KR200496397Y1 - Portable spirometer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable spirometer capable of interlocking with an information communication terminal, a spirometer main body in which a breathing tube coupler is formed and a turbine blade rotating by air current is located in the breathing tube coupler, coupled to the breathing tube coupler, and In a portable spirometer comprising a detachable breathing tube,
a measurement module for generating a spirometry signal from an airflow input from the breathing tube in the spirometer main body and generating a spirometry signal only when an airflow of a certain speed or higher is input;
The spirometer body includes a Bluetooth module for transmitting the spirometry signal generated by the measurement module to an information communication terminal connected through short-range wireless communication.

Description

Portable spirometer {PORTABLE SPIROMETER}

The present invention relates to a spirometer, and in particular, to a portable spirometer capable of interworking with an information communication terminal.

Spirometry can be largely classified into two types, one of which is to directly measure the change in lung volume while the test subject is breathing, and the other is the air flowing in and out of the lungs while the test subject is breathing. It is a respiratory flow measurement method that detects and measures the air flow of the person.

In the past, the former method of directly measuring the ability to change lung volume was mainly used, but gradually the method of measuring respiratory flow is mainly used. Early spirometers were manufactured for clinical use, so they were expensive and large, so patients with chronic respiratory diseases could not carry and use them. However, as interest in health increased and technology developed, portable spirometers were introduced.

As one of the portable spirometers, there is a "portable spirometer" published in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1132595. Such a portable spirometer includes a wired/wireless communication unit, so that a respiration signal can be transmitted to an external device connected through the wired/wireless communication unit.

As another advanced form of such a portable spirometer, there is an 'IoT-based chronic obstructive pulmonary disease self-diagnosis method' published in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2115634. In this patent publication invention, a smart device with a spirometry application installed, and an IoT-based dual-mode wearable healthcare device (also referred to as a portable spirometer) that detects the user's lung capacity and communicates with the smart device are posted.

However, a problem that may commonly occur in the illustrated portable spirometer is that a signal generated simply in response to rotation of a turbine blade is regarded as a valid signal and processed when a respiratory volume is measured. The rotation of the turbine blades is not only caused by the breathing flow, but also by the movement of equipment operation and the flow of surrounding air.

In this way, if the respiratory flow is measured without excluding the signal generated by the rotation of the turbine blades due to peripheral factors other than the respiratory flow, the reliability of the spirometry or analysis data is improved because the signal containing noise or error is analyzed. Since it cannot be guaranteed, a plan to improve it is needed.

In addition, since a general spirometer does not have a function capable of counting the number of times the breathing tube is used, contamination due to repeated use cannot be avoided.

Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1132595 Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-2115643

Accordingly, the present invention is designed to solve the above-mentioned needs and problems, and the main purpose of the present invention is to recognize the subject's actual breathing and initiate respiratory flow measurement, thereby reducing measurement errors due to errors at the start of respiratory flow measurement. In providing a portable spirometer that can be removed,

Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide a portable spirometer capable of limiting the number of times of respiratory tube use to prevent infection.

A portable spirometer according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object is a spirometer main body in which a breathing tube coupler is formed, and turbine blades rotating by air flow are located in the breathing tube coupler, and the breathing tube coupler A portable spirometer comprising a connectable and detachable breathing tube,

a measurement module for generating a spirometry signal from an airflow input from the breathing tube in the spirometer main body and generating a spirometry signal only when an airflow of a certain speed or higher is input;

The spirometer body includes a Bluetooth module for transmitting the spirometry signal generated by the measurement module to an information communication terminal connected through short-range wireless communication.

Furthermore, in the spirometer comprising the above-described configuration, the measurement module,

a spirometry signal generation unit that starts generating a spirometry signal when an air flow of a certain speed or higher is input;

a respiratory tract connection recognition unit recognizing a tag attached to the respiratory tract or recognizing that an electrical signal is changed by coupling of the respiratory tract;

Another feature is that it includes a spirometry signal transmission unit for controlling the wireless transmission of the generated spirometry signal or the respiratory tract coupling information recognized by the respiratory tract coupling recognition unit together with the respiratory tract coupling information to the information communication terminal,

Another feature of the measuring module is that it further includes a spirometer activating unit that activates the spirometer main body or converts it into a sleep mode according to communication with a spirometry manager installed in a Bluetooth-connected information communication terminal.

According to the above-described means for solving the technical problem, the present invention starts measuring the spirometry with the input of airflow at a certain speed or higher as a starting point, thereby preventing measurement errors caused by simple air or light receiving pulses caused by negligence in use. There is

Furthermore, the battery power consumption of the spirometer can be reduced by automatically switching the spirometer to sleep mode according to the end of the spirometry measurement, and the number of times of use by attaching a means to recognize the breathing tube to recognize the means before measuring the spirometry. By limiting, there is also an effect of preventing damage caused by respiratory tract contamination in advance.

1 is an exemplary configuration around a portable spirometer according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exemplary external view of the portable spirometer 100 in FIG. 1 .
3A and 3B are exploded views of the portable spirometer 100;
Figure 4 is a configuration example of the portable spirometer 100 of Figure 1;
FIG. 5 is an exemplary configuration diagram of a spirometry manager 200 installed in an information communication terminal such as a smart phone in FIG. 1 .
6 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the operation of the portable spirometer 100 and the spirometry manager 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 to 9 are exemplary screen displays displayed on an information communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description of the present invention refers to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate specific embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced in order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clear. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable a person skilled in the art to practice the present invention.

Also throughout the detailed description and claims of the present invention, the word 'comprise' and variations thereof are not intended to exclude other technical features, additions, components or steps. Other objects, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will appear to those skilled in the art, in part from this description and in part from practice of the present invention. The examples and drawings below are provided as examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Moreover, the present invention covers all possible combinations of the embodiments presented herein. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. Additionally, it should be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the detailed description set forth below is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention, if properly described, is limited only by the appended claims, together with all equivalents as claimed by those claims.

In this specification, unless otherwise indicated or clearly contradicted by context, terms referred to in the singular encompass the plural unless the context requires otherwise. In addition, in describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

First, FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration diagram around a portable spirometer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external view of the portable spirometer 100 in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3A and 3B are portable spirometers ( 100) are illustrated respectively.

As shown in FIG. 1, the portable spirometer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be used by being connected to the spirometry manager 200, which is installed and executable in an information communication terminal through short-range wireless communication, for example, Bluetooth. .

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3A and 3B, the portable spirometer 100 includes a spirometer main body (A) and a breathing tube (B) coupled to and detachable from the spirometer main body (A). Since the respiratory tube (B) is breathed by the user corresponding to the subject, it is preferable to manufacture it as a consumable part to prevent infection by cross users.

On one side of the spirometer main body (A), as shown in FIG. 3A, a breathing tube coupler (C) is formed, and a turbine blade (D) rotating by air flow is located in the breathing tube coupler (C). . In addition, a coupling protrusion (E) is formed protruding from the side wall of the breathing tube coupler (C) at a position facing each other so as to be able to couple and fix the breathing tube (B) to be coupled. These coupling protrusions (E) are inserted into the coupling groove 103 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the breathing tube (B).

On the other hand, in order to prevent the breathing tube (B) from being used more than a set number of times, an RF ID tag (F) is attached to the breathing tube (B) as shown in FIG. 3B. This RF ID tag (F) can be recognized by the breathing tube coupling recognition unit 127 to be described later. Of course, a QR code may be attached and used instead of an RF ID tag. This QR code allows the spirometry to be performed after recognizing the QR code attached to the breathing tube (B) in the spirometry manager 200 installed in the information communication terminal, which will be described later. Counts the number of times the breathing tube (B) is used It can be recommended to prevent use more than a set number of times.

If a QR code is used, a QR code recognition unit is added to the spirometry manager 200 to be described later, and the QR code recognition unit cumulatively counts the number of times of use of the breathing tube (B) to provide the user with the number of times of using the breathing tube (B) may be recommended for limitation.

Instead of the aforementioned RF ID tag (F) or QR code, an electrical switch may be used to recognize when the breathing tube (B) is coupled to the breathing tube coupler (C). That is, if the contact of the switch is formed on the spirometer main body (A) so that the electrical signal is changed when the breathing tube (B) is coupled to the breathing tube coupler (C), the electrical signal is changed by the coupling of the breathing tube (B). When this is recognized by the respiratory tract connection recognition unit 127 and the result is transferred to the spirometry manager 200, the number of times of respiratory tract use can be counted.

The portable spirometer 100 described above generates a spirometry signal from an airflow input from a breathing tube (B) that is coupled to and detachable from the main body (A), but a measurement module (Fig. 4 of 120). This measurement module 120 will be described later.

Meanwhile, the spirometry manager 200 not described in FIG. 1 is an executable app installed in the memory of an information communication terminal (interpreted as meaning including all kinds of portable computer systems that can use a mobile communication network, such as a smartphone). , From the spirometry signal transmitted from the portable spirometer 100, the vital capacity diagnostic variables (FVC (forced vital capacity), FEV1 (forced vital capacity for 1 second), FEV6 (forced vital capacity for 6 seconds), PEF (maximum expiratory air flow), FEV1/FVC) Calculate and display the spirometry result on the display of the information communication terminal.

In addition, the spirometry manager 200 encrypts user information and spirometry results using a blockchain encryption technique and transmits them to a designated server node, for example, the spirometry management server 300 shown in FIG. 1 . The method of encrypting the user information and the spirometry result using a block chain encryption method may use one of the block chain encryption methods disclosed at the time of filing of the present invention.

The spirometry management server 300 is a server node of a blockchain network accessible to the spirometry manager 200 through a communication network, and distributes encrypted user information and spirometry measurement results transmitted from each spirometry manager 200 to the blockchain network. It is stored, and the encrypted user information and spirometry results are decrypted and provided according to the results of verification (private key, digital signature verification) of the medical personnel authorized to access. The encrypted user information and spirometry results are decrypted using a blockchain decryption technique.

The spirometry management server 300 may automatically diagnose spirometry information uploaded by a user by having a pre-learned artificial neural network model. For example, the spirometry management server 300 may include a spirometry pattern analysis unit that analyzes the stored user's spirometry result pattern and warns of danger.

Hereinafter, configurations of the portable spirometer 100 and the spirometry manager 200 described above will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 .

Referring to FIG. 4, first of all, the portable spirometer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an air flow type spirometric device, and the turbine blades (D) rotating by the respiratory flow input through the breathing tube (B) rotate. A light source 105 and a photosensor 110 are provided to detect the speed. In the photosensor 110, a pulse signal is generated depending on whether or not the light that is interrupted according to the rotation of the turbine blade is received. Since this pulse signal is a signal caused by respiratory flow, it may be referred to as a respiratory signal or a respiratory-related signal.

The respiratory signal generated due to the rotation of the turbine blade D is transmitted to the spirometry signal generating unit 121 and generated as a spirometry signal indicating respiratory flow and transmitted to the spirometry signal transmission unit 125. The spirometry signal includes information on the interval between pulses of the pulse signal and the total number of pulses during the measurement period. The spirometry signal generating unit 121 starts generating the spirometry signal when an airflow of a certain speed or higher is input. This is because it is possible to make an error in recognizing the rotation of the turbine blades due to the simple air flow as the start of airflow measurement, so it is important to ensure that airflow over a certain speed (using the interval between pulses of the pulse signal) representing the respiratory flow is input. Recognizes it and starts measuring lung capacity.

The spirometry signal transmitter 125 wirelessly transmits and controls the received spirometry signal to the information communication terminal through the Bluetooth Low Energy (BT) module 130 . If the respiratory tract coupling recognition unit 127 is included, the spirometry signal transmission unit 125 controls the wireless transmission of the respiratory tract coupling information together with the respiratory capacity signal.

Meanwhile, the measurement module 120 of the portable spirometer 100 further includes a spirometer activating unit 123. When an activation command is received from the spirometer manager 200 connected to Bluetooth, the spirometer activating unit 123 is placed in sleep mode. The spirometer 100 is activated. That is, the portable spirometer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is activated when a Bluetooth connection is made with the information communication terminal and switched to a sleep mode when the Bluetooth connection is disconnected in order to save battery consumption.

The aforementioned spirometer activating unit 123 and the spirometry signal transmission unit 125 may be implemented as a micro control unit, and a part of the spirometry signal generating unit 121 may be implemented as hardware logic such as a counter. This can be implemented in the form of a logical combination of hardware and/or software as an example.

For reference, since the portable spirometer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is activated by the spirometry manager 200 installed in the information communication terminal or switched to a sleep mode, it does not have a separate power button. Of course, it can also be operated with a separate power button.

Referring to FIG. 5 below, the spirometry manager 200,

A user registration unit 205 registering user information for measuring lung capacity;

A spirometer registration unit 210 registering the portable spirometer 100 for short-range wireless communication connection;

A spirometry guidance control unit 215 for activating the spirometry 100 through a short-range wireless communication connection with the spirometry 100 in response to a user's spirometry command and guiding a spirometry measurement method on the display unit of the information communication terminal;

A spirometry calculation unit 220 that calculates a spirometry diagnostic variable from the spirometry signal transmitted from the spirometer 100;

An information storage unit 225 for each user that stores the result of measuring the user's spirometry in chronological order;

It includes a spirometry display control unit 230 that displays and controls the user's spirometry result on the display unit.

As a deformable embodiment, the spirometry manager 200 may further include a spirometry pattern analyzer 235 that analyzes the user's spirometry result pattern stored in chronological order and warns of danger.

It may further include an information encryption transmission unit 240 that encrypts the user information and the spirometry result using a blockchain encryption technique and transmits the data to a designated server node, that is, the spirometry management server 300 .

In addition, in the configuration described above, the user registration unit 205 may pre-register user authentication information (biometric information such as a fingerprint or password, etc.) as user information to restrict viewing of the user's vital capacity information in addition to height, age, and race. In this case, the spirometry display controller 230 may perform user authentication and display and control the spirometry result of the authenticated user.

In addition, the spirometry guidance control unit 215 transmits a sleep mode switching command to the spirometer 100 upon completion of the spirometry measurement of the set number of times and automatically disconnects the short-range wireless connection, thereby saving battery consumption of the spirometer 100. .

Hereinafter, operations of the portable spirometer 100 including the above-described configuration and the spirometry manager 200 interoperating therewith will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 .

First of all, FIG. 6 is an exemplary diagram illustrating the operation of the portable spirometer 100 and the spirometry manager 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 7 to 9 are screens displayed on an information communication terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. It shows an example of display.

A user who wants to measure spirometry first executes the spirometry manager 200 installed in the information communication terminal. When first executed, the user registers user information by pressing the user button provided on the initial screen. That is, when the user registration unit 205 inputs personal information and user's height, age, gender, and race information through the screen shown in FIG. 7, it registers them as user information in the internal memory (step S100). Of course, the guest mode can be displayed to measure the lung capacity of a guest who is not a registered user, so that the guest can also measure the lung capacity.

If a device for Bluetooth connection, that is, the spirometer 100, is not registered and there is a request for spirometry, the spirometer registration unit 210 displays the searched spirometer 100 in the window for spirometer registration, and when the corresponding device is selected, the searched spirometer Register (100) (step S110).

Subsequently, when a spirometry measurement command (measurement start) is input from the user, the spirometry guidance control unit 215 makes a Bluetooth connection with the registered spirometer 100 (step S130) and activates the spirometry 100 by transmitting a spirometer activation command (S140). step).

In addition, the spirometry guidance control unit 215 guides the spirometry measurement method on the display unit as shown in FIG. 8 (step S150), so that the user blows air into the breathing tube B of the spirometer 100 according to the guidance. At this time, the spirometry guidance control unit 215 displays and guides a time of 6 seconds so that air in the lungs can be exhausted. For reference, the spirometry guidance control unit 215 provides guidance so that three measurements can be made.

In this way, when wind is blown into the breathing tube (B) of the spirometer 100, the turbine blades are rotated by the input airflow, and accordingly, light-receiving pulses are output from the photo sensor 110. Accordingly, the vital capacity signal generating unit 121 recognizes that an air flow of a certain speed or higher is input from the input inter-pulse interval and starts measuring the spirometry, and the total number of pulses during the spirometry measurement period and the vital capacity including the inter-pulse interval value A signal is generated (step S160). The generated spirometry signal is transmitted to the spirometry manager 200 through a Bluetooth-connected information communication terminal by the spirometry signal transmission unit 125 (step S170).

On the side of the spirometry manager 200, the spirometry calculator 220 analyzes the spirometry signal transmitted from the spirometry 100 and calculates the spirometry (forced spirometry) diagnostic variables (FEV1/FVC, FVC, FEV1, FEV6, PEF) (S180 step). One of several known formulas (Morris/Polgar set method, Kory/Polgar set method, etc.) can be used as the calculation formula used to calculate the lung capacity diagnostic variable.

Subsequently, the spirometry display controller 230 displays the calculated spirometry diagnostic variable and the calculated respiratory flow rate and flow rate on the display as shown in FIG. 9 as the spirometry measurement result, and the information storage unit 225 for each user stores them in the internal memory. (step S190).

When the above-described series of spirometry measurement and display processes are completed, the spirometry guidance control unit 215 transmits a sleep mode switching command to the spirometer 100 and automatically disconnects the Bluetooth connection (step S200), thereby activating the spirometer ( 123) switches the spirometer 100 back to the sleep mode (step S210). Of course, the Bluetooth connection may be released after the user confirms that the spirometry is terminated.

In this way, by switching the spirometer 100 to the automatic sleep mode according to the end of the spirometry measurement, the present invention can reduce the battery power consumption of the spirometer 100, and the spirometry measurement is performed starting when airflow at a certain speed or higher is input. By starting, there is an effect of preventing measurement errors caused by light receiving pulses caused by simple air or negligence in use.

In addition, the present invention attaches a means for recognizing the respiratory tract (B) to recognize the means before measuring the spirometry, and recommends that it not be used after the set number of times of use is exceeded, thereby preventing damage caused by contamination of the respiratory tract in advance. There are possible effects.

In addition, the spirometry manager 200 of the present invention further includes a spirometry pattern analysis unit 235, so that if the spirometry result drops significantly than the usual trend, it is judged as an acute lung disease (such as COPD) and warns, It also has the advantage of being able to induce you to receive a diagnosis from a specialist.

In addition, the present invention can accumulate the user's spirometry results in chronological order and analyze the accumulated data. If the pattern of the spirometry results is different, it is determined as another user's and excludes the accumulation of the measurement results. analysis errors can be avoided.

Meanwhile, as a modified embodiment of the present invention, the spirometry calculation unit 220 of the spirometry manager 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention in order to reduce errors that may occur during measurement of spirometry is performed by inertia in a state where there is no air flow in the turbine blades. It can be programmed to determine whether it rotates by force or slows down due to weak wind.

The reason for doing this is that if the influence of inertia is distinguished when measuring spirometry, the error value of the total expiratory volume (spiral volume, for example, expiratory volume for 6 seconds (FEV6)) caused by the rotation of the turbine blades due to inertia can be eliminated. to be. In the case of an error due to inertia, a large detection error occurs for a person who cannot exhale for up to 6 seconds. Since one of the main factors in determining lung function is the ratio of FEV1 to FEV6 (FEV1/FEV6), more accurate FEV1/FEV6 can be obtained by correcting the error of FEV6.

Accordingly, the lung capacity calculation unit 220 calculates the change in the speed difference (acceleration) of two adjacent pulses from the section where the speed of the turbine blade is the highest, and when the speed change (acceleration change) to be decelerated becomes smaller than a certain % of the maximum speed change This is judged by inertia to calculate the expiratory volume (FEV6) for 6 seconds. However, the 'constant %' value for determining the inertia is variable according to the value of the maximum speed (different for each user and each measurement session).

As described above, when measuring respiratory flow, the lung capacity calculation unit 220 distinguishes whether the rotation of the blade is due to inertia or expiration through the change in rotation speed of the blade in the section after the rotation of the turbine blade is the highest value 6 By correcting the calculation error of expiratory volume per second, the spirometry error due to inertia can be minimized.

Meanwhile, the information encryption transmission unit 240 of the spirometry manager 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention encrypts the stored user information and the spirometry result using a blockchain encryption technique according to the user's request, and manages the designated server node, that is, the spirometry. It is transmitted to the server 300 (step S230).

The encrypted user information and spirometry results may be distributed and stored in the spirometry management server 300 or a plurality of nodes constituting the blockchain network, and the user information and vital capacity stored or distributed in the spirometry management server 300 The measurement result is decrypted and provided to the medical personnel authorized to access by the user.

As a result, the corresponding medical person can diagnose the decoded user information and the spirometry result, and accumulate the diagnosis result in the spirometry management server 300 or transmit it to the user.

In this way, the spirometry management server 300 according to the embodiment of the present invention receives the spirometry measurement result and user information measured through the spirometer 100 through the information communication terminal of each user, and encrypted using the block chain encryption technique. By receiving, storing, and managing information, and decrypting and providing encrypted information only to medical personnel who have been properly authorized to access it, personal information of the user of the product (spirometry device) as well as medical data, which is the result of spirometry, can be safely stored and managed. .

The present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but this is only exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical scope of protection of the present invention should be determined only by the appended claims.

Claims (3)

A portable spirometer comprising a spirometer main body in which a breathing tube coupler is formed and a turbine blade rotating by air flow is located in the breathing tube coupler, and a breathing tube coupled to and detachable from the breathing tube coupler,
a measurement module for generating a spirometry signal from an airflow input from the breathing tube in the spirometer main body and generating a spirometry signal only when an airflow of a certain speed or higher is input;
A portable spirometer comprising a Bluetooth module for transmitting the spirometry signal generated by the measurement module to an information communication terminal connected through short-range wireless communication within the spirometer main body. The method according to claim 1, wherein the measurement module,
a spirometry signal generation unit that starts generating a spirometry signal when an air flow of a certain speed or higher is input;
a respiratory tract connection recognition unit recognizing a tag attached to the respiratory tract or recognizing that an electrical signal is changed by coupling of the respiratory tract;
and a spirometry signal transmission unit for wirelessly transmitting and controlling the generated spirometry signal or the respiratory tract coupling information recognized by the respiratory tract coupling recognition unit together with the spirometry signal to an information communication terminal. Portable spirometer. The method according to claim 2, wherein the measurement module,
The portable spirometer further comprising a spirometer activating unit that activates the spirometer main body or converts it to a sleep mode according to communication with a spirometry manager installed in a Bluetooth-connected information communication terminal.

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