JPH044723Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Field of industrial application) This invention applies electrical stimulation to nerves to move muscles, and detects minute movements using a detector attached to the surface of the skin. This invention relates to a skin vibration detector that can reliably detect up to

(Prior Art) In neurosurgery, there is a disease in which a tumor forms in the temporal region. In this disease, tumors press on nerves, causing various disorders. For this purpose, surgery is performed to remove the tumor. In this surgery, only the tumor must be removed without cutting the nerve. To do this, it is sufficient to detect the nerve site and remove that area to remove the tumor.In order to select the nerve site, stimulation is applied using an electrical stimulation device, and the stimulation is used to target the target area on the face. A method of identifying the object based on whether or not it moves is adopted. However, during the above surgery, various tubes for anesthesia are fixed to the face with tape, and this tape restricts the movement of the face, causing only small movements of the skin. All areas except the surgical site (on the top of the ear) are covered with sterilized cloth, making it impossible to see any movement of the patient's face during the surgery. Therefore, caregivers have been able to monitor the patient's facial movements from under the cloth and notify them, but this is inconvenient, and for this reason, conventionally, various sensors have been used to electrically detect facial movements. It is used.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) The above-mentioned sensor is used, for example, by pasting it on the face with a bandage, but because the conventional sensor is relatively heavy, the bandage tends to peel off over time, causing contact with the skin. There were drawbacks such as weak contact with the sensor and poor usability.

To address this, the applicant has proposed
No. 62-82903 has been filed. This one is the 9th
As shown in the figure, a pressure sensing element 2 is disposed on the inner bottom of a cylindrical case 1 with a bottom, and a membrane 3 made of soft silicone rubber is attached to the opening of the case 1. A protrusion 4 having a conical tip is integrally molded on the inner surface of the membrane, and the tip of the protrusion 4 is brought into contact with the pressure sensing element 2, so that the force received by the entire surface of the membrane 3 is concentrated on the tip of the protrusion 4. It has a structure that improves detection sensitivity, and is used by attaching the entire sensor to the face with a bandage so that the membrane 3 is brought into pressure contact with the skin. In this case, when the skin vibrates, the contact point of the membrane 3 with the skin changes, and with this change, the pressing force of the protrusion 4 against the pressure sensing element 2 changes, so that the pressure sensing element 2
The resistance of the sensor changes, and this change is detected as a change in voltage to detect movement of the skin.
According to this sensor, the sensor is small and lightweight, can be securely fixed to the skin with a bandage, maintains good contact with the skin even after a long period of time, and is also easy to use.

However, since this device is small and lightweight, the entire device moves in the same way as the skin, and the pressing force against the pressure sensing element 2 may be small, especially when the skin vibrations are small or in the lateral direction.

Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to be able to securely fix the bandage to the skin, maintain good contact with the skin even after a long period of time, be easy to use, and be able to withstand minute movements of the skin. An object of the present invention is to provide a skin vibration detector capable of improving detection performance.

[Structure of the invention] (Means for solving the problem) The present invention includes a pressure sensing element disposed at the inner bottom of a bottomed cylindrical case having an opening on one side, and the case covering the opening. A membrane is provided which is made of a soft material and has a protruding portion extending laterally from the case on its outer periphery, which is attached to the skin surface as shown in FIG. It is characterized by having a protrusion pressed against the pressure sensing element.

(Function) According to the above means, since the membrane has an overhang, the contact area with the skin is increased compared to a membrane without an overhang.Moreover, as the skin moves, the overhang extends to the proximal end (the case). The contact area) is used as a fulcrum for displacement, and the displacement is transmitted to the protrusion, which changes the pressing force against the pressure sensing element by the protrusion. Therefore, even when the vibration of the skin is small or in the lateral direction, Skin movements can be detected reliably.

(Example) The following is an example of the present invention shown in Figures 1 to 4.
This will be explained with reference to the figures.

First, in FIG. 1, 11 is an opening 11 on one side.
Sensor A formed in a short cylindrical shape with a bottom
In this case, the outer diameter is 7 [mm] and the height is 2 [mm].
It is set to be very small. A pressure sensing element 12 made of, for example, a semiconductor pressure chip is disposed at the inner bottom of the case 11. Reference numeral 13 denotes a thin membrane made of soft silicone rubber, which is a soft member, and is attached with adhesive to the peripheral edge of the opening 11a of the case 11 so as to cover the opening 11a.
As shown in FIG. 2, a circular projecting portion 14, for example, which projects laterally from the peripheral edge of the case 11 is integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion. Also, this membrane 13
A protrusion 15 is integrally molded and protrudes from the center of the inner surface of the pressure sensor 15, and the tip thereof is formed into a conical shape with a pointed tip, and the tip is pressed against the pressure sensing element 12. The pressure sensing element 12 has four pressure sensitive resistors 16a to 16d bridge-connected as shown in the equivalent circuit of FIG. The output signal is taken out between the pressure sensitive resistors 16b and 16c and between 16d and 16a. The output signal from this pressure sensing element 12 is applied to an amplifier 18 via an output signal line 17 as shown in FIG. 4, amplified by the amplifier 18, and outputted from a speaker 19 as an acoustic signal. The output signal line 17 has flexibility so that even small vibrations can be detected without disturbing the movement of the skin. Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. The case 11 is attached with a bandage so that the membrane 13 of the sensor A comes into pressure contact with the skin near the corners of the eyes and the skin near the mouth, respectively, so that the case 11 is integrated with the skin. In this state,
When bipolar forceps are brought into contact with the nerves that control the movement of the corners of the eyes or mouth at the surgical site and electrical stimulation is applied, the skin of the face contracts and stretches based on the electrical stimulation applied to the nerves. Along with this movement of the skin, the membrane 13 of the sensor A is displaced to curve, and with this displacement, the pressure sensing element 12 is pressed via the protrusion 15, and the signal is transmitted to the pressure sensitive resistors 16a to 16d. The change in voltage is taken out as a change in voltage due to the change in resistance and is input to the amplifier 18.
The amplifier 18 amplifies this signal, and the speaker 19 plays a sound of a specific frequency only during a certain period (a signal is obtained only when the skin moves) and outputs it as an acoustic signal, notifying the surgeon that the skin has moved. Inform. In this way, since the movement of the skin can be detected by sound, there is no need to look directly into the area even if it is covered with cloth. In addition, in this case, as the skin moves, the protruding portion 1 of the membrane 13
4 is the base end portion 14a (case 1) as shown in FIG.
1) as a fulcrum in the direction of arrow C and the direction opposite to arrow C, and this displacement is transmitted to the protrusion 15, which in turn is displaced in the direction of arrow D and the direction opposite to arrow D. Even when the vibration is small or in the lateral direction, the movement of the skin can be reliably detected.

In the above embodiment, the membrane 13 of sensor A, which is the part that comes into contact with the skin, is made of a soft material made of silicone rubber, so it blends well with the skin, follows the movements of the skin well, and absorbs minute skin movements. Can be detected. Since the outer shape of the case 11 of the sensor A is small, it is easy to apply a bandage to the skin, and the bandage is difficult to peel off. In addition, in this case, an overhang 1 is provided on the outer periphery of the membrane 13.
4, the contact area with the skin is increased compared to one without an overhang, and the overhang 14 displaces with the proximal end 14a as a fulcrum as the skin moves, and this displacement causes the protrusion to move. 15, it is possible to reliably detect even when the vibration of the skin is small or in the lateral direction, thereby improving the detection performance.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the shape of the projecting portion 14 of the membrane 13 is circular, but the shape of the projecting portion may be other than circular, for example, rectangular, triangular, or V-shaped, depending on the detection area of the human body. It may also be a letter shape or an X shape. Therefore, in the case where the projecting portion 14 is circular as in the above-mentioned embodiment,
It is used when it is attached to a flat skin such as the cheek to detect the movement of the skin, and a rectangular one with an elongated projecting part 20 as shown in FIG. It is used to detect movement and eyeball movement, and the one with a V-shaped protrusion 21 as shown in FIG. 6 is used when attached to the side of the outer corner of the eye to detect movements such as blinking.
As shown in Fig. 8, the protruding part 22 is triangular, or as shown in Fig. 9, the protruding part 23 is X-shaped, and is used when attached to a joint part of a limb or the like to detect the movement thereof. It can be done.

In addition, in the above explanation, the device is used to identify nerves in brain surgery, but it can also be widely used to detect changes in the body such as reflex detection in ankle joints and movement of muscles in limbs.

[Effects of the invention] As is clear from the above description, the present invention is such that a pressure sensing element is disposed at the inner bottom of a bottomed cylindrical case having an opening on one side, and the pressure sensing element is arranged in the case so as to cover the opening. A membrane is provided that is made of a soft material and has a protruding portion on its outer periphery that extends sideways from the case while being attached to the skin and comes into contact with the skin surface. Because it is characterized by a protrusion that is pressed against the element, it is small and lightweight, and can be securely fixed to the skin with a bandage, ensuring good contact with the skin even after a long period of time. It is possible to detect vibrations of the skin, and is easy to use.In addition, by providing an overhang on the membrane, the contact area with the skin is increased, so even small movements of the skin and lateral movements can be reliably detected. I was able to do it.
This has the excellent effect of improving detection performance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the sensor, Figure 2 is a plan view thereof, and Figure 3 is a diagram showing an equivalent circuit of the pressure sensing element. , FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the state of use, and FIG.
8 are views corresponding to FIG. 2 showing other embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a conventional configuration. In the drawing, 11 is a case, 11a is an opening, 12
13 is a pressure sensing element, 13 is a membrane, 14 is an overhang, 15 is a protrusion, 18 is an amplifier, 19 is a speaker, and 20, 21, 22, and 23 are overhangs, respectively.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a bottomed cylindrical case having an opening on one side; a pressure sensing element disposed at the inner bottom of the case;
a membrane made of a soft material that is attached to the case so as to cover the opening and abuts against the skin surface, and has a protruding portion extending laterally from the case on the outer periphery; A skin vibration detector comprising a protrusion integrally molded from a soft member and having a tip pressed against the pressure sensing element.