropriate rehabilitation instruction.
Endoscopy is limited to specific organs and tissues, and can be viewed directly with an endoscope. Therefore, doctors with diagnostic skills can diagnose aspiration. The problem is that it is fragmented and limited to specific organs and tissues.
The auscultation of the cervix has no restrictions on the examination location and the risk of examination, but it requires skills for diagnosis of aspiration, and it is difficult to distinguish aspiration from other sounds generated in the oral cavity and pharynx in particular. There's a problem.

As a method already known for solving these problems, there is a “swallowing evaluation system” described in Patent Document 1.
The “swallowing evaluation system” described in Patent Document 1 includes a muscle contraction detecting unit that detects contraction of muscles involved in the movement of thyroid cartilage, and a sound detecting unit that detects sound that the swallowed object passes through the pharyngeal periphery. And a means for detecting the movement of the thyroid cartilage, a respiration detecting means, and the like, and the detection data of these detecting means are displayed in time series synchronization.
Specifically, each detection means is configured by attaching a sensor such as a microphone or a temperature sensor in the vicinity of the neck, chest, or nose.

JP 2007-14727 A

  According to the “swallowing evaluation system” described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to evaluate food swallowing simply by attaching a relatively small sensor to each part of the upper body of the subject, and to prevent eating dysfunction such as aspiration. Detection can be performed satisfactorily in a situation where the load on the subject is relatively small. That is, when a healthy person eats, if the swallowing reflex is performed during the apnea period in order to transport the bolus in the oral cavity to the esophagus, the swallowing reflex is performed during a period other than the apnea period These judgments can be seen from the display of the output of each sensor. For the subject, it is only necessary to attach a relatively small sensor to each part of the upper body of the subject, and there is an effect that the subject can be evaluated through the daily meal scene of the subject.

By the way, when evaluating eating dysfunction using these sensors, etc., it is important to instruct the subject to start eating and observe changes in each sensor output from the beginning of eating. It is. That is, if the timing when food is put into the oral cavity is not known, it cannot be determined whether the sensor output is a swallowing reflex or a reaction other than that. As for apnea, if the timing of putting food in the mouth is not known, it cannot be determined whether the apnea is linked to the swallowing reflex.
In addition, as one of the factors that accurately determine eating dysfunction, the time from the time when food is placed in the mouth to the swallowing reflex is also an important evaluation in determining the degree and cause of eating dysfunction. It is information, and the timing at which food is put into the oral cavity is also important from this point of view.

  For this reason, conventionally, when this type of system is used to evaluate the presence or absence of eating dysfunction, the caregiver is looking sideways as the subject eats, and the caregiver instructs the start of eating. It was necessary to take measures such as pressing the switch when the spoon carrying food touched the lips.

  However, if the caregiver manually presses the switch while watching the subject's movement, the push timing differs depending on the caregiver, and it cannot be said that the evaluation is always performed in a uniform state. In addition, there is a problem that the caregiver has to operate the switch at all times, which is a burden on the caregiver.

  So far, we have explained the problem of evaluating eating dysfunction, but when thinking about eating dysfunction in a broad concept, whether or not it is placed on a spoon with strict adherence to the indicated mouthful, To evaluate whether the action to put the mouth into the mouth and the action to move into the mouth is correct, how much can be eaten from the spoon at a time, the number of transports per meal and the actual intake amount, etc. It is also important. However, in a conventional system in which a sensor is attached to each part of a subject, the swallowing reflex movement, which is an operation of swallowing the bolus, is only known, and it is impossible to detect them.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to evaluate the eating function of a subject more accurately than the conventional method through a daily meal scene.

The spoon for eating function evaluation of the present invention is a spoon provided with a spoon that takes food into the oral cavity, and is provided with a magnetic field change detector near the spoon.
With this configuration, it is possible to determine the timing at which the spoon portion approaches the lips and is inserted into the oral cavity by attaching a magnet in the vicinity of the lips of the subject. Therefore, the feeding function can be evaluated using the timing when the spoon portion approaches the lips and is inserted into the oral cavity as a trigger.

Moreover, the eating function evaluation system and the eating function evaluation method of the present invention evaluate a subject's eating function by attaching a magnet near the subject's lips.
As the spoon, a spoon provided with a spoon portion that takes food into the oral cavity, and a spoon provided with a magnetic field change detection portion in the vicinity of the spoon portion is used.
A detection sensor unit that detects a reaction such as a swallowing reflex of the subject is provided, and the timing when the spoon comes close to the lips and is inserted into the oral cavity is detected from the magnetic field change by the magnet detected by the magnetic field change detection unit of the spoon. Then, the eating function is evaluated from the reaction detected by the detection sensor unit after the detected timing.
By performing the evaluation in this way, the timing at which food is inserted into the oral cavity can be known, and the feeding function can be accurately evaluated without the caregiver operating a switch or the like.

  With the eating function evaluation spoon of the present invention, the timing when the spoon portion approaches the lips and is inserted into the oral cavity can be detected as a magnetic field change, and the swallowing reflex can be evaluated using the detection timing as a trigger. Therefore, the timing at which food is inserted into the oral cavity can be determined, and the subsequent detection of swallowing reflexes has the effect of accurately evaluating the eating function.

  In this case, the magnetic field change detection unit is provided with an excitation coil and a detection coil, performs excitation processing with a signal of a predetermined frequency in the excitation coil, and changes the magnetic field from the change in the detection state of the frequency signal in the detection coil. By adopting a detection configuration, it becomes possible to distinguish between a state in which a spoon is inserted into a metal tableware and a state in which a spoon is inserted into the oral cavity. This has the effect of enabling accurate detection.

  In addition, by providing a strain gauge that detects the load applied to the spoon, the weight of the food taken out of the tableware or put into the mouth with a spoon can be judged from the detection output of the strain gauge. It has the effect of being able to judge whether the amount has been predated. In particular, by knowing when food is inserted into the oral cavity, the weight applied to the spoon just before inserting food into the oral cavity is compared with the weight when removing the spoon. It will be possible to judge.

  In addition, according to the eating function evaluation system and the eating function evaluation method of the present invention, the timing of inserting food into the oral cavity is known from the magnetic field change detection unit provided in the spoon, and the intake based on the output of the swallowing reflection detection sensor unit and the like. It is possible for the caregiver to accurately evaluate the eating function without separately operating a switch or the like, and it is possible to easily and accurately evaluate the eating function.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of the eating function evaluation system by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of the detection part by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the top view (a) and sectional drawing (b) which show the structural example of the spoon by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the example of an evaluation process by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the detection waveform for evaluation of the spoon by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a wave form diagram which shows the detection waveform example for evaluation (example of a healthy person) which showed the trigger pulse and three waveforms by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a wave form diagram which shows the detection waveform example for evaluation (case 1) which showed the trigger pulse and three waveforms by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a wave form diagram which shows the detection waveform example for evaluation (case 2) which showed the trigger pulse and two waveforms by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of a permanent magnet. It is a block diagram which shows the example of the detection part by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the top view (a) and sectional drawing (b) which show the structural example of the spoon by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the detection waveform of the spoon by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the example of the detection part by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is the top view (a) and sectional drawing (b) which show the structural example of the spoon by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the detection waveform of the spoon by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
1. 1. First Embodiment 1.1 System Configuration Example (FIG. 1)
1.2 Configuration example of detector (FIG. 2)
1.3 Example of spoon configuration (Figure 3)
1.4 Description of evaluation process (FIGS. 4 to 8)
1.5 Description of magnet arrangement (Fig. 9)
2. Second Embodiment (FIGS. 10 to 12)
3. Third embodiment (FIGS. 13 to 15)
4). Modified example

<1. First Embodiment>
[1.1 System configuration example]
First, an example of a system configuration of the example of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the present embodiment, the permanent magnet 11 is disposed in the vicinity of the lip b of the subject a. The permanent magnet 11 is affixed to, for example, a circular adhesive sheet, and the adhesive sheet is adhered to the top or bottom of the lips b to fix the permanent magnet 11 near the lips b.

  A measurement data detection unit configured as a USB controller 40 is connected to a personal computer device (PC) 70 that is a device for capturing measurement data. The USB controller 40 is a device that is connected to a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port of the personal computer device 70 via a USB cable. A configuration example of the USB controller 40 will be described with reference to FIG. The connection with the USB cable is one example, and the connection may be made with another transmission method.

To the USB controller 40, the spoon 20 and the sensors 61, 62, 63 are connected.
The spoon 20 carries food to the mouth of the subject “a”, and the spoon 20 according to the present embodiment incorporates a magnetic field detection unit composed of a coil. By incorporating the magnetic field detector, an induced voltage is generated in the coil by moving the spoon in the DC magnetic field formed by the permanent magnet 11 attached in the vicinity of the lip b of the subject a. Is detected. The strain gauge is also incorporated in the spoon 20 and detects the load applied to the spoon portion 23 at the tip of the spoon 20. The detailed configuration of the spoon 20 will also be described later.

The sensor unit connected to the USB controller 40 includes a temperature detection sensor 61, a swallowing sound detection sensor 62, and a swallowing reflection detection sensor 63.
The temperature detection sensor 61 includes a temperature detection sensor using a temperature detection element such as a thermistor, and is attached to the nostril of the nose of the subject a to detect the temperature of inspiration and expiration. The temperature detection sensor 61 has a configuration in which, for example, a film-like sensor is attached under the nose.
The swallowing sound detection sensor 62 is a sensor that detects a relatively high frequency component corresponding to sound. For example, the swallowing sound detection sensor 62 is composed of a microphone or a vibration sensor, and is attached to the neck near the oropharynx of the subject a with a surgical tape or the like.
The swallowing reflex detection sensor 63 is a sensor for detecting a displacement state, for example, a sensor configured by an acceleration sensor or the like, and detects the movement of the thyroid cartilage portion of the subject a. The thyroid of the subject a with a surgical tape or the like. Attach to the neck near the cartilage.
The detection signals of these sensors 61, 62, and 63 are supplied to the USB controller 40 via a cable, converted into data in the USB controller 40, and supplied to the personal computer device 70 via a USB cable.

Then, the data supplied from the USB controller 40 to the personal computer device 70 is analyzed in the personal computer device 70 to evaluate the feeding function. That is, the personal computer device 70 is installed with software (program) for evaluating the eating function from the detected data, and the evaluation process is performed by executing the software.
The evaluation result is displayed on a display provided (or connected) to the personal computer device 70.
The output waveform of each sensor is displayed on this display. Alternatively, evaluation results, waveforms, and the like may be printed by a printer (not shown).

[1.2 Configuration Example of Detection Unit]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the USB controller 40 as a measurement data detection unit, the sensors 61 to 63 connected to the USB controller 40, and the spoon 20.
The output of the temperature detection sensor 61 composed of a thermistor or the like is supplied to the amplifier 51 within the USB controller 40 for amplification, and the amplified signal is supplied to the noise cut filter 52 for noise such as high-frequency components. The output of the noise cut filter 52 is supplied to the processing board 50.
Also for the swallowing sound detection sensor 62, the sensor output is supplied to the amplifier 53 in the USB controller 40 and amplified, and the amplified signal is supplied to the noise cut filter 54 to cut noise such as a high frequency component, The output of the noise cut filter 54 is supplied to the processing board 50.
Also for the swallowing reflection detection sensor 63, the sensor output is supplied to the amplifier 55 in the USB controller 40 and amplified, and the amplified signal is supplied to the noise cut filter 56 to cut noise such as a high frequency component, The output of the noise cut filter 56 is supplied to the processing board 50.
In the processing board 50, changes in the output signals of the sensors 61, 62, and 63 are set as appropriate waveform data.

The spoon 20 includes a strain gauge 24, an excitation coil 25, and a detection coil 26.
The strain gauge 24 supplies the signal amplified by the strain amplifier 28 in the spoon 20 to the USB controller 40, cuts noise such as a high frequency component by the noise cut filter 45 in the USB controller 40, and then supplies the processed board 50 to the processing board 50. To do.
In the processing board 50, the load applied to the spoon portion 23 of the spoon 20, that is, the weight of food put in the spoon portion 23 is detected from the output of the strain gauge 24, and the detected value is supplied to the computer device 70.

The excitation coil 25 is supplied with a high-frequency signal from a high-frequency oscillation circuit 41 in the USB controller 40, and an excitation operation is performed using the high-frequency signal. The high-frequency signal supplied from the high-frequency oscillation circuit 41 has a frequency of about several kHz to several tens of kHz, for example. The high frequency signal from the high frequency oscillation circuit 41 is basically always output during the evaluation.
The detection coil 26 is disposed at a position adjacent to the excitation coil 25, and the output of the detection coil 26 is input to one of the differential amplifiers 43 on the USB controller 40 side via the voltage follower circuit 27 in the spoon 20. Supply to the end. Further, the output of the high frequency oscillation circuit 41 is supplied to the other input terminal of the differential amplifier 43 via the attenuator 42.
Then, the differential amplifier 43 detects the difference between the high-frequency signal supplied to the excitation coil 25 and the signal detected by the detection coil 26, and supplies the difference signal to the processing board 50.

  The processing board 50 detects that the spoon portion 23 of the spoon 20 has been inserted into the oral cavity of the subject a based on the signal from the detection coil 26 of the spoon 20. Further, it is detected that the spoon 23 is taken out from the state in which the spoon 23 is inserted into the oral cavity. Furthermore, although not illustrated, it is possible to detect a state in which the spoon 20 is inserted into a tableware containing food and a state in which the spoon 20 is taken out from the tableware. Specific detection states of these detections will be described later.

[1.3 Example of spoon configuration]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of the spoon 20 of the present embodiment.
3A is a plan view seen from above, and FIG. 3B is a longitudinal sectional view.
The spoon 20 has a spoon portion 23 attached to the tip thereof through a slender handle portion 22 on a base portion 21 which is a portion held by hand during use. In this case, the handle portion 22 has a narrow portion 22a in the ground, and a strain gauge 24 is disposed in the narrow portion 22a.
In addition, an exciting coil 25 and a detection coil 26 are arranged side by side on a spoon portion 23 that is a portion for carrying food.

  In the base portion 21 of the spoon 20, a voltage follower circuit 27, a strain amplifier circuit 28, and a connector substrate 29 are arranged. As already described in FIG. 2, the strain gauge 24 is connected to the strain amplifier circuit 28. The detection coil 26 is connected to the voltage follower circuit 27, and each signal is output to the USB controller 40 side via a cable connected to the connector board 29.

  It is preferable that the strain gauge 24 and the coils 25 and 26 are basically disposed inside the spoon 20 so that the strain gauge 24 and the coils 25 and 26 cannot be seen from the outside. For example, it is conceivable that after the coils 25 and 26 and the strain gauge 24 are disposed, a resin mold or the like is applied so that the user does not touch the coil or the strain gauge.

[1.4 Explanation of evaluation process]
Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process example in the case of evaluating with the system of this Embodiment is demonstrated in order. Here, food such as liquid is put in a metal tableware placed in front of the subject, the food is sprinkled with the spoon 23 of the spoon 20, and the subject a is caused to perform an eating operation into the oral cavity. Evaluate feeding function. The subject a has a permanent magnet 11 attached in the vicinity of the lips as shown in FIG.
The processing of the flowchart of FIG. 4 is executed by, for example, analysis of detection data in the personal computer device 70 to which detection data from the USB controller 40 is supplied.

First, it is determined from the output of the detection coil 26 and the output of the strain gauge 24 whether the spoon portion 23 of the spoon 20 is inserted into the tableware, inserted into the oral cavity, or none ( Step S11). In a state that is neither, the determination here is repeated.
Here, the state where the spoon portion 23 is inserted into the tableware is determined by the insertion of the spoon 20 into the tableware, so that the oscillation signal from the excitation coil 25 is difficult to be detected by the detection coil 26 due to changes in the surrounding environment. Thus, it can be detected from the attenuation of the high frequency component of the output of the detection coil 26. Further, since the output of the strain gauge 24 is not stable, it can be detected that the spoon portion 23 is inserted into the tableware. It is preferable to comprehensively determine the output of the detection coil 26 and the output of the strain gauge 24 to determine whether or not it is inserted into the tableware. However, you may judge only from either one.
In step S <b> 11, the detection coil 26 is turned into the permanent magnet 11 by the action of the high-frequency signal from the excitation coil 25 and the permanent magnet 11 for detecting that the spoon portion 23 of the spoon 20 is inserted into the oral cavity. It is detected from the waveform change of the detection coil 26 that occurs when approaching.

If it is determined in step S11 that the table has been inserted into the tableware, the process proceeds to step S12 to determine whether the spoon 20 has been removed from the tableware. This determination can be detected because there is no attenuation of the high frequency component of the output of the detection coil 26 determined in step S11. It can also be determined from the output of the strain gauge 24.
If the removal from the tableware is detected, it is determined in step S11 that the spoon 20 has been inserted into the tableware, and then the time until the spoon 20 is removed from the tableware in step S12 is determined (step S13). . And the weight of the food currently carried with the spoon 20 is determined from the output of the strain gauge 24 (step S14).
Thereafter, the process returns to the determination in step S11.

If it is determined in step S11 that the spoon 20 has been inserted into the oral cavity of the subject, a trigger pulse is generated at the timing when it is determined that the spoon 20 has been inserted into the oral cavity (step S15). The operation based on the trigger pulse will be described later.
Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the spoon portion 23 of the spoon 20 has moved out of the oral cavity (step S16). The detection of removal from the oral cavity is also detected from the waveform change of the detection coil 26 that occurs when the detection coil 26 approaches the permanent magnet 11 due to the action of the high-frequency signal from the excitation coil 25 and the permanent magnet 11. Is done. However, the waveform changes at the time of insertion into the oral cavity and at the time of removal from the oral cavity are relative, and the respective states can be identified from the waveform changes.

If it is determined in step S16 that the food has left the oral cavity, the weight of food remaining in the spoon 20 is determined from the output of the strain gauge 24 (step S17).
If the determination so far is performed, it will return to determination of step S11.

  Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 connected with a broken line from the trigger pulse generation in step S15, the output of the sensors 61, 62, 63 is used as the reference for the generation timing of the trigger pulse, and the swallowing reflex, swallowing sound, breathing A state is detected (step S21). Thereafter, the eating function is evaluated from the detection time of each state from the trigger pulse, and the detected waveform of the evaluated eating function is displayed, and the form of the detected waveform is also evaluated if necessary (step S22).

  FIG. 5 shows an outline of a change example (FIG. 5A) of the output voltage of the detection coil 26 of the spoon 20 of this embodiment and a change example of the output of the strain gauge 24 (FIG. 5B). The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents voltage value. The time axis of the detection voltage of the detection coil 26 and the time axis of the output of the strain gauge 24 are shown to coincide with each other. Note that FIG. 5 does not show the actual detected waveform accurately, but shows a tendency to change.

If the change of a state is shown in order, first, it is assumed that at the timing T1, the spoon portion 23 at the tip of the spoon 20 is inserted into the tableware and the spoon is taken out from the tableware at the timing T2. In this case, during the period from the timing T1 to the timing T2 is the output of the detection coil 26 is made relatively small change signal V ₀ becomes a waveform with little change state than its front and rear sections.
Therefore, by detecting the change to the state where the signal becomes V ₀ and the return from the state, it is possible to determine insertion into and removal from the tableware shown in the flowchart of FIG. It should be noted that the output of the strain gauge 24 shakes relatively large during the period from the timing T1 to the timing T2. The output fluctuation of the strain gauge 24 can also be used as a determination material for determining insertion and removal from the tableware.

  Thereafter, if there is a state in which the output voltage of the detection coil 26 swings to the voltage V1, it is determined that the spoon portion 23 has been inserted into the oral cavity at that timing. A trigger pulse is generated at timing T3 in this state. Further, if there is a state where the output voltage of the detection coil 26 swings to the voltage V2 in the reverse direction, it is determined that the spoon 23 has been taken out of the oral cavity at the timing T4. The potentials of the voltages V1 and V2 correspond to the speed at which the spoon portion 23 moves, the strength of the magnet, the number of turns of the detection coil, and the like, and the voltages V1 and V2 can be detected well depending on those conditions. .

Note that when the spoon 20 is taken out of the tableware at the timing T <b> 2 and is moved into the oral cavity, the spoon 20 of the spoon 20 is carrying food to the mouth. Produces a potential V3 proportional to the weight of the food. Therefore, the weight of the food brought to the mouth by the subject can be detected from the potential V3.
Further, although not shown in FIG. 5, in the state where the spoon 20 is taken out of the oral cavity and the output of the strain gauge 24 is generated, there is a state in which the subject remains in the oral cavity due to the difference. You can calculate the weight of food taken in. This is detected in step S17 of the flowchart of FIG.

Next, the relationship between the trigger pulse generated at the timing when the spoon 20 is inserted into the oral cavity and the outputs of the sensors 61, 62, 63 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As described above, the sensor 61 is a sensor that detects respiration (apnea), the sensor 62 is a sensor that detects swallowing sound, and the sensor 63 is a sensor that measures swallowing reflex. The output waveform is shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a healthy person. As sensor outputs, FIG. 6 (a) shows a swallowing reflex, FIG. 6 (b) shows a swallowing sound, and FIG. 6 (c) shows a breathing state. The trigger pulse is shown in d).
After the trigger pulse is generated at the timing T11 when the spoon 20 is inserted into the oral cavity, there is an apnea relatively quickly from the timing T16 to the timing T17, and from the timing T12 to the timing T13 in synchronization with the occurrence of the apnea. A swallowing reflex appears, and a swallowing sound is generated from timing T14 to timing T15. Therefore, it is understood that the bolus is transferred to the esophagus during the apnea period and normal feeding is being performed.

FIG. 7 is an example of a patient of case 1.
Also in this example, FIG. 7A shows a swallowing reflex, FIG. 7B shows a swallowing sound, FIG. 7C shows a breathing state, and FIG. 7D shows a trigger pulse.
In the case of FIG. 7, the swallowing reflex from timing T22 to T23, the swallowing sound from timing T24 to T25, and the apnea from timing T26 to T27 are synchronized, but at timing T21 The time from the occurrence of the trigger pulse to the appearance of these swallowing reflexes, swallowing sounds, and apnea is very long, and the breathing phase is very different from the healthy person phase of FIG. Eating dysfunction is suspected. In the case of the present embodiment, even in the case of such a case, the trigger pulse generation timing is accurate, so that it can be reliably detected.

FIG. 8 is an example of a patient in case 2.
In this example, FIG. 8A shows the swallowing reflex, FIG. 8B shows the breathing state, FIG. 8C shows the trigger pulse, and the swallowing sound is omitted.
In this example, after the trigger pulse is generated at timing T31, the swallowing reflex is from timing T32 to T33, and apnea occurs from timing T34 to T35 that is not synchronized with the swallowing reflex. Therefore, in the case of this case, the evaluation result is a suspected aspiration in which the bolus is not correctly transferred to the esophagus.

As described above, according to the evaluation system of the present embodiment, the eating function can be appropriately evaluated through a daily meal scene. In particular, the trigger timing at which food is inserted into the oral cavity is automatically generated, and it is not necessary for a caregiver or the like to perform a switch operation for generating the trigger timing, so that the evaluation can be performed easily. And it has the effect that the data for detecting and evaluating a feeding function correctly on the basis of the trigger timing obtained automatically are obtained.
In addition, in the case of the present embodiment, a configuration in which the magnetic field from the permanent magnet 11 is detected by the detection coil 26 while being excited by the excitation coil 25, the state in which the spoon 20 is inserted into the tableware, and the oral cavity Thus, it is possible to reliably distinguish the state in which the spoon 20 is inserted, and it is possible to perform reliable detection.
Furthermore, since the spoon 20 of the present embodiment is provided with the strain gauge 24, the weight of the food placed in the oral cavity can be known, and the cumulative value of the weight of the food placed in the oral cavity can be calculated by the computer device 70. Now you can see how much food the subject has consumed. In this case, more accurate actual intake can be determined by determining the weight of food remaining when the spoon 20 is taken out from the oral cavity.

[1.5 Description of magnet arrangement example]
About the position which attaches the permanent magnet 11, if it is the vicinity of a test subject's lip, various positions will be assumed.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the permanent magnet 11 may be attached to the lower side of the lower lip.
Or you may make it attach the permanent magnet 11 to the upper side of an upper lip, as shown in FIG.9 (b).
Further, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), the permanent magnets 11 may be attached to two locations on the lower side of the lower lip and the upper side of the upper lip. A more efficient magnetic field may be generated by attaching the two places.

<2. Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
10 to 12 described in the second embodiment, portions corresponding to those in FIGS. 1 to 9 already described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. To do.

In the second embodiment, the configuration of the entire system is the same as the configuration described in FIG. 1 in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the sensor is arranged in the spoon portion of the spoon. In addition to the coil, a Hall element is provided.
That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the hall element 71 functioning as a magnetic field change detection unit is disposed in the spoon 20 '. Then, the output of the Hall element 71 is amplified by the amplifier 57 in the USB controller 40, and the amplified signal is supplied to the processing board 50 via the noise cut filter 45.

FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a state in which the Hall element 71 is arranged on the spoon portion 23 of the spoon 20 ′.
As shown in FIG. 11, the Hall element 71 is disposed in the spoon 23 at a position different from the excitation coil 25 and the detection coil 26. In this example, two coils 25 and 26 are arranged in the approximate center of the spoon portion 23, and the Hall element 71 is arranged near the tip, but this is one example.
The Hall element 71 arranged in the spoon portion 23 is connected to the connector substrate 29 of the base portion 21 and is connected to the amplifier 57 side shown in FIG.
The other parts of FIGS. 10 and 11 are configured in the same manner as in FIGS. 2 and 3 described in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of change in the output voltage of the detection coil 26 of the spoon 20 ′ according to the present embodiment (FIG. 12A), an example of change in the output of the strain gauge 24 (FIG. 12B), and a Hall element. The horizontal axis is time, the vertical axis is voltage value, the time axis of the detection voltage of the detection coil 26, and the output of the strain gauge 24, respectively. These time axes and the detection voltage of the Hall element 71 are shown to coincide with each other. Note that FIG. 12 is obtained by adding the output of the Hall element 71 to the already described change state of FIG. 5, and shows the change in the output of the Hall element 71 in the same situation as FIG. 5.

When the Hall element 71 approaches the permanent magnet 11 (FIG. 1) worn by the subject, the voltage V <b> 4 is generated due to the influence of the magnetic field by the permanent magnet 11. The timing at which this voltage V4 is generated coincides with the timing at which the output voltage of the detection coil 26 swings to the voltage V1, and further the timing at which the strain gauge voltage V3 changes, and it can be determined that the spoon portion 23 has entered the oral cavity at this timing. At this determined timing, the trigger pulse described in the first embodiment is generated.
Further, if there is a state where the output voltage of the Hall element 71 swings to the voltage V5, which is the same level again after the voltage V4, it can be determined that the spoon portion 23 has come out of the oral cavity at the timing T4.

Thus, by preparing the spoon 20 'in which the Hall element 71 is arranged together with the detection coil 26, the determination material for determining insertion and removal of the spoon into the oral cavity is increased, and more accurate into the oral cavity of the spoon. Can be determined.
The overall evaluation process in the second embodiment is the same as the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 and is omitted here.

<3. Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIGS. 13 to 15 described in the third embodiment, portions corresponding to those in FIGS. 1 to 12 already described in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and details thereof are described. Description is omitted.

In the third embodiment, the configuration of the entire system is the same as the configuration described in FIG. 1 in the first embodiment, and in this embodiment, the magnetic field detection arranged in the spoon portion of the spoon. As a sensor for use, a coil is omitted and only a hall element is provided.
That is, as shown in FIG. 13, a hall element 71 functioning as a magnetic field change detection unit is arranged in the spoon 20 ″. The output of the hall element 71 is amplified by an amplifier 57 in the USB controller 40. The amplified signal is supplied to the processing board 50 via the noise cut filter 45.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which the Hall element 71 is arranged on the spoon portion 23 of the spoon 20 ″.
As shown in FIG. 14, the Hall element 71 is arranged in the spoon 23, and the excitation coil 25 and the detection coil 26 described in the other embodiments are not arranged.
The Hall element 71 arranged in the spoon portion 23 is connected to the connector substrate 29 of the base portion 21 and is connected to the amplifier 57 side shown in FIG.
The other parts of FIGS. 13 and 14 are configured in the same manner as in FIGS. 2 and 3 described in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 15 shows an outline of a change example (FIG. 15A) of the output of the Hall element 71 of the spoon 20 of this embodiment and a change example of the output of the strain gauge 24 (FIG. 15B). Each of the horizontal axes represents time, and the vertical axis represents voltage values. The detection voltage of the Hall element 71 and the time axis of the output of the strain gauge 24 are shown to coincide with each other. FIG. 15 shows the output change of the Hall element 71 in the same situation as FIG. 5 except for the output of the coil from the change state of FIG. 12 already described.

When the Hall element 71 approaches the permanent magnet 11 (FIG. 1) worn by the subject, the voltage V <b> 4 is generated due to the influence of the magnetic field by the permanent magnet 11. The timing at which the voltage V4 is generated coincides with the timing at which the strain gauge voltage V3 changes, and at this timing, it can be determined that the spoon portion 23 has entered the oral cavity. At this determined timing, the trigger pulse described in the first embodiment is generated.
Further, if there is a state where the output voltage of the Hall element 71 swings to the voltage V5, which is the same level again after the voltage V4, it can be determined that the spoon portion 23 has come out of the oral cavity at the timing T4.

Thus, by preparing the spoon 20 ″ having the hall element 71 disposed therein, insertion and removal of the spoon into the oral cavity can be determined.
The overall evaluation process in the third embodiment is the same as the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 and is omitted here. However, in the process of the third embodiment, since there is no detection coil 26, when determining insertion and removal from the tableware at timing T1 and timing T3, the determination is made from the output state of the strain gauge 24. Become. Or in the structure of this 3rd Embodiment, it is good also as a structure which performs only the detection process of insertion and extraction to the oral cavity of a spoon, and does not detect insertion and extraction to tableware.

<4. Modification>
In the embodiment described so far, the temperature detection sensor 61 for evaluating the eating function, the swallowing sound detection sensor 62, and the swallowing reflection detection sensor sensor 63 are provided, but other sensor configurations are used. You may make it evaluate a feeding function.

  Further, magnetic field detection means other than the configuration in which magnetic field detection is performed in an example in which an excitation coil and a detection coil are arranged on a spoon or an example in which a Hall element is arranged may be used. In addition to the coil serving as the magnetic field detection means, the strain gauge is disposed on the spoon. However, the configuration of the spoon is further improved by arranging only the magnetic field detection means and detecting only insertion and removal from the oral cavity. It may be simplified.

  In the above-described embodiment, the personal computer device in which the program for performing the processing of the present embodiment is installed is used to display and determine evaluation result data. Of course, it may be configured as a dedicated device for performing the above processing.

  Furthermore, although the spoon and each sensor are connected to the USB controller side which is the measurement data detection unit with a cable, these cables may be omitted if wireless transmission is possible. For example, the spoon 20 shown in FIG. 3 may include a transmission unit that wirelessly transmits detection data, and a reception unit may be provided on the USB controller 40 side.

  a ... subject, b ... lips, 11 ... permanent magnet, 20, 20 ', 20 "... spoon, 21 ... base portion, 22 ... handle portion, 23 ... spoon portion, 24 ... strain gauge, 25 ... excitation coil, 26 ... Detection coil, 27 ... Voltage follower circuit, 28 ... Distortion amplifier circuit, 29 ... Connector board, 30 ... Connection cable, 40 ... USB controller, 41 ... High frequency oscillation circuit, 42 ... Attenuator, 43 ... Differential amplifier, 45 ... Noise cut 50, processing board, 51 ... amplifier, 52 ... noise cut filter, 53 ... amplifier, 54 ... noise cut filter, 55 ... amplifier, 56 ... noise cut filter, 57 ... amplifier, 58 ... noise cut filter, 61 ... temperature Detection sensor, 62 ... swallowing sound detection sensor, 63 ... swallowing reflection detection sensor, 70 ... personal computer device, 71 ... ho Element

Claims (10)

A spoon for eating function evaluation, comprising a spoon for taking food into the oral cavity and a magnetic field change detector provided in the vicinity of the spoon. In the spoon for eating function evaluation according to claim 1,
The magnetic field change detection unit has an excitation coil and a detection coil,
Spoon for eating function evaluation configured to perform excitation processing with a signal of a predetermined frequency in the excitation coil and detect a magnetic field change from a change in a detection state of the signal of the frequency in the detection coil. In the spoon for eating function evaluation according to claim 1 or 2,
The magnetic field change detection unit has a Hall element,
A spoon for eating function evaluation configured to detect a magnetic field change from the Hall element. In the spoon for eating function evaluation of any one of Claims 1-3,
A spoon for eating function evaluation provided with a strain gauge for detecting a load applied to the spoon portion. A feeding function evaluation system that evaluates a subject's feeding function by attaching a magnet near the subject's lips,
A spoon provided with a spoon that takes food into the mouth, and a magnetic field change detector provided in the vicinity of the spoon,
A sensor unit for detecting three waveforms related to the eating function of the subject;
From the magnetic field change by the magnet detected by the magnetic field change detection unit of the spoon, the timing at which the spoon comes close to the lips and is inserted into the oral cavity is detected, and is detected by the detection sensor unit after the timing 3 Eating function evaluation system with an evaluation unit that evaluates eating function from two waveforms. In the eating function evaluation system according to claim 5,
As a magnetic field change detection part of the spoon, it has an excitation coil and a detection coil,
An eating function evaluation system that performs excitation processing with a signal of a predetermined frequency in the excitation coil, and detects a magnetic field change by the magnet from a change in a detection state of the signal of the frequency in the detection coil. The eating function evaluation system according to claim 5 or 6,
As the magnetic field change detection unit, having a Hall element,
A feeding function evaluation system configured to detect a magnetic field change from the Hall element. In the eating function evaluation system according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
The spoon includes a strain gauge for detecting a load applied to the spoon portion,
The evaluation unit is a feeding function evaluation system that determines the weight of food taken into the oral cavity of a subject from a load detected by the strain gauge. The eating function evaluation system according to claim 8,
Furthermore, after detecting the removal of the spoon from the oral cavity from the magnetic field change detected by the magnet detected by the magnetic field change detection unit of the spoon, the level of food leftovers is determined from the load detected by the strain gauge. Eating function evaluation system. A feeding function evaluation method for evaluating a subject's eating function by attaching a magnet near the subject's lips,
A spoon provided with a magnetic field change detection unit in the vicinity of a spoon that takes food into the oral cavity was prepared. Reactions relating to the three feeding functions of the subject were detected by a sensor, and detected by the magnetic field change detection unit of the spoon. The eating function evaluation method which detects the insertion timing of the said spoon part in the oral cavity from the magnetic field change by the said magnet, and evaluates an eating function from three waveforms detected by the said sensor after the said timing.

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