KR102571805B1 - Uroflowmetry apparatus and mobile device comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, anyone can easily perform an accurate urinary flow test at home regardless of time and space, and by using a non-contact radar sensor rather than a weight measurement method using an existing weight sensor, various urination disorders of each patient can be treated. It is to provide a urine test device and method capable of accurately diagnosing. The present invention for this purpose is a sensor having a signal transmitting unit for transmitting an input signal to a sensing area and a signal receiving unit for receiving a reflected signal reflected from urine passing through the sensing area; a signal processing unit calculating urine flow information of urine passing through the detection area based on a difference between the input signal and the reflection signal; and a diagnosis unit for diagnosing dysuria of the test subject by comparing the urinary flow information calculated by the signal processing unit with preset reference urinary flow information.

Description

Uroflow test device and portable terminal including the same {UROFLOWMETRY APPARATUS AND MOBILE DEVICE COMPRISING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a urine test device and a portable terminal including the same, and in detail, anyone can easily perform an accurate urine test at home without being restricted by time and space, and a weight measurement method using an existing weight sensor. The present invention relates to a urinary flow test device capable of quickly and easily diagnosing various urinary disorders for each patient by quickly and accurately acquiring a urinary velocity using a non-contact type radar sensor, and a portable terminal including the same.

Lower urinary tract symptoms such as dysuria or urinary incontinence include frequent urination, nocturia, delayed urination, interrupted urination, forceful urination on the stomach, weak urine, terminal dripping, posturinary dripping, urgency, and urinary incontinence. Depending on the individual variations of them, they appear very diverse.

In order to accurately grasp the urination pattern of each patient, it is important to confirm whether the subjective symptoms complained of by the patients actually exist, and it is very important for an accurate diagnosis to objectively evaluate how severe they are. However, since the phenomenon of urination is an extremely private physiological activity of the body, it is very difficult for the treating physician to objectify it.

In general, among tests for lower urinary tract symptoms, uroflowmetry is the first test applied to almost all lower urinary tract dysfunction patients. That is, through the urinary flow test, it is possible to objectively diagnose the presence or absence of lower urinary tract symptoms such as weak urine, interrupted urine, abdominal pressure urination, and terminal drip, or the severity of urination disorders, which the patient complains of.

Conventional urine test devices and methods are based on measuring the weight of urine, for example, by accumulating urine in a container with a constant diameter and placing a weight sensor mounted below the container to measure the weight of the urine during urination. There is a way to measure the weight (weight) change of This can be determined by measuring the change in the weight of urine accumulated during the urination process.

However, when urine accumulates in the container during urination and the urine stream directly touches the bottom surface of the container, the conventional urinary flow test apparatus and method determines the momentum (mass x velocity) of the urine stream in addition to the weight of the urine on the bottom surface of the container. is subjected to additional impact, and therefore, not only the simple weight of urine but also the impact amount is transmitted to the weight sensor, and the impact effect is transmitted to the weight sensor in an unspecified manner according to the amount and speed of the urine stream and acts as measurement noise. In addition, after a certain amount of urine is collected in the container during the urination process, the amount of impact applied to the surface of the water is additionally transferred to the weight sensor and acts as measurement noise.

In addition, since the conventional urinary test apparatus and method must perform a urinary test at a specific place and time, such as in a hospital, for treatment, it is impossible to perform urination in a psychologically stable state without awareness of the surroundings, and thus the reliability of measurement may be reduced. In addition, there is a lot of inconvenience to the inspector in the process of urinary flow inspection, and a lot of trouble in maintaining the inspection device before and after the inspection.

In addition, with the recent shift from treatment-centered to preventive health management, and with the development of information and communication technology (ICT), healthcare services that can provide services regardless of time and space are rapidly expanding, Unlike conventional urine inspection devices and methods that could only be used in a specific space, a new urine inspection method that can easily and accurately perform urine inspection in everyday life at home is required.

Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1020594 (2011.03.09. notice)

An object of the present invention to solve the above problems is to provide a urine test device and a portable terminal including the same, which allow anyone to easily perform an accurate urine test at home regardless of time and space.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a flow test device capable of quickly obtaining more accurate flow information while structurally simple by using a speed measurement method using a non-contact sensor rather than a weight measurement method using an existing weight sensor, and a portable terminal including the same. is in

The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. .

A urine flow test device according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems includes a signal transmitting unit for transmitting an input signal to a sensing area and a signal receiving unit for receiving a reflected signal reflected from urine passing through the sensing area. branch sensor; a signal processing unit calculating urine flow information of urine passing through the detection area based on a difference between the input signal and the reflection signal; and a diagnosis unit for diagnosing dysuria of the test subject by comparing the urinary flow information calculated by the signal processing unit with preset reference urinary flow information, wherein the sensor transmits a first input signal in a first direction toward the sensing region. A first sensor having a first signal transmitter for receiving a first signal transmitter and a first signal receiver for receiving a first reflection signal reflected from urine passing through the sensing area, and a second sensor that crosses the first direction toward the sensing area. a second sensor having a second signal transmitter for transmitting a second input signal in a direction and a second signal receiver for receiving a second reflection signal reflected from urine passing through the sensing area, wherein the signal processing unit includes: , vector summation of a first flow rate parallel to the first direction of urine passing through the sensing area from the first sensor and a second flow rate parallel to the second direction of urine passing through the sensing area from the second sensor Thus, the discharge rate of the falling urine discharged from the test subject to the outside is calculated, and the urine flow information includes the discharge rate of urine from the end of the test subject's genital organs discharged to the outside from the test subject.

In the flow inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the sensor may be at least one of a pulse radar, a continuous wave (CW) radar, and a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar. can

In the urinary flow test device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the urinary flow information may include a urinary velocity for each time from the start point of urination to the end point of urination of the test subject.

In the urinary flow test device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the urinary flow information may further include a urination amount, wherein the urination amount is the urinary velocity and the reflective area of the reflection signal that changes according to the cross-sectional area of the urine stream. It can be calculated based on (RCS).

In the urine test device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the urine flow information may further include the quantity of urine streams.

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Meanwhile, a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the above-described urine flow test device.

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According to the present invention, it can be installed in a toilet disposed in a home with a simple structure, so that flow information can be obtained in a psychologically stable state without being constrained by time and space without being aware of the surroundings, thereby increasing the reliability of measurement.

According to the present invention, by using a non-contact radar sensor instead of a weighing method using a conventional weight sensor, frequent urination, night urination, delayed urination, intermittent urination, urination by straining the stomach, weak urine, terminal drip, post-urination drip, urgency urine It is possible to accurately diagnose various voiding disorders for each patient, such as urinary incontinence.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above effects, and should be understood to include all effects that can be inferred from the detailed description of the present invention or the configuration of the invention described in the claims.

1 is an exemplary view showing a urine flow test device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exemplary view showing a urine flow test device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram showing a Doppler frequency shift signal for estimating the velocity of urine for each distance from a sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 and 5 are graphs showing the hourly urinary velocity of urine calculated by the signal processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a block flow diagram illustrating a urine flow detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention in which the above-described problem to be solved can be realized in detail will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present embodiments, the same name and the same reference numeral may be used for the same configuration, and additional description accordingly may be omitted.

1 is an exemplary view showing a urine flow test device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a urine flow test apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a sensor 100, a signal processing unit 400, and a diagnosis unit 500.

The sensor 100 includes a signal transmitter 110 that transmits an input signal 111 to a sensing area and a signal receiver 120 that receives a reflected signal 121 reflected from urine u passing through the sensing area. can have

The detection area corresponds to an area where the input signal 111 is transmitted, and may correspond to an area through which urine (u) discharged from the test subject can pass. That is, various urine trajectories may be formed due to differences in body structure of each subject, and the sensing area may be set to an appropriate range in consideration of various types of urine trajectories that may occur.

The sensor 100 may be positioned to face a target (genitals). That is, the signal transmission unit 110 may be disposed to transmit the input signal 111 facing the discharge direction in which urine u is discharged from the test subject.

In addition, the sensor 100 may be disposed at a location spaced apart from a target (genital organ) by a predetermined distance (d).

It is preferable that a radar sensor is used as the sensor according to the present embodiment.

That is, the electromagnetic wave as the input signal 111 is transmitted to the sensing area through the signal transmitter 110, and the signal receiver 120 receives the reflected wave as the reflected signal 121 that is reflected by the target urine u and returns. can do.

Then, the signal processing unit 400 compares the transmitted input signal 111 and the received reflection signal 121 to calculate urine flow information such as the speed of urine u by distance d from the sensor 100. there is.

That is, the distance d to the target (urine) can be calculated from the difference between the transmission time of the input signal 111 and the reception time of the reflected signal 121, and the reflected signal 121 reflected back ), the speed of the target (urine) can be measured from the frequency Doppler shift. As a result, the radar sensor can measure the speed distribution by distance (d) of the target (urine stream) passing through the detection area, and measure the hourly discharge speed (V) of urine from the test subject's urination start point to the urination end point. You can do it.

Here, the hourly discharge rate (V) of urine from the start point of urination to the end point of urination may be the initial discharge rate (V) of urine from which the gravitational acceleration discharged from the test subject to the outside is removed. As such, the initial discharge velocity (V) of the urine discharged from the test subject to the outside without the gravitational acceleration may correspond to main urinary flow information for diagnosing the test subject's urination disorder. In the following description, the initial discharge velocity (V) of urine discharged from the test subject to the outside is defined as the urinary velocity.

In this way, the radar sensor measures the speed distribution by distance (d) of the target (urine stream) passing through the detection area, and the urine discharged to the outside from the test subject, which is the hourly discharge rate (V) of urine from the start point of urination to the end point of urination. It is possible to immediately measure and calculate the urinary flow, and from this, it is possible to quickly and accurately diagnose the urinary disorder of the test subject.

In addition, when a radar sensor is applied, the signal processing unit 400 may calculate the amount of urine output based on the radar cross section (RCS) value of the reflection signal 121 .

That is, the radar sensor may vary the reflection area (RCS) of the reflected signal 121 according to the size (cross-sectional area of the urine stream) of the target (urine). The reflection area (RCS) may be defined as the ratio of the power of the reflection signal 121 to the power of the input signal 111 when the distance is constant, and the greater the reflection area (RCS), the greater the amount of power of the reflection signal 121. .

As a result, the signal processing unit 400 calculates the total amount of urine output based on the hourly discharge rate (V) of urine from the start of urination to the end of urination, that is, the urinary velocity and the RCS value of the reflection signal 121. can also be derived.

The reflection area (RCS) of the reflection signal 121 received by the signal receiver 120 may change according to the frequency of the input signal 111. As in the present embodiment, when the target is urine, the input signal 111 A frequency ranging from 1 GHz to 100 GHz may be used, and a frequency of 77 GHz may be preferably used.

In addition, when the radar sensor is applied, the signal processing unit 400 may calculate the number of urine streams (whether single or bundled), and additionally obtains urinary flow information such as the number of short circuits of the urine stream and the direction (trajectory) of the urine stream. can also be derived.

Meanwhile, the radar sensor may be divided into a pulse method and a continuous wave (CW) method according to the modulation method of the input signal 111. In this embodiment, a pulse radar may be used, and a continuous wave ( CW) A radar sensor may be used. In addition, a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) type radar sensor may be used even in a continuous wave (CW) type.

A CW radar sensor is also called a Doppler radar, and it can not only detect a target but also measure the speed of the target. The CW radar sensor is relatively simple compared to the pulse radar because it does not require pulse modulation, and unlike the pulse radar sensor, it can transmit the input signal continuously without pause for time, even while receiving the reflected signal 121. It can operate continuously and has the advantage of being effective in measuring the speed of a target. However, since there is no time information in the wave of the transmitted input signal, it is difficult to measure distance information to the target, and accordingly, it is difficult to obtain speed information for the entire movement trajectory of the stream of urine.

The FWCW radar sensor supplements the disadvantages of the CW radar sensor, and frequency modulation is applied to the CW radar sensor to acquire distance information from the sensor to the target (urine). That is, the FMCW radar sensor transmits the input signal 111 whose frequency changes linearly in the time domain, receives the reflected signal 121 reflected from the target, and transmits the input signal 111 and the reflected signal 121 between the input signal 111 and the reflected signal 121. A bit frequency, which is a difference value between frequencies, may be obtained. Since the bit frequency obtained in this way increases linearly with time delay, the distance from the sensor 100 to the target can be estimated through this bit frequency. In addition, since a Doppler frequency shift occurs in the beat frequency according to the relative velocity of the moving target, the relative velocity of the target, that is, the velocity of urine, which is the initial excretion velocity (V) of urine, can be estimated using this.

2 is an exemplary view showing a urine flow test device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , according to this embodiment, a plurality of sensors may be provided and may include a first sensor 200 and a second sensor 300 .

The first sensor 200 may be disposed at a location spaced apart from the target (genitals) by a first distance d1, and transmits a first input signal 211 in a first direction D1 toward the sensing area. It may have a first signal transmitter 210 and a first signal receiver 220 that receives a first reflection signal 221 reflected from urine passing through the sensing area.

The second sensor 300 may be disposed at a location spaced apart from the target (genitalia) by a second distance d2, and may be disposed in a second direction D2 intersecting the first direction D1 towards the sensing area. It may have a second signal transmitter 310 that transmits an input signal 311 and a second signal receiver 320 that receives a second reflection signal 321 reflected from urine passing through the detection area.

That is, the first input signal 211 of the first sensor 200 and the second input signal 311 of the second sensor 300 may be transmitted in directions crossing each other. Accordingly, the first sensor 200 may estimate the first flow velocity v1 in the first direction D1, and the second sensor 300 may estimate the second flow velocity v2 in the second direction D2. ) can be estimated. Then, the signal processing unit 400 can accurately measure the vector value of the urinary velocity, which is the initial discharge velocity (V) of the urine discharged from the subject, by adding the first urinary velocity (v1) and the second urinary velocity (v2). .

Although not shown, according to this embodiment, the plurality of sensors may include a first sensor, a second sensor, and a third sensor, and the input signals of the first sensor, the second sensor, and the third sensor respectively intersect each other. can be sent to

Meanwhile, the sensors 100 , 200 , and 300 may be installed in a toilet or bidet, and may be provided by being embedded in the toilet or bidet or coupled to a surface.

For example, when a man urinates in an upright state on a seated toilet commonly used at home, the sensor may be installed at the rear end of the toilet or bidet, which is a front area of the target (genital organ). As another example, when a male or female urinates in a sitting state on a toilet, the sensor may be installed at the front end of the toilet or bidet, which is a front area of the target (genital organ).

The signal processing unit 400 may be connected to the sensor 100 by wire or wireless, and process and compare the input signal 111 and the reflected signal 121 obtained from the sensor 100 to obtain flow information of the subject.

As described above, the urinary flow information includes the velocity distribution by distance of the urine stream passing through the detection area, the urinary velocity (V), the urination time, the amount of urine, the number of urine streams (whether single or multiple), the direction of travel ( movement trajectory) and the number of short circuits.

On the other hand, Figure 3 is a diagram showing a Doppler frequency shift signal for estimating the velocity of urine by distance from the sensor, the vertical axis is the distance from the sensor to the target (urine) and the horizontal axis is the flow rate.

As shown, since the bit frequency, which is the difference between the input signal and the reflected signal, has a linear value according to time delay, it is possible to estimate the distance (d) from the sensor to a specific point in the urine stream, Since the Doppler frequency shift occurs in the beat frequency according to the velocity, the velocity at a specific point of the urine stream can be estimated from this, and as a result, the velocity distribution for the entire area of the urine stream's movement trajectory can be calculated. In addition, it is possible to calculate the urinary velocity, which is the initial discharge velocity (V) of urine discharged from the test subject to the outside. In addition, the amount of urination can be calculated based on the value of the reflection area (RCS) of the reflection signal 121 . In addition, various flow information such as the number of urine streams (single or bundled), the number of short circuits, and the direction of movement (trajectory of movement) can be additionally calculated.

The Doppler frequency shift signal indicated in yellow in FIG. 3 is somewhat spread out on the diagram, but this can further increase the accuracy of the Doppler frequency shift value generated at the bit frequency by using a high-resolution algorithm such as the MUltiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm. there is.

In addition, the urinary flow information processed through the signal processing unit 400 may be displayed as an image on a diagram. For example, the quantity of urine streams or the number of short circuits may be more intuitively estimated from the imaged urinary flow information. In addition, in the process of image processing of the disinformation, if a known image classification technique such as a convolutional neural network (CNN) is used, the disinformation can be estimated more effectively. Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is a deep neural network technique that can effectively process images by applying filtering techniques to artificial neural networks. It is known as a classification technique.

4 and 5 are graphs showing the hourly urinary velocity of urine calculated by the signal processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the vertical axis is the urinary velocity and the horizontal axis is the urination time.

As shown in the figure, based on the difference between the urinary velocity (V) and the reference urinary velocity (SV) for each hour in the course of urination, it is possible to diagnose whether or not the testee has a urinary disorder.

And, the signal processing unit 400 may further include a signal filter unit, and the signal filter unit may additionally perform filtering on the previously processed signal using a function such as a Henning window or a raised cosine. For example, a large amount of noise may exist in the hourly flow rate value primarily processed by the signal processing unit 400. By removing the noise of the hourly flow rate value through the signal filter unit, the accuracy of the flow rate can be increased.

The diagnostic unit 500 compares urine flow information including the urinary velocity V calculated by the signal processing unit 400 with reference urinary flow information including a preset reference urinary velocity SV to diagnose urinary disorders of the test subject.

In this case, the standard urinary flow information may correspond to urinary flow information that can be detected in a normal person's urination process. Therefore, based on the difference between the urinary flow information calculated by the signal processing unit 400 and the standard urinary flow information, it is possible to determine whether or not the subject has a urination disorder.

That is, the diagnostic unit 500 uses the urinary flow information processed by the signal processing unit 400, such as velocity distribution by distance of the urine stream, urinary velocity per hour, urination time, amount of urine, amount of urine stream, direction of movement, and number of short circuits, as standard for normal people. Compared with the urinary flow information, standard velocity distribution by distance (d), standard urinary velocity per hour, standard urination time, standard urination volume, standard quantity of urine stream (0), standard progress direction and standard number of short circuits (0), from which It is possible to determine whether or not the testee has a urination disorder.

In addition, the diagnosis unit 500 may include a storage server, and the measured and diagnosed urinary flow information is stored in the storage server so that the test subject's urination history can be continuously managed.

In addition, the diagnosis unit 500 may provide diagnosis information to a terminal such as a mobile phone or tablet. The test subject can check diagnostic information about the urinary rate, urination time, urination volume, urine stream volume, progress direction, and number of short circuits outputted through the terminal.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a portable terminal including the urine flow test device described above may be provided. Here, the portable terminal may be a mobile phone or tablet owned by the person to be tested.

That is, the test subject can self-diagnose his or her urination disorder without temporal or spatial limitations using a urine flow test device including a sensor, a signal processing unit, and a diagnosis unit installed in the portable terminal possessed by the test subject.

At this time, the portable terminal with the urine flow test device built-in may include an application for setting the position and sensitivity of the sensor, inputting and modifying user information, browsing self-diagnosis history information, and online counseling. Accordingly, the test subject can more effectively manage his or her urination history using the portable terminal.

Hereinafter, a urine flow inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

6 is a block flow diagram illustrating a urine flow detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 6, the urine flow test method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an input signal transmission step (S110), a reflection signal reception step (S120), a urine flow information calculation step (S130), and a urination disorder diagnosis step (S140). ) may be included.

The input signal transmitting step (S110) is a step of transmitting the input signal 111 to the sensing area.

That is, the input signal 111 may be transmitted to the detection area through the signal transmission unit 110 of the radar sensor.

The reflection signal receiving step (S120) is a step of receiving the reflection signal 121 reflected from the urine u passing through the sensing area.

That is, the reflection signal 121 reflected from the urine u and returned through the signal receiving unit 110 of the radar sensor may be received.

When the FMCW radar sensor is used, since the input signal 111 can be continuously transmitted without pause time, it can operate continuously even while receiving the reflected signal 121.

The urinary flow information calculation step (S130) is a step of calculating urinary flow information of the urine u passing through the sensing area based on the input signal 111 and the reflected signal 121.

That is, from the frequency difference between the input signal 111 transmitted through the signal processing unit 400 and the received reflected signal 121, the velocity distribution by distance of the urine stream, the urinary velocity by time, the urination time, the amount of urination, the volume, the direction of movement, and Among the number of short circuits, it is possible to calculate the flow information including at least one.

The urination disorder diagnosing step (S140) is a step of diagnosing urination disorder of the test subject by comparing the calculated urinary flow information with preset reference urinary flow information.

That is, the urinary flow information processed by the signal processing unit 400, such as the speed distribution by distance of the urine stream, the urinary velocity by time, the urination time, the amount of urination, the volume, the progress direction, and the number of short circuits through the diagnosis unit 500, is the standard urinary flow information of a normal person. It is compared with the distribution of standard velocity by distance, standard urinary velocity per hour, standard urination time, standard urination volume, standard quantity (0 items), standard progress direction and standard number of short circuits (0 items), and from this, the test subject's urination disorder is diagnosed. can do.

As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, but those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the present invention within the scope not departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the claims below. may be modified or changed.

100: sensor
400: signal processing unit
500: diagnosis unit

Claims (13)

A sensor having a signal transmitter for transmitting an input signal to a sensing area and a signal receiver for receiving a reflected signal reflected from urine passing through the sensing area;
a signal processing unit calculating urine flow information of urine passing through the detection area based on a difference between the input signal and the reflection signal; and
A diagnosis unit for diagnosing a urinary disorder of the test subject by comparing the urinary flow information calculated by the signal processing unit with preset reference urinary flow information;
The sensor has a first signal transmitter for transmitting a first input signal in a first direction toward the sensing area, and a first signal receiver for receiving a first reflection signal reflected from urine passing through the sensing area. A first sensor, a second signal transmitter for transmitting a second input signal in a second direction crossing the first direction toward the sensing area, and a second reflection signal reflected from urine passing through the sensing area Including a second sensor having a second signal receiving unit for receiving,
The signal processing unit includes a first flow rate parallel to the first direction of urine passing through the sensing area from the first sensor, and a second flow rate parallel to the second direction of urine passing through the sensing area from the second sensor. By vector summing the urinary velocities, the discharge velocity of the falling urine discharged from the test subject to the outside is calculated,
The urine flow information includes a discharge rate of urine from the end of the test subject's genital organs discharged from the test subject to the outside. According to claim 1,
The sensor is at least one of a pulse radar, a continuous wave (CW) radar, and a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar. According to claim 1,
The urinary flow information includes a urinary velocity for each time from the start point of urination to the end point of urination of the test subject. delete According to claim 3,
The urinary flow information further includes a urination amount,
The urination volume is calculated based on the urinary velocity and the reflection area (RCS) of the reflection signal that changes according to the size of the cross-sectional area of the urine stream. According to claim 3,
The urinary flow information further includes the quantity of urine stream. delete delete A portable terminal comprising the urine flow test device according to claim 1. delete delete delete delete

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