JP2502006B2 - Biofeedback system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electroencephalogram detecting means for detecting an electroencephalogram of a subject, the detected electroencephalogram is divided into a plurality of band components, the intensity level thereof is detected, and the intensity level is displayed on a display device. The present invention relates to a biofeedback system including display level control means for displaying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Brain waves are broadly divided into β waves (14-3
0Hz), FAST α wave (10 to 14Hz), SLOW
There are 5 types of alpha wave (8-10Hz), theta wave (4-8Hz), and delta wave (0.5-4Hz), and beta wave is under study.
EEG that appears in a state of high tension such as when getting up and working actively such as at work, FASTα wave is an EEG that appears during mental intensive relaxation state such as improvement in memory ability and problem solving ability, SLOW α wave is EEGs that appear when you are mentally relaxed, such as when you sleep lightly or relax, θ waves are very stable EEGs that appear in a deeply relaxed state such as during meditation, and δ waves are deep sleep. It is an electroencephalogram that appears from time to time. Generally, a biofeedback system presents in-vivo information (signals of each of the above band components) that cannot be perceived normally and cannot be voluntarily controlled to a subject by a display device or the like to learn the perception and control of each band component. Is. In such a biofeedback system, conventionally, when comparing the intensity levels of the respective band components, the intensity levels of the respective band components are displayed, for example, in a bar graph or the like, and when visually comparing this display, the intensity levels of the respective bands are compared. Is changed every moment, and it is displayed, so it is necessary to compare those who change, and there is a problem that it is difficult to compare the intensity levels of the respective bands. As a method of solving this problem, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-41405, the detected brain waves are classified into β waves, α waves, and θ waves, and the intensity level of the α wave component is the intensity levels of the β wave component and the θ wave component. A divider is provided for each division, and the output of this divider is displayed on the display device.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Actual Fairness 3-41405
Then, as described above, looking at the bar graph showing the result of dividing the intensity level of the α-wave component by the intensity level of each component of the β-wave and the θ-wave, the subject sees the α-wave as β-wave and θ-wave. It was judged whether it occurred a lot or less compared, but with this method, especially when the number of display bands is large, one comparison result comparing two bands is displayed, so that display The problem is that it is not possible to instantly determine which band the two band components are compared with and what the relationship between the intensity levels of these two band components is, that is, which of the two band components divides which one. was there.
Also, this method compares this α-wave component with other components based on the intensity level of the α-wave component, but this reference wave component is referred to as β-wave or θ-wave depending on the subject's request. Considering the case of the switchable configuration, there is a problem that it is not possible to instantly determine which component is the reference by looking only at the displayed bar graph. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a biofeedback system capable of instantaneously determining the relationship between each band component in the electroencephalogram of a subject.

[0004]

A biofeedback system according to the present invention comprises an electroencephalogram detecting means for detecting an electroencephalogram of a subject, the electroencephalogram detected and dividing the detected electroencephalogram into a plurality of band components to detect the intensity level thereof. According to a first characteristic configuration, the display level control means has a reference intensity based on a maximum intensity level of intensity levels of respective band components. The point is that the level is calculated, the relative value between the reference intensity level and the intensity level of each band component is calculated, and the calculation result is displayed on the display device. The second characteristic configuration is that the display level control means is configured to obtain a value obtained by dividing the intensity level of each band component by the reference intensity level as the relative value. A third characteristic configuration is that the display level control means is configured to obtain a value obtained by smoothing the maximum intensity level as the reference intensity level.

[0005]

According to the first characteristic configuration, the maximum intensity level of the intensity levels of the band components is set as the reference intensity level, and the relative value between the reference intensity level and the intensity level of each band component is displayed on the display device. Is displayed. According to the second characteristic configuration, the relative relationship between the display levels of the bands on the display device is displayed as a value corresponding to a value obtained by dividing the intensity level of each band component by the reference intensity level. According to the third characteristic configuration, a value obtained by smoothing the maximum intensity level of the intensity levels of each band component is set as the reference intensity level, and the relative value between this reference intensity level and the intensity level of each band component is displayed. Is displayed in.

[0006]

According to the first characteristic configuration, in the display device, the maximum intensity level among the intensity levels of the respective band components is always set to a constant value even if the level varies. , The display value of the intensity level of the band showing the maximum intensity level does not change, so that the band showing the maximum intensity level can be instantly determined, and the intensity of this maximum intensity level and each band component can be determined. The relative value to the level can be clearly determined. According to the second characteristic configuration, in the display device, when the intensity level of each band component becomes close to the maximum intensity level, the intensity level of each band component changes gradually, and therefore, the transition of the band showing the maximum intensity level is easy. Can be judged. According to the third characteristic configuration, in the display device, the value obtained by smoothing the maximum intensity level among the intensity levels of the respective band components is always set to be displayed and set to a constant value (reference intensity level), and indicates the maximum intensity level. Since the intensity level of the band fluctuates slightly near this reference intensity level, it is necessary to grasp the relative relationship between this maximum intensity level and other bands, and also to grasp the variation of the intensity level of the band showing the maximum intensity level. You can

[0007]

EXAMPLES Examples of chairs with a backrest to which the biofeedback system of the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, 1 is a chair, 2 is a converter for converting an acoustic signal into mechanical vibration, 4 is a sound reproducing device, 5 is a footrest, 6 is an electroencephalogram detecting means, and 7 is the electroencephalogram detecting means. A display device for displaying the detection result of 6, a control device 8, and an operation console 100. The chair 1 includes an armrest portion 11, a backrest portion 12, a pillow portion 13, and a seat portion 14. Each of the left and right armrest portions 11 includes a transducer 2 and a sound reproducing device 4, and the right armrest portion 11 includes A display device 7 is provided in front, a control device 8 is provided below the right armrest portion 11, and a footrest 5 is provided at a position where a subject's foot is placed. The chair with a backrest to which the biofeedback system of the present invention is applied vibrates the placed objects 31, 51 which are contact portions with the subject by the transducers 2, 52 for converting acoustic signals into mechanical signals, and the vibration of the subject. It is configured so that it can be felt by the palm of the hand and the sole of the foot, and the subject sitting on the chair 1 listens to the music reproduced by the sound reproducing device 4 and responds to the sound signal of this music. The vibration is sensed by the palm and the sole of the foot, the brain wave at this time is detected by the brain wave detecting means 6, and the detection result is displayed on the display device 7. Hereinafter, each device will be described.

The operation of the chair with a backrest to which the biofeedback system of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. The control device 8 includes a tilt angle control means for controlling the tilt angle of the backrest portion 12, an external sound reproduction device control means for controlling the operation of the external sound reproduction device, and a sound volume control device H for controlling the sound volume of the sound reproduction device 4. Hand vibration control means I for controlling the amount of vibration of the transducer 2 applied to the palm, and transducer 5 applied to the sole of the foot.
It functions as foot vibration control means J for controlling the amount of vibration of No. 2 and display level control means K for controlling the display level of each band of the display device 7. Then, the control device 8 is the console 1
It is configured to perform the above control based on the 00 command. The electroencephalogram signal detected by the electroencephalogram detection means 6 is input to the control device 8. In the control device 8, the input electroencephalogram is processed by the display level control means K for each band, and the result is displayed on the display device 7 as a bar graph.

The external terminal 81 provided in the control device 8 is
For example, an external audio player such as a CD player is connected, and the external audio player control means is configured to control the operation of the CD player via the external terminal 81.

The volume control means H is configured to control the volume of the sound reproducing device 4 as follows. The input sound signals of the left and right channels obtained by operating the external sound reproducer are adjusted in signal quantity by the signal quantity converters 82a and 82b to become the sound signal A. This acoustic signal A
Is cut into the low frequency range by the high pass filters 83a and 83b to become the acoustic signal B, and the power amplifiers 87a and 8a
The acoustic signal B amplified by 7b
To drive the sound reproducing device 4. Therefore, the test subject has the acoustic signal B reproduced by the acoustic reproduction device 4.
You can hear the sound of.

The hand vibration control means I is configured to control the vibration amount of the converter 2 applied to the palm as follows. The acoustic signal A is sent to the low-pass filter 84.
The high frequency band is cut by a and 84b and becomes the acoustic signal C for vibration applied to the hand and foot. The signal amount of the acoustic signal C is adjusted by the signal amount converters 85a and 85b, amplified by the power amplifiers 88a and 88b, and added to the converters 2 of the left and right armrests. Therefore, the subject can feel the vibration of the acoustic signal C vibrated by the transducer 2 with the palm.

The foot vibration control means J is configured to control the amount of vibration of the converter 52 applied to the sole of the foot as follows. The footrest 5 includes a transducer 2 of the armrest portion 11.
Similarly to the mounted body 31, a transducer 52 for converting the acoustic signal C into mechanical vibration and a mounted body 51 for mounting the sole of the subject's foot attached to the vibrating section are provided for each of the left and right feet. , The signal amount of the acoustic signal C is converted into a signal amount converter 86a, 8
Adjust with 6b, amplify with power amplifiers 89a and 89b,
The left and right converters 52 are driven by this signal, and the left and right mounted bodies 51 are vibrated.

Therefore, the subject can hear the middle and high range sounds of the input sound signal by ear, and at the same time, feel the middle and low range vibration of the input sound signal on the palm and soles. still,
In the acoustic signal B, the vibration during the acoustic reproduction of the acoustic reproduction device 4 attached to the chair frame 15 is the chair frame 15
The armrest part 11, the backrest part 12, the pillow part 1
3 and the cushion of the seat portion 14 and the like are cut so that the low frequency of the input acoustic signal is cut, and the acoustic signal C can actually vibrate the transducers 2 and 52. Only the low frequency is extracted from the input acoustic signal.

Next, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the electroencephalogram detecting means 6
A series of operations for detecting the electroencephalogram of the subject by means of the above, processing the detection result by the display level control means K, and displaying it in a bar graph on the display device 7 will be described. The electroencephalogram detecting means 6 is
It is composed of a headband 61 and an ear electrode 62, each of which is provided with an electrode. Then, the electroencephalogram detection means 6 is configured to detect, as an electroencephalogram signal, a weak skin potential change between the forehead epidermis with which the electrode of the headband 61 is in contact and the ear epidermis with which the electrode of the ear electrode 62 is in contact. Has been done. The ear electrode 62 is provided so that it can be attached to the earlobe by utilizing the principle of a spring or the like.

In the control device 8, the electroencephalogram detecting means 6
The electroencephalogram signal detected by is input from the input terminal 90, and the amplifier 91, 50/60 notch filter 92, 3
0 Hz low-pass filter 93, light emitting circuit 94a, photo coupler 94b, light receiving circuit 94c, gain converter 95,
It is input to the microcomputer 97 via the A / D converter 96.
Then, the microcomputer 97 converts the input signal into a β wave (14 to 30 Hz) and a FAST α wave (10 to 14 H).
z), SLOW α wave (8 to 10 Hz), and θ wave (4 to
8 Hz) and divided into each band component and rectified to detect the potential level. Therefore, this potential level represents the intensity level of each band component. Further, the microcomputer 97 discriminates the maximum value of the potential levels of the respective band components and sets the value Y obtained by smoothing the maximum value by the smoothing circuit as the reference intensity level. And
A value obtained by dividing the potential level X of each band component by the value Y is
A bar graph is displayed on the display device 7 via the drive circuit 98. Therefore, in this display device 7, when the potential level of the band component is Y, the display of the intensity level of the band component is displayed at the position 1. The microcomputer 97 automatically adjusts the display level sensitivity of each band of the display device 7 according to the intensity of the input signal.
5 is controlled. Further, the smoothing circuit is configured to calculate the average value of the maximum values of the potential levels of the respective band components at a preset time. Therefore,
The microcomputer 97 functions as the display level control means K.

Further, in the microcomputer 97, the abnormal waveform detector uses the potential before disturbing the potential of each band component when the potential of each band component is disturbed by, for example, blinking or body movement, and when the disorder is relatively short. Is held for 1 to 2 seconds, the potential before disturbance of each band component is reset. Therefore, the subject can know the current state of the electroencephalogram by directly looking at the display of the display device 7, and therefore, the present relaxed state of the subject can be determined from the state of the electroencephalogram.

Next, referring to FIG. 5, the structure of the converter 2 and the mounting structure in which the converter 2 is mounted on the chair frame 15 will be described. The converter 2 includes a magnet 20,
The pole piece 21, the yoke plate 22, the voice coil 23, the damper 24, the frame 25, the case 26, the mounting member 27, and the diaphragm 28 are included. Of these, the voice coil 23, the frame 25, and the diaphragm 28 are integrally mounted by the mounting member 27. Therefore, when an electric signal is applied to the voice coil 23, the voice coil 23 is driven, and the voice coil 23 vibrates with the driving. Board 28
Vibrates. The diaphragm 28 is provided with a protrusion 28a for preventing the elastic body 34 from being displaced, and the chair frame 15 is provided with a groove 15a for holding the elastic body 34 so that the elastic body 34 is not displaced. Then, the diaphragm 2 of the converter 2
8 is attached to the chair frame 15 via the elastic body 34 by the attachment 30, and the vibration of the diaphragm 28 is configured not to be transmitted to the chair frame 15.
In order to prevent the converter 2 from coming off the chair frame 15,
A nut 30a is attached to the attachment 30 with play. Further, the vibration absorbing elastic body 34 is made of a vibration absorbing material such as urethane.

Next, referring to FIG. 5 and FIG.
1 will be described. In the support 32,
It has a sphere 32a and a disk-shaped protrusion 32d. The mounted body 31 is supported by the spherical body 32 a in a state of being exposed from the surface of the armrest portion 11.
It is configured such that the orientation of the mounted body 31 can be rotated and changed around a. Further, the surface of the mounted body 31 has a spherical shape so as to easily support the palm of the subject. A spring 33 is inserted between the support 32 and the protrusion 32d, and is configured to keep the posture of the mounted body 31 horizontal when there is no mounted object on the mounted body 31. . The spring 33 is for holding the posture of the mounted body 31 horizontally, and may be made of another elastic body. The diaphragm 28 has a slide groove 2 for allowing the support 32 to slide on the diaphragm 28 in the front-back direction of the chair.
8 b, and the support 32 is provided with a protrusion 32 b that engages with the slide groove 28 b of the diaphragm 28. Therefore, since the support 32 is configured to slide on the diaphragm 28 in the front-back direction of the chair, the mounted body 31 slides in the front-back direction of the chair accordingly. Therefore, the mounted body 31 is attached to the vibrating plate 28 of the converter 2 via the support body 32, so that the vibration of the vibrating plate 28 is transmitted to the mounted body 31 via the support body 32. It is configured.

Next, the mounting structure of the sound reproducing device 4 will be described with reference to FIG. The sound reproduction device 4 includes a speaker 41, a speaker box 42, and an elastic body 43 for sound reproduction.
It is composed of The speaker box 42 with the speaker 41 attached to the front side is attached to the chair frame 15 via the elastic body 43 with the rear part thereof being opened, so that the vibration of the speaker 41 is prevented from being transmitted to the chair frame 15. Then, the front surfaces of the left and right speakers 41 are attached so as to face in the direction of the position corresponding to the head of the subject, and the subject can hear the sounds reproduced by the left and right speakers 41. .

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the electroencephalogram is divided into four bands, but the number of bands and the bandwidth are not particularly limited, and may be changed depending on the subject's application. The display level control means K of the above embodiment rectifies the signals divided into the components of each band and uses the potential as the intensity level of each band component. However, the amplitude value and the smoothed value of the signals divided into the components of each band are rectified. And so on may be set as the strength level. In the display device 7 of the above embodiment, the intensity level of each band is displayed in a bar graph, but it may be digitally displayed. For example, the reference level may be set to 100 and the intensity level of each band with respect to this reference level may be digitally displayed. In the microcomputer 97 as the display level control means K of the above embodiment, the maximum value of the potential levels of each band component is discriminated, and the value Y obtained by smoothing this maximum value by the smoothing circuit is used as the reference intensity level. The maximum value of the potential levels of the band components may be Y, and this value Y may be the reference intensity level. In other words, by this, the intensity level of the band showing the maximum intensity level among the respective band components is
The fixed value is always displayed on the display device 7. The smoothing circuit in the microcomputer 97 as the display level control means K of the above embodiment is configured to calculate the average value of the maximum values of the potential levels of each band component at a preset time. The maximum value of the potential level of each band component may be processed by an integrating circuit, a low-pass filter circuit, or the like.

It should be noted that reference numerals are given in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the accompanying drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair with a backrest according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram.

[Fig. 5] Converter installation explanatory diagram

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of converter installation.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of mounting the sound reproducing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 brain wave detecting means 7 display device K display level control means

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electroencephalogram detecting means (6) for detecting an electroencephalogram of a subject, and the detected electroencephalogram is divided into a plurality of band components to detect their intensity levels, and the intensity levels are displayed on a display device (7). A biofeedback system comprising display level control means (K) for displaying, wherein the display level control means (K) obtains a reference intensity level based on a maximum intensity level of intensity levels of respective band components. A biofeedback system configured to calculate a relative value between the reference intensity level and the intensity level of each band component and display the calculation result on the display device (7). 2. The biofeedback according to claim 1, wherein the display level control means (K) is configured to obtain a value obtained by dividing an intensity level of each band component by the reference intensity level as the relative value. system. 3. The biofeedback system according to claim 1, wherein the display level control means (K) is configured to obtain a value obtained by smoothing the maximum intensity level as the reference intensity level.