KR20170058828A - apparatus for measuring bio-signal - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, disclosed is an apparatus for measuring a bio-signal. The apparatus includes: a plurality of bias electrodes which are in contact with the skin of a body; patch electrodes including a plurality of detection electrodes between the bias electrodes; a power supply unit which supplies a power supply voltage to the bias electrodes; a voltage measuring unit which measures an open circuit voltage between the detection electrodes when a current flows between the bias electrodes; and a process which controls the power supply unit, receives a measurement signal of an open circuit voltage of the voltage measuring unit, and calculates the bio-resistance of the skin regardless of the detection electrodes and contact resistance.

Description

An apparatus for measuring bio-signal,

The present invention relates to a signal measuring apparatus, and more particularly, to a living body signal measuring apparatus capable of measuring a resistance of a living body.

In general, the body scan can be performed through skin-attached electrodes. Skin-attached electrodes can largely include wet electrodes and dry electrodes. The wet electrode may comprise a gel-type conductive material. The dry electrode may comprise a patch electrode. The wet electrode and the dry electrode may generate noise due to a change in the contact resistance when contacting the skin of the living body.

An object of the present invention is to provide a living body signal measuring device capable of measuring a living body resistance regardless of a contact resistance.

The present invention discloses an apparatus for measuring a biological signal. The apparatus includes: a plurality of bias electrodes that are in contact with a skin of a living body; patch electrodes including a plurality of detection electrodes between the bias electrodes; A power supply connected to the bias electrodes and providing a power supply voltage to the living body; A voltage measuring unit connected to the detecting electrodes and measuring an open circuit voltage between the detecting electrodes when a current flows between the bias electrodes; And a process of controlling the power supply unit and receiving the measurement signal of the open circuit voltage of the voltage measurement unit to calculate the resistance of the living body between the detection electrodes regardless of the contact resistance between the detection electrodes and the skin .

As described above, the biological signal measurement apparatus according to the concept of the present invention may include patch electrodes, a voltage measurement unit, a current measurement unit, and a processor. The patch electrodes may include bias electrodes and detection electrodes. The detection electrodes may be provided on the skin between the bias electrodes. When a power supply voltage is provided between the bias electrodes, the current measuring unit can measure the current between the bias electrodes. The voltage measuring unit can detect the open circuit voltage between the detecting electrodes regardless of the contact resistance between the detecting electrodes and the skin. The processor can calculate the bio-resistance from the open-circuit voltage and the current, and obtain the bio-signal according to the bio-resistance.

1 is a view showing an apparatus for measuring a bio-signal according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the patch electrodes of FIG. 1; FIG.
3 is a plan view showing an example of an adhesive tape film for skin adhesion on the patch electrodes of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a conceptual illustration of the resistances between the patch electrodes of FIG. 1; FIG.
5 and 6 are a plan view and a sectional view showing an example of the bio-signal measuring apparatus of FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 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. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in different forms. Rather, the embodiments disclosed herein are provided so that the disclosure can be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of illustrating embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. In the present specification, the singular form includes plural forms unless otherwise specified in the specification. It is to be understood that the phrase "comprises" and / or "comprising" used in the specification exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements, steps, operations and / or elements, I never do that. Also, in the specification, the contact resistance, the contact area, the resistance, and the noise may be understood as meaning mainly used in the field of electrical measurement. The reference numerals shown in the order of description are not necessarily limited to those in the order of the preferred embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus 100 for measuring a bio-signal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the bio-signal measurement apparatus 100 of the present invention may be connected to the cloud 10 through the Internet 12. The cloud 10 may provide a voltage measurement solution and a calculation solution of a bio-resistance to the bio-signal measurement apparatus 100. In addition, the cloud 10 can provide bio-signal information according to bio-resistance. The bio-signal measurement apparatus 100 includes a processor 20, a power supply unit 30, a voltage measurement unit 40, a current measurement unit 50, and a plurality of patch electrodes 60 . A plurality of patch electrodes 60 may be provided on the skin 90. The power supply unit 30 can supply the first voltage V ₁ or the current I ₁ to the skin 90 through the patch electrodes 60. [ The voltage measuring unit 40 can measure the voltage V _{0 at} which the contact resistance of the skin 90 is neglected. The current measuring unit 50 can measure the current of the skin 90 between the patch electrodes 60. [ The processor 20 can calculate the bio-resistance of the skin 90 using the measured open circuit voltage (V _o ) and the measured current.

The processor 20 can control the power supply unit 30. [ The processor 20 can receive the voltage detection signal and the current detection signal from the current measurement unit 50 from the voltage measurement unit 40. [ The processor 20 may be connected to the cloud 10 via an Internet network. The processor 20 may download the voltage measurement solution and the calculation solution of the bio-resistance to calculate the bio-resistance and skin conductivity of the skin 90. The processor 20 can acquire a bio-signal according to the bio-resistance. In addition, the processor 20 can measure a living body signal transmitted to the skin while the contact resistance is removed. When the bio-signal and the bio-resistance are changed, the processor 20 can grasp the disease in the skin 90 and the change of the disease or the pain and the mental health state according to the change of the bio-signal of the human body. The plurality of patch electrodes 60 may be connected to the power supply unit 30, the voltage measurement unit 40, the current measurement unit 50, and the ground. The patch electrodes 60 may comprise a metal. According to one example, the patch electrodes 60 may include bias electrodes 70 and detection electrodes 80. The bias electrodes 70 may be connected to the power supply 30 and the ground, respectively. For example, the bias electrodes 70 may include a first bias electrode 72 and a second bias electrode 74. The first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74 may be disposed symmetrically with respect to each other. The first bias electrode 72 may be connected to the power supply unit 30. And the second bias electrode 74 can be grounded. The detection electrodes 80 may be disposed between the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74. The detection electrodes 80 may include a first detection electrode 82 and a second detection electrode 84. The first detection electrode 82 and the second detection electrode 84 may have the same shape. The first detection electrode 82 and the second detection electrode 84 may have a rectangular shape having the same length as the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74. The first detection electrode 82 and the second detection electrode 84 may be connected to the voltage measurement unit 40.

The power supply unit 30 may provide the first voltage V ₁ to the first bias electrode 72 in accordance with a control signal of the processor. The first voltage V ₁ may be a power supply voltage. The first voltage V ₁ may be a direct current or alternating current, or a combination of a direct current power source and an alternating current power source.

The voltage measuring unit 40 can measure the voltage at which the contact resistance between the first detecting electrode 82 and the second detecting electrode 84 is excluded. For example, when the current I ₁ flows in the skin 90 between the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74, the voltage measuring unit 40 measures the voltage V ₀ ) can be measured. The voltage (V ₀ ) from which the contact resistance is excluded can be defined as the open circuit voltage. The current I ₁ between the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74 can flow along the skin 90 between the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74. The current I ₁ between the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74 is increased when an induction current flows between the first detection electrode 82 and the second detection electrode 84. [ May not flow. As a result, the voltage (V ₀ ) between the first detecting electrode 82 and the second detecting electrode 84 can be excluded from the voltage dropped by the contact resistance. Therefore, the open circuit voltage V ₀ measured at the detection electrodes 82 and 84 can correspond to the voltage drop in the skin resistance due to the induced current flowing in the skin 90 without a voltage drop due to the contact resistance. The current measuring unit 50 can measure the current of the skin 90 between the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74. Alternatively, the current measuring unit 50 can sense a current between the grounds. When the current measuring unit 50 senses the current, the voltage measuring unit 40 can measure the voltage V ₀ excluding the contact resistance between the first detecting electrode 82 and the second detecting electrode 84 have. According to one example, the current measuring unit 50 may include a first current sensor 52 and a second current sensor 54. [ The first current sensor 52 may be connected between the power supply unit 30 and the first bias electrode 72. A second current sensor 54 may be coupled between the second bias electrode 74 and ground. The current of the first current sensor 52 and the current of the second current sensor 54 can be detected identically. Alternatively, the current of the first current sensor 52 and the current of the second current sensor 54 may be detected differently. This is because the skin 90 may have a leakage current. In the case of the human body, the skin 90 can be electrostatically charged. In addition, the skin 90 may be grounded to the ground.

The processor 20 may compare the current of the first current sensor 52 with the current of the second current sensor 54. [ When the current of the first current sensor 52 and the current of the second current sensor 54 are the same, the processor 20 determines whether the current of the first current sensor 52 and the current of the second current sensor 54 Can be recognized as the current in the skin (90). The processor 20 can calculate the bio-resistance from the recognized current and the open circuit voltage (V ₀ ). Alternatively, the current of the first current sensor 52 and the current of the second current sensor 54 may be different. The processor 20 may calculate the average current of the current of the first current sensor 52 and the current of the second current sensor 54. [ The processor 20 can calculate the bio-resistance from the calculated average current and the open circuit voltage (V ₀ ). When the current of the first current sensor 52 and the current of the second current sensor 54 are different from each other, the processor 20 exposes the current or voltage applied by the power source to other living body parts or external electrodes, It is possible to determine the value of the current or whether the processor 20 malfunctions. In addition, it can be determined that there is a living tissue that may be charged inside the living body when leakage current occurs. In addition, it is possible to provide a new diagnostic criterion that can measure a region of charge or an action thereof causing a disease or a disease in the human body based on diseases and diseases from the phenomenon that the leakage current disappears. (60).

Referring to FIG. 2, the first bias electrode 72, the second bias electrode 74, the first detection electrode 82, and the second detection electrode 84 may have the same length. The area of the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74 may be larger than the area of the first detection electrode 82 and the second detection electrode 84. First detection electrode 82 and the distance between the second detection electrode (84) (d ₂₎ is the distance between the first bias electrode 72 and the first detection electrode 82 (d ₁₎ and second detecting electrode (D ₃ ) between the second bias electrode (84) and the second bias electrode (74). In other words, when the distance between the first detection electrode 82 and the second detection electrode 84 is known, a resistance can be derived from the voltage measured between the two detection electrodes, and the conductivity with respect to the cross- . This conductivity means that it is possible to measure the conductance in a substantial skin in which the contact resistance between the skin and the electrode is excluded.

These practical conductivities complement each other's disadvantages of having different contact resistances to different skin, and by measuring the conductivity that varies substantially depending on the position of the skin, it is possible to show different resistance in each part of the human body, I have.

FIG. 3A shows an example of a skin adhesive tape film 62 for skin adhesion on the patch electrodes 60 of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the skin adhesive tape film 62 can bond and fix the patch electrodes 60 to the skin 90. For example, the skin adhesive tape film 62 may include a vinyl tape, a cloth tape, a hydrogel, and a silicone-based adhesive. The skin adhesive tape film 62 may have elasticity.

FIG. 3B shows an example taken along the line I-I 'of FIG. 3A.

Referring to FIG. 3B, each of the patch electrodes 60 may have a first thickness t ₁ . The skin adhesive tape film 62 may have a second thickness t ₂ . Each of the electrode patch 60 can be bonded to a third thickness (t ₃₎ in the skin adhesive tape film (62). The skin adhesive tape film 62 can insulate the patch electrodes 60. The third thickness t ₃ may be defined as the depth from the upper surface of the skin adhesive tape film 62. The thickness (t _{3) 3} may be less than the first thickness (t _1). Each of the patch electrodes 60 may protrude from the skin adhesive tape film 62 by a difference (t ₁ -t ₃ ) between the first thickness t ₁ and the third thickness t ₃ . 1 and 3B, the punched patch electrodes 60 are separated from each other by a difference (t ₁ -t ₃ ) between the first thickness t ₁ and the third thickness t ₃ by the skin adhesive tape film 62 ) To the skin (90). The contact strength can be increased by that much.

FIG. 3C shows an example taken along line I-I 'of FIG. 3A.

Referring to FIG. 3C, each of the patch electrodes 60a may include a lower electrode 64 and an upper electrode 66. The lower electrode 64 may be disposed within the skin adhesive tape film 62. For example, the lower electrode 64 may comprise gold, silver, copper, or indium-tin-oxide (ITO). The upper electrode 66 may be disposed on the lower electrode 66. According to one example, the upper electrode 66 may comprise a flexible metal electrode. For example, the upper electrode 66) and a hydrogel having a conductive impurity. The conductive impurities may include carbon nanotubes, graphene, or graphite.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3C, the upper electrode 66 may bend along the skin 90. The upper electrode 66 can maximize the contact property with the skin 90. The maximized contact characteristic can minimize the noise caused by the movement of the living body.

FIG. 4 conceptually shows the resistances (R ₁ -R ₄ , R _S1 -R _S3 ) between the patch electrodes 60 of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, the patch electrodes 60 and the skin 90 may have first through fourth contact resistances R ₁ -R ₄ . The first contact resistance R ₁ may be a resistance between the first bias electrode 72 and the skin 90. The second contact resistance R ₂ may be a resistance between the first detection electrode 82 and the skin 90. The third contact resistance R3 may be a resistance between the second detection electrode 84 and the skin 90. The fourth contact resistance R ₄ may be a resistance between the second bias electrode 74 and the skin 90. For example, the first to fourth contact resistances R _{1 to} R ₄ may be different from each other, and the different contact resistances are detected by the first detecting electrode 82 and the second detecting electrode 84 It does not affect voltage and resistance.

The skin 90 between the first bias electrode 72 and the first detection electrode 82 may have a first biomedical resistance R _S1 . The skin 90 between the first detection electrode 82 and the second detection electrode 84 may have a second biological resistance R _S2 . The skin 90 between the second detection electrode 84 and the second bias electrode 74 may have a third bio-resistance R _S3 . For example, the first to third bio resistors R _{S1 to} R _S3 may be identical to each other.

1 and 4, the voltage measuring unit 40 includes a first detecting electrode 82 and a second detecting electrode 84, regardless of the second contact resistance R ₂ and the third contact resistance R ₃ . (V ₀ ) from which the contact resistance between the two electrodes can be excluded. That is, the voltage V ₀ is a voltage V ₁ = I (R ₁ + R _{S 1} + B) between the two bias electrodes when the current I flows between the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74, R _S2 + R _S3 + R ₄ ). At this time, the voltage applied between the first detection electrode 82 and the second detection electrode 84 becomes V ₀ = IR _S2 . That is, the voltage applied between the first and second detection electrodes 82 and 84 is reduced only by the pure skin resistance R _S2 without a voltage drop caused by the contact resistances R2 and R3. The reason why the voltage drop caused by the contact resistance does not occur is that the current flows only in the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74 as a whole and does not occur in R ₂ and R ₃ . That is, the first and second detection electrodes, because 82 and 84 does not flow is in the direction of not the voltage drop caused by the current occurs in the R _2, R ₃ a substantial voltage drop, which the current is to be measured is a skin resistance R _S2 The measurement is made only at V ₀ by This measurement method is a 4-probe measurement method, which is generally used to eliminate the contact resistance and to measure only the pure resistance component.

The first detecting electrode 82 and the second detecting electrode 84 have different voltages from the first bias electrode 72 when a current flows between the first bias electrode 72 and the second bias electrode 74 . For example, the second voltage V ₂ may be biased between the first detecting electrode 82 and the first bias electrode 72. A third voltage V ₃ may be applied between the second detecting electrode 84 and the first bias electrode 72. The third voltage V ₃ may be higher than the second voltage V ₂ . Further, a voltage (V ₀ ) excluding the contact resistance may be applied between the first detecting electrode 82 and the second detecting electrode 84. The first detecting electrode 82, the second detecting electrode 84 and the voltage measuring unit 40 can measure the voltage (V ₀ ) in which the voltage, that is, the contact resistance is excluded, without a current flow. Therefore, it is possible to measure the voltage (V ₀ ) excluding the contact resistance of the voltage measuring unit 40. The processor 20 can calculate the second bio-resistance R _S2 of the skin 90 using the voltage (V ₀ ) and the current whose detected contact resistance is excluded.

Alternatively, the open circuit voltage V ₀ may be between the voltage V ₃ between the first bias electrode 72 and the second detection electrode 84 and the voltage V ₃ between the first bias electrode 72 and the first detection electrode 82 It may be in response to a difference between the voltage _{(V 2) (V 0 =} V 3 -V 2). The voltage V3 between the first bias electrode 72 and the second detection electrode 84 is determined by the first contact resistance R ₁ , the first living body resistance R _S1 , the second living body resistance R _S2 , And may be generated by the third contact resistance R ₃ . The voltage V2 between the first bias electrode 72 and the first detection electrode 82 is applied to the first contact resistance R ₁ , the first living body resistance R _S1 , and the second contact resistance R ₂ Lt; / RTI > The calculation of the contact resistance is performed by reading the value of this current from the current sensor 52. 54 when the current I flows between the bias electrodes 72 and 74 and detecting the voltage V ₀ ), The skin resistance R _S2 can be calculated from the processor 20.

The contact resistance on each electrode 60 can be calculated from the processor 20 when such a skin resistance measurement is made and the total contact resistance (R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ , R ₄ ) have. For example, if the skin's resistivity or conductivity are all the same, the unit area is the same if the electrode pads are all the same length. Therefore, in this case, the resistance between each of the electrodes 72, 74, 82, and 84 is derived in a form depending on the distance between the electrodes, and the resistance between the electrodes can be calculated from the distance. The intrinsic resistance or conductivity of the skin can also be deduced from between the detection electrodes. For example, when the distance between the detection electrodes 82 and 84 is l, the resistance value is RS2, and the cross-sectional area of the skin is A, the skin resistivity becomes r = R _S2 A / l. The resistance between each electrode can be calculated from the measured intrinsic resistance.

When the two pairs of bio-signal electrodes are separated from each other by the calculated resistance, the voltage corresponding to the distance between them can be read to read the skin resistance that actually appears.

In addition, when biosignals are read in this way, it is possible to clearly distinguish whether these biosignals are noise or biosignals that are mutated by contact. That is, if the continuous contact resistance is measured by the above-described method when the bio-signal is continuously measured, it can be corrected that the contact resistance is changed by the contact change rather than the biological signal when the contact resistance is changed.

In this way, when a biological signal such as skin conductivity, EEC, ECG, and EMG is measured, it is possible to distinguish whether the change of the signal is ultimately a change in biological signal or a noise.

5 and 6 show an example of the bio-signal measuring apparatus 100 of FIG.

5 and 6, a pair of patch electrodes 60 of the bio-signal measuring apparatus 100 may be connected to both sides of the substrate 200. The processor 20, the power supply unit 30, the voltage measurement unit 40, and the current measurement unit 50 may be disposed on the substrate 200. The adhesive 204 may adhere the substrate 200 to the skin 90. The substrate 200 may isolate the skin 90 from the processor 20, the power supply unit 30, the voltage measurement unit 40, and the current measurement unit 50. [ For example, the substrate 200 may comprise a flexible substrate. The wirings 202 may connect the pair of patch electrodes 60 to the processor 20, the power supply unit 30, the voltage measurement unit 40, and the current measurement unit 50. Adhesive tape films 62 for skin adhesion may be disposed on the skin 90, the patch electrodes 60, and the wirings 202.

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 exemplary embodiments or constructions. It can be understood that It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments and applications are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

Claims (11)

A plurality of bias electrodes contacting the skin of a living body; patch electrodes including a plurality of detection electrodes between the bias electrodes;
A power supply connected to the bias electrodes and providing a power supply voltage to the living body;
A voltage measuring unit connected to the detecting electrodes and measuring an open circuit voltage between the detecting electrodes when a current flows between the bias electrodes; And
A process of controlling the power supply unit and receiving a measurement signal of the open circuit voltage of the voltage measurement unit and calculating the bioelectrical resistance of the skin between the detection electrodes regardless of the contact resistance between the detection electrodes and the skin Wherein the bio-signal measuring device comprises: The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the detection electrodes have an area smaller than an area of the bias electrodes. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a distance between the detection electrodes is smaller than a distance between the detection electrodes and the bias electrodes. The method according to claim 1,
The voltage measuring unit includes:
A DC voltage measuring device for measuring a DC component of the open circuit voltage; And
And an AC voltage measuring device for measuring an AC component of the open circuit voltage. The method according to claim 1,
And current sensors for detecting a current between the bias electrodes. 6. The method of claim 5,
The current sensors include:
A first current sensor disposed between the power supply and one of the bias electrodes;
And a second current sensor disposed between the other one of the bias currents and the ground. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the processor calculates the average current of the current of the first current sensor and the current of the second current sensor and calculates the resistance from the average current and the open circuit voltage. The method according to claim 1,
And a tape film for attaching the plurality of electrodes to the skin. The method according to claim 1,
Each of the plurality of electrodes comprising:
A lower electrode; And
And an upper electrode on the lower electrode. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the upper electrode comprises a hydrogel having a conductive impurity. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the conductive impurity includes carbon nanotubes, graphene, or graphite.

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