JPH07255722A - Osteoporosis diagnostic device by ultrasonic wave - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an osteoporosis diagnostic device which enables a doctor to easily operate the above diagnostic device and a testee to be measured in an easy posture, is convenient to carry and occupies not so much floor space. CONSTITUTION:A measuring section B having an ultrasonic probe which comes into direct contact with the testee and a bed body A which includes a personal computer body to be operated by the doctor are separately constituted. On the other hand, a horizontal base plate 7 in the lower part of the bed body A is provided with a notch 7a opened on one side so that the measuring section B including the ultrasonic probe is stowed into this notched space part. The diagnostic device is thus composed that both of the bed A and the measuring section B are simultaneously movable.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for diagnosing osteoporosis using ultrasonic waves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The rapid increase in the number of people with an illness called osteoporosis, which makes it easier for people to fracture their bones in their normal daily lives with the increase in the elderly population, has become a major problem in the medical field. Osteoporosis is a disease in which the amount of calcium and other components in the bone decreases, resulting in a decrease in bone mass, which easily causes cracking and damage due to reduced strength.
It is said that about 30% of people over the age of 0 and about 10% of men are applicable.

When osteoporosis is discovered early,
Since various treatments can effectively prevent the progression of osteoporosis, early detection by regular examination is important. Therefore, conventionally, the degree of progression of osteoporosis has been predicted and diagnosed by measuring bone mineral content (BMC) by X-ray (X-ray) radiation or gamma-ray radiation.

However, radiation is extremely harmful to the living body, and is intended for people aged about 50 to 60 and over who are predicted to have a high possibility of osteoporosis, and for women after closing the diameter. The diagnosis was taken at risk.
Therefore, a device for diagnosing osteoporosis using ultrasonic waves, which is harmless to the human body, has also been proposed. For example, all the main components that make up the diagnostic device may be housed in individual boxes so that they are all convenient to carry, or there is a structure in which all the diagnostic devices are integrated. Proposed.

[0005]

However, although all of the main members that make up the device are individually divided, they are convenient to carry, but when they are used half-way, they must be assembled each time and the patient If the examiner suddenly came to the hospital, he could not respond suddenly and was very inconvenient. On the other hand, in the structure in which the main constituent members are integrated, the entire device tends to be relatively large. However, depending on the hospital or public health center, the location where the diagnostic device is placed is small, and there is a problem that the placement is restricted. Therefore, the present invention makes it easy for the doctor to operate at the time of diagnosis, and makes it easy for the patient (subject) to perform measurement, and after the diagnosis is completed, it is not easy to store even in one corner of the room. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a diagnostic device that is extremely convenient to carry during transportation.

[0006]

The main parts of the device of the present invention are:
A head having a CRT, a printer, an FD device, a KEY board, and a personal computer body, a body having an ultrasonic transmitter / receiver unit and an electric circuit built in under the head, and water having casters below the body. It is composed of a base main body A having a flat base plate as an integral structure, and a measuring unit B having a footrest on which the heel of the subject is placed and a pair of ultrasonic probes. Among them, a cutout portion having one opening is provided on the lower horizontal base plate of the base body A. A groove is provided on the side surface of the cutout. In addition, an inclined guide surface is provided at the tip of the groove on the opening side. On the other hand, a roller is attached to the side surface of the measuring section B. At the time of diagnosis, the measurement unit B is separated from the base body A, while at the end of the diagnosis, the measurement unit B is moved along the guide surface of the groove of the horizontal base plate of the base body A. , Stored in the space of the cutout,
The base body A and the measuring unit B are configured to be movable at the same time.

[0007]

[Operation] At the time of diagnosis, the base body including the personal computer body and the measuring unit including the footrest and the ultrasonic probe are separated and convenient for both the patient (subject) and the doctor. Placed in position. On the other hand, at the end of diagnosis, the measuring unit is placed on the horizontal base plate of the base unit, and it is integrated as a structure with the base unit so that the measuring unit fits in the space of the notch, so it can be transported. It's easy.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example of an apparatus for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. The measuring unit B has a child. That is, the base body A has a CPU, a ROM,
A personal computer body 1 including a RAM, a CRT 2, a printer 3, a KEY board 4, and an FD device 5 are attached, while a body portion 6 below the head is formed in a hollow shape, and An ultrasonic transmitter / receiver, electric circuit parts and the like (which will be described later) are built in, and a horizontal base plate 7 to which casters 8 are attached is attached to a lower portion of the body portion 6. The horizontal base plate 7 is provided with a cutout portion 7a which is open on one side. Further, on the inner side surface of the cutout portion 7a, as shown in FIG.
7b is provided, and further, inclined guide surfaces 7c, 7c are provided at the tip of the step portion on the opening side, and
Further, recesses 7d and 7d for positioning are provided on the inner side of the step.

On the other hand, in the measuring section B, a footrest 10 on which the foot of a patient (subject) is placed and a pair of ultrasonic probes 11 and 11 connected to an ultrasonic transmitter / receiver (not shown). It is attached to the machine frame 12, and on both sides of this machine frame 12,
This machine frame 12 is equipped with 13 rollers.
A caster 14 is attached to the lower part of the.

FIG. 4 shows a measuring section B including an ultrasonic probe 11.
And an ultrasonic transmitter / receiver built in the body portion 6 of the base body A, and an electrical circuit configuration diagram of a connection relationship between the personal computer body 1 and the like. The ultrasonic probes 11 and 11 are relays, respectively. It is connected to the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 16 via the substrate 15. The electric pulse signal from the ultrasonic probe 11 is converted into an ultrasonic signal by the piezoelectric element and transmitted to the other ultrasonic probe 11. In this ultrasonic probe 11, the ultrasonic signal is again converted into an electric signal by the piezoelectric element. The ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 16 includes a filter 17 and an amplifier 18.
Is connected to the A / D converter 19 through the filter 17, and the filter 17 removes low-frequency and high-frequency components from the RF signal of the ultrasonic transceiver 16 and sends the signal to the amplifier 18.
On the other hand, the A / D converter 19 converts the signal from the amplifier 18 into a digital signal and sends the data to the CPU of the personal computer body 1. Also, the CP of the PC body 1
U calculates the trabecular bone area ratio and trabecular shape based on the signal from the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 16. Furthermore, the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 16 is connected to the CPU of the personal computer main body 1, while the CPU is the CRT 2, the printer 3 and the FDD.
It is also connected to the device 5 and outputs the results of the arithmetic processing to these devices or stores and holds them. The ultrasonic probe 11 of the measuring unit B and the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver 16 built in the hollow portion of the body of the base body A are connected by a cable 20.

An example of an apparatus for carrying out the present invention is constructed as described above, and at the time of diagnosis, the measuring section B including the ultrasonic probe 11 as shown in FIG. It is separated from A, and the caster 1
From where the 4 is attached, the patient (subject) can freely move to a position where it can be easily measured. For doctors as well, the KEY board 4 etc. of the PC main body 1 should be located at an easy-to-operate position.
The base body A to which the casters 8 are attached can be freely moved and arranged. When the diagnosis is completed, the measuring unit B is stored in the horizontal base plate 7 of the base body A as shown in FIG. That is, since the tip of the stepped portion 7b of the cutout portion 7a of the horizontal base plate 7 is formed on the inclined guide surface 7c, the measuring portion B is attached to the machine frame base 12 with the roller 13 on its side surface. From this point, the roller 13 of the measuring section B is positioned by being guided along the guide surface 7c and fitted in the recess 7d provided at the inner side of the step groove 7b. In this way, the measuring unit B rides on the horizontal base plate 7 of the base body A, and the measuring unit is fitted into the space of the cutout portion 7a of the horizontal base plate 7 to form an integrated structure. , Very easy to carry.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, the measuring portion having the footrest on which the subject's foot is placed and the ultrasonic probe is detachably attached to the base body having the personal computer body or the like. Therefore, compared with the conventional one, the device can be placed at a position where the doctor can easily operate it at the time of diagnosis, while it can be placed at a position where the patient (subject) can measure without taking an unreasonable posture. At the end of diagnosis, the measuring unit and the base main body are integrally structured, so that they are extremely convenient to carry, and there is an effect that a place for storing the entire apparatus is not required so much.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an apparatus for carrying out the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a measuring unit is housed in a base body.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of an essential part of a horizontal base plate at the bottom of the base body.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an electric circuit showing a connection relationship between an ultrasonic transceiver and a personal computer body or the like.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A base body B measurement unit 1 PC body 2 CRT 3 printer 4 KEY board 5 FDD device 6 body part 7 horizontal base plate 7a notch 7b step 7c guide surface 7d dent 11 ultrasonic probe 13 roller

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Fumio Nokata 680-121 No. 121, Tomako edition, Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A head having a CRT 2, a printer 3, a KEY board 4, an FD device 5 and a personal computer main body 1, a body 6 having an ultrasonic transmitter / receiver and an electric circuit built in the lower part of the head, A base body A having a horizontal base plate 7 having casters 8 under the body portion 6 as an integral structure, and separately, a footrest 10 on which the heel of the subject is placed, and a pair of ultrasonic probes 11 , 11 of which a cutout portion 7a having one opening is provided on the horizontal base plate 7 below the base body A, and the cutout portion 7 is provided.
A stepped portion 7b is provided on the side surface of a, and a slanted guide surface 7c is provided at the tip of the stepped portion 7b on the opening side. On the other hand, a roller 13 is attached to the side surface of the measurement section B, and at the time of diagnosis. , The measurement unit B is separated from the base main body A, while the measurement unit B is moved along the guide surface 7c of the step 7b of the horizontal base plate 7 of the base main body A at the end of the diagnosis. At the very least, it is stored in the space of the cutout portion 7a, and the base body A
And the measuring unit B are configured to be movable at the same time.