KR20110095027A - Method for non-invasive glucose measurement and non-invasive glucose measuring apparatus using the same method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A non-invasive blood sugar measuring method and a method thereof are provided to place a target to be measured on a reference location, thereby minimizing a Raman scattering signal due to a measurement location change. CONSTITUTION: An interface unit(100) functions as a route to an external device connected to a blood sugar measuring device(10). A controller(200) controls the entire operations of the blood sugar measuring device. A communication unit(300) transmits data which are generated by the blood sugar measuring device. A measuring unit(400) provides a blood sugar measuring function. A storage unit(600) stores a program for an operation of the controller.

Description

Method for Non-Invasive Glucose Measurement and Non-Invasive Glucose Measuring Apparatus using the same Method}

The present invention relates to a bloodless blood glucose measurement apparatus using the Raman scattering method, more specifically, blood sugar measurement apparatus that can measure blood sugar under the same conditions by aligning the position of the measurement object to the reference position It is about.

Diabetes is one of the chronic diseases that modern people have. In the United States alone, more than 5% of the population suffers from diabetes.

Diabetes is a hormone that is secreted by the pancreas and secretes less or does not work properly, so sugar in the blood is transferred to the cells and cannot be used as energy.It is a disease in which sugar in the blood accumulates.It can cause complications such as hypertension, kidney failure, and vision damage. have.

In order to manage the sugar in the blood, diet, exercise therapy and drug therapy, etc. are being performed, it is basic to know the exact amount of blood sugar on these therapies.

Conventional devices for analyzing the concentration of blood components in a patient are known. These devices use a small sample of blood taken from a finger poke, injecting a blood sample into a chemically treated sensor and inserting it into a portable device to measure the concentration of blood components.

This method of measuring the concentration of blood components by pricking the finger with blood is painful and often has a problem causing various problems. In other words, the price of the device is not expensive, but it is exposed to the maintenance costs of disposable items for blood collection, open bleeding, and the health risks associated with infection. In addition, the time difference between the time when the blood sample is placed in the chemically treated carrier and the time when the carrier is inserted into the instrument is an inaccurate factor in measuring the concentration of blood components. Therefore, there is a widespread demand for a bloodless blood glucose meter for millions of diabetic patients.

However, in the case of bloodless blood glucose measurement apparatus, an error occurs due to various factors such as a measurement position, and thus, a situation for controlling an error is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a blood-free blood glucose measurement apparatus that can be equally adjusted at every measurement position.

Bloodless blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention, the measurement unit for measuring the Raman scattering signal (Raman Scattering Signal) of the subject; And an image acquisition unit for acquiring a measurement position of the object.

Bloodless blood glucose measurement method according to an aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of obtaining a Raman scattering signal (Raman Scattering Signal) of the subject and the Raman scattering signal measurement position of the subject; Comparing the measurement position with a predetermined reference position; And when the reference position is different from the measurement position, by moving the measurement position to equally match the reference position and the measurement position.

According to the bloodless blood glucose measurement apparatus and bloodless blood glucose measurement method according to the present invention, by adjusting the blood sugar measurement position to the reference position can minimize the error due to the change in the measurement position, it is possible to improve the reliability of blood-free blood glucose measurement Can provide an effect.

1 is a block diagram of a blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a detailed view of a measuring unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flow chart of the correction of the blood glucose measurement position according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view for explaining a blood glucose measurement position correction according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a detailed view of a measuring unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view for explaining a measurement center coordinates according to another embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a plan view of a guide unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a view for explaining a blood glucose measurement position correction according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The above objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention may be modified in various ways and may have various embodiments. Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In addition, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known function or configuration related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, numerals (eg, first, second, etc.) used in the description process of the present specification are merely identification symbols for distinguishing one component from another component.

1 is a block diagram of a blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The blood glucose measurement apparatus 10 may include an interface unit 100, a control unit 200, a communication unit 300, a measurement unit 400, a storage unit 600, and an output unit 700. The components shown in FIG. 1 are not essential, so that a blood glucose measurement apparatus having more or fewer components can be implemented.

Hereinafter, the components will be described in order.

The interface unit 100 serves as a path with all external devices connected to the blood glucose measurement apparatus 10. The interface unit 100 receives data from an external device or receives power and transmits the data to each component inside the blood sugar measuring device 10 or transmits the data inside the blood sugar measuring device 10 to an external device. For example, wired / wireless headset ports, external charger ports, wired / wireless data ports, memory card ports, ports for connecting devices with identification modules, audio input / output (I / O) ports, The video input / output (I / O) port, the earphone port, and the like may be included in the interface unit 100.

In addition, the interface unit 100 may further include a user input unit. The user input unit may generate input data for the user to control the operation of the blood sugar measuring apparatus 10. The user input unit may include a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (constant voltage / capacitance), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and the like.

The controller 200 typically controls the overall operation of the blood glucose measurement apparatus 10. For example, blood glucose measurement, control and processing related to the output of the measured blood glucose value are performed. The controller 200 may process a control signal generated through the user input unit.

The communicator 300 may transmit data generated by the blood glucose measurement apparatus 10 to an external device, for example, medical equipment of a medical institution. In addition, the communication unit 300 may receive necessary data from an external device. The communication unit 300 may include, for example, a wired and / or wireless communication module.

The measuring unit 400 may provide a function of measuring blood sugar. A detailed configuration of the measuring unit 400 will be described below with reference to FIG. 2.

The storage unit 600 may store a program for the operation of the control unit 200, and store data generated by the blood glucose measurement apparatus 10 and data received from an external device through the communication unit 300. The storage unit 600 may include a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory), Random Access Memory (RAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM) Magnetic Memory, Magnetic It may include a storage medium of at least one type of disk, optical disk. In addition, the blood glucose measurement apparatus 10 may operate in association with a web storage that performs a storage function of the memory unit 600 on the Internet.

The output unit 700 is to generate an output related to visual, auditory or tactile, and may include a display unit, a sound output module, an alarm unit, and a haptic module.

2 is a detailed view of a measuring unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The measurement unit 400 may measure blood glucose levels using Raman scattering.

Detailed description of the Raman scattering method used to measure blood glucose is as follows.

Raman Scattering

Raman scattering refers to a phenomenon in which light at a frequency changed by molecular natural vibration or rotational energy or crystal lattice vibration when a material is irradiated with light of a constant frequency. When light passes through a medium, part of the light deviates from its direction of propagation and travels in a different direction, called scattering. In particular, the process of scattering when energy is lost or gained is called Raman scattering.

More specifically, light of a certain frequency irradiated toward an arbitrary material becomes longer or shorter because its energy is lost or gained by the molecular vibration inherent in the material. The longer or shorter frequency of light after scattering by a particular material is called a Raman shift. In particular, since the Raman shift is caused by molecular vibration inherent in the material, the degree of Raman shift varies from material to material. Thus, by measuring the Raman scattered light, it is possible to know what an arbitrary material is. That is, when the Raman scattering of any substance is measured in the state of knowing the information on the Raman shift inherent to blood sugar, when the Raman shift is the same as the blood sugar, the arbitrary substance is blood sugar.

Furthermore, Raman scattering also shows how much blood sugar is contained in any substance. That is, by measuring the intensity of the Raman scattering signal scattered by blood sugar, the amount of blood sugar contained in any substance can be measured.

In particular, when a blood glucose level of blood flowing in a blood vessel through Raman scattering is to be taken, a bloodless method may be taken. The bloodless blood may refer to a method for measuring blood glucose without blood collection. For example, by using light that can penetrate the skin, blood glucose levels in the blood can be measured.

The measuring unit 400 for measuring the Raman scattering includes a light emitter 410, a lens 420, a spectrometer 430, a light receiver 440, a beam splitter 450, a reflector 460, and interference. The image acquisition unit 470 and the moving member 480 may be included.

The light emitter 410 may irradiate light toward the sample 500.

Here, the sample 500 may be a specific part of the human body. In particular, the specific part of the human body may be, for example, a finger having many capillaries. The reason for measuring capillaries is because light is easy to penetrate into capillaries because the capillaries are located close to the skin layer, and because blood fluctuations are relatively large according to the heartbeat cycle, Raman scattering is affected by blood glucose. Because you receive loud.

The sample 500 may include an object.

The light emitter 410 may be a lamp and / or a laser.

Near-infrared light, which can penetrate deeply into the skin, for example, a period of 2 to 3 mm may be preferably near-infrared. In particular, the laser has a strong light intensity can pass through the skin layer has the advantage that it is easy to obtain a Raman scattering signal.

The lens 420 may adjust the direction of light so that the light irradiated from the light emitter is focused at the position of the sample 500. In addition, the direction of the scattered light may be adjusted so that the Raman scattering signal scattered from the sample 500 may be directed to the spectroscope 430 and the interference image acquisition unit 470.

The spectrometer 430 may disperse the Raman signal scattered by the sample 500 for each frequency. That is, the light emitted from the light emitter 410 may be scattered by the sample 500, and Raman shift may occur. As described above, the blood glucose level may be measured based on the intensity of the Raman shift signal. The spectrometer 430 may disperse the Raman scattering signal scattered by the sample 500, thereby receiving the Raman scattering signal spectroscopically received by the light receiving unit 440.

The spectrometer 430 may be, for example, a prism and / or a grating.

The light receiver 440 may measure the Raman scattering signal spectroscopically measured by the spectrometer 430. The light receiver 440 may transmit the measured Raman scattering signal for each frequency to the controller 200. The controller 200 may obtain the intensity of the Raman scattering signal based on the measured Raman scattering signal. The intensity of the Raman scattering signal refers to the integral value along the frequency axis of the Raman shifted Raman signal.

On the other hand, the light receiving unit 440 may detect a stoke, that is, scattered light that loses energy while being scattered among the Raman scattering signals. Since the intensity of the Raman scattering signal that loses energy due to scattering is greater than that of an anti-stoke that obtains energy by scattering, the Raman scattering signal may be measured even if the sensitivity of the light receiver 440 is low.

The controller 200 may calculate a blood sugar level corresponding to the intensity of the Raman scattering signal received by the light receiver 440 based on a relationship function for each blood sugar level corresponding to the intensity of each Raman scattering signal. The relation function may be stored in the storage unit 600 or may be received through the communication unit 300.

The relation function is described in more detail as follows.

The relation function may be a function obtained by regression of the relationship between the blood glucose level and the Raman scattering signal intensity. For example, the blood glucose level is measured by a known blood glucose meter, and the relationship with the intensity of the Raman scattering signal at this time is obtained. That is, after obtaining the relation function, if the Raman scattering signal is known without blood collection, the blood glucose level corresponding to the Raman scattering signal can be obtained through the relation function.

On the other hand, the Raman scattering signal obtained by the light receiving unit 440 is influenced by the measurement position of the sample due to the nonuniformity of the components of the sample, it may cause an error when the control unit 200 obtains the blood glucose from the relationship function have.

Therefore, the measurement unit 400 generates a reference position in relation to the measurement position of the sample and a configuration for correcting the measurement position based on the reference position will be described below.

The reference position may refer to the position of the sample when the relation function is acquired. For example, the position on the x and y axes may be referred to.

The beam splitter 450 directs a part b1 of the light emitted from the light emitter 410 toward the sample 500 and a part b2 toward the reflector 460.

The reflector 460 may reflect the light b2 from the beam splitter 450 to the interferometer 470. The reflector 460 may be a mirror, for example.

The interference image acquisition unit 470 may measure an interference image of the light b1 received from the reflector 460 and the light b1 reflected by the sample 500 and received through the beam splitter 450. . The interference image acquisition unit 470 may include, for example, a charged coupled device array (CCD array).

The moving member 480 may move in the position x, y, z axis of the sample 500 with respect to the light emitting unit 410. That is, the controller 200 moves the moving member 480 to the reference position when the reference position of the object and the current object received from the interference image acquisition unit 470 are different. You can.

Hereinafter, a method of correcting a blood glucose measurement position according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The method of correcting a blood glucose measurement position according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in the blood glucose measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention described above, and may be implemented by a system having a different configuration. However, for convenience of description, in describing the method of correcting the blood glucose measurement position, reference is made to the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

3 is a flow chart of the correction of the blood glucose measurement position according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a view for explaining a blood glucose measurement position correction according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the steps of the steps described below are merely arbitrary, each step may be performed in parallel at the same time, and the preceding step may be performed after the following step.

The light emitter 410 may irradiate light toward the sample (S310).

When there is an operation command through the interface unit 100, the controller 200 may cause the light emitter 410 to irradiate light toward the sample 500.

The controller 200 may measure the position of the sample 500 through the interference image acquisition unit 470 (S320).

As described above, a part b2 of the light irradiated in step S310 is reflected by the reflecting unit 460 by the beam splitter and collected by the interference image acquisition unit 470, and the other part b1 of the irradiated light is The light may be reflected by the sample 500 and collected by the interference image acquisition unit 470. Since the phases of b1 and b2 condensed by the interference image acquisition unit 470 may be different, it may cause interference of reinforcement and cancellation.

Referring to FIG. 4, the measurement position of the current sample 500 may be known as C1.

The measurement position is a term corresponding to the reference position, and may refer to the position of the object with respect to the light emitting unit 410 when the Raman scattering signal of the object is obtained in order to acquire blood glucose level without blood collection.

The controller 200 may compare the reference position S1 with the measurement position C1 of the current sample 500 (S330).

As described above, the reference position may refer to the position of the sample 500 when the relation function is obtained. That is, the position of the sample 500 when the relationship between the blood glucose level and the Raman scattering signal is obtained through blood collection. Since the reference position corresponds to the following measurement position, the reference position may be measured in the same manner as the measurement position.

The reference position may be received through the communication unit 300 and stored in the storage unit 600.

Referring to FIG. 4, the reference position of the sample 500 may be viewed as S1.

The controller 200 may compare the reference position S1 with the measurement position C1 of the current sample 500. That is, the interference fringe pattern at the reference position S1 and the interference fringe pattern at the measurement position C1 of the current sample 500 may be compared.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the reference position (S1) and the measurement position (C1) of the current sample is different, the control unit 200 may correct the measurement position of the sample 500 (S350).

That is, the controller 200 may determine which direction to move the measurement position C1 of the current sample based on the interference fringe pattern between the reference position S1 and the measurement position C1 of the current sample. For example, the controller 200 may determine in which direction how much the sample 500 moves based on the difference in the distance between the interference fringes.

Referring to FIG. 4, the controller 200 may acquire the second measurement position C2 of the current sample by moving the measurement position C1 of the current sample to the right. That is, the control unit 200 moves the measurement position C1 of the current sample and the moving member 480 to the right, so that the interference fringe pattern in the left and right directions between the reference position S1 and the measurement position C2 of the current sample is adjusted. Can match.

In addition, the controller 200 may acquire the third measurement position C3 of the current sample by moving the measurement position C1 of the current sample downward. That is, the control unit 200 moves the measurement position C2 of the current sample and the moving member 480 downwards to thereby adjust the interference fringe pattern in the vertical direction between the reference position S1 and the measurement position C3 of the current sample. Can match.

In addition, when determining that the reference position S1 is different from the measurement position C1 of the current sample, the controller 200 may inform the user to move the object through the output unit 700.

When the control unit 200 determines that the reference position S1 and the measurement position C3 of the current sample 500 are the same, the blood sugar level is substituted by assigning the Raman scattering signal measured from the measurement unit 400 to the relation function. It may be obtained (S340).

Therefore, by measuring blood glucose again at the same position as the reference position, more accurate blood glucose measurement may be possible.

By the above method, the controller 200 may adjust the reference position and the measurement position of the object on the xy axis through the movement of the movable member 480. However, although not described in the present embodiment, the distance measuring unit (not shown) to be described below may be applied to the embodiment according to FIGS. 2 to 4 to adjust the position on the z axis. The following description of the method of using the ultrasound unit may be applied to the above embodiment.

Hereinafter, a method of correcting a blood glucose measurement position according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

5 is a detailed view of a measuring unit according to another embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a view for explaining a measurement center coordinates according to another embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a plan view of a guide unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Parts that are the same as in the exemplary embodiment with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 will be omitted and the difference will be described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 5, the measurement unit 400 includes a light emitter 410, a lens 420, a spectroscope 430, a light receiver 440, a guide unit 455, a target image acquisition unit 475, and distance measurement. It may include a portion (not shown) and the moving member 480.

The guide unit 455 may guide the light reflected by the sample 500 to the target image acquisition unit 475.

Referring to FIG. 7, the guide part 455 may direct the light emitted from the light emitting part 410 to the sample 500 through a hole formed in the guide part 455. In addition, the guide unit 455 may guide the Raman scattering signal scattered by the sample 500 to the target image acquisition unit 475. For example, at least one surface of the guide part 455 may be a mirror capable of reflecting light.

The target image acquisition unit 475 may transmit the image information of the sample 500 to the controller 200 through the light received through the guide unit 455. That is, the image image of the sample may include, for example, a still image image.

The target image acquisition unit 475 may be, for example, a CCD array. For example, the target image acquisition unit 475 may acquire a measurement position with respect to the x-y axis of the sample 500.

The distance measuring unit (not shown) may obtain information about the measurement distance on the z-axis of the sample 500. That is, the measurement distance of the sample 500 may be obtained. That is, the measurement distance may refer to the distance between the light emitting unit and the sample.

The distance measuring unit may include an ultrasonic unit using ultrasonic waves. It may also include other known distance measuring methods.

The controller 200 may analyze the measurement position of the sample 500 received through the target image acquisition unit 475 and the ultrasound unit and modify the measurement position of the sample 500 to match the reference position. The reference position may include a reference center coordinate and the measurement position may include a measurement center coordinate.

The method of analyzing the measurement position received by the control unit 200 through the target image acquisition unit 475 will be described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 6, the controller 200 may acquire an image corresponding to the sample 500 D1 from the target image acquisition unit 475.

The controller 200 may perform HPF-image enhancement to analyze D1. After HPF-image correction, only the contour of D1 is extracted. That is, 1 may be assigned to the bit corresponding to the contour, and 0 may be assigned to the non-contour bit. Accordingly, bit 1 may be allocated to the edge of the finger and the edge of the fingernail, and bit 0 may be allocated to the other part.

The controller 200 may set the center coordinate of the contour corresponding to the nail to the measurement center coordinate DC.

In addition, the controller 200 may obtain a relative distance between the ultrasound unit and the sample, that is, the measurement distance of the sample, by obtaining a time when the ultrasound wave emitted from the ultrasound unit is reflected by the sample.

On the other hand, the control unit 200 may use a variety of known methods in obtaining the measurement center coordinates and the measurement distance.

8 is a view for explaining a blood glucose measurement position correction according to another embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a measuring position correction method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3.

Step S310 may be the same.

In operation S320, the controller 200 may measure the position of the sample 500 through the target image acquisition unit 475 (S320).

That is, as described above, the controller 200 may acquire the measurement position of the current sample 500 on the x-y axis by obtaining the measurement center coordinate DC of the measurement sample 500. In addition, the controller 200 may acquire a position of the current sample 500 on the z axis by acquiring a measurement distance of the measurement sample 500.

In operation S330, the controller 200 may compare the reference center coordinate SC, the measurement center coordinate DC, and the reference distance and the measurement distance, respectively. The reference distance refers to the distance between the ultrasound unit and the sample at the time of obtaining the relation function, and may be measured by the same method as the above-described measurement distance. On the other hand, the reference center coordinates can also be measured in the same way as the measurement center coordinates.

In operation S350, the controller 200 may control the moving member 480 such that the reference center coordinate SC and the measurement center coordinate DC on the x-y axis coincide with each other. In addition, the controller 200 may control the moving member 480 such that the reference distance on the z axis and the measurement distance coincide with each other.

For example, referring to FIG. 8, the control unit 200 may move the moving member 480 in the upper left direction to align the reference center coordinate SC and the measurement center coordinate DC. In addition, the controller 200 may move the moving member 480 upward to match the reference distance and the measurement distance. Therefore, the reference position and the measurement position can be matched.

The following steps may be the same.

It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments and that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, such modifications or variations will have to be claimed that the present invention belongs to the claims.

400: measuring unit 450: beam splitter
470: interference image acquisition unit 475: target image acquisition unit
480: moving member

Claims (11)

A measuring unit measuring a Raman scattering signal of the object; And
It includes; image acquisition unit for obtaining a measurement position of the object;
Bloodless blood glucose measurement device. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a distance measuring unit,
The distance measuring unit may obtain a measurement distance of the object.
Bloodless blood glucose measurement device. The method of claim 2,
Further comprising a control unit,
The control unit compares a predetermined reference distance with the measurement distance,
Bloodless blood glucose measurement device. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a control unit,
The control unit compares a predetermined reference position with the measurement position,
Bloodless blood glucose measurement device. The method according to claim 3 or 4,
Further comprising a moving member for providing a measurement position of the object,
The control unit moves the moving member when at least one of a comparison result of the reference position and the measurement position and a comparison result of the reference distance and the measurement distance is different to move the reference position, the measurement position, and the reference point. To equalize the distance and the measurement distance,
Bloodless blood glucose measurement device. The method of claim 1,
The image acquisition unit includes an interference image acquisition unit,
The interference image acquisition unit acquires an interference image formed by the object
Bloodless blood glucose measurement device. The method according to claim 6,
The interference image acquisition unit includes a light emitter, a reflector, and a beam splitter for splitting the light emitted from the light emitter into first and second light,
The first light is scattered by the object and received by the interference image acquisition unit, and the second light is reflected by the reflection unit and received by the interference image acquisition unit to cause interference with the first light. doing
Bloodless blood glucose measurement device. The method of claim 1,
The image acquisition unit includes a target image acquisition unit,
The target image acquisition unit may acquire an image image of the object.
Bloodless blood glucose measurement device. The method of claim 8,
The target image acquisition unit includes a light emitting unit and a guide unit,
The guide unit directs the light emitted from the light emitting unit toward the object, and the light scattered by the object to the target image acquisition unit.
Bloodless blood glucose measurement device. Obtaining a Raman scattering signal of a subject and a position of measuring a Raman scattering signal of the subject;
Comparing the measurement position with a predetermined reference position; And
When the reference position is different from the measurement position, the measurement position is moved to match the reference position and the measurement position equally.
Bloodless blood glucose measurement method. The method of claim 10,
Obtaining a Raman scattering signal measurement distance of the object;
Comparing the measurement distance with a predetermined reference distance; And
When the reference distance and the measurement distance is different, by moving the measurement distance to match the reference distance and the measurement distance,
Bloodless blood glucose measurement method.

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