KR102502197B1 - A device for training a user's breathing having a sensor module, a stimulation module, and a control module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for training a user's breathing, including a sensor module, a stimulation module, and a control module. The sensor module includes (a1) a respiration sensor for sensing the user's respiratory rate per minute and (a2) a belt for compressing the respiration sensor to the user's abdomen or chest. The stimulation module includes (b1) a nerve stimulator that generates an electrical stimulation signal, and (b2) a belt that compresses the nerve stimulator to a specific part of the user. The control module (c1) controls the sensor module to sense the user's respiratory rate per minute before breathing training, (c2) sets a target respiratory rate per minute according to the sensed respiratory rate per minute before training, (c3) the Controlling the nerve stimulator to generate an electrical stimulation signal while generating a breathing induction signal for inducing the user's breathing for a first time, (c4) controlling the sensor module to sense the number of breaths per minute after the user's breathing training; , (c5) The respiratory rate of the next step is determined by comparing the respiratory rate per minute after the training with the respiratory rate per minute before the training.

Description

A device for training a user's breathing having a sensor module, a stimulation module, and a control module having a sensor module, a stimulation module, and a control module}

The present invention relates to a breathing training device, and more particularly, to a device including a sensor module, a stimulation module, and a control module for training a user's breathing.

It is estimated that there are about 6.6 million hypertensive patients in Korea, which is close to 30% of adults. Coupled with the extension of life expectancy, the number of hypertensive patients is increasing day by day, and this is not unique to Korea. Academics estimate that the number of people with hypertension in the world was 1 billion in 2007 and will increase to 1.56 billion by 2025. As of 2013, the domestic hypertension treatment market size reached 1.8 trillion won, and the growth rate exceeds 9% annually.

Treatment of hypertension is basically performed through drug administration, but there are problems such as side effects during long-term administration. Accordingly, studies on non-drug treatment methods that can be combined with medication are being conducted. Looking at the results of research on non-drug treatment methods for hypertension, first of all, in the field of oriental medicine, research is being conducted in two directions: acupuncture treatment and qigong treatment.

Analyzing trends in clinical studies of acupuncture treatment for hypertension, there were 14 randomized controlled clinical studies, 1 non-randomized controlled clinical study, and 9 before-and-after comparison studies. It is the view of the academic community that it is difficult to present a [Jeong So-young et al. A review of acupuncture for hypertension in clinical studies. Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine. 2012;33(1):12-23.]

There are very few studies on the treatment of hypertension using qigong therapy, and it is known that no effective treatment method for hypertension has been presented so far. [Han Chang-hyun et al. An analysis of the status of stomatal-related controlled clinical studies published in Korean journals. Journal of the Korean Society of Physiology and Pathology. 2009;23(2):319-324.]

Another research direction for non-drug treatment of hypertension is related to induction of breathing. By prolonging the patient's exhalation and slowly and comfortably reducing the respiratory rate, the activity of the sympathetic nerve is lowered and the muscles surrounding the small blood vessels are relaxed, resulting in smooth blood circulation in the blood vessels during repeated training, resulting in reduced There is a research result that blood pressure is continuously maintained. However, since breathing is performed habitually and unconsciously for 24 hours continuously, it is very difficult to adapt to breathing methods that prolong exhalation in a short period of time even with the help of professional instructors or medical staff. Repetition of breathing techniques can be successfully practiced with constant professional help, but this is a very uneconomical method. In addition, in reality, a large number of patients are experiencing side effects by performing respiratory training that is not appropriate for them due to the crowding of unqualified people and incorrect breathing guidance.

In order to solve these problems, it is necessary to develop a portable breathing induction device capable of quantifying individual breathing methods by extracting breathing patterns by detecting necessary parameters from breathing signals and inducing breathing according to the necessary breathing patterns.

1. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0084291 "Apparatus and method for beneficial modification of biorhythmic activity" 2. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0072085 "Generalized metronome for correction of biorhythmic activity" 3. Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-0785924 "Respiration guidance device and its method" 4. Korean Registered Patent No. 10-0653644 "A portable terminal for inducing breathing and a method for inducing breathing of the portable terminal" 5. Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1653869 "Hypertensive treatment device through induction of breathing"

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and detects amplitude, frequency, period, inhalation time, and expiratory time as parameters in a user's breathing signal, obtains the user's breathing pattern from them, An object of the present invention is to provide a device for training breathing by changing a ratio of an expiration time to an inhalation time.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a breathing training device that induces a change in a breathing pattern in a more intuitive way through a visual signal and intuitively checks the achievement compared to a target value.

Another object of the present invention is to connect the sensor and the control module in a wireless communication method, but in a state where the sensor provided in the form of a belt is worn on the abdomen, breathing is induced through the portable control module, so that it can be used while always carrying it in everyday life. It is possible to provide breathing training devices.

One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a device for training a user's breathing, including a sensor module, a stimulation module, and a control module, wherein the sensor module (a1) senses the user's respiratory rate per minute. A sensor and (a2) a belt for compressing the respiration sensor to the user's abdomen or chest, and the stimulation module includes (b1) a nerve stimulator for generating an electrical stimulation signal, (b2) the nerve stimulator for the user's body. It is provided with a belt that compresses a specific part, and the control module (c1) controls the sensor module to sense the user's respiratory rate per minute before breathing training, and (c2) a target according to the sensed respiratory rate per minute before training. Setting the number of breaths per minute, (c3) generating an electrical stimulation signal by controlling the nerve stimulator to generate a breathing induction signal for inducing breathing of the user for a first time, (c4) controlling the sensor module to After the user's respiratory training, the respiratory rate per minute is sensed, and (c5) the respiratory rate in the next step is determined by comparing the respiratory rate per minute after the training with the respiratory rate per minute before the training.

Preferably, the sensor module further includes a pulse sensor for counting the pulse rate of the user. In addition, the control module additionally generates the respiration inducing signal for a second time shorter than the first time when the number of respirations per minute after the training is the same as the number of respirations per minute before the training.

According to the present invention, the user can control the ratio of inhalation and expiration times by himself without the help of an expert, but can perform breathing training so that the number of breaths per minute can be lowered to about 10 times. By prolonging the exhalation, the respiratory rate is induced to gradually decrease, thereby lowering the activity of the sympathetic nerve and relaxing the muscles surrounding the small blood vessels, resulting in smooth blood circulation in the blood vessels, and as a result, the reduced blood pressure continues. can be maintained

1 is a block diagram of a breathing training apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the function of the breathing training apparatus shown in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a state diagram of the use of the breathing training apparatus shown in Figure 1.
4 and 5 are exemplary screen views of the control module shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 displays a respiratory induction waveform, and FIG. 5 displays a goal achievement rate.
Figure 6 is a block diagram of the stimulation module of the breathing training apparatus shown in Figure 1.
7 is a configuration diagram of a breathing training apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a flowchart illustrating a breathing induction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in the drawings indicate like elements.

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a breathing training apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram explaining the function of the breathing training apparatus 1 shown in FIG. As shown, the breathing training device 1 includes a sensor module 10, a control module 20, and a stimulation module 30.

The sensor module 10 has a respiration sensor 11, a pulse sensor 12, a wireless communication unit 13, a belt 14 and a fastening means 15. The sensor module 10 measures and transmits the user's breathing signal and pulse signal to the control module 30 . The belt 14 is made of synthetic fabric and has a belt shape, and a fastening means 15 is provided at its end. The fastening means 15 are provided at both ends of the belt 14 so that the respiration sensor 11 and the pulse sensor 12 are pressed against the user's chest or abdomen.

The control module 20 analyzes the user's breathing signal and pulse signal measured by the sensor module 10 to determine a breathing training method. The control module 20 induces respiration by changing the ratio of the expiratory time and the inhalation time, setting a target value so that the respiratory rate per minute is lowered, and visually displaying the target value.

The stimulation module 30 includes a nerve stimulator 31 that generates electrical stimulation signals and a belt 32 that presses the nerve stimulator 31 to a specific part of the user. The belt 32 is a member for wearing the stimulation module 30 on the body and may be an elastic strap. As shown in FIG. 3 , the user may wear the stimulation module 30 on the wrist.

Figure 3 is a state diagram of the use of the breathing training apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1. As shown in FIG. 3 , the user wears the sensor module 10 around the abdomen or chest. It can be worn by wrapping the belt 14 around the abdomen or chest and then fastening the fastening means 15 . The sensor module 10 includes a respiration sensor 11 for measuring a user's breathing signal and a pulse sensor 12 for measuring a user's pulse. As shown, the user may wear headphones 41 during breathing training according to convenience.

The respiration sensor 11 is connected to the belt 14 in both directions, respectively, and measures the respiration signal by measuring the tensile force applied to the belt 14 on both sides. During respiration, the chest or abdomen repeats expansion and contraction. During expansion, tension is applied while the belt 14 connected to both sides of the respiration sensor 11 is pulled. If the tensile force increases beyond a certain value, it is determined that inspiration has occurred, and conversely, when the increased tensile force disappears, it can be determined that expiration has occurred. The measured value by the respiration sensor 11 may be, for example, a digital value indicating inhalation and exhalation, but preferably may be an analog value indicating the degree of tensile force. The measured value by the respiration sensor 11 is transmitted to the control module 20 through the wireless communication unit 13.

The control module 20 may analyze the detected value of the respiration sensor 11 as follows. First, the section in which the tensile force increases can be regarded as the inhalation time, and the section in which the tensile force has disappeared can be regarded as the expiratory time. A section with a small change in tensile force can be viewed as a stable state, and a breathing pattern can be defined using this. The frequency, that is, the number of breaths, can be determined using the time interval between the current inspiration and the next inspiration and the time interval between the current expiration and the next expiration. This analysis may be processed by the control unit 22 as described below.

The pulse sensor 12 is provided on the inner surface of the belt 14 and, when worn, contacts the user's abdomen or chest to count the user's pulse rate. The measured values by the respiration sensor 11 and the pulse sensor 12 are transmitted to the control module 20 through the wireless communication unit 13.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the control module 20 includes a display unit 21 , a control unit 22 , a wireless communication unit 23 , and an input unit 24 . In this embodiment, the control module 20 is attached to the belt 32 of the stimulation module 30, but may be used separately.

The display unit 21 may be, for example, an LCD panel or the like, and visually displays information.

The controller 22 analyzes information received from the sensor module 10 . Specifically, the control unit 22 obtains one or more of amplitude, frequency, period, inhalation time, and expiration time from the user's respiration signal detected by the respiration sensor 11 . The process of obtaining this is as described above. Then, the control unit 22 determines the user's target breathing pattern. The target breathing pattern may be finally determined as a value between 4:6 and 3:7 for the ratio of expiratory time and inspiratory time, and a respiratory rate of 10 times per minute or less. However, if the gap with the user's breathing pattern is large, You can determine your target breathing pattern step by step. For example, as a result of analyzing the user's breathing signal, if the respiratory rate reaches 20 times per minute, instead of setting the target breathing pattern to 10 times per minute at once, it is preferable to slowly lower it in this way to 15 times and 10 times in stages. . Likewise, it is desirable to lower the ratio of the expiratory time to the inspiratory time step by step.

The wireless communication unit 23 communicates with the wireless communication unit 13 of the sensor module 10 . The wireless communication unit 13 and the wireless communication unit 23 communicate by a known known wireless communication method, and may preferably be a Bluetooth method. Bluetooth is a short-distance wireless communication standard, and has advantages of low current consumption and low cost increase factor. Of course, if it is a short-distance wireless communication method, other standards may be adopted.

The input unit 24 is a user interface for receiving an input for manipulating the control module 20 . For example, the input unit 24 may be in the form of a button or switch, or may be a touch panel integrated with the display unit 21 .

4 and 5 are exemplary screen views of the control module 20 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 displays a respiratory induction waveform, and FIG. 5 displays a goal achievement rate.

When the target breathing pattern is determined, the control unit 22 causes the display unit 21 to display graphic data for inducing the user's breathing signal to the target breathing pattern. 4 is an exemplary screen view of a control module on which an image for inducing breathing is displayed. In FIG. 4 , a graph corresponding to the target breathing pattern is displayed as a solid line on the display unit 21 . A graph indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 4 corresponds to a user's actual breathing signal. The horizontal axis represents time flow, and the vertical axis represents inspiration or expiration. The user follows the breathing while viewing the graphical data visually displayed in this way. At this time, the time difference and interval difference of the graph indicated by the solid line and the dotted line represent the difference between the user's actual breathing and the target breathing pattern. That is, the user can intuitively match his or her breathing to a target breathing pattern through such graphic data.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the graphic data displayed on the display unit 21 may include “inhale” and “exhale” indications, and when the “exhale” light is on, the user exhales and “inhales”. You can also match your breathing to the target breathing pattern by inhaling when " is lit.

In the present invention, it is important to adjust the ratio of inhalation and expiration, and the inhalation time and expiration time are inevitably inconsistent in the target breathing pattern. Therefore, the remaining inhalation time with the "Inhale" light on is displayed on the screen in percentage or second units so that it can be seen intuitively, but conversely, the remaining inhalation time with the "Exhale" light is lit in percentage or second units. can also be displayed on the screen. The controller 22 calculates a breathing pattern target value achievement rate by using a difference between the user's actual breathing and the target breathing pattern. The breathing pattern target achievement rate may be calculated using the achievement rate for the weekly breathing training target time and the daily breathing training target time. The control unit 22 may further display the respiratory pattern target value achievement rate calculated in this way on the display unit 21 .

5 is an exemplary screen view of a control module displaying a breathing pattern target value achievement rate. The user can easily know whether or not he/she is smoothly controlling his/her breathing while watching the rate of achievement of the target value of the breathing pattern increase.

6 is a configuration diagram of the stimulation module 30 of the respiratory training device 1 shown in FIG. As shown, the stimulation module 30 includes a nerve stimulator 31 and a belt 32.

The nerve stimulator 31 generates an electrical stimulation signal. The belt 32 compresses the nerve stimulator 31 to a specific part of the user. In this embodiment, the belt 32 compresses the nerve stimulator 31 to the user's wrist, but may compress the nerve stimulator 31 to other parts of the body as needed.

The nerve stimulator 31 includes a cathode 311 , an anode 312 and a pad member 313 . It is confirmed that the cathode 311 has a high therapeutic effect when placed in contact with the internal blood vessels of the human body. It is confirmed that the treatment effect is high when the positive electrode 312 is disposed so as to be spaced apart from the negative electrode 311 by 2 cm to 6 cm, particularly 3 cm to 5 cm, toward the body. The pad member 313 is preferably formed of a highly elastic material having a predetermined thickness so that the negative electrode 311 and the positive electrode 312 are pressed and brought into contact with the wrist of the human body. Electrical stimulation generated by the nerve stimulator 31 is preferably 2Hz to 100Hz, particularly 5Hz to 20Hz.

In this embodiment, the stimulation module 30 is worn on the wrist, but may be worn on the scalp or back of the neck. The nerve stimulator 31 may stimulate Baekhoehyeol, Pungjihyeol, and Chuanjuhyeol.

The control module 20 controls on/off, strength, cycle, and the like, of electrical stimulation generated by the nerve stimulator 31 according to a breathing training program.

7 is a configuration diagram of a breathing training apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the control module is replaced with a smart phone 20A instead of dedicated hardware. The display unit 21 and the input unit 24 use the touch screen of the smart phone 20A, and the wireless communication unit 23 uses a wireless communication device mounted on the smart phone 20A. The smart phone 20A performs the function of the controller 22 through a separately manufactured dedicated app. That is, the smart phone 20A analyzes the user's breathing signal received from the sensor module 10 through a dedicated app, determines a target breathing pattern, and visually displays it.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a breathing induction method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, when a user wearing the sensor module 10 presses the start button of the control module 20, the control module 20 causes the sensor module 10 to perform a pre-training scan on the user's breathing (702). The pre-training scan usually lasts about 3 minutes. When the pre-training scan is completed, the control module 20 performs breath per minute analysis (704). Breathing per minute analysis measures, for example, how many times a user breathes per minute (or respiratory cycle) and the ratio of inspiratory time to expiratory time in one respiratory cycle. For example, if the pre-training scan is performed for 3 minutes, if 17 breaths are taken in the first 1 minute, 16 times in the next 1 minute, and 15 times in the last 1 minute, it is determined that the average value of breathing is 16 times.

Next, a target number of breaths per minute for breathing training is set (706). In order for the user to perform breathing training without overdoing it, a value that is one less than the average respiratory rate per minute obtained through a scan before training is usually set as the target respiratory rate per minute. For example, if an average respiratory rate of 16 breaths per minute is measured in a pre-training scan, 15 breaths per minute is set as the target respiratory rate.

Next, breathing training is performed according to the set target number of breaths per minute (708). The user's respiration is induced by displaying a respiration waveform according to a target respiration rate per minute through the display unit 21 of the control module 20 . The respiratory waveform is determined according to a ratio of a target respiratory rate per minute and a desired inspiratory time to expiratory time. Breathing training is performed for eg 10 minutes.

In parallel with inducing breathing training, the control module 20 controls the stimulation module 30 to apply electrical stimulation to a specific part of the body. In oriental medicine, it has been reported that when electrical stimulation is applied to a specific part of the human body, particularly to the inner tube near the wrist, nerves responsible for transmitting pain are stimulated and blood pressure is lowered. By combining such nerve stimulation with breathing training, more effective treatment is possible. The control module 20 may differently set the breathing training time and the nerve stimulation time according to the treatment purpose.

Next, scanning is performed after training through the sensor module 10 (710). The post-training scan takes a shorter time than the pre-training scan. Since it is after performing breathing training, it is possible to measure the respiratory rate per minute relatively accurately even during a short scan time. In this embodiment, it takes about 2 minutes. When the scan is completed after training, the control module 20 performs breath per minute analysis (712). Breathing per minute analysis measures the user's breathing rate per minute and the ratio of inhalation time and expiratory time in one breathing cycle.

Next, the number of breaths per minute measured through the scan before training (respiration per minute before training) and the number of breaths per minute measured through the scan after training (respiration per minute after training) are compared (714). If the number of breaths per minute after training is smaller than the number of breaths per minute before training, if it is determined that breathing training is effective, proceed to the next step to confirm whether to continue training, and then continue or end training according to the user's intention (716 ). When the number of breaths per minute before training is the same as the number of breaths per minute after training, it is determined that breathing training is not yet sufficient, and the breathing training step 708 is performed again. In this case, breathing training can be performed only for a shorter time than the first breathing training time. For example, if the first breathing training time is 10 minutes, the second training time may be set to 8 minutes, the third training time to be 6 minutes, and the like. If the number of breaths per minute after training is greater than the number of breaths per minute before training, it is determined that the average number of breaths per minute was measured incorrectly in the pre-training scan, and the target number of breaths per minute for breathing training is set to a value one less than the number of breaths per minute after training. It is newly set (706), and breathing training is performed (708).

It is obvious that a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can variously modify or change the above-described embodiments from the description of the present invention. In addition, even if not explicitly shown or described, a person skilled in the art may make various modifications from the description of the present invention to the technical idea according to the present invention. is obvious, which still belongs to the scope of the present invention. The above embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings are described for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

10: sensor module
11: Respiration sensor
12: pulse sensor
13: wireless communication unit
14 : Belt
15: fastening means
20: control module
21: display unit
22: control means
23: wireless communication unit
24: input device
30: stimulation module
31: nerve stimulator
32: Belt

Claims (3)

In the apparatus for training the user's breathing, having a sensor module, a stimulation module and a control module,
The sensor module includes (a1) a respiration sensor for sensing the user's respiratory rate per minute, and (a2) a belt for compressing the respiration sensor to the user's abdomen or chest,
The stimulation module includes (b1) a nerve stimulator for generating an electrical stimulation signal, and (b2) a belt for compressing the nerve stimulator to a specific part of the user,
The control module (c1) controls the sensor module to sense the user's respiratory rate per minute before breathing training, (c2) sets a target respiratory rate per minute according to the sensed respiratory rate per minute before training, (c3) In parallel with inducing a user's breathing by displaying a respiratory waveform according to the set target respiratory rate per minute through a display for a first time, controlling the nerve stimulator according to the set target respiratory rate and applying it to a specific part of the human body An electrical stimulation signal is generated, (c4) the sensor module is controlled to sense the user's respiratory rate per minute after breathing training, and (c5) the respiratory rate per minute after the training is compared with the respiratory rate per minute before the training. Determine the breathing training method of the steps,
The nerve stimulator includes a cathode, an anode, and a pad member, the anode is disposed 2 cm to 6 cm away from the cathode toward the body, and the electrical stimulation generated by the nerve stimulator is 2 Hz to 100 Hz,
The control module is a respiratory training device, characterized in that for controlling the on / off, strength and cycle of the electrical stimulation signal generated by the nerve stimulator according to the respiratory training program for the target number of breaths per minute.
According to claim 1,
The sensor module breathing training apparatus, characterized in that further comprising a pulse sensor for counting the user's pulse rate.
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