KR20160001746A - Apparatus and method for measuring blood pressure - Google Patents

Abstract

A blood pressure measurement apparatus inducing an accurate measurement posture and a control method thereof are disclosed. The blood pressure measurement apparatus comprises: a measurement means which is mounted on a measurement portion, and measures blood pressure information at the measurement portion; and a control means which controls a measurement operation and a process of a measurement result in the measurement means, wherein an elbow base portion which is positioned at a portion coming in contact with an elbow when inserting an upper arm to the measurement means is provided as a separate mechanism.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a blood pressure measuring apparatus,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a blood pressure measuring device, and more particularly, to a blood pressure measuring device and a control method thereof.

In recent years, a blood pressure measuring device that automatically measures the blood pressure of a subject and displays the measured blood pressure value in numbers is widely used in hospitals, homes, and the like.

A typical blood pressure measuring device is a blood pressure measuring device in which a subject puts his / her arm into a cuff and drives the air pump by pressing the start button to inject air into the air tube in the cuff, (Systolic blood pressure) and the lowest blood pressure (diastolic blood pressure) based on the detected pulse wave.

The measurement posture of the subject affects the measurement accuracy of the blood pressure. In particular, since the position of the cuff is fixed in the automatic blood pressure measurement device, the subject must take an accurate measurement posture so that the measurement with high accuracy and high reproducibility is possible .

In general, when the cuff sits 1.5 to 2.5 cm away from the folded arm to the upper arm, it can be an accurate blood pressure measurement position. If the subject does not know that there is an accurate measurement position, if the blood pressure is measured by the subject alone, the cuff may not press the correct position of the blood vessel, resulting in inaccurate measurement results. Also, when the blood pressure is measured, . ≪ / RTI >

Various known techniques related to an automatic blood pressure measurement device for guiding a correct measurement posture to a subject are known.

As one example of the prior art, in the "blood pressure information measuring apparatus" of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-075514 (published on April 8, 2010), in a state where the cuff 5 is worn on the upper arm A configuration has been disclosed in which a load detection unit 9 is provided at a predetermined position where the elbow is placed when the measurement posture is taken and the load is detected through the load detection unit 9 before blood pressure measurement is performed to determine whether the posture of the subject is appropriate have.

However, in the prior art, as shown in Fig. 2, when the subject puts his or her arm so that the elbow comes into contact with the upper part of the base 2, that is, the place where the load detecting part 9 is located, with the cuff 5 wrapped around the upper arm So that the measurement posture is obtained. In this case, there is a problem in that it is troublesome to wear the cuff 5 directly on the upper arm with the help of the subject or other person, and the pressure applied to the upper arm varies depending on the wearing state of the cuff 5 And there is a problem that the position of the cuff 5 to be worn is not constant and the blood pressure can not be accurately measured. Further, the prior art is not a structure in which the cuff 5 is fixed, and furthermore, since there is no separate structure for accommodating the arm or the elbow, it is difficult to take an accurate measuring posture, The wearer must consciously find the position of the load detection unit 9 and transmit the elbow load to the wearer. Therefore, there are inconveniences in using the apparatus and there is a limitation in providing a complete guide to the measurement posture.

A blood pressure measuring device and its control method capable of naturally inducing a correct measuring posture are provided.

Provided is a blood pressure measuring device and a control method therefor of a more intuitive structure in which a subject can take an accurate measuring posture by himself / herself.

Provided is a blood pressure measuring apparatus and a control method thereof that can further improve the accuracy and reproducibility of blood pressure measurement from an accurate measuring posture.

A blood pressure measuring apparatus comprising: measurement means mounted on a measurement site and measuring blood pressure information at the measurement site; And a control means for controlling the measurement operation and the processing of the measurement result in the measurement means, wherein the elbow support portion located at a position where the elbow is in contact when the upper arm is inserted into the measurement means is provided as a separate mechanism And a blood pressure measuring device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the elbow rest is movable.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the elbow receiving portion is rotatably movable in the inserting direction of the upper arm.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the elbow receiving portion is rotatable in a state where both side portions perpendicular to the inserting direction of the upper arm are fixed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the elbow support part controls the movement so that the elbow does not move beyond a certain degree.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the elbow receiving portion has a conical receiving structure capable of receiving the elbow.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the elbow receiving portion has a structure or material that can be accommodated regardless of the shape or size of the elbow.

According to another aspect, a proximity sensor is provided on the surface of the conical shape.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a blood pressure monitor for measuring blood pressure information, comprising: sensing means for sensing whether or not the elbow is in contact with or proximity to the elbow; And means for controlling the means.

An upper arm insert for inserting the upper arm; And an elbow support portion for receiving an elbow at a predetermined distance from the upper arm insertion portion, wherein the elbow support portion is provided as a separate mechanism from the upper arm insertion portion and is movable within a predetermined range. do.

An upper arm insert for inserting the upper arm; An elbow support unit positioned at a predetermined distance from the upper arm insertion unit to receive the elbow; A pressing means for injecting and pressing air into the upper arm insertion portion; Pressure reducing means for discharging the air injected into the upper-arm inserting portion to reduce the pressure; Pressure detecting means for detecting an internal pressure of the upper arm insertion portion; And a control means for measuring blood pressure information based on the pressure signal detected by the pressure detecting means, wherein the elbow receiving portion is provided as a mechanism separate from the upper arm inserting portion, Wherein the blood pressure measuring device is capable of moving within a predetermined distance or tilting in all directions within a predetermined angle in a state where the base portion is fixed.

The blood pressure measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blood pressure measuring device comprises: an upper arm inserting portion for inserting an upper arm; an elbow receiving portion located at a predetermined distance from the upper arm inserting portion to receive an elbow; And sensing means for sensing whether the elbow is in contact or proximity, wherein the control method comprises the steps of sensing whether the elbow is in contact with or proximity to the sensing means; And detecting the internal pressure of the upper arm insertion unit when the contact or proximity of the elbow is detected, thereby measuring blood pressure information.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to naturally induce a correct measurement posture by adding an elbow support part structured by a mechanism other than the upper-arm insertion part at a position where the elbow contacts with the insertion direction of the upper-arm insertion part. A more intuitive structure capable of taking a measurement posture can be proposed. Therefore, the accuracy and reproducibility of blood pressure measurement can be further improved by a structure that can naturally induce an accurate measurement posture.

1 and 2 show an example of a blood pressure measuring apparatus according to the prior art.
3 is a diagram for explaining the structure of a blood pressure measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing the wearing state of the blood pressure measuring apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining the measurement posture sensing means of the blood pressure measurement device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a blood pressure measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart showing a control method of a blood pressure measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present embodiments relate to a blood pressure measuring apparatus for measuring blood pressure in the upper arm of a subject. In particular, the present embodiment provides a more intuitive blood pressure measurement device and a control method thereof that can induce a correct measurement posture for blood pressure measurement and allow the subject to take an accurate measurement posture by himself / herself.

3 is a diagram for explaining the structure of a blood pressure measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the blood pressure measuring apparatus according to an embodiment may be configured as a stationary or portable type. In particular, the upper arm insertion unit 110, which can receive the upper arm when the subject inserts the upper arm, A forearm support portion 120 that can support the forearm, and an elbow support portion 130 that can support the elbow of the upper arm.

The upper arm insert 110 may include a cuff that can basically apply pressure around the upper arm through air injection. For example, the upper arm insertion unit 110 may be configured as a movable structure having one side fixed to the main body 100 and moving within a predetermined angle so that the upper arm can be received at a desired angle for an accurate and stable measurement posture according to the elongation of the subject etc. .

The forearm support part 120 may be configured to support the forearm of the subject when the subject inserts the upper arm into the upper arm insertion part 110. [ For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the forearm support part 120 may be formed of a support-type mechanism having one side fixed to the main body 100 and being easily supported by the forearm.

The elbow rest 130 may have a structure in which the elbow of the subject can be supported between the upper arm insertion portion 110 and the forearm support portion 120. For example, the elbow rest 130 is added as a separate mechanism to be distinguished from the upper arm inserting part 110 and the forearm receiving part 120. In a state where the upper arm of the subject is inserted into the upper arm inserting part 110 It can be positioned and installed where the elbow touches. In particular, the upper arm insertion portion 110 and the elbow receiving portion 130 may be disposed at a distance that can ensure measurement accuracy.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which a subject is in a posture for blood pressure measurement in the blood pressure measuring apparatus according to the present invention.

In the present invention, the structure of the elbow rest 130 is added, so that the subject can be guided to find an accurate measurement posture.

The precise measuring posture of the subject is related to the position of the elbow after insertion of the arm into the upper arm insertion portion 110. [ Conventionally, since the subject to which the subject puts the arm on the upper arm insertion portion and the support portion on which the elbow touches is not a structure that is generally separated from the upper arm insertion portion, it is difficult to know exactly how long the subject should extend the elbow .

In order to solve such a problem, the elbow receiving unit 130 proposed in the present invention intuitively recognizes information on how to extend the elbows and where the elbows should be positioned to the subject, have. In other words, the subject inserts the upper arm in the upper arm insertion portion 110 and then places the elbow on the elbow receiving portion 130, thereby making it easier and more intuitive to take an accurate measuring posture.

Furthermore, the elbow receiving portion 130 can have a structure capable of sufficiently accommodating the elbow of the subject. For example, the elbow receiving portion 130 may have a conical receiving structure as shown in FIG. 3, and may have a structure or material that can be accommodated irrespective of the shape and size of the elbow.

In addition, the elbow support part 130 may provide a degree of freedom in a predetermined range of movement so that the subject can fully accommodate the elbow in taking the measurement posture, calibrate the measurement posture himself, and adjust the posture to a self-correct posture . At this time, the movement range can be defined within a range that does not deviate from the limit distance (for example, 1.5 to 2.5 cm) between the elbow and the cuff, which can ensure measurement accuracy.

The elbow support part 130 may have a structure capable of rotational movement with reference to the inserting direction of the upper arm insertion part 110 in the main body 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the elbow rest 130 can be connected to the main body 100 in a structure in which both side portions perpendicular to the inserting direction of the upper arm are fixed to the main body 100 and are rotatable. In particular, at least one side portion of the elbow support portion 130 corresponding to the inserting direction of the upper arm may be connected to the main body 100 through an elastic member (e.g., a rubber band, a spring, etc.) Accordingly, the elbow receiving portion 130 may be configured as a separate mechanism floating away from the upper arm insertion portion 110 and the forearm receiving portion 120 in the air.

In other words, the subject inserts the upper arm into the upper arm inserting section 110, places the elbow on the elbow receiving section 130, and slightly presses the elbow receiving section 130 so that the elbow is completely received in the elbow receiving section 130 Or pull to adjust the position of the elbow in a relaxed posture. At this time, the elbow rest 130 has a structure that can move only within a certain distance that can guarantee measurement accuracy, that is, it does not move over a certain distance, and when the subject tries to push or pull the elbow excessively The elbow rest 130 can restrict the movement of the subject.

Alternatively, the elbow rest 130 may be provided at both sides corresponding to the inserting direction of the upper arm and at both sides orthogonal to the inserting direction of the upper arm, i.e., in the quadruple direction, It is possible to have a structure capable of moving in all directions. In other words, the subject inserts the upper arm into the upper arm insertion portion 110, places the elbow on the elbow receiving portion 130, moves the elbow receiving portion 130 little by little so that the elbow is fully received in the elbow receiving portion 130 The position of the elbow can be adjusted in a comfortable posture. At this time, the elbow rest 130 uses a connecting member having an elastic force within a certain degree so that the elbow rest 130 can move only to a certain extent to assure the measurement accuracy. Thus, The elbow rest 130 can restrict the movement of the subject.

According to the structure of the above-described elbow rest 130, the subject can put his or her elbows in the elbow rest 130 in a comfortable and stable posture by himself or herself, So that accurate blood pressure measurement can be performed.

As another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, sensing means (not shown) for sensing information about the measurement posture of the subject on the base portion of the elbow support 130 140 may be installed. At this time, the sensing means 140 may be utilized to determine whether the subject has taken an accurate measurement posture, whether the blood pressure measurement start request is made, and the like, and may detect contact or proximity of a button switch, a touch sensor, Any means that can be used is available. For example, when the blood pressure measuring device detects the contact or proximity state of the subject through the sensing means 140 (i.e., the elbow is sufficiently accommodated in the elbow receiving portion 130) Or to start measuring the blood pressure of the subject immediately.

6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a blood pressure measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A blood pressure measuring apparatus according to an embodiment includes: measuring means mounted on a measurement site and measuring blood pressure information at a measurement site; And control means for controlling the measurement operation in the measurement means and the processing of the measurement result.

6, the blood pressure measuring apparatus includes pressure means 650 for injecting air into the cuff of the upper-arm insertion portion 610 to pressurize the pressure, pressure-reducing means 660 for discharging the air introduced into the cuff, And pressure detecting means 670 for detecting the pressure inside the cuff. Here, the pressure means 650 and the pressure reducing means 660 include a predetermined driving circuit, and the pressure detecting means 670 may include an amplifier and an A / D converter. The pressurizing means 650, the depressurizing means 660 and the pressure detecting means 670 can be easily formed through a known technique. For example, the pressure applying means 650 may be a pump, the pressure reducing means 660 may be an exhaust valve, and the pressure detecting means 670 may be a pressure sensor.

The blood pressure measuring apparatus may be provided with a control means 640 for controlling the entire apparatus and measuring the systolic blood pressure and the diastolic blood pressure based on the pulse wave signal detected by the pressure detecting means 670, 640) can display the blood pressure measurement results (the systolic blood pressure and the minimum blood pressure) through the display means (not shown). In addition, the blood pressure measuring apparatus may further include an operation unit (not shown) such as a power button, and the operation unit and the display unit may be unified by a touch screen.

In this embodiment, the blood pressure measuring apparatus may further include a sensing unit 630 provided at the base of the elbow receiving unit 620 for sensing whether the subject contacts or is in proximity to the measurement posture of the subject. The means 640 may recognize that the subject has placed the elbow on the elbow receiving portion 620 when the contact or proximity signal is sensed through the sensing means 630 and that the correct measurement posture has been taken and may start measuring the blood pressure of the subject .

7 is a flowchart showing a control method of a blood pressure measurement apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control method according to one embodiment can be performed by the blood pressure measuring apparatus described with reference to Figs. 3 to 6, respectively.

In step S701, the blood pressure measuring apparatus may sense the measurement posture of the subject through the sensing means provided on the elbow receiving unit. At this time, as described above, the elbow receiving portion is structured by a mechanism separate from the upper arm inserting portion, and a contact or proximity signal may be generated through the sensing means as the subject puts the elbow on the elbow receiving portion. Therefore, the blood pressure measuring apparatus can recognize that the subject is putting the elbow in the elbow receiving portion when the contact or proximity signal is generated from the sensing means, so that the accurate measurement posture is taken.

In step S702, the blood pressure measuring apparatus can measure the blood pressure information of the subject based on the pulse wave detected by the pressure detecting means of the upper arm inserting portion when the accurate measuring posture of the subject is sensed. For example, the blood pressure measuring device measures the blood pressure first by injecting air into the cuff of the upper arm at a pressure higher than the systolic blood pressure value and discharging the air gradually when the air is completely injected to lower the pressure. And the second lowest blood pressure can be measured. As another example, the blood pressure measuring apparatus can measure the lowest blood pressure first and then the second highest blood pressure on the basis of the pulse wave signal detected by the pressure detecting means while injecting air into the cuff of the upper arm inserting portion.

In step S703, the blood pressure measuring device can process the blood pressure measurement operation and the blood pressure measurement result in step S702. At this time, the blood pressure measurement operation and the processing of the blood pressure measurement result may be performed by various processing forms such as various information related to the blood pressure measurement and output of the measurement result through display means, output through audio means, output through printer, . ≪ / RTI > For example, the blood pressure measuring apparatus can display predetermined display information (e.g., a heart symbol, etc.) every time a pulse wave is detected, and can display the systolic blood pressure and the systolic blood pressure when the blood pressure measurement is completed.

The methods according to embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a program instruction that can be executed through various computer systems and recorded in a computer-readable medium.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, by adding the elbow support portion structured by a mechanism different from the upper-arm insertion portion at the position where the elbow contacts the insertion direction of the upper-arm insertion portion into which the upper arm of the subject is inserted, It is possible to suggest a more intuitive structure in which the subject can take an accurate measuring posture by himself / herself. Therefore, the accuracy and reproducibility of the blood pressure measurement can be further improved by the structure of the blood pressure measuring apparatus that induces the accurate measuring posture.

The apparatus described above may be implemented as a hardware component, a software component, and / or a combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the apparatus and components described in the embodiments may be implemented within a computer system, such as, for example, a processor, a controller, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) , A programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the operating system. The processing device may also access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to execution of the software. For ease of understanding, the processing apparatus may be described as being used singly, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the processing apparatus may have a plurality of processing elements and / As shown in FIG. For example, the processing unit may comprise a plurality of processors or one processor and one controller. Other processing configurations are also possible, such as a parallel processor.

The software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of the foregoing, and may be configured to configure the processing device to operate as desired or to process it collectively or collectively Device can be commanded. The software and / or data may be in the form of any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage media, or device , Or may be permanently or temporarily embodied in a transmitted signal wave. The software may be distributed over a networked computer system and stored or executed in a distributed manner. The software and data may be stored on one or more computer readable recording media.

The method according to an embodiment may be implemented in the form of a program command that can be executed through various computer means and recorded in a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. The program instructions to be recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and configured for the embodiments or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magnetic media such as floppy disks; Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include machine language code such as those produced by a compiler, as well as high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware devices described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. For example, it is to be understood that the techniques described may be performed in a different order than the described methods, and / or that components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, Lt; / RTI > or equivalents, even if it is replaced or replaced.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents to the claims are also within the scope of the following claims.

100:
110: upper arm insertion portion
120: forearm support part
130: elbow rest part

Claims (12)

A blood pressure measuring apparatus comprising:
Measuring means mounted on the measurement site for measuring blood pressure information at the measurement site; And
And control means for controlling the measurement operation in the measurement means and the processing of the measurement result
/ RTI >
Wherein an elbow support portion located at a position where the elbow is brought into contact with the upper arm when the upper arm is inserted into the measurement means is provided as a separate mechanism. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the elbow rest is movable. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the elbow rest is rotatable in an inserting direction of the upper arm. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the elbow rest is rotatable within a predetermined angle in a state where both side portions perpendicular to the inserting direction of the upper arm are fixed. 5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
Wherein the elbow support part controls the movement so that the elbow does not move beyond a certain degree. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the elbow receiving portion has a conical receiving structure capable of receiving the elbow. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the elbow rest has a structure or material that can be accommodated irrespective of the shape or size of the elbow. The method according to claim 6,
And a proximity sensor is installed on the bottom surface of the conical shape. The method according to claim 1,
A sensing means for sensing whether the elbow is in contact or proximity,
Further comprising:
Wherein the control means controls the measurement means to measure the blood pressure information when the contact or proximity of the elbow is sensed through the sensing means. An upper arm insert for inserting the upper arm; And
An elbow support portion for accommodating an elbow at a predetermined distance from the upper arm insertion portion,
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the elbow receiving portion is provided as a separate mechanism from the upper arm inserting portion and is movable within a predetermined range. An upper arm insert for inserting the upper arm;
An elbow support unit positioned at a predetermined distance from the upper arm insertion unit to receive the elbow;
A pressing means for injecting and pressing air into the upper arm insertion portion;
Pressure reducing means for discharging the air injected into the upper-arm inserting portion to reduce the pressure;
Pressure detecting means for detecting an internal pressure of the upper arm insertion portion; And
A control means for measuring blood pressure information based on the pressure signal detected by the pressure detecting means
/ RTI >
The elbow rest is provided as a separate mechanism from the upper arm inserting part and is movable within a predetermined distance with reference to the inserting direction of the upper arm inserting part or can be tilted in all directions within a predetermined angle in a state where the base part is fixed And a blood pressure measuring device. A method for controlling a blood pressure measuring apparatus,
The blood pressure measuring apparatus includes an upper arm inserting portion for inserting an upper arm, an elbow receiving portion located at a predetermined distance from the upper arm inserting portion to receive the elbow, and a second detecting portion for detecting whether or not the elbow is in contact with or close to the receiving space of the elbow receiving portion. And a detection means
In the control method,
Detecting contact or proximity of the elbow through the sensing means; And
Detecting the internal pressure of the upper arm insertion unit and measuring blood pressure information when the contact or proximity of the elbow is sensed
And a control device for controlling the blood pressure measurement device.

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