JP2020121120A - Biological information acquisition device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a device capable of acquiring a bone/flesh-conducted sound of a subject by mounting a bone/flesh-conducted sound sensor in an external auditory meatus, and stably measuring a blood vessel sound and a respiration sound of the subject simultaneously over a long time without imposing particular efforts on the user, in which the subject can hear ambient sounds easily even during the measurement.SOLUTION: A biological information acquisition device includes: a housing 3 that can be fixed to the ear of a subject having a body part 1 to which an ambient air-conducted sound microphone 6 is provided, and an insertion part 2 that can be inserted into an external auditory meatus 8 of the subject and is provided with a bone/flesh-conducted sound sensor 4 and an ambient air-conducted sound speaker 7 in the vicinity of the tip; and acoustic signal processing means 5 for processing an acoustic signal acquired by the bone/flesh-conducted sound sensor. The acoustic signal processing means includes a low range band-pass filter 51 for extracting a blood vessel sound waveform from the acoustic signal and a high range band-pass filter 52 for extracting a respiration sound waveform.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a biological information acquisition device capable of acquiring bone-flesh conduction sound by using a bone-flesh conduction sound sensor (microphone) mounted in the ear canal and simultaneously measuring a blood vessel sound and a breathing sound of a subject. ..
Further, the present invention measures the blood vessel sound and breathing sound of the subject over a long period of time, and calculates the pulse rate, the pulse fluctuation, the respiratory rate, the respiratory fluctuation, etc. from the measurement results to determine the physical and mental condition of the subject. The present invention relates to a biometric information acquisition device that enables monitoring.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-126511), the present inventors provide a body-conduction sound sensor at the tip of a rod-shaped body that can be inserted under the armpit of a subject, and We proposed a heart rate and respiratory rate measuring device that can simultaneously measure the acoustic heart rate and acoustic respiratory rate based on the acoustic signal acquired by the sound sensor.

Further, as described in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-505300), a device that attaches an ear sensor to an ear of a subject and detects a body sound generated in the body (particularly, paragraphs 0021 to ). 0022 and FIGS. 1 and 2) and Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent No. 6219889), a device for inserting a biosensor into the ear of a subject to measure a pulse (in particular, paragraphs 0043 and (See FIG. 5) is proposed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-126511 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-505300 Japanese Patent No. 6219889

The heart rate and respiration rate measuring device described in Patent Document 1 can easily measure the heart rate and respiration rate simultaneously with high accuracy with a simple device, but a body-conducting sound sensor is used under the armpit of the subject. Since the acoustic signal is acquired by sandwiching it between, it is difficult to measure data stably over a long period of time.
Further, since the ear sensor described in Patent Document 2 has a soundproof shield for blocking noise, there is a problem that ambient sounds generated outside the body are hard to hear during measurement.
The acoustic device having the biometric sensing function described in Patent Document 3 inserts the biometric sensor into the ear of the subject, but the biometric sensor uses a light receiving unit and a light emitting unit for blood flow. Since it is a sensor or a pulse sensor, it is not possible to simultaneously measure the blood vessel sound and the respiratory sound of the subject.
Note that Patent Document 3 also describes that a body temperature measuring sensor is also used as a biometric sensor, but even in that case, it is not possible to simultaneously measure the blood vessel sound and the breathing sound of the subject.
The present invention is intended to solve these problems all at once, and to attach a bone-flesh-conducting sound sensor in the ear canal to acquire the bone-flesh-conducting sound of a subject, and to put special effort on the subject. The first purpose is to enable stable simultaneous measurement of the blood vessel sound and the breathing sound of the subject over a long period of time, and the second purpose is to make it easy for the subject to hear surrounding sounds even during measurement. It was made for the purpose of.
Furthermore, it improves the feeling of wearing the bone-and-mesh-conducting sound sensor, reliably separates blood vessel sound and respiratory sound, and removes pulse noise from the separated respiratory sound waveform to detect lung abnormalities and respiratory rate more accurately. It is also intended to do.

The biological information acquisition apparatus of the invention according to claim 1 is
A bone-conducting sound sensor for acquiring bone-conducting sound,
A housing having a body portion and an insertion portion extending from the body portion and inserted into the ear canal of the subject;
A biometric information acquisition device comprising acoustic signal processing means for extracting a blood vessel sound waveform and a respiratory sound waveform based on an acoustic signal acquired by the bone-flesh conduction sensor,
The bone-flesh-conduction sensor is provided near the tip of the insertion portion,
When the insertion section is inserted into the ear canal, the housing can be fixed to the ear of the subject, and the tip of the insertion section can reach between the first curve and the second curve in the ear canal. And the bone-conducting sound sensor is in contact with the external auditory meatus wall of the subject.

The invention according to claim 2 is the biological information acquisition apparatus according to claim 1,
The main body portion is provided with an outside air conduction sound microphone that acquires external sound,
In the vicinity of the tip of the insertion portion, an outside air conducted sound speaker that outputs the outside sound acquired by the outside air conducted sound microphone is provided,
When the insertion portion is inserted into the ear canal, the outside air-conducting speaker is in a state of not being in contact with the wall of the ear canal.

The invention according to claim 3 is the biological information acquisition apparatus according to claim 1,
The housing is provided with a cavity portion that penetrates from the outer surface of the main body portion to the vicinity of the tip of the insertion portion,
When the insertion portion is inserted into the ear canal, the insertion portion side of the cavity is in a state of not contacting the ear canal wall, and the main body side of the cavity is in a state of not contacting the skin of the subject. Characterize.

The invention according to claim 4 is the biological information acquisition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The bone-flesh-conduction sensor comprises an electret condenser microphone having a diaphragm on the surface, a filler covering the front surface of the diaphragm, and a resin case covering the side surface and the rear surface of the electret condenser microphone,
When the insertion portion is inserted into the ear canal, the filler comes into contact with the wall of the ear canal.

The invention according to claim 5 is the biological information acquisition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The acoustic signal processing means performs a process of passing only a signal having a frequency lower than a predetermined frequency with respect to the acoustic signal acquired by the bone-flesh conduction sensor, and extracts a blood vessel sound waveform by a low-pass bandpass filter or a lowpass filter. And a high-pass band-pass filter or a high-pass filter that performs a process of passing only a signal having a frequency higher than a predetermined frequency to the acoustic signal to extract a respiratory sound waveform.

The invention according to claim 6 is the biological information acquisition apparatus according to claim 5,
The acoustic signal processing means performs a process of removing a respiratory sound waveform in a period from a time point at which a maximum point of a predetermined value or more is generated in the sound signal or the extracted blood vessel sound waveform to a time point at which the next minimum point is generated. A pulse noise removing means is provided.

The invention according to claim 7 is the biological information acquisition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
At least one of the first curve side and the second curve side of the bone-flesh conduction sensor is further provided with a first expansion/contraction part capable of expansion and contraction, and the first expansion/contraction part expands the ear canal during expansion. Characterized by compressing the wall.

The invention according to claim 8 is the biological information acquisition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A second expansion/contraction part capable of expansion and contraction is further provided between the insertion part and the external auditory meatus wall opposite to the external auditory meatus wall with which the bone-flesh conduction sensor is in contact, and the second expansion/contraction part is expanded during expansion. It is characterized by compressing the wall of the ear canal on the opposite side.

According to the biological information acquisition apparatus of the invention of claim 1, the bone-flesh conduction sensor is provided near the tip of the insertion portion, and when the insertion portion is inserted into the ear canal of the subject, the housing is inspected. Since it can be fixed to the ear of the person, the tip of the insertion portion can reach between the first curve and the second curve in the ear canal, and the bone-and-bone conduction sensor comes into contact with the wall of the ear canal of the subject. , It is possible to stably measure the blood vessel sound and the breathing sound of the subject at the same time over a long period of time without extra effort on the subject.
Further, since a bone-conducting sound sensor of the type that acquires bone-conducting sound by contacting the wall of the external auditory meatus is used, the influence of noise can be reduced and the housing can be fixed to the ear of the subject. , It becomes possible to measure blood vessel sounds and respiratory sounds while the subject is living his/her daily life.
The abnormal state of the heart and the pulse rate can be detected from the continuously acquired blood vessel sound, and the abnormal state of the lung and the respiratory rate can be detected from the respiratory sound.
Furthermore, since blood vessel sounds and respiratory sounds can be measured simultaneously, it becomes possible to detect circulatory diseases and respiratory diseases at an early stage, which can be diagnosed only by hospital facilities.

Cardiovascular diseases that can be detected early by simultaneous measurement of blood vessel sounds and respiratory sounds include chronic heart failure (including acute exacerbations), arrhythmia (bradycardia, tachycardia, etc.), angina, valvular disease, Cheyne-Stokes breathing (appears at the end of heart failure), cardiomyopathy (dilated, hypertrophic), myocarditis, and respiratory diseases include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: COPD (including acute exacerbation) and pulmonary thromboembolism. Illness, bronchial asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis, sleep apnea syndrome, and lung cancer.
In addition, as will be described in detail later, the stress index (SI), which is the ratio of respiratory variability (σRR) and pulse variability (σHR), is used to diagnose general psychiatric disorders, hyperventilation syndrome, panic disorder, and quantify pain ( PTSD), that is, it can also be used to determine the magnitude of pain stimulation.

According to the biological information acquisition apparatus of the invention of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the main body is provided with the outside air conducted sound microphone for acquiring external sound, and near the tip of the insertion part. In addition to the external air-conducting speaker that outputs the external sound acquired by the external air-conducting microphone, the external air-conducting speaker does not come into contact with the external auditory meatus wall when the insertion part is inserted into the ear canal of the subject. Therefore, the subject can always hear the ambient sound even during the measurement.
Therefore, even during the period in which the blood vessel sound and the breathing sound of the subject are being measured, the subject can watch the voice of the television/radio, the music from the audio device, and the like with both ears.

According to the biological information acquisition apparatus of the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the housing is provided with a cavity portion that penetrates from the outer surface of the main body portion to the vicinity of the tip of the insertion portion. When the insertion part is inserted into the ear canal of the subject, the body side of the cavity does not contact the skin of the subject, and the insertion side of the cavity does not contact the ear canal wall. The examiner can always hear ambient sounds even during measurement.
Therefore, even during the period in which the blood vessel sound and the breathing sound of the subject are being measured, the subject can listen to the sound of the television/radio, the music from the audio device, and the like with both ears.

According to the biological information acquisition device of the invention according to claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the bone-flesh conduction sensor has an electret condenser microphone having a diaphragm on its surface, and a front surface of the diaphragm. It consists of a filler that covers it and a resin case that covers the side and back of the electret condenser microphone, and when the insertion part is inserted into the ear canal, the filler comes into contact with the wall of the ear canal, so the feeling of wearing a bone-conducting sound sensor Is improved, and the accuracy of measuring bone-conducted sound is also improved.

According to the biological information acquisition apparatus of the invention of claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention of any one of claims 1 to 4, the acoustic signal processing means is adapted to the acoustic signal acquired by the bone-flesh conduction sensor. Performing a process of passing only signals of frequencies lower than a predetermined frequency to extract blood vessel sound waveforms Performing a process of passing only signals of frequencies higher than a predetermined frequency with respect to low-pass bandpass filters or low-pass filters and acoustic signals Since the high-pass band-pass filter or the high-pass filter for extracting the respiratory sound waveform is provided, the blood vessel sound and the respiratory sound can be reliably separated.

According to the biological information acquisition apparatus of the invention of claim 6, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 5, the acoustic signal processing means generates a local maximum of a predetermined value or more in the acoustic signal or the extracted blood vessel sound waveform. Since it has pulse noise removal means that performs processing to remove the respiratory sound waveform in the period from the time point to the time point at which the next minimum point occurs, it is possible to remove the pulse noise from the respiratory sound wave shape, and the lung abnormality. The condition and respiratory rate can be detected more accurately.

According to the biological information acquisition device of the invention according to claim 7, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the biological information acquisition device is provided on at least one of the first curve side and the second curve side of the bone-flesh conduction sensor. Further, a first inflatable/contractible portion that can be inflated and deflated is further provided, and the first inflatable/contractile portion compresses the ear canal wall when inflated, so that the first inflatable/contractile portion is inflated to press the ear canal wall to stop blood flow. After that, the pressure of the first expansion/contraction part becomes systolic at the moment when the first expansion/contraction part is contracted to obtain the Korotkoff sound, and the first expansion/contraction part is further contracted to obtain the Korotkoff sound again. Since the pressure in the expansion/contraction part 1 becomes the minimum blood pressure, it can also function as a sphygmomanometer.

According to the biological information acquisition device of the invention according to claim 8, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the ear canal wall and the insertion portion on the opposite side of the ear canal wall in contact with the bone-flesh conduction sensor. A second expansion/contraction part capable of expanding and contracting is further provided between the two, and the second expansion/contraction part presses the ear canal wall on the opposite side at the time of expansion, so that by expanding and contracting the second expansion/contraction part, Similar to the biological information acquisition apparatus of the invention according to claim 7, it can function as a blood pressure monitor.
Further, by expanding the second expansion/contraction part to an appropriate size, it is possible to keep the bone-flesh-conducting sound sensor in contact with the external auditory meatus wall of the subject at all times. The amplitude of the acquired acoustic signal can be increased.

3 is a conceptual diagram of the biometric information acquisition apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. The figure which shows the cross section of a human ear, and the measurement site of bone-conducting sound. Sectional drawing of the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4. An example of the acoustic signal acquired by the bone-and-flesh conduction sensor 4 and the blood vessel sound waveform and respiratory sound waveform extracted from the sound signal. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a housing 30 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an acoustic signal processing means 50 according to a third embodiment. The figure explaining the method of removing the pulse noise remaining in the respiratory sound waveform. The figure explaining the method of complementing the respiratory sound waveform in the pulse noise concentration period. 9 is a conceptual diagram of a biometric information acquisition apparatus according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of a biometric information acquisition apparatus according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. The figure which shows the experimental result about the change of the amplitude of an acoustic signal. The figure which shows the example of arrangement|positioning of the 1st expansion/contraction part 18 and the 2nd expansion/contraction part 23.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the biometric information acquisition apparatus according to the first embodiment.
As shown in the conceptual diagram of FIG. 1, the biological information acquisition apparatus according to the first embodiment includes a casing 3 having a main body 1 and an insertion portion 2, and a bone-flesh conduction sensor provided near the tip of the insertion portion 2. The sound signal processing means 5 is provided for processing the sound signal acquired by 4.
The main body 1 is provided with an outside air conducted sound microphone 6 for obtaining an outside sound, and an outside sound obtained by the outside air conducted sound microphone 6 is output near the tip of the insertion portion 2 in addition to the bone-flesh conducted sound sensor 4. An outside air conducted sound speaker 7 is provided. In addition, the insertion portion 2 can be inserted into the ear canal 8 of the subject, and the tip thereof is between the first curve 9 and the second curve 10 in the ear canal 8 when the insertion portion 2 is inserted into the ear canal 8. It is molded into a reachable shape.
In addition, when the insertion part 2 is molded into a shape suitable for the standard external auditory meatus 8 to be a general-purpose biometric information acquisition device, and when the insertion part 2 is molded into a shape suitable for the external auditory meatus 8 of the subject, There is a case in which the biological information acquisition device dedicated to the person is used, but the latter can acquire the acoustic signal with higher accuracy.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a human ear and a diagram showing a measurement site for bone-conducted sound.
As can be seen from FIG. 2, in the first curve 9 and the second curve 10 in the ear canal 8, one of the two bent portions of the ear canal 8 is closer to the entrance 11 than the first curve 9 and closer to the eardrum 12. It is the second curve 10.
When the insertion part 2 is inserted into the external auditory meatus 8, the housing 3 is fixed to the ear of the subject, and the bone-conducting sound sensor 4 provided near the tip of the insertion part 2 is shown in FIG. The measurement site (external ear canal wall) between the first curve 9 and the second curve 10 is in contact with the external air conduction speaker 7, and the external air conduction speaker 7 is not in contact with the external ear canal wall 13.
Therefore, the bone-flesh conduction sound sensor 4 can simultaneously acquire the bone-flesh conduction sound using the arteries around the ear as a sound source, the sinus cavity and the oral echo bone conduction sound, and the bone-flesh conduction sound using the ear canal as the sound source. Can always hear the ambient sound output from the outside air conducted sound speaker 7 even during measurement.
It should be noted that the measurement site of the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4 is between the first curve 9 and the second curve 10, as shown in FIG. This is because the position is suitable for obtaining the transmitted bone and meat conduction sound.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4.
The bone-flesh-conducting sound sensor 4 has a cylindrical shape as a whole, and as shown in FIG. 3, an electret condenser microphone 14 having a diaphragm on its surface, and a filler 15 (made of polyurethane elastomer or medical grade silicon) for covering the front surface of the diaphragm. Etc.) and a resin case 16 (made of polycarbonate, etc.) that covers the side surface and the rear surface of the electret condenser microphone 14.
The surface of the filler 15 swells to the front side from the peripheral edge of the resin case 16 and is provided so that the surface thereof is exposed near the tip of the insertion part 2, so that the insertion part 2 is placed in the ear canal 8. When inserted, the surface of the filler 15 comes into close contact with the external auditory meatus wall 13 between the first curve 9 and the second curve 10, and bone-conducting sound can be acquired with high accuracy.

Next, the acoustic signal processing means 5 will be described.
The acoustic signal processing means 5 receives an acoustic signal as shown in FIG. 4A from the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4 via a wired or wireless transmission/reception means.
Then, the acoustic signal is processed by using the low-pass band-pass filter 51 to pass only a signal having a frequency (usually about 20 to 200 Hz) lower than a predetermined frequency (usually about 200 Hz). Extract the blood vessel sound waveform as shown in b).
Further, with respect to the same acoustic signal, a process of passing only a signal having a frequency higher than a predetermined frequency (usually about 200 to 700 Hz) is performed by using the high band pass filter 52, and as shown in FIG. Extract respiratory sound waveforms.
The extracted vascular sound waveform and respiratory sound waveform are transmitted to the waveform display means, for example, when a doctor or the like checks those waveforms, depending on the purpose of use thereafter, and displays the pulse rate and the respiratory rate by calculation, When the fluctuation of the pulse rate, the fluctuation of the respiratory rate, or the stress index (SI) is calculated and displayed, or the status is judged based on the calculated pulse rate or respiratory rate, and the judgment result is displayed, the pulse rate/respiration It is transmitted to the arithmetic display means.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the housing 30 according to the second embodiment.
The configuration of the biometric information acquisition apparatus according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except for the housing 30, and differs from the housing 3 in the first embodiment in that the outside air conducted sound microphone 6 and the outside air conducted sound speaker. The point is that a hollow portion 17 is provided instead of 7.
Therefore, the same numbers as those in the first embodiment are used for the configurations other than the housing 30 and the hollow portion 17, and the description for the portions other than the hollow portion 17 is omitted.
The hollow portion 17 penetrates from the vicinity of the tip of the insertion portion 2 to the outer surface of the main body portion 1, and when the insertion portion 2 is inserted into the ear canal 8, the opening on the insertion portion side does not contact the ear canal wall 13. The opening on the main body side does not come into contact with the skin (auricle, etc.) of the subject.
Therefore, the subject can always hear the ambient sound even during the measurement without using the outside air conducted sound microphone 6 and the outside air conducted sound speaker 7 as in the first embodiment, and does not use the microphone and the speaker. Therefore, there is an advantage that it does not break down and is low cost.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the acoustic signal processing means 50 according to the third embodiment.
The configuration of the biological information acquisition apparatus according to the third embodiment other than the acoustic signal processing means 50 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the difference from the acoustic signal processing means 5 of the first embodiment is that the pulse noise removing means 53 is This is an added point.
Therefore, the same numbers as those in the first embodiment are used for the configurations other than the acoustic signal processing means 50 and the pulse noise removing means 53, and the explanations other than the pulse noise removing means 53 are omitted.

In the respiratory sound waveform (see FIG. 4C) obtained by processing the acoustic signal by the high-frequency bandpass filter 52, pulse noise having a high frequency remains unseparated.
When using a respiratory sound waveform with pulse noise remaining, it may adversely affect the calculation of the respiratory rate, so in order to solve this problem, remove the pulse noise remaining in the respiratory sound waveform as much as possible. It is the third embodiment that the device for adding is added.
By the way, in the acoustic signal acquired by the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4 (see FIG. 4A), a high frequency signal derived from a pulse (a signal that becomes pulse noise) is a peak of the pulse as shown in FIG. It concentrates on the steep undershoot that starts from the part.
Therefore, the pulse noise removing means 53 first starts from a time point when a maximum point of a predetermined value or more (0.7 V or more in the case of the blood vessel sound waveform of FIG. 7) in the acquired acoustic signal or the extracted blood vessel sound waveform occurs. The process of deleting the respiratory sound waveform in the period until the time when the next minimum point occurs (the period from t1 to t2 and the period from t3 to t4 in FIG. 7) is performed (the “pulse noise concentration period in FIG. 7 is deleted”). Respiratory sound waveform").
Then, as shown in FIG. 8, for the respiratory sound waveform in which the pulse noise concentration period is deleted, the pulse noise is measured using the respiratory sound waveforms (waveforms in the region indicated by the ellipse) before and after the pulse noise concentration period. A process for complementing the concentration period is performed (see “Respiratory sound waveform with waveform complement (respiratory sound processing waveform)” in FIG. 8 ).

Since a more accurate respiratory rate can be calculated based on the respiratory sound processing waveform obtained by performing the processing by the pulse noise removing means 53, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determination of circulatory diseases and respiratory diseases. It also contributes to the diagnosis of general psychiatric disorders, hyperventilation syndrome, panic disorder, etc. using the stress index (SI) and the determination of the magnitude of pain stimulation.

Finally, the stress index (SI) will be described.
The stress index is a respiratory rate (Respiratory rate variability: RRV), which is a standard deviation (σRR) of a respiratory rate group during a unit time (for example, 5 seconds) in a fixed time (for example, 1 minute), for a fixed time (for example, It is divided by the pulse rate fluctuation (Heart rate variability: HRV) which is the standard deviation (σHR) of the pulse rate group during a unit time (for example, 5 seconds) in 1 minute) and is represented by the formula of SI=σRR/σHR. be able to.
It is known that respiratory fluctuation is associated with parasympathetic nerve activity, and pulse fluctuation is associated with sympathetic nerve activity.
When the SI becomes smaller, it can be determined that the subject is moving from the stable state to the unstable state, and when the SI is larger, it can be determined that the subject is moving from the unstable state to the stable state.
Therefore, the stress index (SI) can be used as reference data when diagnosing general psychiatric disorders, hyperventilation syndrome, and panic disorder.
Furthermore, the index can also be used to judge the magnitude of pain stimulus.
The reason is that "pain" is a global instability for the living body, and when the brain feels "pain", it uses the primitive reflex to give priority to this global instability as quickly as possible. Because I try to get out of it.
That is, the brain tries to secure the oxygen concentration and duration in the brain by adjusting the cycle of the heart and lungs to regulate the nerve activities of the parasympathetic nerve and the sympathetic nerve in order to maintain itself (the brain). Conceivable.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of the biometric information acquisition apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 9, the biometric information acquisition apparatus according to the fourth embodiment can be expanded and contracted from the tip of the insertion section 2 to the second curve 10 side in addition to the main body section 1 of the biometric information acquisition apparatus according to the first embodiment. The first expansion/contraction part 18 is provided, and the pump 19 for controlling the air pressure of the first expansion/contraction part 18 and the hose 20 connecting the first expansion/contraction part 18 and the pump 19 are provided. An acoustic signal processing unit 54 is provided instead of the acoustic signal processing unit 5 of the biological information acquisition apparatus according to the first example.
Therefore, the same numbers as in the first embodiment are used for the main body part 1, the insertion part 2, the housing 3, the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4, and the like, except for the first expansion/contraction part 18, the pump 19, the hose 20, and the acoustic signal processing means 54. Will not be described.

The first expansion/contraction part 18 is a position that does not come into contact with the tip of the insertion part 2 in the expanded state toward the second curve 10 side from the tip of the insertion part 2, and is a deep ear that is one of the arteries around the ear. The arterial artery 21 is placed at a position where it can be compressed.
Then, when air is sent from the pump 19 to the first expansion/contraction part 18 via the hose 20 to expand the first expansion/contraction part 18, the external auditory meatus wall 13 is pressed and the blood flow in the deep auricle artery 21 is stopped. Therefore, the Korotkoff sound that can be acquired by the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4 before the blood flow is stopped cannot be acquired when the blood flow is stopped.
After that, when air is discharged from the first expansion/contraction part 18 through the hose 20 and the pump 19 and the first expansion/contraction part 18 is contracted, a blood flow accompanied by Korotkoff sounds flows out from the state where the blood flow is stopped, When the first expansion/contraction part 18 is contracted so that the deep auricular artery 21 is not pressed at all, the Korotkoff sound cannot be acquired again.
Here, the pressure in the first expansion/contraction part 18 is the systolic blood pressure at the moment when the blood flow accompanied by the Korotkoff sound starts to flow from the state where the blood flow in the deep auricle artery 21 is stopped, and the first expansion/contraction part 18 is further contracted. The pressure in the first inflation/deflation part 18 at the moment when the deep auricular artery 21 is not pressed at all and the Korotkoff sound cannot be obtained again is the minimum blood pressure.

Next, the acoustic signal processing means 54 will be described.
The acoustic signal processing means 54 has a low-pass bandpass filter 51 and a high-pass bandpass filter 52, as in the acoustic signal processing means 5 of the first embodiment, and as shown in the block diagram on the right side of FIG. It has Korotkoff sound detection means 55 for detecting the Korotkoff sound based on the shape.
The pressure in the first expansion/contraction unit 18 at the time when the Korotkoff sound detecting unit 55 stops detecting the Korotkoff sound during the pressure increase in the first expansion/contraction unit 18 is the systolic blood pressure, Blood pressure display means is provided for displaying the pressure in the first inflation/deflation unit 18 as the minimum blood pressure when the Korotkoff sound detection means 55 no longer detects the Korotkoff sound during the pressure decrease.
That is, the biological information acquisition apparatus according to the fourth embodiment also has a function as a sphygmomanometer.
The waveform display means or the pulse rate/respiration rate calculation display means is the same as that of the biological information acquisition apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram of the biometric information acquisition apparatus according to the fifth embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 10, the biometric information acquisition apparatus according to the fifth embodiment has an insertion section 22 instead of the insertion section 2, the first expansion/contraction section 18, the pump 19 and the hose 20 of the bioinformation acquisition apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. The second expansion/contraction part 23, the pump 24, and the hose 25 are the same as the biological information acquisition device according to the fourth embodiment.
Therefore, the same numbers as those in the fourth embodiment are used for the main body 1, the housing 3, the bone-flesh-conducting sound sensor 4, and the like, and the description except for the insertion portion 22, the second expansion/contraction portion 23, the pump 24, and the hose 25 is omitted. ..

The second expansion/contraction part 23 is provided between the insertion part 22 and the external auditory meatus wall on the side opposite to the external auditory meatus wall 13 with which the bone-flesh transduction sensor 4 is in contact. 21 can be squeezed.
Therefore, a recess 26 for accommodating the second expansion/contraction part 23 is provided on the rear surface side of the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4 of the insertion part 22.
Then, when air is sent from the pump 24 to the second expansion/contraction part 23 via the hose 25 and the second expansion/contraction part 23 is expanded, the external auditory meatus wall is compressed and blood flow in the deep auricular artery 21 is stopped, and conversely 2 When air is discharged from the expansion/contraction part 23 via the hose 25 and the pump 24 and the second expansion/contraction part 23 is contracted, blood flow accompanied by Korotkoff sounds starts to flow from the state where the blood flow is stopped, and further the second expansion is performed. When the constricting portion 23 is contracted so that the deep auricular artery 21 is not pressed at all, the Korotkoff sound cannot be acquired again, so that the blood pressure can be measured as in the fourth embodiment.

Further, in the fifth embodiment, by expanding the second expansion/contraction part 23 to an appropriate size, the bone-flesh-conducting sound sensor 4 can be kept in contact with the subject's ear canal wall at all times. Therefore, the amplitude of the acoustic signal acquired by the bone-flesh conduction sound sensor 4 can be increased.
11: is a figure which shows the experimental result about the change of the amplitude of the acoustic signal acquired by the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4. As shown in FIG.
FIG. 11A is an acoustic signal in a state where the line connecting both ears of the subject wearing the biological information acquisition apparatus according to the first embodiment is horizontal, and FIG. 11B is the living body according to the first embodiment. An acoustic signal in a state where the line connecting both ears of the subject who wears the information acquisition device is vertical. FIG. 11C shows a line connecting both ears of the subject who wears the biometric information acquisition device according to the fifth embodiment. Is vertical and indicates an acoustic signal in a state where the pressure in the second expansion/contraction part 23 is an intermediate value between the minimum blood pressure and the maximum blood pressure.
From this experimental result, if the pressure in the second inflating/deflating unit 23 is set to an intermediate value between the minimum blood pressure and the maximum blood pressure, the amplitude of the acoustic signal becomes equal to or larger than a certain level regardless of the posture of the subject. You can see that you can get it.

Modification examples of the biological information acquisition devices of Examples 1 to 5 will be listed.
(1) In the first and third to fifth embodiments, the outside air-conducting microphone 6 and the outside air-conducting sound speaker 7 are used, and in the second embodiment, the cavity portion 17 is used to insert the insertion portion 2 into the external auditory meatus 8 and the housing. Even when the housing 3 is fixed, the ear with the housing 3 fixed allows external sounds to be heard.
However, normally, the casing 3 is not fixed to both ears, and an external sound can be heard by the ear not fixing the casing 3. Therefore, in the first and third to fifth embodiments, the outside air conducted sound is transmitted. The microphone 6 and the outside air conduction sound speaker 7 may not be provided, and the cavity 17 may not be provided in the second embodiment.
(2) In Examples 1 to 5, as the bone-flesh-conducting sound sensor 4, the one including the ECM 14, the filler 15, and the resin case 16 was used. However, a concave portion is provided near the tip of the insertion portion 2 and The ECM 14 may be directly fitted and the opening side thereof may be covered with the filler.
Further, instead of the ECM 14, a normal condenser type, a moving coil type, a piezoelectric type microphone or the like may be used, and the filling material is not limited to polyurethane elastomer or medical grade silicone, but may be the skin of the human body after curing. An appropriate elastic polymer material can be used as long as it is a hydrophobic resin having an acoustic impedance characteristic equivalent to.

(3) In Examples 1 to 5, the blood vessel sound waveform was extracted using the low-pass bandpass filter and the respiratory sound waveform was extracted using the high-pass bandpass filter, but all signals with a frequency lower than the predetermined frequency pass. The blood vessel sound waveform may be extracted using a low-pass filter that allows the breathing sound waveform to be extracted using a high-pass filter that allows all signals having a frequency higher than a predetermined frequency to pass.
(4) In the acoustic signal processing means 5 of the first and second embodiments, the signal processing means 50 of the third embodiment, and the acoustic signal processing means 54 of the fourth and fifth embodiments, the low-pass bandpass filter 51 is applied to the acoustic signal. The vascular sound waveform is extracted by performing a process of passing only a signal having a frequency (usually about 20 to 200 Hz) lower than a predetermined frequency (usually about 200 Hz), and a high frequency band pass filter for the same acoustic signal. Using 52, a respiratory sound waveform was extracted by performing a process of passing only a signal having a frequency higher than a predetermined frequency (usually about 200 to 700 Hz).
However, the range of signals to be passed may be appropriately changed depending on individual differences and the state of the subject at the time of measurement.
For example, when the frequency of the pulse sound of the subject is low, the predetermined frequency is set to about 150 Hz, and the low-pass bandpass filter 51 performs a process of passing only a signal of about 15 to 150 Hz to obtain the blood vessel sound waveform. Is extracted, and the high frequency band pass filter 52 may perform a process of passing only a signal of about 150 to 600 Hz to extract the respiratory sound waveform.

(5) In the fourth embodiment, the first inflatable/contractible portion 18 that can be inflated and contracted is provided on the second curve 10 side from the tip of the insertable portion 2 separately from the insertable portion 2. The position to be provided may be either the first curve 9 side or the second curve 10 side of the bone-flesh-conducting sound sensor 4 as long as the deep-auricle artery 21 can be compressed. It may be on both the 9 side and the second curve 10 side.
In addition to the first expansion/contraction part 18, the second expansion/contraction part 23 of the fifth embodiment may be provided together.
However, when the first expansion/contraction part 18 is expanded, the position of the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4 is not displaced and the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4 is not separated from the ear canal wall 13 as shown in FIG. 12 (c- 1), (c-2) and (c-3) are preferable.
Further, when it is provided at a position deviated from the bone-flesh conduction sensor 4, it is preferable that it is expanded and contracted in only one direction as much as possible, but (b-1), (b-2) and (b-3) shown in FIG. In the case where it is provided on the bone meat conduction sensor 4 on one side or both sides thereof as shown in (a-1), (a-2) and (a-3) shown in FIG. Alternatively, a spherical or elliptical expansion/contraction portion that swells in a plurality of directions may be used.

Application examples of the biometric information acquisition devices of Examples 1 to 5 will be listed.
(A) It is easy to put on the subject and can measure the pulse rate and the respiratory rate at the same time. Therefore, it is an intractable disease in which neutral fat accumulates in myocardial cells or coronary arteriosclerotic lesions, and is called "heart obesity". It can be suitably used for clinical trials in hospitals as a biometric measuring device for medical research of neutral fat accumulation myocardial vascular disease (TGCV).
It can be used not only for medical research of TGCV but also for research and clinical trials on various respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
(B) Various kinds of data such as the pulse rate and the respiratory rate calculated based on the blood vessel sound waveform and the respiratory sound waveform acquired by the biological information acquisition device of the first to fifth embodiments or their waveforms are transmitted to a communication means such as an Internet line. It is possible to realize a remote diagnosis system for home patients by enabling transmission to a server in a hospital or a cloud server via the system.
In particular, it is suitable for application to outpatients suffering from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases such as asthma, sleep apnea syndrome or heart disease.
Further, the present invention can be applied to a health management system for performing health management by applying to middle-aged people and the like who are highly likely to suffer from such diseases even if they do not suffer from respiratory or cardiovascular diseases.
In addition, considering that lack of sleep causes Alzheimer's disease, we monitor sleep status based on various data such as pulse rate, respiratory rate, stress index, etc. By doing so, it can be useful for prevention of dementia.

(C) The pulse rate is obtained by mounting the biometric information acquisition devices of Examples 1 to 5 on a victim who needs treatment at a disaster site and collecting and analyzing data from each biometric information acquisition device. It is possible to build a system for triage support that accurately grasps a victim with abnormal data such as respiratory rate and stress index and issues an alarm or instruction.
(D) The driver is equipped with the biometric information acquisition device according to the first to fifth embodiments, and an alarm is issued to the driver and fellow passengers when data such as pulse rate, respiratory rate, and stress index is abnormal. If the device is installed in a car or is carried by the driver, a detection system for drowsy driving and abnormal physical and mental conditions can be constructed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body part 2, 22 Insertion part 3, 30 Housing 4 Bone-flesh conduction sensor 5, 50, 54 Acoustic signal processing means 6 Outside air conduction microphone 7 Outside air conduction speaker 8 External ear canal 9 1st curve 10 2nd curve 11 Entrance 12 Eardrum 13 ear canal wall 14 electret condenser microphone (ECM)
15 Filler 16 Resin case 17 Cavity 18 First expansion/contraction part 19, 24 Pump 20, 25 Hose 21 Deep ear artery 23 Second expansion/contraction part 26 Recess 51 Low bandpass filter 52 High bandpass filter 53 Pulse Noise removal means 55 Korotkoff sound detection means

Claims (8)

A bone-conducting sound sensor for acquiring bone-conducting sound,
A housing having a body portion and an insertion portion extending from the body portion and inserted into the ear canal of the subject;
A biometric information acquisition device comprising acoustic signal processing means for extracting a blood vessel sound waveform and a respiratory sound waveform based on an acoustic signal acquired by the bone-flesh conduction sensor,
The bone-flesh-conduction sensor is provided near the tip of the insertion portion,
When the insertion section is inserted into the ear canal, the housing can be fixed to the ear of the subject, and the tip of the insertion section can reach between the first curve and the second curve in the ear canal. The biological information acquiring apparatus is characterized in that the bone-flesh conduction sensor is in contact with the external auditory meatus wall of the subject. The main body portion is provided with an outside air conduction sound microphone that acquires external sound,
In the vicinity of the tip of the insertion portion, an outside air conducted sound speaker that outputs the outside sound acquired by the outside air conducted sound microphone is provided,
The biometric information acquisition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the insertion section is inserted into the external auditory meatus, the external air-conducting speaker does not come into contact with the external auditory meatus wall. The housing is provided with a cavity portion that penetrates from the outer surface of the main body portion to the vicinity of the tip of the insertion portion,
When the insertion portion is inserted into the ear canal, the insertion portion side of the cavity is in a state of not contacting the ear canal wall, and the main body side of the cavity is in a state of not contacting the skin of the subject. The biometric information acquisition device according to claim 1, characterized in that The bone-flesh-conduction sensor comprises an electret condenser microphone having a diaphragm on the surface, a filler covering the front surface of the diaphragm, and a resin case covering the side surface and the rear surface of the electret condenser microphone,
The biological information acquisition apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the filler comes into contact with the wall of the ear canal when the insertion portion is inserted into the ear canal. The acoustic signal processing means performs a process of passing only a signal having a frequency lower than a predetermined frequency with respect to the acoustic signal acquired by the bone-flesh conduction sensor, and extracts a blood vessel sound waveform by a low-pass bandpass filter or a lowpass filter. And a high-pass band-pass filter or a high-pass filter that performs a process of passing only a signal having a frequency higher than a predetermined frequency to the acoustic signal to extract a respiratory sound waveform. The biological information acquisition device according to any one of 1. The acoustic signal processing means performs a process of removing a respiratory sound waveform in a period from a time point at which a maximum point of a predetermined value or more is generated in the sound signal or the extracted blood vessel sound waveform to a time point at which the next minimum point is generated. The biological information acquisition apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising pulse noise removing means. A first expansion/contraction part capable of expansion and contraction is further provided on at least one of the first curve side and the second curve side of the bone-flesh conduction sensor,
The biometric information acquisition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first expansion/contraction unit presses the external auditory meatus wall during expansion. A second expansion/contraction part capable of expansion and contraction is further provided between the insertion part and the external auditory meatus wall opposite to the external auditory meatus wall with which the bone-conducting sound sensor is in contact,
The biological information acquisition apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second expansion/contraction unit presses the opposite ear canal wall during expansion.