KR20020064239A - Ultrasound bone density measuring instrument and the measuring method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An ultrasonic bone densitometer and a method for measuring bone density are provided to measure correctly bone density by using an ultrasonic parameter. CONSTITUTION: A power supply portion(100) provides electric power for measuring bone density of a phalange. An ultrasonic sensor drive portion(110) generates an ultrasonic pulse. An ultrasonic signal detection portion(120) detects an ultrasonic signal passing the phalange. A signal processing portion(130) includes the first amplifier/filter portion, the second amplifier portion, the second filter portion, and the third amplifier/envelop detection portion in order to perform a signal processing operation. A control portion(140) controls each component. A key input portion(150) includes keys for receiving an input of a user. An LCD portion(160) is used for displaying a processed digital signal.

Description

Ultrasound bone density measuring instrument and its measuring method {Ultrasound bone density measuring instrument and the measuring method}

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic bone density meter and a measuring method thereof. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring bone density using ultrasonic parameters for a human phalanx (finger bone) using a longitudinal transmission method.

As a method for measuring, analyzing, and diagnosing bone density of a patient in a medical institution, a system for diagnosing bone density is provided with a device for diagnosing osteoporosis in a medical institution or by requesting a developed X-ray film to another hospital.

The method for diagnosing bone mineral density is to analyze and diagnose data using simple, X-ray imaging, dual-energy X-ray, ultrasound, and other methods. Among them, when X-rays are used, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain accurate data due to over-development and low-development in the process of developing the X-ray film.

Conventional bone density diagnosis system using local system in hospital has to establish the equipment to diagnose bone density in hospital, or the patient has to visit the hospital where the equipment is installed or send X-ray film developed after shooting to other hospital There was a hassle to ask.

In addition, the examinee should visit the hospital only to diagnose osteoporosis, which increases the hospital's work and the investigator has to spend a lot of time. In particular, in private clinics or public health centers, the diagnosis of osteoporosis is fundamentally impossible or time-consuming when it is not equipped with expensive diagnostic equipment.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to easily measure bone density using ultrasonic parameters for the phalanx (finger bone) of a person using a longitudinal axis transmission method of ultrasonic osteoporosis measurement method, The present invention provides a bone mineral density meter for diagnosis.

As a technical idea for achieving the above object of the present invention

In the ultrasonic bone density measuring method for measuring the bone density of the human phalanx (finger bone) using ultrasonic parameters,

Insert the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger into the phalanx measuring part of the bone density measuring device, and place the measuring probe on the upper part of the middle finger, and inflate the cuff located at the lower part of the middle finger to close the middle finger and the measuring probe. It provides an ultrasonic bone density measuring method, characterized in that for measuring.

1 is a perspective view of the ultrasonic bone mineral density measuring instrument according to the finger insertion measurement method according to the present invention.

Figure 2a and 2b is a state of wearing of the ultrasonic bone density meter by a ring (Ring) method in accordance with the present invention.

3 is a schematic diagram of the bone density probe according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic bone mineral density measuring device according to the present invention.

5A to 5G are timing diagrams of a pulse counter of an envelope detection unit in the signal processing unit shown in FIG.

6 is an algorithm of the ultrasonic bone mineral density measuring device according to the present invention.

7A to 7G are examples of input and output (16 × 2 character type) of an LCD display displayed by setting of various buttons of an ultrasonic bone mineral density meter according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

100: power supply unit 110: ultrasonic sensor drive unit

120: ultrasonic signal detection unit 130: signal processing unit

140: control unit 150: key input unit

160: LCD display unit

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the configuration and operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is a perspective view of the ultrasonic bone mineral density measuring instrument according to the finger insertion measurement method according to the present invention.

In the present invention, the longitudinal axis transmission method of the ultrasonic osteoporosis measurement method, and bone density of the human phalanx (finger bone) is measured by using an ultrasonic parameter.

Referring to the use of each button of the bone density meter shown in Figure 1, reference numeral 1 is a power on / off (ON / OFF) button for controlling the power, 2 is a cuff pressure injection button for fixing the phalanges and the measuring probe (cuff pressure). Symbol 3 is a bone density measurement start button for performing bone density measurement, and symbols 4 and 5 are input using age and one digit as age input buttons. For example, if you are 23 years old, press the input button of 4 twice, and press the input button of 5 three times.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a reset button for resetting the measuring instrument, and reference numeral 7 denotes an LCD display on which a message indicating bone density progression results such as normal, warning, abnormality, etc. is displayed.

Reference numerals 8a, 8b, and 8c are phalanx measuring units which insert a human finger (forefinger, middle finger, and ring finger), and then fix the measurement sensor and the finger using a cuff on the node of the middle finger to measure bone density. .

That is, the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger are respectively inserted into the phalanx measuring parts 8a, 8b, and 8c of the bone mineral density measuring device, and the measuring probe is placed on the upper part of the middle finger. The bone density is measured by bringing the measuring probe into close contact with each other.

Figure 2a and 2b is a state of wearing of the ultrasonic bone density meter by a ring (Ring) method in accordance with the present invention.

Looking at each configuration shown in Figs. 2A and 2B, reference numeral 11 is a sectional view of the measurement probe case, and 12 is a sectional view of the measurement probe. Reference numeral 13 is a wire connected to the transmission / reception sensor, 14 is a measurement probe process band, 15 is another measurement probe case, and 16 is another measurement probe.

Reference numeral 21 is a power ON / OFF button for controlling a power supply, 22 is a bone density measurement start button for performing bone density measurement, and 23 and 24 are age input buttons and 10 digits and 1 digit. Enter with.

Reference numeral 25 denotes a reset button for resetting the measuring instrument, and 26 denotes an LCD display on which a message indicating bone density progression results such as normal, warning, abnormality, etc. is displayed. Reference numeral 27 is a case storage box for the measuring probe.

2a and 2b is a ring-type measurement method different from the bone density measurement method shown in FIG. 1, which is simpler and more compact than the finger insertion method, and requires a cuff. Has no merit.

In addition, for fixing the measuring probe, the band 14 is attached to the measuring probe 12 to be wound around the middle finger, and the band 14 is also attached to the rectangular measuring probe case 11 to fix the index finger and the middle finger. To prevent probe movement during measurement. The measuring probe is used in the same manner as in FIG. 3.

3 is a schematic diagram of the bone density probe according to the present invention.

In the probe 31 shown in FIG. 3, the thickness of the soft tissues is measured on the phalanx 32 of the human phalanx, and the living body is compensated by the propagation distance and time for the thickness. Pitch-catch method that can detect the signal propagating only the phalanx without the influence of soft tissue is applied.

In other words, the structural design that can be mounted on the fingertips is manufactured in a prototype (proto type) and measured using a dry contact or a wet contact method.

In addition, the distance between the wedge (wedge) is fixed after setting the distance in consideration of the maximum length of the phalanx by the following equation.

Where θ represents 22.1758796 ° and the wedge angle is calculated using the calculated angle of refraction above, yielding about 43 °. V _s represents the ultrasonic velocity (1540 m / s) in soft tissues. V _b represents the ultrasonic velocity in the bone (4080 m / s) and the center frequency of the piezoceramic is several MHz. Preferably, the center frequency of the piezoceramic in the present invention is about 2.5 to 3.5 MHz.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic bone mineral density measuring device according to the present invention.

Referring to Figure 4, the power supply unit 100 for supplying power for measuring the bone density to the phalanges (finger bones) of the person; An ultrasonic sensor driver 110 for generating ultrasonic pulses; An ultrasonic signal detector 120 for detecting an ultrasonic signal passing through the phalanx; A signal-to-noise ratio of a first amplifier / first filter unit for removing the DC component of the detected signal voltage, a second amplifier unit for reamplifying the received signal filtered from the first filter unit, and a re-amplified reception signal ( A second filter unit for improving the SNR, a third amplifier / envelope detector for amplifying the received signal filtered from the second filter unit to be saturated, and A / D conversion of the detection signal from the envelope detector A signal processor 130 configured to perform signal processing; A controller 140 for collectively controlling each component for bone density measurement by ultrasonic parameters with respect to the phalanges; A key input unit 150 for key input for operation of the age and bone density measuring device for measuring the bone density; The control unit 140 is configured with an LCD display unit 160 for displaying a digital signal processed from the signal processing unit 130 by the control signal.

5A to 5G are timing diagrams of a pulse counter of an envelope detector in the signal processor shown in FIG.

5 (a) and 5 (b) show the original signals of the transmission waveform and the reception waveform for passing the envelope detection circuit portion, and FIG. 5 (c) shows the waveform of the signal passing through the envelope detection circuit portion, and FIG. 5d A / D converted signal waveform is shown using a comparator.

That is, a waveform as shown in FIG. 5C is obtained from the transmission waveform 5 (a) and the reception waveform 5 (b) through an envelope detector. The obtained waveform is amplified by 1000 times the waveform of FIG. 5 (c) so as to be close to the peak value (center frequency) of the transmission waveform and the reception waveform, and then A / D converted to obtain a waveform as shown in FIG. 5 (d).

5 (d) and 5 (e) show waveforms in which the instantaneous value of the A / D converted signal is held by using a latch until the next clock, and the clock shown in FIG. A waveform using the first up-edge of and the second up-edge shown in FIG. 5 (f) as a counter on / off signal is shown. 5 (g) shows a waveform counting the number of clocks during a period.

6 is an algorithm of the ultrasonic bone mineral density measuring device according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, first, a clock pulse is detected in a state where the counter of the input terminal is set to off (0) (S200). It is determined whether the clock pulse is on (1) by counting for a predetermined time (S202). When the clock pulse is on (1), the counter is incremented (S204).

In this state, it is counted again to determine whether the clock pulse is on (1) (S206). When the clock pulse is on (1), the detected ultrasonic parameter is substituted into the bone density measurement algorithm (S208) and calculated. The displayed BMD (S210) is displayed through the LCD display unit (S212).

That is, after receiving the digitally changed signal through the A / D conversion of the comparator, the arithmetic operation is performed, and then the calculated value is displayed through the LCD display unit so that the examinee or the user can easily recognize it.

At this time, after calculating the timing, the formula of v = st is substituted, and the ultrasonic velocity in the phalanges is obtained again, and the result is displayed in the bone density state of the subject. Since the distance is always constant and can be calculated by time, the result is the rate of ultrasound delivery in the subject's bone.

Subsequently, an input and output example (16 × 2 character type) of the LCD display displayed by setting of various buttons of the bone density ultrasound measuring instrument will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

In FIG. 7A, a company name or a logo is alternately displayed in English and Korean, and 7b shows an example of input of age using age input buttons 4 and 5 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7C shows that the cuff is inflated by pressing the cuff pressure injection button 2 to closely contact the measurement probe with the phalanges, and 7d shows the start of bone density measurement by pressing the button 3 after the cuff is expanded.

Figure 7e indicates that the bone density is being measured, 7f represents the bone density progress after comparing the measured bone density and age-delimited table. FIG. 7G shows normal, warning and danger according to a table classified by age by various button inputs.

As described above, according to the ultrasonic bone mineral density measuring device according to the present invention, even if the bone density diagnosis equipment is not visited to the hospital, the examinee can easily diagnose using the measuring device, thereby saving time and money.

In addition, the examinee can easily operate the device to diagnose osteoporosis by preventing osteoporosis and when it turns out to be osteoporosis, it is possible to reduce the medical examination time of medical institutions by immediately visiting a hospital and receiving medical treatment. In comparison, time and diagnosis errors can be reduced.

Claims (6)

In the bone density measurement method for measuring the bone density of the human phalanx (fingerbone) using ultrasonic parameters, Insert the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger into the phalanx measuring part of the bone density measuring device, and place the measuring probe on the upper part of the middle finger, and inflate the cuff positioned at the lower part of the middle finger to close the middle finger and the measuring probe. Ultrasonic bone density measurement method characterized in that the measurement. The method of claim 1, wherein the bone density probe is attached to a wedge sensor, and the ultrasonic bone density measurement method characterized in that it is used to put into a rectangular case. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the bone density measurement using the probe for measuring the thickness of the soft tissue in the human phalanx to compensate for the propagation distance and time for the thickness to exclude the influence of the biological soft tissue Ultrasonic bone density measurement method characterized by using a pitch-catch (Pitch-catch) method that can detect a signal propagating only the phalanges. The ultrasonic bone density measuring method according to claim 1, wherein the bone density is measured by attaching a band to the measuring probe so as to be suitable for measuring the bone density of the phalanges and attaching it to the middle finger in a ring form. The method of claim 4, wherein the bone density measurement in the form of a ring is attached to the measuring probe to fix the middle finger, and to prevent the movement of the measuring probe to put the measuring probe in the case to attach the band to the outside of the case and stop Ultrasound bone density measurement method characterized in that the index finger fixed. In ultrasonic bone density meter, A power supply unit supplying power for measuring bone density in the phalanges of humans; An ultrasonic sensor driver for generating ultrasonic pulses; An ultrasonic signal detector for detecting an ultrasonic signal passing through the phalanx; A first amplifier / first filter unit for removing the DC component of the detected signal voltage, a second amplifier unit for reamplifying the received signal filtered from the first filter unit, and a signal-to-noise ratio of the re-amplified received signal ( A second filter unit for improving the SNR, a third amplifier / envelope detector for amplifying the received signal filtered from the second filter unit to be saturated, and A / D conversion of the detection signal from the envelope detector A signal processor configured to perform signal processing; A controller for collectively controlling each component for measuring bone density by ultrasonic parameters with respect to the phalanges; A key input unit for inputting an age for the bone density measurement and a key input for the operation of the bone density meter; And an LCD display unit for displaying the digital signal signal-processed from the signal processing unit by the control signal in the control unit.