KR20230007650A - Method, server and computer program for designing customized headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation - Google Patents

Abstract

A method, a server, and a computer program for designing a customized headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation are provided. The method for designing a customized headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation, according to various embodiments of the present invention, is a method of designing a customized headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation, which applies electrical stimulation to a preset target point in the object's brain and is run by a computing device. The method comprises the steps of: obtaining a head image of the object; creating a headgear mask by using the acquired head image; creating a stimulator mask by using an optimal stimulation position combination for applying electrical stimulation to the preset target point; and generating a customized headgear mask for the object by performing a subtraction operation between the generated headgear mask and the generated stimulator mask.

Description

Customized headgear design method, server and computer program for transcranial direct current stimulation

Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a custom headgear design method, server, and computer program for transcranial direct current stimulation in which electrical stimulation is applied to a predetermined target point in the brain of an object.

The brain is the internal organ of the human head and is the highest central organ of the nervous system. In addition, the brain generates EEG, which is a signal in which the sum of neuron activity levels is measured in the epidermis of the brain.

As a method of measuring the state of the brain, first, an EEG (electroencephalogram) test in which a pad equipped with electrodes is attached to the scalp to measure and examine brain waves received from the electrodes, or a tomogram of the brain from various angles using radiation or ultrasound There are CT scans that take pictures and scans, and MRI scans that take pictures of the brain by magnetic resonance.

Various concepts are known in the field of neural stimulation of brain structures, and brain stimulation to achieve a predetermined purpose by stimulating the brain is largely divided into invasive brain stimulation and non-invasive brain stimulation. do.

Invasive brain stimulation is a method of infiltrating electrodes into the brain through surgery and applying electrical signals, and non-invasive brain stimulation is a method of achieving a predetermined effect by stimulating the brain without invading electrodes into the skull.

Specific brain stimulation techniques include deep electrical stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial electrical stimulation (TES), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). ) and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS).

Among them, the brain electrical stimulation technology using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is one of the relatively simple non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, and it is used to improve cognitive ability, depression, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), epilepsy, dementia, sleep disorders, etc. It is known to be effective in treating cranial nerve diseases, and many studies related to this are being actively conducted.

A method of stimulating the brain using a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device is to connect an anode and a cathode electrode to a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device that generates a direct current, and connect the anode electrode ( When current is injected into the anode, the current passes through the brain and returns to the cathode.

In this case, current flows from the anode to the cathode to stimulate the cerebrum, and the direction of electrical stimulation may need to be changed depending on the treatment method.

On the other hand, in the conventional transcranial direct current stimulation method, since the user directly selects the position to be attached and attaches the electrode to the selected position, the position of the electrode selected by the user is the target point of the brain, that is, the point to apply electrical stimulation. There is a problem in that it is not known with certainty whether it is a position that can be stimulated accurately.

In addition, even if the location selected by the user is a location where the target point of the brain can be accurately stimulated, it is difficult to accurately attach the electrode to the location selected by the user. There is a problem that it is very difficult to attach.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1758903 (2017.07.11)

An object to be solved by the present invention is to apply electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point in the brain of a subject using a result of electrical stimulation simulation using a plurality of stimulation positions according to a predetermined guide system (eg, 10-20 system) By determining the optimal stimulation position combination and generating a customized headgear mask for the object in consideration of the optimal stimulation position included in the determined optimal stimulation combination, electrodes are accurately attached to the optimal stimulation position to accurately conduct electricity to the target point of the subject's brain. To provide a customized headgear design method, server, and computer program for transcranial direct current stimulation that enables stimulation to be applied.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

A custom headgear design method for transcranial direct current stimulation according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems is performed by a computing device, and applies transcranial stimulation to a predetermined target point in the brain of an object. A method for designing a customized headgear for direct current stimulation, comprising: obtaining an image of the head of the object; generating a headgear mask using the obtained image of the head; optimizing electrical stimulation for applying electrical stimulation to the preset target point generating a stimulator mask by using a combination of magnetic pole positions, and generating a customized headgear mask for the object by performing a subtraction operation between the generated headgear mask and the generated stimulator mask. there is.

In various embodiments, the generating of the headgear mask may include generating a head mask for the object using the obtained head image, processing the generated head mask, and processing the image-processed head image. The method may include generating the headgear mask by performing a subtraction operation between the mask and the generated head mask.

In various embodiments, the generating of the headgear mask may include setting a plurality of reference points on the generated headgear mask, and at least a portion of the generated headgear mask using the set plurality of reference points. It may include the step of removing.

In various embodiments, the plurality of reference points are four reference points respectively corresponding to the nasion, lnion, left pre-auricular, and right pre-auricular of the object. In the step of removing at least a partial region of the generated headgear mask, the generated headgear mask is divided into an upper region and a lower region based on a plane including the four reference points, and the division and removing the lower region from the generated headgear mask.

In various embodiments, the plurality of reference points include two reference points respectively corresponding to a left pre-auricular and a right pre-auricular, and at least a partial region of the generated headgear mask In the removing step, two holes are created by removing at least a partial area adjacent to each of the two reference points, and the two holes are created using the customized headgear mask and the customized headgear. It may include inserting a chinstrap fixing the chin of the object wearing the customized headgear.

In the generating of the headgear mask, one or more holes are created by removing at least a partial region of the generated headgear mask, and the created holes are used to apply electric stimulation to the predetermined target point of the object. It may include a step of inserting electrode lines attached to the head and exposing the inserted electrode lines from the inside of the customized headgear manufactured using the generated customized headgear mask to the outside.

In various embodiments, the generating of the stimulator mask may include simulating electrical stimulation to the brain of the object using a plurality of stimulation positions according to a preset guide system, and using a result of simulating the electrical stimulation. The method may further include determining the optimal magnetic pole position combination and generating a stimulator mask based on a plurality of optimal magnetic pole positions included in the determined optimal magnetic pole position combination.

In various embodiments, the determining of the optimal stimulation position combination includes determining a plurality of optimal stimulation position combinations for applying electrical stimulation to each of the plurality of target points when the preset target points are plural; , The step of generating a plurality of stimulator masks corresponding to each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions may include generating a plurality of stimulator masks corresponding to each of the determined plurality of optimal stimulation position combinations, and combining the generated plurality of stimulator masks to form one. It may include generating a stimulator mask of

In various embodiments, the determining of the optimal stimulation position combination may include setting the maximum number of stimulation positions to which electrical stimulation is to be applied to the predetermined target point, and the number of optimal stimulation positions included in the determined optimal stimulation position combination. and compensating the determined optimum combination of stimulation positions by comparing the set maximum number of stimulation positions with the set number of stimulation positions, wherein generating a stimulator mask corresponding to each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions includes the corrected optimum combination of stimulation positions. and generating a stimulator mask corresponding to each of a plurality of optimal stimulation positions included in .

In various embodiments, converting the generated customized headgear mask into a 3D polygonal lattice structure and 3D printing the customized headgear mask converted into the 3D polygonal lattice structure to manufacture a customized headgear for the object. It may further include steps to do.

A custom headgear design server for transcranial direct current stimulation according to another embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems is a processor, a network interface, a memory, and loaded into the memory and executed by the processor A computer program comprising: an instruction for obtaining a head image of an object, an instruction for generating a headgear mask using the acquired head image, and an electric current applied to a target point set in the brain of the object An instruction for generating a stimulator mask using an optimal combination of stimulation positions for applying a stimulus and performing a subtraction operation between the generated headgear mask and the generated stimulator mask to generate a customized headgear mask for the target object may contain instructions.

A computer program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium according to another embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems is combined with a computing device to obtain a head image of an object, the obtained head image Generating a headgear mask by using, generating a stimulator mask by using a combination of optimal stimulation positions for applying electric stimulation to a predetermined target point in the brain of the subject, and the generated headgear mask and the generated headgear mask It may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium in order to execute a step of generating a customized headgear mask for the target object by performing a subtraction operation between stimulator masks.

Other specific details of the invention are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, applying electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point in the brain of an object using a result of electrical stimulation simulation using a plurality of stimulation positions according to a predetermined guide system (eg, 10-20 system) By determining the optimal stimulation position combination for the target and generating a customized headgear mask for the object in consideration of the optimal stimulation position included in the determined optimal stimulation combination, electrodes are accurately attached to the optimal stimulation position to accurately target the target point of the object's brain. It has the advantage of being able to apply electrical stimulation.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

1 is a diagram showing a customized headgear design system for transcranial direct current stimulation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a customized headgear design server for transcranial direct current stimulation according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart of a method for determining an optimal magnetic pole position combination using a preset guide system in various embodiments.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of simulating electrical stimulation using a 3D brain map in various embodiments.
5 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating an MRI image of a brain of an object and a result of segmenting the MRI image according to various embodiments.
6 is a diagram illustrating a process of removing noise from an MRI image divided into a plurality of regions by performing noise removal based on a connected component, in various embodiments.
7 is a diagram illustrating a process of performing hole rejection on an MRI image divided into a plurality of regions and generating a 3D brain image using the hole rejection process, in various embodiments.
8 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a form in which an optimal combination of magnetic pole positions among a plurality of magnetic pole positions according to a 10-20 system is determined in various embodiments.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of simulating electrical stimulation by filtering stimulation positions, in various embodiments.
10 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a form of filtering at least one magnetic pole position by setting a filtering target region in various embodiments.
FIG. 11 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a shape in which a brain region of an object is divided into a left hemisphere region and a right hemisphere region, according to various embodiments.
12 is a diagram exemplarily illustrating a first user interface (UI) provided by a customized headgear design server for transcranial direct current stimulation in various embodiments.
13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of correcting an optimal combination of stimulation positions according to a limited number of available electrodes, in various embodiments.
14 and 15 exemplarily illustrate a second UI provided by a customized headgear design server for transcranial direct current stimulation in various embodiments.
16 is a flowchart illustrating a method of correcting a current value to be applied to a stimulation position according to current resolution of a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device, in various embodiments.
17 and 18 exemplarily illustrate a third UI provided by a customized headgear design server for transcranial direct current stimulation in various embodiments.
19 is a flow chart of a custom headgear design method for transcranial direct current stimulation according to another embodiment of the present invention.
20 is a diagram illustrating a process of generating a headgear mask customized for an object according to a custom headgear design method for transcranial direct current stimulation, in various embodiments.
21 is a diagram illustrating a process of performing transcranial direct current stimulation using a customized headgear manufactured through a customized headgear mask in various embodiments.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods of achieving them, will become clear with reference to the detailed description of the following embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, only these embodiments are intended to complete the disclosure of the present invention, and are common in the art to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to fully inform the person skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

Terminology used herein is for describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, singular forms also include plural forms unless specifically stated otherwise in a phrase. As used herein, "comprises" and/or "comprising" does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other elements other than the recited elements. Like reference numerals throughout the specification refer to like elements, and “and/or” includes each and every combination of one or more of the recited elements. Although "first", "second", etc. are used to describe various components, these components are not limited by these terms, of course. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the first element mentioned below may also be the second element within the technical spirit of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this specification may be used with meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. In addition, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are not interpreted ideally or excessively unless explicitly specifically defined.

The term "unit" or "module" used in the specification means a hardware component such as software, FPGA or ASIC, and "unit" or "module" performs certain roles. However, "unit" or "module" is not meant to be limited to software or hardware. A “unit” or “module” may be configured to reside in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to reproduce one or more processors. Thus, as an example, a “unit” or “module” may refer to components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays and variables. Functions provided within components and "units" or "modules" may be combined into smaller numbers of components and "units" or "modules" or may be combined into additional components and "units" or "modules". can be further separated.

The spatially relative terms "below", "beneath", "lower", "above", "upper", etc. It can be used to easily describe a component's correlation with other components. Spatially relative terms should be understood as including different orientations of elements in use or operation in addition to the orientations shown in the drawings. For example, if you flip a component that is shown in a drawing, a component described as "below" or "beneath" another component will be placed "above" the other component. can Thus, the exemplary term “below” may include directions of both below and above. Components may also be oriented in other orientations, and thus spatially relative terms may be interpreted according to orientation.

In this specification, a computer means any kind of hardware device including at least one processor, and may be understood as encompassing a software configuration operating in a corresponding hardware device according to an embodiment. For example, a computer may be understood as including a smartphone, a tablet PC, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, and user clients and applications running on each device, but is not limited thereto.

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

Although each step described in this specification is described as being performed by a computer, the subject of each step is not limited thereto, and at least a part of each step may be performed in different devices according to embodiments.

1 is a diagram showing a customized headgear design system for transcranial direct current stimulation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a customized headgear design system for transcranial direct current stimulation according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a customized headgear design server 100 (hereinafter referred to as “server 100”) for transcranial direct current stimulation. , the user terminal 200 and the external server 300 may be included.

Here, the customized headgear design system for transcranial direct current stimulation shown in FIG. 1 is according to an embodiment, and its components are not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. may be deleted.

In one embodiment, the server 100 may determine an optimal stimulation location combination for applying electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point in the brain of an object (eg, patient) according to transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and the determined optimal stimulation Headgear tailored to the subject may be designed so that electrical stimulation can be applied by accurately attaching electrodes to each of a plurality of optimal stimulation positions included in the position combination.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may simulate electrical stimulation to the brain of the object based on a preset guide system defining a plurality of stimulation positions for the brain of the object in order to perform the transcranial direct current stimulation method; An optimal combination of stimulation positions for accurately applying electric stimulation to a specific target point may be determined using a simulation result, and information on the determined optimal combination of stimulation positions may be provided.

Here, the information on the optimal stimulation position combination determined and provided according to the above method not only includes information on the electrode attachment position enabling electrical stimulation to be accurately applied to a predetermined target point in the brain of the subject, but also Information on how much and for how long a current value to be applied through an electrode attached to a stimulation site of the body (ie, current value, current application time, etc.) may also be included, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, the server 100 may generate a customized headgear mask for the object using the head image of the object and the optimal combination of stimulation positions determined according to the above method, and use this to manufacture the customized headgear through 3D printing. there is.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may be connected to the user terminal 200 through the network 400, a service for determining an optimal stimulation position combination using a preset guide system, and information on the optimal stimulation position combination determined using the same. and a customized headgear design service using the determined optimal magnetic pole position combination can be provided. At this time, the service provided by the server 100 may be implemented and provided in the form of a web or application, but is not limited thereto.

Here, the user terminal 200 may include an operating system capable of running an application in order to execute a service in the form of an application provided by the server 100, and may include a UI provided by the server 100 (e.g., FIG. 12 ). It may be a smartphone including a display in a predetermined area in order to output 1 UI 50, the 2 UI 60 of FIGS. 14 and 15, and the 3 UI 70 of FIGS. 17 and 18). , but not limited thereto, the user terminal 200 is a wireless communication device that ensures portability and mobility, and includes navigation, PCS (Personal Communication System), GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), PDC (Personal Digital Cellular), PHS ( Personal Handyphone System), PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication)-2000, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)-2000, W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet) terminal , smart pad (Smartpad), tablet PC (Tablet PC), such as all kinds of handheld (Handheld) based wireless communication devices can be included.

Also, here, the network 400 may refer to a connection structure capable of exchanging information between nodes such as a plurality of terminals and servers. For example, the network 400 includes a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a world wide web (WWW), a wired and wireless data communication network, a telephone network, a wired and wireless television communication network, and the like. do.

In addition, here, the wireless data communication networks are 3G, 4G, 5G, 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), 5GPP (5th Generation Partnership Project), LTE (Long Term Evolution), WIMAX (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi) Fi), Internet, LAN (Local Area Network), Wireless LAN (Wireless Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network), PAN (Personal Area Network), RF (Radio Frequency), Bluetooth network, A Near-Field Communication (NFC) network, a satellite broadcasting network, an analog broadcasting network, a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) network, and the like are included, but are not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the external server 300 may be connected to the server 100 through the network 400, and the server 100 is used to determine the optimal stimulation position combination using a preset guide system and for transcranial direct current stimulation. It is possible to provide necessary information and data (eg, pre-computation information, calculation model for simulation, etc.) to provide a customized headgear design method, and various information and data generated as the server 100 performs the above method. Data (e.g. custom headgear masks) can be stored and managed.

In various embodiments, the external server 300 may be a storage server provided separately outside the server 100, but is not limited thereto. Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2 , the hardware configuration of the server 100 that performs a custom headgear design method for transcranial direct current stimulation will be described.

2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a customized headgear design server for transcranial direct current stimulation according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , in various embodiments, the server 100 includes one or more processors 110, a memory 120 that loads a computer program 151 executed by the processor 110, and a bus 130. ), a communication interface 140 and a storage 150 for storing the computer program 151. Here, in FIG. 2, only components related to the embodiment of the present invention are shown. Therefore, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can know that other general-purpose components may be further included in addition to the components shown in FIG. 2 .

The processor 110 controls the overall operation of each component of the server 100. The processor 110 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Micro Processor Unit (MPU), a Micro Controller Unit (MCU), a Graphic Processing Unit (GPU), or any type of processor well known in the art of the present invention. It can be.

Also, the processor 110 may perform an operation for at least one application or program for executing a method according to embodiments of the present invention, and the server 100 may include one or more processors.

In various embodiments, the processor 110 may temporarily and/or permanently store signals (or data) processed in the processor 110 (RAM: Random Access Memory, not shown) and ROM (ROM: Read -Only Memory, not shown) may be further included. In addition, the processor 110 may be implemented in the form of a system on chip (SoC) including at least one of a graphics processing unit, RAM, and ROM.

Memory 120 stores various data, commands and/or information. Memory 120 may load computer program 151 from storage 150 to execute methods/operations according to various embodiments of the present invention. When the computer program 151 is loaded into the memory 120, the processor 110 may perform the method/operation by executing one or more instructions constituting the computer program 151. The memory 120 may be implemented as a volatile memory such as RAM, but the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The bus 130 provides a communication function between components of the server 100 . The bus 130 may be implemented in various types of buses such as an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus.

The communication interface 140 supports wired and wireless Internet communication of the server 100 . Also, the communication interface 140 may support various communication methods other than internet communication. To this end, the communication interface 140 may include a communication module well known in the art. In some embodiments, communication interface 140 may be omitted.

The storage 150 may non-temporarily store the computer program 151 . When a custom headgear design process for transcranial direct current stimulation is performed through the server 100, the storage 150 may store various types of information required to provide a custom headgear design process for transcranial direct current stimulation.

The storage 150 may be a non-volatile memory such as read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, or the like, a hard disk, a removable disk, or a device well known in the art. It may be configured to include any known type of computer-readable recording medium.

Computer program 151 may include one or more instructions that when loaded into memory 120 cause processor 110 to perform methods/operations in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. That is, the processor 110 may perform the method/operation according to various embodiments of the present disclosure by executing the one or more instructions.

In an embodiment, the computer program 151 may perform steps of acquiring a head image of the object, generating a headgear mask using the acquired head image, and selecting an optimal combination of stimulation positions for applying electrical stimulation to a preset target point. A customizable head for transcranial direct current stimulation, comprising generating a stimulator mask using a stimulator mask and performing a subtraction operation between the generated headgear mask and the generated stimulator mask to create a customized headgear mask for an object. It may contain one or more instructions that cause the gear design method to be performed.

In addition, the computer program 151 simulates electrical stimulation to the brain of the object by using a plurality of stimulation positions according to a preset guide system, and the computer program 151 simulates electrical stimulation to the brain of the object by using a result of simulating the electrical stimulation. It may include one or more instructions for performing an optimal stimulation position combination determination method using a preset guide system, including determining an optimal stimulation position combination for applying electric stimulation to a target point.

In addition, the computer program 151 performs a step of filtering a plurality of stimulation positions corresponding to a predetermined condition from among a plurality of stimulation positions according to a predetermined guide system, and using the remaining stimulation positions excluding the filtered stimulation positions from among the plurality of stimulation positions to obtain an object object. It may include one or more instructions to perform an electrical stimulation simulation method for determining an optimal stimulation location combination comprising simulating electrical stimulation to the brain of a person.

Steps of a method or algorithm to be described in relation to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented directly in hardware, implemented in a software module executed by hardware, or implemented by a combination thereof. A software module may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or It may reside in any form of computer readable recording medium well known in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Components of the present invention may be implemented as a program (or application) to be executed in combination with a computer, which is hardware, and stored in a medium. Components of the present invention may be implemented as software programming or software elements, and similarly, embodiments may include various algorithms implemented as data structures, processes, routines, or combinations of other programming constructs, such as C, C++ , Java (Java), can be implemented in a programming or scripting language such as assembler (assembler). Functional aspects may be implemented in an algorithm running on one or more processors. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 20 , a method of determining an optimal magnetic pole position combination using a preset guide system performed by the server 100 and a method of designing a custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation will be described.

3 is a flowchart of a method for determining an optimal magnetic pole position combination using a preset guide system in various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in step S110 , the server 100 may simulate electrical stimulation of the brain of the object by using a plurality of stimulation positions according to a preset guide system.

Here, the preset guide system defines a plurality of stimulation positions for the brain of an object in advance in order to guide the transcranial direct current stimulation method, and accordingly guides the electrode attachment position so that electrical stimulation can be applied to a target point in the brain. system can mean. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the preset guide system may be an EEG measurement 10-20 system 40 according to the international 10-20 system standard electrode attachment method, and a plurality of stimulation positions are 10-20 systems. , it may mean a position where a plurality of EEG measurement channels (19, 24, 68, 128, or 256, caps or individual electrodes) are attached to the head of the object, but is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may generate a 3D brain map corresponding to the brain of the object and simulate electrical stimulation using a plurality of stimulation locations using the generated 3D brain map. Hereinafter, it will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7 .

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of simulating electrical stimulation using a 3D brain map in various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4 , in step S210, the server 100 may acquire a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image (eg, 10 of FIG. 5A) of the brain of the object.

Here, the MRI image of the brain of the object may refer to an MRI image of a head portion including the brain of the object. That is, the MRI image of the brain of the object may include not only the brain of the object but also the skull and scalp of the object. For example, the server 100 may be connected to a computer, which is a workstation connected to the MRI image acquisition device, and may acquire an MRI image of the brain of an object directly from the MRI image acquisition device through the computer. However, it is not limited thereto.

In step S220, the server 100 may divide (segment) the MRI image acquired in step S210 into a plurality of regions (eg, 11 in FIG. 5(B)).

In various embodiments, the server 100 may generate a plurality of regions by analyzing acquired MRI images and segmenting the MRI images according to brain regions. For example, the server 100 may divide the MRI image into a brain white matter region, a gray matter region, a cerebrospinal fluid region, a skull region, and a scalp region, but is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may divide the MRI image into a plurality of regions by analyzing the MRI image using a pre-learned artificial intelligence model.

Here, the pre-learned artificial intelligence model includes one or more batch normalization layers, activation layers, and convolution layers, and learns MRI images divided into a plurality of regions according to brain regions. It may be an artificial intelligence model (eg, a model learned using machine learning, in particular, a model learned using deep learning) learned according to a machine learning-based learning method using data.

In addition, the pre-learned artificial intelligence model includes a horizontal pipeline consisting of a plurality of blocks that extracts high-level features from low-level features of MRI images and a vertical pipeline that collects and performs segmentation on the features extracted from the horizontal pipeline. It may be configured to perform segmentation on an MRI image of relatively low quality, but is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may post-process MRI images divided into a plurality of regions according to the above method.

First, referring to FIG. 6 , the server 100 may perform connected component-based noise rejection on an MRI image divided into a plurality of regions.

Here, the connection component-based noise removal can be used in a process of improving the result of MRI image segmentation performed using a convolutional neural network (CNN). For example, as shown in FIG. 6 , the server 100 removes the remaining components 21a except for the connection component, which is the largest chunk, from the MRI image 21 divided into a plurality of regions. , it is possible to generate an MRI image 22 from which noise is removed.

Here, various techniques are known in relation to a method of performing connection component-based noise cancellation, and these various known techniques can be selectively applied according to circumstances. In this specification, connection performed by the server 100 A component-based noise removal method is not specifically disclosed.

Then, referring to FIG. 7 , the server 100 may perform hole rejection on an MRI image divided into a plurality of regions. Here, hole rejection can be used to remove a hole, which is one of errors in segmentation based on a convolutional neural network. For example, the server 100 may remove at least a portion of the hole 31A included in the MRI image 31 divided into a plurality of regions to generate the MRI image 32 from which the hole has been removed.

Here, with respect to the method of performing hole rejection, various technologies are known, as in the method of performing noise cancellation based on connected components, and these various known technologies can be selectively applied according to circumstances. A method of performing hole rejection performed by the server 100 is not specifically disclosed.

In step S230, the server 100 may generate a 3D brain image (eg, 33 of FIG. 7) using the MRI image divided into a plurality of regions (eg, the MRI image from which noise and holes are removed).

In step S240, the server 100 uses a plurality of meshes capable of simulating the transfer process of electrical stimulation based on the attributes of each of the plurality of regions included in the 3D brain image generated through step S230. A 3D brain map can be created. For example, the server 100 generates a 3D stereoscopic image composed of a plurality of spatial grids (Volumetric Mesh) including tetrahedron or hexahedron, or generates a three-dimensional stereoscopic image composed of a plurality of surface grids (Surface Mesh) including triangles or quadrilaterals. A 3D stereoscopic image may be generated, but is not limited thereto, and the type of lattice constituting the 3D stereoscopic image may be set differently depending on the purpose of the simulation.

In step S250, the server 100 may simulate electrical stimulation for a plurality of stimulation locations using a 3D brain map composed of a plurality of grids.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may generate precomputation information by precomputing some calculation processes of the simulation in order to improve simulation processing efficiency, such as increasing simulation calculation speed. Electrical stimulation for a plurality of stimulation locations can be simulated using the

First, the server 100 may obtain, as precomputation information, physical characteristics of each of a plurality of regions for simulating a flow of current according to electrical stimulation of the brain of an object.

Here, the physical property may be electrical conductivity (eg, at least one of isotropic electrical conductivity and anisotropic electrical conductivity of each of a plurality of regions), but is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may assign a known electrical conductivity through an experiment to each of the plurality of divided regions (eg, white matter 0.126 S/m, gray matter 0.276 S/m, cerebrospinal fluid 1.65 S/m). m, skull 0.01 S/m and skin 0.465 S/m).

Also, the server 100 may obtain anisotropic electrical conductivity for each of a plurality of regions from an MRI image including a conduction tensor image of the brain of the object. For example, considering that the eigenvector of the diffusion tensor image coincides with the eigenvector of the conduction tensor, the server 100 may obtain the anisotropic electrical conductivity according to the direction of the nerve fibers included in the diffusion tensor image.

Thereafter, the server 100 may set one of a plurality of stimulation positions as a reference stimulation position, and based on the set reference stimulation position, simulation is performed while changing the other stimulation positions excluding the reference stimulation position among the plurality of stimulation positions. can be done

For example, the server 100 may calculate the coordinate system of a preset guide system (eg, 10-20 system) based on the head image of the object. Thereafter, the server 100 sets a reference magnetic pole position among a plurality of magnetic pole positions, and selects at least one magnetic pole position among the set reference magnetic pole position and the remaining magnetic pole positions (the remaining magnetic pole positions excluding the reference magnetic pole position among the plurality of magnetic pole positions). Simulation can be performed by configuring one combination of stimulation positions.

That is, the server 100 determines a stimulation position combination including one reference stimulation position and at least one stimulation position among other stimulation positions excluding the reference stimulation position, and performs a simulation for each stimulation position combination to stimulate stimulation result can be obtained.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may randomly select two or more stimulation positions from among a plurality of stimulation positions, and obtain stimulation results by performing a simulation on the randomly selected two or more stimulation positions.

Here, the server 100 simulates electrical stimulation using a three-dimensional brain map composed of a plurality of lattices. A simulation of a plurality of magnetic pole positions may be performed using at least one of a finite difference method (FDM) and a finite vector method (FVM), but is not limited thereto.

Thereafter, the server 100 uses a result of a simulation generated by applying electrical stimulation to each of a plurality of stimulation positions according to a preset guide system, as pre-computation information for simulation, a linear relationship for each of a plurality of stimulation positions can be derived.

For example, stimulation results collected by applying electrical stimulation to each of a plurality of stimulation positions have linear characteristics, and the server 100 uses the stimulation results collected by applying electrical stimulation to each of a plurality of stimulation positions. Thus, a linear relationship between the plurality of magnetic pole positions can be derived. For example, since an electric field caused by a stimulus and a current density have a linear relationship with each other, a linear relationship such as Equation 1 below can be derived.

<Equation 1>

Here, E(C1 _a , C2 _b ) may be a brain current distribution when currents a and b are respectively applied to the first stimulation site C1 and the second stimulation site C2.

That is, using the linear relationship as in Equation 1 above, a linear equation of the form Ax = E can be derived (where x is the amount of current applied to the magnetic pole position), E is the electric field value and is 1) , the desired E value, that is, the electric field value can be linearly calculated by adjusting the x value.

Here, the x value is an Mx1 matrix (where M is the number of stimulation sites (or electrodes) used in the simulation), E is an Nx1 matrix (where N is the number of nodes included in the 3D brain map), and A is It may be an NxM matrix (where each column of the NxM matrix is a precomputation result). That is, the server 100 may calculate an A matrix as a linear relationship for each of a plurality of magnetic pole positions, that is, as precomputation information.

In various embodiments, when the number of the plurality of magnetic pole positions is n, the server 100 may derive a linear relationship for each of the plurality of magnetic pole positions only through n-1 simulations. For example, when simulation is performed for a total of three magnetic pole positions (eg, first magnetic pole position, second magnetic pole position, and third magnetic pole position), simulation results for the first magnetic pole position and the second magnetic pole position and the second magnetic pole position Through the simulation results for the first and third stimulation positions, it is possible to derive a linear relationship for the second and third stimulation positions, so that three stimulations can be obtained through only two simulations for a total of three stimulation positions. A linear relationship can be derived for each position.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may filter out stimulation positions corresponding to a predetermined condition from among a plurality of stimulation positions, and use the remaining stimulation positions other than the filtered stimulation positions among the plurality of stimulation positions to affect the brain of the subject. electrical stimulation can be simulated. Hereinafter, it will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 12 .

9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of simulating electrical stimulation by filtering stimulation positions, in various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 9 , in step S310, the server 100 may filter magnetic pole positions corresponding to a predetermined condition from among a plurality of magnetic pole positions according to a preset guide system.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may filter at least one stimulation position using the head image of the object.

First, the server 100 may acquire a head image generated by photographing the head of an object, and set one or more reference stimulus positions based on the obtained head image. For example, the server 100 may provide a first UI (eg, 50 in FIG. 12 ) to the user terminal 200 and output a plurality of magnetic pole positions according to a preset guide system through the first UI. In addition, by selecting one or more stimulation positions among a plurality of output stimulation positions as a reference stimulation position, the reference stimulation position may be set. However, the method is not limited thereto, and various methods may be applied, such as a method of automatically setting reference magnetic pole positions for calculating a plurality of magnetic pole positions according to a preset guide system by image analysis of a head image of an object.

Then, the server 100 may set a plurality of magnetic pole positions based on one or more reference magnetic pole positions. For example, the server 100 has a total of four reference stimulation positions set according to the above method, and each of the object's nasion, occipital pole, left pre-auricular, and right auricular In the case of the four stimulation positions (Nz, Iz, LPA, RPA) corresponding to the right pre-auricular, the first connection line connecting the stimulation positions (Nz and Iz) corresponding to the proximal and occipital poles and the left auricle The point where the second connection line connecting the corresponding stimulation positions (LPA, RPA) to the front and right auricles intersects can be calculated as the center coordinate, and the distance information on the first connection line and the second connection line based on the center coordinates is used. Thus, a coordinate system for a plurality of magnetic pole positions according to the 10-20 system can be derived. For example, the server 100 may derive a coordinate system of the 10-20 system to have positions obtained by dividing the first connection line and the second connection line at a distance of 10% or 20%, respectively, based on the center coordinates.

Thereafter, the server 100 sets a filtering target region (eg, a reference region for filtering the stimulus positions) using a plurality of stimulus positions set on the head image, and at least one stimulus is selected based on the set filtering target region. You can filter by location.

In various embodiments, the server 100 sets a plane including one or more reference stimulus positions as a filtering target region, and at least one stimulus located on the plane set as the filtering target region based on the plane set as the filtering target region. You can filter by location. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the server 100 sets four stimulation positions (Nz, Iz, LPA, RPA), the plane including Nz, Iz, LPA, and RPA may be set as the filtering target region, and all stimulation positions located on the plane including Nz, Iz, LPA, and RPA may be filtered.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may filter all magnetic pole positions located below the plane set as the filtering target region based on the plane. For example, when the one or more reference stimulation positions set by the user are Fpz, T7, Oz, and T10, the server 100 determines the stimulation positions Nz and Iz located at the bottom of the plane including Fpz, T7, Oz, and T10. , LPA and RPA can be filtered.

That is, it is difficult to attach electrodes to the stimulation positions corresponding to the nasal muscles, occipital pole, left front auricle, and right front auricle, respectively, due to the shape of the head or the ear, or it is difficult to attach the electrode to the correct position even if the electrode is attached, so the stimulation corresponding to these positions You can filter by location.

In various embodiments, the server 100 analyzes the head image to detect an area on the head of the object on which electrodes cannot be attached, sets the detected area on which electrodes cannot be attached as a filtering target area, and includes it on the filtering target area. At least one stimulus location may be filtered. For example, if there is an injury such as a scalp disease or wound or a region in which a metal material (clip, coil, metabolic foreign body, etc.) is present in the brain of the subject, there is a problem in that it is difficult to apply electrical stimulation by attaching electrodes to the corresponding region. . Considering this point, the server 100 may detect an area to which electrodes cannot be attached, and filter the stimulation positions included in the detected area by analyzing the image of the head of the object through image analysis.

In step S320, the server 100 may simulate electrical stimulation to the brain of the subject by using the remaining stimulation positions other than the filtered stimulation positions among the plurality of stimulation positions. Here, the method of simulating the electrical stimulation to the brain of the subject using the remaining stimulation positions other than the filtered stimulation positions may be performed using at least one of the finite element method, the finite difference method, and the finite volume method, as described above. there is.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may divide the brain of the object into two regions, that is, a left hemisphere region and a right hemisphere region, and may individually perform simulations for the left hemisphere region and the right hemisphere region.

First, as shown in FIG. 11, the server 100 generates a first geodesic line connecting a first magnetic pole position corresponding to the proximal muscle of an object and a second magnetic pole position corresponding to the laryngeal pole and a third magnetic pole corresponding to the front of the left auricle. The brain region of the object may be divided into a left hemisphere region and a right hemisphere region using a second geodesic line connecting the position and the fourth stimulation position corresponding to the front of the right auricle.

Thereafter, the server 100 selects two or more stimulation locations located in the left hemisphere area among the remaining stimulation locations excluding the filtered stimulation locations to simulate electrical stimulation for the left hemisphere area of the brain of the object, or the remaining stimulation locations except for the filtered stimulation locations. Electrical stimulation to the right hemisphere region of the brain of the subject may be simulated by selecting two or more stimulation locations located in the right hemisphere region among the stimulation locations.

At this time, the server 100 may filter the stimulation positions so that currents of different polarities are not applied to the same area. For example, when any one stimulation position located on the left hemisphere region is selected, the server 100 selects any one of the other stimulation positions located on the left hemisphere region, which is the same region as the selected one magnetic pole position. Filtering at least one stimulation site to which a current of polarity opposite to the polarity of the current applied to one stimulation site is applied (e.g., when a positive current is applied to one stimulation site, filtering the stimulation site to which a negative current is applied) )can do.

In addition, when any one stimulation position located on the right hemisphere area is selected, the server 100 selects any one of the above-mentioned stimulation positions among other stimulation positions located on the right hemisphere area, which is the same area as the selected one stimulation position. At least one stimulation location to which a current having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the current applied to the stimulation location is applied may be filtered.

That is, the server 100 may exclude the case where the anode and the cathode are located in the same hemisphere in order to exclude a result for which clinical verification for safety has not been performed.

As described above, by filtering unnecessary magnetic pole positions in advance according to preset conditions and performing simulation using only the remaining magnetic pole positions according to the filtering result, unnecessary calculations during simulation can be reduced.

Referring again to FIG. 3 , in step S120, the server 100 uses the results of the electrical stimulation simulation performed in step S110 to obtain an optimal stimulation position combination for applying electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point in the brain of the object. can determine

In various embodiments, the server 100 may calculate an optimal magnetic pole position using a linear relationship for each of a plurality of magnetic pole positions generated as precomputation information.

Here, the optimal stimulation position is stimulation with maximum efficiency under given conditions (e.g., area where electrodes can be placed, output of electrodes, etc.) for stimulation areas suitable for patients with specific diseases obtained by various clinical or theoretical studies. It can mean a location where you can do it.

This is similar to a method of finding a solution to an inverse problem in which a condition for obtaining a desired result is obtained, rather than obtaining a result according to a given condition, and a numerical optimization method may be used. The above-mentioned meaning of applying stimulation with maximum efficiency refers to stimulation conditions in which the electric field in the desired area is maximized when interpreted in terms of actual electromagnetic, and electrical stimulation is simulated to obtain these stimulation conditions A linear relationship between a specific stimulus applied to each of a plurality of magnetic pole positions and an electric field output accordingly can be derived from the result and precomputation information.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may derive a linear relationship between electric fields output as a specific stimulus is applied under an arbitrary stimulus condition as shown in Equation 2 below from a simulation result of the electrical stimulus.

<Equation 2>

Here, E is the electric field, r is the coordinate of the stimulation position, m is an arbitrary stimulation condition, α is the ratio of the real stimulation to the basic unit stimulation intensity, and B is the basic unit stimulation intensity.

The electric field (E) finally obtained according to Equation 2 is equal to the product of the basic unit stimulation strength (B) of the stimulation and the ratio (α) of the real stimulation to the basic unit stimulation strength. In this way, at various stimulation positions When stimuli are applied to a combination of stimuli of , a linear relationship between two stimuli having different stimulation conditions can be expressed as in Equation 3.

<Equation 3>

Here, m _i may be the i th stimulation condition.

Thereafter, the server 100 may derive a linear relationship between combinations of different stimulation conditions and an electric field output when stimulation according to these stimulation conditions is applied, as shown in Equation 3.

Accordingly, since the server 100 can finally obtain a linear simultaneous equation for various stimulation conditions and desired stimulation strength, stimulation conditions that can apply maximum stimulation to the desired stimulation position can be obtained using numerical optimization. . Here, a least square method, a weighted least square method, or an L1 norm constrained method may be applied, but is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may calculate an optimal stimulation position for applying electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point in the brain of the object using a linear relationship according to Equation 3 above. For example, since the server 100 can conversely know a desired result according to input of a stimulation condition including information about a target point in the brain of an object from a user, the optimal stimulation position to apply electrical stimulation (e.g., diagram) 41 of 8) can be calculated, and the optimal stimulation position combination can be determined by configuring the calculated optimal stimulation positions as one combination.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may correct an optimal stimulation position combination based on the maximum number of stimulation positions to which electrical stimulation is applied to a preset target point. Hereinafter, it will be described with reference to FIG. 13 .

13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of correcting an optimal combination of stimulation positions according to a limited number of available electrodes, in various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 13 , in step S410, the server 100 may set the maximum number of stimulation positions to which electrical stimulation is applied to a preset target point. For example, the server 100 may provide a second UI (60 in FIG. 14 ) to the user terminal 200 and may receive input of the number of maximum stimulation positions through the first UI 60 . However, it is not limited thereto.

In step S420, the server 100 calculates the number of optimal magnetic pole positions included in the optimal magnetic pole position combination determined according to the above method (eg, steps S110 and S120 in FIG. 3) and the maximum magnetic pole position set in step S410. By comparing the numbers, it is possible to determine whether the number of the plurality of optimal magnetic pole positions exceeds the maximum number of magnetic pole positions.

In step S430, if the server 100 determines that the number of optimal stimulation positions exceeds the maximum number of stimulation positions, the server 100 determines at least one of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions based on the importance of each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions. It is possible to select the optimal stimulation position of (less than the maximum number of stimulation positions).

In various embodiments, the server 100 may set an importance for each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions based on the positions of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions, and according to the set importance, at least one optimal stimulation position among the plurality of optimal stimulation positions. can choose For example, when an object to which electrical stimulation is to be applied is a patient with a disease such as epilepsy or brain disease, an area to which electrical stimulation cannot be applied exists depending on the disease such as epilepsy or brain disease. In consideration of this, if there is an area to which electrical stimulation cannot be applied depending on the disease of the object, the server 100 calculates the distance between the area to which electrical stimulation cannot be applied and each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions, and calculates Based on the distance, it can be set to have a high importance from the farthest optimal stimulation position.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may set the importance of each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions based on the intensity of current applied to each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions, and among the plurality of optimal stimulation positions according to the set importance At least one optimal stimulation location can be selected. For example, the low intensity of the current applied to a specific stimulation position through the electrode means that the amount of stimulation applied, that is, the effect on the stimulation is small. It can be set to have a high importance sequentially according to the order of the intensity of the applied current.

In step S440, the server 100 may re-execute the simulation on the brain of the object using only the at least one optimal stimulation position selected through step S430, and based on the result of the re-performed simulation, the optimal stimulation position combination determined. can be corrected.

At this time, the server 100 uses only the information on the at least one optimal stimulus position from the precomputation information, that is, removes the information on the optimal stimulus position filtered according to the importance from the precomputation information, and then removes the remaining precomputation information. A simulation of at least one optimal magnetic pole position may be performed using only the information.

Since the precomputation information includes information on a linear relationship for all stimulation positions, when a simulation is performed using information on all stimulation positions, only information on at least one selected optimal stimulation position is used. There is a problem that the difference between simulation and current intensity occurs.

In addition, in the case of selectively using only the information on a specific optimal stimulation position without removing the information on the optimal stimulation position filtered according to the importance from the precomputational information, an error that cannot occur physically (e.g., the sum of the input currents is 1 However, there is a problem that the sum of output currents is 0.9, etc.) may occur.

In consideration of this problem, the server 100 removes information on a linear relationship for each of the optimal stimulus positions filtered according to importance from the precomputation information, and removes information on a linear relationship between at least one optimal stimulus position selected according to importance. The simulation can be re-performed using only the information about .

In step S450, the server 100 may determine the corrected optimal magnetic pole position combination through step S440 as the final optimal magnetic pole position combination, and provide information about this to the user through the second UI 60 (eg: Figure 15).

On the other hand, the server 100 determines the determined optimum stimulation position combination as the final optimum stimulation position combination when the number of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions is less than or equal to the maximum number of stimulation positions through step S420, and transmits information thereon to the second UI ( 60) can be provided to the user.

In various embodiments, the server 100 sets the current value applied to each of a plurality of optimal stimulation positions included in the optimal stimulation position combination determined according to the above method at current resolution (setting the current value of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device). units) can be standardized. Hereinafter, it will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 18 .

16 is a flowchart illustrating a method of correcting a current value to be applied to a stimulation position according to current resolution of a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device, in various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 16 , in step S510, the server 100 may standardize a plurality of current values applied to each of a plurality of optimal magnetic pole positions included in the optimal magnetic pole position combination based on a preset current resolution. For example, the server 100 may provide a third UI (eg, 70 in FIG. 16 ) to the user terminal 200, receive current resolution through the second UI 60, and receive a plurality of A plurality of current values may be standardized by dividing a plurality of current values applied to each optimal stimulation position by an input current resolution value.

In step S520, the server 100 performs a primary correction (eg, rounding up, down, rounding, etc.) of each of the plurality of standardized current values so that each of the plurality of current values standardized in step S510 becomes a multiple of the preset resolution. there is. For example, when the current applied to the first optimal stimulation position is 220 mA and the preset current resolution is 200 mA, the server 100 divides the current value applied to the first optimal stimulation position by the preset current resolution to obtain 1.1 A standardized current value of can be calculated, and the calculated standardized current value is rounded to a multiple of the preset current resolution (ie, the standardized current value has a natural number value such as 1, 2, or 3). 1 The standardized current value for the optimal stimulation position can be corrected from 1.1 to 1. In addition, when the current applied to the second optimal stimulation position is 350 mA, the server 100 may calculate a standardized current value of 1.5 by dividing the current value applied to the second optimal stimulation position by a preset current resolution. , the standardized current value for the second optimal stimulation position may be corrected from 1.5 to 2 by rounding the calculated standardized current value to the preset current resolution.

In step S530, the server 100 may calculate the sum of the plurality of first-order corrected current values, and determine whether the sum of the calculated first-order corrected plurality of current values is zero.

In step S540, when the server 100 determines that the sum of the plurality of firstly corrected current values is not 0, the server 100 selects at least one optimal stimulus from among the plurality of optimal stimulus positions based on the importance of each of the plurality of optimal stimulus positions. You can choose a location. Here, the importance setting method for each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions is the same as or similar to the importance setting method performed in step S430 (e.g., based on the position of the optimal stimulation position and the intensity of the current applied to the optimal stimulation position). may, but is not limited thereto.

Here, the server 100 may determine the number of optimal stimulation positions to be selected according to the magnitude of the sum of the plurality of firstly corrected current values. For example, in the server 100, the magnitude of the sum of the plurality of primary corrected current values is 4 (as a standardized current value, the actual current value is 800 mA) and the preset current resolution is 1 (as a standardized current value, When the actual current value is 200 mA), a total of four optimal stimulation positions can be selected to correct the current value applied to the optimal stimulation position by 200 mA, which is the current resolution. However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the server 100 determines the optimal stimulation with low importance based on the importance of each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions set according to the above method (the strength of the current applied to the optimal stimulation position and the denture at the optimal stimulation position). At least one optimal stimulation position may be selected sequentially from the position. For example, the server 100 may sequentially select an optimal stimulation position having the lowest intensity of current applied to each optimal stimulation position among a plurality of optimal stimulation positions.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may determine a method of selecting at least one optimal magnetic pole position according to an importance setting criterion for each of a plurality of optimal magnetic pole positions.

For example, when the criterion for setting the importance is the location of a plurality of optimal stimulation positions, the server 100 may sequentially select optimal stimulation positions having a low importance based on the set importance.

Meanwhile, when the criterion for setting the importance is the intensity of current applied to each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions, the server 100 may sequentially select the optimal stimulation positions having a high importance based on the set importance.

When the criterion for setting the importance is the current intensity, the lower the current intensity, the lower the importance. When sequentially selecting optimal stimulation positions with low importance, optimal stimulation positions with low current strength are selected. Since the current value applied to the optimal stimulation position selected in this way has a relatively low value, when corrected by the current resolution, the current value becomes very small and the influence of the electrical stimulation is almost eliminated, or in some cases, the applied current value is set to 0 It may not be able to affect the electrical stimulation at the target point. On the other hand, in the case of the optimal stimulation position set with a high importance, since the applied current value is large, even if correction is performed by adding or subtracting the size of the current resolution, it does not have a large difference, so that it does not have a large effect on applying electrical stimulation to the target point. do. Considering this point, when the criterion for setting the importance is the intensity of the current, the server 100 may sequentially select the optimal stimulation position having a high importance.

In step S550, the server 100 corrects the current value (primarily corrected current value) corresponding to the at least one optimal stimulation position selected through step S540 so that the sum of the plurality of firstly corrected current values becomes zero. can For example, the server 100, when the magnitude of the sum of the plurality of first-corrected current values is 800 mA, the preset current resolution is 200 mA, and a total of four optimal stimulation positions are selected based on the importance, the server 100 selects four optimal stimulation positions. By decreasing each current value applied to each position by 200 mA, secondary correction may be performed such that the sum of the plurality of firstly corrected current values becomes zero.

In step S560, the server 100 calculates a current value to be applied to each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions by multiplying the plurality of current values secondarily corrected through step S550 by a preset current resolution, and using the calculated current value Information on optimal stimulation position combinations including information on optimal stimulation positions and information on current values to be applied to each optimal stimulation position may be provided through the third UI 70 (eg, FIG. 18 ).

In step S570, when the server 100 determines that the sum of the plurality of current values primarily corrected through step S530 is 0, the server 100 multiplies each of the plurality of first-order corrected current values by the preset current resolution to obtain a plurality of current values. A current value to be applied to each optimal stimulation position may be calculated, and information on an optimal stimulation position combination including information on the calculated current value may be provided. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20 , a method for the server 100 to design a headgear customized for an object using the optimal magnetic pole position combination determined according to the above method will be described.

19 is a flow chart of a custom headgear design method for transcranial direct current stimulation according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 19 , in step S610, the server 100 may acquire a head image of the object. Here, the head image of the object may be a T1w MRI image as shown in FIG. 20(A), but is not limited thereto, and various types of images such as an MRI image such as a T2w MRI image and a FLAIR MRI image or a CT image may be used. can be applied

In step S620, the server 100 may generate a headgear mask using the image of the head of the object acquired through step S610.

First, as shown in FIG. 20(B) , the server 100 analyzes the head image of the object obtained through step S610 to generate a head mask including head image information (eg, size, shape, etc.) of the object. can create

Then, the server 100 may perform image processing on the head mask, like the room shown in FIG. 20(C). For example, the server 100 may perform a dilation operation on the head mask. At this time, the degree of expansion calculation performed by the server 100 may be determined based on the thickness of the custom headgear to be designed, but is not limited thereto.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 20 (D), the server 100 performs subtraction between the image-processed (dilation operation) head mask (FIG. 20 (C)) and the non-image-processed head mask (FIG. 20 (B)). Operations can be performed to generate the headgear mask. Here, the subtraction operation may be a logical subtraction operation of Boolean Operations (an operation for calculating a region vector of an upper mask (FIG. 20(C)) from which a lower mask (FIG. 20(B)) is removed). However, it is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may remove at least a portion of the headgear mask (FIG. 20(D)).

First, the server 100 may set a plurality of reference points on the headgear mask (FIG. 20(D)), and may remove at least a portion of the headgear mask using the set reference points.

For example, as shown in FIG. 20(E), the server 100 sets four reference points (e.g., 10- Among the plurality of stimulation positions according to the 20 system, Nz corresponding to the nasal muscle, Iz corresponding to the occipital pole, LPA corresponding to the left anterior auricle, and RPA corresponding to the right anterior auricle) can be set, and a plane containing the set four reference points can be set. As a reference, the headgear mask can be divided into an upper region and a lower region, and the divided lower region can be removed from the headgear mask (FIG. 20(D)).

That is, the server 100 allows the object to more easily wear the customized headgear manufactured through the headgear mask, and to allow the customized headgear to be implemented in a form that covers only the upper part of the forehead and both ears of the object. , 4 landmarks (e.g., 4 reference points corresponding to the proximal muscle, occipital pole, left anterior auricle and right anterior auricle) are designated, and the lower part of the forehead and the lower part of both ears are based on the designated 4 landmarks And the lower part of the laryngeal pole can be removed.

In addition, when a specific region needs to be opened due to an injury such as a scalp disease or wound on the head of the object, the server 100 may set a position corresponding to the specific region to be opened as a reference point, and center on the set reference point. A region having a predetermined radius may be removed from the headgear mask. However, the server 100 is not limited thereto, and the server 100 determines the size and shape of a region to be removed from the headgear mask according to the nature of the injury (eg, the type, shape, size, etc.) of the injury when the target object has an injury. It can be set, and accordingly, the set area can be removed from the headgear mask.

In addition, the server 100 removes at least some areas adjacent to each of the two reference points on the headgear mask using two reference points corresponding to the front of the auricle and the front of the right auricle, respectively, among the plurality of reference points to create two holes ( first hole) may be created. Here, the two first holes may be holes into which the customized headgear manufactured using the customized headgear mask generated through step S640 described later and the chin strap fixing the chin of the object wearing the customized headgear are inserted. The size of one hole may be set to a size capable of inserting a chin strap, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, the server 100 provides wires to the electrodes of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device used to apply electrical stimulation to the brain of the subject (eg, power supplied to the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device to the electrodes). When the wires connected to each other) are connected, one or more holes (second holes) may be created by removing at least a portion of the headgear mask. Here, in the one or more second holes, electrode lines attached to the head of the object may be inserted to apply electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point, and the inserted electrode lines may be exposed from the inside of the customized headgear to the outside. However, it is not limited thereto.

In step S630, the server 100 may generate a stimulator mask by using an optimal combination of stimulation positions for applying electrical stimulation to a preset target point.

Here, as shown in FIG. 20(F), the stimulator mask is a mask having the size of an electrode attached to each optimal stimulation position only in an area corresponding to each of a plurality of optimal stimulation positions included in the optimal stimulation position combination. It may be implemented in a form, but is not limited thereto.

In addition, here, the optimal stimulation position combination determination method for applying electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point performed by the server 100 is the optimal stimulation position for applying electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 18 It may be implemented in the same or similar form as the combination determination method, but is not limited thereto.

In various embodiments, when there are a plurality of target points for applying electrical stimulation to the brain of an object, the server 100 may determine a plurality of optimal stimulation position combinations for applying electrical stimulation to each of the plurality of target points, and determine the plurality of target points. A plurality of stimulator masks corresponding to each optimal stimulation position combination of can be created, and one stimulator mask can be created by combining the generated plurality of stimulator masks.

First, when a target point preset in the brain of an object includes a first target point and a second target point, the server 100 determines a combination of a first optimal stimulation position for the first target point and a second target point for the second target point. 2 Optimal stimulation position combinations can be determined individually for each.

Thereafter, the server 100 generates one stimulator mask by combining the stimulator mask according to the first optimal magnetic pole position combination and the stimulator mask according to the second optimal magnetic pole position combination (eg, logical sum of Boolean operations). can do. For example, when the first optimal magnetic pole location combination includes the first optimal magnetic pole position and the second optimal magnetic pole position, and the second optimal magnetic pole position combination includes the third optimal magnetic pole position and the fourth optimal magnetic pole position, the first optimal magnetic pole position and the fourth optimal magnetic pole position are included. A stimulator mask corresponding to the optimal magnetic pole position, the second optimal magnetic pole position, the third optimal magnetic pole position, and the fourth optimal magnetic pole position may be created. In addition, when the first optimal magnetic pole position combination includes the first optimal magnetic pole position and the second optimal magnetic pole position, and the second optimal magnetic pole position combination includes the first optimal magnetic pole position and the third optimal magnetic pole position, the first optimal magnetic pole position A stimulator mask corresponding to the magnetic pole position, the second optimal magnetic pole position, and the third optimal magnetic pole position may be created.

In step S640, the server 100 may generate a customized headgear mask by performing a subtraction operation between the headgear mask generated through step S620 and the stimulator mask generated through step S630. Here, the subtraction operation may be a logical subtraction operation of a Boolean operation, but is not limited thereto.

That is, as shown in FIG. 20(G), the server 100 generates a customized headgear mask for the object by considering the head of the object, and performs a subtraction operation between the headgear mask and the stimulator mask. A customized headgear mask can be created in which the region corresponding to the optimal magnetic pole position is removed from the gear mask. Through this, a subject wearing a customized headgear manufactured using a customized headgear mask can attach electrodes through an open area of the customized headgear, thereby accurately attaching electrodes to each of a plurality of optimal stimulation positions, thereby Accordingly, there is an advantage in that electrical stimulation can be accurately applied to a predetermined target point in the brain of the subject.

In addition, by attaching the electrodes through the open area of the customized headgear even when electrical stimulation is repeatedly applied, there is an advantage in that the same effect can be continuously derived by attaching the electrodes precisely to the same location.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may manufacture a custom headgear for an object by 3D printing a custom headgear mask through 3D printing. For example, the server 100 may perform data conversion into a form that can be output by 3D printing, such as a 3D polygonal lattice structure (eg, a 3D triangular lattice structure), and convert the data into a customized headgear mask. By 3D printing a customized headgear mask through a separately provided 3D printer, a customized headgear for an object may be manufactured. However, it is not limited thereto. Here, it is described that the server 100 converts the customized headgear mask into a 3D polygonal lattice structure for 3D printing, but this is only an example and is not limited thereto. The data type of the headgear mask can be determined. For example, if the server 100 uses a 3D printer capable of outputting a customized headgear mask itself, the customized headgear can be manufactured by 3D printing the customized headgear mask without a separate data conversion process.

In various embodiments, the server 100 may apply electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point in the brain of the subject using customized headgear. For example, referring to FIG. 21 , the server 100 uses the customized headgear mask generated according to the above method to prepare a customized headgear 80 having a hole 81 in an area corresponding to an optimal magnetic pole position. can be fabricated (e.g. 3D printing).

Thereafter, the subject can wear the customized headgear 80 manufactured according to the above method, and one or more electrodes included in the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device 500 are holed in an area corresponding to an optimal stimulation position. 81 and attached to the head of the subject, it is possible to accurately attach the electrode to the optimal stimulation position determined in order to apply electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point.

Thereafter, a control command output from the server 100 (e.g., a control command to operate according to a predetermined optimal combination of stimulation positions in response to electrodes being attached to the object) and a control command input through the user terminal 200 (e.g., operation commands of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device 500 input through the UI) and control commands input through the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device 500 itself (e.g., operation on/off control) Command), an operation of applying current through one or more electrodes may be performed according to any one control command, and through this, electrical stimulation is accurately applied to the optimal stimulation position of the object to accurately target a predetermined target point in the brain of the object. can stimulate

The custom headgear design method for the aforementioned transcranial direct current stimulation has been described with reference to the flow chart shown in the drawings. For simplicity, the method for designing a custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation has been illustrated and described as a series of blocks, but the present invention is not limited to the order of the blocks, and some blocks are different from those shown and performed herein. They can be performed sequentially or concurrently. In addition, new blocks not described in the present specification and drawings may be added, or some blocks may be deleted or changed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present invention. you will be able to understand Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive.

100: Custom headgear design server for transcranial direct current stimulation
200: user terminal
300: external server
400: network

Claims (12)

A method for designing a custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation performed by a computing device and applying electrical stimulation to a predetermined target point in the brain of a subject, comprising:
acquiring a head image of the object;
generating a headgear mask using the acquired head image;
generating a stimulator mask using an optimal combination of stimulation positions for applying electrical stimulation to the predetermined target point; and
Generating a customized headgear mask for the object by performing a subtraction operation between the generated headgear mask and the generated stimulator mask.
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. According to claim 1,
The step of generating the headgear mask,
generating a head mask for the object using the acquired head image; and
Image processing of the generated head mask and performing a subtraction operation between the image-processed head mask and the generated head mask to generate the headgear mask,
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. According to claim 1,
The step of generating the headgear mask,
setting a plurality of reference points on the generated headgear mask; and
Removing at least some regions of the generated headgear mask using the set plurality of reference points,
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. According to claim 3,
The plurality of reference points include four reference points respectively corresponding to the nasion, lnion, left pre-auricular, and right pre-auricular of the object,
The step of removing at least a portion of the generated headgear mask,
Dividing the generated headgear mask into an upper region and a lower region based on a plane including the four reference points, and removing the divided lower region from the generated headgear mask,
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. According to claim 3,
The plurality of reference points include two reference points respectively corresponding to the left pre-auricular and the right pre-auricular,
The step of removing at least a portion of the generated headgear mask,
At least a partial area adjacent to each of the two reference points is removed to create two holes, and the two holes are formed by using the generated customized headgear mask and wearing the customized headgear. Including the step of inserting a chin strap for fixing the chin of the object,
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. According to claim 1,
The step of generating the headgear mask,
At least one hole is created by removing at least a partial region of the headgear mask, and the created hole is inserted with an electrode wire attached to the head of the object to apply electrical stimulation to the predetermined target point. Including the step of exposing the line of the inserted electrode from the inside of the custom headgear manufactured using the generated custom headgear mask to the outside,
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. According to claim 1,
The step of generating the stimulator mask,
simulating electrical stimulation to the brain of the subject by using a plurality of stimulation positions according to a preset guide system;
determining the optimal stimulation position combination using a result of simulating the electrical stimulation; and
Generating a stimulator mask based on a plurality of optimal stimulation positions included in the determined optimal stimulation position combination.
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. According to claim 7,
The step of determining the optimal stimulation position combination,
determining a plurality of optimal stimulation position combinations for applying electrical stimulation to each of the plurality of target points when the preset target points are plural;
The step of generating a stimulator mask corresponding to each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions,
Generating a plurality of stimulator masks corresponding to each of the determined plurality of optimal stimulation position combinations, and generating one stimulator mask by combining the generated plurality of stimulator masks,
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. According to claim 7,
The step of determining the optimal stimulation position combination,
setting the maximum number of stimulation positions to which electrical stimulation is to be applied to the predetermined target point; and
Compensating the determined optimum stimulation position combination by comparing the number of optimal stimulation positions included in the determined optimal stimulation position combination with the set maximum number of stimulation positions;
The step of generating a stimulator mask corresponding to each of the plurality of optimal stimulation positions,
Generating a stimulator mask corresponding to each of a plurality of optimal magnetic pole positions included in the corrected optimal magnetic pole position combination,
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. According to claim 1,
converting the generated customized headgear mask into a three-dimensional polygonal lattice structure; and
3D printing the customized headgear mask converted into the 3D polygonal lattice structure to manufacture a customized headgear for the object,
A design method for custom headgear for transcranial direct current stimulation. processor;
network interface;
Memory; and
A computer program loaded into the memory and executed by the processor,
The computer program,
an instruction for acquiring a head image of the object;
an instruction for generating a headgear mask using the acquired head image;
instructions for generating a stimulator mask by using an optimal combination of stimulation positions for applying electrical stimulation to predetermined target points in the brain of the subject; and
An instruction for generating a customized headgear mask for the object by performing a subtraction operation between the generated headgear mask and the generated stimulator mask.
A custom headgear design server for transcranial direct current stimulation. Combined with a computing device,
acquiring a head image of the object;
generating a headgear mask using the acquired head image;
generating a stimulator mask by using a combination of optimal stimulation positions for applying electrical stimulation to predetermined target points in the brain of the subject; and
Stored in a computer-readable recording medium to execute a step of generating a customized headgear mask for the object by performing a subtraction operation between the generated headgear mask and the generated stimulator mask,
A computer program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

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