JPH062128B2 - Bad breath measuring device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a halitosis measuring device for accurately detecting a halitosis substance.

[Conventional technology]

Many people are concerned about bad breath. The conventional method for diagnosing bad breath is that the patient blows and the doctor makes a direct odor to make the diagnosis. However, the method has poor objectivity and is not preferable for the doctor. Therefore, there is a movement to mechanize the halitosis test, and various halitosis measuring devices have been proposed.

To begin with, bad breath is caused by gas generated from tongue coating, dental plaque, periodontal pockets, or cavity, and malodorous gas species are mainly methyl mercaptan, hydrogen sulfide gas, methyl disulfide, trimethylamine, etc. is there. The breath odor can be measured by collecting these gases, bringing them into contact with a gas sensor, and measuring the gas concentration. A conventional breath odor measuring device of this type that has been conventionally presented at an academic conference will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 14, reference numeral 10 denotes a gas concentration detection unit, which has a gas sensor inside and can measure the gas concentration. 20 is a wax cup-shaped collection cup,
When the front surface of the mouth portion is covered, the peripheral edge portion is in contact with the face surface to form a hermetically sealed state. Reference numeral 30 denotes a connecting pipe, which has insertion tools at both ends, and is provided with a collection cup 20 and a gas concentration detection unit 10.
Used to communicate with and. 100 is a face, 1
01 is an upper lip and 102 is a lower lip. The operation is as follows: when the collection cup 20 is brought into contact with the front of the mouth to make it airtight, and the air is blown, the breath is sucked into the gas concentration detection unit 10, the gas concentration is detected, and the breath odor is measured. Is done.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

In the above halitosis measuring device, the mouth is closed in order to apply the collection cup 20 to the front surface of the mouth portion, and there is no space in the oral cavity, so halitosis gas cannot be stored. Therefore, if breathing in immediately after the mouth is closed, the breath from the lungs will be sent directly to the gas concentration detection unit 10, and there is a serious drawback that accurate halitosis cannot be measured. Further, there is a problem that a gap is formed between the collecting cup 20 and the face 100 depending on how the collecting cup 20 is applied, and thus a measurement error is likely to occur.

An object of the present invention is to provide a halitosis measuring device which can accurately measure halitosis substances by forming a storage space having a substantially constant volume in the oral cavity by using a mouse air chamber.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

The breath odor measuring device according to the present invention comprises a mouse air chamber for forming a space in the oral cavity.

[Action]

In the present invention, when the mouth air chamber is attached, a space of a constant volume is always created in the oral cavity, so that halitosis gas is stored in this space. Therefore, the gas concentration of halitosis can be accurately measured by feeding this stored gas into the gas concentration detection unit.

〔Example〕

 Each embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

[Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, 10 is a gas concentration detection unit similar to that in FIG. 14, which has a gas sensor 11 such as a ZnO thin film sensor, a pump 12 for sucking halitosis gas, a display unit 13 and a gas inlet 14. The container 15 is provided. The gas concentration detector 10 is shown in a block diagram. Inserts 31, 32 are provided at both ends of the connecting pipe 30. Reference numeral 40 denotes a mouse air chamber which is a main part of the present invention, and is installed in the oral cavity. 100 is a face, 101 is an upper lip, 10
2 is the lower lip, 103 is the upper dentition, 104 is the lower dentition, 45
Is an extractor, and 105 is an oral vestibule. In this example,
The mouse air chamber 40 is attached so that the peripheral edge portion thereof is located between the upper lip 101 and the upper jaw dentition 103 and between the lower lip 102 and the lower jaw dentition 104 in the antrum of the oral cavity.

2 (a), (b) and (c) are a front view, a side view and a plan view showing the structure of the mouse air chamber 40. FIG. The mouse air chamber 40 is preferably made of a transparent or translucent elastic material. For example, polyethylene or softer one is preferable. 41 is a covering member, and the wall thickness is
For example, it is 0.8 mm, and 42 is an opening member. In this embodiment, it is the peripheral portion of the covering member 41, and it is rounded by about 1 mmφ so that it does not cause pain even when it hits the mucous membrane in the oral cavity. Four
Reference numeral 3 denotes a swelling portion, which stores halitosis gas, and is fixed with an extractor 45 having a gas outlet 44. Then, a film 46 such as a polyethylene film is adhered to the end surface of the extractor 45, whereby the gas outlet 44
Is sealed. The internal volume of the bulging portion 43 is 6 as an example.
It is about cc. The mouse air chamber 40 is 1
Any material that can be sterilized by boiling at 00 ° C can be reused. In that case, the user needs to seal with parafilm or the like instead of the film 46.

Next, the operation of FIG. 1 will be described.

First, the mouse air chamber 40 is attached between the upper and lower lips 101 and 102 and the upper and lower jaw dentitions 103 and 104 as shown in the figure. As a result, the mouth is forcibly opened halfway, and a space having a predetermined volume is created in the oral vestibule 105, and halitosis gas generated from the tongue coating, periodontal cavity, cavities, etc. accumulates here. The insertion tools 31 and 32 at both ends of the connection pipe 30 are inserted into the insertion tool 15 and the extraction tool 45. After mounting the mouse air chamber 40, wait for a predetermined time (for example, 1 minute) and then the gas concentration detection unit 1
The pump 12 of 0 is operated to start suction. As a result, the bad breath gas is surely sent to the gas sensor 11 to measure the concentration of bad breath, and is displayed on the display unit 13 in digital or analog form. In this way, a certain volume of storage space is secured, volatile halitosis substances in the oral cavity are stored after a certain period of time elapses, and a portion of this stored gas is measured by aspiration, so that exhaled air from the respiratory tract is mixed. Can be minimized and the shortcomings of previous methods can be remedied. In addition,
Since a considerable amount of alcohol is contained in the stored air, if an alcohol filter is provided in the connecting pipe 30 to remove the alcohol so that the gas sensor 11 works only for a bad odor such as mercaptan, more accurate measurement can be performed. be able to.

FIG. 3 shows a comparison between the breath odor measurement result according to Example 1 shown in FIG. 1 and the conventional breath odor measurement result by breath blowing.
The above-mentioned ZnO thin film sensor was used as the gas sensor 11, and the measurement was repeated continuously at intervals of 5 minutes. The horizontal axis represents the number of measurement repetitions, the vertical axis represents the sensor output, the broken line A is according to the present invention, the broken line B is according to the conventional breathing, and the test subject is the same person.

As is clear from the comparison of the results, it can be easily understood that the present invention has better reproducibility and higher sensitivity.

As the gas sensor 11 to be used, in addition to the above ZnO thin film sensor, a gas sensitive semiconductor ZnO is used as a main material, and
nAl ₂ O ₄ , ZnFe ₂ O ₄ , ZnGa ₂ O ₄ , Zn
If a spinel-type composite oxide of Cr ₂ O ₄ or ZnIn ₂ O ₄ containing at least one kind is used, it is possible to measure halitosis with higher sensitivity.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which the mouse air chamber 40 is placed in the upper part of the mouth and behind the lower jaw dentitions 103 and 104, and also in this case, accurate measurement of bad breath can be performed in exactly the same manner. .

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the gas concentration detector 10 and the mouse air chamber 40 are connected to each other by using the connecting pipe 30. On the other hand, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is a dropper type for collecting halitosis gas. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 50 is a dropper, which is composed of a filter chip 51 and a dropper portion 52, both of which are screwed together to be used. The details are shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, 53 is a nozzle which is inserted into the take-out tool 45 shown in FIG. This breaks the film 46. Reference numeral 54 is a dam, which has a mesh shape and has air permeability. Reference numeral 55 is silica gel, which removes water by adsorption. 5
Reference numeral 6 denotes a connecting plate, which has a screw hole 56a formed at the center thereof.
Reference numeral 57 is a screwing tool, which has an externally threaded screw 57a and a through hole 57b formed in the center. Reference numeral 58 denotes an elastic bellows, which has a screw fitting 57 attached to one end thereof and a closing plate 5 attached to the other end thereof.
9 is attached. At the time of use, the screw 57a of the screwing tool 57 is screwed into the screw hole 56a of the coupling plate 56 to be integrated. When the bellows 58 has low elasticity, a coil spring may be installed inside. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the mouse air chamber 40 is mounted in the oral cavity, and after 1 minute has passed as described with reference to FIG. 1, the closing plate 59 of the dropper 50 is pressed to remove the bellows 58. Nozzle 5 in a compressed state
When 3 is inserted into the extractor 45 of the mouse air chamber 40 and the bellows 58 is extended by removing the pressing of the closing plate 59, the bad breath gas in the mouse air chamber 40 is sucked and collected in a dropper manner. In this state, when the nozzle 53 of the dropper 50 is inserted into the intake tool 15 of the gas concentration detection unit 10 of FIG. 5 and the closing plate 59 is pressed, the bellows 58 contract, and the gas inside is pushed out to contact the gas sensor 11. To do. Thus, the bad breath gas can be detected as in the case of FIG.

[Embodiment 3] FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the bad breath gas is sampled by the dropper 50 and then input to the gas concentration detection unit 10. On the other hand, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the breath odor can be measured immediately by collecting a minute amount of the breath odor gas.

In FIG. 7, 61 is a gas sensor for detecting the test gas, and 62 is a lead wire of the gas sensor 61, which is connected by soldering or the like. 63 is a piston, and the gas sensor 61 is attached to the axial center portion thereof. 64 is a fixing portion for fixing the lead wire 62 with a resin, 65 is a mesh plate for protecting the gas sensor 61, 66 is a cylinder, 6
7 is a gas sampling thin tube attached to the cylinder 66,
Reference numeral 68 is a rod fixed to the piston 63, and the lead wire 62 penetrates the axial center portion thereof. Reference numeral 69 is a gripping portion integral with the rod 68, and the gas detecting portion 60 is configured as described above. The gas detector 60 and the gas concentration detector 10 are connected by a lead wire 18. 16 is an amplifier / arithmetic unit,
Reference numeral 17 is a power supply unit.

Next, the operation will be described.

To collect the bad breath gas, the grip portion 69 is gripped and the piston 63 is pushed to discharge the air in the cylinder 66. Then, the gas sampling thin tube 67 is inserted into the extractor 45, and the piston 63 is pulled, whereby the halitosis gas enters the cylinder 66 through the gas sampling thin tube 67 and is stored therein, and also passes through the mesh plate 65 to be stored in the piston 63. 6
1 is detected. Next, the output generated by the detection of the gas sensor 61 passes through the lead wire 18 and the gas concentration detection unit 1
It is amplified by the amplifier / operation unit 16 of 0 and displayed on the display unit 13. This embodiment can perform accurate measurement even with a very small amount of halitosis gas.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the gas sensor 11 for detecting halitosis gas is incorporated in the gas concentration detecting section 10, while in the eighth embodiment. In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the mouse air chamber 40 is placed immediately after the extractor 45. This feature has an advantage that the dew condensation in the connecting pipe 30 and the contamination due to repeated use can be prevented by setting the sampling path from the mouse air chamber 40 to the gas sensor 11 to the shortest distance.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 33 denotes a sensor chamber having the gas sensor 11 built-in, an extraction tool 45 connected to the mouse air chamber 40 is attached to the tip of the sensor chamber 33, and a connection pipe is provided at the rear of the sensor chamber 33. A pump 12 in the gas concentration detection unit 10 is connected via 30. Further, 34 is a leader line of the gas sensor 11, and
It is connected to the.

[Fifth Embodiment] FIG. 9 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention, in which a gas sensor 11 for detecting halitosis gas is detachably attached to the hollow portion of a mouse air chamber 40. Reference numeral 70 is a perforated or net-like protective cover for preventing contact with the tongue.

This feature is that since the gas sensor 11 for detecting halitosis gas is directly exposed to the halitosis gas in the mouse air chamber 40, the pump 12 can omit the sampling system such as the connecting pipe 30. Therefore, there is an advantage that the device is simple and at the same time, the problem of adsorption and consumption of the test gas in the sampling system is eliminated.

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of an embodiment of the gas concentration detection unit 10. In this figure, the same parts as in FIG. 1 are the same parts,
17a is a power switch, 17b is a zero adjustment button, 17c
Is a start button, 17d is an air purge button, 17
e is a reset button, and 18a is a power cord. The measurement result is immediately displayed on the display unit 13 as a numerical value.

11 to 13 are schematic sectional views showing other embodiments of the mouse air chamber 40 used in the present invention.

The mouse air chamber 40 shown in FIG.
2 is a cylindrical member having an open inner end 42a, and a large number of through holes 42b are provided in the upper half side surface. A gas outlet 44 is provided at the outer end of the opening member 42. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the covering member 41 is formed with a bulged portion 43, and the center of the bulged portion 43 is integrated so that the gas outlet 44 penetrates.

In use, the opening member 42 is inserted into the oral cavity so that it can be held by the teeth, and the covering member 41 closes the upper and lower lips 101, 102. As a result, halitosis gas can be stored in the oral vestibule 105, and this halitosis gas is collected from the released inner end 42a and through hole 42b through the gas outlet 44.

The embodiment of FIG. 12 differs in that the covering member 41 has a gentle bowl-shaped cross section and does not have the bulge 43 as in the embodiment of FIG. The embodiment of FIG. 13 is common to the embodiment of FIG. 2 in that the opening member 42 and the covering member 41 are integrated and the mouth is sealed from the inside of the lips.

The inner end 42 in each of the embodiments shown in FIGS.
There is no problem even if a is closed, not open, because it has the transparent 42b.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described in detail above, the present invention includes the mouth air chamber having the opening member, the covering member, and the gas outlet, and therefore, if the mouth air chamber is attached to the mouth, the space of a certain volume is surely held in the mouth. In addition, since the dilution of the gas in the mouth due to the exhalation from the nose and lungs can be minimized, halitosis gas generated from the tongue coating, periodontal cavity, cavity etc. will surely accumulate here, and the concentration of this halitosis gas will be detected by the gas sensor. Since the measurement is performed by the method described above, it is possible to easily measure the correct halitosis without measuring the exhaled breath to measure the halitosis as in the conventional case. Furthermore, it is also one of the advantages that erroneous suction of saliva can be prevented by ensuring a certain volume. Moreover, it has an excellent effect that it can be easily applied to the conventional breath odor measuring device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the breath odor measuring apparatus according to the present invention, which is a sectional view and a partial block diagram showing the whole constitution, and FIGS. 2 (a), (b) and (c) show this. A front view, a side view and a plan view showing an example of a mouse air chamber according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a view showing a comparison between the results of the bad breath measurement according to the present invention and the results of the conventional bad breath measurement, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of another mounted state, FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram similar to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing details of the dropper of the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a gas detecting portion and a block diagram of a gas concentration detecting portion showing still another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. External perspective view showing an example, 11
FIG. 12, FIG. 13 and FIG. 13 are schematic sectional views showing other embodiments of the mouse air chamber according to the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of a conventional breath odor measuring device. In the figure, 10 is a gas concentration detection unit, 11 is a gas sensor, and 12
Is a pump, 13 is a display unit, 14 is a gas inlet, 15 is an inlet, 30 is a connecting pipe, 31 and 32 are inserters, 40 is a mouse air chamber, 41 is a covering member, 42 is an opening member, and 43 is an opening member. A bulge, 44 a gas outlet, 45 an extractor,
46 is a film, 100 is a face, 101 is an upper lip, 102
Is a lower lip, 103 is an upper dentition, 104 is a lower dentition, 105
Is the oral vestibule.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mouse air chamber provided with an opening member for forming a space portion in the oral vestibule, a covering member for hermetically covering the mouth portion, and a gas outlet, and detecting bad breath gas stored in the mouse air chamber. A breath odor measuring device, comprising: