JP6581251B2 - Inner ear characteristic evaluation device, program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inner ear characteristic evaluation device and a program for evaluating inner ear characteristics (such as hearing ability).

  Hearing test is used as a method for evaluating inner ear characteristics (inner ear function). Further, as a method for evaluating inner ear characteristics (inner ear function) in more detail than a hearing test, a method for non-invasively estimating input / output characteristics of the inner ear has been proposed (Non-Patent Document 1). The inner ear mainly includes a basement membrane that vibrates in accordance with sound input, cells that amplify it (outer hair cells), and cells that detect vibration (inner hair cells). Due to the characteristics of the outer hair cells, the input / output characteristics of the basement membrane vibration show compression characteristics as shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between the input sound pressure level and the basement membrane vibration speed disclosed in Non-Patent Document 2. In addition, a method for measuring inner ear characteristics using otoacoustic radiation has been proposed regardless of the answer of the examinee (evaluator) (Non-patent Document 3). Otoacoustic emissions are sounds emitted from the ears that originate from basement membrane vibrations. It is known that the input / output characteristics of otoacoustic radiation exhibit compression characteristics as well as basement membrane vibration. There are two types of otoacoustic emissions: distorted and reflective. Strain-type otoacoustic radiation is a distortion component caused by the compression characteristics of basement membrane vibration. Reflective otoacoustic radiation is a reflected sound due to the non-uniformity of the mechanical properties of the basement membrane and retains the properties of the stimulating sound. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of otoacoustic emission and stimulation sound disclosed in Non-Patent Document 4. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of the temporal change of the sound pressure (Pa) of the otoacoustic emission, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of the temporal change of the sound pressure (Pa) of the stimulating sound.

DA Nelson, AC Schroder, and M. Wojtczak, "A new procedure for measuring peripheral compression in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners," J. Acoust. Soc. Am., October 2001, Vol. 110, No. 4, pp. 2045-2064 R. Nobili, F. Mammano, and J. Ashmore, "How well do we understand the cochlea ?," TINS, 1998, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 159-166 PT Johannesen, and EA Lopez-Poveda, "Cochlear nonlinearity in normal-hearing subjects as inferred psychophysically and from distortion-product otoacoustic emissions," J. Acoust. Soc. Am., October 2008, Vol. 124, No. 4, pp . 2149-2163 Goodman SS, Withnell RH, De Boer E, Lilly DJ, and Nuttall AL., "Cochlear delays measured with amplitude-modulated tone-burst evoked OAEs," Hearing Research, February 2004, Vol. 188, Issues 1-2, pp. 57-69

  The psychophysical estimation method disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1 takes time to measure and requires a subjective response, so it is applicable to examinees who are difficult to answer such as newborns (evaluators). Is difficult. In particular, there is a drawback that application to screening for newborns is difficult.

On the other hand, the method of evaluating the inner ear characteristics using the otoacoustic emission disclosed in Non-Patent Document 3 has insufficient theoretical background, and the psychophysically estimated input / output characteristics as shown in FIG. The problem is that the differences can be significant. FIG. 3 compares the result of estimating the inner ear response by the psychophysical estimation method disclosed in Reference Non-Patent Document 1 with the result of estimating the inner ear response using the input / output characteristics of otoacoustic emission. FIG. As is evident from the results of subjects 1 and 2 in the figure, when the inner ear function (inner ear characteristics) is estimated using the input / output characteristics of the otoacoustic emission, the error from the estimation result by the psychophysical method increases. The problem was that there were cases.
(Reference Non-Patent Document 1: M. Epstein, and M. Florentine, "Inferring basilar-membrane motion from tone-burst otoacoustic emissions and psychoacoustic measurements," J. Acoust. Soc. Am., January 2005, Vol. 117, No 1, pp. 263-274)

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus that can evaluate inner ear characteristics without being invasive and not depending on the answer of the subject.

  The inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus of the present invention includes a stimulation sound presenting unit, an otoacoustic emission calculation unit, and a display unit.

The stimulation sound presentation unit presents a stimulation sound that is an amplitude-modulated sound to the external auditory canal of the person to be evaluated. The otoacoustic emission calculation unit calculates otoacoustic emission generated by the presentation of the stimulation sound. The display unit displays the information capable of visually whether peaks exist in the phase modulation amount of otoacoustic emission against stimuli.

  According to the inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to evaluate the inner ear characteristic without being invasive and not depending on the answer of the subject.

The figure showing the relationship between the input sound pressure level and the basement membrane vibration speed disclosed in Non-Patent Document 2. It is a figure which shows the example of the otoacoustic radiation and the stimulation sound disclosed by the nonpatent literature 4, Comprising: FIG. 2 (A) is an example of the time change of the sound pressure (Pa) of otoacoustic radiation, FIG.2 (B) is The figure which shows the example of the time change of the sound pressure (Pa) of a stimulus sound. The figure which compares and compares the result of having estimated the reaction of the inner ear with the psychophysical estimation method disclosed by reference nonpatent literature 1, and the result of having estimated the reaction of the inner ear using the input / output characteristic of otoacoustic emission. The block diagram which shows the structure of the otoacoustic emission measuring apparatus and inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus of Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the external auditory canal and the inner ear when the otoacoustic emission measuring apparatus of Example 1 is inserted. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the otoacoustic emission measurement apparatus according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus according to the first embodiment. The figure explaining the stimulus sound which the stimulus sound generation part of Example 1 generates. It is a figure which shows the example of the otoacoustic emission which the otoacoustic emission calculation part calculated in verification experiment, Comprising: FIG. 9 (A) is a figure which shows the phase modulation amount of otoacoustic emission, FIG.9 (B) is an otoacoustic emission figure. The figure which shows the time change of an amplitude. It is a figure which shows the example of the phase modulation amount which the phase modulation amount calculation part calculated in verification experiment, Comprising: The figure showing the relationship between a phase modulation amount and the sound pressure of a stimulus sound. It is a figure which shows the experimental result about the relationship between the amplification factor of the input / output function of the inner ear estimated by the psychophysical method in a certain evaluated person, and a phase modulation amount, Comprising: FIG. 11 (A) is a psychophysical method. The figure which shows the relationship between the amplification factor in the estimated inner ear, and the sound pressure of a stimulus sound, FIG.11 (B) is a figure which shows the relationship between the amount of phase modulation, and the sound pressure of a stimulus sound. The figure shown about the correlation of the maximum value of phase modulation amount, and an inner ear characteristic (inner ear function).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the structure part which has the same function, and duplication description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Hereinafter, the configurations of the otoacoustic emission measurement apparatus and the inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus of Example 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the otoacoustic emission measurement apparatus 1, the inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus 2, and the inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus 3 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the otoacoustic emission measurement apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a stimulation sound presentation unit 11, an external auditory canal sound acquisition unit 12, and an AD conversion unit 13. The inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment includes a stimulation sound generation unit 21, an otoacoustic emission calculation unit 22, a phase modulation amount calculation unit 23, an inner ear characteristic estimation unit 24, and a display unit 25. The configuration of the inner ear characteristic evaluation device is not limited to the above-described configuration, and as shown in the figure, the inner ear characteristic evaluation device 3 may include all of the configuration requirements of the otoacoustic emission measurement device 1 and the inner ear characteristic evaluation device 2. . Further, when the otoacoustic emission measurement device and the inner ear characteristic evaluation device are configured separately, the AD conversion unit 13 may be provided in the otoacoustic emission measurement device as shown in FIG. It may be provided. When the otoacoustic emission measurement device and the inner ear characteristic evaluation device are configured separately, it is assumed that the otoacoustic emission measurement device and the inner ear characteristic evaluation device are connected to be communicable by wire or wirelessly.

  In the following description, the description will be made on the premise of the configurations of the otoacoustic emission measuring device 1 and the inner ear characteristic evaluation device 2 shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the otoacoustic emission measuring apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the ear canal and the inner ear when the otoacoustic emission measuring apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is inserted. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the otoacoustic emission measuring apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.

The otoacoustic emission measuring device 1 measures (acoustic) otoacoustic emission generated by reflection from the basement membrane of the inner ear using an amplitude-modulated sound as a stimulation sound. The conventional method (reference nonpatent literature 2) was used for the measurement.
(Reference Non-Patent Document 2: DH Keefe, “Double-evoked otoacoustic emissions. I. Measurement theory and nonlinear coherence,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am., June 1998, Vol. 103, No. 6, pp.3489- 3498)

More specifically, the stimulus sound presentation unit 11 presents a stimulus sound that is an amplitude-modulated sound on the external auditory canal of the person to be evaluated 9 (S11). The stimulation sound presenting unit 11 can be composed of, for example, two speakers, acquires a stimulation sound sequence (S _s ) generated by a stimulation sound generation unit 21 described later, and presents the stimulation sound to the ear canal (S11, Details will be described later). The external auditory canal sound acquisition unit 12 collects the external auditory canal sound (S12). The external ear canal sound acquisition unit 12 can be realized by a small microphone, for example. The external auditory canal sound acquisition unit 12 collects the external auditory canal sound and outputs the collected sound signal (S _m ^a ) to the AD converter 13 (S12). The AD conversion unit 13 digitizes the collected sound in the ear canal (S13). The AD conversion unit 13 converts the sound collection signal (S _m ^a ) into a digital signal (S _m ^d , also referred to as a digital sound collection signal), and outputs it to the otoacoustic emission calculation unit 22 (S 13).

Next, the operation of the inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the inner ear characteristic evaluation device 2 of the present embodiment. The stimulation sound generation unit 21 generates a stimulation sound sequence (S _s ) that is an amplitude-modulated sound, and outputs it to the stimulation sound presenting unit 11 (S21).
The method disclosed in Reference Non-Patent Document 2 was used to generate the stimulus sound sequence (S _s ). As shown in FIG. 8, the stimulus sound sequence (S _s ) is composed of three stimulus sounds (S1 to S3). The stimulation sound (S1 to S3) is composed of two channels. The stimulation sound generation unit 21 outputs the stimulation sounds S1 to S3 to S1: AM sound on channel 1, silence on channel 2, S2: silence on channel 1, AM sound on channel 2, S3: AM sound on channel 1, and channel 2 An AM sound is generated (S21). The aforementioned stimulus sound presenting unit 11 presents the stimulus sound sequence (S _s ) generated in this manner by repeating one block a specified number of times (for example, 100 to 1000 times) (S11). The otoacoustic emission calculation unit 22 calculates the otoacoustic emission generated by the presentation of the stimulation sound (S22). More particularly, otoacoustic emission calculating unit 22 acquires the digital sound pickup signal (S _m ^d) from the AD converter 13, otoacoustic emission based on the digital sound pickup signal ^{_{(S m d) (S oae}} ) Is output to the phase modulation amount calculator 23 (S22).

<Detailed Procedure of Step S22>
The otoacoustic emission calculation unit 22 averages the signals measured for the stimulation sounds S1 to S3 of the stimulation sound sequence (S _s ). The averaged signals are called R1 to R3. The otoacoustic emission calculation unit 22 calculates amplitude-modulated-tone-evoked otoacoustic emissions (AMEOAE) ( _Soae ) using the following _equation (Reference Non-Patent Document 2).
AMEOAE = R1 + R2-R3

<Principle of Keefe et al. (Reference Non-Patent Document 2)>
The reflected sound from the eardrum and the otoacoustic emission are acquired by the external auditory canal sound acquisition unit 12 as an external auditory canal sound in an overlapped state. Therefore, it is necessary to extract only the otoacoustic radiation from the sound in the ear canal. Since the reflected sound from the eardrum is linear with respect to the stimulation sound pressure, the reflected sound becomes zero when the above equation is calculated. On the other hand, since OAE has compression characteristics, R1 + R2> R3. Therefore, when the above equation is calculated, a part (nonlinear part) of the otoacoustic emission can be extracted. The reason why S1 and S2 are presented from different speakers is to avoid the influence of non-linearity of the speakers. When S1 to S3 are presented from one channel, S3 is not equal to S1 + S2 due to the nonlinearity of the speaker.

Next, the phase modulation amount calculation unit 23 acquires the _otoacoustic emission (S _oae ) from the otoacoustic emission calculation unit 22 and calculates the phase modulation amount (S _pm ) of the _otoacoustic emission (S _oae ) with respect to the stimulus sound. , the maximum value of the phase modulation amount (max S _pm), outputs at least one of the sound pressure of the stimuli at the maximum value of the phase modulation amount _{(max S pm) (L f} ) (S23).

<Detailed Procedure of Step S23>
The phase modulation amount calculating unit 23 calculates the phase (θ _OAE [t]) of AMEOAE (S _oae ). For this calculation, Hilbert transform, short-time FFT, or the like can be used. Since θ _OAE [t] is modulated at the same modulation frequency as that of the stimulus sound, the phase modulation amount calculation unit 23 calculates the amplitude value to obtain the phase modulation amount (S _pm ).

  The inner ear characteristic estimation unit 24 estimates the inner ear characteristic based on at least one of the maximum value of the phase modulation amount (presence / absence) and the sound pressure of the stimulation sound at the maximum value of the phase modulation amount (S24). The display unit 25 uses one axis as the sound pressure of the stimulation sound and the other axis as the phase modulation amount, and visualizes and displays the relationship between the two (S25).

<Verification experiment>
Hereinafter, the result of the verification experiment which verified the principle of the present invention will be disclosed. The carrier wave and the modulated wave were sine waves. The frequency of the carrier wave was 1000 Hz, and the time length was 80 ms. The frequency of the modulation wave was 50 Hz, and the modulation depth was 0.44. The sound pressure level of the stimulating sound was set from 30 dB to 80 dB, and 5 dB increments. As the number of presentations, the above-mentioned block was presented 100 to 1000 times. Here, when the modulation wave of the AM sound is a sine wave, the modulation frequency is not limited, but the stimulation length includes one or more periods of amplitude modulation. The modulation wave of AM sound need not be a sine wave (the modulation frequency may not be constant). However, the modulation depth is constant, and the stimulation length needs to be a length that includes one or more periods of amplitude modulation. The carrier wave of AM sound need not be a sine wave. When the AM sound carrier is other than a sine wave, the frequency band needs to be constant (for example, white noise, narrowband noise, etc. may be used as the AM sound carrier).

  As a result of the verification experiment, the otoacoustic emission calculation unit 22 calculated the otoacoustic emission having the same carrier frequency and modulation frequency as the stimulation sound (see FIG. 9B). In addition, the phase of the otoacoustic emission was modulated at the same modulation frequency as the stimulation sound (see FIG. 9A). Further, the phase modulation amount was the maximum at the sound pressure level with the stimulating sound (see FIG. 10).

<Relationship between inner ear gain and phase modulation amount estimated by psychophysical method>
Hereinafter, the relationship between the amplification factor of the inner ear estimated by the psychophysical method and the maximum value of the phase modulation amount will be considered with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an experimental result on the relationship between the amplification factor of the input / output function of the inner ear and the phase modulation amount estimated by a psychophysical method in a certain person to be evaluated. FIG. 11A is a diagram showing the relationship between the amplification factor in the inner ear estimated by the psychophysical method and the sound pressure of the stimulating sound. FIG. 11B is a diagram showing the relationship between the phase modulation amount and the sound pressure of the stimulation sound.

As a result of this experiment, in any subject, the inner ear estimated by the psychophysical method at the sound pressure of the stimulation sound (L _f , near 0 dB in the example of FIG. 11B) with the maximum phase modulation amount. It was found that the slope of the amplification factor was almost equal to 0.5. In the following, the coordinates where the slope of the amplification factor of the inner ear is 0.5 are called refraction points. From the results of the above-described experiment, it was found that the sound pressure of the stimulating sound having the maximum phase modulation amount and the sound pressure of the stimulating sound at the refraction point almost coincide. Note that the horizontal axis of FIGS. 11A and 11B and the vertical axis of FIG. 11B are relative values. 11 (A) and 11 (B), L _f is calculated for all subjects, and the stimulus sound pressures of the input / output characteristics and the phase modulation characteristics are expressed as relative values with respect to L _f , respectively. did. About the vertical axis | shaft of FIG. 11 (B), the amount of phase modulation was normalized with the maximum value of each test subject.

As the result of the verification experiment shows, the input / output characteristics (compression characteristics) of the inner ear can be evaluated from the phase modulation amount of the otoacoustic emission. In general, the refraction point of the input / output characteristics shifts to a higher sound pressure level depending on the degree of hearing loss. It is also known that compression characteristics are lost in cases of severe hearing loss. In the present invention, the position of the refraction point of the input / output characteristics can be estimated from the phase modulation amount of the otoacoustic radiation. As shown in FIG. 12, the severity of hearing loss can be evaluated from the position of the refraction point (the peak position of the phase modulation amount of the otoacoustic emission). If no peak is detected in the phase modulation amount, it can be determined that the hearing loss is severe. Based on this new knowledge, the inner ear characteristic estimation unit 24 described above can evaluate the hearing ability (inner ear characteristic) of the person to be evaluated. The display unit 25 described above, by displaying in FIG 11 (B) evaluating the corresponding graph's whether evaluator to peak phase modulation amount is present, if the peak exists that The position can be shown, and the evaluator can determine the hearing ability of the evaluator.

  The inner ear characteristic evaluation device 2 (3) of the present embodiment can evaluate the inner ear characteristic without depending on the subjective answer of the person to be evaluated. Therefore, it is possible to evaluate the hearing ability of a to-be-evaluated person who is difficult to answer by himself such as a newborn baby.

In the above-described embodiment, the method for calculating the otoacoustic emission depends on the method of Reference Non-Patent Document 2, but the method for calculating the otoacoustic emission is not limited to this. For example, as a method for calculating the otoacoustic emission, the method of Reference Non-Patent Document 3, which is a method that similarly uses nonlinearity, may be used.
(Reference Non-Patent Document 3: JJ Guinan Jr., BC Backus, W. Lilaonitkul, and V. Aharonson, "Medial Olivocochlear Efferent Reflex in Humans: Otoacoustic Emission (OAE) Measurement Issues and the Advantages of Stimulus Frequency OAEs," J. Assoc. Res. Otolaryngol., December 2003, Volume 4, Issue 4, pp. 521-540)

  The otoacoustic emission may be measured by a method of measuring the eardrum vibration using a Doppler shift vibrometer or the like. In the above-described embodiment, the stimulation sound is generated as the stimulation sound series. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the stimulation sound pressure may be continuously changed to be generated and presented as one stimulation sound.

  In principle, if the modulation depth is constant, the amount of phase modulation should change according to the stimulation sound pressure. The relationship between the phase modulation amount and the stimulation sound pressure may be the phase modulation characteristic.

  In the above-described verification experiment, the sound pressure level is changed by fixing the modulation depth. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the phase modulation characteristic may be obtained by changing the modulation depth by fixing the sound pressure level.

<Supplementary note>
The apparatus of the present invention includes, for example, a single hardware entity as an input unit to which a keyboard or the like can be connected, an output unit to which a liquid crystal display or the like can be connected, and a communication device (for example, a communication cable) capable of communicating outside the hardware entity. Can be connected to a communication unit, a CPU (Central Processing Unit, may include a cache memory or a register), a RAM or ROM that is a memory, an external storage device that is a hard disk, and an input unit, an output unit, or a communication unit thereof , A CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and a bus connected so that data can be exchanged between the external storage devices. If necessary, the hardware entity may be provided with a device (drive) that can read and write a recording medium such as a CD-ROM. A physical entity having such hardware resources includes a general-purpose computer.

  The external storage device of the hardware entity stores a program necessary for realizing the above functions and data necessary for processing the program (not limited to the external storage device, for example, reading a program) It may be stored in a ROM that is a dedicated storage device). Data obtained by the processing of these programs is appropriately stored in a RAM or an external storage device.

  In the hardware entity, each program stored in an external storage device (or ROM or the like) and data necessary for processing each program are read into a memory as necessary, and are interpreted and executed by a CPU as appropriate. . As a result, the CPU realizes a predetermined function (respective component requirements expressed as the above-described unit, unit, etc.).

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, the processing described in the above embodiment may be executed not only in time series according to the order of description but also in parallel or individually as required by the processing capability of the apparatus that executes the processing. .

  As described above, when the processing functions in the hardware entity (the apparatus of the present invention) described in the above embodiment are realized by a computer, the processing contents of the functions that the hardware entity should have are described by a program. Then, by executing this program on a computer, the processing functions in the hardware entity are realized on the computer.

The program describing the processing contents can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. As the computer-readable recording medium, for example, any recording medium such as a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, and a semiconductor memory may be used. Specifically, for example, as a magnetic recording device, a hard disk device, a flexible disk, a magnetic tape or the like, and as an optical disk, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a DVD-RAM (Random Access Memory), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only). Memory), CD-
R (Recordable) / RW (ReWritable) or the like can be used as a magneto-optical recording medium, MO (Magneto-Optical disc) or the like as a semiconductor memory, EEP-ROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable-Read Only Memory) or the like as a semiconductor memory. .

  The program is distributed by selling, transferring, or lending a portable recording medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM in which the program is recorded. Furthermore, the program may be distributed by storing the program in a storage device of the server computer and transferring the program from the server computer to another computer via a network.

  A computer that executes such a program first stores, for example, a program recorded on a portable recording medium or a program transferred from a server computer in its own storage device. When executing the process, the computer reads a program stored in its own recording medium and executes a process according to the read program. As another execution form of the program, the computer may directly read the program from a portable recording medium and execute processing according to the program, and the program is transferred from the server computer to the computer. Each time, the processing according to the received program may be executed sequentially. Also, the program is not transferred from the server computer to the computer, and the above-described processing is executed by a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) type service that realizes the processing function only by the execution instruction and result acquisition. It is good. Note that the program in this embodiment includes information that is used for processing by an electronic computer and that conforms to the program (data that is not a direct command to the computer but has a property that defines the processing of the computer).

  In this embodiment, a hardware entity is configured by executing a predetermined program on a computer. However, at least a part of these processing contents may be realized by hardware.

Claims (4)

A stimulus sound presenting unit that presents a stimulus sound, which is an amplitude-modulated sound, to the external auditory canal of the person being evaluated;
An otoacoustic emission calculating unit for calculating otoacoustic emission generated by the presentation of the stimulation sound;
A display unit that displays the ears whether a possible information visible peak phase modulation amount of acoustic radiation exists for the stimuli,
Inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus including: The display unit, when said peak phase modulation amount of the otoacoustic emission against stimuli are present, outputs the information corresponding to the position of the peak, peak over to the phase modulation amount of the otoacoustic emissions If the click is not present, and outputs the information corresponding to that peak is not,
The inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus according to claim 1. The display unit visualizes and displays a change in the phase modulation amount accompanying a change in sound pressure of the stimulation sound.
The inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus according to claim 1.   A program for causing a computer to function as the inner ear characteristic evaluation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.