KR20200085154A - Blood flow and blood vessel measuring apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring blood flow and blood vessel conditions, comprising: an ultrasonic sensor module which generates ultrasonic waves; a cartridge unit which includes a sensor casing having the ultrasonic sensor module capable of being detached therefrom or attached thereto and having a receiving groove in which gel through which ultrasonic wave generated from the ultrasonic sensor module passes is accommodated in a replaceable manner, and an adhesive pad supporting the sensor casing and attached to the skin of a test subject, and measures blood flow; and a main body which is connected to the ultrasonic sensor module in a wired or wireless manner to output blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module. Therefore, the present invention can predict and present the presence or absence of a disease and the likelihood of occurrence thereof beyond simple monitoring of measured values, and reduce medical expenses by managing vascular health.

Description

Blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring device {BLOOD FLOW AND BLOOD VESSEL MEASURING APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to a blood flow measuring device, and more specifically, a blood flow measuring device and blood flow and blood vessel wall thickness capable of measuring blood flow and vascular condition values in a state where the subject is easily attached to a desired position on the body in a hospital as well as at home. The present invention relates to a device for predicting and providing blood flow changes, vascular stenosis, and vascular elasticity based on measurement results.

Vascular diseases due to population aging and lifestyle-related diseases are increasing, and the social and economic burdens are rapidly increasing. In particular, blood pressure changes dynamically throughout the day, and it is known that the greater the variability of blood pressure, the higher the possibility of stroke.

Blood flow, like blood pressure, shows variability in measurement, and due to auto-regulation of blood vessels in the brain, blood pressure cannot reflect all of the blood flow to the brain. In particular, in the case of patients with cerebrovascular disease and vascular disease, not only blood pressure in a hospital clinic, but also home blood pressure measured continuously at home is very important.

Therefore, in recent years, blood vessel velocity and stenosis measurements have been widely used to diagnose diseases of blood vessels.

As the measurement of blood flow velocity and stenosis, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus using the Doppler effect for detecting the velocity of blood flow in blood vessels is widely used. The ultrasonic diagnostic device that measures blood vessel conditions based on the conventional Doppler ultrasound sensor can perform various hemodynamic evaluations, but the blood vessels and blood vessel condition information measured in a controlled environment in a short time through large-scale equipment in the current hospital are used for blood vessels There is a limit to continuous health monitoring.

In addition, thanks to the advancement of IT technology, interest in health is further increased, and it is connected to an external healthcare center to measure the user's health status at home or on the go using medical devices or bio-information sensors, and transmit measurement information remotely. Home healthcare services are increasingly emerging as new services in home networks and mobile environments.

In addition, it is expected that the silver industry will develop due to the continued aging of the population socially, and the proportion of single people will increase significantly in society as a whole, and promote health for the elderly, the disabled, and living alone as well as patients, and prevent and utilize the disease. As a result, home healthcare services are in the spotlight.

As recent technologies have developed, not only healthcare devices that acquire and transmit simple biometric data to the outside, but also healthcare devices capable of performing medical diagnosis to some extent.

Accordingly, the present applicant has developed a new blood flow and blood vessel measuring device capable of continuously measuring and monitoring blood flow and blood vessel condition continuously by attaching the subject to a desired location on the body, not only in a hospital but also at home and on the move.

Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1837592

The present invention is to solve the above problems, as well as at the hospital and at home and on the move, the subject is easily attached to a desired location on the body, obtains continuous blood flow and vascular status information, leaves simple monitoring and determines whether or not the disease exists. It is an object of the present invention to provide a blood flow and blood vessel measuring device capable of predicting and suggesting a possibility of occurrence and managing medical blood vessel health to reduce medical expenses.

An object of the present invention, an ultrasonic sensor module for generating ultrasonic waves; The ultrasonic sensor module is detached and the sensor casing is formed with an accommodating groove through which the gel passing through the ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic sensor module is exchanged, and the adhesive is attached to the skin to support the sensor casing and fit to various body parts of the subject. It includes a pad, the cartridge unit for measuring blood flow and blood vessel state; And it is achieved by the blood flow and blood vessel measuring apparatus, which is connected to the ultrasonic sensor module wired or wirelessly, and includes a body portion for outputting blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module.

Here, the sensor casing has a hollow cylindrical shape with both sides open, and the cartridge unit is detachably provided at one side opening of the sensor casing, and a protective cover for preventing contamination of the gel accommodated in the receiving groove; And it may be provided while maintaining the airtight in the other opening of the sensor casing, the transparent film through which the ultrasonic waves passing through the gel accommodated in the receiving groove can be further included.

In addition, an adhesive surface to be adhered to the skin of the examinee is formed on one side of the adhesive pad, and a release paper for preventing contamination of the adhesive surface may be detachably stacked on the adhesive surface.

The sensor casing may be made of a diffusely reflective material.

The main body, as an embodiment, transmits blood flow and blood vessel state measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module to an external server or computing device, and analyzes results of predicting blood flow and blood vessel abnormality from the external server or the computing device Can be obtained and output.

As another embodiment, the main body may analyze blood flow based on blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module and output an analysis result for blood flow abnormalities.

In addition, the object of the present invention, according to another field of the present invention, the ultrasonic sensor module is detached and the sensor casing is formed with a receiving groove in which the gel passing through the ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic sensor module is replaceable; And various types of adhesive pads that support the sensor casing and are attached to the skin of the subject, and can be achieved by the cartridge unit.

Here, the sensor casing has a hollow cylindrical shape with both sides open, and is detachably provided on one side opening of the sensor casing, a protective cover to prevent contamination of the gel accommodated in the receiving groove; And it may be provided while maintaining the airtight in the other opening of the sensor casing, the transparent film through which the ultrasonic waves passing through the gel accommodated in the receiving groove can be further included.

In addition, the object of the present invention, according to another field of the present invention, the blood flow and blood vessel measuring device described above; And an external server that calculates an analysis result predicting blood flow and vascular condition abnormalities after a specific time of the testee with blood flow signals and vascular condition information transmitted from the blood flow and blood vessel measurement devices, and is also achieved by the blood flow and blood vessel measurement system. Can be.

Here, the external server may include an analysis model based on a deep neural network that predicts an abnormality in blood flow and vascular conditions.

According to the present invention, the subject can easily attach to a desired location on the body, not only in a hospital, but also at home and on the move, to obtain continuous blood flow and vascular status information, and to predict the presence or absence of a disease beyond simple measurement monitoring. In addition, vascular health can be managed to reduce medical expenses.

1 is a perspective view of a blood flow and blood vessel state measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the cartridge portion of the blood flow and vascular condition measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of Figure 2 includes an ultrasonic sensor module,
4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of attaching the cartridge portion of the blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring device of FIG. 1 to the subject's skin;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the cartridge portion of the blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring device according to another embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the cartridge portion of the blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring device according to another embodiment of the present invention,
7 is a circuit diagram of the main body of the blood flow and blood vessel state measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
8 is a view showing blood flow and blood vessel state data obtained through a body part of a blood flow and blood vessel state measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be clarified with reference to embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only the present embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and are common in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the skilled person of the scope of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. In the present specification, the singular form also includes the plural form unless otherwise specified in the phrase. As used herein, “comprises” and/or “comprising” does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components other than the components mentioned. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals refer to the same components, and “and/or” includes each and every combination of one or more of the components mentioned. Although "first", "second", etc. are used to describe various components, it goes without saying that these components are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another component. Therefore, it goes without saying that the first component mentioned below may be the second component within the technical spirit of the present invention.

In the present specification, the blood flow sound wave signal means a signal in which an input sound wave input to a blood vessel is reflected by reflecting a state of blood flow. For example, the blood flow sound signal may be a sound wave signal to which a Doppler effect is applied under the influence of blood flow while being reflected on blood vessels when ultrasound is provided for blood vessels of a specific body part.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this specification may be used in a sense that can be commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. In addition, terms that are defined in a commonly used dictionary are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless specifically defined.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Prior to the description, in various embodiments, components having the same configuration are typically described in one embodiment by using the same reference numerals, and in other embodiments, configurations different from one embodiment will be described.

1 to 4 shows a blood flow measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in these drawings, the blood flow measuring apparatus 1a according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an ultrasonic sensor module 10, a cartridge unit 20 for measuring blood flow and vascular conditions, and a cartridge unit 20 It includes a body unit 50 for outputting the blood flow measurement data measured in.

The ultrasonic sensor module 10 generates ultrasonic waves.

The ultrasound sensor module 10 may be provided as a Doppler ultrasound sensor that measures blood flow change, blood vessel elasticity, and blood vessel wall thickness based on a frequency change principle according to blood flow.

The ultrasonic sensor module 10 made of a Doppler ultrasonic sensor includes a Doppler ultrasonic probe for injecting ultrasonic waves into a human body and obtaining a reflected signal.

Accordingly, when ultrasonic waves of a certain frequency are generated from the Doppler ultrasound probe, ultrasonic waves of the frequency are incident on a target such as red blood cells inside the human body, and the signal reflected from the target body receives blood flow measurement data obtained through the Doppler ultrasound probe. (50).

Meanwhile, the Doppler ultrasound sensor can acquire data used for various hemodynamic evaluations. That is, the Doppler ultrasound sensor can acquire various data on the blood flow state using a spectral Doppler ultrasound test method. For the waveform Doppler test, a method of using a continuous wave, a method of using a pulsed wave that transmits ultrasonic waves at regular intervals, and the like can be applied. In particular, the continuous wave method can be usefully used in a region where only one blood vessel exists in one cross section.

The waveform Doppler test shows the presence or absence of blood flow and blood flow, as well as the presence of blood vessel walls, peak systolic velocity of blood flow, end diastolic velocity, acceleration time, and deceleration time ( deceleration time, etc., and based on this information, hemodynamics are measured by measuring the resistance index, pulsatility index, acceleration time index, heart rate, etc. You can get a lot of information about ).

The cartridge unit 20 is coupled to the Doppler ultrasound sensor is attached or fixed to the correct position to measure the blood flow of the subject's skin, and serves to accurately transmit sound waves into the skin. The cartridge unit 20 may be fixedly attached to a specific position of the subject's skin 100 and formed in various forms capable of continuously measuring blood flow by a Doppler ultrasound sensor.

In one embodiment, the cartridge unit 20 includes a sensor casing 21 and an adhesive pad 41a that supports the sensor casing 21 and is attached to the skin 100 of the subject.

The sensor casing 21 forms a receiving groove 25 therein, and has a hollow cylindrical shape with both sides open. The inner diameter of the sensor casing 21 may have a size of a diameter in which the ultrasonic sensor module 10 is fitted with the sensor casing 21.

The ultrasonic sensor module 10 is detached from the receiving groove 25. The ultrasonic sensor module 10 is mounted, for example, fitted to the receiving groove 25 through one side opening of the sensor casing 21.

In addition, a gel 31 through which ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic sensor module 10 pass is accommodated in the receiving groove 25 to be replaceable. The gel 31 is a medium that allows sound waves provided from the Doppler ultrasound sensor to be well transmitted to the skin, between the gel 31 accommodated in the receiving groove 25 and the ultrasonic sensor module 10 mounted in the receiving groove 25. The air layer is not formed to prevent acoustic noise from being generated in the middle, and has a predetermined thickness. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain effective blood flow measurement data when measuring blood flow.

In one embodiment, the gel 31 may have a semi-solid shape to maintain shape and allow recovery during replacement of the gel 31. The gel may be replaced separately from the sensor casing as provided separately, or may be provided to be replaced together in a state provided in the sensor casing.

In addition, since the gel is water-soluble, the deformation over time must be replaced by a specific time interval, for example, water gelation.

Meanwhile, the sensor casing 21 of the blood flow measuring device 1a according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with the gel 31 accommodated in the receiving groove 25 before the ultrasonic sensor module 10 is mounted. Can. Accordingly, a protective cover 33 is detachably provided at one side opening of the sensor casing 21. Through this, the sensor casing 21 can be easily replaced and coupled to the Doppler ultrasonic sensor module 10 as the protective cover 33 is removed.

The protective cover 33 has a sheet shape having a predetermined thickness. The protective cover 33 is mounted on one side opening of the sensor casing 21 to prevent contamination of the gel 31 accommodated in the receiving groove 25. In addition, when the protective cover 33 is separated from the one side opening of the sensor casing 21, one side opening of the sensor casing 21 is opened, and thus the ultrasonic sensor module 10 passes through one side opening of the sensor casing 21. It is fitted and fitted in the sensor casing 21.

In addition, a transparent film 35 is attached to the other opening of the sensor casing 21. The transparent film 35 has a sheet shape having a predetermined thickness. The transparent film 35 is mounted while maintaining airtightness at the bottom of the sensor casing 21 so that the gel 31 accommodated in the accommodating groove 25 does not flow toward the skin 100 of the examinee, and the sensor casing 21 ) To shield the other side opening. That is, when the receiving groove 25 of the sensor casing 21 is formed by a hole, the gel 31 accommodated without affecting the progress of the ultrasound into the body as the transparent film 35 is attached to the other opening Prevent spilling. The transparent film 35 supports the gel 31 closely so that an air layer is not formed between the gel 31 accommodated in the receiving groove 25 and the transparent film 35. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain effective blood flow and blood vessel state measurement data when measuring blood flow.

The transparent film 35 is made of a material through which ultrasound passes through the gel 31 accommodated in the receiving groove 25. On the other hand, the sensor casing 21 is provided with a flange 27 protruding with a predetermined width in the radial direction of the sensor casing 21 along the circumference of the other side opening. The flange 27 is adhered to the adhesive pad 41a, whereby the sensor casing 21 is supported on the adhesive pad 41a.

Depending on the body attachment portion, the sensor casing 21 and the flange 27 may have an internal structure capable of maintaining the angle of incidence of the ultrasonic sensor module 10 in order to make the sample volume parallel to the blood flow. This will be described later in detail.

The adhesive pad 41a serves to attach the sensor casing 21 to which the ultrasonic sensor module is coupled to a specific body part to measure blood flow. The adhesive pad 41a has a sheet shape having a predetermined thickness, supports the sensor casing 21 and is attached to the skin 100 of the examinee.

In the central region of the adhesive pad 41a, an insertion hole 43 through which the sensor casing 21 is inserted is formed. Through this, the transparent film 35 is brought into direct contact with the skin surface, so that the ultrasound provided from the ultrasound module 10 passes through the gel 31 and is provided into the body immediately.

On one side of the adhesive pad 41a, an adhesive surface that is adhered to the skin 100 of the examinee is formed. On the adhesive surface, the adhesive pad 41a has a constant adhesive strength so as to adhere to the skin 100 without shaking, and an adhesive harmless to the human body is applied.

As described above, as the adhesive pad 41a does not fluctuate and adheres to the skin 100 of the test subject, the sensor casing 21 equipped with the ultrasonic sensor module 10 does not move, and reliability of the measured blood flow measurement data This is improved.

Meanwhile, a release paper 45 for preventing contamination of the adhesive surface may be detachably stacked on the adhesive surface of the adhesive pad 41a.

As the release paper 45 is laminated on the adhesive surface of the adhesive pad 41a, it is possible to prevent the adhesive surface from being contaminated.

Here, the adhesive pad 41a in this embodiment is shown as having a butterfly shape, but the adhesive pad has an elliptical shape as shown in FIG. 5, or'X as shown in FIG. 'It may have a ruler shape, the shape of the adhesive pad is not limited to this, and has an internal structure that maintains various shapes and an incident angle of the ultrasonic sensor module 10 in response to the curvature of the skin 100 to measure blood flow. It might be.

For example, as in the present embodiment, the adhesive pad 41a having a butterfly shape is a form that can be attached to a neck portion, and the sensor position is narrow and the attachment portion has a wide shape. In addition, after grasping the measurement position with one hand, the release paper 45 can be removed with the other hand and fixed to the skin 100.

5, the adhesive pad 41b having an oval shape in the blood flow measuring device 1b according to another embodiment of the present invention is a simple structure that can be attached to the neck, etc. Use adhesively.

As shown in FIG. 6, the adhesive pad 41c having an'X' shape in the blood flow measuring device 1c according to another embodiment of the present invention has a shape that can be attached to a portion having a high curvature such as the back of the hand, thereby maximizing the adhesive site. Can be used.

As such, the cartridge portion 20 of the blood flow measuring device 1a according to an embodiment of the present invention can be separated from the Doppler sensor module connected to the body portion 50, so that only the cartridge portion 20 can be easily replaced. Can. In the cartridge portion 20, the gel 31 and the sensor casing 21 are disposable and can be replaced after ultrasonic measurement, thereby reducing the infection in use and hygienic use.

In addition, in the present embodiment, ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic sensor module may be incident perpendicularly to the skin of the examinee, or may be inclined to the skin of the examinee according to the body part. To this end, the sensor casing 21 may be provided with a structure for setting an ultrasound providing angle in accordance with a location where blood flow or blood vessel condition measurement is performed. In one embodiment, the sensor casing 21 may include a structure capable of changing the angle of providing ultrasound according to a body position in which the ultrasound module is disposed. That is, the sensor casing is not shown, but the structure in which the angle is adjusted with respect to the skin of the examinee is not shown, such as selecting an attachment pad according to the body part so that ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic sensor module can be incident on the skin of the examinee. Can have In addition, in another embodiment, the sensor casing 21 is a structure specialized for each body part in which blood flow or blood vessel condition measurement is performed using Doppler ultrasound (eg, at a specific angle to the skin surface for each body part) There may be several types with an inclined structure). The user can select and use an appropriate attachment pad and sensor casing type according to the body position where the ultrasound module is disposed for measuring blood flow or blood vessel condition.

The body unit 50 is connected to the ultrasonic sensor module 10 mounted on the cartridge unit 20 by wire 60 or wirelessly, and outputs blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module 10.

In this embodiment, the main body 50 and the ultrasonic sensor module 10 are illustrated as being connected by a wire 60, but are not limited thereto, and the main body 50 and the ultrasonic sensor module 10 are not shown. The communication module may be provided inside to be connected wirelessly.

The main body 50 includes a display for providing a user or a test subject with a blood flow abnormality prediction result analyzing the blood flow measurement result or the blood flow measurement result.

Meanwhile, the main body 50 may include a circuit configuration diagram as shown in FIG. 7.

The main body part 50 supplies power to the mounting part for generating ultrasonic doppler to the ultrasonic sensor module 10, a control part to amplify and process the Doppler signal received from the ultrasonic sensor module 10, and to analyze the body part 50. And a display communication unit connected to a communication module connected to the control unit to display a blood flow abnormality prediction result obtained by analyzing the blood flow measurement result or the blood flow measurement result from the control unit to a user or a testee.

Here, although not shown, the main body may be separated into an ultrasonic control unit for controlling ultrasonic waves and a tablet device. As described above, when the main body is separated into the ultrasound control unit and the tablet device, the tablet device may be connected to the ultrasound control unit by being inserted into a cradle in the body unit of blood flow and blood vessel state measurement politics according to an embodiment of the present invention. Through these tablet devices, Bluetooth, USB, WiFi, LTE interlocking, smart phone and other medical device products and measurement value interlock log (thermometer, blood pressure monitor, electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation meter, blood sugar meter, weight scale, body fat meter, cholesterol meter data linkage support ), it is possible to collect and manage vital signs affecting vascular health.

The main body 50 transmits blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module 10 to an external server (not shown) or a computing device (not shown), such as a smartphone, and blood flow from the computing device as an embodiment. Acquiring and outputting the analysis result for abnormal prediction. In one embodiment, the external server includes an in-depth neural network-based analysis model for predicting blood flow abnormalities, and predicts blood flow abnormalities after a specific time of a test subject with blood flow signals transmitted from a blood flow measurement device (that is, the main body). Calculate the results of the analysis.

In addition, the body unit 50 is another embodiment, and analyzes blood flow based on blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module 10, and analyzes blood flow abnormalities (for example, blood flow state measurement results or blood flow) As a result, it is also possible to output a result of predicting the thickness of the blood vessel wall.

On the other hand, as shown in one embodiment in Figure 8 through the body portion 50, the maximum systolic blood flow rate, the end of diastolic blood flow rate, the average blood flow rate, pulsation index (elasticity of blood vessels), circulation resistance, heart rate, thrombus / Can calculate blood flow and vascular condition data such as stenosis degree, ambient temperature and humidity, and stroke index by location.

With this configuration, the process of measuring blood flow using the blood flow and vascular condition measuring apparatus 1a in one embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows.

First, the protective cover 33 of the sensor casing 21 is removed. At this time, the gel 31 is previously accommodated in the receiving groove 25 of the sensor casing 21.

Next, the ultrasonic sensor module 10 is mounted through one side opening of the sensor casing 21 to couple the ultrasonic sensor module 10 to the sensor casing 21.

Then, the location of the blood vessel to be tested for blood flow is determined.

When the position of the blood vessel is grasped, the release paper 45 of the adhesive pad 41a is removed and the adhesive surface of the adhesive pad 41a is adhered to the skin 100 to fix the cartridge portion 20 to the skin 100. .

Subsequently, blood flow of the corresponding blood vessel is measured through the ultrasonic sensor module 10, and the measured blood flow measurement data is transmitted to the main body 50.

That is, when ultrasonic waves of a certain frequency are generated by the ultrasonic sensor module 10, ultrasonic waves of the frequency are incident on a target such as red blood cells inside the human body, and the signal reflected from the target reflects blood flow measurement data obtained through a Doppler ultrasound probe. It is transmitted to the body portion 50.

The main body part 50 transmits blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module 10 to an external server or mobile terminal, and the external server or mobile terminal detects the frequency shift of the received signal due to the movement of the target, thereby targeting red blood cells. Determine the rate, and analyze for abnormalities in blood flow.

In addition, the main body unit 50 obtains an analysis result for blood flow abnormality from an external server or a mobile terminal, provides it to the blood flow analysis server, and receives prediction results such as the presence or absence of disease and the likelihood from the blood flow analysis server to inform the testee. .

Here, the body unit 50 may not provide blood flow measurement data provided from the ultrasonic sensor module 10 to an external server, a mobile terminal, or a blood flow analysis server. In this case, the body unit 50 analyzes the blood flow by determining the speed of the target by detecting the frequency shift of the received signal due to the movement of the target, such as red blood cells, based on the blood flow measurement data provided from the ultrasonic sensor module 10 Thereafter, an analysis result for blood flow abnormality may be output.

On the other hand, when such a series of blood flow measurements are completed, the cartridge unit 20 is separated from the skin 100.

Thus, the measurement of blood flow using the blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring apparatus 1a according to an embodiment of the present invention is completed.

On the other hand, when the measurement of blood flow is completed, the adhesive pad 41a is separated from the cartridge unit 20 separated from the skin 100 and discarded. On the other hand, the blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring apparatus 1a according to the present invention, since the cartridge portion 20 is detachable from the body portion 50, only the cartridge portion 20, for example, a gel 31 and a sensor casing 21 ) Can be used interchangeably.

As described above, according to the present invention, not only in the hospital but also at home, the subject is easily attached to a desired position on the body, such as the neck carotid artery, as well as the head and legs (venous vein), and in addition to continuous blood flow information, vascular condition information such as vascular elasticity ( Stiffness) and vascular wall thickness can be obtained, stenosis can be obtained, and simple measurement monitoring can be provided to predict the presence or absence of disease, and to manage blood vessel health to reduce medical expenses.

The blood flow and vascular condition measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is continuously monitoring blood flow during various surgeries or procedures (for example, surgery using a cardiopulmonary bypass, surgery with a bench chair position), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) ) Or can be used for continuous blood flow monitoring in critically ill patients with vital signs. In particular, it can be used not only for the carotid artery but also for the ultrasound of the lower extremity artery and the ultrasound of the arteriovenous fistula for dialysis. In addition, the blood flow and vascular condition measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can be used when diagnosing orthostatic hypotension by measuring changes in blood flow during a head-up tilt test, and stroke at home It can be used for predicting the like. In addition, an apparatus for measuring blood flow and vascular conditions according to an embodiment of the present invention may be used to diagnose or predict the occurrence of embolism during or after surgery, surgery, or usual. The blood flow analysis system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an analysis server and a client device.

The analysis server 100 is composed of one or more computers to form a deep neural network and serves to analyze blood flow sound signals.

A deep neural network (DNN) according to embodiments of the present invention means a system or a network that builds one or more layers in one or more computers to perform judgment based on a plurality of data. For example, the deep neural network may be implemented as a set of layers including a convolutional pooling layer, a locally-connected layer and a fully-connected layer. The convolutional pooling layer or local connection layer can be configured to extract features in the image. The fully connected layer can determine the correlation between the features of the image. In some embodiments, the overall structure of the deep neural network may be in the form of a convolutional pooling layer followed by a local connection layer and a local connection layer followed by a full connection layer. The deep neural network may include various criteria (ie, parameters), and may add new criteria (ie, parameters) through input image analysis.

The deep neural network according to the embodiments of the present invention is a structure called a convolutional neural network suitable for image analysis, as shown in FIG. 2, and features a feature of self-learning the feature having the greatest discriminative power from given image data. The extraction layer (Feature Extraction Layer) and a prediction layer (Prediction Layer) for learning a prediction model to obtain the highest prediction performance based on the extracted features may be configured as an integrated structure.

The feature extraction layer spatially integrates a feature map and a convolution layer that creates a feature map by applying a plurality of filters to each region of the image. It may be formed in a structure that repeats the pooling layer alternately several times to allow extraction. Through this, various levels of features can be extracted from low-level features such as points, lines, and faces to complex and meaningful high-level features.

The convolution layer obtains a feature map by taking a non-linear activation function in the dot product of the filter and the local receptive field for each patch of the input image. In comparison, CNN is characterized by using filters with sparse connectivity and shared weights. Such a connection structure reduces the number of parameters to be learned and efficiently improves prediction performance by making learning through a backpropagation algorithm efficient.

The integrated layer (Pooling Layer or Sub-sampling Layer) creates a new feature map by utilizing the local information of the feature map obtained from the previous convolution layer. In general, the feature map newly created by the integrated layer is reduced to a smaller size than the original feature map. As a typical method of integration, the maximum pooling that selects the maximum value of the corresponding area in the feature map and the corresponding feature within the feature map And Average Pooling, which calculates the average value of a region. The feature map of the integrated layer may generally be less affected by the location of any structure or pattern present in the input image than the feature map of the previous layer. That is, the integrated layer can extract features that are more robust to regional changes such as noise or distortion in the input image or the previous feature map, and these features can play an important role in classification performance. Another role of the integrated layer is to enable the deeper structure to reflect the characteristics of a wider area as it goes up to the upper learning layer. As the feature extraction layer is accumulated, the lower layer reflects regional features and goes up to the upper layer. More and more features can be generated that reflect the characteristics of a more abstract overall image.

As such, the final feature extracted through repetition of the convolutional layer and the integrated layer is that a classification model such as a multi-layer perception (MLP) or a support vector machine (SVM) is a fully connected layer. -connected layer) to be used for classification model learning and prediction.

However, the structure of the deep neural network according to the embodiments of the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be formed of neural networks having various structures.

The client is a device for measuring a user's blood flow sound wave signal (for example, a device for measuring blood flow and blood vessel state) or a device for providing an analysis server's blood flow condition analysis result (for example, a device for measuring blood flow and blood vessel state with a display) Or a mobile terminal with a display). In one embodiment, when the client is a blood flow and blood vessel state measuring device, the blood flow and blood vessel state measuring device transmits the blood flow signal obtained through the wireless communication to the analysis server, and inputs the blood flow signal to the learning model from the analysis server to calculate One analysis result can be received and provided on the screen. The detailed description of the blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring apparatus will be omitted.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing its technical spirit or essential features. You will understand. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.

1a, 1b, 1c: Blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring device
10: ultrasonic sensor module
20: cartridge unit
21: sensor casing
25: acceptance home
31: Gel
33: protective cover
35: transparent film
41a, 41b, 41c: adhesive pad
45: Lee Hyung Ji
50: main body

Claims (10)

An ultrasonic sensor module generating ultrasonic waves;
The ultrasonic sensor module is detachable and includes a sensor casing formed with an accommodating groove through which the gel passing through the ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic sensor module is exchanged, and an adhesive pad supporting the sensor casing and attached to the skin of a subject, A cartridge unit for measuring blood flow status; And
It is connected to the ultrasonic sensor module by wire or wireless, and includes a body portion for outputting blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module, blood flow and blood vessel state measurement device. According to claim 1,
The sensor casing has a hollow cylinder shape with both sides open,
The cartridge unit,
A protective cover detachably provided on one side opening of the sensor casing to prevent contamination of the gel accommodated in the receiving groove; And
It is provided while maintaining airtightness in the other side opening of the sensor casing, further comprising a transparent film through which the ultrasound passes through the gel accommodated in the receiving groove, blood flow and blood vessel state measuring device. According to claim 1,
On one side of the adhesive pad is formed an adhesive surface to be adhered to the skin of the testee, the release surface for separating the adhesive surface to prevent contamination of the adhesive surface, blood flow and blood vessel state measuring device. According to claim 1,
The sensor casing is made of a diffusely reflective material, blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring device. According to claim 1,
The body unit transmits blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module to an external server or computing device, obtains and outputs an analysis result for blood flow abnormality prediction from the external server or the computing device, and measures blood flow and blood vessel state Device. According to claim 1,
The body unit analyzes blood flow based on blood flow measurement data measured from the ultrasonic sensor module, and outputs an analysis result for blood flow abnormalities. A sensor casing in which an ultrasonic sensor module is detached and an accommodating groove is formed in which a gel passing through the ultrasonic waves generated from the ultrasonic sensor module is replaceable; And
A cartridge portion supporting the sensor casing and including an adhesive pad attached to the skin of a subject. The method of claim 7,
The sensor casing has a hollow cylinder shape with both sides open,
A protective cover detachably provided on one side opening of the sensor casing to prevent contamination of the gel accommodated in the receiving groove; And
The cartridge portion further includes a transparent film provided to maintain airtightness in the other side opening of the sensor casing and through which the ultrasonic waves passing through the gel accommodated in the receiving groove are transmitted. A blood flow and vascular condition measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 6; And
A blood flow measurement system including an external server that calculates an analysis result predicting blood flow abnormalities after a specific time of a test subject with blood flow signals transmitted from the blood flow and blood vessel condition measuring apparatus. The method of claim 9,
The external server includes a deep neural network-based analysis model for predicting blood flow abnormalities, a blood flow measurement system.

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