JP2018015435A - Electrical muscle stimulation apparatus, electrical muscle stimulation system, electrical muscle stimulation method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrical muscle stimulation apparatus realizing electrical muscle stimulation with which a user feels less pain.SOLUTION: An electrical muscle stimulation apparatus 1 comprises: a stimulation control unit 53 which causes two or more first electrodes included in a plurality of electrodes 20 to output electrical stimulation to a user; a contact state detection unit 54 which detects a change in a contact state of each of the plurality of electrodes with the user's skin, based on at least one of a contact impedance of each of the plurality of electrodes, a pressure of each of the plurality of electrodes against the user's skin, a distortion of the user's posture, and an acceleration between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin while electric stimulation is output; an electrical pattern determination unit 51 which determines second electrodes based on electrodes for which a change in contact state has not been detected; and a stimulation electrode switchover unit 52 which performs switchover between first electrodes and second electrodes. The stimulation control unit 53 causes the second electrodes to output electrical stimulation to the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical muscular stimulation device, an electrical muscular stimulation system, and the like.

  When electrical stimulation is applied to the living body by an external device, the muscle contracts. Such electrical stimulation for inducing muscle contraction is called Electrical Electrical Stimulation (EMS). The electrical muscular stimulation device applies electrical muscular stimulation to a living body from, for example, an electrode attached to the surface of the living body.

  One of the purposes of electrical muscular stimulation is to give the user exercise with less burden by applying electrical muscular stimulation to the user. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for inducing muscle contraction by applying 4-20 Hz pulsed electrical stimulation to the thigh, thereby causing muscle hypertrophy. By using the electrical muscular stimulation device, the user can exercise without burdening the cardiopulmonary and joints. Therefore, the electrical muscular stimulation device is considered to be particularly effective for users with organ disorders such as orthopedic diseases, diabetic complications and cardiovascular complications.

  It is known that the contact impedance between the stimulation electrode and the skin is related to the pain that the user feels with respect to the electrical muscular stimulation, and the pain increases as the contact impedance increases.

International Publication No. 2009/072437

  However, in the case where electrical stimulation is performed using an electrode whose contact state with the skin is not stable, such as an electrode incorporated in wear, the electrode is caused by spontaneous exercise or exercise induced by electrical stimulation. Since the contact impedance between the skin and the skin fluctuates, there is a problem that the user may feel pain.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an electrical muscular stimulation device, an electrical muscular stimulation system, an electrical muscular stimulation method, and the like that can realize electrical muscular stimulation that is difficult for a user to feel pain. .

  The electrical muscular stimulation device according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a stimulation control unit that outputs electrical stimulation to the predetermined muscle of the user to two or more first electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes; Contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when electrical stimulation is output, pressure between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin, distortion of the user's posture, and the plurality A contact state determination unit that determines a change in contact state between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin based on at least one of acceleration between each of the electrodes and the user's skin; and An electrode determining unit that determines two or more second electrodes based on an electrode that does not change, and a stimulating electrode that switches the two or more first electrodes to the two or more second electrodes. And a switching unit, wherein the stimulation control unit, wherein the two or more second electrodes, and outputs the electrical stimulation for a given muscle of the user again.

  According to the electrical muscular stimulation apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to output electrical muscular stimulation from an electrode pair having a low contact impedance by dynamically switching the stimulation electrodes, so that electrical muscular stimulation that makes it difficult for the user to feel pain can be realized. .

It is the schematic which shows an example of electrode arrangement | positioning and an interference wave production | generation area | region in a to-be-stimulated body. It is a figure which shows virtually the change of the contact impedance at the time of applying a specific electrical muscular stimulation. It is an example of the table which shows an electrode arrangement | positioning pattern. It is an example which arranged the table which shows an electrode arrangement pattern along the time series. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an electrical muscular stimulation system according to a first exemplary embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electrical muscular stimulation system according to a first exemplary embodiment. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of the electrical muscular stimulation system according to the first exemplary embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of a part of process of the electrical muscular stimulation system shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electrical muscular stimulation system concerning Embodiment 2. FIG. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the wear of the electrical muscular stimulation system concerning Embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing of the electrical muscular stimulation system according to the second exemplary embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of a part of process of the electrical muscular stimulation system shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows a user's attitude | position at the time of standing-up operation | movement. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the user hip joint angle at the time of standing-up operation, and a contact pressure. It is a figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the electrode in wear.

(Definition)
First, terms used in this embodiment are defined.

  The contact impedance is the impedance between the electrode that outputs electrical muscular stimulation and the skin. The lower the contact impedance, the closer the electrode and the skin are.

  The wear is wear in which electrodes are incorporated on the inner surface of the wear that comes into contact with the user's skin so that a plurality of electrodes can be brought into contact with the skin simply by being worn by the user. For example, a conductive cloth or fiber is used as the electrode material. The wear has an advantage that a large number of electrodes arranged in advance on the wear can be attached at a time.

  The interference current type myoelectric stimulation is a method of myoelectric stimulation in which two or more current stimuli having different frequencies interfere with each other in a living body to stimulate nerves in a region where an interference wave is generated (interference wave generation region). One.

  The electrode displacement is a kind of parameter that represents the contact state between the electrode surface of the electrode and the user's skin, and refers to the displacement between the electrode surface of the electrode and the user's skin. Specifically, it refers to a change in the contact position of the electrode surface of the electrode with the user's skin. Therefore, when an electrode shift has occurred, it can be said that the contact state between the electrode surface of the electrode and the user's skin has changed.

(Overview)
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The electrical muscular stimulation apparatus, electrical muscular stimulation system, and electrical muscular stimulation method according to the present embodiment measure the contact impedance of the electrode during electrical muscular stimulation, and receive fluctuations in contact impedance due to spontaneous or induced exercise. Switch the stimulation electrode dynamically to no electrode.

  The inventors of the present application have a wear feature that a large number of electrodes can be placed, and there are a number of electrode placement patterns and current value patterns for stimulating nerves at predetermined sites, although the contact impedance varies depending on the user's movement. Focusing on the characteristics of the interference current type myoelectric stimulation, I came up with a control method that dynamically switches the stimulation electrode to an electrode pair with low contact impedance during myoelectric stimulation.

  When electrical muscle stimulation is applied, the muscle contracts and exercise is induced. The contact state between the skin and the electrode varies due to the induced motion. If the contact impedance between the skin and the electrode becomes high, there arises a problem that the user feels pain due to electrical muscular stimulation.

  Conventionally, for example, an adhesive conductive gel sheet or the like has been used as an electrode for electrical muscular stimulation. When a conductive gel sheet or the like is used as an electrode, the electrode also moves following the movement of the skin surface. Therefore, the variation in the contact state between the electrode and the skin due to the induced motion was small. However, it is difficult to use an adhesive material on the electrode surface and its periphery from the viewpoint of ease of wearing in the wear using conductive cloth or fiber as an electrode. For this reason, it is considered that the induced impedance causes a pressure change or deviation between the electrode and the skin, and the contact impedance varies greatly.

  The method of electrical muscular stimulation is roughly divided into two. The first is low-frequency electrical stimulation that directly stimulates using a frequency of 1 kHz or less to which the nerve responds. When stimulating shallow muscles, it is possible to stimulate only the target muscle by applying current from two electrodes arranged along the muscle fibers around the muscle abdomen of the target muscle. The second is an interference current type myoelectric stimulation in which current stimulations of two types of frequencies are simultaneously applied from a frequency band higher than the frequency at which the nerves react to cause interference in the living body and stimulation is performed by interference waves.

  In the interference current type myoelectric stimulation, the nerve in the interference wave generation region where the interference wave is generated is stimulated. The generation position of the interference wave generation region is determined by the arrangement pattern and current value of the two positive electrodes and the two ground electrodes. The electrode arrangement for stimulating a predetermined nerve is not limited to one electrode arrangement pattern, and there are several electrode arrangement patterns depending on the combination of the arrangement of four electrodes.

  1A and 1B schematically show an electrode arrangement pattern and an interference wave generation region. In the electrode arrangement pattern 1 shown in FIG. 1 (a) and the electrode arrangement pattern 2 shown in FIG. 1 (b), for example, a body such as an arm or a leg is used as the stimulated body P, and 4 on the surface of the stimulated body P. The situation where two electrodes are attached is shown. In both (a) and (b) of FIG. 1, the stimulation electrodes 1 and 2 that are positive electrodes and the ground electrodes GND1 and GND2 are used. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the positions where the stimulation pole 1, the stimulation pole 2, GND1, and GND2 are attached are different positions. As a result, interference wave generation regions W are generated at different positions in FIGS.

  Although the electrode arrangement is different between the electrode arrangement pattern 1 shown in FIG. 1A and the electrode arrangement pattern 2 shown in FIG. 1B, interference waves can be generated in the same region. The actual interference wave is affected by the electrical conductivity and dielectric constant of the body tissue (skin, fat layer, muscle, bone) that is the stimulus, but it interferes with the same region by optimizing the electrode arrangement and current value. It is possible to generate waves.

  Factors that cause the contact impedance of the wear to change due to the user's movement include (1) changes in the contact pressure between the electrode surface and the skin accompanying changes in the outer shape of the muscle and skin, and (2) expansion and contraction of the skin and wear. There are two types of displacement between the electrode surface and the skin. The change in the outer shape is caused by the influence of a change in joint angle due to exercise, the strength of muscle contraction during exercise, gravity, inertia force, and the like. Skin expansion and contraction also occurs as the joint angle changes due to exercise. Therefore, it can be said that these two factors are both determined by the exercise performed by the user.

  Regarding the user's voluntary movement, a change in contact impedance cannot be predicted unless the user's movement intention can be estimated. However, the present inventors thought that a change in contact impedance can be predicted because an almost constant movement is induced with respect to the evoked movement after electrical muscular stimulation.

  FIG. 2 shows a virtual result of a time-series change in contact impedance when a specific electrical muscular stimulation is applied. The horizontal axis in FIG. 2 is time, and the vertical axis is contact impedance.

  As shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the electrical muscular stimulation is applied to the user during the time period from time t1 to time t2. The threshold value X is an impedance at which the user feels pain when electrical stimulation is applied at a predetermined frequency and current value. In FIG. 2, the change of the contact impedance in the electrode A, the electrode B, and the electrode C in different places is shown.

  The electrode A is a case where the contact impedance hardly changes despite the application of electrical muscular stimulation. It can be said that the electrode A is an electrode which is not affected by the movement induced by the electrical muscular stimulation.

  The electrode B is a case where the contact impedance increases after applying the electrical muscular stimulation and exceeds the threshold value X for feeling pain. It can be said that the electrode B is an electrode which is affected by a change in the outer shape due to the induced motion or a shift between the electrode and the skin.

  The electrode C has a large contact impedance before applying the electrical muscular stimulation, but the contact impedance decreases when the electrical muscular stimulation is applied. Therefore, it can be said that the electrode C is an electrode in a place where the contact pressure between the electrode and the skin increases due to a change in the outer shape due to the induced motion.

  Thus, it is assumed that the way of changing the contact impedance accompanying the induced motion changes depending on the place where the electrode is in contact. Therefore, for example, when it is necessary to use the electrode B as the stimulation electrode, the contact impedance is always lower than the predetermined value by switching the stimulation electrode to another electrode (for example, the electrode A or the electrode C) before exceeding the predetermined value. It becomes possible to apply electrical muscular stimulation from the electrodes.

  A large number of electrodes can be arranged on the wear. In particular, in the interference current type myoelectric stimulation, since there are many electrode arrangement patterns for generating interference waves in the same region, such dynamic switching of the stimulation electrodes becomes possible.

  The main purpose of electrical muscular stimulation is to induce specific movements in the stimulated body. Therefore, the stimulation electrode may not be switched based only on the contact impedance, and it is necessary to arrange the electrodes so that an interference wave can be generated in a predetermined region. For example, a table showing an electrode arrangement pattern for stimulating a predetermined region as shown in FIG. 3 may be held in advance, and the electrode arrangement pattern may be switched based on the contact impedance shown on the table.

  In addition, the position of the motor nerve may change due to the induced exercise. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 4, a table showing the electrode arrangement pattern for each predetermined time is created in advance, and the electrode arrangement pattern referred to during stimulation application is set to the contact impedance shown in the table. Based on this, it may be switched every predetermined time.

  The contact impedance of the stimulation electrode can be measured by using the current value and voltage value of the stimulus applied as the electrical muscular stimulation. In the case of interference current type myoelectric stimulation in which current stimuli of different frequencies are applied simultaneously, a single frequency is applied at which the current stimulus other than one is paused and applied at the timing when the amplitude of the interference wave is minimized. The current value and the voltage value for the current stimulus may be recorded and calculated.

  The contact impedance of electrodes other than the stimulation electrode may be measured for each electrode by applying a current stimulus having a frequency different from that of the electrical electrical stimulation by at least a predetermined value. The predetermined value is, for example, 1000 Hz. The nerve reacts in a frequency band of 1000 Hz or less. Therefore, if the frequency is 1000 Hz or more with respect to the frequency of electrical muscular stimulation, muscular contraction does not occur due to the interference wave generated by the electrical current for electrical muscular stimulation and the current for measuring contact impedance. Therefore, the contact impedance of the stimulation electrode and the contact impedance of electrodes other than the stimulation electrode can be measured.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the electrical muscular stimulation system including the electrical muscular stimulation device according to the present embodiment will be described.

[1-1. Configuration of electrical muscular stimulation system]
FIG. 5 shows a configuration and usage environment of the electrical muscular stimulation system 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 shows a functional block configuration of the electrical muscular stimulation system 100 according to the present embodiment. The electrical muscular stimulation system 100 shown in FIG. 5 corresponds to the configuration of the electrical muscular stimulation system 100 according to the present embodiment shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the electrical muscular stimulation system 100 includes a stimulation information input unit 10, an electrode 20, and the electrical muscular stimulation device 1. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of electrodes 20 are provided on the wear 30. Each electrode 20 is provided on the inner surface of the wear 30 so as to contact the skin of the user. In addition, the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 and the stimulation information input unit 10 are integrally configured, for example, and are arranged at a position where the user can easily operate, such as a waist portion of the wear 30.

<Stimulation information input unit 10>
The stimulation information input unit 10 is an input unit that receives input of stimulation information related to a site for performing electrical muscular stimulation and stimulation intensity from a user. The stimulus information input unit 10 is assumed to be composed of, for example, a display and a touch panel. The user performs an input operation of selecting a stimulation site from the muscles displayed on the display and setting the stimulation intensity. The stimulation information input unit 10 sends information on the stimulation site to the electrode pattern determination unit 51 and information on the stimulation intensity to the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53.

<Electrode 20>
The plurality of electrodes 20 are arranged on the wear 30. The electrode 20 has an electrode surface that contacts the user's skin. The material of the electrode surface is, for example, a conductive cloth or fiber.

  Each of the electrodes 20 has a circular shape, for example. The shape and size of the electrode 20 may be changed according to the stimulation site and application. For example, the size of the electrode 20 may be about 10 mm in diameter when controlling complex muscles such as the forearm. When a relatively large muscle such as the thigh is targeted, the diameter may be 30 mm or more.

  Of the plurality of electrodes 20, an electrode that outputs electrical muscular stimulation is referred to as a stimulation electrode, and an electrode that is grounded to the ground is referred to as a ground electrode. Note that there are two or more stimulation electrodes that output electrical muscular stimulation. The stimulation electrode that outputs the stimulation electrode is also referred to as a first electrode.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 will be described.

[1-2. Configuration of electrical muscular stimulation device]
As shown in FIG. 6, the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 includes an electrode pattern determination unit 51, a stimulation electrode switching unit 52, an electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53, and a contact impedance (Imp) measurement unit 54. The electrical muscular stimulation device 1 and the electrode 20 are connected by wire, and the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 and the stimulation information input unit 10 are connected by wire or wirelessly. The electrical muscular stimulation system 100 includes a power supply 40 for operating the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53 and a power supply 41 for operating the contact Imp measurement unit 54.

<Electrode pattern determination unit 51>
The electrode pattern determination unit 51 receives information on the stimulation site from the stimulus information input unit 10 and determines two or more first electrodes based on the information on the stimulation site. Examples of the first electrode are a stimulation electrode and a ground electrode. The electrode pattern determination unit 51 is also referred to as an electrode determination unit. Here, examples of the first electrode are an initial stimulation electrode and a ground electrode. The initial stimulation electrode and the ground electrode are used for electrical stimulation for determining the contact state between the first electrode and the user's skin. The electrode pattern determination unit 51 determines an electrode number as two or more first electrodes. The electrode number pattern may be determined as a high priority electrode number pattern with reference to a database as shown in FIG.

  Then, the electrode pattern determination unit 51 sends the determined electrode number to the stimulation electrode switching unit 52.

  Further, the electrode pattern determination unit 51, when the contact impedance of the currently selected electrode number is larger than a predetermined value, the information regarding the fluctuation of the contact impedance due to the electrical muscular stimulation received from the contact Imp measurement unit 54 described in detail later, The electrode number pattern is determined.

<Stimulation electrode switching unit 52>
The stimulation electrode switching unit 52 receives the electrode numbers of the stimulation electrode and the ground electrode from the electrode pattern determination unit 51, that is, the stimulation electrode whose contact state changes so that the electrical muscular stimulation is output from the electrode 20 of the received electrode number, The electrode 20 having the currently selected electrode number is switched to the electrode 20 having the electrode number received from the electrode pattern determining unit 51. Switching of the stimulation electrode may be performed physically using, for example, a relay circuit. Note that there are two or more electrodes 20 switched at this time. The switched electrode is also referred to as a second electrode.

<Electrical muscle stimulation controller 53>
The electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53 receives information on the stimulation intensity from the stimulation information input unit 10 and sets a current value of electrical muscular stimulation to be applied to the user. The electrical muscular stimulation controller 53 causes two or more first electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes 20 to output electrical stimulation to a predetermined muscle of the user. As a result, a current stimulus having a set current value is output from the electrode 20.

<Contact Imp Measuring Unit 54>
The contact Imp measurement unit 54 determines the contact state between each of the plurality of electrodes 20 and the user's skin when electrical stimulation is output. The contact Imp measurement unit 54 is also referred to as a contact state determination unit. For example, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 acquires the contact impedance value before the electrical stimulus is output, and the difference between the contact impedance value before the electrical stimulus is output and the measured contact impedance value is greater than or equal to the threshold value. It is determined that there is a change in the contact state. In addition, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 does not use the contact impedance value before the electrical stimulus is output, and if the contact impedance value when the electrical stimulus is output is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the contact state changes. Judge that there is. At this time, it is assumed that the plurality of electrodes 20 before electrical stimulation is output are in contact with the user in a desired state. The contact Imp measurement unit 54 receives information on stimulation electrodes from the stimulation electrode switching unit 52, and measures the contact impedances of all electrodes 20 including the stimulation electrodes at predetermined times. Then, the measured contact impedance information of all the electrodes 20 is sent to the electrode pattern determination unit 51 and the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53. The predetermined time may be a predetermined time or may be a sampling period of the contact Imp measurement unit 54. Further, it may be at each timing when the amplitude of the interference wave is minimized as described below.

  The contact impedance of the electrode 20 which is a stimulation electrode can be measured by using the current value and voltage value of the stimulus applied as electrical muscle stimulation. In the case of interference current type myoelectric stimulation in which current stimulations of different frequencies are applied simultaneously, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 temporarily stops applying current stimulations other than one at the timing when the amplitude of the interference wave is minimized. The contact impedance may be calculated by recording a current value and a voltage value with respect to a single frequency current stimulus.

  The contact impedance of the electrodes 20 other than the stimulation electrode may be measured for each electrode 20 by applying a current stimulus having a frequency different from that of the electrical electrical stimulation by at least a predetermined value. The predetermined value is, for example, 1000 Hz. The nerve reacts in a frequency band of 1000 Hz or less. Therefore, if the current is at a frequency of 1000 Hz or more with respect to the frequency of electrical muscular stimulation, muscular contraction due to the interference wave generated by the electrical current for electrical muscular stimulation and the current for measuring contact impedance is not generated. Therefore, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 applies a current having a frequency of 1000 Hz or more with respect to the frequency of the electrical muscular stimulation, and measures the contact impedance for each electrode 20. The frequency of electrical muscular stimulation corresponds to the first frequency. A frequency that is 1000 Hz or more away from the frequency of electrical muscular stimulation corresponds to the second frequency.

  The electrode pattern determination unit 51 and the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53 receive the contact impedance information of all the channels from the contact Imp measurement unit 54, and extract the variation of the contact impedance derived from the evoked movement caused by the electrical muscular stimulation. Specifically, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 extracts, for each electrode 20, fluctuations in contact impedance during the time period in which the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53 outputs electrical muscular stimulation. Then, the extracted time-series change information of the contact impedance value derived from the induced exercise is sent to the electrode pattern determination unit 51 and the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53.

[1-3. Processing procedure in electrical muscular stimulation system]
Next, a processing procedure performed in the electrical muscular stimulation system 100 of FIG. 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S11 shown in FIG. 7, the stimulation information input unit 10 receives information on the stimulation site and stimulation intensity of the electrical muscular stimulation from the user. Then, information on the stimulation site is sent to the electrode pattern determination unit 51, and information on the stimulation intensity is sent to the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53, respectively.

  In step S12, the electrode pattern determination unit 51 receives information on the stimulation site from the stimulation information input unit 10, and determines the initial two or more electrodes, specifically, the electrode numbers of the stimulation electrode and the ground electrode. The electrode pattern determination unit 51 may determine an electrode number pattern having a high priority with reference to a database as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the electrode pattern determination unit 51 sends the determined electrode number to the stimulation electrode switching unit 52. Then, the stimulation electrode switching unit 52 performs switching so that electrical muscular stimulation can be output from the electrode 20 determined by the electrode pattern determination unit 51.

  In step S13, the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53 receives information related to the stimulation intensity from the stimulation information input unit 10, and sets a current value that is the intensity of the electrical muscular stimulation applied to the user.

  In step S <b> 14, the myoelectric stimulation control unit 53 sends the myoelectric signal having the current value set via the electrode pattern determination unit 51 to the stimulation electrode switching unit 52. As a result, the stimulation electrode switching unit 52 outputs a current stimulus with the current value set in step S13 (first output step).

  In step S15, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 receives information on the stimulation electrodes from the stimulation electrode switching unit 52, and sets the contact impedances of all the electrodes 20 including the stimulation electrodes when electrical stimulation is output at a predetermined time. Measure every time. And the fluctuation | variation of the contact impedance derived from the induced exercise | movement which arose by electrical muscular stimulation is extracted from the information of the contact impedance in all the electrodes 20 measured. Further, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 determines whether or not the contact impedance is larger than a predetermined value (contact state determination step).

  Specifically, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 extracts, for each electrode 20, fluctuations in contact impedance during the time period in which the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53 outputs electrical muscular stimulation. Then, the extracted time-series change information of the contact impedance value derived from the induced exercise is sent to the electrode pattern determination unit 51 and the electrical muscular stimulation control unit 53.

  In step S16, the electrode pattern is determined and switched. At this time, based on step S17 and step S18, it is determined whether or not the electrode pattern needs to be switched, and the electrode pattern is switched.

  In step S <b> 17, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 determines whether the electrode pattern needs to be switched by determining whether the contact impedance of the stimulation electrode is greater than a predetermined value. Specifically, the determination is made based on the flow shown in FIG. If the contact impedance of the stimulation electrode is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S19, and if greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S18. Moreover, in step S18, the electrode pattern determination part 51 determines an electrode pattern based on the flow shown in FIG. 8 (determination step).

  FIG. 8 shows details of the procedure for determining / switching the electrode pattern in step S16, that is, the electrode pattern determining unit 51. In FIG. 8, steps S13 to S15 are the same as steps S13 to S15 in FIG.

  In step S101, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 determines whether there is an electrode 20 whose contact impedance is greater than a predetermined value in the electrode 20 determined in step S13 among the information of the contact impedance variation extracted by the contact Imp measurement unit 54 in step S15. Determine whether or not. If the contact impedance is less than or equal to a predetermined value, step S107 is performed. If the contact impedance is greater than the predetermined value in any electrode 20 and time zone, step S102 is performed.

  In step S102, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 determines whether or not there is an electrode pattern in which the contact impedance is less than or equal to a predetermined value in all time zones among the contact impedance values of all the electrodes 20 extracted by the contact Imp measurement unit 54. judge. If there is an electrode pattern whose contact impedance is less than or equal to a predetermined value in all time zones, step S103 is performed, and if not, step S104 is performed.

  In step S <b> 103, the electrode pattern determination unit 51 determines an electrode pattern as a high priority pattern from among electrode patterns whose contact impedance is equal to or lower than a predetermined value in all time zones. In step S21, the electrode pattern determination unit 51 sends the numbers of two or more electrodes 20 corresponding to the determined electrode pattern to the stimulation electrode switching unit 52. The stimulation electrode switching unit 52 switches the electrode 20 that outputs stimulation to the electrode 20 sent from the electrode pattern determination unit 51 (switching step).

  In step S104, the contact Imp measurement unit 54 determines whether or not the contact impedance is less than or equal to a predetermined value in any electrode pattern among all the contact impedance values of all the electrodes 20 extracted by the contact Imp measurement unit 54. Determine whether. If the contact impedance is less than or equal to a predetermined value for any electrode pattern, step S105 is performed.

  In step S105, the electrode pattern determination unit 51 determines an electrode pattern at a predetermined timing during electrical muscular stimulation application. In step S21, the electrode pattern determination unit 51 sends the number of the electrode 20 corresponding to the determined electrode pattern to the stimulation electrode switching unit 52. The stimulation electrode switching unit 52 switches the electrode 20 that outputs stimulation to the electrode 20 sent from the electrode pattern determination unit 51.

  If the contact impedance does not become a predetermined value or less in any of the electrode patterns in all time zones, an alert display is performed in step S16. In step S <b> 106, the electrode pattern determination unit 51 sends the information to the stimulus information input unit 10 in order to notify the user that there is a time zone in which the contact impedance is greater than or equal to a predetermined value due to the induced motion. In the stimulus information input unit 10, for example, an alert display that prompts the wearer 30 to be worn again so as to be in an appropriate wearing state is performed.

  Thereafter, the stimulation electrode switching unit 52 outputs electrical stimulation by the switched electrode 20 (second output step). Further, as shown in FIG. 7, in step S <b> 19, the user is inquired whether or not to end the electrical muscular stimulation. When continuing myoelectric stimulation, operation | movement of step S14-S19 is repeated, and when complete | finishing, it progresses to completion | finish.

  Note that steps S101, S102, and S104 shown in FIG. 8 correspond to step S17 in FIG. Steps S103 and S105 in FIG. 8 correspond to step S18 in FIG.

[1-4. Effect]
As described above, the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes the stimulation control unit that causes the two or more first electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes to output electrical stimulation to the predetermined muscle of the user. Contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output, pressure between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin, distortion of the user's posture, and A contact state determination unit that determines a change in a contact state between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin based on at least one of acceleration between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin; and the contact An electrode determination unit that determines two or more second electrodes based on an electrode having no change in state, and switches the two or more first electrodes to the two or more second electrodes. And a stimulation electrode switching unit, wherein the stimulation control unit, wherein the two or more second electrodes, and outputs the electrical stimulation for a given muscle of the user again.

  In addition, the electrical muscular stimulation system 100 according to the present embodiment is worn by a user, and wears on which a plurality of electrodes are arranged, and two or more first electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes, the user's A stimulation control unit that outputs electrical stimulation to a predetermined muscle; contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output; and each of the plurality of electrodes Based on the pressure of the user's skin, the distortion of the user's posture, and / or the acceleration of each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin, each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin A contact state determination unit that determines a change in the contact state; an electrode determination unit that determines two or more second electrodes based on an electrode that does not change in the contact state; A stimulation electrode switching unit that switches the above first electrode to the two or more second electrodes, and the stimulation control unit again connects the two or more second electrodes to a predetermined value of the user Output electrical stimulation to muscles.

  Thereby, even in a situation where the contact state between the electrode 20 and the user's skin varies greatly due to the induced motion, it is possible to output electrical muscular stimulation from the electrode 20 that is always in a good contact state, that is, with low contact impedance. Therefore, even if it is a case where electrical muscular stimulation is performed using the wear 30 assumed that the fluctuation | variation of the contact impedance accompanying exercise | movement is large, the electrical muscular stimulation which a user does not feel pain easily is realizable.

  The stimulation control unit may cause each of the two or more first electrodes and the two or more second electrodes to output electrical stimulation having different frequencies.

  Thereby, a muscular electrical stimulation can be performed with respect to a user by interference current type | mold electrical muscular stimulation.

  The contact state determination unit measures the contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output from each of the plurality of electrodes, and measures the measured contact impedance. May be determined that there is a change in the contact state.

  Thereby, since the value of contact impedance is measured directly, the contact state between the electrode 20 and the user's skin can be determined directly from the value of contact impedance. When the value of the contact impedance is larger than a predetermined value, it can be determined that the electrode displacement has occurred.

  The frequency of electrical stimulation when the contact state determination unit measures contact impedance is set as a first frequency, and the frequency of electrical stimulation output using the two or more second electrodes is set as a second frequency. Then, the stimulus control unit may set the first frequency and the second frequency to different values by a predetermined value or more.

  For example, when the predetermined value is a boundary value of whether or not muscle contraction occurs due to an interference wave generated by a current for electrical muscular stimulation and a current for contact impedance measurement, Muscle contraction does not occur due to the interference wave generated by the current for contact impedance measurement. Therefore, the contact impedance of the stimulation electrode and the contact impedance of electrodes other than the stimulation electrode can be measured.

  The contact state determination unit determines a change in the contact state for each time of the plurality of electrodes, and the electrode determination unit arranges the plurality of electrodes for outputting the electrical stimulation for each time. The pattern may be determined as an arrangement pattern of the plurality of electrodes that is determined to have no change in the contact state among all the plurality of electrodes.

  Thereby, since a contact state is judged about all the electrodes in each time, the appropriate electrode 20 can be determined for every time.

  Moreover, every time may be every sampling period of the contact state determination unit.

  Thereby, a contact state can be determined efficiently according to the operation of the contact state determination unit.

  In addition, in the electrical muscular stimulation method according to the present exemplary embodiment, the electrical stimulation is output to a predetermined muscle of the user using two or more first electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes. An output step; a contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output; a pressure between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin; and the posture of the user A contact state determination step for determining a contact state between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin based on at least one of the distortion of the plurality of electrodes and the acceleration of each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin; A determination step of determining two or more second electrodes based on an electrode having no change in contact state; and the two or more first electrodes, the two or more second electrodes A switching step of switching, using the two or more second electrodes, again, and a second output step of outputting an electrical stimulus to a predetermined muscle of the user.

  Thereby, even in a situation where the contact state between the electrode 20 and the user's skin varies greatly due to the induced motion, it is possible to output electrical muscular stimulation from the electrode 20 that is always in a good contact state, that is, with low contact impedance. Therefore, even if it is a case where electrical muscular stimulation is performed using the wear 30 assumed that the fluctuation | variation of the contact impedance accompanying exercise | movement is large, the electrical muscular stimulation which a user does not feel pain easily is realizable.

  In the contact state determination step, when the electrical stimulation is output from each of the plurality of electrodes, the contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin is measured, and the measured contact impedance is When larger than a predetermined value, it may be determined that there is a change in the contact state.

  Thereby, since the value of contact impedance is measured directly, the contact state between the electrode 20 and the user's skin can be determined directly from the value of contact impedance. When the value of the contact impedance is larger than a predetermined value, it can be determined that the electrode displacement has occurred.

  In the present embodiment, the contact state between the electrode and the skin is detected from the fluctuation of the contact impedance between the electrode and the skin. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the contact between the electrode and the skin using a pressure sensor, an acceleration sensor, or the like. A state may be detected.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the electrode 20 to which the electrical muscular stimulation is applied is determined by measuring the contact impedance of each electrode 20 during the user operation. However, since the contact impedance of each electrode 20 is mainly generated by the displacement of the electrode 20 with respect to the user's skin, the contact state of the electrode 20 can be estimated from the user's posture.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the posture of the user is measured and the electrode 20 to which the electrical muscular stimulation is applied is determined based on the measured posture. This embodiment can be realized, for example, with a system configuration as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows a functional block configuration of the electrical muscular stimulation system 200 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the electrical muscular stimulation system 200 includes a stimulation information input unit 10, an electrode 20, and an electrical muscular stimulation device 2. The configurations of the stimulation information input unit 10 and the electrode 20 are the same as those of the stimulation information input unit 10 and the electrode 20 in the electrical muscular stimulation system 100, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  The electrical muscular stimulation device 2 is different from the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 shown in FIG. 6 in that instead of the electrode pattern determination unit 51 and the contact Imp measurement unit 54, the posture measurement unit 61, the electrode deviation determination unit 62, and the electrode pattern It is a point provided with the determination part 63. FIG.

[2-1. Configuration of electrical muscular stimulation device]
Hereinafter, the posture measurement unit 61, the electrode deviation determination unit 62, and the electrode pattern determination unit 63 in the electrical muscular stimulation device 2 will be described. In the following description, only the differences between the electrical muscular stimulation device 2 and the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described, and the detailed description of the same configuration as the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 will be omitted.

<Attitude measurement unit 61>
The posture measuring unit 61 measures the state of the user's posture at every predetermined time. Here, the posture state means the angle of the joint angle of the part where the wear 30 is worn. The hip joint angle refers to an angle between the user's torso and thighs as shown in FIG. In the pant-type wear 30 shown in FIG. 5, a strain sensor (not shown) is disposed around the hip joint. Moreover, every predetermined time may be every predetermined time, or every sampling period of the strain sensor.

  The angle of the left and right hip joints is measured from the strain value obtained by the strain sensor. The angles of the left and right hip joints obtained by the strain sensor are sent from the posture measurement unit 61 to the electrode deviation determination unit 62.

<Electrode displacement determination unit 62>
The electrode deviation determination unit 62 is a contact state determination unit according to the present invention, and receives information on the posture of the user from the posture measurement unit 61. Then, when the user performs a predetermined exercise, it is determined for each electrode 20 whether or not a deviation has occurred between the electrode surface of the electrode 20 for applying the electrical muscular stimulation and the user's skin. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a pressure sensor 61a disposed between the wear 30 and the electrode 20 may be used for the determination of the deviation.

  As described above, the factors that change the contact impedance between the electrode surface of the electrode 20 and the skin include (1) a change in the contact pressure between the electrode surface and the skin due to a change in the outer shape of the muscle and skin, and (2 There are two types of displacement between the electrode surface and the skin due to the expansion and contraction of the skin and the wear 30. In any case, when the pressure recorded by the pressure sensor 61a is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, it can be determined that the electrode surface of the electrode 20 and the skin are displaced.

  The electrode displacement determination unit 62 determines whether or not there is an electrode displacement at each time as in the case of the contact Imp measurement unit 54 shown in the first embodiment by matching with the time-series posture state received from the posture measurement unit 61. I do.

  Note that the presence or absence of electrode displacement may be determined based only on whether or not the position of the electrode 20 has changed before and after a series of user exercises. If the user can take a predetermined posture before and after the user's exercise, an acceleration sensor can be used instead of the pressure sensor 61a. In that case, the acceleration is detected for the displacement of the electrode 20 with respect to the skin of the user during exercise or the displacement of the user's skin with respect to the electrode 20. Then, the obtained acceleration data (acceleration data) is integrated into the position information of the acceleration sensor, and when there is a difference of a predetermined value or more between the position information before and after the exercise, the electrode displacement has occurred. judge.

<Electrode pattern determination unit 63>
The electrode pattern determination unit 63 determines a combination of electrodes 20 that output electrical muscular stimulation, that is, an electrode pattern. The electrode pattern is determined by the combination of the electrodes 20 as shown in the first embodiment. The electrode pattern may be determined as an electrode pattern using a high priority electrode number with reference to a database as shown in FIG. The electrode pattern determination unit 63 sends the number of the electrode 20 in the determined electrode pattern to the stimulation electrode switching unit 52.

  Further, the electrode pattern determination unit 63 receives information on the presence / absence of electrode displacement for each electrode 20 when the user performs a predetermined motion from the electrode displacement determination unit 62, and the electrode displacement occurs in the currently selected electrode 20. The electrode pattern of the electrode number in which no electrode displacement has occurred is determined.

[2-2. Processing procedure in electrical muscular stimulation system]
Next, a processing procedure performed in the electrical muscular stimulation system 200 of FIG. 9 will be described with reference to FIG. Regarding the processing procedure performed in the electrical muscular stimulation system 200, the same reference numerals are assigned to the steps for performing the same processing as in the electrical muscular stimulation system 100 shown in FIG. 8, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The processing procedure of the electrical muscular stimulation system 200 according to the present embodiment differs from the processing procedure of the electrical muscular stimulation system 100 according to the first embodiment between steps S13 and S14 as shown in FIG. The point is that step S21 is newly provided, step S22 is provided instead of step S15, and step S23 is provided instead of step S18.

  In step S <b> 21, the posture measurement unit 61 measures the joint angle of the part on which the wear 30 that is the posture of the user is worn for each time. In the pant-type wear 30 shown in FIG. 5, a strain sensor is arranged around the hip joint, and the angles of the left and right hip joints are measured. Then, it is sent to the electrode deviation determination unit 62.

  In step S22, the electrode deviation determination unit 62 determines whether or not an electrode deviation has occurred when the user is performing a predetermined operation. For example, a pressure sensor 61a disposed between the wear 30 and the electrode 20 is used for determining the electrode displacement. When the pressure recorded by the pressure sensor 61a becomes a predetermined value or less, the electrode deviation determination unit 62 determines that the electrode 20 and the skin are displaced. Then, the electrode displacement determination unit 62 sends the electrode displacement determination result for each electrode 20 to the electrode pattern determination unit 63.

  In step S23, the electrode pattern determination unit 63 determines the electrode pattern based on whether or not the pressure is equal to or less than a predetermined value, similarly to the flow based on the contact impedance shown in FIG. The number of the electrode 20 corresponding to the determined electrode pattern is sent to the stimulation electrode switching unit 52. The stimulation electrode switching unit 52 switches the electrode 20 having the currently selected electrode number to the electrode 20 having the electrode number received from the electrode pattern determining unit 63.

  In the posture measurement unit 61, when it is determined whether an electrode shift has occurred before and after a series of movements using an acceleration sensor, the processing flow is as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, step S24 and step S25 will be described.

  In step S <b> 24, the electrode displacement determination unit 62 determines, for each electrode 20, the electrode displacement in all time zones in which the user has performed a predetermined exercise. When the acceleration sensor is used, the user is allowed to take a predetermined posture before and after the exercise, and the acceleration is detected with respect to the displacement of the electrode 20 with respect to the skin of the user during exercise or the displacement of the user's skin with respect to the electrode 20. Then, the obtained acceleration data is integrated to obtain sensor position information, and it is determined that the skin and the electrode 20 are displaced when a difference of a predetermined value or more occurs between the position information before and after the exercise. Then, the determination result for each electrode 20 is sent to the electrode pattern determination unit 63.

  In step S25, the electrode pattern determination unit 63 determines that the pressure is a predetermined value based on the information on the presence or absence of displacement for each electrode 20 received from the electrode displacement determination unit 62, as in the flow based on the contact impedance shown in FIG. The electrode pattern is determined based on whether or not it is the following. Then, the determined number of the electrode 20 is sent to the stimulation electrode switching unit 52. The stimulation electrode switching unit 52 switches the electrode 20 that outputs stimulation to the electrode 20 sent from the electrode pattern determination unit 63.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the operation of the electrical muscular stimulation system 200 will be described by taking as an example a case where the user's standing motion is a predetermined motion. It is assumed that the user is wearing the pant-type wear 30 as shown in FIG.

  FIGS. 13A to 13C show the state of the user during the standing-up operation in time series. At time T0 shown in FIG. 13A, the user is sitting on a chair. After that, at time T1 shown in (b) of FIG. 13, the user starts a standing operation, and at time T2 shown in (c) of FIG. 13, the user stands up further than at time T1. At time T0, the angle of the user's hip joint is about 90 degrees. Thereafter, at times T1 and T2, the angle of the hip joint increases as the user stands up.

  The standing motion is realized by extending the hip joint and the knee joint by contraction of the rectus femoris, lateral vastus muscle, medial vastus muscle, etc. on the ventral side B of the thigh. In FIGS. 13B and 13C, the rectus femoris, outer vastus muscles, inner vastus muscles, etc. on the abdominal side B of the user contract and increase in muscle thickness. The contact pressure of the electrode 20 is increased. Accordingly, the contact pressure of the electrode 20 decreases on the side surface C and the back side A of the thigh where the outer vastus muscle and the inner vastus muscle are present. That is, when the hip joint angle is increased from the case where the hip joint angle is about 90 degrees, the contact pressure of the electrode 20 disposed on the abdominal side B of the thigh increases, and there is a large amount of the outer vastus muscle or the inner vastus muscle. The contact pressure of the electrodes 20 arranged on the side surface C and the back side A of the thigh decreases.

  FIG. 14 shows that the contact pressure of the electrodes 20 arranged on the abdominal side B of the thigh and the side surface C of the thigh of the user during the standing motion shown in FIGS. It shows virtually how it changes for each angle. Times T0, T1, and T2 in FIG. 14 correspond to times T0, T1, and T2 shown in (a) to (c) of FIG.

  The relationship between the hip joint angle and the contact pressure differs for each user depending on how the muscles are attached, the muscle thickness, and the like. However, when the same user performs the same operation, the contact pressure is considered to change similarly based on a predetermined joint angle. Therefore, by determining in advance for each electrode 20 whether or not there is an electrode shift in a predetermined operation for the same user, it is possible to specify an electrode 20 in which no electrode shift occurs or the electrode shift is small.

  For example, in the standing motion shown in FIGS. 13A to 13C, when the contact pressure changes according to the hip joint angle as shown in FIG. 14, the electrical muscular stimulation is applied to the rectus femoris muscle of the user. Consider the case as an example. In this case, the stimulation electrode may be changed as shown in (a) to (c) of FIG. In addition, (a)-(c) of FIG. 15 is a figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the electrode in wear. In FIGS. 15A to 15C, only the configuration of one thigh portion of the wear 30 is shown, and the front side of the page is the front side of the wear 30.

  As shown in FIG. 14, in the time zone at time T0 when the angle of the hip joint is about 90 degrees, the contact pressure is greater than or equal to a predetermined value on the abdominal side B and the side surface C of the thigh. . In this case, as shown in FIG. 15A, the interference current stimulation is performed using the four electrodes 20a arranged on the side surface C of the thigh. Two of the four electrodes 20a are used as stimulation electrodes, and the remaining two are used as ground electrodes. At this time, if the user feels pain due to electrode displacement, the stimulation electrode and the ground electrode may be changed.

  Further, in the time zone at time T1, the contact pressure decreases on the side surface C of the thigh. Therefore, the electrode pattern is changed so that the electrode 20 arranged on the ventral side B of the thigh is used as a stimulation electrode. At this time, the four electrodes 20 are used in the same manner as at time T0, and interference current stimulation is performed using two of the four electrodes 20 as stimulation electrodes and the remaining two as ground electrodes. Since the rectus femoris muscle is a shallow muscle, it can be stimulated by low-frequency electrical stimulation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15B, low-frequency electrical stimulation may be performed using the two electrodes 20b arranged directly above the rectus femoris, that is, on the ventral side B of the femur.

  Further, the contact pressure of the side surface C of the thigh is recovered during the time period T2. Therefore, as in the case of time T0, as shown in FIG. 15C, the electrode pattern is changed so that the interference current stimulation is performed using the four electrodes 20a on the side surface C of the thigh.

[2-3. Effect]
As described above, the contact state determination unit measures the contact pressure between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output from each of the plurality of electrodes, and the measured contact pressure. May be determined that there is a change in the contact state.

  Further, in the electrical muscular stimulation method according to the present exemplary embodiment, in the contact state determination step, when the electrical stimulation is output from each of the plurality of electrodes, each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin The contact pressure may be measured, and when the measured contact pressure is equal to or less than a predetermined value, it may be determined that there is a change in the contact state.

  Thereby, in the electrical muscular stimulation device 2 and the electrical muscular stimulation system 200 according to the present embodiment, the displacement between the electrode 20 of the wear 30 and the skin is detected by the pressure sensor or the acceleration sensor, and the electrode is less affected by the displacement of the electrode. 20 can output electrical muscular stimulation. Thereby, the muscular strength training and the operation support by the electrical muscular stimulation in which the user does not feel pain can be realized.

(Other embodiments)
Although the electrical muscular stimulation device, electrical muscular stimulation system, and electrical muscular stimulation method according to the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

  For example, in the embodiment described above, the pant-type wear 30 shown in FIG. 5 is used, and the joint angle is the hip joint angle, and the strain sensor is arranged around the hip joint. The joint angle is the hip joint angle. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be changed depending on the shape of the wear and the mounting site. For example, the joint angle may be a knee joint angle, an arm joint angle, or the like. In this case, the strain sensor may be arranged around the knee, the arm, and the like.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the pressure sensor or the acceleration sensor is used has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the contact state between the electrode 20 and the skin and the positional relationship between the electrode 20 and the skin can be detected. If present, other sensors such as an optical sensor may be used.

  Further, the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 and the electrode 20 may be connected by wire or may be connected wirelessly. Further, the electrical muscular stimulation device 1 and the stimulation information input unit 10 may be connected by wire or may be connected wirelessly.

  In addition, the steps in the above-described embodiments may be changed or omitted. Further, the order of the steps may be changed.

  Further, the present invention may be a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described muscle electrode stimulation method. Further, the present invention may be a digital signal comprising the computer program.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a non-transitory recording medium that can read the computer program or the digital signal, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, a DVD, a DVD-ROM, a DVD-RAM, a BD ( It may be recorded on a Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc), a semiconductor memory, or the like. Further, the digital signal may be recorded on these non-temporary recording media.

  In the present invention, the computer program or the digital signal may be transmitted via an electric communication line, a wireless or wired communication line, a network represented by the Internet, a data broadcast, or the like.

  The present invention may be a computer system including a microprocessor and a memory, wherein the memory stores the computer program, and the microprocessor operates according to the computer program.

  Further, by recording the program or the digital signal on the non-temporary recording medium and transferring it, or transferring the program or the digital signal via the network or the like, another independent computer It may be implemented by the system.

  Furthermore, the above embodiments may be combined.

  According to the present invention, for example, it can be used for an electrical muscular stimulation device, an electrical muscular stimulation system, and the like for maintaining the muscular strength of an elderly person, increasing the muscular strength of an athlete, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 Myoelectric stimulation apparatus 10 Stimulation information input part 20, 20a, 20b Electrode 30 Wear 40, 41 Power supply 51, 63 Electrode pattern determination part (electrode determination part)
52 Stimulation Electrode Switching Unit 53 Myoelectric Stimulation Control Unit (Stimulation Control Unit)
54 Contact Imp Measuring Unit (Contact State Determination Unit)
61 posture measuring unit 61a pressure sensor 62 electrode displacement determining unit (contact state determining unit)
100, 200 Muscle electrical stimulation system

Claims (16)

An electrical muscular stimulation device for controlling electrical stimulation output using the plurality of electrodes with respect to a predetermined muscle of a user wearing a wear in which a plurality of electrodes are arranged,
A stimulation control unit that outputs electrical stimulation to the predetermined muscle of the user to two or more first electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes;
Contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output, pressure between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin, distortion of the user's posture, and the A contact state determination unit that determines a change in a contact state between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin based on at least one of accelerations of each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin;
An electrode determining unit that determines two or more second electrodes based on the electrodes that do not change in the contact state;
A stimulation electrode switching unit that switches the two or more first electrodes to the two or more second electrodes;
The stimulation control unit causes the two or more second electrodes to output electrical stimulation to the predetermined muscle of the user again. The myoelectric stimulation device according to claim 1, wherein the stimulation control unit causes each of the two or more first electrodes and the two or more second electrodes to output electrical stimulation having different frequencies. The contact state determination unit measures a contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output from each of the plurality of electrodes, and the measured contact impedance is predetermined. The electrical muscular stimulation device according to claim 1, wherein when it is larger than the value, it is determined that there is a change in the contact state. When the frequency of electrical stimulation when the contact state determination unit measures contact impedance is the first frequency, and the frequency of electrical stimulation output using the two or more second electrodes is the second frequency ,
The electrical stimulation device according to claim 3, wherein the stimulation control unit sets the first frequency and the second frequency to different values by a predetermined value or more. The contact state determination unit measures a contact pressure between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output from each of the plurality of electrodes, and the measured contact pressure is predetermined. The electrical muscular stimulation device according to claim 1, wherein when it is equal to or less than the value, it is determined that there is a change in the contact state. In the contact state determination unit, a change in the contact state for each time of the plurality of electrodes is determined, and in the electrode determination unit, an arrangement pattern of the plurality of electrodes that outputs the electrical stimulation for each time is determined. The electrical muscular stimulation device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the arrangement pattern of the plurality of electrodes determined to have no change in the contact state among all the plurality of electrodes is determined. The myoelectric stimulation device according to claim 6, wherein each time is every sampling period of the contact state determination unit. A posture measuring unit for measuring a joint angle of the user of the part wearing the wear;
The contact state is recorded in advance for each joint angle of the user, and the arrangement pattern of the plurality of electrodes that outputs the electrical stimulation is determined to have no change in the contact state in all the plurality of electrodes. The electrical muscular stimulation device according to claim 5, wherein the electrical stimulation device is determined as an arrangement pattern of a plurality of electrodes. Wear worn by the user and arranged with multiple electrodes;
A stimulation control unit that outputs electrical stimulation to the predetermined muscle of the user to two or more first electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes;
Contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output, pressure between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin, distortion of the user's posture, and the A contact state determination unit that determines a change in a contact state between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin based on at least one of accelerations of each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin;
An electrode determining unit that determines two or more second electrodes based on the electrodes that do not change in the contact state;
A stimulation electrode switching unit that switches the two or more first electrodes to the two or more second electrodes;
The stimulation control unit causes the two or more second electrodes to output electrical stimulation to the predetermined muscle of the user again. 10. The electrical muscular stimulation system according to claim 9, wherein the stimulation control unit causes each of the two or more first electrodes and the two or more second electrodes to output electrical stimulations having different frequencies. The contact state determination unit measures a contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output from each of the plurality of electrodes, and the measured contact impedance is predetermined. The electrical muscular stimulation system according to claim 9, wherein when it is larger than the value, it is determined that there is a change in the contact state. When the frequency of electrical stimulation when the contact state determination unit measures contact impedance is the first frequency, and the frequency of electrical stimulation output using the two or more second electrodes is the second frequency ,
The electrical muscular stimulation system according to claim 11, wherein the stimulation control unit sets the first frequency and the second frequency to different values by a predetermined value or more. In a muscular electrical stimulation method for outputting electrical stimulation from the plurality of electrodes to a predetermined muscle of a user wearing a wear in which a plurality of electrodes are arranged,
A first output step of outputting electrical stimulation to a predetermined muscle of the user using two or more first electrodes included in the plurality of electrodes;
Contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin when the electrical stimulation is output, pressure between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin, distortion of the user's posture, and the A contact state determination step for determining a contact state between each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin based on at least one of accelerations of each of the plurality of electrodes and the user's skin;
Determining two or more second electrodes based on the electrodes having no change in contact state;
A switching step of switching the two or more first electrodes to the two or more second electrodes;
A second output step of outputting an electrical stimulus to the predetermined muscle of the user again using the two or more second electrodes.
Electrical muscle stimulation method. In the contact state determination step, when the electrical stimulation is output from each of the plurality of electrodes, the contact impedance between each of the plurality of electrodes and the skin of the user is measured, and the measured contact impedance is a predetermined value The electrical muscular stimulation method according to claim 13, wherein when it is larger, it is determined that there is a change in the contact state. In the contact state determination step, when the electrical stimulation is output from each of the plurality of electrodes, the contact pressure between each of the plurality of electrodes and the skin of the user is measured, and the measured contact pressure is a predetermined value The electrical muscular stimulation method according to claim 13, wherein it is determined that there is a change in the contact state when: A program for causing a computer to execute the electrical muscular stimulation method according to any one of claims 13 to 15.

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