KR102668657B1 - Incubator with posture change function for premature babies - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention, when symptoms of apnea in a premature baby are discovered, moves the cradle to induce a change in the position of the premature baby, waking the premature baby from sleep, and provides an immediate warning notification to the designated medical staff, guardian, or relevant clinic, making it possible to care for the premature baby more safely and conveniently. there is.

Description

Incubator with posture change function for premature babies}

The present invention relates to an incubator that includes a function to change the position of a premature baby. When symptoms of apnea in a premature baby are discovered, the cradle moves to induce a change in the position of the premature baby, waking the premature baby from sleep, and providing an immediate warning to the designated medical staff, guardian, or relevant clinic. This is about an incubator that includes a function to change the position of premature babies that provides notifications so that premature babies can be cared for more safely and conveniently.

In general, an incubator is a device for nurturing premature babies or babies with abnormalities at birth, and must maintain an appropriate internal environment such as temperature, humidity, and oxygen supply.

Because premature babies have a higher risk of sudden death due to their poor biological composition compared to normal babies, it is very important to observe premature babies in real time, and measuring devices that can periodically measure the pulse, body temperature, and weight status of premature babies are needed. It has been developed and is being used.

Meanwhile, in the case of premature babies, it can cause seizures, convulsions, and sleep apnea symptoms, and these symptoms can be fatal to the premature baby.

Meanwhile, most of the existing methods for continuously detecting whether a premature baby is breathing are methods that measure biological signals indirectly, and there is a problem of providing a false alarm due to inaccurate measurement of apnea in a premature baby.

Existing methods of measuring airflow within the nasal canula by pressure or measuring airflow using a thermistor have been used to detect apnea, but there is great resistance to wearing them and difficulty in measuring them. There was a possibility of error occurring.

In addition, the indirect apnea detection method using oxygen saturation and electrocardiogram and the blood oxygen saturation measurement method that measures the blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) signal of arterial blood according to the measurement target area have limitations as indirect measurement methods for monitoring biological changes caused by apnea. existed.

Patent Document 1: Republic of Korea Registered Utility Model Publication No. 20-0373097

The present invention was created to solve the above-mentioned problems. The purpose of the present invention is to wake the premature baby from sleep by moving the cradle unit to induce a change in the position of the premature baby when apnea symptoms are discovered in the premature baby, and to notify the designated medical staff, guardian, or relevant clinic. The goal is to provide an incubator with a function to change the position of premature babies, which can provide immediate warning notifications and help care for premature babies more safely and conveniently.

In order to solve the above problems, the incubator with the function of changing the position of a premature baby according to the present invention includes a housing 110 made of a transparent material including a cradle part 111 in which the premature baby lies; and, current injection and voltage. A plurality of electrodes for sensing are formed, and a chest electrode part is attached along the chest circumference of the premature baby to be measured; a sensing part that senses biological signals by contacting the measurement target area of the premature baby; and a measured voltage. A control unit that images the inside of the chest of a premature baby based on the acquired impedance data; an apnea diagnosis unit that diagnoses apnea symptoms in a premature baby through integrated interpretation of quantification results from the imaged chest image and sensed bio-signals; and, A posture formed between the bottom surface of the housing 110 and the lower surface of the cradle part 111, so that when the premature baby's apnea symptoms deviate from the preset normal range, the cradle part 111 moves to induce a change in the premature baby's posture. Change guide unit 120; And an incubator body 130 formed in the lower part of the housing 110 to communicate with, manipulate, and monitor the chest electrode unit, the detection unit, the control unit, the apnea diagnosis unit, and the posture change guide unit. It is characterized by

In addition, the posture change guide unit 120 is made of a cylinder and is installed at each lower surface edge of the cradle unit 111.

In addition, when the posture change guide 120 located on the front side of the cradle 111 rises, the posture change guide 120 located on the rear side of the cradle 111 descends, and When the posture change guide 120 located on the rear side of the cradle 111 rises, the posture change guide 120 located on the front side of the cradle 111 descends.

As described above, according to the present invention, when symptoms of apnea in a premature baby are discovered, the cradle moves to induce a change in the position of the premature baby, so immediate wake-up measures are taken, and an emergency notification is sent to the designated guardian, medical staff, or clinic, making it safer. It has the advantage of being able to care for premature babies conveniently.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance of an incubator including a function for changing the position of a premature baby according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the cradle portion and the posture change guide portion combined among the configuration of an incubator including a posture change function for premature infants according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figures 3 to 5 are examples showing the position of the cradle part being changed by the position change guide part among the configuration of the incubator including the position change function for premature infants according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, an incubator 100 including a function for changing the position of a premature baby according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. First of all, it should be noted that in the drawings, identical components or parts are indicated by the same reference numerals whenever possible. In describing the present invention, detailed descriptions of related known functions or configurations are omitted in order to not obscure the gist of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1 or Figure 2, the incubator including the function of changing the position of a premature baby according to an embodiment of the present invention largely consists of a housing 110, a chest electrode part, a detection part, a control part, an apnea diagnosis part, and a position change guide. It consists of a unit 120 and an incubator main body 130.

Prior to the description, it should be noted that some of the components are omitted in some drawings for clear description of the present invention.

First, the housing 110 will be described. The housing 110 is a place where a premature baby is placed and nursed for a certain period of time. The housing 110 is preferably made of a transparent material to visually check the condition of the premature baby.

Meanwhile, a cradle part 111 on which a premature baby lies is formed inside the housing 110, and the cradle part 111 can be changed in position by a posture change guide part 120, which will be described later.

Next, the chest electrode portion will be described. The chest electrode unit is formed with a plurality of electrodes for current injection and voltage detection, and is a component attached along the chest circumference of the premature baby to be measured. The plurality of electrodes are attached along the chest circumference of the premature baby to provide impedance data for the chest. It is possible to use an EIT (Electrical Impedance Tomography) electrode to measure .

Meanwhile, the EIT electrode is arranged on one side of a base plate made of a flexible material and can be attached around the chest of a newborn, and the EIT electrode is on one side of the base plate made of a fiber material corresponding to the sensitive skin of a premature baby. can be placed in

Next, the sensing unit will be described. The sensing unit is a component that senses biological signals by contacting the measurement target area of the premature baby, and may include a plurality of sensors. It is a fiber-based sensor and can perform the function of sensing the biological signals of the sleeping premature baby. there is.

In addition, the plurality of sensors may be made of fiber sensors corresponding to the sensitive skin of newborns.

Meanwhile, the detection unit includes a blood oxygen saturation sensor that measures the blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) signal of arterial blood according to the measurement target area when the premature baby is sleeping, a sound detection sensor that detects sounds according to the premature baby's biological activities, and the premature baby's movements. It is preferable to include at least one of a posture measurement sensor that detects and an electrocardiogram measurement sensor that measures the electrocardiogram of the measurement target area.

Here, the blood oxygen saturation sensor may be attached to the measurement target area of the premature baby and measure blood oxygen saturation (SpO2, Saturation of peripheral Oxygen), which indicates the content of oxygen present in hemoglobin among the various components that make up blood. There is also.

Next, the control unit will be described. The control unit is a component that images the inside of the chest of a premature baby based on impedance data obtained at the measured voltage, and controls a frequency range through at least one selected electrode pair among a plurality of electrodes attached to the chest of the premature baby. A current injection module capable of injecting a current, a voltage measurement module capable of measuring the induced voltage according to the current injected from unselected electrodes among a plurality of electrodes, and An image generation module that measures impedance data to image the inside of the chest, controls the selection of at least one electrode pair from a plurality of electrodes, controls the selection of unselected electrodes, and contacts the measurement target area of a premature baby. It is possible to consist of a control module that controls the sensing of the sensing unit 120 and a communication module that can transmit health status information according to apnea symptoms of a premature baby to the outside.

Next, the apnea diagnosis unit will be described. The apnea diagnosis unit is a component that diagnoses apnea symptoms in premature infants through integrated interpretation of the quantification results from the imaged chest image and the sensed biosignals, and measures the anatomical location of the imaged chest image and the newborn's average heart rate and respiratory rate. Based on this, at least one of the change, degree, and shape of air distribution inside the lung over time can be quantified.

Next, the posture change guide unit 120 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the posture change guide unit 120 is formed on the bottom surface of the housing 110 and is coupled to the lower part of the cradle unit 111, and is designed to prevent apnea symptoms in premature babies beyond the preset normal range. It is a component that guides premature babies to change their posture by moving the cradle unit 111 to wake them up from sleep, and in one embodiment, it consists of a cylinder.

The posture change guide unit 120 is installed as a pair near the lower edge or edge of the cradle unit 111 and operates depending on whether the incubator main body 130, which will be described later, is set or manipulated, thereby forming the cradle unit 111. It is a component that raises or lowers and consists of a cylinder housing and a piston rod that is vertically drawn out from the top of the cylinder housing.

Meanwhile, the posture change guide unit 120 can adjust its operation by setting values. In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a pair of posture change guide units installed on the front side of the cradle unit 111 The posture change guide portion 120 and the pair of posture change guide portions 120 installed on the rear side of the support plate may move in opposite directions, and both of the posture change guide portions 120 may be connected to the piston rod with a time difference. By setting it so that it can go up and down, it is possible to more easily induce a change in the posture of the premature baby through a three-dimensional movement of the cradle unit 111 rather than a simple up and down movement.

Meanwhile, in another embodiment of the posture change guide unit 120, a rotating plate that performs a pendulum movement is coupled to the lower side of the cradle unit 111 to induce a change in the posture of the premature baby.

In order to implement the pendulum movement of the rotating plate, a base plate is first formed with a plurality of “U”-shaped seating grooves on both sides. At this time, the base plate is installed on the bottom of the housing.

In addition, a bending protrusion bent into a “┐” shape and a connecting protrusion inserted into the seating groove are formed on one side of the rotating plate.

Meanwhile, the bending protrusion is coupled to a through hole formed in the moving bar, and a vertical movement guide groove is formed in the vertical direction on the front side of the moving bar, and the vertical movement guide groove is located at the center of the motor member that operates the moving bar. A connecting shaft that protrudes is inserted in a place that is biased from the other side.

Through this configuration, when the shaft of the motor member is driven clockwise, the connecting shaft rotates clockwise and at the same time moves the rotation plate in the vertical direction, thereby causing the rotation based on the central axis of the connecting protrusion. When the plate moves from front to back and the shaft of the motor member is driven counterclockwise, the connecting shaft rotates counterclockwise and at the same time moves the rotating plate in the vertical direction, based on the central axis of the connecting protrusion. The rotation plate moves from back to front.

That is, it is possible for the cradle portion 111 coupled to the rotating plate to be continuously moved from front to back or back to front.

Meanwhile, the cradle part 111 and the rotation plate can be moved from left to right or right to left depending on the direction in which they are coupled.

Next, the incubator main body 120 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the incubator main body 120 is formed in the lower part of the housing 110 and includes the chest electrode unit, the detection unit, the control unit, the apnea diagnosis unit, and the posture change guide unit 120. It is a component that communicates, manipulates, and monitors, and includes a server that stores information obtained through each component, a communication unit that wirelessly transmits to the server, and a transmission unit that sends a notification to a designated medical staff member, guardian, or clinic depending on whether apnea is diagnosed. It can be configured.

Optimal embodiments are disclosed in the drawings and specifications. Although specific terms are used here, they are used only for the purpose of explaining the present invention and are not used to limit the meaning or scope of the present invention described in the claims. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the attached patent claims.

100: Incubator with position change function for premature babies
110: Housing 111: Cradle
120: Posture change guide unit
130: Incubator body

Claims (3)

A transparent housing (110) including a cradle portion (111) in which a premature baby lies down;
A chest electrode unit formed with a plurality of electrodes for current injection and voltage detection and attached along the chest circumference of the premature baby to be measured;
A sensing unit that senses biological signals by contacting the measurement target area of the premature baby;
A control unit that images the inside of the chest of a premature baby based on impedance data obtained at the measured voltage;
An apnea diagnosis department that diagnoses apnea symptoms in premature babies through integrated interpretation of quantification results from imaged chest images and sensed biosignals;
A posture formed between the bottom surface of the housing 110 and the lower surface of the cradle part 111, so that when the premature baby's apnea symptoms deviate from the preset normal range, the cradle part 111 moves to induce a change in the premature baby's posture. Change guide unit 120; and
An incubator body 130 formed in the lower part of the housing 110 to communicate with, manipulate, and monitor the chest electrode unit, the detection unit, the control unit, the apnea diagnosis unit, and the posture change guide unit;
The posture change guide unit 120,
A base plate installed on the bottom of the housing 110 and having “U”-shaped seating grooves on both sides;
A rotating plate coupled to the lower side of the cradle 111 and connected to the base plate, with a “┐”-shaped bending protrusion formed on one side and a connecting protrusion inserted into the seating groove on both sides. ,
A moving bar having a through hole into which the bending protrusion is inserted and a vertical moving guide groove formed on the front side in a vertical direction;
A motor member that operates the moving bar and
An incubator (100) with a function for changing the position of a premature baby, characterized in that it consists of a connecting shaft that is deflected from the central axis of the motor member and inserted into the vertical movement guide groove.

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