JP2803432B2 - Sleep apnea monitor - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sleep apnea monitor and, more particularly, to a sleep apnea monitor capable of obtaining a respiratory signal during sleep with a subject unrestricted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of respiratory measurement method comprises (A)
A method of changing the temperature of a preheated beat thermistor called a nostril type, (B) a method of attaching a thermistor to a mouth or a nostril and measuring a temperature change by a respiratory flow, and (C) a rubber tube filled with an electrolyte or carbon. A method of measuring the change in resistance by wrapping around the rib cage, (D) a method of measuring a change in impedance of the rib cage including the lungs, (E)
Method of measuring mutual induction at high frequency by placing coils before and after the rib cage, (F) Attach permanent magnet to chest wall,
(G) A method of recording a tracheal sound by attaching a microphone to the trachea, (H)
How to place a piezoelectric element under the chest and measure the electromotive force,
(I) There is a method of laying an air mat under the chest and detecting a change in internal pressure.

A respiratory monitor during sleep combines these methods with an electrocardiograph, records waveforms, apnea time, and the like on a cassette tape or a semiconductor storage element, reproduces them with a regenerator, and operates a computer or the like. Was used to analyze.

[0004]

In this conventional respiration measurement method, since a sensor is attached to a subject, sleep may be hindered, and there may be a problem in evaluating the measurement result. In addition, in order to simultaneously measure the heartbeat, an electrocardiographic electrode or the like must be separately provided, and there has been a problem that the degree of restraint on the subject increases.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A sleep apnea monitor according to the present invention is in close contact with a living body and floats between the living body due to body movement.
A plurality of means for detecting and outputting a change in capacity,
Connected to a number of means, in response to a predetermined switching signal,
Switch means for selecting any of the plurality of means;
Oscillation output signal whose oscillation amplitude changes due to increase or decrease of stray capacitance
And a respiratory signal by detecting the oscillation output signal.
Means for outputting a biological signal with a heartbeat signal superimposed on the
Separates biological signal into respiratory signal and heartbeat signal,
Detects apnea interval, finds instantaneous heart rate from heart rate signal,
Arithmetic control means for obtaining body motion information from a biological signal;
Inspiration signal, heart rate signal, apnea interval and body motion information
And data storage means for storing .

[0006]

According to the present invention, a biological signal can be obtained with the subject unrestricted, and the influence of disturbance can be easily removed.
Information necessary for diagnosing sleep apnea syndrome can be obtained accurately.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a sleep apnea monitor according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a plurality of conductive soft net-shaped sheets 2A to 2C and an insulating cover 3 surrounding these net-shaped sheets 2A to 2C, as shown in FIG. The configured probe, 4 is an analog switch connected to the probe 1, and 5 is a net-shaped sheet 2 of the probe 1.
Since the stray capacitance between A to 2C and the living body increases or decreases due to a change in the distance between the living bodies due to body motion (including respiration, heartbeat, etc.), the oscillation circuit changes the oscillation amplitude of the oscillation output signal 5A accordingly. is there.

6A to 6E are optical I / Fs, 7A and 7B are optical fibers, 8 is an AM detection circuit for detecting an oscillation output signal 5A of an oscillation circuit 5 and outputting a biological signal 8A, and 9 is amplifying this biological signal 8A. The amplifier 10 that outputs the amplified biological signal 9A removes hum, noise, DC components, and the like included in the amplified biological signal 9A, and the biological signal obtained by superimposing the heartbeat signal HR on the respiratory signal K. A band-pass filter that outputs 10A, 11 outputs this biological signal 10A to A
A / D converters 12 for performing A / D conversion include a CPU 13, a ROM 14, a RAM 15,
Display unit 16, data storage unit 17, interface unit 1
8 and an I / O port to which the alarm 19 is connected.

An instrument circuit 20 receives an instrument signal INT output from the I / O port 12 when the output of the A / D converter 11 is saturated. Note that the CPU 13 uses the storage function of the RAM 15 while
M14 performs signal processing according to a predetermined program, separates the biological signal 10A on which the respiratory signal K and the heartbeat signal HR are superimposed into a respiratory signal K and a heartbeat signal HR, and calculates the apnea time based on those signals and the respiratory signal K. Calculate TK,
The data is sent to the data storage unit 17 via the I / O port 12.

Further, when the apnea time TK continues for a certain time or more, or when the heart rate falls below a certain value, the CPU 13 issues an alarm 19 connected via the I / O port 12. Sound an alarm signal,
Further, when the output of the A / D converter 11 is saturated due to excessive body movement such as turning over, an instrument signal INT is output to the instrument circuit 20 via the I / O port 12, and further, the I / O port The analog switch 4 is switched by the switching signal SCH output through the output terminal 12A of the Twelve 12, and the net-shaped sheets 2A to 2C having the maximum sensitivity are selected, and further stored in the data storage unit 17 through the I / O port 12. The transmitted data is transmitted to the interface unit 18.

The interface unit 18 is connected to a device having a function such as a personal computer, and is capable of displaying a measurement result graphically and further processing data.

Next, the operation of the sleep apnea monitor having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the probe 1 is brought into close contact with the living body, the stray capacitance between the sheet 2A of the probe 1 and the living body changes with the breathing of the living body. Here, the analog switch 4 is switched by the switching signal SCH so as to select, for example, the seat 2A.
Therefore, the oscillation amplitude of the oscillation output signal 5A output from the oscillation circuit 5 changes. This oscillation output signal 5A is output from the optical I / F
6A → optical fiber 7A → input to the AM detection circuit 8 via the optical I / F 6B.

The AM detection circuit 8 generates the oscillation output signal 5
A is detected, and a biological signal 8A is output. Therefore, the biological signal 8A is amplified by the amplifier 9 and then input to the bandpass filter 10. The band-pass filter 10 removes hum, noise, and DC components contained in the biological signal 9A, and the biological signal 10 in which the heartbeat signal HR is superimposed on the respiratory signal K.
A is sent to the A / D converter 11. The A / D converter 11 converts the analog biological signal 10A into a digital biological signal 10A.

Therefore, the CPU 13 executes the processing of the digital biological signal 10A according to a processing program predetermined in the ROM 14 while utilizing the storage function of the RAM 15, and separates it into a respiratory signal K and a heartbeat signal HR.
Now, as shown in FIG. 3, the time from the time T1 at which the amplitude of the respiratory signal K falls below a predetermined constant value to the time T2 at which the amplitude of the respiratory signal K recovers to a certain value or more is defined as apnea time TK, It can be recorded in the data storage unit 17 together with T1 and the end time T2.

Further, the body movement information M is obtained by saturating the amplifier 9 due to excessive body movement such as turning over. At this time, the analog switch 4 is switched by the switching signal SCH, and the net-shaped sheet is switched. The position information I of the body having the maximum sensitivity and the time Ta at which the body motion occurred can be recorded in the data storage unit 17. In this way, by switching to select only the sheet with the highest sensitivity among the plurality of sheets, it is possible to eliminate the influence of disturbance due to an increase in the number of detected portions.

The biological signal and the data obtained therefrom are transmitted to another processing device (not shown) such as a personal computer by the interface section 18, and the measurement result can be graphically displayed and monitored.

[0017]

As described above in detail, according to the sleep apnea monitor of the present invention, since the respiratory signal is detected using the unconstrained sensor, the subject can breathe without obstructing sleep. The condition can be measured. Moreover, by measuring the information of respiration and heartbeat simultaneously with one sensor,
Measurement accuracy can be improved and measurement reliability can be improved. Furthermore, since the body movement information by the switching signal of the probe sheet can be detected, various information necessary for diagnosing sleep apnea syndrome can be measured at the same time without burdening the subject. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a sleep apnea monitor according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of a probe 1 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a waveform of a respiratory signal K in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 probe 4 analog switch 5 oscillation circuit 9 amplifier 10 bandpass filter 12 I / O port 13 CPU 15 RAM 17 data storage unit 20 instrument circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ identification code FI A61M 16/00 370 A61B 5/10 300A (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) A61B 5/00 A61B 5 / 0245 A61B 5/08 A61B 5/107 A61M 16/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A close contact with the body, in the non-contact type biological signal collecting device for collecting and recording the biometric signal, an increase or decrease in stray capacitance between the vivo by body movement in close contact with the living body
A plurality of means for detecting and outputting, and a plurality of means connected to the plurality of means for responding to a predetermined switching signal.
Switch means for selecting any of the plurality of means
If, means for outputting the biological signal detection and the heartbeat signal to the respiration signal obtained by superimposing the oscillating output signal and means for outputting an oscillating output signal which varies the oscillation amplitude by increasing or decreasing the stray capacitance, the respiratory signal the biosignal And a heartbeat signal, detecting an apnea interval from a respiration signal, obtaining an instantaneous heart rate from a heartbeat signal, and calculating body movement information from a biological signal, and the respiration signal, a heartbeat signal, an apnea interval and A sleep apnea monitor comprising: data storage means for storing body motion information.