JP4559119B2 - Finger cuff - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cuff used for measurement of blood pressure and blood pressure pulse wave, and more particularly to a finger cuff that can be suitably used for hands and toes.

  Blood pressure and pulse rate are widely used as useful biological information for noninvasive diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. In recent years, devices that can measure blood pressure and pulse rate without specialized knowledge are widely available on the market.

  There are various methods for non-invasive measurement of blood pressure and pulse rate, but measurement using a cuff is a typical measurement method. A cuff is a device that compresses an attachment site such as an extremity with an airbag (also referred to as a rubber sac) that is generally inflated by sending a gas such as air and deflated by exhausting. Then, the blood pressure is measured or the pulsation is detected by detecting the pressure fluctuation in the airbag by a pressure detection device (such as a pressure sensor or a piezoelectric element) connected to the airbag.

  Conventionally, the cuff attachment site is often a relatively thick part such as an arm or a leg, and the pressure fluctuation obtained is also large, so a material such as vinyl chloride is used as the material of the airbag, and the airbag itself Expansion rate is low. Further, the airbag is built in the cuff, and the airbag does not directly contact the mounting site.

  On the other hand, for easier measurement and measurement of peripheral blood vessels, a cuff for measuring at a narrower part compared to arms and legs, such as hands and toes (hereinafter referred to as finger cuff for convenience) There is. Since such an attachment site has two thin blood vessels on both sides of the heel, the structure is different from a cuff used for arms and legs (hereinafter referred to as a general cuff for convenience).

  Specifically, in order to make it possible to detect a pressure fluctuation smaller than that of a general cuff without increasing the burden on the subject, the airbag is exposed and has a configuration in which the airbag is directly wound around the mounting site. In addition, the material of the airbag itself is also thin, and a rubber-like material rich in stretchability is used. The airbag itself inflates when pressurized.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-117604

  As described above, the finger cuff needs to surely perform blood driving at a thin wearing site, but the finger has less subcutaneous tissue than the arm and the foot, and it is difficult to uniformly press around the finger. Moreover, it is easy to make a wrinkle on the surface of the airbag when it is worn. If the pressure varies depending on the location or if wrinkles are formed on the surface of the airbag, the blood can not be successfully driven if a blood vessel to be driven is located in a weak or wrinkled portion. In such a case, blood pressure cannot be achieved unless the compression force is increased as compared with a state in which the cuff is properly attached, or the cuff must be reattached. In the case of the former, the burden on the wearer such as pain becomes large. In the case of the latter, it takes time, and even if it is worn again, the same situation may be reached.

  In the arm cuff, a proposal has been made in Patent Document 1 to increase the contact area between the cuff and the upper arm by making the curler as the core material of the cuff into a conical shape simulating the shape of the upper arm. However, a simple conical shape such as a finger attachment site can include joints, especially a toe has a narrow neck shape and a small flexibility (because there are few subcutaneous tissues). Therefore, it differs greatly in shape and body tissue structure from the upper arm, which can expect a significant improvement in wearing feeling. For this reason, even if a configuration such as that described in Patent Document 1 is used, appropriate compression cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and its main object is to provide a finger cuff capable of easily driving blood.

That is, the gist of the present invention, an air bag formed of stretchable material, for attachment to the wearer's fingers or toes airbags to avascular at the base of the instrumentation wearing's fingers or toes In the finger cuff having a cuff body, the end of the airbag is formed so as to be substantially fan-shaped when attached to the cuff body, and is located at the base of the wearer's finger when worn. The finger cuff is characterized by being shorter than the length of the end located on the tip side of the wearer's finger when worn.

  With the above-described configuration, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily drive blood even with fingers and toes.

● (first embodiment)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the finger cuff 22 according to the present embodiment.
The cuff 22 includes a cuff main body 22b, an airbag 22a attached to the cuff main body, and a hook-and-loop fastener 22t for fixing the cuff. A hook-and-loop fastener 22t and an airbag 22a are attached to one surface of a belt-shaped cuff body 22b made of a flexible material such as synthetic fiber. The air bag 22a and the cuff main body 22b may be attached directly with an adhesive or the like, but when the gas is sent from the pump, the air bag 22a is prevented from inflating to the cuff main body 22b side, and the attachment site side In order to efficiently perform the compression so as to swell further, it is preferable to attach via a relatively hard plate-like member (backing plate) 22e made of resin or the like. When the cuff is mounted, the airbag 22a is directly wrapped around the toes and fingers, and the hook-and-loop fastener 22t is engaged with the other surface of the cuff body 22b to fix the cuff to the mounting site. The state of the cuff at the time of wearing is shown in FIG.

  The airbag 22a is made of a thin and flexible material made of a flexible material such as rubber. Further, one end of a hose 22h is connected to the substantially central side surface of the airbag 22a, and pressure inside the airbag 22a is controlled by sending air from the hose 22h to the airbag 22a or releasing the air in the airbag 22a. Made. The other end of the hose 22h is connected to a pump and pressure sensor of a blood drive control unit (not shown).

  The finger cuff 22 according to the present embodiment is particularly characterized by the shape of the airbag 22a. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, the length W1 of the end located on the base side of the finger when worn is substantially fan-shaped smaller than the length W2 of the end on the fingertip side. 3A shows a case where the airbag is formed so as to be substantially fan-shaped without being attached to the cuff body, but at least in a state where the airbag is attached to the cuff body 22b, FIG. ) As shown in FIG.

  Since W1 <W2, the root portion and the fingertip portion of the finger are uniformly pressed during wearing. When W1 ≧ W2, the pressure on the base side of the finger is weakened, so that it is not possible to perform blood feeding reliably. Although the difference between W1 and W2 can be determined as appropriate, it is preferable that the difference is not too large. According to the study of the present inventor, for example, W2 / W1 is preferably 1.08 to 1.12.

  When performing blood driving with a finger, it is easier and less burdensome to perform blood driving with the root than with the fingertip. Especially when using a conventional air bag with W1 = W2 when the root is constricted and the joint is thick, the gap between the thin root side is larger than that of the fingertip, and the airbag is It was excessively inflated. However, in the cuff according to the present embodiment, the length W1 of the end located on the finger base side when worn is smaller than the length W2 of the end located on the fingertip side. As shown in FIG. 4A, the gap between the finger base side and the fingertip side is almost equal at the time of wearing, and the finger can be compressed uniformly (in FIG. 4A, only the state of the airbag 22a is schematically shown). Shown). Therefore, even when used for a toe as well as a toe, it is possible to sufficiently compress the base of the finger as shown in FIG.

  In addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 3A, the finger cuff according to the present embodiment has a length L2 of a surface which is on the inner side (side in contact with the finger) when worn as shown in FIG. 3B. It is more preferable to have an arc shape that is shorter than the length L1 of the surface that becomes the outer side (the cuff body 22b side) when worn. FIG. 3B shows a shape of the airbag of FIG. 3A viewed from the direction of arrow a.

  L2 <L1 makes it difficult for wrinkles to be formed on the surface of the airbag (the surface in contact with the finger) when worn compared to the case of L2 ≧ L1, and it is not compressed by wrinkles or the compression force is weaker than other parts. The occurrence of parts can be greatly suppressed. The specific relationship between L2 and L1 may be determined as appropriate in consideration of the curvature of the wearing part and variations due to individual differences. According to the study by the present inventor, for example, L1 / L2 is 1.24 to 1. .45 is preferred. FIG. 3B shows a case where the airbag is formed in an arc shape without being attached to the cuff body, but at least in a state where the airbag is attached to the cuff body 22b, FIG. The arc shape as shown in FIG.

  Thus, according to the finger cuff according to the present embodiment, the base of the finger and the fingertip are made uniform by making the width of the finger base side of the airbag smaller than the width of the fingertip side. It becomes possible to press. In addition, if the inner surface when wearing is made to have a shorter arc shape than the outer surface, it will be difficult for wrinkles to form on the airbag surface when wearing, so that sufficient pressure is applied over the entire circumference of the finger. This is possible and more preferable.

● (Second Embodiment)
As described above, unlike a general cuff used for arms and legs, the finger cuff uses an airbag that inflates itself and directly presses the finger with the airbag. And such an airbag is formed with the material which represented thin rubber | gum which has a softness | flexibility and a stretching property thinly. In such an airbag, for example, when the gas sent from the pump does not spread uniformly throughout the airbag due to, for example, the inner surfaces of the airbag sticking together, the pressure of a part of the airbag increases, May explode. In addition, it is important from the viewpoint of shortening the measurement time and reducing the burden on the wearer that the entire airbag is quickly inflated and quickly deflated by exhaust.

  For this reason, it is preferable that the gas fed from the pump spreads over the entire airbag and that the gas smoothly exits from the airbag during exhaust. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in addition to the configuration described in the first embodiment, occurrence of sticking between the inner surfaces of the airbags is prevented by providing irregularities on the inner surfaces of the airbags.

  Various methods are conceivable as a method of providing irregularities on the inner surface of the airbag. For example, the inner surface of the airbag can be obtained by devising a method of attaching the airbag to the cuff body using a thin material and having elasticity. Unevenness can be formed on the surface.

  FIG. 5A is a vertical sectional view (part) parallel to the thickness direction of the cuff according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5 (a), a bag 22f is intentionally formed on the side of the airbag 22a attached to the cuff body 22b, and in this state, attached to the backing plate 22e having a flat surface, Protrusions are formed. FIG. 6 shows an external view of the cuff according to the present embodiment. The bag can be provided over the entire top and bottom of the airbag 22a (in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 5), but as shown in FIG. 6, the bag extending halfway can be provided alternately from both directions.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the inner surfaces facing each other of the airbag 22a from sticking to each other, and the ventilation between the inside of the airbag 22a and the pump through the hose 22h can be favorably performed. It is possible to exhaust quickly.

(Modification 1)
In the second embodiment, the airbag is intentionally made with ridges and attached to the flat backing plate 22e to provide irregularities on the inner surface of the airbag. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the backing plate 22e The surface shape on the side where the airbag 22a is to be attached is made uneven, and the airbag 22a is attached to the surface, whereby a convex portion 22g is formed on the inner surface of the airbag 22a, and the same effect is obtained.

(Modification 2)
Moreover, it is also possible to provide a protrusion (rib) on the inner surface of the airbag by providing a recess in the mold forming the airbag. In this case, the ribs are preferably arranged as shown in FIG. This is preferable in that it is more productive than the method of providing ridges. The appearance of the airbag according to this modification is the same as that of FIG. 6 except that the inner surface of the ridge 22f is formed by molding instead of a ridge. FIG. 5C shows a cross section of the airbag according to this modification.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, it is possible to quickly perform expansion due to gas introduction and contraction due to exhaust.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the cuff for fingers which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a state at the time of mounting | wearing of the finger cuff 22 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the shape of the airbag of the cuff for fingers which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the state of the airbag at the time of mounting | wearing with the cuff for fingers which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the attachment structure of the airbag in the cuff for fingers which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the cuff for fingers which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Claims (5)

Having an airbag which is formed by the expandable material, the cuff body for the airbag to avascular at the base of the finger or toe of the instrumentation wearing person is attached to the fingers or toes of the wearer In the finger cuff,
When the airbag is attached to the cuff body, it is formed so as to be substantially fan-shaped, and the length of the end located on the root side of the wearer's finger when worn is the wearer's finger when worn. A finger cuff characterized by being shorter than the length of the end located on the tip side of the finger.   Furthermore, the length of the surface of the airbag that is on the side that comes into contact with the wearer's finger when worn is formed to be shorter than the length of the surface that is on the cuff body side when worn. The finger cuff according to claim 1. The unevenness | corrugation for preventing sticking of the inner surfaces of the said airbag is provided in the inner surface of the side attached to the said airbag main body of the said airbag, The Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Finger cuff.   4. The finger cuff according to claim 3, wherein the unevenness provided on the inner surface of the airbag is formed by the unevenness formed on a surface of a member constituting the airbag.   The said airbag is attached to the said airbag main body through a backing plate, The unevenness | corrugation provided in the inner surface of the said airbag is formed by the surface shape of the said backing plate. Cuff.

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