KR102389961B1 - Apparatus and method for measuring blood flow based on infrared imaging - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and invention for measuring blood flow based on infrared imaging.
The present invention receives an image of a blood vessel, specifies a first location and a second location of the blood vessel from the received image, measures a distance between the first location and a second location based on the received image, and determines The pulse wave information at the first and second positions of the blood vessel is extracted, and the blood movement time is measured using the extracted pulse wave information at the first and second positions of the blood vessel, and the measured movement time and the measured movement time are measured. It is characterized in that the blood flow velocity is calculated using the distance.
Accordingly, information on the location and size of a blood vessel to be observed can be accurately confirmed based on infrared imaging, and blood flow information such as pulse wave information, blood flow velocity, and blood flow velocity can be simultaneously obtained from various body parts. In addition, by measuring the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity in various regions on the blood vessel image, a distribution map for the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity may be obtained using the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity.

Description

Infrared imaging-based blood flow measurement device and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING BLOOD FLOW BASED ON INFRARED IMAGING}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and invention for measuring blood flow based on infrared imaging.

Since blood circulation information is closely related to physical health, it is very important to accurately determine blood information in real time to check the health status of the body.

More specifically, it is necessary not only to check whether blood vessels are narrowed or occluded, but also to monitor changes in cerebral blood flow in real time, and it is also important to obtain information about blood flow in various parts of the body.

According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), between 2000 and 2050, the proportion of the aging population aged 65 and over is expected to double from 11% to 22%. With such an increase in the elderly population, the incidence of various chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and diabetes is increasing. Blood velocity and blood flow velocity measurement technology are essential for diagnosing various clinical vascular diseases such as arterial occlusion and peripheral vascular disease. Accordingly, the demand for a blood flow measurement device that is low in price and can provide various blood flow information in various body parts is increasing.

However, existing blood flow measurement equipment is limited to obtaining pulse information from nails or wrists.

In addition, the blood flow measurement method using the laser Doppler effect, ultrasound, etc. uses a single sensor and is a body contact type, so it only obtains one type of blood flow information in a certain area with a single sensor collectively, and There is a disadvantage in that position and size information cannot be accurately confirmed.

In addition, the method of measuring blood flow using the laser Doppler effect, ultrasound, etc. is used in expensive equipment, and there is a disadvantage in that the measuring equipment cannot be carried.

The blood flow measuring apparatus and method according to the present invention are for solving the problems of the prior art, and can accurately check the location and size information of a blood vessel to be observed based on infrared imaging, and also observe from various body parts. Various blood flow information of the desired blood vessel can be obtained.

In addition, the blood flow measuring apparatus according to the present invention has an advantage in that the hardware part can be minimized. The miniaturization of the blood flow measurement device can be applied to the point of care (POC) market, enabling real-time blood flow detection and remote medical service.
The technology that is the background of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2006-0116635 (published date: November 15, 2006).

The present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and it is an object to accurately check the location and size information of a blood vessel to be observed, and also to obtain information about blood flow such as pulse wave information, blood flow velocity, and blood flow velocity from various body parts. do it with

As a technical means for achieving the above-described technical problem, the blood flow measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image receiving unit for receiving an image of a blood vessel, and a first position and a second position of the blood vessel from the image received from the image receiving unit. 2 A position specifying unit for specifying a position, a distance measuring unit for measuring a distance between the first position and the second position based on the image received from the image receiving unit, a first position of the blood vessel specified by the position specifying unit and a pulse wave information extraction unit for extracting pulse wave information at a second position, and a movement time measurement for measuring the movement time of blood using the pulse wave information at the first and second positions of the blood vessels extracted by the pulse wave information extraction unit and a blood flow velocity calculator configured to calculate a blood flow velocity using the moving time measured by the moving time measuring unit and the distance measured by the distance measuring unit.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a volume measuring unit for measuring the volume of a blood vessel based on the image received by the image receiving unit, and the volume of the blood vessel measured by the volume measuring unit and blood flow calculated by the blood flow rate calculating unit The method may further include a blood flow velocity calculator configured to calculate the blood flow velocity using the velocity.

In one embodiment of the present invention, it may further include a light source for irradiating infrared rays to the subject, and the image receiving unit may be configured to acquire an image of blood vessels based on infrared rays reflected from the subject.

In an embodiment of the present invention, there are two or more pairs of the first location and the second location, and each pair may exist in different regions on the received image.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a distribution map obtaining unit for acquiring a distribution map for a blood flow velocity and/or a blood flow velocity using the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity measured for a pair of a plurality of first and second positions may include more.

As a technical means for achieving the above-described technical problem, the blood flow measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of receiving an image about a blood vessel, and specifying a first position and a second position of the blood vessel from the received image measuring the distance between the first location and the second location based on the received image, extracting pulse wave information at the first location and the second location of the specified blood vessel, the extraction measuring a movement time of blood using pulse wave information at a first position and a second position of the blood vessel; and calculating a blood flow velocity using the measured movement time and the measured distance.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include measuring a volume of a blood vessel based on the received image, and calculating a blood flow velocity using the measured blood vessel volume and the calculated blood flow velocity. can

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of receiving the image of the blood vessel may be based on infrared imaging.

In an embodiment of the present invention, there are two or more pairs of the first location and the second location, and each pair may exist in different regions on the received image.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of obtaining a distribution map for the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity by using the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity measured for a plurality of pairs of the first position and the second position is further performed. may include

In the method and apparatus for measuring blood flow according to the present invention, information on the location and size of a blood vessel to be observed can be accurately confirmed based on infrared imaging, and blood flow information such as pulse wave information, blood flow velocity, and blood flow velocity can be simultaneously displayed in various body parts. can be obtained

In addition, in the method and apparatus for measuring blood flow according to the present invention, it is possible to measure the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity in various regions on the blood vessel image, and accordingly, it is possible to simultaneously acquire blood flow information in various regions on the blood vessel image. Also, by using the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity measured in the plurality of regions, a distribution map for the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity may be obtained.

In addition, the blood flow measurement method according to the present invention can be used as a relatively inexpensive device, and since the blood flow measurement device according to the present invention can be implemented to be portable, blood flow information such as pulse wave information, blood flow velocity, and blood flow velocity can be obtained. can be obtained more easily.

However, the effects of the present invention are not limited thereto, and may be variously expanded without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for measuring blood flow according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 shows a blood vessel image obtained through the blood flow measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an example of calculating a blood flow velocity based on the blood flow measurement method of the present invention.
4 and 5 show blood vessel images and blood flow information acquired through the blood flow measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6A shows a wrist type blood flow measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6B shows a handy type blood flow measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6C shows a band-type blood flow measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart of a blood flow measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following examples of the present invention are only intended to embody the present invention and do not limit or limit the scope of the present invention. In addition, what a person of ordinary skill in the art can easily infer from the detailed description and examples of the present invention is construed as belonging to the scope of the present invention.

Terms used in this specification will be briefly described, and the present invention will be described in detail.

Throughout the specification, when a part is "connected" with another part, this includes not only the case of being "directly connected" but also the case of being "electrically connected" with another element interposed therebetween. . In addition, when a part "includes" a certain component, this may mean that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated.

In addition, as used herein, a “user” may be a medical professional, such as a doctor, a nurse, a clinical pathologist, a medical imaging specialist, or a technician repairing a medical device, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, the term "unit" used in the specification means a hardware component such as software, FPGA, or ASIC, and "unit" performs certain roles. However, "part" is not meant to be limited to software or hardware. A “unit” may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium, or it may be configured to refresh one or more processors. Thus, by way of example, “part” includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functionality provided within components and “parts” may be combined into a smaller number of components and “parts” or further divided into additional components and “parts”.

Also, throughout the specification, the singular expression may include the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of an apparatus 100 for measuring blood flow according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The blood flow measuring apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image receiving unit 110 that receives an image of a blood vessel as shown in FIG. 1, and a first position and a second position of a blood vessel from the image received from the image receiving unit. A location specifying unit 120 that specifies A pulse wave information extraction unit 140 for extracting pulse wave information at a first position and a second position of a movement time measurement unit 150 for measuring time, and a blood flow velocity calculation unit 160 for calculating a blood flow velocity using the movement time measured by the movement time measurement unit and the distance measured by the distance measurement unit. .

1 is an illustration for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and the blood flow measuring device further includes other components than the components shown in FIG. 1, or includes components equivalent to the components shown in FIG. It will be fully understood by those skilled in the art that it may be substituted.

Hereinafter, the blood flow measuring apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

The image receiving unit 110 receives an image related to blood vessels. 2 shows an arbitrary blood vessel image received through the image receiving unit 110 . As used herein, "vessels" may include capillaries, veins, arteries, and the like. An “image” as used herein may refer to multi-dimensional data composed of discrete image elements (eg, pixels in a two-dimensional image and voxels in a three-dimensional image). .

The blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention may further include a light source that irradiates infrared rays to the subject. The "subject" described herein may include, for example, the skin of a user. The light source unit may include a support and an infrared light source arranged on one inner surface of the support. The shape of the support may be any shape as long as it is capable of arranging an infrared light source on the inner surface so that infrared rays can be irradiated to the subject.

The blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention includes an optical lens irradiated from a light source unit and receiving light reflected from a subject, an infrared transmission filter through which light passing through the optical lens passes, and a camera for detecting light transmitted through the infrared transmission filter. It may further include a detection unit.

The blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention may receive light reflected from a subject by being irradiated from the light source using an optical lens. Also, the optical lens of the present invention may be an optical zoom lens, and an optically enlarged image may be obtained through the optical zoom lens. Unlike screen magnification through digital image processing, by magnifying the original image itself using a lens, there is no image blur and a clear enlarged image can be obtained. Based on this, it is possible to clearly detect capillaries that cannot be identified because of their thin thickness. In addition, it may include a function of adjusting the intensity of an incoming image by mounting a shutter inside the optical lens.

The blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention can obtain an effective noise removal effect by filtering the reflected light using an infrared transmission filter immediately before being detected by the camera detector after the irradiated infrared rays are reflected from the subject. . The infrared transmission filter is not used to selectively filter the wavelength of the light source, but is used to prevent noise from an external light source from entering the detector. For example, since infrared LED has a narrow wavelength region of 10 nm, it has the effect of a filter necessary to select a specific wavelength when a light source with a broad wavelength such as a lamp is used, and thus has a double filtering effect overall. Since the absorption of blood by a specific wavelength is enhanced by the infrared LED and noise caused by an external light source is blocked by the optical filter, the clarity of the image can be maximized.

The blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention obtains image information of blood vessels in the form of digital data through a camera detector, so that the image information can be easily processed and visualized in a desired form. For example, since the digitized blood vessel image information is used, the exact location of the blood vessel can be visualized in various forms, such as expressing the exact location of the blood vessel as a separate line. In addition, by adding various colors to the image, it is possible to implement the color and shape of the actual object to be observed so as to obtain the same effect as seeing the blood vessels that actually see the blood vessels in the skin. In addition, the camera detection unit may include one or more CCD (Charge Coupled Device) digital cameras, and by including a plurality of CCD digital cameras, black and white blood vessel images and natural skin images are respectively acquired, and the obtained images are combined. You may.

The blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention may further include a signal processing unit. The signal processing unit may process and generate image information so that the light obtained from the camera detection unit may be displayed on the display unit 200 . Also, the signal processing unit may display a warning or a guide message on the display unit 200 when the generated image information does not satisfy a predetermined condition. For example, when the signal processing unit includes noise in the generated image information at a predetermined ratio or more, a warning or guidance message for adjusting the distance or angle at which light is irradiated from the infrared image sensor is displayed on the display unit 200 you might as well make it Through this, the user can obtain an optimal blood vessel detection image by adjusting the light irradiation angle or distance of the infrared image sensor.

The image receiver 110 may receive a blood vessel detection image obtained through an optical lens, an infrared transmission filter, a camera detector, a signal processing unit, and the like, and may obtain an image of a blood vessel based on the received blood vessel image.

Also, the blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention may further include an image generating unit. The image generator may receive a blood vessel detection image obtained through an optical lens, an infrared transmission filter, a camera detector, a signal processor, and the like, and may generate an image of a blood vessel based on the received blood vessel image. The image receiver 110 may receive an image related to a blood vessel generated by the image generator.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and images of blood vessels can be obtained in various ways.

The position specifying unit 120 specifies a first position (start point) and a second position (end point) of a blood vessel to be observed in the image received by the image receiving unit 110 .

The distance measuring unit 130 measures a distance between the first position (start point) and the second position (end point) based on the image received by the image receiving unit 110 .

For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , a first location (start point) and a second location (end point) of a blood vessel to be observed in the blood vessel image received through the image receiving unit 110 are specified, and the first location (start point) and Measure the distance (L) between the second positions (end points). The unit of the measured distance may be, for example, centimeters (cm) or millimeters (mm).

The pulse wave information extraction unit 140 extracts pulse wave information at the first position and the second position of the blood vessel specified by the position specifying unit 120 . For example, pulse waveforms of a first position (start point) and a second position (end point) specified in the blood vessel image shown in FIG. 2 may be represented as shown in FIG. 3 .

The movement time measurement unit 150 measures the movement time of blood using the pulse wave information at the first and second positions of the blood vessels extracted by the pulse wave information extraction unit 140 . For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , the movement time of blood may be measured by calculating the time interval between the peak points in the pulse waveforms of the first position (start point) and the second position (end point). Alternatively, the movement time of blood may be measured by calculating the time interval between the lowest points in the pulse waveforms of the first position (start point) and the second position (end point).

The blood flow velocity calculation unit 160 calculates the blood flow velocity by using the movement time measured by the movement time measurement unit 150 and the distance measured by the distance measurement unit 130 . The blood flow velocity V can be calculated by dividing the distance L measured by the distance measuring unit 130 by the moving time Δt measured by the moving time measuring unit 150 as shown in Equation 1 below.

The unit of the calculated blood flow velocity may be, for example, mm/sec.

The blood flow measuring device 100 of the present invention includes a volume measuring unit 170 that measures the volume of a blood vessel based on the image received by the image receiving unit 110 and the volume of the blood vessel measured by the volume measuring unit 170 . and a blood flow velocity calculator 180 that calculates a blood flow velocity using the blood flow velocity calculated by the blood flow velocity calculator 160 .

The volume measuring unit 170 measures the volume of the blood vessel based on the image received by the image receiving unit 110 . For example, the volume measuring unit 170 measures the width of the blood vessel based on the blood vessel image received through the image receiving unit 110 and calculates the cross-sectional area of the blood vessel based on this. The volume of the blood vessel is measured using the calculated cross-sectional area of the blood vessel and the distance measured by the distance measuring unit 130 .

The blood flow velocity calculator 180 calculates the blood flow velocity by using the blood vessel volume measured by the volume measurement unit 170 and the blood flow velocity calculated by the blood flow velocity calculator 160 . The unit of the calculated blood flow rate may be, for example, ml/min.

Also, there may be two or more pairs of the first position and the second position of the blood vessel specified in the blood flow measurement apparatus 100 of the present invention, and in this case, each pair exists in different regions on the blood vessel image.

The blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention provides a distribution diagram for obtaining a distribution map for a blood flow velocity and/or a blood flow velocity using the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity measured for a plurality of pairs of first and second positions. It may further include an acquisition unit 190 .

The distribution map acquisition unit 190 indicates a section in which blood movement is smooth and a section in which blood is stagnant, such as in vehicle navigation, using blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity measured for a plurality of pairs of first and second positions. can

Also, the blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention may further include a display unit 200 . The display unit 200 may display a blood vessel image and blood flow information obtained through the blood flow measurement apparatus 100 of the present invention. In addition, the display unit 200 may display a guide message indicating that the blood vessel detection image and/or light irradiation is being performed correctly when the image obtained from the camera detection unit satisfies a predetermined condition, and the image obtained from the camera detection unit If this predetermined condition is not satisfied, a warning or guide text may be displayed. In addition, the display unit 200 may display various types of information necessary for using the blood flow measuring apparatus 100 of the present invention.

4 and 5 show blood vessel images and blood flow information displayed on the display unit 200 of the blood flow measuring apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 , the blood flow measuring apparatus of the present invention can accurately identify the location and size information of a blood vessel to be observed based on infrared imaging, and also includes pulse wave information and blood flow velocity of the blood vessel to be observed. , and blood flow information such as blood flow velocity can be obtained at the same time.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the blood flow measuring apparatus of the present invention can measure blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity in multiple regions on a blood vessel image, and thus can simultaneously acquire blood flow information in multiple regions on a blood vessel image. can As an example, FIG. 4 shows that the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity are measured in three regions (1), (2), and (3).

Also, as shown in FIG. 5 , the blood flow measuring apparatus of the present invention may obtain a distribution map of the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity by using the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity measured in a plurality of regions. As an embodiment, in FIG. 5 , sections in which blood movement is smooth and sections in which blood flows are displayed in the order of green, yellow green, yellow, orange, and red. That is, the section in which the blood moves the most is shown in green, and the section in which the blood is most stagnant is shown in red. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5 , the blood flow measuring apparatus of the present invention can easily grasp information about the location and size of a blood vessel to be observed as well as information about movement of blood.

When vascular diseases such as high blood pressure continue for a long time, low-density-cholesterol (LDL-Cholesterol) accumulates on the blood vessel wall, and an inflammatory reaction occurs at that location, resulting in cell proliferation and formation of plaque. This narrows the internal diameter of the coronary artery or carotid artery, which causes a decrease in blood flow velocity in the narrowed blood vessel portion. In the blood flow measuring apparatus of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5 , it is possible to grasp at a glance the section in which the blood flow velocity decreases through the blood flow velocity (blood flow velocity) distribution map.

The blood flow measuring apparatus of the present invention may be implemented as a wrist type as shown in FIG. 6A as an embodiment. The wrist-type blood flow measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may be provided in a hospital, for example, as a fixed blood pressure monitor in a hospital, and may provide various blood flow information. As shown in FIG. 6A , a wrist-type blood flow measurement apparatus 600A according to an embodiment of the present invention may include, for example, a measurement unit 610A and a display unit 630A.

The blood flow measuring apparatus of the present invention may be implemented as a handy type as shown in FIG. 6B as an embodiment. A handy type blood flow measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention has, for example, a portable blood flow measurement device that can be easily transported in the field, and provides blood flow such as pulse wave information, blood flow velocity, and blood flow velocity in various body parts. information can be measured. As shown in FIG. 6B , the handy type blood flow measurement apparatus 600B according to an embodiment of the present invention may include, for example, a measurement unit 610B, a connection unit 620B, and a display unit 630B. there is.

The blood flow measuring apparatus of the present invention may be implemented in a band type as shown in FIG. 6C as an embodiment. The band-type blood flow measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention is, for example, in a wearable form, worn by a general public or a patient to acquire blood flow information, such as pulse information, blood flow velocity, and blood flow velocity, at regular intervals, and is a smart device. It can be used as a device to communicate the condition of the general public and patients through interworking with As shown in FIG. 6C , the band-type blood flow measurement device 600C according to an embodiment of the present invention may include, for example, a display unit 630C, and may be worn by a general public or a patient on a wrist, etc. It can be configured to

However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented in various types of devices.

7 is a flowchart of a blood flow measurement method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The method for measuring blood flow according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of receiving an image of a blood vessel as shown in FIG. 7 (S610), and specifying a first position and a second position of the blood vessel from the received image (S620) , measuring a distance between the first location and the second location based on the received image (S630), extracting pulse wave information at the first location and the second location of the specified blood vessel (S640) ), measuring the movement time of blood using the pulse wave information at the first and second positions of the extracted blood vessel (S650), and measuring the blood flow velocity using the measured movement time and the measured distance and calculating (S660).

Each of the steps S610 to S660 includes the image receiving unit 110, the location specifying unit 120, the distance measuring unit 130, the pulse wave information extracting unit 140, and the movement time measuring unit ( 150), and the operation of the blood flow rate calculating unit 160, respectively, so a description overlapping with FIG. 1 will be omitted.

7 , the steps (S630) of measuring the distance between the first position and the second position, the steps of extracting pulse wave information at the first position and the second position, and measuring the movement time of blood (S640, S650) are Although shown to be performed sequentially, the order may be changed and may be performed simultaneously.

In the blood flow measurement method of the present invention, the step of receiving the blood vessel image (S610) may include receiving the blood vessel image based on infrared imaging, and specifying a first position and a second position of the blood vessel ( The pair of the first position and the second position of the blood vessel specified in S620) may be two or more, and in this case, each pair exists in different regions on the blood vessel image.

In addition, the blood flow measurement method of the present invention includes the steps of measuring the volume of a blood vessel based on the received blood vessel image (S670), calculating the blood flow velocity using the measured volume of the blood vessel and the calculated blood flow velocity ( S680), and obtaining a distribution map for the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity using the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity measured for a plurality of pairs of first and second positions (S690). can

Since each step of S670 to S690 corresponds to the operations of the volume measurement unit 170, the blood flow rate calculation unit 180, and the distribution map acquisition unit 190 shown in FIG. 1, respectively, the description overlapping with FIG. 1 will be omitted. do.

Although the steps of calculating the blood flow velocity ( S660 ) and calculating the blood flow velocity ( S680 ) in FIG. 7 are shown to be sequentially performed, the order may be changed or may be performed simultaneously.

In the blood flow measurement method according to the present invention, information on the location and size of a blood vessel to be observed can be accurately confirmed based on infrared imaging, and blood flow information such as pulse wave information (BPM), blood flow velocity, and blood flow velocity can be obtained from various body parts. can be obtained at the same time.

In addition, in the blood flow measurement method of the present invention, blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity in various regions on a blood vessel image can be measured, and thus blood flow information in various regions on a blood vessel image can be simultaneously acquired. Also, by using the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity measured in the plurality of regions, a distribution map for the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity may be obtained.

The order of operations described in a method or process disclosed herein is described as an example. Accordingly, the order of each step may be adjusted as necessary within the spirit of the present invention. In addition, the apparatus and system disclosed in this specification may include means capable of performing the functions described in this specification, and may be implemented as an independent apparatus or system, or may exist in an integrated form or interwork with other systems as necessary. there is.

The techniques described herein may be implemented, at least in part, in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. They may be implemented, for example, in one or more processors, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or equivalent logic circuitry, or any combination of at least one or more of these. Such hardware, software, and firmware may be implemented in one or a plurality of systems or devices to support the operations and functions disclosed herein, or may be implemented in an integrated form or interworking with other systems or devices. . Additionally, components described herein may be implemented separately or in conjunction with discrete but interoperable logic devices. Each function and operation separately described in this specification is only described as such in order to emphasize each function, and such functions do not have to be realized in separate hardware, firmware, or software components, respectively. It may be integrated within a combination of separate hardware and/or software.

In addition, the techniques described herein may also be embodied or stored in a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions. And, the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium may cause the processor to perform the method and operation related to the instructions. Computer-readable storage media may include RAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD-ROM, magnetic media, optical media, or other storage media.

With respect to the embodiments of the present invention disclosed in the text, specific structural or functional descriptions are only exemplified for the purpose of describing the embodiments of the present invention, and the embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in various forms and the text It should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in .

Since the present invention can have various changes and can have various forms, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art can variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below. You will understand that you can.

Claims (10)

A handheld blood flow measurement device comprising:
a light source unit irradiating infrared rays to the subject;
an optical lens for receiving light reflected from the subject;
an infrared transmission filter through which light passing through the optical lens is transmitted;
A camera detection unit for detecting the light passing through the infrared transmission filter, the camera detection unit including one or more CCD (Charge Coupled Device) digital cameras, black and white blood vessel images and natural color skin through the one or more CCD digital cameras The camera detection unit for acquiring each image and combining the acquired images;
a signal processing unit for processing and generating image information of images obtained from the camera detection unit;
an image receiving unit for receiving the blood vessel image obtained through the signal processing unit, and receiving an image of the blood vessel based on the received blood vessel image;
a position specifying unit for specifying a first position and a second position of a blood vessel from the image received by the image receiving unit;
a distance measuring unit measuring a distance between the first position and the second position based on the image received by the image receiving unit;
a pulse wave information extraction unit for extracting pulse wave information at the first and second positions of the blood vessel specified by the position specifying unit;
a movement time measuring unit for measuring the movement time of blood using the pulse wave information at the first and second positions of the blood vessels extracted by the pulse wave information extraction unit;
a blood flow rate calculator configured to calculate a blood flow velocity using the moving time measured by the moving time measuring unit and the distance measured by the distance measuring unit; and
And a display unit for displaying the blood vessel image and blood flow information obtained through the blood flow measurement device,
The infrared transmission filter prevents noise by an external light source from entering the camera detection unit by filtering the reflected light before being detected by the camera detection unit,
The signal processing unit, when the noise of the generated image information is included in a predetermined ratio or more, a warning or a guide message for adjusting the distance or angle of irradiating the infrared rays to be displayed on the display unit, a handy type blood flow measurement device. The method of claim 1,
a volume measuring unit for measuring the volume of a blood vessel based on the image received by the image receiving unit; and
and a blood flow velocity calculator configured to calculate a blood flow velocity using the blood vessel volume measured by the volume measuring unit and the blood flow velocity calculated by the blood flow velocity calculating unit. delete 3. The method of claim 2,
There are two or more pairs of the first position and the second position, and each pair is present in different regions on the received image. 5. The method of claim 4,
A handy type blood flow measuring apparatus, further comprising a distribution map acquiring unit for acquiring a distribution map for the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity by using the blood flow velocity and/or blood flow velocity measured for a pair of a plurality of first and second positions. A blood flow measurement method performed by a handy type blood flow measurement device, comprising:
irradiating infrared rays to the subject;
receiving light reflected from the subject;
transmitting the received light through an infrared transmission filter to remove noise caused by an external light source;
detecting the light passing through the infrared transmission filter;
acquiring a black-and-white blood vessel image and a natural-colored skin image in the form of digital data, and combining the acquired images;
processing and generating image information of the acquired images;
receiving the acquired blood vessel image, and receiving an image of the blood vessel based on the received blood vessel image;
specifying a first location and a second location of a blood vessel from the received image;
measuring a distance between the first location and the second location based on the received image;
extracting pulse wave information at a first location and a second location of the specified blood vessel;
measuring a movement time of blood using pulse wave information at the first and second positions of the extracted blood vessels;
calculating a blood flow velocity using the measured movement time and the measured distance; and
Displaying the blood vessel image and blood flow information acquired through the blood flow measurement device,
When noise of the generated image information is included in a predetermined ratio or more, a warning or guidance message is displayed to adjust a distance or an angle of irradiating the infrared rays. 7. The method of claim 6,
measuring a volume of a blood vessel based on the received image; and
The method further comprising the step of calculating a blood flow velocity using the measured blood vessel volume and the calculated blood flow velocity. delete 8. The method of claim 7,
There are two or more pairs of the first location and the second location, and each pair exists in a different area on the received image. 10. The method of claim 9,
The method further comprising the step of obtaining a distribution map of the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity by using the blood flow velocity and/or the blood flow velocity measured for a plurality of pairs of the first position and the second position.

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