KR102032620B1 - Measuring module apparatus of a cerebral activity using Transcranial Current Stimulation and Functional near-infrared spectroscopy - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a module device for measuring brain activity by multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, comprising: tCS + fNIRS goggles worn on the head of a patient to measure brain activity of the patient; A t-shaped tCS + fNIRS module case each of which is attached to a plurality of perforated perforations at equal intervals to the tCS + fNIRS goggles, the lower portion of which is opened and the upper portion of which is closed; A tCS + fNIRS module having a piston shape which is vertically moved in the tCS + fNIRS module case, the tCS + fNIRS module having a lower end in contact with the scalp; A module guide fixing cap installed on a lower outer circumferential surface of the tCS + fNIRS module to fix the tCS + fNIRS module; A plurality of module guide connecting members coupled to the tCS + fNIRS module at the bottom of the module guide fixing cap and connected to other adjacent tCS + fNIRS modules in all directions; A 5 pin cable connected through the side of the tCS + fNIRS module case, and the USB C connector for connecting the two 5-pin cable, characterized in that consisting of.
In the present invention, since the electrode for applying the transcranial current stimulation and the electrode for measuring the brain activity are integrated, it is possible to obtain a signal measuring the brain activity at the same position, and to apply a transcranial AC and DC stimulation. have. In addition, a spring is attached to the rear surface of the electrode of the brain hemodynamic measurement using functional near-infrared spectroscopy to push the optical fiber with elastic force, thereby increasing adhesion to the scalp and minimizing the subject's scalp stimulation. In addition, the size of the two optical fiber and the object supporting it is less than 6mm, it is possible to minimize the effect of the hair, which makes it difficult to contact the scalp, in the case of dry can avoid contact with the scalp by the hair, when wet The unevenness is used to fix the sponge, and the elasticity of the sponge and the elasticity of the cap (Cap) work together to have an effect that smoothly causes transcranial alternating current and direct current stimulation on the scalp surface.

Description

Measuring module apparatus of a cerebral activity using Transcranial Current Stimulation and Functional near-infrared spectroscopy

The present invention relates to a module apparatus for measuring brain activity by multichannel transcranial alternate current stimulation (tCSS) + transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In particular, the present invention relates to a module device for measuring brain activity using multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, which is capable of simultaneously measuring brain activity with functional near-infrared spectroscopy while giving multi-channel transcranial current stimulation.

1A and 1B, invasive brain stimulation that stimulates by inserting electrodes into the brain is used as a treatment for hydration, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, etc., but side effects such as surgical side effects or unintended epileptic seizures have been reported. Although it shows a very excellent therapeutic effect for certain serious diseases, the risk of the procedure and the complexity of the operation is high, there is a problem that is difficult to apply to the treatment of many diseases.
[Patent Document] Korean Patent Application No. 2017-12007

The present invention has been invented to meet the above-described demands of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a module device capable of simultaneously measuring multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and brain activity measurement.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and functional near-infrared spectroscopy for measuring brain activity include: tCS + fNIRS goggles worn on the head of a patient to measure brain activity of the patient; A t-shaped tCS + fNIRS module case each of which is attached to a plurality of perforated perforations at equal intervals to the tCS + fNIRS goggles, the lower portion of which is opened and the upper portion of which is closed; A tCS + fNIRS module having a piston shape which is vertically moved in the tCS + fNIRS module case, the tCS + fNIRS module having a lower end in contact with the scalp; A module guide fixing cap installed on a lower outer circumferential surface of the tCS + fNIRS module to fix the tCS + fNIRS module; A plurality of module guide connecting members coupled to the tCS + fNIRS module at the bottom of the module guide fixing cap and connected to other adjacent tCS + fNIRS modules in all directions; A 5 pin cable connected through the side of the tCS + fNIRS module case, and the USB C connector for connecting the two 5-pin cable, characterized in that consisting of.

According to the modular apparatus for measuring brain activity by multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and functional near-infrared spectroscopy, an electrode for applying a transcranial current stimulus and an electrode for measuring brain activity are integrally formed. Signals obtained by measuring brain activity can be obtained, and transcranial alternating current and direct current stimulation can be applied. In addition, a spring is attached to the rear surface of the electrode of the brain hemodynamic measurement using functional near-infrared spectroscopy to push the optical fiber with elastic force, thereby increasing adhesion to the scalp and minimizing the subject's scalp stimulation.

In addition, the size of the two optical fiber and the object supporting it is less than 6mm, it is possible to minimize the effect of the hair, which makes it difficult to contact the scalp, in the case of dry can avoid contact with the scalp by the hair, when wet The unevenness is used to fix the sponge, and the elasticity of the sponge and the elasticity of the cap (Cap) work together to have an effect that smoothly causes transcranial alternating current and direct current stimulation on the scalp surface.

1a and 1b is a photograph showing an invasive deep brain stimulation to stimulate the electrode by inserting the electrode in the conventional brain,
2 is an overall configuration diagram showing a module device for measuring brain activity by multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and functional near-infrared spectroscopy of the present invention,
3 is a view showing a module guide and a fixing cap for fixing the module for measuring the cranial current stimulation and brain activity of the present invention to the scalp,
4 is a cross-sectional view of the goggles for measuring the cranial currents and brain activity of the present invention,
5 is a view showing a connector connected to the controller module module for measuring brain activity by the transcranial current stimulation and functional near infrared spectroscopy of the present invention,
6 is a view showing a multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and brain activity measuring module device of the present invention,
7 is a block diagram showing the circuit diagram and simulation of the multi-channel transcranial AC and DC stimulation of the present invention,
8 and 9 are circuit diagrams of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and the transcranial ac stimulation (tACS) of the present invention.
10 is a graph showing the stimulation pattern of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and the stimulation pattern of the transcranial ac stimulation (tACS) of the present invention.
Figure 11 is a schematic diagram showing the brain stimulation site of the multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and brain activity measurement module device of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described to be easily carried out by those of ordinary skill in the art. In the accompanying drawings, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are used in the drawings to designate the same configuration in other drawings as much as possible. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or known configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. And certain features shown in the drawings are enlarged or reduced or simplified for ease of description, the drawings and their components are not necessarily drawn to scale. However, those skilled in the art will readily understand these details.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and are not construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

EXAMPLE

Transcranial Current Stimulation (tCS) is a combination of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). Is a medical device that stimulates the brain by applying a non-invasive microcurrent stimulus to the transcranial, and controls the brain's electrical activity to control the brain cognitive function. That is, the multi-channel transcranial current stimulus includes a plurality of cathode electrodes and anode electrodes corresponding to the cathode electrodes, and generates and supplies direct current or alternating current corresponding to each of the electrodes.

Such multi-channel transcranial current stimulation has the function of enhancing or inhibiting the activity of the brain nerve cells, so as well as rehabilitation treatment of brain diseases such as stroke, depression, epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson's, tic disorder, tinnitus, intoxication, chronic Pain, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, etc. It is effective in the treatment of many neurological diseases that can not be listed.

In addition, the classical rehabilitation therapy that has been mainly used for the treatment of gait rehabilitation of stroke patients includes weight bearing, weight shift, and balance training in a static state. However, these therapies improve muscle contraction and general condition, but abnormal gait continues after treatment.

Recently, functional electrical stimulation, treadmill walking training, and robot-assisted walking therapy have been used as new therapeutic approaches as rehabilitation training to improve the walking pattern of stroke patients. It is known that when these treatments are performed in combination with general treatment, significant improvements in the results of the gait characteristics are observed.

For a clinical assessment of lower extremity muscle strength, motor function and gait ability in current stroke patients, the Motoricity Index, Fugl-Meyer Index, Rivermead Motor Assessment and Functional Ambulatory Category (Holden et al., 1984, Collenet al., 1990, Demeurisse et al., 1980) and the like.

These evaluation items can evaluate the effect of clinical treatment on lower extremity motor function such as balance, joint range, and independent walking.However, as the motor function is restored from the perspective of cerebral plasticity, changes in cerebral cortex activity and reconstruction of motor neural network Could not be evaluated.

On the other hand, partial weight-bearing treadmill rehabilitation training is widely used as a method for improving the gait function after stroke, it is unknown about the effect and the appropriate time for rehabilitation treatment.

In particular, according to previous studies (Cochrane review 2012 stroke, Duncan et al., 2011, Morone et al., 2012), the clinical treatment effect or optimal utilization of general gait rehabilitation, treadmill rehabilitation and robot-assisted gait rehabilitation Is not established.

Therefore, it is necessary to secure a baseline technology for the clinical evaluation of the brain plasticity for functional recovery of pedestrian rehabilitation by examining the clinical effects of cerebral plasticity on treadmill pedestrian rehabilitation, which is a general pedestrian therapy. .

In addition, conventional MRI (Functional MRI) and PET (positron emission tomography) methods for the evaluation of cerebral plasticity in gait rehabilitation treatment are related to walking-related exercise in supine position. Although very limited measurement is possible, it is not possible to measure in real time the walking state under gravity acceleration, which is an essential element of walking.

In contrast, fNIRS and EEG (electroencephalogram), which are currently in the spotlight of non-invasive brain activation measurement methods, can measure gait training status in real time, but unwanted noise such as movement of head, trunk, and physiological noise such as breathing and heart rate. Etc., there is a problem in that it is difficult to obtain a faithful brain activity signal including neurophysiological information related to gait.

Therefore, by measuring and analyzing not only the measurement of cerebral blood flow signals (fNIRS, EEG), but also the muscle signals (EMG; electromyography) and motor physiological signals (Goniometer, IMU, etc.) Therefore, there is a need for a more efficient method for walking rehabilitation.

On the other hand, as another non-invasive method of measuring brain activation, there is a functional near infrared spectroscopy that can measure the concentration of oxidized or fluorinated hemoglobin in the cerebral blood flow distributed in the human cerebral cortex.

The functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a low cost device compared to fMRI, which is easy to measure and can be measured while a person is moving. It is also actively used for functional research of the brain when performing various tasks related to movement, and the demand is increasing.

The functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a technique for providing brain activity information by using scattering and absorption characteristics of bioinfrared light of near infrared light. Although it is impossible to obtain deep brain information due to the characteristics of the human body having high scattering characteristics, it is currently used in brain cognition observation and various brain science and engineering fields because sufficient brain cortex area activity can be obtained. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) based diffuse optical imaging techniques also provide excellent spatial and temporal information in the brain.

The head of the human body includes a brain and a skull surrounding the brain and a scalp surrounding the outer surface of the skull.

Therefore, the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measures the brain activity by irradiating the near-infrared light source S to the brain blood and receiving near-infrared light reflected through the brain or skull through a plurality of light receiving elements D1 and D2.

In order to simultaneously measure the brain hemodynamics information using the functional near-infrared spectroscopy and the brain stimulation of the head and neck current stimulation to improve the motor performance of the stroke patient, the electrode for the head and neck current stimulation and the Functional near-infrared spectroscopy cannot place electrodes for measuring brain activity in the same position, and thus, the electrode density of the brain head current stimulation or cerebral hemodynamic measurement using the functional near-infrared spectroscopy cannot be lowered, and thus high resolution ( High Density) The cerebral hemodynamic measurement system was constructed using the transcranial current stimulus and the functional near infrared spectroscopy simultaneously.

As shown in Figures 2 to 10, the module device for measuring brain activity by multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and functional near infrared spectroscopy of the present invention, tCS + fNIRS that is placed on the head of the patient to measure the brain activity of the patient A t-shaped tCS + fNIRS module case of a goggles and a t-shaped perforated part which is spaced apart from the tCS + fNIRS goggles, respectively, and opened at a lower portion thereof and closed at an upper portion thereof, and in the tCS + fNIRS module case; As a member of a piston shape that is moved, the tCS + fNIRS module made of a steel tube so that the lower end is in contact with the scalp, a module guide fixing cap installed on the lower outer peripheral surface of the tCS + fNIRS module and fixing it, and the module guide fixing cap A plurality of module guide connecting members coupled to the tCS + fNIRS module at the bottom and connected to other adjacent tCS + fNIRS modules in all directions, and the tCS + fNIRS module case 5 pin cable is connected to each other through the side, and consists of a USB C connector for connecting the two 5-pin cable.

As described above, specific embodiments have been described in the detailed description of the present invention, but it is obvious that the technology of the present invention can be easily modified by those skilled in the art, and such modified embodiments are defined in the claims of the present invention. It will be included in the technical spirit described.

Claims (1)

TCS + fNIRS goggles placed on the patient's head to measure brain activity of the patient;
A t-shaped tCS + fNIRS module case each of which is attached to a plurality of perforated perforations at equal intervals to the tCS + fNIRS goggles, the lower portion of which is opened and the upper portion of which is closed;
A tCS + fNIRS module having a piston shape which is vertically moved in the tCS + fNIRS module case, the tCS + fNIRS module having a lower end in contact with the scalp;
A module guide fixing cap installed on a lower outer circumferential surface of the tCS + fNIRS module to fix the tCS + fNIRS module;
A plurality of module guide connecting members coupled to the tCS + fNIRS module at the bottom of the module guide fixing cap and connected to other adjacent tCS + fNIRS modules in all directions;
5 pin cable connected through the side of the tCS + fNIRS module case, USB C connector for connecting the two 5-pin cable, characterized in that the brain activity by multi-channel transcranial current stimulation and functional near infrared spectroscopy Module device to measure.

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