JP2016114575A - Biological information measurement system, biological information measurement device, and biological information measurement method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to acquire detailed information of a living body through measurement in a contactless state.SOLUTION: A biological information measurement system includes: a biological information measurement device 10 that produces a radio-frequency signal which is transmitted to an object of measurement, that varies the frequency of the radio-frequency signal over a predetermined range according to a predetermined pattern, that modulates the radio-frequency signal according to a predetermined modulation method, that reduces an adverse effect derived from an affector existent in a transmission system, that transmits the resultant signal, that receives a transmitted wave that is transmitted by the object of measurement or a reflected wave that is reflected from the object of measurement, that reduces an adverse effect which is derived from an affector existent in a receiving system and imposed on the transmitted wave or reflected wave, that demodulates a transmitted-wave signal or reflected-wave signal according to the predetermined method, that extracts a predetermined frequency component from the demodulated transmitted-wave or reflected-wave signal, and that converts the extracted frequency component into transmitted-wave and reflected-wave data; and a storage system that stores the transmitted-wave and reflected-wave data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a biological information measurement system, a biological information measurement device, and a biological information measurement method.

  Various systems have been developed and used for acquiring images of the inside of a living body using electromagnetic waves such as X-rays for the purpose of early detection of diseases and disorders in various parts of the living body. For example, when a computer tomography (CT) apparatus is used, an arbitrary cross-sectional image of a living body can be acquired, or a three-dimensional image inside a living body can be generated by combining a number of cross-sectional images. In addition, MRI apparatuses that acquire various biological information from the state of changes in the hydrogen nuclear spin in the living body using the nuclear magnetic resonance (MRI) phenomenon are also widely used. The MRI apparatus is characterized in that a clear image with higher contrast depending on the type of tissue constituting the living body can be obtained as compared with the X-ray CT apparatus.

  Whether it is an X-ray CT apparatus or an MRI apparatus, an X-ray radiation source and a large-capacity power supply apparatus are required for generating a strong magnetic field, and portability cannot be expected. In addition, in order to obtain a clear image, it is necessary to fix the living body to be measured to the apparatus with an appropriate jig. Furthermore, it is not easy to continuously obtain in-vivo information as a moving image by any device. In the case of an MRI apparatus, it is possible to capture a moving image of the heart by cine MRI (cine MRI). In any case, it is necessary to restrain the living body to be measured with respect to the apparatus. Such requirements concerning biological information measurement are particularly problematic when image diagnosis is performed on large animals such as horses and cows.

  In this regard, for example, Patent Document 1 has as its subject to obtain a CT apparatus that can “examine a subject such as an animal whose movement is difficult to stop by shortening the imaging time”. The structure which provides the imaging | photography part which image | photographs a transmission line in plane is proposed. However, the configuration of Patent Document 1 also requires an apparatus that requires special equipment such as shielding of X-rays and electromagnetic waves, and it is necessary to restrain the animal to be measured even for a short time. For example, in the case of a CT apparatus, a large CT apparatus is necessary for large animals such as cows and horses, and a large CT apparatus dedicated for cost reasons. Is virtually impossible to prepare.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, “the purpose is to provide a heartbeat detection device that can reliably detect a heartbeat of a measurement subject in a non-contact and non-constrained manner”, “a radio frequency is applied to a predetermined part of the measurement subject. A wireless transmission means for transmitting a signal; a wireless reception means for receiving the radio frequency signal transmitted through the body of the measurement subject; a detection means for detecting the received radio frequency signal by phase or amplitude; and the detected signal. And a heartbeat detecting means for detecting the heartbeat of the measurement subject from the received signal ”. According to the configuration of Patent Document 2, since the heartbeat can be detected in a non-contact and non-constrained state with respect to the measurement target, it can be easily measured even if the target is an animal.

JP 2011-161017 A JP 2013-153783 A

  However, since the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 2 is measured using only a radio frequency signal that has passed through the body, even if it is effective for acquiring simple biological information such as a heartbeat, a more detailed living It was difficult to obtain information in the body. Furthermore, since Patent Document 2 uses a signal with a specific wavelength for heartbeat measurement, there is also a problem that various biological information cannot be acquired.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a biological information measurement system that enables acquiring detailed information in a living body by measurement in a non-contact state.

One embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems is as follows.
A radio frequency signal generation unit for generating a radio frequency signal transmitted to the measurement target;
A signal control unit for changing the frequency of the radio frequency signal generated by the radio frequency signal generation unit in a predetermined pattern over a predetermined range;
A modulation unit for modulating the radio frequency signal generated by the radio frequency signal generation unit according to a predetermined modulation method;
For the modulated radio frequency signal, a transmission calibration unit for reducing and transmitting the influence of influence factors existing in the transmission system, and
Receiving a transmitted wave transmitted and transmitted through the measurement object, or a reflected wave transmitted and reflected by the measurement object, and receiving the transmitted wave or reflected wave to reduce the influence of influencing factors existing in the receiving system A calibration section;
A demodulating unit for demodulating the calibrated transmitted wave signal or reflected wave signal from the reception calibrating unit in a method corresponding to the predetermined modulation method;
A waveform data extraction unit that extracts a predetermined frequency component from the demodulated transmitted wave signal or the reflected wave signal and converts it into transmitted wave waveform data or reflected wave waveform data;
A biological information data storage unit for storing the transmitted wave waveform data and the reflected wave waveform data in a computer-readable manner;
Is a biological information measuring system.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to acquire detailed information in a living body by measurement in a non-contact state.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a biological information measurement system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the biological information measuring device 10 included in the biological information measuring system 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic plan view of the biological information measuring device 10 included in the biological information measuring system 1. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an arrangement example of the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave reception unit 200 of the biological information measuring device 10 included in the biological information measuring system 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a data processing flow by the biological information measuring apparatus 10.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the biological information measurement system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a system configuration example of the biological information measurement system 1. The biological information measuring system 1 includes a biological information measuring device 10, a communication terminal 20, a storage system 30, and a diagnostic terminal 40. The communication terminal 20 and the storage system 30 are communicably connected via an appropriate communication network 50. The communication network 50 includes appropriate communication lines such as the Internet, a dedicated line, and a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The biological information measuring device 10 transmits a radio frequency signal toward a living body such as a person or an animal that is the measurement target 500, receives a reflected wave from the living body and a transmitted wave that passes through the living body, and receives biological information data. It is a device to take out. The communication terminal 20 provides a relay function for receiving the biological information data from the biological information measuring device 10 and sending it to the communication network 50. An arbitrary communication device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal can be adopted as the communication terminal 20, and the data is connected to the biological information measuring apparatus 10 through an appropriate communication line such as near field communication (NFC). Can send and receive. In addition, you may incorporate the communication function with the communication network 50 in the biological information measuring device 10, without providing the communication terminal 20 as a different body.

  The storage system 30 is a storage device that stores biological information data transferred from the biological information measuring apparatus 10 through the communication network 50. In FIG. 1, for convenience, it is shown as a separate configuration from the communication network 50, but it can take the form of a so-called cloud storage in which a large number of storages are distributed in the communication network 50. As a storage medium constituting the storage, a hard disk drive (HDD), a semiconductor drive (SSD), or the like can be appropriately employed.

  The diagnosis terminal 40 is a general computer having a communication function, and is connected to the storage system 30 via the communication network 50 so as to be communicable. The diagnosis terminal 40 is installed in, for example, a hospital, a university, various research institutions, and the like, and has a function of reading out biometric information data stored in the storage system 30 and displaying it as an image.

  Although only one biological information measuring device 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1, the communication network 50 is not limited to this and many are deployed in various hospitals, clinics, animal hospitals, stables, ranches, and the like. Connected to.

  Next, the biological information measuring device 10 used for the biological information measuring system 1 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the biological information measuring apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the measurement object 500 is a horse leg. For example, a failure of a leg of a racehorse such as flexor tendonitis affects the race life of the horse, so early detection is important, but the biological information measurement system 1 is extremely suitable for such a use.

  The biological information measuring apparatus 10 includes a transmission / reception unit 100, a transmitted wave reception unit 200, and a control unit 300. The transmission / reception unit 100 has a function of generating and transmitting a predetermined radio frequency signal for measuring biological information and receiving the reflected wave. The transmitted wave receiving unit 200 has a function of receiving a radio frequency signal transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 100 and transmitted through the measurement object 500. The control unit 300 controls transmission of radio frequency signals from the transmission / reception unit 100, reception control of reflected waves by the transmission / reception unit 100, reception control of transmission waves by the transmission wave reception unit 200, and digitization processing of reflected wave and transmission wave reception data Etc. are executed. In addition, you may comprise the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave receiving unit 200 as a unit which contains these integrally.

  The transmission / reception unit 100 includes a signal generator 110, a signal control unit 120, a modulation unit 130, a transmission calibration unit 140, a transmission antenna 150, a reflected wave reception antenna 160, a reception calibration unit 170, a demodulation unit 180, and a detection unit 190. The signal generator 110 has a function of generating a standard radio frequency signal that becomes a reference of a transmission wave transmitted toward a measurement target, and specifically includes an oscillator, a waveform shaping circuit, and the like. The signal control unit 120 instructs the signal generator 110 to generate a standard radio frequency signal, and the frequency of the standard radio frequency signal generated by the signal generator 110 is continuously or not determined in a predetermined pattern over time. It has a function to change continuously. The modulation unit 130 has a function of modulating the standard radio frequency signal from the signal generator 110 with a predetermined modulation method. The modulation method may be appropriately determined according to the design specification requirements. The transmission calibration unit 140 performs a process for correcting an error caused by a cable, a connector, and a fixture (such as an antenna for adding electromagnetic waves) included in the transmission system with respect to the modulated radio frequency signal, It has a function of transmitting from the transmission antenna 140 toward the measurement object 500. As the standard radio frequency signal generated by the signal generator 110, a millimeter wave band signal and a radio frequency signal having a frequency of 30 to 300 Ghz are preferably used, but the band is not limited to this wavelength band. It may be an external signal. In addition, the waveform of the standard radio frequency signal can be an appropriate waveform such as a pulse wave or a triangular wave. The transmission output from the transmission antenna 150 may be determined in consideration of necessary received power and safety according to the measurement target 500, but as an example, it is about several mW to several tens mW. The transmission timing of the radio frequency and the frequency change pattern by the signal control unit 120 are controlled by the control unit 300.

  The reflected wave reflected by the measurement object 500 is received by the receiving antenna 160. The reception calibration unit 170 receives a reflected wave from the measurement object 500 received by the reception antenna 160 and corrects an error caused by a cable, a connector, or a fixture (an antenna for applying electromagnetic waves) included in the reception system. And amplifying processing and the like are performed and transferred to the demodulator 180. The demodulator 180 demodulates the received reflection signal by a method corresponding to the modulation method, and sends the signal to the control unit 300.

  On the other hand, the transmitted wave reception unit 200 includes a reception calibration unit 210, a demodulation unit 220, and a transmitted wave reception antenna 230. The reception calibration unit 210 receives the transmitted wave that has passed through the measurement target 500 and received by the reception antenna 240, and generates errors caused by cables, connectors, and fixtures (antenna for adding electromagnetic waves, etc.) included in the reception system. A correction process is executed and an amplification process or the like is performed and transferred to the demodulator 220. The demodulator 220 demodulates the received transmitted wave signal by a method corresponding to the modulation method, and sends it to the control unit 300. Since the transmitted wave contains information according to the distribution of the permittivity in the living body, for example, in the case of a horse leg, abnormalities such as muscle tissue inflammation and tendon rupture may be visualized as an image. it can. The pair of the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave receiving unit 200 adjusts the number of installations according to the measurement target 500 or the nature of the biological information to be acquired for the measurement target 500 (organ state, muscle, bone state, site, etc.) The geometrical arrangement can be adjusted as appropriate.

  The control unit 300 includes a sampling unit 310 and a control unit 320. The sampling unit 310 performs a process of converting the demodulated reflected wave signal and the transmitted wave signal received from the demodulating unit 180 of the transmission / reception unit 100 and the demodulating unit 220 of the transmitted wave receiving unit 200 into a digital signal at a predetermined sampling frequency. The signal digitized by the sampling unit 310 is sent to the communication terminal 20 as biological information data by the control unit 320 described below.

  The control unit 320 controls the transmission / reception process of the radio frequency signal in the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave reception unit 200 as described above, and executes the process of transmitting the biological information data generated by the sampling unit 310 to the communication terminal 20. To do. The control unit 320 can be configured as a computer including a general processor such as a CPU and a memory. In this case, the data processing described above is realized by executing a program stored in the memory.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows the arrangement state of the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave reception unit 200 with respect to the measurement object 500. In the example of FIG. 2, a pair of the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave reception unit 200 is provided so as to face each other with the leg of the horse that is the measurement target 500 interposed therebetween, and 64 stages from unit 1 to unit 64 are provided along the leg of the horse. . In the plan view shown in FIG. 3, four pairs of the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave reception unit 200 are provided so as to surround the measurement object 500. Therefore, in this embodiment, a total of 4 × 64 = 256 pairs of the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave reception unit 200 are provided in a substantially cylindrical shape. Since the control unit 320 of the control unit 300 performs measurement processing while switching transmission / reception of radio frequency signals for each of these unit pairs, the biological information data of 4 slices in the axial direction is 64 steps in one scan. Can be acquired over time. Moreover, since the transmission / reception process of the radio frequency signal is performed in a very short time for each unit pair, it is not necessary to restrain the measurement object 500 for a long time. FIG. 4 schematically shows the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave reception unit 200 of FIG. 3 arranged in a substantially cylindrical shape, developed in the circumferential direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave reception unit 200 are arranged in a matrix of circumferential direction 8 × axis direction 64. For example, the control unit 320 of the control unit 300 includes the transmission / reception unit 100 ( By repeating transmission / reception processing in order from (1, 1) to (4, 64) in the lower center, biological information data of 4 slices and 64 steps can be acquired. Note that such transmission / reception processing can collect biometric information data with different characteristics in a short time by changing the frequency of the radio frequency signal according to an appropriate pattern and repeating it a plurality of times. In each transmission / reception process, the biological information data may be collected by continuously changing the frequency of the radio frequency signal in a predetermined pattern.

  Next, data collection processing by the biological information measuring apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 shows an example of a data collection processing flow by the biological information measuring apparatus 10. The data collection process in FIG. 5 is executed by the control unit 320. First, the control unit 320 starts processing based on an external measurement start command (S600), and selects one pair of the transmission / reception unit 100 and the transmitted wave reception unit 200 provided in the biological information measurement apparatus 10. Then, a radio frequency signal is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 100 (S610). Specifically, the control unit 320 transmits a transmission command to the signal control unit 120 of the selected transmission / reception unit 100, and the signal control unit 120 that receives the transmission command transmits a frequency or a frequency change pattern based on the transmission command to the signal generator 110. To generate a standard radio frequency signal. The standard radio frequency signal generated by the signal generator 110 is subjected to modulation processing by the modulation unit 130 using a predetermined modulation method, and is further transmitted from the transmission antenna 150 through calibration processing by the transmission calibration unit 140.

  Next, the control unit 320 causes the reflected wave reception antenna 160 of the transmission / reception unit 100 to receive the reflected wave, performs calibration processing by the reception calibration unit 170 and demodulation processing by the demodulation unit 180 (S620, S622), and forms a pair. The transmitted wave reception antenna 230 of the transmitted wave reception unit 200 is transmitted to receive the transmitted wave, and the calibration process by the reception calibration unit 210 and the demodulation process by the demodulation unit 220 are executed (S630, S632).

  Next, the control unit 320 performs sampling processing on the reflected wave signal and the transmitted wave signal received by the sampling unit 310 and digitizes them to obtain biological information data (S640). Here, the control unit 320 determines whether data collection processing has been executed for all installed pairs (S650), and if it is determined that it has been executed (S650, Yes), the acquired biological information data is transmitted to the communication terminal. Transmit and terminate the process (S670, S690). If it is determined in S650 that the processing has not been completed for all pairs (S650, No), the control unit 320 selects one pair from the unprocessed units and returns to the radio frequency signal transmission step of S610 (S680). .

  The biometric information data acquired by the above data collection process is stored in the storage system 30 from the communication terminal 20 via the communication network 50. In the case of the present embodiment, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, 4 measurements × 64 steps = 256 pieces of biological information data are obtained for a specific frequency or a specific frequency range for a measurement object 500 by one measurement. Will be obtained. Each biometric information data set can be identified and called from the diagnostic terminal 40 by combining the collected identification information of the biometric information measuring device 10 and the collection date and time. If the biological information measuring apparatus 10 is provided with a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal receiving function, it is also possible to add data collection point information.

  According to the data collection processing of the biological information measuring apparatus 10 described above, it is possible to collect and accumulate a large amount of biological information related to the measurement target 500 in a short time. Since the stored biological information can be called from the diagnostic terminal 40 and displayed as an image, it is possible to easily and quickly diagnose the internal state of the measurement target 500 and the like.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to above-described embodiment, Various modifications are included. For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to one having all the configurations described. In addition, a part of the configuration of the embodiment can be replaced with another configuration, and another configuration can be added to the configuration of a certain embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Biological information measuring system 10 Biological information measuring device 20 Communication terminal 30 Storage system 40 Diagnosis terminal 50 Communication network 100 Transmission / reception unit 110 Signal generator 120 Signal control part 130 Modulation part 140 Transmission calibration part 150 Transmission antenna 160,230 Reception antenna 170 Reception Calibration unit 180, 220 Demodulation unit 300 Control unit 310 Sampling unit 320 Control unit

Claims (6)

A radio frequency signal generation unit for generating a radio frequency signal transmitted to the measurement target;
A signal for instructing the radio frequency signal generation unit to execute radio frequency signal generation processing, and for changing the frequency of the radio frequency signal generated by the radio frequency signal generation unit in a predetermined pattern over a predetermined range A control unit;
A modulation unit for modulating the radio frequency signal generated by the radio frequency signal generation unit according to a predetermined modulation method;
For the modulated radio frequency signal, a transmission calibration unit for reducing and transmitting the influence of influence factors existing in the transmission system, and
A transmitted wave transmitted through the measurement object and a reflected wave transmitted and reflected by the measurement object are received, and the transmitted wave and the reflected wave are received for reducing the influence of an influence factor existing in a reception system. A calibration section;
A demodulating unit for demodulating the calibrated transmitted wave signal and reflected wave signal from the reception calibrating unit in a method corresponding to the predetermined modulation method;
A waveform data extraction unit that extracts a predetermined frequency component from the demodulated transmitted wave signal and the reflected wave signal and converts the extracted frequency component into transmitted wave waveform data or reflected wave waveform data;
A biological information data storage unit for storing the transmitted wave waveform data and the reflected wave waveform data in a computer-readable manner;
A biological information measurement system comprising:   The biological information measurement system according to claim 1, wherein a frequency band of the radio frequency signal is 30 to 300 GHz. A plurality of sets including a radio frequency signal transmitting / receiving unit and a radio frequency signal transmitted wave receiving unit provided to face each other with the measurement object interposed therebetween,
The radio frequency signal transmission / reception unit includes the radio frequency signal generation unit, the signal control unit, the modulation unit, the transmission calibration unit, the reception calibration unit for processing the reflected wave, and the demodulation unit. And
The biological information measurement system according to claim 1, wherein the radio frequency signal transmitted wave receiving unit includes the reception calibration unit for processing the transmitted wave and the demodulation unit.   A transmission control unit that transmits the execution of the radio frequency signal transmission / reception processing in a predetermined order to the signal control unit included in each of a plurality of sets including the radio frequency signal transmission / reception unit and the radio frequency signal transmitted wave reception unit. The biological information measuring system according to claim 3, comprising: A radio frequency signal generation unit for generating a radio frequency signal transmitted to the measurement target;
A signal for instructing the radio frequency signal generation unit to execute radio frequency signal generation processing, and for changing the frequency of the radio frequency signal generated by the radio frequency signal generation unit in a predetermined pattern over a predetermined range A control unit;
A modulation unit for modulating the radio frequency signal generated by the radio frequency signal generation unit according to a predetermined modulation method;
For the modulated radio frequency signal, a transmission calibration unit for reducing and transmitting the influence of influence factors existing in the transmission system, and
A transmitted wave transmitted through the measurement object and a reflected wave transmitted and reflected by the measurement object are received, and the transmitted wave and the reflected wave are received for reducing the influence of an influence factor existing in a reception system. A calibration section;
A demodulating unit for demodulating the calibrated transmitted wave signal and reflected wave signal from the reception calibrating unit in a method corresponding to the predetermined modulation method;
A biological information measuring device. Generate a radio frequency signal to be transmitted to the measurement target,
Changing the frequency of the radio frequency signal in a predetermined pattern over a predetermined range;
Modulating the radio frequency signal by a predetermined modulation method;
For the modulated radio frequency signal, execute a calibration process to reduce the influence of the influencing factors existing in the transmission system and transmit it,
Calibration for receiving transmitted waves transmitted through the measurement object and reflected waves transmitted and reflected by the measurement object, and reducing the influence of influencing factors existing in the reception system on the transmitted waves and reflected waves Execute the process,
The calibrated transmitted wave signal and reflected wave signal are demodulated by a method corresponding to the predetermined modulation method,
Extracting a predetermined frequency component from the demodulated transmitted wave signal and the reflected wave signal and converting it to transmitted wave waveform data or reflected wave waveform data,
Storing the transmitted wave waveform data and the reflected wave waveform data in a computer-readable manner;
Biological information measurement method.