JP2023122887A - Affected part determination device, affected part determination method, and affected part determination program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an affected part determination device, an affected part determination method, and an affected part determination program capable of accurately determining a state of an affected part of a subject.SOLUTION: An affected part determination device 12 includes: a determination part 20 disposed at an arbitrary part of a subject, in which two or more electrode parts 24 constituted of a current electrode and a voltage electrode are provided; a frequency setting part 40 for setting a frequency of a current flowing between the electrode parts 24; a biological impedance calculation part 46 for calculating biological impedance between the electrode parts 24 that are brought into contact with the subject; and an affected part determination part for determining a state of an affected part between the electrode parts 24 on the basis of the calculated biological impedance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a diseased part determination device, a diseased part determination method, and a diseased part determination program.

Techniques for measuring the bioimpedance of a subject and determining the physical condition of the subject from the bioimpedance have been developed.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an affected part recovery state determination method that determines the recovery state of an affected part of a person to be measured based on a change in the bioimpedance value of the person to be measured, and displays the determined recovery state of the affected part of the person to be measured. A device is described.

JP 2005-95384 A

In Patent Document 1, the recovery state of the subject's affected area is determined based on the change in the bioimpedance value, but the electrodes are arranged at fixed positions so as to be in contact with the subject's fingers and soles. . Therefore, in the apparatus of Patent Document 1, the state of the affected part is determined from the bioimpedance of the subject's whole body or the like. Therefore, the apparatus of Patent Literature 1 cannot perform measurement for discovering inflammation in which the person to be measured does not know which part of the body has the inflammation. Moreover, the condition of the affected part in the depth direction with respect to the body of the subject cannot be determined.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a diseased part determination device, a diseased part determination method, and a diseased part determination program capable of more accurately determining the state of a subject's diseased part.

A diseased part determination device according to one aspect of the present invention includes measuring means that can be arranged at any site of a subject and is provided with two or more electrode units each composed of a current electrode and a voltage electrode; frequency setting means for setting the frequency of the current to flow; calculation means for calculating the electrical resistance between the electrode portions in contact with the subject; and based on the electrical resistance calculated by the calculation means, and determination means for determining the state of the part.

According to this configuration, since the electrode portion can be brought into contact with any part of the person to be measured, the position of the affected part can be specified. Also, by controlling the frequency of the electric current, the depth of the electric current to the body can be changed, so the depth of the affected area can also be specified. Thus, according to this configuration, since the position and depth of the affected part are specified, the condition of the affected part of the subject can be determined more accurately.

In the above-described affected part determination apparatus, the determination means may determine the state of the part based on a difference between the electrical resistance calculated a predetermined period ago and the current electrical resistance of the part. . According to this configuration, it is possible to accurately determine the change over time of the affected part of the subject.

In the above-described affected area determination device, the determination means may determine the state of the site based on the obtained differences in electrical resistance at the plurality of different sites. According to this configuration, the position of the affected part of the person to be measured can be specified accurately.

In the above-described affected part determination apparatus, the determination means determines the subject based on the electrical resistance between the electrode units calculated by changing the frequency of the current flowing between the electrode units or the distance between the electrode units. may determine the state of the site in the depth direction. According to this configuration, the state of the subject's affected area in the depth direction can be specified.

In the above-described affected part determination device, the measurement means may be attachable to the body of the subject. According to this configuration, the condition of the affected part of the person to be measured can be determined more accurately.

In the affected part determination device described above, the distance between the electrode parts may be changeable. According to this configuration, the position of the affected part of the person to be measured can be specified accurately.

A method for determining an affected area according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for determining an affected area using a measuring means that can be placed at any site of a subject and has two or more electrode units each composed of a current electrode and a voltage electrode. a first step in which a setting means sets the frequency of the current flowing between the electrode portions; a second step in which a calculating means calculates an electrical resistance between the electrode portions in contact with the subject; and a third step of determining the state of the portion between the electrode portions based on the electrical resistance calculated in the step.

A program for determining a diseased part according to one aspect of the present invention is a computer of a diseased part determination device that can be arranged at an arbitrary site of a subject and includes a measuring means provided with two or more electrode units each composed of a current electrode and a voltage electrode. based on the frequency setting means for setting the frequency of the current flowing between the electrode portions, the calculation means for calculating the electrical resistance between the electrode portions in contact with the subject, and the electrical resistance calculated by the calculation means It functions as determination means for determining the state of the portion between the electrode portions.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the state of a to-be-measured person's affected part can be determined more correctly.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an affected area determination system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the affected part determination device of the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the current frequency and the depth of the measurement site. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the current frequency or the inter-electrode distance and the depth of the measurement site. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of affected area determination processing according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for specifying the affected area by changing the inter-electrode distance and the current frequency. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the magnitude of the Z ratio and the nature of inflammation occurring in the affected area. FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of an affected part determination device of another embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the embodiment described below is an example of the case of carrying out the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the specific configuration described below. In carrying out the present invention, a specific configuration according to the embodiment may be appropriately adopted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an affected area determination system 10 of this embodiment. The diseased part determination system 10 includes a diseased part determination device 12 and a server 14 .

The affected part determination device 12 determines the state of the affected part of the subject by applying an electric current to an arbitrary part of the subject and locally measuring bioimpedance, which is electrical resistance. For example, when inflammation, tumors, wounds, and other abnormalities occur at a predetermined site of a person to be measured as an affected area, moisture accumulates in the affected area, the temperature of the affected area increases, and the state of cells deteriorates. It may be different from the normal part. For this reason, the bioimpedance of a site where an affected part exists differs from that of a normal site where no affected part is present, so the presence or absence of the affected part and the state of the affected part can be determined based on the bioimpedance.

In addition, the arbitrary parts to which the current is applied are, for example, parts such as arms, legs, abdomen, chest, etc., or areas narrower than these parts (for example, in the case of arms, forearms, elbows, shoulders, etc.). be. That is, in this embodiment, as an example, the current path length is about the length of an arm or a leg at the longest. In addition, an arbitrary site to which the electric current is applied, in other words, a site where the affected part exists is preliminarily estimated by the subject himself/herself or a medical worker. Then, the affected part determination device 12 determines the accurate position of the affected part and the state of the affected part by applying an electric current to such an arbitrary part.

The affected part determination device 12 of the present embodiment includes a measuring section 20 and a body section 22 . Note that the person who measures the bioimpedance using the affected area determination device 12 is the subject himself or herself, a medical worker, or the like.

The measurement unit 20 can be arranged at any part of the person to be measured, and is provided with two electrode units 24 each composed of a current electrode 24A and a voltage electrode 24B. The measurement unit 20 of the present embodiment is a bandage that can be worn by a person to be measured, and is wrapped around the person to be measured, for example.

The measurement unit 20 is not limited to bandages, and may be made of highly flexible materials that can be worn by the subject, such as belts, arm covers, leg covers, socks, innerwear, clothes, and wristband-like wearable devices. . Moreover, the measurement unit 20 may be shaped so that the measurement person holds it and presses the electrode unit 24 against the measurement subject's body instead of wearing the measurement unit 20 on the body.

The shape and material of the measurement unit 20 are not limited as long as the bioelectrical impedance of any part of the subject can be measured. The shape and material of the measuring part 20 are selected according to the position of the affected part of the person to be measured, the lifestyle, the bioimpedance measuring method, and the like. If the bioimpedance at the same position of the person to be measured is to be periodically measured, for example, by using a bandage as the measurement unit 20, the electrode unit 24 can be fixed to the position of the person to be measured. It is preferable that the On the other hand, when measuring the subject's bioimpedance at a plurality of points, it is preferable that the measuring section 20 be held by the subject and have a shape that facilitates changing the position of the electrode section 24 with respect to the subject.

The current electrode 24A and the voltage electrode 24B are arranged in the measuring section 20 so as to contact the body of the subject. The current electrode 24A and the voltage electrode 24B are, for example, metal, but are not limited to this, and may be, for example, gel-like or fiber-like as long as they are conductive members.

It should be noted that the position of the electrode section 24 in the measurement section 20 may be adjustable so that the distance between the electrode sections 24 (hereinafter referred to as "inter-electrode distance") may be changed. By changing the inter-electrode distance, the position and depth of the affected area can be determined in detail. That is, when the inter-electrode distance is short, a narrow area on the surface of the person to be measured is measured, so the position of the affected part can be determined in more detail. In addition, the shorter the inter-electrode distance, the more the state of the affected part at the shallower position of the subject's body can be determined. On the other hand, when the inter-electrode distance is long, a large area of the subject's surface is measured, so the state of the affected area can be determined with a small number of measurements. In addition, the longer the inter-electrode distance, the more the condition of the affected part in the deeper part of the body can be determined. The affected part determination device 12 stores the inter-electrode distance, and uses the inter-electrode distance to calculate the bioimpedance and determine the depth of the affected part.

The main unit 22 applies current to the current electrode 24A and detects voltage by the voltage electrode 24B, thereby measuring the bioimpedance of any part of the subject's body. Then, the main unit 22 performs processing (affected area determination processing) for determining the state of the affected area that has occurred at the site based on the bioimpedance.

The measuring section 20 and the body section 22 are electrically connected by a flexible cable 30 . Thereby, the measurement unit 20 can be arranged at any part of the body of the person to be measured. Also, the measuring section 20 and the cable 30 are detachably connected by a connector 32 . Thereby, various shaped measurement units 20 can be connected to the main unit 22 .

Also, the main unit 22 includes a monitor 26 and a power switch 28 . The monitor 26 is, for example, a touch panel display, receives input of various setting values, and displays determination results of the affected area determination process. The power switch 28 accepts an ON operation and an OFF operation of the power supply of the main unit 22 .

The server 14 receives the measured bioimpedance and the determination result of the affected area determination process from the affected area determination device 12, and stores them in chronological order for each site of the subject. The past bioimpedance and determination results stored in the server 14 are transmitted to the diseased part determination device 12 and used for the diseased part determination process. In addition, the bioimpedance for each part of the person to be measured and the determination results stored in the server 14 can be browsed by, for example, an information processing device used by the person to be measured or a medical worker.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the affected part determination device 12 of this embodiment. The main body 22 of the affected part determination device 12 includes a frequency setting part 40, a current application control part 42, a voltage detection part 44, a bioimpedance calculation part 46, an affected part determination part 48, a monitor control part 50, a storage part 52, and a communication part 54. Prepare. Each function executed by each unit shown in FIG. 2 may be executed by a calculation unit provided in the diseased part determination device 12 by starting a program as an example, or may be executed by an individual hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). hardware.

The frequency setting unit 40 sets the frequency of the current that is passed between the electrode units 24 (hereinafter referred to as "current frequency"). The current frequency of the present embodiment can be arbitrarily set within a predetermined frequency range. Among the settable frequencies, a relatively low frequency is referred to as a low frequency, and a relatively high frequency is referred to as a high frequency. Note that the frequency domain of this embodiment is, for example, about 1 kHz to 3 MHz.

The current application control section 42 controls on/off of the current set by the frequency setting section 40 . As a result, when the current is turned on, the current flows from the current electrode 24A in contact with the person to be measured to the person to be measured.

The voltage detection unit 44 detects, via the voltage electrode 24B, a voltage generated by applying a current to the current electrode 24A.

Based on the voltage detected by the voltage detection unit 44, the bioimpedance calculation unit 46 calculates bioimpedance, which is the electrical resistance between the electrode units 24 in contact with the subject.

The affected part determining section 48 determines the state of the site between the electrode sections 24 based on the bioimpedance calculated by the bioimpedance calculating section 46 .

The monitor control unit 50 controls the monitor 26 so as to display the results of determination by the affected area determining unit 48 and the like.

The storage unit 52 is, for example, a non-volatile memory, and stores various data, programs used for the affected area determination process, determination results by the affected area determination unit 48, and the like.

The communication unit 54 transmits and receives data to and from another information processing device such as the server 14 .

The affected part determination apparatus 12 of the present embodiment automatically changes the current frequency within a predetermined frequency range by the frequency setting unit 40, and the calculated bioimpedance becomes a different value from the other frequency ranges. may be set as a fixed value. In other words, the current in the fixed frequency range measures the affected part of the person being measured. Then, the diseased part determination device 12 may determine the state of the diseased part with higher accuracy by repeatedly calculating the bioimpedance in the range of frequencies set as the fixed values.

Next, the relationship between the current frequency and the depth of the measurement site will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 schematically shows the difference between the current frequency and the current path when there is no affected part at the measurement site and when there is an affected part at the measurement site.

As shown in FIG. 3, regardless of the presence or absence of an affected area, the high-frequency current has a relatively deeper current path than the low-frequency current. Since it flows avoiding the affected part, it becomes a shallow current path. Also, the current path differs depending on the condition of the affected area. For example, a soft inflammation results in a deeper current path than a hard inflammation or blood clot in the affected area. Also, when there is a hard inflammation or blood clot, the high-frequency current becomes a current path that passes through the affected area, but the low-frequency current does not pass through the affected area, and the body that does not have the affected area. It becomes a current path through the surface. The reason for this is that low-frequency current cannot pass through foreign substances such as hard inflammations and blood clots that have a large number of cell membranes. Thus, the stiffer the affected area, the shallower the current path, since low-frequency current cannot pass through the affected area.

As shown in FIG. 3, the difference in the frequency of the current and the presence or absence of the diseased part or the state of the diseased part cause differences in current paths, resulting in differences in bioimpedance. In other words, the bioimpedance measured by the high-frequency current is lower than that of the low-frequency current in the non-affected normal part. Also, even in soft inflammatory lesions, the bioimpedance measured by high frequency current is lower than by low frequency current.

The bioimpedance of the soft, inflamed affected area is higher than the bioimpedance of the normal area. In addition, the bioimpedance of an affected area with hard inflammation or blood clots is also lower than the bioimpedance of a normal area and an affected area with soft inflammation. Furthermore, in lesions with hard inflammation or blood clots, the low frequency current path does not pass through the lesion, resulting in a lower bioimpedance measured by high frequency current than by low frequency current.

Incidentally, the bioimpedance of the normal part may be stored in advance in the storage unit 52 as a general value. Alternatively, the bioimpedance of a part of the subject's body that is clearly not affected may be measured in advance and used as the bioimpedance of a normal part. Alternatively, bioimpedance according to the condition of the affected part may be stored in advance as reference information, and the condition of the affected part may be determined by comparing this reference information with the measured bioimpedance.

The current path also changes according to the distance between the electrodes, and the longer the distance between the electrodes, the deeper the current path passes through the human body. Therefore, if the inter-electrode distance is constant, the depth of the affected area is determined by the current frequency. On the other hand, when changing the frequency of the current and the distance between the electrodes, the depth of the affected area is determined based on the frequency of the current and the distance between the electrodes.

Next, a method for determining an affected area will be described. Methods for determining the affected area include (1) determining recovery of the affected area, (2) determining the position and size of the affected area, and (3) determining the depth of the affected area. In addition, the diseased part determination device 12 and the server 14 determine the recovery of the diseased part, determine the position and size of the diseased part, and determine the depth of the diseased part. The body part, bioimpedance value, inter-electrode distance, current frequency, etc. are stored as a database in association with the determination result.

(1) Determination of Recovery of Affected Part The state of recovery of the affected part is determined for the same part of the person to be measured based on the time-series change in bioimpedance. That is, in determining the recovery of the affected area, the bioimpedance is periodically measured for several days to several months, and the change state of the affected area is determined. As described above, when inflammation or the like occurs, moisture accumulates in the relevant part and the temperature rises, so the bioimpedance of the relevant part changes compared to when it is normal. Then, when the inflammation or the like recovers, the moisture state and the like return to normal, so the bioimpedance also returns to normal. The condition of the affected part is determined by the degree of return.

Specifically, the affected part determination unit 48 reads the bioimpedance of the same part that was measured in the past (predetermined period of time ago) stored in the server 14 . Then, the affected part determination unit 48 determines the state of the site (affected part) based on the difference between the bioimpedance measured a predetermined period ago and the current bioimpedance. The predetermined period is a period in which a change in the condition of the affected area can be expected, and is, for example, several days to one week or more before. In this way, in determining the recovery of the affected area, the degree of recovery of the affected area is determined based on the state of change in the bioelectrical impedance, so changes over time in the affected area of the subject can be accurately determined.

(2) Determining the position and size of the affected part Bioimpedance is measured in a grid pattern, for example, while shifting the measuring unit 20 at predetermined intervals with respect to the rough region where the affected part is estimated to exist in the person to be measured. . The number of electrode portions 24 may be further increased and the electrode portions 24 may be arranged two-dimensionally. As a result, it is possible to easily determine the bioimpedance in a grid pattern in determining the position and size of the affected area.

As described above, the bioimpedance differs between a site with an affected area and a site without an affected area. Therefore, the affected part determination unit 48 determines the state of the part based on the obtained difference in bioimpedance between the different parts. Specifically, the affected part determination unit 48 determines that a part having a bioelectrical impedance different from that of a normal part by a predetermined value or more is a part having an affected part. This predetermined value is determined in advance according to the type and condition of the assumed affected area. In addition, by measuring the bioimpedance of the person to be measured in a grid pattern, the size of the affected part occurring in the person to be measured can also be determined. In this way, in determining the position and size of the affected part, the position and size of the affected part of the subject can be specified accurately.

(3) Depth Determination of Affected Part For the same part of the person to be measured, the current is varied between low and high frequencies, and bioimpedance is measured at each frequency. As shown in FIG. 4, the higher the current frequency, the deeper the bioimpedance is measured. For this reason, bioimpedance is measured by applying currents of a plurality of different frequencies, and the affected part determination unit 48 determines that a part with a different value and depth from a normal part is a part where an affected part exists.

Also, the inter-electrode distance may be varied in order to measure the depth of the affected area. As shown in FIG. 4, the longer the distance between the electrodes, the deeper the bioimpedance is measured. Whether to change the current frequency or the inter-electrode distance to determine the depth of the affected area is determined by the position of the affected area.

In this way, in determining the depth of the affected area, the state of the site in the depth direction of the subject is determined based on the bioimpedance calculated by changing the frequency of the current flowing between the electrode sections 24 or the distance between the electrode sections 24. judge. Determination of the depth of the affected part may be performed in combination with determination of recovery of the affected part and determination of the position and size of the affected part.

As described above, the subject himself/herself or a medical professional can more accurately determine the affected area on the subject's body by determining the recovery of the affected area, determining the position and size of the affected area, and determining the depth of the affected area. It can recognize and take action according to the determination result.

For example, by measuring the bioimpedance with the affected area determination device 12 on a daily basis, the subject can recognize the site and depth of internal pain such as muscle pain, in other words, the site where the body is stressed. For example, in the case of athletes, by measuring bioimpedance on a daily basis, it is possible to create an appropriate training menu that considers the muscles and parts of the body that are stressed, and a recovery menu that promotes recovery of the affected area. .

In addition, by periodically measuring the bioimpedance of the subject's body at equal intervals, it is possible to quickly recognize the site where an abnormality in the body such as a tumor is occurring, and also to determine the state of progression or recovery of the tumor. The condition can also be easily recognized by the subject himself/herself. In addition, the determination result of the affected area is stored in the server 14, and the medical staff can view the determination result, so that the subject can obtain advice from the medical staff without going to a medical institution. In addition, the person to be measured can go to a medical institution at an appropriate timing according to the progression state or recovery state of the affected area and be examined by a medical professional. As a result, it is possible to reduce the number of patients who visit medical institutions, reduce the waiting time of patients, and reduce the burden on medical institutions.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the flow of the diseased part determination process executed by the diseased part determination device 12 . The affected part determination process is started when an instruction to start the affected part determination process is input to the main unit 22 .

First, in step S100, the current frequency and the inter-electrode distance are set in accordance with the inputs of the affected area determination device 12 by the operator. Settings of the current frequency and the inter-electrode distance are input via the monitor 26, which is a touch panel display, for example. The frequency setting unit 40 sets the input current frequency. When determining the depth of the affected part, for example, the change range and change width of the current frequency are input. The inter-electrode distance is a value corresponding to the actual distance between the electrode parts 24 and is input to the bioimpedance calculator 46 and the affected part determiner 48 .

In the next step 102, the current application control section 42 applies a current of the set frequency to the current electrode 24A. As a result, current flows between the electrode portions 24 that are in contact with the subject.

In the next step 104, the voltage detection section 44 detects the voltage generated by the current flow through the voltage electrode 24B.

In the next step 106 , the bioimpedance calculator 46 calculates bioimpedance (BI) based on the voltage detected by the voltage detector 44 .

In the next step 108, it is determined whether or not the calculation of the bioelectrical impedance for the predetermined part of the subject has been completed. On the other hand, if the determination is negative, steps 102 to 108 are repeated until the calculation of bioelectrical impedance is completed.

Note that, for example, when performing the position/size determination of the affected area, step 108 makes an affirmative determination when the bioimpedance measurement for the predetermined region is completed. Further, when the depth of the affected part is to be determined, step 108 makes an affirmative determination when the measurement of the bioelectrical impedance by the current of the set change range and change width is completed.

In the next step 110, the affected part determination unit 48 determines the affected part based on the calculated bioimpedance. For example, when judging the recovery of the affected area, the affected area judging unit 48 compares the bioimpedance at the same site of the subject a predetermined period of time ago with the current bioimpedance, and judges the degree of recovery of the affected area. When performing the position/size determination of the affected area, the affected area determination unit 48 determines a site that differs from other bioimpedances by a predetermined value or more among the plurality of calculated bioimpedances as a location where the affected area is generated.

In the next step 112, the determination result by the diseased part determination unit 48 is output, and the diseased part determination process is terminated. Outputting the determination result is, for example, displaying the determination result on the monitor 26 or transmitting the determination result to the server 14 .

In this way, the affected part determining apparatus 12 of the present embodiment can specify the position of the affected part because the electrode part 24 can be brought into contact with any part of the person to be measured. Also, by controlling the current frequency, it is possible to change the depth to which the current flows with respect to the body, so the depth of the affected part can also be specified. In this way, the affected part determination device 12 of the embodiment specifies the position and depth of the affected part, so that the condition of the affected part of the subject can be determined more accurately.

FIG. 6 is an example of a flow chart showing the flow of processing for specifying the affected area by changing the inter-electrode distance and the current frequency.

First, in step 200, the bioimpedance is calculated by changing the inter-electrode distance or the electrode frequency for each site. Acquiring the bioimpedance by changing the inter-electrode distance and the electrode frequency means obtaining the depth of the affected area.

In the next step 202 , the bioimpedance values calculated (acquired) by changing the inter-electrode distance or current frequency for each site are stored in the storage unit 52 . That is, the storage unit 52 stores the bioimpedance associated with the site and the inter-electrode distance or the current frequency.

In the next step 204, it is determined whether or not the calculation of the bioelectrical impedance for all parts has been completed. On the other hand, if the determination is negative, the process returns to step 200 to calculate the bioelectrical impedance for each site.

At step 206, bioimpedances measured at different inter-electrode distances or current frequencies at the same site are compared. Then, the inter-electrode distance or the current frequency at which the bioimpedance having different values is obtained is obtained. That is, the distance between the electrodes or the current frequency measured at the affected area at each site is obtained.

Also, in step 208, the bioimpedances of different parts are compared by changing the distance between the electrodes or the current frequency. Then, the inter-electrode distance or the current frequency at the site where the bioimpedance having different values is obtained is obtained. That is, the inter-electrode distance or the current frequency at the site where the affected part exists can be obtained.

In the next step 210, the bioimpedance obtained in steps 206 and 208 (hereinafter referred to as "current data") is compared with the bioimpedance obtained in the past (hereinafter referred to as "past data"). If the values of the current data and the past data are different, it means that the affected area has newly developed or the condition of the affected area has changed. Therefore, the depth of the affected area is calculated based on the inter-electrode distance or the value of the current frequency for which data is currently acquired.

The next step 212 is to estimate the nature of the affected area. In this embodiment, properties such as stiffness of the affected area of inflammation are estimated based on the electrical characteristics obtained by changing the current frequency. The electric characteristic here is, for example, the Z ratio. The Z-ratio is the ratio of the bioimpedance obtained with high-frequency current and the bioimpedance obtained with low-frequency current, and is obtained, for example, by Cole-Cole plot or phase angle.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the magnitude of the Z ratio and the nature of inflammation (foreign matter) occurring in the affected area. As shown in FIG. 7, the smaller the Z ratio, the softer the inflammation of the affected area, which is closer to liquid. On the other hand, the larger the Z ratio, the harder the inflammation in which the blood clots in the affected area.

In the next step 214, the determination result is output and the diseased part determination process is terminated.

Although the present invention has been described using the above embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention, and forms with such changes or improvements are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, the measurement unit 20 has two electrode units 24, but the present invention is not limited to this. The measurement unit 20 may be configured to include three or more electrode units 24 . The measurement unit 20 shown in FIG. 8 has four electrode units 24 . In this way, the measurement unit 20 includes three or more electrode units 24, so that any two electrode units 24 can be selected from among the three or more electrode units 24, and the Detects potential difference. As a result, affected areas in different regions can be measured without removing the measurement unit 20 from the subject.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which bioimpedance is measured only by the measurement unit 20 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the bioimpedance of the person to be measured may be measured by combining a body composition meter provided with electrode units that contact the soles of the person's feet and the measurement unit 20 . In the case of this form, the state of the affected part in the current path between the contact position of the electrode part 24 of the measurement part 20 and the contact position of the electrode part of the body composition monitor in the subject can be measured. This makes it possible to determine the condition of a long, wide area or a deep affected part of the subject.

Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the form which the diseased part determination apparatus 12 is provided with the diseased part determination part 48, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the server 14 may include the diseased part determination unit 48 . In this form, the diseased part determination unit 48 transmits the calculated bioimpedance to the server 14 via the communication unit 54 . Alternatively, the bioimpedance calculator 46 and the affected part determination unit 48 may be provided in the server 14 .

12 Affected part determination device 20 Measuring part (measuring means)
24 electrode section 24A current electrode 24B voltage electrode 40 frequency setting section (frequency setting means)
46 bioimpedance calculation unit (calculation means)
48 Affected part determination part (determination means)

Claims (8)

a measuring means that can be arranged at any part of a person to be measured and has two or more electrode units each composed of a current electrode and a voltage electrode;
frequency setting means for setting the frequency of the current flowing between the electrode portions;
a calculating means for calculating the electrical resistance between the electrode portions contacting the person to be measured;
determination means for determining a state of a portion between the electrode portions based on the electrical resistance calculated by the calculation means;
A diseased part determination device. 2. The affected part determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determining means determines the state of said part based on a difference between said electrical resistance calculated a predetermined period ago and said current electrical resistance for said part. . 3. The affected part determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determining means determines the state of said site based on the obtained differences in said electrical resistance at said plurality of different sites. The determining means determines, based on the electrical resistance between the electrode portions calculated by changing the frequency of the current flowing between the electrode portions or the distance between the electrode portions, the portion in the depth direction of the person to be measured. The affected part determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which determines the state of 5. The affected part determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said measuring means can be worn on the body of a person to be measured. 6. The affected part determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the distance between said electrode parts can be changed. A method for determining an affected area using a measuring means that can be arranged at any site of a subject and is provided with two or more electrode units each composed of a current electrode and a voltage electrode,
a first step in which a setting means sets the frequency of the current flowing between the electrode portions;
a second step in which a calculating means calculates an electrical resistance between the electrode portions contacting the person to be measured;
a third step in which judging means judges the state of the portion between the electrode portions based on the electrical resistance calculated in the second step;
A diseased part determination method having. A computer of a diseased part determination device that can be placed on any part of a subject and is provided with two or more electrode units each composed of a current electrode and a voltage electrode,
frequency setting means for setting the frequency of the current flowing between the electrode portions;
a calculating means for calculating the electrical resistance between the electrode portions contacting the person to be measured;
determination means for determining a state of a portion between the electrode portions based on the electrical resistance calculated by the calculation means;
Affected part determination program for functioning as