KR20140130879A - Urine Examination Method and Related Devices - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a urine inspection method and a related device. The urine inspection method includes: a step (510) of photographing urine straps (20, 30) including at least one inspection region (22-26; 32-36) having a color which changes when the inspection region makes contact with urine so various inspection results are recognized according to the changed color, and reference regions (27, 37) to provide references of a color value of the inspection regions; a step (530) of distinguishing the reference regions from the inspection regions based on the photographed image; a step (540) compensating the color value of the inspection regions using the color value of the reference regions; and a step (550) of calculating a urine inspection result based on the compensated color value of the inspection region. Since urine may be automatically inspected by only photographing the urine straps in an opened indoor or outdoor environment, a general person who does not have professional knowledge may rapidly, easily, and accurately confirm the urine inspection result. The device may be provided with cheap manufacturing costs.

Description

[0001] Urine Examination Method and Related Devices [

The present invention relates to a urine screening technique, and more particularly, to a urine screening technique capable of automatically urinating a urine strap only by photographing a urine strap in an indoor or outdoor environment, The present invention relates to a new urine test method and related apparatus that can not only confirm urine test results but also can be configured at low cost.

The most commonly used methods for checking health are blood tests and urine tests. The conventional urine test apparatus is manufactured in a general hospital or a small hospital because it is manufactured for use in an examination for the purpose of patient examination and is not only expensive but also difficult to operate because of its specificity as a medical device.

Conventionally, a portable or domestic urinalysis device has been proposed in order to solve such a problem and make it easy for the general public to use at home. For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2010-0136734 (published Dec. 29, 2010) discloses a portable urine test apparatus and a urine test method using the same, which includes a sample stick sensor for scanning a sample stick for urine test when the sample stick is inserted A personal computer (PC) equipped with a urine analysis program, and a portable urine analyzer associated with the urine analysis program. Even if the general public does not visit the hospital, it is possible to perform urine analysis at home using a PC, a sample inspection device, and a USB memory. As another example, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1140590 (Registered Apr. 20, 2012), a publication of "Smart Self-Diagnostic Needle Chemical Analyzing Medical Device for Healthcare", discloses that when a test capsule containing urine test paper is put in, a sensing section for measuring urine test paper is provided A urine analysis device is described. According to this, the general public was able to urinate at home without going to the hospital.

Such conventional urinalysis devices generally use a urine strip 10 (similar to the "sample stick" or "urine test strip" described above) as illustrated in FIG. 2 attached hereto. The urine strip 10 is a strip having a long and narrow width and is provided with a grip 11 on one side for holding by hand and has a plurality of inspection areas 12, 13, 14, 15 , 16 are provided. Each of the inspection areas 12 to 16 is coated with a chemical substance for examining various items listed in FIG. 1 (test section). When the urine is buried, It has the property that the color changes. Therefore, a trained doctor or specialist can identify the color of the urine by visual examination. Since the general public is not trained to do this, the sensor in the inspection equipment, that is, the sensor for detecting color, can perform the urine test by detecting the color.

Therefore, it is a very important problem in the accuracy of analysis to accurately detect the hue of the examination regions 12 to 16 on the urine strap 10. In order to solve this problem, the conventional urine test apparatus has a means for inserting the urine strip 10 into the closed space to place it in a dark environment. That is, by using only the adjustable light in the dark state so that the external light does not interfere, the inspection regions 12 to 16 of the urine strip 10 are photographed to obtain an accurate value of the color of the inspection region from the photographed image .

However, in order to make the dark environment for taking the urine strip 10, a narrow inlet and dark space for inputting the urine strip 10 are required, and an illumination device for illuminating the light is required in the space. It is expensive, and it becomes a burden to the general person to purchase. Furthermore, when the space is not completely enclosed, there is a problem that it is difficult to calculate an accurate color value because light from the outside penetrates.

Therefore, it is a new urine screening technique that allows the general public who is not trained to do the urine screening easily, so that the device can be configured simple and low cost, There is still a demand for.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to add various other advantages, and in particular, it is possible to automatically urinate the urine strap only by photographing the urine strap in an open environment, The present invention aims at providing a new urine test method and related apparatus that can make it possible to quickly and easily confirm urine test results even if a general person has no expert knowledge and can construct an inexpensive apparatus.

The above object is achieved by a urine test method and related apparatus provided according to the present invention.

The urine test method provided in accordance with an aspect of the present invention includes at least one test region that can change the original color when the urine is contacted and can display various test results according to the color, A urine strap having a reference area for providing a reference of the urine strap; An identification step of identifying the reference area and the inspection area from the photographed image; A correction step of correcting the color value of the inspection area using the color value of the reference area; And a calculation step of calculating a urine test result based on the corrected color value of the inspection area.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises identifying a type of the urine strip from the photographed image between the imaging step and the identifying step.

In another embodiment, the output of the urine test result after the calculating step is output to be visually displayed on the display, or output to be stored as a data file readable by a computer, or generated as a communication signal to be transmitted to a remote place And outputting a test result for output.

The urine strap provided according to another aspect of the present invention may include at least one inspection area that can change the original color when the urine is contacted and allow various test results to be known according to the color, And a reference area for providing a reference.

In one embodiment, the urine strap is in the form of an elongated strap having a constant width, and may be formed by arranging a plurality of inspection regions and a reference region in a line.

In another embodiment, the urine strap may be formed by arranging a plurality of inspection regions and a reference region on a plate of a predetermined size in a circular, polygonal, or irregular pattern.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a urine test apparatus comprising: at least one test region which can change an original color when a urine is contacted, Photographing means for photographing a urine strap having a reference region for providing a reference of a color value; The reference area and the inspection area are identified from the photographed image, the hue value of the inspection area is corrected using the hue value of the reference area, and the urine inspection result is calculated based on the correction hue value of the inspection area And processor means configured to perform the process.

In one embodiment, the processor means may be further configured to identify the type of urine strip from the photographed image.

In another embodiment, the processor means is operable to output the urine test results visually to be displayed on a display, to output as a computer-readable data file, or to generate as a communication signal to transmit to a remote location Lt; / RTI >

In yet another embodiment, the above-described urine test apparatus is a personal portable terminal configured with a camera means, a processor means, a display means, a memory means, and a communication means, and comprises software configured to perform the above- And the processor means is configured to execute the installed software.

According to the present invention having the above-described constitution, it is possible to automatically perform urine test only by photographing the urine strap in an open environment, indoors or outdoors, so that even a general person without expert knowledge can quickly and accurately test urine It is possible to constitute an inexpensive inspection device because it does not require a sealed space for inspecting the urine strap, and it is possible to perform a urine test at all times regardless of the external illumination state in indoor or outdoor have.

FIG. 1 is a table listing related diseases that can be found through a general urinalysis.
2 is a schematic view illustrating an example of a urine strip for a conventional urine test;
3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a urine strip for urine testing according to one embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a urine strip for urine testing according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating a method of urine testing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. And are intended to fully inform the person skilled in the art the scope of the invention and are defined by the claims of the invention.

In the following description of the present invention, detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions in the embodiments of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention of the user, the intention or the custom of the operator. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

Hereinafter, a urine test method and related apparatus according to a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described.

2. Description of the Related Art Personal portable terminals capable of being connected to voice and / or data communication networks such as 3G, LTE and Wi-Fi, such as smart phones, web pads, and tablet PCs, have been widely developed. These personal portable terminals are basically equipped with a high-pixel camera, a processor with a high computing power comparable to a conventional notebook or desktop PC, and a display capable of displaying HD-quality images Respectively. The inventors of the present invention, When such a personal portable terminal is used, it has been noted that a function of a litmus test paper for urine test, that is, a urine test scanner capable of scanning the color change of the inspection areas provided on the urine strip, can be fully realized.

However, there have been various difficulties in using such a personal portable terminal as a scanner device of a urine strip. First, the personal portable terminal can not be provided with a dark space after the urine strip is closed and sealed. Second, Therefore, it is necessary to provide a reference point for accurate color judgment by taking into account the various external brightness depending on the indoor lighting condition and the sun or cloud condition of outdoor, and fourth, There is a problem that the absolute color value (white balance) recognized by the camera built in the portable terminal is designated by the equipment manufacturer in advance and can not be used as a reference point.

To solve these problems, the present inventors created a new urine test paper. The new urine test paper (hereinafter, referred to as a urine strip) has a reference area for obtaining accurate color values.

Figures 3 and 4 schematically show examples of urine strips 20,30 that may be provided in accordance with the present invention.

The urine strips 20 and 30 according to the present invention have at least one inspecting region 22 to 26; 32 to 36 and a reference region 27 (37).

Each of the inspection regions 22 to 26 (32 to 36) is suitably selected to detect, for example, europhelinogen, glucose, bilirubin, ketone, pH (acidity), protein, nitrite, They are coated with chemicals and each has a unique color. This inspection area allows the original color to change when contacted with the urine and allows the various test results to be known according to the converted color, which is well known in the art. In the examples shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the inspection regions are each displayed in five different colors, but this is merely an example, and the number of inspection regions and kinds of colors may be variously configured according to the type of urine strip It is self-evident.

On the other hand, the reference area 27 (37) is newly added in accordance with the present invention, and is provided to provide a criterion for judging the color value of the inspection area. The hue of the reference area 27 (37) is shown as white (or the color of the substrate itself of the urine strip) in the example shown in Figs. 3 and 4, but this is merely an example, It is possible. For example, the color of the reference area may be white, black or other intermediate colors. It is also apparent that the position and size of the reference area 27 (37) can be arranged not only by the illustrated example but also at arbitrary positions and arbitrary sizes different from those shown.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, the urine strap 20 has the form of an elongated strap with a constant width. This is because hand grip 21 is formed on one side and a plurality of inspection areas 22 to 26 are arranged in succession and one reference area 27 is arranged in the middle of a plurality of inspection areas. The urine strap 20 according to this embodiment is a modification of the conventional stick / strap type urine strap 10 (see Fig. 2).

According to a more preferred embodiment, other types of urine straps are possible, such as circular, square, or triangular, so as to facilitate taking pictures using a camera of a smartphone or a camera of a scanner device, an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 4 .

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the urine strap 30 is a form in which a plurality of inspection areas 32 to 36 and one reference area 37 are gathered on a circular plate of a predetermined size. In addition to the circular plate shape, it may be a triangle, a polygon such as a square or a pentagon, or a line formed in a heart-shaped or other irregular pattern.

The urine test method according to the present invention is carried out using the urine straps 20 and 30 of the above-described type. In particular, the urine strap is photographed in a state exposed to the surrounding environment without putting it in the dark space. The color value of the inspection area is corrected to the color value of the reference area by identifying the inspection area as well as the hue of the reference area.

5, which illustrates an example of a urine test method according to the present invention, a urine test method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an imaging step 510, an identification step 520, 530, a correction step 540 ), A calculation step 550, and an output step 560.

The photographing step 510 includes the steps of photographing the urine strips 20 and 30 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 using a personal digital assistant having built-in camera functions such as, for example, a smart phone to be. The urine strips 20 and 30 are provided with at least one inspection region 22 to 26 (32 to 36) in which the original color can be changed when the urine is contacted and various test results can be known according to the color, And a reference area 27 (37) for providing a reference of the color value of the area. It is needless to say that the user must urinate the urine straps 20 and 30 before taking the urine.

The identifying step 520, 530 may include identifying 520 the type of urine strap 20, 30 optionally from the photographed image.

The type of urine strap being photographed for examination can be predetermined as one, in which case the step 520 of identifying the type of urine strap is unnecessary. In this case, the type of the urine strap may be predetermined as the default information. Alternatively, the user can determine the type of urine strap in advance. On the other hand, it is also possible to take an example in which a plurality of urine strap types can be photographed. For example, a long and thin stick type urine strap type illustrated in FIG. 3 and a plate type urine strap type illustrated in FIG. The type of urine strap can be identified from the photographed image (520).

After the type of urine strap has been predetermined, or after being identified from the photographed image, an identification step 530 may proceed from the photographed image to identify a reference area and an inspection area. In this step, the color values of the identified reference area and the inspection area can be read out.

However, the color values read at this stage may have different color values depending on the shooting environment. For example, when photographed indoors, the reference area and the inspection areas tend to be shot entirely black. When photographed under sunlight, it tends to be photographed as yellow as a whole. If the image is taken outdoors in the cloudy sky, it can be photographed as blue as a whole. On the other hand, if the camera is photographed in a mixed light environment in which various lights are mixed, it will be deflected to a color that can not be predicted in advance.

Therefore, in order to obtain an accurate color value for the urine test in spite of various photographing environments, the color values of the inspection regions are corrected using the color values of the reference region according to the present invention.

That is, in the correction step 540, the color value of the inspection region is corrected using the color value of the reference region. For example, let it be assumed that the color of the reference area 37 for the urine strap 30 is made pure white, with a red value of 0, a green value of 0, and a blue value of 0. Each of the inspection areas 32 to 36 has red, blue, and green values ranging from 0 to 100, and may have any one of 100 × 100 × 100 color values. In this example, it is assumed that the hue value of the reference area 31 identified in the identification step 530 is a red value 10, a green value 20, and a blue value 30, and that the hue value of the inspection area 32 is a red value 55, 67 and a blue value of 36, respectively. Then, in this correction step 540, the color value of the inspection area 32 is calculated by subtracting the color value of the reference area 31 from the corrected color value, i.e., the red value 55-10 = 45, the green value 67-20 = 47, 36-30 = 6. The corrected color value of the corrected inspection area can be regarded as an accurate color value obtained by removing the variable due to the photographing environment.

Then, in the calculation step 550, the urine test result is calculated based on the corrected color value of the inspection region obtained in the correction step 540.

In the output step 560, the urine test result may be displayed on the display so that the user can visually confirm the urine test result, for example, in the form of the existing urine test result report. Alternatively, it may be output for storage as a data file readable by a computer, for example, when stored in a memory card of a smart phone. Or may be generated and output as a communication signal for transmission to a remote site, such as a server of a hospital promised to transmit urine test data by contracting the user in advance, for example.

The urine test method having the above-described configuration according to the present invention can be performed using a urine test apparatus that can be configured using a personal portable terminal such as a smart phone.

The urine test apparatus may include an input means such as a keyboard operable by a user, a display means for visually displaying information, and a memory means for installing and executing software to be executed by the processor means, And communication means for communication with the remote site.

The photographing means includes at least one inspection region (22 to 26; 32 to 36) for allowing the original color to change when contacting the urine and allowing various inspection results to be known according to the color, Is a means for photographing urine straps 20, 30 having reference areas 27, 37 for providing a reference. This may be, for example, a camera built into a smart phone.

The processor means can identify the type of urine strap from the photographed image and also identify the reference region and the examination region and correct the color value of the examination region using the color value of the reference region, And calculating a urine test result based on the urine test result. This can be, for example, a CPU embedded in a smart phone.

The processor means may further be configured to output the urine test results visually on the display, to output as a computer readable data file, or to generate and output as a communication signal for transmission to a remote location .

As described above, the urine test apparatus according to the present invention may be applied to a personal portable terminal configured with a camera means, a processor means, a display means, a memory means, and a communication means, such as a smart phone, a web pad, Device in which software configured to perform the urine test method as described above is installed and the processor means is configured to execute the installed software.

According to the present invention, a general person who has not undergone specialized training downloads and installs an application configured to execute the urine test method on his / her smartphone online, and then the urine strap 20, 30 ), And urine strap is brought into contact with the urine to be inspected, and then the urine strap is taken by driving the installed application. As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to the cost of purchasing the urine strap, a separate apparatus for scanning the urine strap is not necessary, thereby reducing the cost. In addition, since it is enough to photograph the subject indoors or outdoors in an exposed environment, it provides an advantage that it is easy to use by the general public.

20, 30: urine strap
21, 31: Handle portion
22, 23, 24, 25, 26; 32, 33, 34, 35, 36: inspection area
27, 37: reference area

Claims (10)

As a urine test method,
At least one inspection area (22 to 26; 32 to 36) for changing the original color when the user touches the urine and allowing various inspection results to be known according to the color, and a reference value of the color value of the inspection area A photographing step (510) of photographing the urine straps (20, 30) with the reference area (27;
An identification step (530) of identifying the reference area and the inspection area from the photographed image;
A correction step (540) of correcting the color value of the inspection area using the color value of the reference area;
A calculating step 550 of calculating a urine test result based on the corrected color value of the inspection area
Wherein the method comprises the steps of: The method of claim 1, further comprising: (520) identifying a type of the urine strip (20, 30) from the photographed image between the imaging step (510) and the identifying step (530) Urine test method. The method according to claim 1, wherein the outputting of the urine test results after the calculating step (550) is displayed to be visually displayed on a display, or output to be stored as a data file readable by a computer, or transmitted as a communication signal And a test result output step (560) for generating and outputting a test result. A urine strap (20, 30) for performing the urine test method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the urine strap (20, 30) can change the original color when urine is contacted, And a reference area (27; 37) for providing a reference of a color value of the inspection area. The urine strap according to claim 1, wherein the reference area (27; The urine strap (20) according to claim 4, wherein the urine strap (20) is in the form of an elongated strap having a constant width and is formed by arranging a plurality of inspection regions (22-26) and a reference region Strap. The urine strap 30 according to claim 4, wherein the urine strap 30 is formed by arranging a plurality of inspection regions 32 to 36 and one reference region 37 in a circular, polygonal, or irregular pattern on a plate of a predetermined size The urine strap. As a urine test apparatus,
At least one inspection area (22 to 26; 32 to 36) for changing the original color when the user touches the urine and allowing various inspection results to be known according to the color, and a reference value of the color value of the inspection area A photographing means for photographing the urine straps (20, 30) having a reference region (27;
The reference area and the inspection area are identified from the photographed image, the hue value of the inspection area is corrected using the hue value of the reference area, and the urine inspection result is calculated based on the correction hue value of the inspection area Processor means configured to perform the process
Wherein the urine analyzer comprises: The urinalysis device according to claim 7, wherein the processor means is further configured to identify the type of urine strip (20, 30) from the captured image. The method of claim 7, wherein the processor means is operable to output the urine test results to be visually displayed on a display, to be stored as a computer readable data file, or as a communication signal for transmission to a remote location Wherein the urine analyzer is further configured to output urine. The urine test apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 9 is a personal portable terminal configured by including a camera means, a processor means, a display means, a memory means, and a communication means. The urine test method Wherein the processor means is configured to execute software installed therein.

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