JP2013183809A - Foot bottom pressure measuring device and method for processing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique capable of determining a lesion part of a foot bottom on the basis of a combination of gravity position of each foot of a subject, and sending a message of the lesion of the foot bottom depending on the result of the determination.SOLUTION: A foot bottom pressure measuring device is configured so as to enable communication with foot bottom pressure sensors which are attached to the inside of each of shoes of a subject respectively and measurement of a foot bottom pressure. The foot bottom pressure measuring device includes: an acquiring means for acquiring the foot bottom pressure per unit area in each region of the foot bottom during walking of the subject; a center of gravity position detecting means for acquiring the center of gravity position of each foot of the subject during walking on the basis of the acquired foot bottom pressure per unit area in each region; a determining means for determining a lesion part in the foot bottom on the basis of a combination of the regions to which the center of gravity position of each foot belongs on the foot bottom; and a notice means for sending a message concerning the lesion on the foot bottom depending on the result of the determination by the determining means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a plantar pressure measuring device and a processing method thereof.

  According to a survey by the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of diabetic patients is rapidly increasing, and the number of patients is estimated to increase in the future. Among the three major complications of diabetes, the earliest symptom is diabetic neuropathy. It is said that diabetic neuropathy includes sensory neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy. In particular, neuropathy occurring in the foot is called diabetic foot lesion.

  When a sensory neuropathy occurs in a diabetic patient, the symptoms generally appear from the end of the body, and the tip of the limb feels cold, or numbness or pain occurs. And when nerve line damage becomes severe, diabetics do not feel pain or numbness.

Special table 2011-505015 gazette JP 2006-345990 A

  As mentioned above, when a sensory neuropathy occurs in a diabetic patient, the patient himself / herself often does not notice the pain of the body. For example, even if a foot gangrene occurs, the symptom progresses without being noticed. Sometimes.

  Here, MRS (Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) is known as an early diagnosis method for diabetic foot lesions. However, this diagnosis can only be done at a hospital, and for patients who do not notice pain, the hospital is voluntarily hospitalized. Difficult to go to.

  Further, if the subject's plantar pressure is measured, it may be possible to determine whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the subject's foot based on the measured value. However, in the conventional apparatus, even if the plantar pressure can be measured, only the result is collected (Patent Document 1), and the muscle activity amount is only measured based on the result. (Patent Document 2), even if referring to such a result, it is difficult to think that the patient voluntarily goes to the hospital.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and estimates a lesion area in the sole based on a combination of the positions of the center of gravity of each foot of the subject, and a lesion in the sole according to the estimation result It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for notifying a message relating to a message.

  In order to solve the above problems, a plantar pressure measuring device according to one aspect of the present invention is a plantar pressure measuring device that is attached to the inside of a subject's shoe and can communicate with a plantar pressure sensor that measures plantar pressure. And during the walking of the subject, acquisition means for acquiring a plantar pressure per unit area in each region of the sole, and the walking based on the plantar pressure per unit area in each acquired region A center-of-gravity position detecting means for determining a center-of-gravity position of each foot of the subject inside, an estimation means for estimating a lesion area in the sole by a combination of areas on the sole to which the center-of-gravity position of each foot belongs, and the estimation means Notification means for notifying a message related to a lesion on the sole of the foot according to the estimation result.

  According to the present invention, for example, a patient who suffers from sensory neuropathy and does not notice physical pain can be directed to go to a hospital voluntarily.

It is a figure which shows an example of the whole structure of the plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10 concerning one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the measurement process of the sole pressure by the sole pressure sensor. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the process at the time of calculating | requiring the gravity center (gravity center position) of a sole. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the process at the time of calculating | requiring the gravity center (gravity center position) of a sole. It is a figure which shows an example of the table. It is a figure which shows an example of a functional structure of the plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a process of the plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows a modification. It is a figure which shows a modification. It is a figure which shows a modification.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the entire configuration of a plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The plantar pressure sensor 20 is configured by a so-called insole type pressure sensor that is worn inside a shoe worn by the subject, and measures the plantar pressure that the subject's foot receives during walking. The sole pressure sensor 20 is provided with a communication module 21, and a measured value of the sole pressure is transmitted to the sole pressure measuring device 10 via the communication module 21. The plantar pressure sensor 20 may be realized by any method such as resistance wire type, diffusion type (relative pressure, absolute pressure), capacitance type, and mechanical type.

  The plantar pressure measuring device 10 is configured to be communicable with the plantar pressure sensor 20, obtains a measured value of the plantar pressure from the plantar pressure sensor 20, and performs various calculations (gait disorder detection) based on the measured value. Application) and notify the user of the calculation result.

  The communication between the plantar pressure measuring device 10 and the plantar pressure sensor 20 may be realized in any format such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN (Local Area Network), or human body communication. . Further, it is not necessary to be wireless, and wired communication via a cable or the like may be used.

  The above is an explanation of an example of the overall configuration of the plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10. Note that the above-described plantar pressure measuring device 10 includes, for example, a computer. The computer includes main control means such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and storage means such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). In addition, the computer may further include input / output means such as a display and buttons, communication means such as a network card, and the like. These components are connected by a bus or the like, and are controlled by the main control unit executing a program stored in the storage unit.

  In addition, FIG. 1 illustrates the case where the plantar pressure measuring device 10 is realized by a mobile phone. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any type of portable device can be realized. Also good. For example, types that can be worn on the body (watches, glasses, accessories (necklaces, earrings, etc.), belt types (pedometer (registered trademark), activity meter)), types that can be put into pockets, portable types (notebook computers) It may be realized in any form.

  Next, the outline of the measurement process of the sole pressure by the sole pressure sensor 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).

  As described above, the sole pressure sensor 20 is mounted as an insole on the inside of a shoe worn by a subject, and detects the sole pressure. At this time, the detection accuracy of the plantar pressure is defined by, for example, the mesh size shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b). That is, the pressure corresponding to each region of the subject's sole is measured in units of mesh. In addition, since general foot sizes are 25 to 27 cm for men and 22 to 24 cm for women, in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), a subject having an average foot size of 25 cm is taken as an example. It is listed and explained.

  Here, when FIG. 2A is compared with FIG. 2B, the size of the mesh is set smaller in FIG. 2B than in FIG. 2A. Therefore, in this case, the detection accuracy of the sole pressure is higher in FIG. 2B than in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the foot lesion mode and the daily life mode are provided as the modes for measuring the plantar pressure, and the plantar pressure is measured with the mesh accuracy shown in FIG. 2A in the foot lesion mode. The case where the sole pressure is measured with the mesh accuracy shown in FIG. 2B in the daily life mode will be described. The foot lesion mode is set, for example, when measuring whether or not a lesion (diabetic foot lesion) has occurred in the foot of a diabetic patient. The daily life mode is, for example, how each part of the sole in daily life is It is set when measuring whether pressure is applied or when more detailed plantar pressure data is required.

  Next, an outline of processing for obtaining the center of gravity (center of gravity position) of the sole will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the right foot will be described as an example. Since the method for obtaining the center of gravity position of the left foot is the same as the method for obtaining the center of gravity position of the right foot, description of how to obtain the center of gravity position of the left foot is omitted here.

  When calculating the position of the center of gravity, the plantar pressure measuring device 10 firstly calculates for each mesh described in FIGS. 2A and 2B while the subject walks with either the left foot or the right foot. Peaks of plantar pressure (P (kgf / cm 2)) per unit area are acquired.

  Here, while the subject walks with either the left foot or the right foot, the time for one step (one-foot walking period) is shown. For example, when thinking with the right foot, the heel of the right foot touches the ground It refers to the period from the point in time until the right foot wings leave the ground. In addition, what is necessary is just to obtain | require the one leg walking period based on the statistical walking speed calculated | required from the test subject's age, and the stride calculated from the height of the test subject. Alternatively, the subject may be input directly.

参考：（健康づくりのための運動指針2006 厚生労働省より(http://www.mhlw.go.jp/bunya/kenkou/undou.html)） An example of a method for calculating the one-leg walking period will be briefly described. As described above, when calculating based on the statistical walking speed calculated from the age of the subject and the stride calculated from the height of the subject, the following formula may be used as a calculation formula.
Step length (m) = Height x Constant (assuming 0.4)
One leg walking period (sec) = 1 / (step length x free walking speed)
The walking speed may be obtained from the age based on the information shown below.

Reference: (Exercise Guidelines for Health Promotion 2006, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (http://www.mhlw.go.jp/bunya/kenkou/undou.html))

  Subsequently, the above-described peak acquisition process will be described more specifically. In this process, as shown in FIG. 4, the peak of the sole pressure is acquired for each mesh within the one leg walking period. For example, in the mesh 10B, the peak P1 is detected at time T1, in the mesh 6B, the peak P2 is detected at time T2, and in the mesh n, the peak P3 is detected at time T3. Here, the peaks P1, P2, and P3 are acquired as peaks for each mesh within the one-leg walking period regardless of the time when such a peak is detected.

  Thus, when the peak of the sole pressure in the one leg walking period is acquired for each mesh, the sole pressure measuring device 10 has a predetermined number (three in this case) having a high peak value among the peaks of all the meshes. ). Then, the center of gravity position of the right foot is obtained based on the positional relationship of the three identified mesh peaks. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, if the specified meshes are 2A, 2B, and 9B, it is specified that the arch (more specifically, the mesh 4B) has a center of gravity position based on the positions of these meshes. .

  When the position of the center of gravity is obtained, the plantar pressure measuring device 10 refers to the table 30 shown in FIG. 5 and notifies a message corresponding thereto. This message differs depending on whether the foot lesion mode is set or the daily life mode is set in addition to the detected center of gravity position.

  In this table 30, the lesion area of the sole is defined according to the combination of which area of the plurality of areas on the sole the gravity center position of each foot belongs to. Note that the upper part of the value referenced based on the combination of the positions of the center of gravity of each foot defines an abnormality in the right foot, and the lower part defines an abnormality in the left foot. The bar indicates that there is no abnormality.

  For example, the upper left information in the figure of the table 30 indicates a case where the center of gravity position exists on the starboard of the right foot and the starboard of the left foot. In this case, the table 30 stipulates that there is a possibility that there is an abnormality in the left foot port and the left foot port.

  In such a case, for example, in the foot lesion mode, “There are no injuries (including injuries such as cuts, athlete's foot, burns, etc.) on the left foot and left foot. Is the message white or dark reddish purple? If this is the case, please consult your doctor. " Also, during the daily life mode, a message notification such as "Is there no pain in the left foot and left foot? If you continue to have pain, please refrain from exercising and consult your doctor before becoming chronic." Done.

  Next, an example of a functional configuration in the plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the functional configuration of the plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 6 is realized by, for example, the CPU reading and executing a program (walking obstacle detection application) stored in the ROM or the like.

  The plantar pressure measuring device 10 includes a measured value acquisition unit 11, a gravity center position detection unit 12, a memory 13, an estimation unit 14, and a notification unit 15 as a functional configuration.

  The measurement value acquisition unit 11 communicates with the communication module 21 of the sole pressure sensor 20 and acquires the measurement value of the sole pressure measured by the sole pressure sensor 20.

  The center-of-gravity position detection unit 12 obtains the center-of-gravity position of each foot based on the measurement value acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit 11. The memory 13 stores the barycentric position detected by the barycentric position detecting unit 12. The memory 13 also stores a table 30.

  The estimation unit 14 estimates the lesion area in the sole based on the combination of the barycentric positions of the feet stored in the memory 13. This estimation is performed with reference to the table 30 stored in the memory 13.

  The notification unit 15 notifies the user (examinee or other user) of a message related to the lesion in the sole according to the estimation result by the estimation unit 14. This notification may be made in any form, for example, via a liquid crystal display (not shown) or a speaker (not shown) provided in the sole pressure measuring device 10.

  Next, an example of the processing flow of the plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that the plantar pressure sensor 20 is attached to the inside of the subject's shoes and the plantar pressure sensor 20 and the plantar pressure measuring device 10 are located within a communicable range.

  When this process is started, first, the user (examinee or other user) sets the measurement time or the number of steps through an input / output unit (not shown) provided in the sole pressure measuring device 10. . At this time, the user also sets the mode. The mode setting is a setting as to which of the mesh accuracy shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B is used to detect the plantar pressure.

  When various settings are completed and the start of measurement is instructed by the user (S101), the plantar pressure measuring device 10 is measured by the plantar pressure sensor 20 in the measured value acquisition unit 11. Is acquired (S103). Then, the center-of-gravity position detection unit 12 calculates the center-of-gravity positions of the left foot and the right foot based on the measurement value. More specifically, the center-of-gravity position detection unit 12 measures the pressure applied to each region (per unit area) of the sole using a mesh corresponding to the mode set in the process of S101, and uses the measured value as a measurement value. Based on this, the center of gravity positions of the left foot and the right foot are calculated (S103). The calculated barycentric position is stored in the memory 13 (S104). Thereafter, the processes of S102 to S104 described above are repeated until either the measurement time or the number of steps measured reaches the time or the number of steps set in S101 (NO in S105).

  Here, when either the measurement time or the measured number of steps reaches the time or the number of steps set in S101 (YES in S105), the plantar pressure measuring device 10 causes the estimator 14 to store each foot stored in the memory 13. Based on the combination of the center of gravity positions of the subject, the walking balance of the subject is analyzed and the lesion area of the sole is estimated (S106). More specifically, the average value of the barycentric position group stored in the memory 13 is calculated, and the barycentric position of each foot of the subject is specified based on the calculated average value. Then, based on the specified combination of the center of gravity positions, the lesion area of the sole is estimated with reference to the table shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, the plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10 notifies the user of the estimation result through display or voice in the notification unit 15 (S107), and then ends this process.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the lesion area in the sole is estimated based on the combination of the center of gravity positions of the feet of the subject, and a message regarding the lesion in the sole is notified according to the estimation result. .

  So, for example, a patient who has sensory neuropathy and is not aware of physical pain can be told that there may be a lesion in the foot, so he will voluntarily go to the hospital. be able to.

  The plantar pressure measuring device 10 does not have correct walking data or the like, and simply notifies the patient of the message based on the table that defines the message (see FIG. 5) and the measured barycentric position. Realized by configuration. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to induce a patient's voluntary action without introducing a large-scale apparatus and without incurring costs.

  The above is an example of a typical embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately modified and implemented within the scope not changing the gist thereof. . Here, some modifications will be described.

(Modification 1)
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the center of gravity position is obtained based on the positional relationship of a predetermined number (in this case, three) meshes having high values among the peaks of all meshes has been described (see FIG. 3). Not limited to. For example, the center-of-gravity position may be obtained using the peaks of all meshes.

(Modification 2)
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the amount of change in the center of gravity along the longitudinal direction of the sole in the one-leg walking period may be obtained. Specifically, the estimation unit 14 obtains the center of gravity Y1 at time T1 within the one-leg walking period using the method of the above-described embodiment or modification 1, and in turn, the center of gravity at times T2, T3,. Positions Y2, Y3... Yn are obtained. Then, the amount of variation in the Y direction (the longitudinal direction of the sole) between the center of gravity position Y1 detected first in the one leg walking period and the center of gravity position Yn detected last in the one leg walking period is obtained. In this case, the table shown in FIG. 9A is separately stored in the memory 13, and a message notification based on the fluctuation amount is performed with reference to the table. For example, if the amount of change in the center of gravity is between 1 and Ya, notification of a message such as “It seems likely that a lesion has occurred in the sole of the foot. Please consult your doctor once.” To do.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 9B, the message notification based on such a variation amount may be combined with the message notification described in the above-described embodiment. That is, in FIG. 9B, a message notification based on the configuration of the above-described embodiment is shown as the first result 41, and a message based on the configuration of Modification 2 is shown as the second result 42. Notification is shown.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, the locus 43 of the center of gravity position may be displayed together with the message notification of the first result 41 and the second result. In this case, the subject can visually grasp the position of the center of gravity during walking. Therefore, if there is a lesion area on the sole, the patient can be sent to the hospital more spontaneously.

(Modification 3)
Moreover, you may comprise so that the process in the plantar pressure measuring apparatus 10 mentioned above may be implemented by the program installed in the computer incorporated in the said apparatus. This program can be provided not only by a communication means such as a network but also by storing it in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM.

10 Plantar Pressure Measuring Device 20 Plantar Pressure Sensor 30 Table

Claims (9)

A plantar pressure measuring device that can be communicated with a plantar pressure sensor that is mounted on the inside of a subject's shoes and measures plantar pressure,
An acquisition means for acquiring a plantar pressure per unit area in each region of the sole during walking of the subject;
A center-of-gravity position detecting means for obtaining a center-of-gravity position of each foot of the subject during walking based on a plantar pressure per unit area in each acquired region;
Estimating means for estimating a lesion area in the sole by a combination of areas on the sole to which the center of gravity of each foot belongs;
A plantar pressure measuring apparatus comprising: a notification unit that notifies a message regarding a lesion in the plantar according to an estimation result by the estimation unit. A table that divides and manages the soles of the right foot and the left foot into a plurality of regions, and defines a lesion region of the sole according to a combination of which region the center of gravity of each foot belongs to Further comprising
The estimation means includes
The plantar pressure measurement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a lesion region in the sole is estimated by referring to the table by a combination of regions on the sole to which the center of gravity of each foot belongs. The acquisition means includes
During the walking period from when the heel of any foot of the subject touches the ground until the heel leaves the ground, the plantar pressure per unit area in each region of the sole is acquired,
The barycentric position detecting means includes
3. The foot according to claim 1, wherein the position of the center of gravity of each foot is obtained based on the positional relationship of a predetermined number of regions having a high peak value among the peaks of each region acquired during the walking period. Bottom pressure measuring device. The acquisition means includes
During the walking period from when the heel of any foot of the subject touches the ground until the heel leaves the ground, the plantar pressure per unit area in each region of the sole is acquired,
The barycentric position detecting means includes
The plantar pressure measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the center-of-gravity position of each foot is obtained based on the peak values of all the regions acquired during the walking period. The notification means includes
A lesion in the sole based on the amount of variation in the center of gravity position along the longitudinal direction of the sole in the walking period from when the heel of one of the subject's feet touches the ground until the heel leaves the ground The plant pressure measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: The notification means includes
The trajectory of the center of gravity position of the sole in the walking period from when the heel of any one of the subject's feet touches the ground until the heel leaves the ground is further notified. The plantar pressure measuring device according to any one of 5. A processing method of a plantar pressure measuring device that can be communicated with a plantar pressure sensor that is mounted inside a shoe of a subject and measures plantar pressure,
Acquiring the plantar pressure per unit area in each region of the plantar during walking of the subject; and
Obtaining the center of gravity position of each foot of the subject during walking based on the plantar pressure per unit area in each acquired region;
Estimating a lesion area in the sole by a combination of areas on the sole to which the center of gravity of each foot belongs;
And a step of notifying a message regarding a lesion in the sole according to the estimation result. Computer
An acquisition means for acquiring a plantar pressure per unit area in each region of the sole measured by a plantar pressure sensor attached to the inside of the subject's shoe during walking of the subject;
Center-of-gravity position detecting means for determining the center-of-gravity position of each foot of the subject during walking based on the plantar pressure per unit area in each acquired region;
Estimating means for estimating a lesion area in the sole by a combination of areas on the sole to which the center of gravity of each foot belongs;
A program for functioning as notification means for notifying a message regarding a lesion in a sole according to an estimation result by the estimation means.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 8 is recorded.

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