JP6681170B2 - Skin gas measuring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a skin gas measuring device, and more particularly to a skin gas measuring device for detecting a specific skin gas component contained in skin gas generated from the skin surface of a human body.

In recent years, for the purpose of health management, it has been actively performed to obtain a biological sample from a human body and measure its components.
As one of the biological samples, there are biological gases such as exhaled gas and skin gas. By measuring the presence or absence and the concentration of a specific gas component contained in the biogas, information on the health condition can be obtained. The advantages of using biogas are that it is easy to collect, there is no risk of infection, and there is no human invasion or mental burden.

  When collecting and measuring skin gas, compared to exhaled gas, active action such as spraying on a trapping device is not required, and further, release from the skin (components, amount, etc.) Since it is not possible to change or control it by one's own will, it is possible to more accurately detect the component and concentration of biogas. Further, if a skin gas measuring device can be mounted on a device of a type typified by a wristwatch that is worn on the skin (hereinafter, also referred to as "wearable device"), it is possible to simply wear the device. Health management by constant and unconscious measurement will be realized.

However, skin gas components released from the skin surface that are associated with physical conditions (e.g. acetone, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide, isoprene, trimethylamine, ammonia, methanol, acetaldehyde, ethanol, nitric oxide, formaldehyde, The release amount of nonenal etc.) is generally a very small amount of ng · cm ⁻² · min ⁻¹ or less. Therefore, it is difficult to directly measure the skin gas component released from the skin surface. Therefore, a technique for concentrating and measuring a target skin gas component has been conventionally studied.

  For example, in the skin gas measuring device described in Patent Document 1, a skin gas component is adsorbed and concentrated using a porous material, and the concentrated skin gas component is desorbed by heating the porous material for measurement. To do.

JP, 2014-232051, A

As described above, since the amount of the skin gas component released is minute, it is required to improve the measurement accuracy of the skin gas measuring device.
Generally, in order to confirm the performance of a skin gas measuring device, a calibration curve is obtained by using the device to measure with standard gas and multiple times to measure skin gas, and create a graph of sensitivity to acetone concentration. To do. Then, the sensitivity, the gradient of the calibration curve, and the degree of variation at each point are calculated, and the performance of the skin gas measuring device is evaluated by them.

When the present inventor detects the acetone concentration using the conventional skin gas measuring device, the conventional skin gas measuring device has a low calibration curve gradient and further large variations in each point, that is, the quantification is not sufficient. I understood.
The present inventor has devised the present invention described below in order to solve the problems of the conventional skin gas measuring device. In particular, the present inventor has found out that the miscellaneous gas (mainly water) is adsorbed by the sensor and the concentrating element, which causes a decrease in accuracy, and solved this problem.

  An object of the present invention is to increase the measurement accuracy of the skin gas measuring device.

  Hereinafter, a plurality of modes will be described as means for solving the problems. These aspects can be arbitrarily combined as needed.

A skin gas measuring device according to one aspect of the present invention is a skin gas measuring device for detecting a specific skin gas component contained in skin gas generated from a skin surface.
The skin gas measuring device includes a housing, a sensor, and an inhibition member.
The housing has an opening that is in close contact with the skin surface, and a skin gas collection space for collecting the skin gas in a diffused state from the opening.
The sensor is a device arranged in the housing for detecting a specific skin gas component.
The obstruction member is arranged in the housing such that the sensor is hidden when viewed from the opening, and impedes the flow of the skin gas moving toward the sensor.
In this device, the skin gas generated from the skin surface moves to the sensor side in the skin gas collection space due to the diffusion phenomenon. Then, the skin gas is prevented from moving toward the sensor by the inhibiting member. Therefore, even if the specific skin gas component, eg, acetone, reaches the sensor sufficiently, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the sensor sufficiently. Therefore, the measurement accuracy of the measurement target gas is improved.
The phrase "the sensor is hidden from the opening" means that part or all of the sensor is hidden from the opening.

The blocking member may be a plate-shaped member arranged between the opening and the sensor.
With this device, the measurement accuracy of the measurement target gas is improved with a simple configuration.

The thermal conductivity of the blocking member may be lower than the thermal conductivity of the housing.
In this device, the obstruction member remains relatively cool, for example when the housing heats up due to heat from the skin. Therefore, the miscellaneous gas is condensed on the inhibition member. As a result, even if the specific skin gas component, eg, acetone, reaches the sensor sufficiently, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the sensor sufficiently.

The inhibiting member may have Teflon (registered trademark) or polyvinyl chloride (hereinafter, vinyl chloride).
By having these materials, an excellent effect can be obtained as compared with the case of using other materials.

A skin gas measuring device according to another aspect of the present invention is a skin gas measuring device for detecting a specific skin gas component contained in skin gas generated from a skin surface.
The skin gas measuring device includes a housing, a concentrating element, a heater, a sensor, and an inhibiting member.
The housing has an opening that is in close contact with the skin surface, and a skin gas collection space for collecting the skin gas in a diffused state from the opening.
The concentrating element is a member that is arranged in the housing and collects and concentrates a specific skin gas component.
The heater desorbs the concentrated specific skin gas component by heating the concentrating element.
The sensor is a device arranged in the housing for detecting a specific skin gas component.
The blocking member is arranged in the housing such that the concentrating element is hidden when viewed from the opening, and blocks the flow of the skin gas toward the concentrating element.
The phrase "the concentrating element is hidden when viewed from the opening" means that part or all of the concentrating element is hidden when viewed from the opening.
In this device, the skin gas generated from the skin surface moves to the concentrating element side in the skin gas collecting space due to the diffusion phenomenon. Then, the skin gas is prevented from moving toward the concentrating element by the inhibiting member. Therefore, even if the specific skin gas component, eg, acetone, reaches the concentrating element sufficiently, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the concentrating element sufficiently. Therefore, the measurement accuracy of the specific skin gas component is improved.

The blocking member may be arranged such that the sensor is hidden when viewed from the opening.
With this device, the measurement accuracy of the specific skin gas component is improved.

The blocking member may be a plate-shaped member arranged between the opening and the concentrating element.
With this device, the measurement accuracy of the specific skin gas component is improved with a simple configuration.

The thermal conductivity of the blocking member may be lower than the thermal conductivity of the housing.
In this device, the obstruction member remains relatively cool, for example when the housing heats up due to heat from the skin. Therefore, the miscellaneous gas is condensed on the inhibition member. As a result, even if the specific skin gas component, eg, acetone, reaches the concentrating element sufficiently, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the concentrating element sufficiently.

The inhibiting member may include Teflon (registered trademark) or vinyl chloride.
By having these materials, an excellent effect can be obtained as compared with the case of using other materials.

  The skin gas measuring device according to the present invention has high measurement accuracy.

The schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The top view of a housing. The schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The top view of a housing. The schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. The top view of a housing. The flowchart which shows the measurement control of the skin gas measuring device. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in a prior art example. The schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring device of 4th Embodiment. The top view of a housing. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in embodiment of this invention. The table which shows the material of an inhibition member, and the relationship of sensitivity. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the acetone concentration-sensitivity relationship in embodiment of this invention. The schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring device of 5th Embodiment. The top view of a housing. The schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of 6th Embodiment. The top view of a housing. The schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of 7th Embodiment.

1. First Embodiment (1) Overall Configuration of Skin Gas Measuring Device A skin gas measuring device 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the housing.
The skin gas measuring device 1 is a device for detecting a specific skin gas component contained in the skin gas generated from the skin surface h of the human body.
By measuring the amount of skin acetone, you can know the amount of body fat burned, and you can measure the amount of fat burn more accurately than with a pedometer. Specifically, energy is consumed from sugar in the body, and when the sugar is low, fat is burned into energy, so if the skin acetone amount is high, fat is burned. As a result, for example, a change in the amount of skin acetone can be found by measuring during the day, and the amount of fat burning can be visualized. This makes it possible to determine the appropriate type of exercise, exercise intensity, exercise time, exercise timing, type of meal, amount of meal, timing of meal intake, etc., depending on the amount of fat burned.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the skin gas measuring device 1 has a housing 3, a sensor 5, and a measurement control unit 7. The skin gas component released from the skin surface h is collected in the housing 3 in close contact with the skin surface h. The collected skin gas component is detected by the sensor 5, and a detection signal is transmitted to the measurement control unit 7. Details of each of these steps will be described later.

The skin gas components to be measured by the skin gas measuring device of the present invention include all skin gas components released from the skin surface h. The skin gas components targeted by the skin gas measuring device of the present invention include, in particular, skin gas components associated with physical conditions (health, disease, sleep, rest, exercise, etc.), and inorganic components (for example, water, hydrogen, ammonia, Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, hydrogen sulfide, etc.) and various organic components (eg acetone, methanol, ethanol, methane, isoprene, trimethylamine, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, nonenal etc.) are included.
Furthermore, the skin gas components released from the skin surface targeted by the skin gas measuring device of the present invention include not only gas components derived from the living body but also gas components derived from the outside (environmentally derived). For example, there are skin gas components released from the skin surface after various artificial gas components contained in the working environment and the living environment are breathed and transdermally absorbed. Specifically, it is known that these components are released from the skin surface when exposed to organic solvents (benzene, toluene, etc.) and chlorine-based solvents in business establishments and laboratories that handle chemicals. There is.

(2) Housing and Internal Structure The housing 3 is a container for contacting the skin and collecting skin gas. The housing 3 may be a stand-alone device or part of a wearable device. The housing 3 has an opening 9. The opening 9 is a portion that is brought into close contact with the skin on the skin surface h. The housing 3 has a skin gas collecting space 11 for collecting skin gas in a diffused state from the opening 9. In this embodiment, the housing 3 is made of aluminum.
The opening 9 forms a closed space by being brought into close contact with the skin surface h, and allows the skin gas component released from the skin surface h to be retained in the skin gas collecting space 11. Here, the shape and size (area) of the opening 9 are not particularly limited, and the closed space is closely attached to the skin surface h according to the shape and size of the skin of the measured skin gas collecting portion. The shape and size that can be formed can be appropriately selected. Further, when it is used for a wearable device, it can be selected to suit the shape and size of the wearable device.
Specifically, the housing 3 has a cylindrical wall 3a having an opening 9 and a main body 3b continuous with the cylindrical wall 3a.

In this embodiment, the skin gas collecting space 11 is divided into a first space 11a on the opening 9 side and a second space 11b on the back side. The second space 11b has a larger area in plan view than the first space 11a. As a result, the second space 11b is divided into a facing space 13 facing the opening 9 and a hollow space 15 hidden from the opening 9. In the present embodiment, the recessed space 15 is a pair of spaces provided at positions facing each other in the radial direction of the facing space 13. The hollow space 15 is constituted by walls that close the upper and lower sides, both side portions, and the outer side in the radial direction. The hollow space 15 is provided at a position different from the opening 9 in a plan view, and therefore is hidden when viewed from the opening 9 side. More precisely, the hollow space 15 does not overlap in the region extending vertically from the opening surface of the opening 9.
It should be noted that the recessed space only needs to be in a hidden position when viewed from the opening 9 side, and therefore the number, position, and shape are not limited to those in the above embodiment.

  The sensor 5 is a device arranged in the housing 3 to detect a specific skin gas component.

  The sensor 5 detects the specific skin gas component introduced into the skin gas collection space 11, and measures the amount or concentration thereof. The point that skin gas may contain a very large variety of components, and the features of the application of the skin gas measuring device of the present invention (enabling skin gas transition monitoring at short measurement intervals, low power consumption, and small device size and Considering that (driving for a long time is easy), it is preferable to use the semiconductor gas sensor. Specifically, various gas emitted from living organisms such as acetone, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide, isoprene, trimethylamine, ammonia, methanol, acetaldehyde, ethanol, nitric oxide, formaldehyde, nonenal which are skin gas components. It is composed of a semiconductor gas sensor that measures the components.

Further, the sensor 5 is not limited to the semiconductor gas sensor, and may be an electrochemical sensor, a gas heat conduction type sensor, a surface acoustic wave sensor, a contact combustion type sensor, an optical sensor, etc. Any suitable measurable sensor may be used.
In this embodiment, the sensor 5 is a semiconductor gas sensor for detecting acetone.
The sensor 5 is arranged in the skin gas collecting space 11 of the housing 3. More specifically, the sensor 5 is arranged in the hollow space 15 of the second space 11b of the skin gas collection space portion 11. In this embodiment, the sensor 5 is arranged on the outermost peripheral side in the hollow space 15.

(3) Control Configuration The measurement control unit 7 is a device that calculates the concentration of acetone based on the detection signal from the sensor 5.
The measurement control unit 7 has a controller 21. The controller 21 is a computer including a CPU, and executes control operations by executing software. More specifically, the measurement control unit 7 measures the specific skin gas component by executing the measurement program.

The measurement control unit 7 has a memory 23. The memory 23 is composed of, for example, a RAM and a ROM, and can store programs and data.
The measurement control unit 7 has a communication unit 25. The communication unit 25 can transmit various data to an external device such as a smartphone.
The skin gas measuring device 1 has a rechargeable battery 27. The battery 27 supplies power to each device of the skin gas measuring device 1.

(4) Measurement Operation As shown in FIG. 1, the opening 9 of the housing 3 is applied to the skin surface h of the human body. The skin gas generated from the skin surface h moves to the sensor 5 side in the skin gas collecting space 11 by the diffusion phenomenon. At this time, the skin gas contains, for example, acetone and miscellaneous gases (mainly water vapor such as water vapor and sweat generated from the skin surface h).

Then, the acetone moves quickly and reaches the sensor 5. On the other hand, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the sensor 5 sufficiently. The reason is that the structure of the housing 3 in which the hollow space 15 is formed is arranged in the housing 3 so that the sensor 5 is hidden when viewed from the opening 9, and the skin gas moves toward the sensor 5. This is because it constitutes a blocking member that blocks the flow. As a result, since the diffusion rate of the miscellaneous gas is lower than that of acetone, it may be delayed in reaching the sensor 5, or may be adsorbed on the inner wall of the housing 3. In this embodiment, the sensor 5 is completely hidden when viewed from the opening 9. However, depending on the required performance of the product, only a part of the sensor 5 may be hidden. When the sensor 5 is completely hidden, the flow of acetone moving toward the sensor 5 is further hindered.
As described above, the movement of the skin gas toward the sensor 5 is hindered by the hindrance member (the structure of the housing 3). Therefore, even if acetone, which is a specific skin gas component, reaches the sensor 5 sufficiently, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the sensor 5 sufficiently. Therefore, the measurement accuracy of the specific skin gas component is improved.

The controller 21 receives the signal from the sensor 5. As a result, the amount of skin gas components or their concentration is calculated. The controller 21 stores the detection data in the memory 23 or causes the communication unit 25 to transmit the detection data to, for example, a smartphone, a medical facility, a gym, a home, or the like.
The skin gas measuring device 1 may include a display unit. The content displayed on the display unit is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to display user data, measurement date / time, measurement condition data such as temperature and humidity, and measurement results of specific skin gas components. This display allows the user to observe changes in skin gas components.

2. Second Embodiment A skin gas measuring apparatus 1A of a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the housing.

The configurations of the housing 3 and the measurement control unit 7 are the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, only the points different from the first embodiment will be described below.
The sensor 5 is arranged at the central position in a plan view in the second space 11b.

The skin gas measuring device 1A has a plate 31 as a plate-shaped member. The plate 31 is provided near the boundary between the first space 11a and the second space 11b. The plate 31 is generally circular in a plan view, and the outer peripheral edge is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the housing 3. The plate 31 has notches 31a at two locations. The first space 11a and the second space 11b communicate with each other through the notch 31a. In this embodiment, the notch 31a is provided so as to face in the radial direction of the facing space 13 at a position where the recessed space 15 is not formed in a plan view. In addition, it is preferable that the notch is formed at a position where the recessed space is not formed, that is, the notch and the entrance of the recessed space do not overlap in a plan view.
The plate 31 is arranged in the housing 3 so that the sensor 5 is hidden when viewed from the opening 9, and thus the flow of the skin gas moving toward the sensor 5 is hindered. Further, the plate 31 is configured as a separate chamber that blocks the first space 11a and the second space 11b, and the cutout 31a functions as a gas passage having a small area. The positional relationship between the opening 9 and the sensor 5 and its significance in this embodiment are the same as those in the above embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the opening 9 of the housing 3 is applied to the skin surface h of the human body. The skin gas generated from the skin surface h moves to the sensor 5 side in the skin gas collecting space 11 by the diffusion phenomenon. At this time, the skin gas contains, for example, acetone and miscellaneous gas (mainly water).
Then, the acetone quickly moves through the notch 31 a and reaches the sensor 5. On the other hand, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the sensor 5 sufficiently. The reason is that the plate 31 is arranged in the housing 3 as an inhibition member so that the sensor 5 is hidden when viewed from the opening 9, so that the skin gas moves toward the sensor 5. This is because it impedes the flow of flow. As a result, since the diffusion rate of the miscellaneous gas is lower than that of acetone, it may be delayed in reaching the sensor 5 or may be adsorbed on the inner wall surface of the housing 3.
Further, the plate 31 is preferably made of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than aluminum of the housing 3 such as Teflon (registered trademark) or vinyl chloride. In that case, for example, when the temperature of the housing 3 rises due to heat from the skin, the plate 31 remains relatively cold. Therefore, the moisture of the miscellaneous gas is condensed on the plate 31. Therefore, the movement of the miscellaneous gas is restricted.
As described above, the skin gas is hindered from moving toward the sensor 5 by the hindrance member (plate 31). Therefore, even if acetone, which is a specific skin gas component, reaches the sensor 5 sufficiently, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the sensor 5 sufficiently. Therefore, the measurement accuracy of the specific skin gas component is improved.

The shape of the plate 31 is not particularly limited. For example, the plate may be a polygon such as a triangle or a quadrangle in plan view. Also, the plate may have holes instead of the notches.
The plate may be mesh-shaped.
The shape, number and position of the notches are not limited to those in the above embodiment.
The position of the sensor 5 is not limited to the above embodiment. The sensor may be at any position as long as it is partially or entirely hidden from the opening side by the plate.

3. Third Embodiment (1) Overall Configuration of Skin Gas Measuring Device A skin gas measuring device 1B according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5: is a schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the housing.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the skin gas measuring device 1B has a housing 3, a concentrating element 4, a sensor 5, and a measurement control unit 7.

  The skin gas component released from the skin surface h is collected in the housing 3 in close contact with the skin surface h. The collected skin gas component is adsorbed and concentrated by the porous material of the concentrating element 4 existing in the skin gas collecting space 11. Then, the concentrating element 4 is heated to remove the skin gas component. Next, the desorbed skin gas component is detected by the sensor 5, and a detection signal is transmitted to the measurement control unit 7. As a result, the amount of skin gas components or their concentration is measured. Details of each of these steps will be described later.

(2) Housing and Internal Structure The housing 3 is the same as that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the description is omitted here.
The concentrating element 4 is a member that is disposed in the housing 3 and collects and concentrates the specific skin gas component that has accumulated in the skin gas collecting space 11.

  The concentrating element 4 is made of a porous material. The porous material is a material that adsorbs a skin gas component and further desorbs (desorbs) it. Therefore, the porous material is not particularly limited as long as it is a material exhibiting such properties, and includes a natural product-derived material, a synthetic product, or a mixture thereof, which is conventionally known to have such properties.

More specifically, the porous material includes, for example, zeolite, porous glass, silica, alumina, activated carbon, molecular sieving carbon, but is not limited thereto.
As the name implies, a porous material is a substance having many pores. For example, zeolite is a regular porous body having a crystal structure in which four oxygen atoms are regularly and three-dimensionally linked around silicon and aluminum. It has nanoscale pores whose size is roughly determined. Since the molecules that can pass through the pores are adsorbed inside the porous material, molecules having a larger molecular diameter than the pores exhibit a "molecular sieving action". Due to this "molecular sieving action", the porous material of the present invention can selectively adsorb and concentrate the target skin gas component by appropriately selecting the pore size. The crystal structure and pore diameter of the porous material can be measured or estimated by various methods.

The concentrating element 4 is arranged in the skin gas collecting space 11 of the housing 3. More specifically, the sensor 5 is arranged in the hollow space 15 of the second space 11b of the skin gas collection space portion 11. In this embodiment, the concentrating element 4 is arranged on the outermost peripheral side in the hollow space 15.
In this embodiment, the sensor 5 is a semiconductor gas sensor for detecting acetone. The sensor 5 is arranged in the skin gas collecting space 11 of the housing 3. More specifically, the sensor 5 is arranged in the second space 11b of the skin gas collecting space 11 at a position that faces the concentrating element 4 in the radial direction. In this embodiment, the sensor 5 is arranged at the boundary between the facing space 13 and the recessed space 15 as shown in FIG. 6, but may be arranged in the facing space 13 or in the recessed space 15. Good.

The skin gas measuring device 1B has a heater 33. The heater 33 is a device for heating the concentrating element 4. The heater 33 is attached to the concentrating element 4. The heater 33 heats the concentrating element 4 in order to desorb the specific skin gas component from the porous material to which the skin gas is adsorbed. At this time, you may heat at a relatively low temperature. Here, the relatively low temperature means a temperature lower than the temperature (for example, 500 ° C.) usually applied for desorbing the adsorbed component in the porous material.
The heater 33 is fixed to the concentrating element 4. In this embodiment, the heater 33 is provided on the surface of the concentrating element 4 on the opening 9 side. However, the positional relationship between the heater 33 and the concentrating element 4 and the fixing means are not limited.
The heating means of the heater 33 is not particularly limited, but is not particularly limited as long as it can heat the porous material to a desired temperature. For example, heating by a ceramic heater, an electric resistance heater, or microwave irradiation is possible. Further, when a porous material is formed into a thin film, the electric resistance heater can be provided on the surface or inside of the porous material by printing on the porous material thin film or by microfabrication. In addition, since many porous materials such as zeolite generally have low thermal conductivity, the heating energy from the heater 33 is efficiently transmitted to the inside of the porous material. It is also preferable to use it together with a superior material.
The skin gas measuring device 1B has a blower 35. The blower 35 is a device for forcibly replacing the gas in the housing 3. The blower 35 has an air blower that blows air into the housing 3. Further, the housing 3 is provided with a discharge part (not shown) for discharging the gas to the outside.

(3) Control Configuration The measurement control unit 7 is a device that calculates the concentration of acetone based on the detection signal from the sensor 5.
The measurement control unit 7 has a controller 21. The controller 21 is a computer including a CPU, and executes control operations by executing software. More specifically, the measurement control unit 7 measures the specific skin gas component by executing the measurement program.
The controller 21 is connected to the sensor 5. The controller 21 is also connected to the heater 33 and the blower 35.

The measurement control unit 7 has a memory 23. The memory 23 is composed of, for example, a RAM and a ROM, and can store programs and data.
The measurement control unit 7 has a communication unit 25. The communication unit 25 can transmit various data to an external device such as a smartphone.
The skin gas measuring device 1B has a battery 27. The battery 27 supplies electric power to each device of the skin gas measuring device 1B.

(4) Measuring Operation The detecting operation of acetone by the skin gas measuring device 1B will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the measurement control of the skin gas measuring device.
In step S1, as shown in FIG. 5, the skin is pressed against the opening 9 of the skin gas measuring device 1B. As a result, the skin gas component released from the skin surface h is introduced into the skin gas collection space 11 through the opening 9 that is in close contact with the skin surface h.
In step S2, the controller 21 starts the measurement of acetone by starting the measurement program.

A step S3 executes cleaning of the concentrating element 4. Specifically, the controller 21 drives the heater 33, thereby desorbing the adsorbed gas from the concentrating element 4. Further, during heating, the blower 35 is driven to execute the air purge in the skin gas collecting space 11. As a result, the acetone concentration in the housing 3 decreases. The above operation is performed, for example, for 20 seconds.
In step S4, the concentrating element 4 collects acetone. That is, the introduced skin gas component is adsorbed on the porous material and concentrated. This operation is performed for 90 seconds, for example.

At this time, acetone quickly moves and reaches the concentrating element 4. On the other hand, the miscellaneous gas does not sufficiently reach the concentrating element 4. The reason is that the structure of the housing 3 in which the hollow space 15 is formed is arranged in the housing 3 so that the concentrating element 4 is hidden when viewed from the opening 9, and the skin gas is directed toward the concentrating element 4. This is because it constitutes a blocking member that blocks the moving flow. As a result, since the diffusion rate of the miscellaneous gas is lower than that of acetone, it may be delayed in reaching the sensor 5, or may be adsorbed on the inner wall of the housing 3. In this embodiment, the concentrating element 4 is completely hidden when seen from the opening 9, but only a part of the concentrating element 4 may be hidden depending on the required performance of the product. When the concentrating element 4 is completely hidden, the flow of acetone moving toward the concentrating element 4 is further hindered.
As described above, the skin gas is prevented from moving toward the concentrating element 4 by the inhibition member (housing 3). Therefore, even if the specific skin gas component, eg, acetone, reaches the concentrating element 4 sufficiently, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the concentrating element 4 sufficiently. Therefore, the measurement accuracy of the specific skin gas component is improved.

In step S5, acetone is desorbed from the concentrating element 4. Specifically, the controller 21 drives the heater 33, thereby heating and desorbing the skin gas component adsorbed on the porous material of the concentrating element 4. At this time, as described above, the heating may be performed at a relatively low temperature. This operation is performed for 30 seconds, for example.
In step S6, the sensor 5 detects the concentration or amount of the desorbed skin gas component.
The measurement result is transmitted from the communication unit 25 to the smartphone and displayed there. Further, the skin gas measuring device 1B may have a display unit, and the measurement result may be displayed there.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the embodiment of the present invention (when the concentrating element is arranged in the hollow space shown in FIGS. 5 and 6) and the conventional example (when there is no inhibiting member), The measurement accuracy of the device will be described. FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between acetone concentration and sensitivity in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between acetone concentration and sensitivity in the conventional example. The conventional example is a state in which a part of the concentrating element and a part of the sensor are not hidden when viewed from the opening of the housing, in other words, at least a part of the concentrating element is provided in a region extending vertically from the opening surface of the opening. And the skin gas measuring device in a state where at least a part of the sensors overlap each other.
Using the skin gas measuring device 1B of the present embodiment, the skin measurement of 10 test subjects was performed. The acetone concentration display unit is the amount of acetone (pg) released from 1 cm ^{2 of} skin per minute (pg · cm ⁻² · min ⁻¹ ). Each value was calculated from the skin area, volume, collection time, and acetone concentration in the container.
As shown in FIG. 8, in the embodiment of the present invention, the correlation is improved (= small variation). On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the correlation is low in the conventional example.

4. Fourth Embodiment A skin gas measuring apparatus 1C according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10: is a schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of 4th Embodiment. FIG. 11 is a plan view of the housing.

The configurations of the housing 3 and the measurement control unit 7 are similar to those of the third embodiment. Therefore, only the points different from the third embodiment will be described below.
The concentrating element 4 is arranged at the central position in a plan view in the second space 11b.
The sensor 5 is arranged at the boundary between the facing space 13 and the hollow space 15 in the second space 11b, and the distance from the concentrating element 4 is short.

The skin gas measuring device 1C has a plate 31. The plate 31 is provided near the boundary between the first space 11a and the second space 11b. The plate 31 is generally circular in a plan view, and the outer peripheral edge is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the housing 3. The plate 31 has notches 31a at two locations. The first space 11a and the second space 11b communicate with each other through the notch 31a. In this embodiment, the notch 31a is provided so as to face in the radial direction of the facing space 13 at a position where the recessed space 15 is not formed in a plan view. In addition, it is preferable that the notch is formed at a position where the recessed space is not formed, that is, the notch and the entrance of the recessed space do not overlap in a plan view.
The plate 31 is arranged in the housing 3 and is arranged so that the concentrating element 4 is hidden when viewed from the opening portion 9 and thus blocks the flow of the skin gas moving toward the concentrating element 4. Further, the plate 31 is configured as a separate chamber that blocks the first space 11a and the second space 11b, and the cutout 31a functions as a gas passage having a small area. The positional relationship between the opening 9 and the concentrating element 4 and its significance in this embodiment are the same as those in the above embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the opening 9 of the housing 3 is applied to the skin surface h of the human body. The skin gas generated from the skin surface h moves to the second space 11b side in the skin gas collecting space 11 by the diffusion phenomenon. At this time, the skin gas contains, for example, acetone and miscellaneous gas (mainly water).
Then, the acetone quickly moves through the notch 31 a and reaches the concentrating element 4. On the other hand, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the concentrating element 4 sufficiently. The reason is that the plate 31 is arranged as an inhibition member in the housing 3 so that the concentrating element 4 is hidden when viewed from the opening 9, so that the skin gas is directed toward the concentrating element 4. This hinders the flow of movement.
As described above, the skin gas is inhibited from moving toward the concentrating element 4 by the inhibiting member (plate 31). Therefore, even if acetone, which is the specific skin gas component, reaches the concentrating element 4 sufficiently, the miscellaneous gas does not reach the concentrating element 4 sufficiently. Therefore, the measurement accuracy of the specific skin gas component is improved.

A modification of the shape of the plate 31 is the same as that of the second embodiment.
The position of the sensor 5 is not particularly limited. The sensor 5 may be arranged at a position closer to the concentrating element 4 or may be arranged further away from the concentrating element 4. However, in this embodiment, since the distance between the concentrating element 4 and the sensor 5 is sufficiently short, the sensitivity is improved.
The position of the notch in the plate is not particularly limited. In this embodiment, the notch is formed at a position corresponding to the sensor in plan view, but the notch may be at another position. In that case, the sensor 5 is also hidden by the plate 31 when viewed from the opening 9 side.

The measurement accuracy of the skin gas measuring apparatus 1C of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between acetone concentration and sensitivity in the embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the plate as the blocking member is made of Teflon (registered trademark). In this case, the correlation remains improved and, in addition, the slope of the calibration curve is high. Furthermore, the sensitivity is also high.
The difference in the sensor detection result for each material of the plate as the inhibition member will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a table showing the relationship between the material of the inhibition member and the sensitivity. The housing in this case is made of aluminum.

As is clear from the figure, it was PVC and Teflon (registered trademark) that gave good results in terms of both variation and sensitivity / gradient. It is considered that the reason why these materials are preferable is that they have high hydrophobicity, and therefore, acetone is difficult to be adsorbed even if adsorbing noble gases.
Further, for example, the thermal conductivity of Teflon (registered trademark) is lower than that of the aluminum housing. Therefore, for example, when the temperature of the housing 3 rises due to heat from the skin, the plate 31 remains relatively cold. Therefore, the moisture of the miscellaneous gas easily condenses on the plate 31. As a result, it is considered that the miscellaneous gas does not reach the concentrating element sufficiently even if the specific skin gas component, for example, acetone reaches the concentrating element 4 sufficiently.
Similar good results were obtained when the housing was made of Teflon (registered trademark) and the plate was made of Teflon (registered trademark). In the above experiment, even when the materials of Δ and ○ were used, good results were obtained as compared with the conventional example.
14 to 20 are graphs showing the relationship between the acetone concentration of each material and the sensitivity.
14 is stainless steel, FIG. 15 is aluminum, FIG. 16 is aluminum foil, FIG. 17 is polypropylene, FIG. 18 is polyvinyl chloride, FIG. 19 is polyvinyl alcohol film, and FIG. 20 is a Teflon (registered trademark) housing + Teflon (registered trademark) plate. It is a combination.

5. Fifth Embodiment A skin gas measuring apparatus 1D according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22. FIG. 21 is a schematic configuration diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of the fifth embodiment. FIG. 22 is a plan view of the housing.

  The configurations of the housing 3 and the measurement control unit 7 are the same as those in the fourth embodiment. Therefore, only the points different from the fourth embodiment will be described below.

The skin gas measuring device 1D has a first plate 31A. The first plate 31A is provided near the boundary between the first space 11a and the second space 11b. The first plate 31A is generally circular in a plan view, and the outer peripheral edge is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the housing 3. The first plate 31A has notches 31a at two locations. The first space 11a and the second space 11b communicate with each other through the notch 31a.
The first plate 31A is arranged in the housing 3 so that the concentrating element 4 is hidden when viewed from the opening 9, thereby inhibiting the flow of skin gas moving toward the concentrating element 4. To do. Further, the first plate 31A configures the first space 11a and the second space 11b as separate chambers, and the notch 31a functions as a gas passage having a small area. The positional relationship between the opening 9 and the concentrating element 4 and its significance in this embodiment are the same as those in the above embodiment.

The skin gas measuring device 1D has a second plate 32A. The second plate 32A divides the inside of the first space 11a into a first chamber 41 and a second chamber 43. The second plate 32A is generally circular in a plan view, and the outer peripheral edge is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the housing 3 (specifically, the cylindrical wall 3a). The second plate 32A has notches 32a at two locations. The first chamber 41 and the second chamber 43 of the first space 11a communicate with each other through the notch 32a.
The second plate 32A is disposed in the housing 3 so that the concentrating element 4 is hidden when viewed from the opening portion 9 to prevent the skin gas from flowing toward the concentrating element 4. To do. In addition, the second plate 32A configures both side portions of the first space 11a as separate chambers, and the notch 32a functions as a gas passage having a small area. The cutout 32a is formed at a position that does not overlap the cutout 31a in plan view.

As described above, since the first chamber 41 and the second chamber 43 are formed between the second space 11b and the skin surface h in the skin gas collecting space 11, the acetone is sufficiently concentrated in the concentration element 4 Even if the gas reaches, the miscellaneous gas hardly reaches the concentrating element 4. It is considered that this is because the diffusion speed of the miscellaneous gas is lower than that of acetone, and the migration speed of the miscellaneous gas was further reduced by providing a plurality of chambers in series.
The positions and shapes of the first plate and the second plate are not particularly limited, and the number, positions, and shapes of the cutouts are not particularly limited.
The number of plates is not limited. Also, the number of independent rooms is not limited.

6. Sixth Embodiment A skin gas measuring apparatus 1E according to a sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24. FIG. 23 is a schematic configuration diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 24 is a plan view of the housing.
As shown in the figure, the plate 31 is arranged in the housing 3A, and both the concentrating element 4 and the sensor 5 are arranged in a position hidden by the plate 31 when viewed from the opening 9.
In this embodiment, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

7. Seventh Embodiment A skin gas measuring apparatus 1F according to the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 25. FIG. 25: is a schematic block diagram of the skin gas measuring apparatus of 7th Embodiment.
As shown in the figure, the housing 3B has a hollow space 15 in which the concentrating element 4 is placed.
Is arranged. Further, the plate 31 is arranged in the housing 3B, and the sensor 5 is arranged at a position hidden by the plate 31 when viewed from the opening 9.
In this embodiment, the same effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

8. Other Embodiments A plurality of embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. In particular, the plurality of embodiments and modifications described in the present specification can be arbitrarily combined as needed.
The blocking member may be made of a single material or may be made of a plurality of materials. Further, only the surface of the inhibiting member may be made of a suitable material. Further, the surface of the inhibiting member may be subjected to a treatment for improving the miscellaneous gas adsorption performance.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be widely applied to a skin gas measuring device for detecting a specific skin gas component contained in skin gas generated from the skin surface of a human body.

1: Skin gas measuring device 1A: Skin gas measuring device 1B: Skin gas measuring device 1C: Skin gas measuring device 1D: Skin gas measuring device 1E: Skin gas measuring device 1F: Skin gas measuring device 3: Housing 3a: Cylindrical wall 3b : Main body part 4: Concentrating element 5: Sensor 7: Measurement control part 9: Opening part 11: Skin gas collecting space part 11a: First space 11b: Second space 13: Opposing space 15: Recessed space 21: Controller 23: Memory 25: Communication unit 27: Battery 31: Plate 31a: Notch 31A: First plate 32A: Second plate 32a: Notch 33: Heater 35: Blower 41: First chamber 43: Second chamber h: Skin surface

Claims (9)

A skin gas measuring device for detecting a specific skin gas component contained in skin gas generated from the skin surface,
An opening to which the skin surface is in close contact, and a housing having a skin gas collection space for collecting the skin gas in a diffused state from the opening,
A sensor disposed within the housing for detecting the specific skin gas component;
A member for inhibiting the movement of the skin gas to the sensor, the member being disposed in the housing and having a surface facing the opening to form a space between the opening and the opening. viewed from and to the state of the sensor is hidden, in the flow of the skin gas moves toward the sensor by diffusion, when the specific skin gas component has reached the sensor, from the specific skin gas component An inhibition member that reduces the amount of miscellaneous gas components having a low diffusion rate that reach the sensor ,
Skin gas measuring device.   The skin gas measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the inhibition member is a plate-shaped member arranged between the opening and the sensor.   The skin gas measuring device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thermal conductivity of the inhibiting member is lower than the thermal conductivity of the housing.   The skin gas measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the inhibiting member includes Teflon (registered trademark) or vinyl chloride. A skin gas measuring device for detecting a specific skin gas component contained in skin gas generated from the skin surface,
An opening to which the skin surface is in close contact, and a housing having a skin gas collection space for collecting the skin gas in a diffused state from the opening,
A concentrating element disposed within the housing for concentrating the particular skin gas component;
By heating the concentrating element, a heater for desorbing the concentrated specific skin gas component,
A sensor disposed within the housing for detecting the specific skin gas component;
A member for inhibiting the movement of the skin gas to the sensor, the member being disposed in the housing and having a surface facing the opening to form a space between the opening and the opening. the concentration element viewed from and to the hidden state, in the flow where the skin gas moves toward the concentration element by diffusion, when the specific skin gas component has reached the concentration device, the specific skin An inhibiting member that reduces the amount of miscellaneous gas components having a lower diffusion rate than the gas components reaching the concentrating element ,
Skin gas measuring device.   The skin gas measuring device according to claim 5, wherein the inhibiting member is arranged such that the sensor is hidden when viewed from the opening.   The skin gas measuring device according to claim 5, wherein the inhibition member is a plate-shaped member arranged between the opening and the concentrating element.   The skin gas measuring device according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein a thermal conductivity of the inhibiting member is lower than a thermal conductivity of the housing. The skin gas measuring device according to claim 5, wherein the inhibiting member includes Teflon (registered trademark) or vinyl chloride.

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