JP2020130874A - Biological information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a biological information processing device that can improve operability when it is used while a housing with a display screen is held by a hand.SOLUTION: A biological information processing device includes: a housing; a display part including a display screen provided to the housing; and an operation part for operating the biological information processing device. The operation part is arranged so as to perform operation on a back side of the housing when the display screen of the display part is a front side of the housing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a biometric information processing device, and more particularly to a technique for improving the operability of a small biometric information processing device.

Conventionally, a biological information processing device such as an electrocardiograph or an ultrasonic diagnostic device has been a so-called stationary device in which the main body is installed in a trolley or the like. Even now, most of these devices are stationary, but portable devices that are supposed to be carried have also been developed.

From the viewpoint of portability, it is preferable that the device body is small, but it is preferable that the screen for displaying biological information is large. It is known to reduce the number of hardware keys and switches (operating members) provided in the housing of the device by using a combination of a touch display and software keys so that the display panel as large as possible can be mounted on the device (patented). Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4949685 (Fig. 3)

It is assumed that a small bio-information processing device is used while holding the main body by hand. Further, depending on the usage situation (for example, in an emergency) and the type of device, it is assumed that it is necessary to operate the software keys and operating members of the main body while holding the main body with one hand. For example, when the biometric information processing device is an ultrasonic diagnostic device, one hand must always hold the probe, and therefore the main body must be held and operated by the other hand.

Against this background, when software keys and operating members are used in a small bio-information processing device, the software keys and operating members should be arranged at positions that can be operated by the hand holding the main body. When holding the main body with one hand, it is generally considered that the front and back of the main body housing are sandwiched between the thumb and the remaining fingers. In this case, only the thumb can operate the display screen provided on the front surface of the main body housing. That is, the software keys and operating members need to be arranged within a range that can be operated by the thumb of the hand holding the main body (near the edge of the housing).

However, such a configuration has the following problems.
(1) It may be difficult for a user with a small or large hand to operate.
(2) Even if a touch display is used, the position on the screen cannot be directly specified by touch operation, and it is necessary to indirectly specify by operating a cursor or the like with the thumb.
(3) Since the key to be operated is hidden by the thumb, dynamic information cannot be displayed on the key even when the software key is used.
(4) If the screen is operated directly by hand, the screen becomes dirty.
(5) The size of the screen is limited by the area for providing the operation member, and the housing becomes large. Of these problems, (3) to (5) are also cases where the main body is held by both hands. This is a common issue.

The present invention has been made to alleviate one or more of the problems of the prior art, and it is possible to improve the operability when using the housing provided with the display screen while holding it by hand. One purpose is to provide a biometric information processing device.

The above-mentioned object is a biometric information processing device, which includes a housing, a display unit provided on the housing and provided with a display screen, and an operation unit for operating the biometric information processing device. This is achieved by a biometric information processing apparatus characterized in that the display screen of the display unit is arranged so as to be operated on the back side of the housing when the front of the housing is used.

With such a configuration, the present invention can provide a biometric information processing apparatus capable of improving operability when using a housing provided with a display screen while holding it by hand.

It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the appearance example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the appearance example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the appearance example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the appearance example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on an exemplary embodiment. Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus as an example of a biometric information processing apparatus will be described. However, the present invention is applicable to any biometric information processing apparatus that can be operated while holding the housing provided with the display screen by hand. Examples of such a biometric information processing device include, but are not limited to, an electrocardiograph, a monitor device (those having an external display device), and the like.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 includes a main body 120 and an ultrasonic probe 130 that can be attached to and detached from the main body 120. The function of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 is realized by the control unit 101 controlling the operation of each unit. The control unit 101 has, for example, a programmable processor, reads a program stored in the non-volatile memory 102 into the system memory 103, executes the program, and controls the operation of each unit of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100. The control unit 101 may use a hardware circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an ASSP (Application Specific Standard Product) as a part of the processing.

For example, the rewritable non-volatile memory 102 stores a program for execution by the control unit 101, GUI data, various setting values of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100, and the like. Data (drive waveform pattern data) representing a waveform pattern for generating a pulsed voltage used by the drive circuit 104 to drive the vibrator 105 of the ultrasonic probe 130 is also stored in the non-volatile memory 102. ..

The system memory 103 is a memory used by the control unit 101 to read and execute a program or as a buffer for a received signal.

The drive circuit 104 reads out the drive waveform pattern data selected by the control unit 101 from the non-volatile memory 102 among the plurality of drive waveform pattern data stored in the non-volatile memory 102. Then, the drive circuit 104 drives the oscillator 105 by generating a pulsed drive voltage based on the read out drive waveform pattern data and applying it to the oscillator 105 of the ultrasonic probe 130.

The oscillator 105 included in the ultrasonic probe 130 has a plurality of oscillators arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally. The individual transducers are electromechanical conversion elements (eg, piezoelectric elements). The oscillator 105 generates (transmits) ultrasonic waves by the voltage applied from the drive circuit 104. Further, the vibrator 105 converts the received vibration into an electric signal (observation signal) and outputs the signal. The details of the oscillator 105 will be omitted here for the sake of ease of explanation and understanding. The drive circuit 104 separately drives a plurality of oscillators included in the oscillator 105 at timings according to the type and setting of measurement, the scanning method, and the like.

The receiving circuit 106 executes processing such as noise reduction, amplification, A / D conversion, and addition on the observation signal output by the vibrator 105 of the ultrasonic probe 130, and stores it in the system memory 103 as reflected wave data. By controlling and adding the delay time of the received signal of each oscillator, the focus of the received signal can be increased.

The Doppler processing unit 107 corresponds to the Doppler method such as the continuous wave Doppler method, the pulse Doppler method, and the color Doppler method (also called CFM (Color Flow Mapping)) for the reflected wave data stored in the system memory 103. Signal processing can be performed. Of the reflected wave data stored in the system memory, the address where the reflected wave data of the scanning line to be displayed based on the Doppler method is stored is given to the Doppler processing unit 107 by, for example, the control unit 101. The Doppler processing unit 107 generates an image (a waveform diagram or an image showing the blood flow velocity) showing the moving speed of the moving object for the target scanning line, and stores the image in the coordinate conversion memory 108.

The Doppler method is a method of detecting the velocity of a moving body based on the Doppler shift of ultrasonic waves reflected by the moving body. The color Doppler mode is a mode in which the magnitude, direction, dispersion, strength (power) of the reflected wave, and the like of the detected moving object are displayed in different colors. In general, in the color Doppler mode, ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received multiple times in the same direction in order to obtain a stable detection result, and the speed is detected based on a plurality of received signals. Therefore, the frame rate of the color Doppler image is lower than the frame rate of the B mode image. In order to improve the frame rate of the color Doppler image, the color Doppler image is generated only for a partial region called a region of interest (ROI) or a color window, and is combined with a B mode image and output. The position and size of the partial area for generating the color Doppler image can be set and changed by the user.

When the color Doppler mode or the CFM (Color Flow Mapping) mode is set, the control unit 101 enables the generation of the color Doppler image by the Doppler processing unit 107 and the image composition by the image composition unit 111. Further, the control unit 101 controls the drive circuit 104 so as to drive the ultrasonic vibrator with a drive pattern for generating a B mode image and a color Doppler image.

Further, the Doppler processing unit 107 has an MTI (Moving Target Indicator) filter, and generates a Doppler image for signals in the band that has passed through the MTI filter. The MTI filter, also called a wall filter, is a type of high-pass filter and is used to adjust the lower limit of the movement to be displayed in color. Generally, the cutoff frequency of the MTI filter is user adjustable.

The B mode processing unit 109 can perform signal processing corresponding to the B mode (mode in which the intensity of the reflected wave is expressed by the brightness) with respect to the reflected wave data stored in the system memory 103. Among the reflected wave data stored in the system memory, the address where the reflected wave data of the scanning line to be displayed in the B mode is stored is given to the B mode processing unit 109 from the control unit 101, for example. The B-mode processing unit 109 generates an image showing the relationship between the depth and the intensity of the reflected wave for each target scanning line, and stores the image in the coordinate conversion memory 110. In this embodiment, only the B mode processing unit 109 that generates a B mode image that is generally combined with the color Doppler image is described, but the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 includes other A mode images, M mode images, and the like. It has a function to generate a known ultrasonic image.

The coordinate conversion memories 108 and 110 are for displaying a one-dimensional image in the depth direction generated by the Doppler processing unit 107 and the B-mode processing unit 109 in units of scanning lines as a two-dimensional image on the display unit 112 of the raster scan method. Used for coordinate transformation. Although the coordinate conversion memories 108 and 110 are described as separate blocks, they may be implemented as different address blocks in one memory space.

The image synthesizing unit 111 generates a display image having a format according to the setting from the images stored in the coordinate conversion memories 108 and 110, and outputs the display image to the display unit 112 as an ultrasonic image. For example, in the case of performing CFM display, a display image is generated by synthesizing the CFM image read from the coordinate conversion memory 108 with the B mode image read from the coordinate conversion memory 110. Further, when the B / PW mode display is performed, a display image in which the B mode image read from the coordinate conversion memory 110 and the FFT waveform image read from the coordinate conversion memory 108 are arranged is generated. The format of the display image is determined according to the measurement mode and user settings. The control unit 101 controls whether or not the image composition unit 111 synthesizes images according to the set mode.

The display unit 112 is a display (touch display) capable of detecting a touch operation, and displays an image output by the image synthesizing unit 111. Further, a part of the display screen of the display unit 112 may be used as a display area for software keys. In this case, the ultrasonic image output by the image synthesizing unit 111 is displayed in an area other than the display area of the software key on the display screen.

The operation unit 113 is an input device for the user to input an instruction to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100. As will be described later, the operation unit 113 in the present embodiment is provided on the back side when the display screen of the display unit 112 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 is the front or the front of the housing of the main body 120. The touch panel provided in the display unit 112 and the power switch for enabling the software keys to be operated by touch operation are also input devices for the user to input instructions to the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100, but in the present embodiment, the operation unit Treat as separate from 113.

The external interface (I / F) 114 is a communication interface for communicably connecting the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 and the external device. The external I / F 114 communicates with an external device by wire or wirelessly. The external I / F 114 may be provided with a connector or terminal for connecting an external device directly or via a cable or the like, or may be provided with a transmitter / receiver for wireless communication with the external device. Communication with an external device may follow a protocol conforming to a standard or a proprietary specification.

As shown in FIG. 1, the operation unit 113 may be provided in the housing of the main body 120, or may be an external device communicably connected through the external I / F 114. In either case, the operation unit 113 is provided on the back side when the display screen of the display unit 112 is the front or the front of the housing of the main body 120.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an external example of the main body 120 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100. The main body 120 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 of the present embodiment has a flat plate-shaped housing, and the display screen 112A of the display unit 112 is arranged on the front surface (front surface) of the housing. FIG. 2A is a plan view showing a configuration example of the front surface (front surface) of the main body 120, and FIGS. 2 (b) and 2 (c) are plan views showing a configuration example of the back surface (back surface) of the main body 120. Although the probe 130 is omitted in FIG. 2, it is connected to, for example, the right side surface in FIG. 2A.

As shown in FIG. 2A, most of the front surface of the main body 120 of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 of the present embodiment is the display screen 112A, and the power switch is provided on the side surface of the main body 120, for example. The display screen 112A is divided into an area A for displaying an ultrasonic image, an area B for displaying information such as a patient name and a date and time, and an area C for displaying a software key. Here, the display direction and layout of the display screen 112A are designed so as to encourage the user to hold the left end of the housing of the main body 120 with one hand. In addition to designing the display screen, the housing structure may be such that the user is encouraged to hold the left end of the housing of the main body 120 with one hand. Specifically, a member that assists holding is provided on the left end or the back of the housing (for example, a handle through which a hand is passed, a protrusion that is easily pinched by fingers, etc.), or a shape that makes it easy to hold the shape on the left end side of the housing with one hand. May be. The method of dividing the areas A to C is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2 (a). For example, the area C may not exist and the software key may be displayed at the bottom of the area A.

In the present embodiment, the operation unit 113 is provided on the back surface (back surface) of the housing. 2 (a) and 2 (b) show an example in which a touch pad is provided as the operation unit 113. The touch pad is widely used as a pointing device in a notebook personal computer, and can recognize various touch operations by detecting the touch position (coordinates) and its change with time.

The operation unit 113 is arranged at a position shifted to the lower right from the center of the housing of the main body 120 indicated by a cross in FIG. 2 (b). This is based on the assumption of a position that is easy to operate with either the index finger or the little finger that supports the back side of the housing when the left end of the main body 120 is sandwiched and held by one hand. Therefore, the size of the operation unit 113 is also set to such that an arbitrary position can be touch-operated with the fingers of the hand supporting the main body.

FIG. 2C shows an example in which physical switches 113A and 113B and a pointing device (trackball or joystick) 113C are provided as the operation unit 113. Also in this case, the position, size, and arrangement of the operation unit are determined so that they can be easily operated by the fingers of the hand supporting the main body. The switches 113A and 113B are, for example, switches that are urged upward (OFF direction) and are turned on only while they are pressed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the position of the operation unit 113 may be configured to be movable relative to the housing of the main body 120 in order to correspond to individual differences such as the size of the hand and the length of the fingers. .. FIG. 3 schematically shows an example in which the operation unit 113 of FIGS. 2B and 2C is configured to be movable to the left and right with respect to the housing. When the operation unit 113 is movable with respect to the housing, the operation unit 113 may be arranged on the movable members 1131 and 113D, and the movable members 1131 and 113D may be configured to be movable with respect to the housing. There is no particular limitation on the configuration in which the movable member can be moved with respect to the housing, and for example, the movable member may be movable along a rail or a groove provided in the housing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the correspondence between the display screen 112A and the operation unit 113 when the operation unit 113 is a touch pad. Both FIGS. 4A and 4B show a plan view of the housing viewed from the front and a plan view of the operation unit 113 viewed from the back below. FIG. 4A shows a case where the effective area 113A at which the coordinates can be detected by the operation unit 113 corresponds to the entire display screen 112A. Further, in FIG. 4B, the effective region 113A in which the coordinates can be detected by the operation unit 113 corresponds to a predetermined region (here, the region A in FIG. 2A) which is a part of the display screen 112A. Indicates the case.

Further, the point P indicates the correspondence between the coordinates of the operation unit 113 and the coordinates of the display screen 112A. The operation unit 113 has coordinates associated with the display screen 112A so as to realize an operation such as pointing the display screen 112A from the back surface of the main body 120. That is, as shown in the above figure, when the point P in the effective area 113A of the operation unit 113 is touched from the back surface, it is treated as if the point P of the display screen 112A was touched from the front surface. The control unit 101 handles the coordinates of the operation unit 113.

The point P is actually the position shown in the figure below. Therefore, the control unit 101 handles the coordinates (x, y) of the operation unit 113 as the coordinates (n × (hmax−x), m × y) on the display screen 112A. This corresponds to treating the coordinates of the operation unit 113 as the coordinates when the operation unit 113 is viewed from the display screen side, and applying a magnification based on the difference in size between the operation unit 113 and the display screen 112A. .. Here, the maximum horizontal and vertical coordinate values of the effective region 113A are set to hmax and vmax, and the maximum horizontal and vertical directions of the area of the display screen 112A corresponding to the effective region 113A (here, the entire display screen 112A). Assuming that the coordinate values are Hmax and Vmax, n = Hmax / hmax and m = Vmax / vmax.

According to the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the user can operate the display screen 112A by operating the touch pad from the back surface of the housing. In particular, the touchpad is displayed by associating the effective area 113A of the touchpad with a predetermined area of the display screen 112A and treating the coordinates of the operation position of the touchpad as the coordinates when the touchpad is viewed from the display screen side. It can be regarded as a reduced object of the screen 112A, and an intuitive operation such as touching the display screen 112A from the back surface can be realized.

On the other hand, when the operation unit 113 includes the physical switches 113A and 113B and the pointing device 113C as shown in FIGS. 2C and 3B, the control unit 101 operates the pointing device 113C. The pointer (cursor) to be displayed on the display screen 112A is moved accordingly. When the operation of the switch 113A (or 113B) is detected, the control unit 101 interprets it as a selection instruction for the position of the pointer at that time. One of the switches 113A and 113B is assigned a function for giving a determination or selection instruction to the position of the pointer, and the other may be assigned another function often used in the device, for example. For example, when the biometric information processing device is an ultrasonic diagnostic device as in the present embodiment, for example, the function of the freeze button (still / release of the ultrasonic image) can be assigned. The switches 113A and 113B and the pointing device 113C may be assigned different functions depending on the state of the device (for example, the operation mode).

The control unit 101 also handles the operation direction of the pointing device 113C as the operation direction seen from the display screen 112A side (the horizontal direction is handled by inverting the left and right sides). As a result, for example, when it is desired to move the cursor to the right, the pointing device 113C may be operated to the right when viewed from the display screen 112A side (to the left when viewed from the back side), and the operation intended by the user can be performed. It can be easily realized.

(Modification example 1)
As described above, the operation unit 113 may be an external type that can be attached to and detached from the main body 120. In this case, for example, the operation unit 113 may also serve as a case for protecting the back surface of the main body 120, such as a smartphone case. When the operation unit 113 is an external type, communication between the operation unit 113 and the main body 120 (control unit 101) is performed through the external I / F 114. The operating unit 113 may be electrically connected to the external I / F 114 by a cable or a contact, or the operating unit 113 and the external I / F 114 have a wireless communication function such as Bluetooth® and are mutually connected. Wireless communication may be used.

(Modification 2)
The above-mentioned configuration is mainly intended to improve operability when holding the housing with one hand. Therefore, for example, in the configuration in which the touch pad is used as the operation unit 113, the touch pad smaller than the display screen 112A is arranged at a position where it can be operated by a hand holding the housing. However, for a device that can be used while holding the housing with both hands, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a touch pad having an effective area 113A having the same size as the display screen 112A may be provided as the operation unit 113.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, if the touch pad is arranged on the back side of the housing so that the effective area 113A corresponds to the display screen 112A, the user touches the display screen 112A directly from the back side. You can operate it intuitively as if you were operating it. The control unit 101 may handle the touch coordinates of the touch pad with the magnifications n and m described in the first embodiment as 1.

(Modification 3)
The operation unit 113 provided on the back side of the main body housing is used in combination with the software keys displayed on the display screen 112A and the operation members (hardware keys, switches, buttons, etc.) provided on the front and side surfaces of the housing. May be good. In this case, for example, the operation unit 113 can be operated with a finger (index finger to little finger) supporting the back surface of the housing, and the software key and the operation member can be operated with the thumb. For example, when it is desired to finely adjust the position of the pointer (cursor), a configuration is conceivable in which the display magnification in a predetermined range including the pointer position is changed by sliding the software key with the thumb. In this case, fine adjustment can be easily performed by adjusting the zoom magnification with the thumb on the front side while moving the pointer with the finger on the back side. It should be noted that the description described here is merely an example, and may be combined with software keys and operating members of other functions. It should be noted that the software keys are used only as an auxiliary, and in order to facilitate the operation of the software keys with the thumb, it is better to minimize the number of software keys and increase one software key. Further, an operation member used in combination with the operation unit 113 on the back surface is provided on the side surface of the housing so that the operation unit 113 on the back surface can be easily operated with another finger while pressing the operation member with one finger. You may. In particular, when the device is small enough to hold both side surfaces of the housing, it is preferable to provide an operating member on the side surface for better operability.

The type of touch operation effective for the touch pad and the type of operation effective for the switches 113A and 113B are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately determined according to the application of the device, the operation mode, and the like. Specifically, in the program executed by the control unit 101, the types of effective operations and what kind of operation is performed for the effective operations may be described in advance.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the biometric information processing device having the housing provided with the display screen, the operation unit for operating the biometric information processing device is operated on the back side of the housing. I tried to place it in. This makes it possible to improve operability when using the biometric information processing device while holding the housing by hand.

Although the configuration in which the display screen is a touch display has been described in the present invention, it is not essential that the display screen is a touch display in the present invention. Even for a biometric information processing device equipped with a display screen that does not have a touch detection function, by providing an operation unit on the back side, the housing can be made smaller, the screen can be made larger, and operability can be achieved while holding the housing. Can be improved. For the same reason, the use of software keys is not mandatory.

The bio-information processing device according to the present invention is application software that realizes the functions of the bio-information processing device in a generally available electronic device that can execute a program such as a personal computer, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal. It can also be achieved by executing it. Therefore, such a program and a storage medium (an optical recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, a magnetic recording medium such as a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory card, etc.) in which the program is stored also constitute the present invention. ..

100 ... Ultrasonic diagnostic device, 101 ... Control unit, 104 ... Drive circuit, 106 ... Drive circuit, 107 ... Color Doppler processing unit, 109 ... B mode processing unit, 111 ... Image composition unit, 112 ... Display unit, 113 ... Operation Department

Claims (13)

It is a biometric information processing device
With the housing
A display unit having a display screen provided in the housing and
It has an operation unit that operates the biometric information processing device, and
A biological information processing device, characterized in that the operation unit is arranged so as to perform an operation on the back side of the housing when the display screen of the display unit is the front side of the housing. The biometric information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is arranged at a position deviated from the center of the back surface of the housing. The biometric information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the operation unit can be adjusted with respect to the housing. The biometric information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation unit is removable from the housing. The biometric information processing device according to claim 4, wherein the operating unit also serves as a case for the housing. The biometric information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the operation unit has a touch pad. The biometric information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the touchpad is smaller than the display screen. The bio-information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the coordinates of the effective region of the touch pad correspond to the coordinates of a predetermined region of the display screen. The biometric information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined area is the entire display screen. The biometric information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined area is an area of the display screen for displaying biometric information. The bio-information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the operating unit includes at least one of a pointing device and a switch. The biometric information processing device according to claim 11, wherein the pointing device is a joystick or a trackball. Any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the coordinates input from the operation unit or the operation direction of the operation unit are treated as the coordinates or the operation direction when the operation unit is viewed from the display screen side. The biometric information processing device described in the section.