JPH09201345A - Vital impedance measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce error caused by difference in measurement conditions of every one point, improve measurement accuracy, and improve searching efficiency by providing a plurality of electrodes for detecting electric signals related to vital impedance on the vital surface and two-dimensionally arranging these electrodes on a holding body at prescribed intervals. SOLUTION: When a device is started, at first, an electric pulse is generated by a pulse generation circuit 21 by a reference pulse CK from a reference pulse generation circuit 5 and then a control signal S1 is generated by the first control signal generation part 22. The electric pulse is fed to electrodes a1... an in order which are arranged two-dimensionally in prescribed intervals in an array electrode 1 and the electric signal is fed to a measurement system 3 as a voltage signal V3 via a resistance R3. This voltage signal V3 is displayed on a monitor 35 as information of vital information based on two-dimensional vital impedance PZ, namely a pressure point, via an integrating circuit 31, a hold circuit 32, an amplifier 33, and a DSC.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bioimpedance measuring apparatus for obtaining biometric information such as information on acupoints of a living body based on bioimpedance of a living body surface,
In particular, it relates to a two-dimensional array structure of electrodes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to carry out stimulation treatment using acupuncture, moxibustion, etc., for a health appliance, the position of a so-called “acupoint”, which is a stimulation point on the surface of the living body, is placed on the electrical impedance (hereinafter There is known a bioimpedance measuring device (also referred to as “acupoint treatment device”, “acupoint sensor”, etc.) that searches based on change characteristics of “bioimpedance”. In addition, as this bioimpedance measuring device, there is also known a device that not only simply searches for acupoints and the like but also applies stimulation to the searched positions to simultaneously perform stimulation treatment in place of acupuncture, moxibustion, etc. ( In particular, a device that simultaneously searches for acupoints and stimulates them is also referred to as "acupoint search stimulator" or the like).

For example, a bioimpedance measuring device as an acupuncture point stimulating device usually has a casing which can be held by an operator's hand, and a structure in which electrodes for measuring skin resistance are provided on the casing. It is known that bioimpedance is measured through the electrode, the presence or absence of acupuncture points is checked based on the measured value, and a biostimulation pulse is output through the same electrode.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned bioimpedance measuring apparatus, the so-called spot type sensor is used, in which the acupuncture points and the like are searched while changing the position where the electrodes are applied point by point. Therefore, depending on the measurement conditions such as pressure and pressing method when the operator applies the electrode to the surface of the living body, the electrical impedance, which is the measured amount, may change, for example, about twice. Therefore, it becomes difficult to maintain a constant measurement accuracy, and there is a problem that the reliability of the device is lacking.
Further, searching information for each point is generally complicated and troublesome, and is not always efficient.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems of the prior art as described above, and it is possible to reduce the error caused by the difference in the measurement condition for each point, improve the measurement accuracy, and improve the search efficiency. An object of the present invention is to provide a bioimpedance measuring device capable of performing the above.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a bioimpedance measuring apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 obtains biometric information based on the bioimpedance from an electric signal relating to the bioimpedance of the biometric surface. And a plurality of electrodes for detecting the electric signal,
A holding body for holding the plurality of electrodes is provided, and the plurality of electrodes are two-dimensionally arranged at predetermined intervals on the holding body.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided pulsar means for sequentially applying electric pulses of a predetermined frequency to the plurality of electrodes.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the pulser means includes a pulse source for generating the electric pulse, and a plurality of analog switches for individually supplying the electric pulse generated by the pulse source to the plurality of electrodes. Is equipped with.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided biometric information acquisition means for acquiring the biometric information based on the electrical signals detected by each of the plurality of electrodes.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the biometric information acquisition means includes a monitor that displays the biometric information acquired for each of the plurality of electrodes.

According to another aspect of the invention, the monitor is a liquid crystal monitor.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a singular point of a change in bioelectrical impedance is specified for each of the plurality of electrodes based on the biometric information acquired by the biometric information acquiring means, and the plurality of points corresponding to the specified singular point are specified. A biostimulation means for applying a biostimulation pulse to a desired one of the electrodes.

In the invention according to claim 8, the holding body is
The body is formed of an elastic body that can be bent along the roundness of the surface of the living body.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the plurality of electrodes are conductive rubber electrodes.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the biometric information is information on acupuncture points on the surface of the biological body.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the bioelectrical impedance measuring device according to the present invention is applied to, for example, an acupoint search stimulating device.

The bioimpedance measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 1 searches for a singular point (for example, an abnormally low value in the case of an acupuncture point) based on a change in bioimpedance on the surface of the living body and stimulates it. An array electrode 1 that can be arranged at a desired measurement site, a pulsar system 2 and a measurement system 3 that operate during acupoint search, and a biostimulation system 4 that operates during acupoint stimulation
And Each of these constituent elements 1 to 4 is energized by the reference pulse CK generated by the reference pulse generating circuit 5 and operates at a predetermined timing. Here, the switching operation at the time of searching the acupuncture point and at the time of the acupoint treatment is performed manually or automatically by a switch or the like not shown.

As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), a plurality of array electrodes 1 are two-dimensionally arranged, for example, in a matrix form in the X and Y directions at predetermined intervals (n: For example, a two-dimensional array structure in which electrodes a1 ... An of n = X × Y = 10 × 10 (n = 10 × 8 for convenience in FIG. 2A) are arranged is adopted. The holding body 11 is made of an insulating material, and is formed of, for example, a flat plate-shaped member or an elastic body that can bend along the roundness of the surface of the living body. The electrodes a1 ... An are formed of thin metal electrodes or rubber electrodes for detecting bioimpedance, and particularly the holder 1
When 1 is formed of the above elastic body, it is desirable to adopt a rubber electrode that is slightly bendable according to the curved state. In addition, as shown in FIG.
At least one ground-side electrode bn forming a pair with the electrodes a1 ... An is arranged on the holder 11. The ground side electrode bn may be individually provided for each of the electrodes a1 ... An via an insulator.

Therefore, the array electrode 1 receives the electric pulse from the pulse system 2 at the time of searching for the acupuncture point, so that the electrodes a1 ... An and the ground side electrode bn arranged two-dimensionally.
An electrical signal reflecting the electrical impedance between them, that is, the bioelectrical impedance PZ (see FIG. 3), which is considered to be substantially equivalent to the impedance when the resistor R and the capacitor C are connected in parallel as an impedance element, is applied to the electrodes a1 ... an.
It detects it individually. Further, the array electrode 1 gives a stimulus to the living body P by receiving a stimulating pulse from the biological stimulating system 4 during acupoint stimulation.

The pulsar system 2 constitutes the pulsar means of the present invention, and generates the pulse generator circuit 21 for generating a predetermined electric pulse when searching for the pot and the control signal S1 for controlling the energization timing of the electrodes a1 ... An. First control signal generator 22
And an electric pulse from the pulse generating circuit 21 based on the control signal S1 from the first control signal generating section 22.
and a switch circuit 23 individually supplied to an.

The pulse generating circuit 21 is energized by the reference pulse CK from the reference pulse generating circuit 5 and has a predetermined frequency (for example, a pulse width of 20 μs) for measuring the bioelectrical impedance.
An electric pulse (applied pulse) of (about 2 ms) is generated, and the electric pulse is supplied to the switch circuit 21 (the symbol r in FIG. 3 indicates an internal resistance).

As shown in FIG. 4, the first control signal generating section 22 is energized by the reference pulse CK from the reference pulse generating circuit 5 to generate analog switches c1 ... cn (n = n in FIG. 4).
A control signal S1 for switching on / off of 10) is generated, and the control signal S1 is supplied to the switch circuit 21.

The switch circuit 23, as shown in FIG.
The control signal S has a plurality (n) of analog switches c1 ... cn (n = number of electrodes) that are individually connected to the electrodes an.
.. cn are switched for each channel based on 1, while electric pulses are sequentially supplied to the electrodes a1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a resistor R3 for voltage measurement is inserted between the switch circuit 21 and the pulse generating circuit 22 in the pulsar system 2, and the electrode a1 is connected via the resistor R3. ... an individual bioimpedance PZ of an
Is output to the measurement system 3 as a time-series voltage signal V3.

The measuring system 3 constitutes the biological information acquiring means of the present invention, and is an integrating circuit 31 for integrating the voltage signal V3.
And a hold circuit 32 for sampling the integrated signal of the integrating circuit 31 at a predetermined timing and holding it, and an output signal Vh of the holding circuit 32 (see FIG. 4).
Amplifier (Amp.) 33 for amplifying the reference signal), and the amplified signal of the amplifier 33 is converted into a luminance signal, which is then converted to a standard TV.
DSC (Digtal Scan Converter) 34 for converting to scanning
And a monitor 35 such as a liquid crystal monitor for displaying an output signal from the DSC 34. These parts 31 to 3
4 operates based on the reference pulse CK from the reference pulse generation circuit 5. The monitor 35 displays biometric information based on the bioelectrical impedance PZ corresponding to the two-dimensional electrode position,
That is, information on the acupuncture points of the living body is displayed.

The biostimulation system 4 operates by being energized by the reference pulse CK from the reference pulse generation circuit 5 during acupoint treatment, and the bioimpedance PZ acquired by the measurement system 3 is used.
Singular point of impedance change from information on
Is detected and the position of the electrodes a1 ... An indicating the singularity is specified, the stimulus pulse generation circuit 42 for generating a biostimulation pulse, and the electrodes a1 ... An specified by the singularity specifying unit 41. And a second control signal generating section 43 for generating a control signal S2 for analog switch selection for supplying a biostimulation pulse via the switch circuit 23.

Here, the singular point of impedance change corresponds to data showing a relatively low value or a high value in the measured bioelectrical impedance PZ, and for example, in the case of an acupoint of a living body, it is abnormally low. It is known to indicate a value (see below). Therefore, if the singular point identifying unit 41 detects data showing an abnormally low value in the bioelectrical impedance PZ as a singular point, the position of any electrode ax of the electrodes a1 ... Can be specified. This means that the acupuncture point of the living body P is present at the specified position of the electrode ax. Therefore, the control signal S for selecting the specific electrode ax by the second control signal generator 43.
By supplying 2 to the switch circuit 23, the biostimulation pulse from the stimulation pulse generation circuit 42 can be given to the specific electrode ax via the switch circuit 23 to be used for acupoint treatment.

Here, the characteristic of the bioelectrical impedance PZ to be measured by the measuring system 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is an equivalent circuit obtained by simplifying the measurement system 3,
That is, a circuit in which the pulse generation circuit 21, the bioelectrical impedance PZ, and the resistor R3 are connected in series will be described.
In the same figure, the bioelectrical impedance PZ is shown by an equivalent circuit divided into an epidermal system forming the stratum corneum (surface layer portion) of the living body surface and a nervous system forming a tissue below the granular layer (lower part of the stratum corneum), and the epidermal system is shown. The representative parallel impedance elements are R1 and C1, and the parallel impedance elements representative of the nervous system are R2 and C2.

The characteristics of the bioelectrical impedance PZ based on this equivalent circuit are as follows: 1): R1 is larger than R2 (R1> R2), 2): Acupuncture point of the living body P has R2 smaller than its surroundings, 3): There are reports that sick people have larger R2 and larger C2 than healthy people (for example, Medical Electronics and Biotechnology Vol. 11, No. 5 (Oct. 1973)).
P. 337-343). For example, assuming that the pulse width of the electric pulse generated by the pulse generation circuit 21 is 2 μs to 2 ms and R3 = 100Ω, C1 = 0.001 μF,
A measured value of R2 = 300 to 1000Ω has been confirmed.

Therefore, if attention is paid to the characteristics of the bioelectrical impedance PZ, it is possible to two-dimensionally obtain information regarding the pot from the voltage signal V3 across the resistor R3.

Next, the overall operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, it is assumed that the array electrode 1 is arranged at the measurement site of the living body P, the bioelectrical impedance measuring device is activated, and the acupoint search is started. At the time of this start, the pulse generation circuit 21 is energized by the reference pulse CK to generate an electric pulse, and the first control signal generation unit 22 generates the control signal S1. Therefore,
The electric pulse from the pulse generating circuit 21 is switched to the switch circuit 2 based on the control signal S1 from the first control signal generating section 22.
3 is sequentially supplied to the electrodes a1 ... An.

Next, the bioimpedance PZ of the living body P
Is supplied to the measurement system 3 as a voltage signal V3 via the resistor R3. Therefore, the voltage signal V3 is applied to the integration circuit 31, the hold circuit 32, the amplifier 33, and the DSC3.
4 is displayed on the monitor 35 in real time as biometric information based on the two-dimensional bioelectrical impedance PZ, that is, information on the acupuncture points. The operator can instantly confirm the exact position of the acupuncture point to be searched by merely observing the biological information on the monitor 35.

Next, it is assumed that the acupoint search is ended and the acupoint treatment is started. At the time of this start, the electrode ax indicating the singular point of the change in the bioelectrical impedance PZ measured by the measurement system 3 is specified by the singular point specifying unit 41, and the biostimulation pulse from the stimulation pulse generation circuit 42 is supplied to the specific electrode ax. ,
The acupuncture points of the living body P are stimulated.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, by setting the array electrode 1 on the living body P once, a plurality of pieces of living body information can be instantaneously measured under the same conditions, and the positions of the acupuncture points of the living body to be searched can be determined. Since the detection can be performed accurately, the error due to the difference in the conventional measurement conditions such as pressing can be significantly reduced, and the measurement accuracy can be improved. In addition, since the biometric information regarding the two-dimensional bioimpedance can be easily visually recognized on the monitor, the visibility and operability are improved as compared with the conventional point search, and the search efficiency is significantly improved.
Further, since the stimulation pulse can be accurately applied to the searched point such as the acupuncture point, not only the search but also the treatment efficiency is significantly improved.

Although this embodiment is applied to the acupoint search and treatment apparatus, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, it may be applied to a health tool for massage or the like.

Further, according to this embodiment, the first control signal generating section 22, the singularity specifying section 41, and the second control signal generating section 43 are individually provided, but the present invention is not limited to this. is not. For example, the first control signal generation unit 22 is integrally mounted in the pulse generation circuit 21, and the singular point identification unit 41
Is integrally mounted in the DSC 34, and the second control signal generator 4
3 may be integrated in the stimulation pulse generation circuit 42.

[0039]

As described above, in the bioimpedance measuring apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of electrodes for detecting an electrical signal relating to the bioimpedance of the surface of the living body and a holder for holding the plurality of electrodes are provided. Since a plurality of electrodes are two-dimensionally arranged on this holder at a predetermined interval, it is possible to simultaneously measure two-dimensional data under the same conditions to improve the accuracy and to simultaneously measure a plurality of points at a time. Since the data can be acquired, the efficiency of searching for acupoints of the living body is greatly improved.

In particular, according to the invention of claim 7, the position of the acupuncture point or the like of the living body can be accurately detected, and the stimulation pulse can be accurately applied to the position, so that the treatment efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the overall configuration of a bioelectrical impedance measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic plan view showing an electrode arrangement of array electrodes, and FIG. 2B is a schematic side view illustrating an example of using the array electrodes.

FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a pulser system.

FIG. 4 is a schematic timing chart illustrating the operation of each unit and its signal waveform.

FIG. 5 is a schematic equivalent circuit diagram illustrating characteristics of bioimpedance.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 array electrode 2 pulsar system 3 measurement system 4 biostimulation system a1 ... an electrode bn earth side electrode 11 holder 21 pulse generation circuit 22 first control signal generation unit 23 switch circuit c1 ... cn analog switch 31 integration circuit 32 hold circuit 33 amplifier 34 DSC 35 monitor 41 singular point identification unit 42 stimulation pulse generation circuit 43 second control signal generation unit

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A bio-impedance measuring apparatus for acquiring bio-information based on bio-impedance from an electro-signal related to bio-impedance of a bio-surface, a plurality of electrodes for detecting the electric signal, and a holder for holding the plurality of electrodes And a plurality of the electrodes arranged two-dimensionally on the holder at predetermined intervals. 2. The bioimpedance measuring device according to claim 1, further comprising pulser means for sequentially applying electric pulses of a predetermined frequency to the plurality of electrodes. 3. The pulser means comprises a pulse source for generating the electric pulse, and a plurality of analog switches for individually supplying the electric pulse generated by the pulse source to the plurality of electrodes. The bioimpedance measuring device described. 4. The bioelectrical impedance measuring device according to claim 1, further comprising a biometric information acquisition unit that acquires the biometric information based on the electrical signal detected by each of the plurality of electrodes. . 5. The bioelectrical impedance measuring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the biometric information acquisition unit includes a monitor that displays the biometric information acquired for each of the plurality of electrodes. 6. The monitor is a liquid crystal monitor.
The bioimpedance measuring device described. 7. A singular point of a change in bioelectrical impedance is specified for each of the plurality of electrodes based on the biometric information acquired by the biometric information acquisition means, and a desired one of the plurality of electrodes corresponding to the specified singular point is specified. 7. The bioimpedance measuring device according to claim 5, further comprising biostimulation means for applying a biostimulation pulse to the electrode. 8. The bioimpedance measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the holding body is formed of a bendable elastic body along the roundness of the living body surface. 9. The bioimpedance measuring device according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of electrodes are conductive rubber electrodes. 10. The bioelectrical impedance measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the biometric information is information on acupuncture points on the surface of the biological body.