JP3101531B2 - Stress detector for respiratory monitoring - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a respiration monitoring device, and more particularly to a stress detection device as a respiration sensor that can be used for respiration monitoring.

The present invention relates to monitoring of inpatients, monitoring of vital signs (various signs indicating survival such as pulse rate, respiratory temperature, blood pressure, etc.) in the field and in the field, utilization as an additional channel of a portable positive displacement breathing apparatus, It is applicable for respiratory monitoring as well as educational use, including integrated use with health care devices for breathing and relaxation exercises, and also interactive computer games related to respiratory function.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Various devices are known and used for monitoring respiration by rhythm of the chest or abdomen accompanying a respiratory motion of a user. For a stationary user, such as an anesthetized patient, most types of respiratory sensors will work well. However, there is also a growing need for inexpensive respiratory monitoring for conscious and mobile users, for example: a) portable positive displacement respirators for use by patients with chronic respiratory illness during home care; A monitoring device that can be combined and monitored on a separate channel for more safety; b) a home apnea monitor; c) other types of healthcare products related to a respiratory monitor; d) a biofeedback approach Computer-based educational products based on multi-channel monitoring of biological variables, including systems that perform e.) E) large numbers of injured people outdoors or on the battlefield, for example, patients who breathe toxic gases that can cause fatal respiratory disorders Vital sign monitoring device used for In this application, the use of a respiration sensor is indispensable in order to minimize the influence caused by the patient's movement during transportation of the patient.

[0004] Most commercially available respiratory sensors convert the rhythm around the chest and abdomen associated with respiratory movements into measurable electrical signals. For example, known sensors describe the change in impedance between the chest lead ECG (electrocardiogram) electrodes and the resulting instantaneous change in voltage or resistance,
Measurements are made with an elastic element, such as a belt or adhesive strip, attached to the chest or abdomen, or with a piezo-electric or piezoresistive transducer that is compressed or stretched by an elastic material on which the transducer is attached.

[0005]

A major problem with known respiratory sensors is their high sensitivity to respiration-independent body movements. This problem is a major constraint in the applications described above. Therefore, in order to obtain a high-performance respiratory sensor that can provide a reliable device as a respiratory monitoring device, in order to reduce the influence of body motion in a measurement signal in a belt type respiratory sensor using a transducer, it is necessary to use a transducer from a belt. It is necessary to eliminate unnecessary components from the entire signal representing the stress applied to the signal.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a transducer is slidably engaged with a belt and generates an electrical signal indicative of the magnitude of said force at least indirectly from the belt. A supporting base, and means for inhibiting application of other components of the force to the transducer in other directions while at least one component of the force in a selected direction is applied to the transducer; A stress detection device for respiratory monitoring, comprising:

According to the present invention, an elastic belt for converting deformation of the user's chest and abdomen into mechanical stress,
Stress filter base means slidably engaged with the belt to select a component of the mechanical stress; a transducer for converting the selected component into a measurable attribute; and Means for separating the components and the stress filter base means and transducer from stresses other than as a result of the expansion and contraction of the belt when the user wears the belt and changes in the chest or abdominal circumference associated with respiratory movements. And a cover means for protection.

[0008] Using the apparatus of the present invention as described above,
An elastic belt is wrapped around the chest and abdomen, and the deformation of the chest and abdomen due to breathing is converted into mechanical stress of the belt, and at least one component related to a change in the length of the belt is reduced by the mechanical stress. And detecting and monitoring changes in the user's chest or abdominal circumference due to breathing, including changing at least one component of the mechanical stress into an electrically displayable biological signal. .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with certain preferred embodiments.

Reference will now be made in detail to the drawings, which are illustrative of preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are most useful in understanding the principles and conceptual aspects of the present invention. It can be seen that a specific embodiment is shown to provide what is believed to be the case. In this regard, the structural details of the present invention are not shown except for the parts essential to the basic understanding of the present invention, and those skilled in the art will actually understand the present invention from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be appreciated that it may be implemented in several ways.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a respiratory sensor 2 slidably engaged with a resilient or stretchable belt 4 worn on a user's clothing. The belt 4 does not need to be stretchable over its entire length, but only needs to include a stretchable portion. The output signal of the respiration sensor is transferred to another device via an electrical or optical cable 6, transmitted by telemetry means, or displayed on the respiration sensor 2 itself when a built-in visual monitor is included. You can do it. The cable 6 can be protected from mechanical fatigue by a torsion stop 8.

FIG. 2 shows a base 10 formed in a structure having a U-shaped cross section. The base 10 is made of a material having a certain degree of elasticity against angular deformation, and the angle between the two holding pieces 12 and 14 serving as legs in the U-shaped structure is variable. In essence, a V-shaped cross-section with two interconnected legs (ie two clamping pieces) is likewise available. The stress transducer 16
For example, one holding piece of the base 10 (the holding piece 1
2), and is fixedly attached to the inner surface of the base 10 by bonding or the like.
) Are mechanically connected by an elastic body member 18.
The output of the transducer 16 is provided on two wires 20, 22 if this is an electrical output. The base 10 of the respiration sensor is pressed against the user's body by the stretchable belt 4. Movement of the belt 4 in a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the belt 4 is limited by the cover 24 or some other means, such as a “collar” provided on the base 10. The upper surface of the holding piece 14 in the drawing is formed as a smooth surface,
It is configured such that the cover 24 does not contact the belt 4 and the respiratory sensor can be moved along the belt. By extending and retracting the belt 4 along the user's chest and abdomen, a force is transmitted from the belt to the base 10, and this force puts stress on the belt. Since the base 10 having a U-shaped cross section can only be deformed by a force applied in a direction substantially orthogonal to one of the holding pieces 12 or 14, the holding piece 14 is transferred to the transducer 16 via the elastic body member 18 in the same direction. Vector component (this is the tension T1 of the belt 4)
And also the force generated from T2). For the same reason, the torsional and shear stresses applied from the belt 4 to the base 10 are eliminated or at least suppressed. The slidability of the respiration sensor 2 along the belt 4 is such that the resultant force of the stresses (tensions) T1 and T2 is non-zero in the longitudinal direction of the belt, for example, when a force is applied along the belt by the torsional movement of the chest. If so, either (or both) of the respiration sensor 2 or the belt 4 will move to a relatively new equilibrium position without producing substantial longitudinal force on the transducer. . Therefore, the base 10
Structure and mechanical coupling with the belt 4 so as to eliminate or at least minimize the effects of body movements associated with perimeter changes in transducer output,
It constitutes a "stress filter" that can separate selected components from belt tension.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the respiration sensor 2. In the present embodiment, the base 10 is flat and has a concave portion 26 provided therein. A stress transducer 16, preferably a piezo transducer, is fixed to the surface of the base 10 across the recess 26. The spherical sliding surface body member 28 is bonded or otherwise attached to the stress transducer 16. The cover 24 is similar to that shown in FIG. Since the top of the main body member 28 is curved in a hat shape or a cylindrical shape, the belt 4 can slide on the top, so that a stress filter can be formed with other members of the apparatus.

Another embodiment of a respiration sensor 2 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. As can be seen in this embodiment,
The direction of the holding pieces 12 and 14 of the V-shaped base 10 is
Are not perpendicular but perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of FIG. Also shown is how the cover 24 can be engaged with the base 10 to isolate the base 10 and the transducer (not shown) from normal forces acting on the cover 24.

Still another structure of the base 10 of the respiration sensor 2 is shown in FIGS. In FIG. 5, the base 10 consists of rigid flat plates 30, 32 having one end face connected to a freely rotating hinge. Although this structure provides great sensitivity to the stress applied by the belt without generating its own restoring force,
On the other hand, substantially all of the stress through the filter is directly transmitted to the combination of transducer 16 and body member 28. The base 10 of FIG. 6 has a flat tube 36 which can be deformed by compression, and has the advantage that the transducer disposed therein is sufficiently protected. In each of these base structures, the belt 4 can be arranged in any direction relative to them.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment in which the base and the cover are formed as a rigid frame 38 in one piece or in a single unit, and this frame 38 has two spaced wall portions. It surrounds the elastic box-shaped portion 40 through which the belt 4 can be inserted. The transducer 16 is mounted on the inner surface of the frame 38, and the main body member 28 is disposed between the transducer and the box member 40 having elasticity. Also, by arranging the transducer / body member on the other side surface of the elastic box-shaped member 40 and the inner surface of the frame 38 (shown by a dashed line), And the respiratory sensor is symmetrical about the point of operation.

The base 10 and / or cover 24 of most structures can be cut from extruded material, which can significantly reduce manufacturing costs.

The operation of the respiration sensor and monitoring device according to the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of FIG. 8 which shows a self-contained, slidable respiration monitoring sensor. The transducer 16 is provided mechanically and electrically directly on the printed circuit board 42, and the entire circuit is powered by a battery 44 located in the base area. The electronics for amplifying, filtering, processing and transmitting the output signal from the transducer 16 to generate the desired biological signal are well known per se and will not be described here.

The cover 24 includes, for example, a light bar 46,
And / or used as a base for utilizing biological signals for the control unit 50 such as the liquid crystal display 48, a power on / off switch and an operation mode selection switch. Display information includes, for example, inspiratory / expiratory and HI / LO alarms (audio and visual), analog signals representing lung volume fluctuations (for DC transducers), air flow (for AC transducers), numerical information, For example, it may relate to a logical variable such as a breathing cycle or rate, an inspiratory / expiratory time rate, and the like. The electronic components of the display can be incorporated into a second printed circuit board 52 mounted on the lower surface of the cover 24 so as not to touch the belt 4. The printed boards 42 and 52 are electrically connected by a multi-core cable 54. Such a monitoring device also has the advantage that it is small and slidable and can be placed in a convenient position for both the user and the observer of the monitoring device.

It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing embodiments, and that the invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. It will be obvious. The embodiments shown are, therefore, intended to be illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive of the invention, and the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. As such, all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims are intended to be embraced by the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slidable breathing sensor mounted on a torso of a user.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the stress detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the stress detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing still another embodiment of the stress detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the stress detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the stress detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a double-sided detection type stress detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a monitoring device incorporating a respiratory detector according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Respiration sensor 4 Belt 6 Cable 8 Torsion prevention 10 Base 12, 14 Nipping piece 16 Transducer 18 Elastic main body member 20, 22 Electric wire 24 Cover 26 Depression 28 Elastic main body member 30, 32 Flat plate portion 34 Hinge 36 Cylindrical base 38 Frame 40 Box-shaped member 42, 52 Printed circuit board 44 Battery 46 Light bar 48 Liquid crystal display 50 Control unit 54 Multi-core cable

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-2-4315 (JP, A) JP-A-60-207639 (JP, A) JP-A-2-35710 (JP, U) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 5/08

Claims (13)

(57) [Claims] 1. A transducer slidably engaged with an at least partially elastic belt and supporting a transducer that generates an electrical signal indicative of the magnitude of the force in response to a force applied at least indirectly from the belt. And a means for applying at least one component of the force in a selected direction to the transducer while suppressing the application of other components of the force in other directions to the transducer. A respiratory monitoring stress detection device, characterized in that: 2. The base has two holding pieces interconnected in a U-shaped or V-shaped cross section, and the transducer and the means are arranged between the holding pieces and at least one of the holding pieces is provided. The device of claim 1 secured to one inner surface. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the base is a flat plate having a recess, and the transducer is fixed across the recess. 4. The base comprises two flat plates interconnected by hinges provided along one end face so as to be movable with respect to each other in only one degree of freedom, and wherein the transducer comprises the flat plate. The device of claim 1 secured between. 5. The system according to claim 5, wherein said bases are spaced apart from each other.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two flat plates are connected to each other at two opposing sides, and the transducer is fixed between the flat plates. 6. The base comprises a rigid cylindrical frame having an inner surface, the frame comprising two spaced apart elastic wall portions, one of the inner surface portions and the wall portion. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one transducer fixed between the first and second transducers. 7. The base according to claim 1, further comprising means for attaching the base to at least the base so as to move the belt only in one direction and restricting the movement of the belt in another direction. Equipment. 8. The means for allowing movement of the belt in only one direction is a cover means having a U-shaped cross-section sized to be interfitted and retained on the base. The described device. 9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a self-powered electronic circuit and a display means for processing and displaying a signal converted by the transducer when a force is applied to the transducer. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an elastic body member mounted on the transducer, wherein the force is applied to the transducer via the elastic body member. 11. A resilient body member connected to the transducer for transmitting force to the transducer, the resilient body member having a curved top to facilitate sliding of the belt. The device according to claim 1. 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the belt is detachably engaged at both ends, and the base is relatively reciprocable along the length of the belt. 13. A stretchable belt for converting deformation of a user's chest or abdomen into mechanical stress, and a stress slidably engaged with the belt to select a component of the mechanical stress. Filter-based means, a transducer for converting the selected component into a measurable attribute, means for separating the component generated by the transducer, and associated with respiratory movement when the user wears the belt A stress detection device comprising: a stress filter base unit; and a cover unit for protecting a transducer from a force other than a force generated by expansion and contraction of the belt as a result of a change in a chest circumference or a waist circumference.