JPH11128187A - Electrode for electrocardiogram, clothes for electrocardiogram measurement, and electrocardiogram measuring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain electrocardiogram having excellent accuracy even if a subject moves without binding the subject by providing a flexible electricity conducting part in direct contact with an external electrode of which rear surface is in direct contact with a body surface of the subject and of which a front surface is connected with an electrocardiograph at least partially. SOLUTION: A clothlike electricity conducting material (flexible electricity conducting part or cloth having the electricity conducting property) 10 is incorporated in a place opposing to a shoulder part of a body of clothes 1 (clothes covering an upper half part of the body) which is an electrode for electrocardiogram. The electricity conducting material 10 is incorporated by sewing local parts together in the cut out shoulder part of the clothes 1 or the whole clothes is made of the electricity conducting material 10. Moreover, the electricity conducting material 10 is a woven body made of electricity conducting threads and non-electricity conducting threads and is in the form of a woven cloth or knitted cloth or nonwoven fabric cloth. Furthermore, it may be made of electricity conducting threads only or an electricity conducting film formed by plating, kneading in, and printing an electricity conducting substance in a resin film may be used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrocardiogram electrode electrocardiogram measurement garment and an electrocardiogram measurement system for obtaining an electrocardiogram of a subject.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when measuring a heart function at rest, an electrocardiogram in which a change in a voltage generated on a body surface of a subject is recorded is performed. Here, the electrocardiogram is a record of electrical activity generated in a heart beat, and is a curve recorded of a voltage generated on a body surface by a myocardium excited by generation and propagation of a stimulus prior to a cardiac contraction.

That is, when cardiac function is measured by an electrocardiogram, a silver / silver chloride electrode (fixed electrode) is adhered to the skin near the wrist or ankle of the subject with an adhesive, or the body surface is reduced using reduced pressure. The electrodes are fixed by being adsorbed on the electrodes, and each electrode is amplified by an amplifier, and the amplified signal (electrocardiogram output) is displayed on a recorder or a CRT. However, such a fixed electrode is one that is fixed to the subject every time a measurement is performed, and furthermore, using an adhesive as described above,
Since the measurement is started after being fixed on the body surface by reducing the pressure, there is a limit to the measurement without making the subject aware.

[0004] In some cases, the electrodes may fall off the body surface, and in such a case, the monitoring burden on the measurer must be increased such that the electrodes must be fixed again. On the other hand, in recent years, there has been reported a method of acquiring an electric signal of a body surface without constraint using an electrode incorporated in a fiber cloth (IEEE TRANSACTION ON BIOMEDICAL ENG).
INEERING, VOL., 40, NO6, P593-594 1993). In this method, a pillow cover and sheets are made of conductive fibers, so that a subject can collect a heartbeat signal simply by lying down on the pillow cover and sheets made of conductive fibers. . According to this, the electrode arrangement in a stationary positional relationship with the heart vector can be maintained, so that a stationary waveform of the second lead of the electrocardiogram can be obtained. Therefore, it is effective for diagnosis of cardiac function. Further, according to this method, an electrocardiogram can be taken without fixing the electrode to the body surface of the subject, so that measurement can be performed in a natural state.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conductive pillow cover and sheets, for example, depending on the posture of the subject, the hair of the subject may enter between the body and the conductive pillow cover. As a result, the contact area between the body and the electrode is reduced, thereby interrupting the heartbeat signal. As a result, an electrocardiogram cannot be collected during that time, and there is a problem in accuracy.

Further, in this case, since the subject and the electrode are easily separated from each other, the same problem as described above may occur, for example, when the subject turns over. There is also. In particular, the electrode (pillow cover) disposed on the side close to the head is greatly affected by the movement of the subject, and the contact with the body is likely to be reduced.

[0007] The decrease in the accuracy of the electrocardiogram measurement due to the decrease in the contact between the electrode and the body is caused by the fact that the conductive pillow cover and the sheets become smaller when the contact area with the body becomes smaller. This is because when the resistance value increases and a weak electric signal of the body is acquired, the accuracy is affected. Therefore, in order to improve the measurement accuracy, it is necessary to increase the contact area. However, in practice, as described above, the measurement accuracy must be reduced due to the subject himself.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an electrocardiogram capable of acquiring a highly accurate electrocardiogram even when the subject moves without restraining the subject. It is intended to provide an electrode for use.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an electrocardiogram electrode used for an electrocardiograph for obtaining an electric signal from a body surface of a subject, the back surface of which is provided by the subject. Characterized in that it is a garment having at least a portion of a flexible conductive portion that directly contacts the body surface of the subject and that directly contacts an external electrode connected to the electrocardiograph.

With the use of this electrode, a highly accurate electrocardiogram can be obtained even if the subject moves without restraining the subject. Specifically, a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric, or a film having conductivity can be used for the flexible conductive portion. Here, if the flexible conductive portion is configured by arranging conductive fibers and non-conductive fibers, it is possible to provide appropriate clothing having a good texture with excellent moisture absorption and wearing feeling.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An electrocardiogram electrode according to an embodiment will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of clothing 1 (clothing worn on the upper body), which is an electrocardiogram electrode of the present invention, as viewed from the front and back directions.

As shown in FIG. 1, the garment 1 is provided with a cloth-like conductive cloth 10 (a flexible conductive part or a cloth having conductivity) in a place facing the shoulder of the body. Described as the body). This conductive cloth 1
0 is incorporated by sewing the periphery to the cut-out shoulder of the garment 1. The position where the conductive cloth 10 is incorporated is not limited to the shoulder as long as it can be always in direct contact with the body surface of the subject's body. Further, the entire garment may be made of the conductive cloth 10.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the conductive cloth 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the conductive cloth 10 is a woven body of a conductive yarn S1 and a non-conductive yarn S2. Conductive thread S1
Is a thread made of a conductive fiber having a predetermined thickness (for example, 130 denier), such as a metal thread such as gold, silver, and copper; a conductive polymer such as polyaniline and polyacetylene; and a silver-plated nylon filament. Silver-plated nylon yarn (for example, X-STATIC (trade name) manufactured by Sauqoit Co.) made of multifilament which is a bundle of acrylic fibers or nylon fibers containing copper sulfide and nickel;
Filament yarns and spun yarns (twisted yarns) made of polyester fibers, core yarns, plying yarns, ply twisting yarns of conductive yarns and non-conductive cotton yarns, acrylic, nylon, polyester yarns,
Mixed fiber and spun yarn (twisted yarn) can be used.

The non-conductive yarn S2 is a yarn made of a non-conductive fiber, and may be a cotton yarn, acrylic, nylon, polyester yarn or the like. The conductive cloth 10 is produced by arranging the conductive yarn S1 and the non-conductive yarn S2 by weaving. The flexibility of the conductive cloth 10 is determined by the thickness of the conductive yarn S1 and the non-conductive yarn S2 constituting the conductive cloth 10 and the density of their weaving, but the flexible pressure (weight pressure or the like) is not applied. Also, it is set such that it can be deformed so as to always contact the subject's body with the movement of the subject wearing the clothing 1.

If the clothes 1 do not have high adhesion to the body of the subject, it is difficult to always bring the conductive cloth 10 into contact with the body as described above. It is desirable to appropriately set the dimensions of. The conductive fabric 10 is woven so that conductive fibers are exposed from both front and back surfaces. This is because the back surface is brought into contact with the body of the subject to collect a heartbeat signal, and the front surface can be easily connected to an external electrode (a cloth electrode 22 described later).

The form of the conductive cloth 10 is not limited to a woven cloth, but may be a knitted cloth in which the conductive yarn S1 and the non-conductive yarn S2 are knitted, or a nonwoven fabric in which the conductive fiber S1 is entangled. However, a conductive film formed by plating, kneading, and printing a conductive material on a resin film may also be used.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an electrocardiogram measurement system 20 which is an example in which the clothing 1 is adapted for electrocardiogram measurement. As shown in FIG. 3, the electrocardiogram measurement system 2
Reference numeral 0 denotes the above-mentioned clothes 1, a sheet main body 21 woven of a multifilament or a spun yarn composed of a bundle of electrically insulating filaments, and an upper surface of the sheet main body 21 disposed at a position corresponding to the neck of the subject. Fabric electrode 22, a fabric electrode 23 disposed at a site corresponding to the foot of the subject, and a conductive material for suppressing external electric noise placed under the sheet body 21 for suppressing external electric noise. And an amplifier 25 that amplifies the acquired heartbeat signal.

As the fabric electrodes 22 and 23, a woven fabric, a knitted fabric or a non-woven fabric made in the same manner as the conductive fabric 10 can be used, but the strength of the yarns constituting the fabric is slightly higher. However, the cloth may not be very flexible. Because the fabric electrode 22,
This is because the weight of the subject is applied to 23. The woven, knitted or non-woven fabric made of a conductive yarn such as a metal yarn can be used as the external electric noise suppressing conductive cloth 24,
An insulating sheet (not shown) similar to the sheet body 21 is interposed between the sheet body 21.

The electric signal amplifier 25 has a frequency band characteristic suitable for detecting an electrocardiogram, and incorporates an electric filter for suppressing electric noise other than the electrocardiogram. The cloth electrode 22 is connected to the negative pole of the amplifier 25, and the cloth electrode 23 is connected to the positive pole of the amplifier 25. The cloth electrode 23 is electrically connected to the conductive cloth 10 incorporated in the clothes of the subject. The heart beat of the subject is electrically collected by the physical contact. Then, the amplified heartbeat signal emitted from the amplifier 25 is recorded in a recording device (not shown).

In the electrocardiogram measuring system 20, the conductive cloth 1 can be flexibly deformed in accordance with the movement of the subject's body.
0 is placed in a position where it can always contact the body surface of the body, and the ECG is collected. Even if the body is moved to some extent from the supine position, the contact area between the electrode and the body is secured, so the ECG is highly accurate. Can be collected. The electrical contact between the conductive cloth 10 and the cloth electrode 22 is different from that of an electrocardiogram electrode which needs to be in direct contact with the subject's body surface in order to acquire a heartbeat signal. If a small area is ensured, it is possible to conduct electricity, so that there is no problem as in the case of an electrocardiogram electrode.

In addition, since the subject does not adversely affect the measurement even if the subject moves to some extent, the feeling of restraint held by the subject is reduced, that is, the subject is in a relaxed natural state. The inspection can be started. In addition, there is an effect that the monitoring burden on the measurer can be reduced. As the clothing according to the present invention, in addition to pajamas, a shirt, underwear, negligee (see FIG. 4 (a), FIG. 4 is a front view showing another mode of clothing), yukata (FIG. 4 (b))
), Sleepwear and gown, which may be long-sleeved or short-sleeved. Further, it can also be used as a supporter and a muffler (neck wrapping, see FIG. 4C). In addition, these clothes may use the above-mentioned knitted or woven cloth, the cloth or woven cloth itself, or even partially sew and bond them, or print a conductive resin or paste a conductive film. Good. Further, a conductive thread may be used as the sewing thread.

[Embodiment] An example in which an electrocardiogram is collected using the electrocardiogram measuring system 20 will be described by way of example. "Experiment area" The conductive cloth 10 has a diameter of 3.3 μm / 1.
Thickness 130 consisting of 34 filaments
Denier, Sauq with a resistance value of 2.86 Ω / cm (PP)
oit X-STATIC (trade name) (silver plated nylon thread)
And a woven fabric of 40th cotton thread, which was incorporated into the shoulder of the garment.

The fabric electrodes 22 and 23 used were woven fabrics in which conductive yarns and cotton yarns were arranged in a ratio of 4: 2. Then, an electrocardiogram of the subject was collected. The result is shown in FIG. As a target experiment, a fabric electrode made of a conductive fiber was incorporated into a pillow and brought into contact with the neck of a subject to collect an electrocardiogram. The result is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the electrocardiogram was collected using the cloth-like electrode (conductive cloth 10) incorporated in the clothes, the electrocardiogram waveform could be collected without interruption, but FIG. As shown in the figure, when the cloth-like electrode incorporated in the pillow was used, sampling was not possible in about 85 s to 170 s. This result clearly indicates the difference between the two precisions.

That is, since the electrodes in the target area are incorporated in the pillow where the head of the subject is located, hair may be interposed between the neck and the electrodes in some cases, May cause the subject to turn over,
In such a case, the poor conductivity between the body and the electrodes causes the conductivity to decrease, which hinders the ECG measurement. Since a weak electrical signal of the body is collected, the influence of the poor contact is remarkably manifested.

On the other hand, the electrodes in the experimental section are built in a position (shoulder) where contact with the body surface is difficult to be interrupted, and in addition to a flexible cloth which is deformed in accordance with the movement of the subject's body. Since the body is a body, the electrode and the skin surface of the subject are always in contact with a large contact area, so that interruption of an electric signal is unlikely to occur. Considering that the same difference was observed even when the above experiment was performed several times while changing the subject, the electrocardiogram electrode of the present invention is higher in accuracy than the conventional one. it is obvious.

[Modifications] Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention, and the following modifications are conceivable. (1) The subject (age and gender) of the subject does not matter, but it is understood that its usefulness is particularly high when the subject is a rapidly moving baby.

In addition, since an electric signal is acquired by clothes,
It is not necessary to measure in a supine state as before, and it is possible to measure even in a chair as long as it does not affect the heart beat. (2) In the above embodiment, the conductive cloth 10 is arranged so as to be in contact only with the shoulder in the upper body, and is in contact with the cloth electrode 23 on the sheet body 21 in the lower body.
The contact with the body in the lower body also includes the conductive cloth 10 in the same manner as in the upper body, such as trousers, stockings, socks, tights, supporters, leg warmers, socks with fingertips cut off, and the like. Alternatively, an electric signal can be directly obtained from these clothes.

This is particularly useful in the inspection of babies and the like. Because I forced my baby to supine,
This is because there are many cases where measurement is performed, but with this configuration, measurement can be performed in a normal state. or,
In particular, in the case of elderly people, the skin of the feet ages and becomes keratinized and hard, so that it is effective to extract a signal from the lower body by the above method.

[0030]

As described above, the electrocardiogram electrode of the present invention has a flexible conductive portion in which the back surface is in direct contact with the body surface of the subject and the front surface is in direct contact with the external electrode connected to the electrocardiograph. Since the clothes are included in at least a part of the body, even if the subject moves to some extent from, for example, a supine state, a contact area between the electrodes and the body is secured, so that a highly accurate electrocardiogram can be collected.

In addition, since the subject does not adversely affect the measurement even if the subject moves to some extent, the feeling of restraint held by the subject is reduced, that is, the subject is in a relaxed natural state. The inspection can be started. Further, there is an effect that the monitoring burden on the measurer can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view and a rear view of a garment which is an electrode for an electrocardiogram according to the embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a configuration of a conductive portion of the clothes according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an electrocardiogram measurement system for acquiring an electrocardiogram according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing another mode of the clothing.

FIG. 5 is a waveform of an electrocardiogram of the subject obtained using the electrocardiogram measurement system.

FIG. 6 is a waveform of an electrocardiogram of a subject acquired in a conventional electrocardiogram measurement system using electrodes.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Clothing 10 Conductive cloth 21 Sheet body 22 Fabric electrode 23 Fabric electrode 24 Conductive cloth for suppressing external electric noise 25 Amplifier S1 Conductive thread S2 Non-conductive thread

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An electrocardiogram electrode used for an electrocardiograph for acquiring an electric signal from a body surface of a subject, wherein the back surface directly contacts the skin surface of the subject, and the front surface is connected to the electrocardiograph. An electrode for an electrocardiogram, which is a garment having at least a portion of a flexible conductive portion that directly contacts an external electrode. 2. The electrocardiogram electrode according to claim 1, wherein the flexible conductive portion is a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric, or a conductive film made of conductive fibers. 3. The electrocardiogram electrode according to claim 2, wherein the flexible conductive portion is formed by arranging conductive fibers and non-conductive fibers. 4. Clothing for measuring an electrocardiogram, wherein part or all of the clothing of a subject is made of a cloth having conductivity on both front and back surfaces. 5. The ECG measurement garment according to claim 4, wherein the conductive portion is a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a nonwoven fabric, or a conductive film made of conductive fibers. 6. The electrocardiogram measurement garment according to claim 5, wherein the conductive portion is formed by arranging conductive fibers and non-conductive fibers. 7. A pair of fabric electrodes which are spaced apart and are connected to an electrocardiograph, and a flexible member whose back surface is in direct contact with the skin surface of the subject and whose surface is in direct contact with one of the fabric electrodes. An electrocardiogram measurement system comprising: clothing having at least a part of a conductive unit.