JP5168135B2 - Biological improvement effect analysis system and biological improvement effect analysis method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a living body improvement effect analysis system and an analysis method for analyzing a function improving effect on a living body of an intake taken by an individual by estimating an intestinal state using a defecation gas concentration that occurs simultaneously during defecation.

  There are many supplements (health supplements) and foods that are said to be good for the body. However, since it is difficult to judge the effectiveness, I make an unclear decision to believe that I believe in advertising or buy the word of an acquaintance, try it, try it, and feel like it works. Is the current situation. It is unclear how effectively supplementary foods that are generally recognized as having an intestinal effect, such as foods containing lactic acid bacteria such as yogurt, are not limited to supplements, and are functioning effectively for specific individuals.

  Therefore, I think that supplements and yogurt as described above (hereinafter collectively referred to as “supplementary foods”) may be good for the user (hereinafter referred to as “users”). However, there is a problem that the ingestion does not last long because the effect is invisible.

  On the other hand, even for companies that produce supplementary foods, if they can provide the individual with the optimal product type and intake method whose effectiveness has been verified, sales can be increased, but there is no such means.

  There is no known system and verification method for verifying the effects of ingestion such as supplements taken by individuals on the living body from the intestinal state. The following Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known as slightly related technologies.

  In the method for measuring physiological functions and the test food of Patent Document 1, a test food to which an ingredient serving as an index corresponding to a specific disease is added is prepared, and blood is consumed while taking only this test food for a certain period of time. A method is described in which urine and feces are collected and the state of a subject with respect to a specific digestive system and circulatory system is measured based on data obtained therefrom.

In addition, the living body monitor device of Patent Document 2 is equipped with a gas sensor on a T-band made of cloth, detects gas released from the anus with a gas sensor, converts it into data, and compares the data stored in the memory with past data. A warning is displayed on the display device when an abnormality is recognized, such as when the difference is large.

Japanese Patent No. 3611996 JP-A-9-43182

  As described above, in the past, it was not possible to verify the improvement effect on the living body of supplements such as supplements taken by individuals from the state of the intestines, and appropriate food types, their intakes, and intake methods Etc. cannot be grasped by the manufacturer and fed back to the individual.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the living body improvement effect analysis system of the present invention according to claim 1 is a system for analyzing the improvement effect on the living body of the intake taken by the subject, Ingestion information input means for inputting ingestion information, defecation gas concentration measuring means for measuring the concentration of a predetermined component in the defecation gas that accompanies during defecation, and the intestinal state of the subject from the measurement data measured by the defecation gas concentration measurement means An intestinal state index estimating means for estimating an intestinal state index serving as an index indicating the time series change of corresponding data between the intake information of the intake and the time series of the intestinal state index, Improvement effect analysis means for analyzing the effectiveness of the improvement effect on the information, and notification means for notifying the analysis result.

  According to the present invention, since the effect when ingesting a supplement such as a supplement is analyzed from the state of change of the intestinal state index estimated by the measurement of the defecation gas component concentration of the subject and the intake state of the intake, It is possible to objectively and easily determine whether or not each user has an effect of ingesting the intake.

A biological improvement effect analysis system according to a second aspect is the biological improvement effect analysis system according to the first aspect, wherein the intestinal state index is a stool pH representing a pH value of stool.
According to the present invention, fecal pH is one of the most widely recognized intestinal state indicators, and it is easy to estimate fecal pH from defecation gas. It is possible to analyze the biological improvement effect with high accuracy.

The biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 3 is the biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined component is carbon dioxide, and the intestinal state index estimation means includes a concentration of carbon dioxide in defecation gas. -A storage unit for storing fecal pH conversion data, and an operation unit for calculating an estimated value of fecal pH from the measured carbon dioxide concentration and the conversion data.

  According to the present invention, the carbon dioxide content is high in the defecation gas, and the correlation between the carbon dioxide concentration and the fecal pH, which is an intestinal condition index, is high. Is the carbon dioxide, and the fecal pH, which is an intestinal state index, is estimated from the carbon dioxide concentration, whereby an accurate biological improvement effect can be analyzed.

The biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 4 is the biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined component is carbon dioxide, and the intestinal state index estimation means includes the carbon dioxide in defecation gas. A storage unit for storing carbon concentration-carboxylic acid concentration conversion data and carboxylic acid concentration-stool pH conversion data, and for calculating an estimated value of stool pH from the measured carbon dioxide concentration and the two conversion data And an arithmetic unit.

  According to the present invention, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the defecation gas is high, and the fecal pH that is an intestinal state index is estimated from the carbon dioxide concentration via the stool carboxylic acid concentration. In addition to a certain stool pH, information on carboxylic acid in stool is also acquired, so that a more accurate biological improvement effect can be analyzed.

The biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 5 is the biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined component is hydrogen, and the intestinal state index estimation means includes a concentration of hydrogen in defecation gas−stool It has a storage unit for storing pH conversion data, and an operation unit for calculating an estimated value of fecal pH from the measured hydrogen concentration and the conversion data.

  According to the present invention, hydrogen in stool gas has a relatively high occupancy rate and does not exist in the environment, so that it can be measured with high accuracy and has a high correlation with fecal pH, which is an intestinal state index. By using hydrogen as an accurate estimate of fecal pH, it is possible to analyze an accurate biological improvement effect.

The living body improvement effect analysis system according to claim 6 is the living body improvement effect analysis system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the personal information for inputting the personal information for identifying the subject as the living body is input. An input means is provided.
According to the present invention, by providing the personal information input means, it is possible to simultaneously analyze the biological improvement effect of the intake for a plurality of users with one system.

The biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 7 is the biological improvement effect analysis system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the ingestion information of the ingestion includes information on ingestion start and ingestion of the ingestion. It is characterized by being.
According to the present invention, by using intake start and stop as intake information, the analysis system can be used by inputting intake information with a simple operation.

The biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 8 is the biological improvement effect analysis system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a factor that may affect the biological improvement effect of the ingestion occurs. It is characterized in that an influence factor information input means for inputting in the case is provided.
According to the present invention, it takes a certain period of time for the living body improvement effect of the intake to appear. If there are factors that may affect the effects of the ingested substance during the ingestion period, such as taking medicine or drinking unusually, the user will usually be able to input it by providing an input means. Even if the biological effect improvement system of the present invention is used in the street life, it is possible to analyze the presence or absence of influencing factors at the time of effect analysis, so it is possible to accurately analyze the biological improvement effect of the intake Become.

The biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 9 is the biological improvement effect analysis system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the biological improvement effect analysis system is installed in a Western-style toilet equipped with a sanitary washing toilet seat device or an existing Western-style It is characterized by being retrofitted to the toilet bowl.
According to the present invention, since the user can perform necessary measurements in the daily life rhythm by installing it in a Western-style toilet, the user can easily use the system of the present invention without extra effort. can do.

Further, the biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 10 is characterized in that in the analysis of the biological improvement effect according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the defecation gas concentration after the intake of intake is stopped is also measured. It is characterized by analyzing the continuity of the effect after the stop and the delayed onset of the effect.
According to the present invention, it is possible to analyze not only the intake period but also the effect of a kind of intake such that the effect remains continuously after stopping the intake, or the effect only appears after a certain period of time after the intake. Therefore, it can be applied to various effects analysis of various intakes.

The analysis method of the living body improvement effect according to the present invention is a method of analyzing the improvement effect on the living body of the intake taken by an individual, and this method specifies an individual by operating a personal identification button, For the individual who is ingesting before and after ingestion, the concentration of defecation gas that accompanies defecation is measured, and the intestinal state index is estimated from the measurement data as an index representing the intestinal state of the subject. It is characterized by analyzing the time series change of the correspondence data between the intake information and the intestinal state index at that time, and analyzing the effectiveness of the improvement effect for the individual.

  Since the living body improvement effect analysis system and the analysis method of the present invention have the above-described configuration, each user actually determines whether or not there is an effect when ingesting a supplement such as a supplementary food. It has an unprecedented function that can be done. Therefore, supplementary food manufacturers can recommend products more actively by verifying the effectiveness of the user.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an analysis system and an analysis method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view (partial fluoroscopy) showing an example in which operating means and measuring means according to the living body improvement effect analysis system of the present invention are installed in a Western-style toilet equipped with a sanitary washing toilet seat device.

  A Western-style toilet 1 is installed in a private room of a toilet, and a sanitary washing toilet seat device operation unit 2 and a biological improvement effect analysis system operation panel 3 are attached to the wall surface. The operation unit 2 and the operation panel 3 may be attached separately as shown in the figure, but they may be integrated into one operation panel.

  A gas sensor 5 is attached to the western toilet 1 so as to face the deodorizer exhaust passage 4. In the present embodiment, a carbon dioxide sensor is used as the gas sensor 5 in order to measure carbon dioxide gas in the defecation gas as a predetermined component in the present invention. When the living body improvement effect analysis system is used, the operation panel 3 is operated to perform personal recognition, intake state registration, etc., and cause the gas sensor 5 to detect carbon dioxide gas generated with defecation.

  And a storage unit for storing the carbon dioxide gas concentration-pH value conversion data, and an arithmetic unit for calculating the fecal pH value from the conversion data, that is, the fecal pH value as an example of the intestinal state index in the present invention. The stool pH value is estimated by the built-in control device 6, and the intake status registration data and stool pH data are transmitted to an external organization that performs data analysis. As will be described later, the function of the control device 6 can be left to an external organization. It is also possible to perform data analysis within the apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the entire function of the living body improvement effect analysis system. This system starts from (1) the start of the effect analysis method. That is, the user is recognized by the operation panel 3 which is an operation means. Next, (2) the presence or absence of ingestion of the ingested food as personal information is input. Here, ingested foods are health functional foods such as supplements and yogurt and foods generally considered good for the body. Up to this point, the user has to input, but thereafter, processing and analysis are automatically performed at the start of (3) defecation.

  The carbon dioxide gas generated with (3) defecation is detected by the gas sensor 5 in the process of (4) gas measurement, and converted into fecal pH by means described later. In addition to the fecal pH value, the intestinal state index can be used as information for estimating the biological improvement effect by estimating the water content, hardness and septic concentration of the feces from the carbon dioxide gas concentration as the intestinal state index.

  The fecal pH data is processed using the control device 6 in the process of (5) data processing, or sent to an external engine using communication means, and processed there. Here, examples of external organizations include manufacturers of yogurt and supplements and data processing specialized organizations.

  (5) Data processing is to process the data before ingestion of the ingested food, during ingestion, and after ingestion chronologically to obtain an average value, maximum value, standard deviation, and the like. The data thus obtained may be transmitted to the external organization.

  (6) Judgment is for judging the effectiveness of the ingested food, and is made by comparing the stool pH before ingestion with the stool pH during ingestion continuation or after ingestion interruption. This determination can also be made in the control device 6 or in an external engine.

(7) Notification means notification of the determination result. When the processing up to (6) determination is performed using the control device 6, the determination data itself may be difficult to understand even if it is notified to the user. Therefore, it is possible to transmit the data to an external organization without directly notifying the user, and the external organization can accumulate this data, recreate it as easy-to-understand information such as health advice for the user, and provide feedback.

  In addition, as a notification method that is easy to understand for the user of fecal pH as an intestinal state index, the user can be notified in terms of intestinal age. Here, the intestinal age is an age determined by the state of the intestine. For example, the intestinal state corresponding to a certain intestinal age (here, fecal pH) is determined by the intestinal age and the actual age. It is the average intestinal state (here fecal pH) of multiple users who are the same. The user may find it difficult to understand the meaning of the scientific value of stool pH. The results are easier to understand.

  Also, when the external organization performs the data processing of (4), (5), and (6), not only the effectiveness of the food, which is the result of the data analysis, is notified to the user side, It can be said that the information is easy to understand such as the above-mentioned health advice and is fed back. The feedback information may be displayed on the operation panel 3, but can also be sent to the user's mobile phone or PC.

  Next, a method for estimating fecal pH, which is an intestinal state index, from the carbon dioxide gas concentration detected by the gas sensor 5 will be described in detail. First, an example in which the acetic acid concentration in stool is estimated from the carbon dioxide gas concentration and then the fecal pH value is estimated from the acetic acid concentration will be described.

  FIG. 3 is an example of a graph showing a procedure for estimating the pH value from the carbon dioxide gas concentration according to the present invention. FIG. 3A is a graph showing an example in which the gas sensor 5 measures air in a stool containing defecation gas generated during defecation. The time (seconds) on the horizontal axis represents the time required for defecation, t1 is the defecation start time, t2 is the defecation end time, and the vertical axis is the output voltage (Volt) of the gas sensor 5.

  The gas sensor used in this embodiment uses a sensor that outputs a voltage value corresponding to the carbon dioxide concentration (Vol%) in the test gas. On the other hand, the concentration of the predetermined component in the air in the toilet bowl at the time of defecation changes not only by the change in the amount of defecation gas itself released, but also by the diffusion of the defecation gas. Therefore, the output of the gas sensor 5 that collects and measures the defecation gas mixed air in the toilet bowl also changes every moment as shown in this figure. Therefore, in this embodiment, the concentration corresponding to the maximum output value Vp (hereinafter referred to as the peak value Vp) of the output voltage V of the gas sensor 5 is adopted as a measurement value of the carbon dioxide concentration in the defecation gas in one stool. Yes.

  Here, depending on the type of component to be measured by the present invention, the output of the gas sensor may be affected by component concentration change or temperature change in the measurement atmosphere, so the output voltage value in the reference measurement atmosphere Is the reference output value (Vb value), and the amount of change from this value must be the sensor output maximum value (Vp value). Accordingly, in this embodiment, as will be described later, when the maximum value in the measured value group Vx of the sensor output voltage V in the continuous gas concentration measurement by one defecation is Vmax, at the defecation start time t1. The sensor output voltage value Vb1 is adopted as the reference output value, and Vmax−Vb1 in the figure is the sensor output maximum value (Vp value) in the measurement.

In addition, since the output voltage of the gas sensor used in the present embodiment is output corresponding to the carbon dioxide concentration (Vol%), the peak value Vp is the maximum concentration value in the carbon dioxide concentration measurement in one stool. It is equivalent to.

  As described above, any gas sensor 5 can be used as long as it can detect an output corresponding to at least the maximum concentration. Moreover, since this Vp value appears at the time when the amount of defecation is the largest, if the gas concentration at that time is adopted, the fecal pH value can be estimated more easily.

  FIG. 3B is a calibration curve showing the correlation between the concentration of carbon dioxide and the concentration of acetic acid in stool. As a result of an actual measurement, it was found that there is a correlation as shown in this figure between the acetic acid concentration in the stool and the carbon dioxide concentration in the gas. The reason is not clear, but the pH value of feces depends on the concentration of the total carboxylic acid contained, and it is assumed that a certain proportion of this carboxylic acid is decomposed into water and carbon dioxide in the body. Therefore, the concentration of acetic acid occupying most of the carboxylic acid is also correlated with the carbon dioxide concentration. Here, the acetic acid concentration corresponding to the carbon dioxide concentration in a certain measurement in which the measured value Vpx of the sensor output maximum value (Vp value) was measured was Cac.

  FIG. 3C is a calibration curve showing the correlation between the acetic acid concentration and the pH value. It has been found that the correlation between the concentration of acetic acid in stool and the pH value shows an almost linear relationship, although the data is somewhat disturbed by the influence of other acids and bases contained therein. Therefore, the pH value corresponding to the acetic acid concentration Cac is obtained from the calibration curve.

  From the above, it can be seen that the fecal pH value corresponding to the carbon dioxide concentration can be obtained by measuring the carbon dioxide concentration in the defecation gas discharged during defecation.

  FIG. 4A is a flowchart showing a procedure for estimating the fecal pH value from the carbon dioxide gas concentration, and FIGS. 4B and 4C are actually converted data. As shown in FIG. 4A, the acetic acid concentration of the stool is estimated using carbon dioxide in the gas that accompanies the bowel movement, and the fecal pH value is estimated from the acetic acid concentration. FIG. 4B is data obtained by examining the correlation between the carbon dioxide gas concentration (expressed in volume%) in the gas generated during defecation and the acetic acid concentration (μmol / g) in the stool collected at that time. Although there was variation in data, it was found that there was an almost linear correlation. FIG. 4C is data showing a correlation between the acetic acid concentration in the stool and the pH value of the stool. Although this data also varies, an almost linear correlation can be recognized.

  In this embodiment, in addition to fecal pH as an intestinal condition index, fecal acetic acid concentration can also be estimated, so fecal acetic acid concentration can also be used as auxiliary information for in vivo analysis of ingested food effects. .

  FIG. 5A is a flowchart showing a procedure for estimating the intestinal age from the fecal pH value, and FIG. 5B is actual measurement data. After estimating the fecal pH value from the carbon dioxide gas concentration as shown in FIG. 4A, the pH value is converted to the intestinal age as shown in FIG. 5A. Here, the intestinal age refers to a situation in which the intestinal environment changes from weakly acidic to alkaline with age, so that it can be easily understood by the user.

  The data in FIG. 5 (b) is a calibration curve created from the pH values of about 150 stools from the 20s to 80s, and there is some variation, but there is a correlation between the stool pH value and the intestinal age. I know that there is.

  FIG. 6 is an example showing the procedure of the analysis method of the sanitary washing toilet seat apparatus attached to the Western-style toilet with the living body improvement effect analysis system of the present invention built therein. The user's operation is displayed on the left side, and the processing performed by the toilet seat device is displayed separately on the right side.

  In FIG. 6, the user enters the toilet, defecates, and leaves the room. Since the living body improvement effect analysis system of the present invention is attached to the toilet, the analysis result of the effect of ingesting supplementary foods will be shown later. Can be obtained.

First, when the user enters the room, the entry is detected by the human body detection sensor. Here, if it is the first day of measurement, the user performs first-time personal registration on the operation panel 3. The contents to be registered at this time are a personal ID, gender, age, measurement start date, scheduled end date, and the like. In this embodiment, a personal identification button provided on the operation panel 3 is selected and performed. In the case of a user who is continuing the measurement instead of the first day of the measurement, the process starts with inputting personal identification information. In the personal identification information input, the system recognizes that the subject is “subject A”, for example, by pressing the registered personal identification button.
Thereby, for example, even when a single toilet is shared by a plurality of people in a hospital or the like, it is possible to identify an individual and to analyze the effect of the intake on each individual.

  When personal identification is input, the gas sensor 5 is switched on. When the user is seated, the seat sensor detects the seating, and the gas sensor 5 and the control device 6 work together to start recording and storing the carbon dioxide gas concentration. The user may press the start recording and storage start switch of each sensor without using the seating sensor.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the time when the operation of the gas sensor 5 is started is t1, and the voltage value (Vol% concentration) of the gas sensor 5 corresponding to the time is V1. Until the user starts and finishes defecation, the gas sensor 5 detects and writes the data Vx to the storage unit at regular intervals, for example, every second.

  After defecation ends, the user starts washing the human body. When the cleaning start button is pressed, the recording of the gas sensor 5 is ended. The time t2 at the end of the defecation and the detection data V2 at that time of the gas sensor 5 are stored. When considering that the washing button may be used before or during defecation, the user may manually terminate the storage without interlocking with the washing button.

  Further, the calculation unit of the control device 6 searches for the maximum value Vmax of the carbon dioxide gas concentration in the range of t1 to t2. A value obtained by subtracting the minimum value Vb1 of the carbon dioxide gas concentration from the value of Vmax or Vmax is recorded in the storage unit as a measured value (peak value Vp).

The acetic acid concentration Cac corresponding to the peak value Vp is identified based on the correlation data as shown in FIG. 4B, and the pH value corresponding to the acetic acid concentration Cac is determined based on the correlation data in FIG. presume. Subsequently, the intestinal age corresponding to the pH value is estimated based on the correlation data as shown in FIG.

  The obtained estimation result and measurement date are written in the storage unit to determine whether or not the current day is the last measurement day. If it is not the last day, that is, if it is the first measurement day or the measurement continuation date, the living body improvement effect analysis system stops when the user's sitting detection by the seating sensor and the leaving detection by the human body detection sensor are performed.

  Further, if the day is the last day of measurement, the total value of stool pH obtained during the ingestion period is divided by the number of defecations to obtain an average value, and the result is stored. Similarly, the sum of fecal pH obtained during the intake period is divided by the number of defecations to obtain an average value, and the result is stored. Then, the two average values are compared, and if the average value of the stool pH during the intake period is smaller than the stool pH during the non-intake period, it is determined that the ingested food is effective for the user “subject A”. These calculations and determinations are performed by the control device 6 or the external organization that is the data transmission destination, and information is provided to “subject A” later.

  In the analysis method described with reference to FIG. 6, only examples of cases where there is no ingestion and ingestion are shown, but there are various other methods as means for confirming the ingestion effect of the ingested food. FIG. 7 is a list showing examples of analysis methods using the living body improvement effect analysis system of the present invention.

  In FIG. 7, (1) is a two-stage method with no intake and only with intake as described in FIG. 6, and is simply a method when it is desired to see the effect of food intake. In addition, the ingestion effectiveness of the ingested food is determined by increasing or decreasing the pH value, and the result is converted to the intestinal age and transmitted to the user.

  (2) and (3) are a three-stage system through a period without intake (t1 to t2), a period with intake (t2 to t3), and a period without intake (t3 to t4), from the pH value of t1 to t2. When the pH values of t2 to t3 and t3 to t4 are low (2), it can be analyzed that there is a sustained effect even after the end of intake, and only the pH values of t2 to t3 are t1 to t2 and t3. In the case of (3) where the pH value is lower than ˜t4, it can be analyzed that the effect is effective only during the intake period.

  (4) and (5) divide the period after ingestion into three periods from t3 to t4, t4 to t5, and t5 to t6. Of these, (4) is a method for analyzing the duration of effect, and (5) is a method for analyzing the timing of ingestion effect.

  (6) is a method of ingesting the ingested food A first and analyzing the effect by ingesting the next ingested food B when the effect does not appear.

  Finally, (7) is a coping method when there is a situation that inhibits the effects of ingested foods, such as ingestion of drugs. Analysis of ingestion effects of ingested foods by excluding data for the period of ingestion of these drugs, etc. This guarantees the accuracy.

  Next, the biological improvement effect analysis system of the present invention will be described more specifically. FIG. 8 is a front view showing the simplest example of the operation panel according to the present invention. The operation panel 3 includes personal identification buttons A, B, and C for identifying each individual, and a display unit 10 and a display button 11 for displaying personal information. The presence or absence of supplementary food can be registered by pressing the display button 11 a plurality of times after pressing the personal identification button.

  FIG. 9 is an example in which initial registration is performed using the operation panel of FIG. Personal identification (in this example, two males, 35 and 40 years old, subject A and subject B are registered), study start date (2007/9/1), intake start date (2007/9/15) and study end Register the date (2007/9/28). At the same time, the date of whether or not the health functional foods such as yogurt are in good condition are registered.

  FIG. 10 is an example in which registration is performed each time using the operation panel of FIG. Personal identification (whether the user is subject A or subject B) is registered. Then, the biological improvement effect analysis system operates according to the procedure shown in FIG. 6, and proceeds in the order of measurement of carbon dioxide gas concentration → converted into acetic acid concentration → converted into pH value → converted into intestinal age, and these data are recorded. The

  FIG. 11 is an example showing processing when the test period is ended through FIGS. 9 and 10. As shown in FIG. 11B, only the data of the subject A is extracted from the matrix FIG. 11A created by recording and calculating in FIG. And the average intestinal pH before and after ingestion is calculated, respectively, and the presence or absence of an effect is analyzed. (The verification result is displayed on the display unit 10 and notified to the subject.)

  FIG. 12 is a front view showing another example of the operation panel according to the present invention. The operation panel 3 has a food button 12 added in addition to the functions shown in FIG. This food button 12 is for registering that a health functional food such as yogurt has been ingested, and (1) a method of pressing every day on the day of ingestion, or (2) pressing and ingestion on the day of ingestion. There is a method to use as a switch button by pressing on the end date.

  FIG. 13 is an example in which initial registration is performed using the operation panel of FIG. Register personal identification, test start date (September 1, 2007) and test end date (September 28, 2007). In this example, the yogurt intake date is registered at the time of registration every time. On the other hand, FIG. 14 shows a method of determining and registering whether or not yogurt is ingested at the time of initial registration, as in the example of FIG.

  FIG. 15 is an example in which registration is performed each time the analysis is performed by the method of FIG. 13 using the operation panel of FIG. Registration of personal identification (whether the user is subject A or subject B) and whether or not yogurt is ingested are registered. For the presence or absence of yogurt intake, either the button is pressed every time, or the button is pressed at the start date and stoppage of yogurt intake. Then, the biological improvement effect analysis system operates according to the procedure shown in FIG. 6, and proceeds in the order of measurement of carbon dioxide gas concentration → converted into acetic acid concentration → converted into pH value → converted into intestinal age, and these data are recorded. The

  FIG. 16 shows an example in which data up to the test end date is registered and calculated using the operation panel of FIG. As shown in FIG. 16B, only the data of the subject A is extracted from the matrix FIG. 16A created by recording and calculating in FIG. Then, the average stool pH before and during the intake period and after the intake stop is calculated, and the sustained effect after the stop of intake is analyzed.

  FIG. 17 is a modification of FIG. Here, the intestinal age (A1) in the period before yogurt intake and the intestinal age (A2) in the period after ingestion are calculated (average value), and if A1> A2, it is determined that there is an effect.

  FIG. 18 is a front view showing another example of the operation panel according to the present invention. The operation panel 3 is provided with an abnormal button 13 in addition to the functions of the operation panel 3 in FIG. When there is a factor that affects the effect of the health functional food such as yogurt or the state of the tummy, the abnormal button 13 ingests medicines such as antibiotics, drinks alcohol, or ingests other functional foods. By pressing this button, it is possible to perform data analysis by removing the data at the time of abnormality.

  FIG. 19 is an example in which registration is performed each time using the operation panel of FIG. Although the illustration of the initial registration is omitted, the personal identification, the test start date, the intake start date, and the test end date are registered at the time of initial registration as in the other examples. In each registration in the figure, registration of personal identification (whether the user is subject A or subject B), whether or not yogurt is ingested, and whether or not there is an abnormality are registered. For the presence or absence of yogurt intake, either the button is pressed every time, or the button is pressed at the start date and stoppage of yogurt intake. Then, the living body improvement effect analysis system operates according to the procedure shown in FIG. 6 and proceeds in the order of measurement of carbon dioxide gas concentration → conversion to acetic acid concentration → conversion to pH value → conversion to intestinal age. Recorded and calculated.

  FIG. 20 is an example in which data up to the test end date is registered and calculated using the operation panel of FIG. As shown in FIG. 20B, data of only the subject A is extracted from the matrix FIG. 20A created by recording and calculating in FIG. Then, the average stool pH before and during the intake period of the yogurt is calculated and the intake effect is analyzed except for the data on the day when the abnormal button is pressed.

  In the first embodiment described above, the fecal pH is estimated via the carboxylic acid concentration when the fecal pH is estimated from the carbon dioxide concentration, but as another second embodiment of the present invention, the dioxide dioxide is estimated. It is also possible to estimate fecal pH directly from the carbon concentration. Only the parts different from the first embodiment described above will be described below.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing experimental data obtained by measuring the carbon dioxide concentration in the combined gas with the same configuration as that of the first embodiment and obtaining the relationship with the fecal pH value.
Thus, a good correlation is recognized between the two, and it is understood that the pH value of the stool can be estimated directly by measuring the carbon dioxide concentration of the combined gas. That is, the present invention adopts the same configuration and method as in the first embodiment described above, so that the fecal pH value as an intestinal state index is obtained from the concentration measurement result using carbon dioxide in the defecation gas as a predetermined component. It is also possible to ask directly. Further, the notification based on the intestinal age of the subject can be performed in the same procedure as an intestinal state index instead of the fecal pH value.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In this embodiment, the predetermined component in the defecation gas is hydrogen, and the gas sensor is a hydrogen sensor, but the configuration and procedure of the other devices are the same as those in the first embodiment, so they are omitted. The different parts are described below.

  As shown in FIG. 22, a good correlation was obtained between the output (peak value: Vp) of the hydrogen gas sensor and the fecal pH value. Since the hydrogen gas sensor used at this time has a correspondence between the output peak value (Vp) and the hydrogen concentration, the hydrogen gas in the gas is similar to the case of the carbon dioxide concentration in the previous embodiment. Correlation between the concentration and the pH value was also observed, and it was found that the pH value of the stool at that time can be estimated by measuring the hydrogen concentration in the combined gas. That is, according to the present invention, the pH value of feces can be directly determined by measuring the concentration of hydrogen in the defecation gas as a predetermined component.

  Hereinafter, this embodiment using hydrogen gas as a predetermined component in the defecation gas will be described in detail.

  When the fecal pH is estimated directly from the hydrogen concentration, the gas sensor is a hydrogen sensor and the sensor output is different from the hydrogen concentration, but from other system configurations and operations, and the fecal pH that is an intestinal state index The analysis means for analyzing the effect of the intake is the same as the case of estimating the fecal pH directly from the carbon dioxide concentration described above, and the data processing procedure is the one in which the carbon dioxide concentration is replaced with the hydrogen concentration. The description will focus on the different parts.

  First, the hydrogen concentration in the defecation gas is measured by a hydrogen gas sensor. Next, as in the case of carbon dioxide, a peak value Vp (Volt) corresponding to the maximum value of the hydrogen gas concentration is obtained from the hydrogen gas sensor output. Next, the pH value of the stool is estimated using the correspondence data (based on the correlation diagram of FIG. 22) between the peak value Vp and the stool pH corresponding to the maximum value of the hydrogen gas concentration stored in advance in the storage unit. The estimated stool pH value is written in the storage unit for use in analysis of improvement of the biological effect of the ingested matter. Further, the obtained fecal pH value is estimated based on the correlation shown in FIG. 5B as in the first embodiment, and the estimation result is notified to the user by display or the like.

  The present invention has been described above by exemplifying carbon dioxide and hydrogen as the predetermined components in the defecation gas, but the present invention can be applied to other examples of the predetermined components such as methane gas, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and methylcaptan. .

  In addition, the stool pH value has been described as an example of the intestinal state index estimated from the defecation gas concentration, and has been described in detail above. However, other indicators such as stool rot component concentration, total number of enteric bacteria, enteric bacteria The distribution of odor, odor intensity, odor index, etc. can be mentioned as examples.

As another embodiment of the present invention, instead of installing the living body improvement effect system in the toilet bowl, a system that collects the air in the bowl of the toilet bowl at the time of defecation is provided as a system independent of the toilet function, and the toilet bowl Can be installed in the vicinity.
According to the present embodiment, any toilet can be installed freely in the existing toilet space without considering the contact with the toilet, which is preferable.

As another embodiment of the present invention, the living body improvement effect system can be installed in a fitting such as a toilet cabinet.
According to the present embodiment, it is preferable that the living body improvement effect system is visually invisible so that a clean toilet space can be realized in consideration of the total design.

As still another embodiment of the present invention, the living body improvement effect system can be a portable type.
According to the present embodiment, since the living body improvement system can be carried, measurement can be performed, for example, on the go without being restricted by the place to defecate, so that the present invention has one of the objects of continuous measurement. Therefore, it is possible to measure the intake effect of the ingested food without limiting the daily life of the subject.

The external view which shows an example in which the operation means and measurement means which concern on the biological improvement effect analysis system based on this invention were installed in the western style toilet bowl with a sanitary washing toilet seat apparatus (partial perspective) The figure which shows the whole function of the living body improvement effect analysis system Graph showing the procedure for estimating fecal pH value from carbon dioxide gas concentration Flow chart and procedure for estimating fecal pH value from carbon dioxide gas concentration Flow chart and actual measurement data showing the procedure for estimating intestinal age from carbon dioxide gas concentration The figure which shows the procedure of the analysis method at the time of carrying the biological improvement effect analysis system of this invention in the sanitary washing toilet seat apparatus built-in type western style toilet bowl The figure which shows the example of the analysis method using the biological body improvement effect analysis system which concerns on this invention The front view which shows the example of the operation panel which comprises the biological body improvement effect analysis system which concerns on this invention The figure explaining the example which performs initial registration using the operation panel of FIG. The figure explaining the example which registers each time using the operation panel of FIG. The figure explaining the example of the process when a test period is complete | finished through FIG. 9 and FIG. Front view showing another example of operation panel The figure explaining the example which performs initial registration using the operation panel of FIG. Figure explaining an example of determining whether or not yogurt is taken and registering at the first registration The figure explaining the example which registers each time about the case where it analyzes by the system of FIG. 13 using the operation panel of FIG. The figure explaining the example by which the data until the test end date was registered and the calculation was performed using the operation panel of FIG. The figure which shows the modification of FIG. Front view showing another example of operation panel The figure explaining the example which registers each time using the operation panel of FIG. The figure explaining the example by which the data until the test end date was registered and the calculation was performed using the operation panel of FIG. Figure showing actual conversion data for estimating fecal pH directly from carbon dioxide gas concentration Diagram showing actual conversion data for estimating fecal pH directly from hydrogen gas concentration

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Western-style toilet, 2 ... Sanitary washing toilet seat apparatus operation part, 3 ... Living body improvement effect analysis system operation panel, 4 ... Deodorization apparatus exhaust passage, 5 ... Gas sensor, 6 ... Control apparatus, 10 ... Display part, 11 ... Display button, 12 ... Food button, 13 ... Abnormal button.

Claims (10)

A system for analyzing the effect of ingestion taken by a subject on a living body,
Intake information input means for inputting intake information of the intake;
Defecation gas concentration measuring means for measuring carbon dioxide or hydrogen concentration as a predetermined component in the defecation gas that coexists during defecation;
An intestinal state index estimating means for estimating a fecal pH value as an intestinal state index serving as an index representing the intestinal state of a subject from the measurement data measured by the defecation gas concentration measuring means;
Analyzing the time series change of the correspondence data between the intake information of the intake and the time series of the intestinal state index, and the improvement effect analysis means for analyzing the effectiveness of the improvement effect for the individual;
Informing means for informing the analysis result,
A living body improvement effect analysis system comprising: The biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 1 , wherein the intestinal state index estimation means includes a storage unit for storing carbon dioxide concentration in stool gas-stool pH conversion data, a measured carbon dioxide concentration, A living body improvement effect analysis system comprising: an arithmetic unit for calculating an estimated value of fecal pH from the converted data. The biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 1 , wherein the intestinal state index estimation means is a memory for storing carbon dioxide concentration-carboxylic acid concentration conversion data and carboxylic acid concentration-stool pH conversion data in defecation gas. A living body improvement effect analysis system comprising: a calculation unit for calculating an estimated value of fecal pH from the measured carbon dioxide concentration and the two converted data. The biological improvement effect analysis system according to claim 1 , wherein the intestinal state index estimation unit includes a storage unit for storing hydrogen concentration-fecal pH conversion data in defecation gas, a measured hydrogen concentration, A living body improvement effect analysis system comprising: an arithmetic unit for calculating an estimated value of stool pH from the converted data. The living body improvement effect analysis system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising a living body information input means for inputting personal information for identifying a subject as the living body. Improvement effect analysis system. The biological improvement effect analysis system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the intake information of the ingestion is information related to start and stop of intake of the intake. system. In vivo improvement effect analysis system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the influence factor information input means for factors that can affect the biological effect of improving the ingesta enters in the event of A biological improvement effect analysis system characterized by being provided. The living body improvement effect analysis system according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the system is installed in a Western-style toilet equipped with a sanitary washing toilet seat device or retrofitted to an existing Western-style toilet. Biological improvement effect analysis system. In the analysis of the living body improvement effect according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , the defecation gas concentration after stopping the intake of the intake is also measured, and the continuity of the effect after stopping the intake and the delay of the effect are measured. A biological improvement effect analysis system characterized by also analyzing. This is a method of analyzing the improvement effect of ingested food taken by an individual on the living body, and this method identifies an individual by operating a personal identification button, and for the individual who is ingesting before taking the ingested substance. Measure the concentration of carbon dioxide or hydrogen as defecation gas that accompanies during defecation, estimate the pH value of the stool as an intestinal state index that represents the intestinal state of the subject from the measured data, and ingest the intake A method for analyzing a living body improvement effect, characterized by analyzing a time-series change of correspondence data between information and an intestinal state index at that time, and analyzing the effectiveness of the improvement effect for the individual.