WO1998010700A1

WO1998010700A1 - Nasal cavity patency tester

Info

Publication number: WO1998010700A1
Application number: PCT/JP1997/003180
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kazunori Shinoda; Yutaka Yamashita; Yoshiji Suzuki; Akio Yasuhara; Michihiko Nozue
Original assignee: Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.
Priority date: 1996-09-10
Filing date: 1997-09-10
Publication date: 1998-03-19
Also published as: JPH1080415A; JP3746335B2

Abstract

A nasal cavity patency tester (1) which tests the patency of the nasal cavity (C) of a subject, comprising a light transmitting member (85) having a first flat face (70) and a second face (71), transmitting light incident from the second face (71) and directing the transmitted light to the first face (70), a light source (16) which emits light directed to the second face (71) of the light transmitting member (85), an image pickup device (18) which picks up the image (I) of the exhale (B) through the nostrils of the subjects (P) blown over the first face (70), formed of water droplets (W), and an image processor (19) which processes the image (I) and finds nasal cavity patency information about at least one of the shape, area, change with time of the area, and coordinates of the distinctive end points of the image (I).

Description

Description Nasal air permeability tester Technical field

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a nasal air permeability inspection device for inspecting the air permeability of a nasal cavity of a subject and diagnosing the degree of nasal obstruction, which is one of the symptoms of a nasal disease.

Background art

Conventionally, there is a nasal air permeability inspection apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. S64-89050. This nasal air permeability inspection apparatus is composed of a liquid crystal sheet containing a liquid crystal therein. When a nose breath is blown onto the surface of the liquid crystal sheet, the nose breath condenses and water droplets are formed on the surface. The liquid crystal sheet is colored by the heat of the water droplets, and an image showing a nose breath sprayed on the liquid crystal sheet is observed by the color.

However, in the above-described apparatus, since the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal sheet is indirectly warmed by the heat of the water droplets, it takes time from when the breath is blown to the liquid crystal sheet to when the liquid crystal sheet becomes colored. For this reason, a nose breath sprayed at a certain time is observed with a delay, and there is a problem that a temporal change of an image showing a nose breath that changes every moment cannot be observed in real time.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of reliably observing a temporal change of an image indicating a nose breath and thereby inspecting the air permeability of a nasal cavity of a subject. A nasal cavity air permeability inspection apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for inspecting a nasal air permeability of a subject, comprising: a first surface and a second surface; wherein the first surface is a flat surface; Light transmitted through the second surface can be transmitted and guided to the first surface. A transmissive member, a light source capable of emitting light to be incident on the second surface of the light transmissive member, and a nose breath blown onto the first surface by the subject.

An imaging device capable of capturing an image of a nose breath composed of water droplets attached to one surface; and an image processing unit that processes the nose breath image captured by the imaging device to obtain a shape, area, and area of the nose breath image And a solid image processing device for calculating at least one of the nasal air permeability related information out of the time change and the characteristic position coordinates of the end points. According to this device, when the subject blows a nose breath on the first surface of the light-transmitting member, the nose breath condenses on the first surface and forms a plurality of water droplets, and the plurality of water droplets form a nose breath image. It is formed. At this time, the first (the part where water droplets are formed on the fii and the part where water droplets are not formed. At this time, when light is emitted from the light source and the light is incident on the second surface, the light is There is a difference in the amount of light that is transmitted through the transparent member and guided to the first surface, and is reflected on the first surface between a portion where water droplets are formed and a portion where water droplets are not formed. An image is taken, and this nose breath image is image-processed by an image processing device, and at least one of the nasal cavities has a shape, an area, a change in area over time, or a position coordinate of a characteristic end point. The air permeability related information is calculated.

Further, the imaging device according to the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention is arranged at a position it where the nasal breath image formed on the first Iffi can be imaged via the light transmitting member. Is preferred. In this case, it is easier to capture the nose breath image than when capturing the nose breath image formed on the first side without using the light transmitting member.

Further, the present invention preferably further includes a positioning device for positioning the subject at a position where the nose breath image can be formed on the first surface. In this case, the position of the subject's nose with respect to the first surface of the light transmitting member is reliably determined by the positioning device.

Further, the light transmitting member according to the present invention may be a fiber optical plate having a plurality of optical fibers extending in parallel from the first surface to the second surface. When light enters the second surface of the optical plate, Light passes through each optical fiber of the bundle of optical fibers, exits from the first surface, and enters the subject's nose. At this time, since the light incident on the nose of the subject is reflected in various directions, when the reflected light is incident on the fiber optical plate, the first and second surfaces of the fiber optical plate are not reflected. The amount of light transmitted in the direction connecting is substantially restricted, so that the reflected light from the nose is hardly received by the imaging device. As a result, almost no image corresponding to the nose is displayed on the nose breath image captured by the imaging device.o

Further, the light transmissive member according to the present invention may be ground glass, and the first surface of the ground glass may be a rough surface. In this case, when light is incident on the second surface of the ground glass by the light source and passes through the ground glass and exits from the first surface, the light is incident on the subject's nose and reflected in various directions at the nose. Is done. When this reflected light is incident on the ground glass, the light is scattered by the rough surface of the ground glass, the amount of light transmitted through the glass is considerably limited, and the reflected light from the nose is almost received by the imaging device. Will not be. As a result, almost no image corresponding to the nose is displayed on the nose breath image captured by the imaging device.

Further, the light-transmitting member according to the present invention may be a prism. In this case, the prism has the first surface, the second surface, and the third surface, and the prism is formed from the second surface. Light incident on the first surface and reflected by the first surface is emitted from the third surface, and the imaging device is disposed at a predetermined position capable of receiving light emitted from the third surface. You. In this case, when light that is incident on the second surface of the prism and transmitted through the prism by the light source is reflected on the first surface, the reflected light is emitted from the third surface and received by the imaging device.

Further, the predetermined position of the imaging device may be a position at which the light incident from the first surface, transmitted through the light transmitting member, and not emitted from the third surface is received. In this case, light reflected in various directions by the subject's nose is not incident on the first surface of the prism, passes through the prism, exits from the third surface, and is received by the imaging device. It becomes. As a result, almost no image corresponding to the nose is displayed on the breath image captured by the imaging device.

Further, the present invention provides a polarizer disposed between the light source and the light transmitting member, for converting light from the light source into linearly polarized light, and between the light transmitting member and the imaging device. The apparatus may further include an analyzer disposed and selectively passing light polarized in a specific direction. In this case, when the light emitted from the light source is converted into linearly polarized light by the polarized light, and this linearly polarized light enters from the second surface of the light transmitting member, passes through the light transmitting member, and is emitted from the first surface, This light is projected onto the subject's nose, and its polarization is almost completely eliminated by the nose. Therefore, even if this light is incident from the first surface of the light transmitting member and is emitted from the second surface, the light is no longer polarized in a specific direction, and the light passing through the analyzer f Is considerably limited, and this light is hardly received by the imaging device. As a result, almost no image corresponding to the nose is displayed on the nose breath image captured by the imaging device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view I showing the inside of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image processing apparatus.

FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E are diagrams each showing one of a series of raster images showing the completion of the calculation of the area of the nasal breath image.

6A to 6E are diagrams each showing a 3 × 3 end point detection file, and FIG. 6F is a diagram showing one of the 3 × 3 end point detection files.

7A to 7C are diagrams each showing a nose breath image as an image, and show how the end point coordinates of the nose breath image change with time. FIG. 7D is a diagram showing end point coordinates of the nose breath images corresponding to FIGS. 7A to 7C, and a change in speed and direction of the end point coordinates. FIG. 8 is a graph showing an example of the change over time in the area of the nasal breath image.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a modified example of the dew condensation preventing device.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the nasal cavity air permeability inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a third embodiment of the nasal cavity air permeability inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the nasal cavity air permeability inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing a fifth embodiment of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus according to the present invention.o Best mode for carrying out the invention

The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus 1, and also shows a state in which a subject is placed on the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, and clearly shows a positional relationship between the subject's nose and the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the nasal air permeability measuring device 1 includes a positioning device 80. The positioning device 80 has a flat support 2, and a pair of support pipes 3, 3 extending perpendicular to the surface 2 a of the support 2 are attached to the support 2. Further, the positioning device 80 has a tape-shaped forehead 4, and the forehead 4 is provided at each end thereof.

4a and 4b are fixed to the tip portions 3a and 3b of the support pipes 3 and 3, respectively. Forehead patch 4 is used to fix the forehead F of the subject P when examining the nasal air permeability of the subject P. The positioning device 80 is provided with a thick and thin chin receiving member 5. The chin receiving member 5 has through holes 5 b,

5c is formed, and the supporting pipes 3 and 3 can slide through holes 5b and 5c respectively. Noh penetrates. As a result, the chin receiving member 5 can slide in the direction along the extending direction of the support pipes 3 (the direction of the double arrow K). In addition, a concave portion 5 a for placing the chin J of the subject P is formed on the upper portion of the chin receiving member 5.

A flat-shaped chin receiving support 6 for supporting the chin receiving member 5 is fixed to the negative side 5 d (see FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 2, a box 7 in the shape of a cuboid is provided at a position facing the support pipes 3, 3, and a flat box-shaped box 7 is provided on a surface 7 a of the box 7 facing the chin receiving member 5. Box support 8 is attached. A flat stage 9 fixed to the chin support 6 is provided between the chin support 6 and the box support 8, and the stage 9 has a rotating knob 9. Is attached. When the rotary knob 9a is turned, the box supporting portion 8 is moved relative to the stage 9 via a mechanism such as a rack and pinion mechanism, whereby the box 7 is moved in a double arrow with respect to the stage 9. It is relatively moved along the A direction. Therefore, the subject P can move the box 7 to an appropriate position II with respect to the nose N with the forehead F and the chin J fixed.

As shown in FIG. 3, an opening 14 is formed in the upper wall 7 b of the box 7, and a light-transmitting member is placed on the opening 14. A glass 85 transparent to visible light with a rectangular shape is used. The glass 85 has a first surface 70 and a second surface 71, and the first surface 70 and the second surface 71 are flat surfaces parallel to each other. Here, the flat surface refers to a macroscopically flat surface. The first surface 70 of the glass 85 is a surface on which the subject P blows the nose breath B through the nasal cavity C. On the first surface 70, a plurality of water droplets are formed due to the condensation of the nose breath B of the subject P. W is formed, and the outline of these water droplets W forms a nasal breath image I. Normally, the shape and area of the nose breath image I change every moment in accordance with the respiration of the subject P.

The glass 85 is capable of transmitting light incident from the second surface 71 and guiding the light to the first surface 70. The glass 85 has a surface opposite to the light incident on the second surface 71. An anti-reflection film (AR film) 15 is coated to suppress radiation. A pair of guide members 10a and 10b for guiding both edges 85a and 85b of the glass 85 are provided side by side on the upper wall 7b of the box 7, Above the surface 7 a of the box 7, a flat stop 11 for positioning one end of the first surface 70 of the glass 85 is attached. As shown in FIG. 1, a knob 12 for fixing the other end of the first surface 70 of the glass 85 is fixed to the upper wall 7 b of the box 7 at a position facing the stopper 11. The knob 12 has a rubber suction plate 13 for sucking and positioning the first surface 70 of the glass 85.

As shown in FIG. 3, inside the box 7, that is, on the second surface 71 side of the glass 85, a light source 1 capable of emitting light to be incident on the second surface 71 of the glass 85 is provided. 6. For example, an EL light source is provided. The light source 16 is arranged, for example, inside the box 7 at a position facing the glass 85, and makes uniform light having a wavelength of 450 to 550 nm incident on the second surface 71. Here, the uniform light refers to light having a substantially uniform light intensity over the entire second surface 71.

A semi-transparent mirror 17 is disposed between the light source 16 and the second surface 71 of the glass 85. The semi-transmissive mirror 17 is used to transmit light from the light source 16 and reflect light emitted from the glass 85. In particular, the semi-transmissive mirror 17 has wavelength selectivity in order to prevent light other than the light source 16 from being incident. That is, for example, the semi-transparent mirror 17 can transmit or reflect light having a wavelength of 450 to 550 η in accordance with the wavelength of 450 to 550 nm of the light source 16. .

Inside the box 7 is also provided an imaging device, for example, a CCD camera 18 that can capture a nose breath image I formed on the first surface 70 of the glass 85. The CCD camera 18 is arranged at a position where the nasal breath image I formed on the first surface 70 can be imaged through the glass 85, for example, the CCD camera 18 is reflected by the semi-transparent mirror 17 In the direction of the light to be transmitted and on the side of the semi-transparent mirror 17 near the upper wall 7 b of the box 7. Further, the CCD camera 18 performs image processing on the nasal breath image I formed on the first surface 70, and processes the shape, the area, the time change of the area, and the position coordinates of the characteristic end point of the breath image I. An image processing device 19 for calculating at least one piece of nasal air permeability related information is connected. This image processing device 19 may be any computer as long as it is loaded with software programmed to calculate the above-mentioned nasal cavity air permeability-related information. The process for calculating the nasal air permeability-related information is executed by software loaded in the combination according to a procedure described later. It should be noted that the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus 1 does not prevent the formation of water droplets W on the first surface 70 due to the condensation of the nose breath B of the subject P before measuring the nose image I of the subject P. To prevent this, a dew condensation prevention device 20 is provided. The anti-condensation device 20 moves the flat plate-shaped shield 21 large enough to cover the first surface 70 of the glass 85 and the shirt 21-1 along the upper surface 7c of the box 7. The apparatus includes a driving device 22 for a shirt to be operated and a breath detector 23 for detecting the nose breath B (respiration) of the subject P. The shirt 21 is removed from the nose N of the subject P when the measurement is started by the shutter driver 22. The timing of removing the shutter 21 is determined by the respiratory detector 23 based on the nose B of the subject P.

The respiration detector 23 has a cylindrical field stop 24, and the field stop 24 is disposed on the surface 21 a so that the through hole 25 is directed to the surface 21 a of the shutter 21. It is arranged diagonally above. The field stop 24 is for blocking infrared rays emitted from the nose N and passing only infrared rays emitted from the sniff B. In addition, the respiration detector 23 has an infrared element 26 for detecting infrared rays passing through the field stop 24, for example, a pyroelectric element. Further, the respiration detector 23 is provided with a signal generation circuit 27 and a delay circuit 28. The signal detected by the infrared element 26 is output by the signal generation circuit 27 as an expiration pulse signal synchronized with expiration, and the expiration pulse signal is delayed and output by the delay circuit 28. The shutter drive circuit 22 described above is based on the pulse signal output from the delay circuit 28, Drive and move to remove the shirt evening 2 1 from under the nose N.

Next, a method and an operation of the subject P for observing the nasal breath image I formed on the first surface 70 of the glass 85 using the above-described nasal cavity air permeability inspection apparatus 1 will be described. First, the subject P is instructed to insert the face between the support pipes 3 and 3 so that the forehead F contacts the forehead rest 5. Then, the position of the chin receiving member 5 is adjusted to bring the chin J into contact with the concave portion 5a. Then, by rotating the rotation knob 9a of the stage 9, the position of the box 7 is adjusted so that the glass 85 is placed immediately below the nose N of the subject P. At this time, a shirt 21 is arranged between the nose N and the glass 85 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Next, the subject P is caused to breathe through the nose N for a while. At this time, since the aperture 25 of the cylindrical field stop 24 is directed to the shirt 21-1, infrared rays emitted from the nose N are blocked by the field stop 24. The infrared radiation emitted from the nose breath B passes through the aperture 25 of the field stop 24 and is detected by the infrared element 26.

The signal detected by the infrared element 26 is converted into an expiration pulse signal synchronized with expiration by the signal generation circuit 27, and when the subject P's breathing is switched to resting breathing, a delay circuit set at an arbitrary time. According to 28, a delayed pulse signal that is delayed before the exhalation forming the water droplet W is output. The delay pulse signal drives the shirt driving device 22, the shutter 21 is removed from under the nose N, and placed at the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. At this time, the nose breath B of the subject P is sprayed on the first surface 70 of the glass 85, and a water drop W due to the nose breath B of the subject P is formed on the first surface 70.

Next, when the uniform light is emitted from the light source 16, the uniform light is incident on the second surface 71 of the glass 85 through the semi-transparent mirror 17, the opening 14 and the antireflection film 15, and the glass 8 5 And is guided to the first surface 70. At this time, when uniform light is incident on the first surface 70 on which the water droplet W is formed, the amount of light reflected on the first surface 70 decreases (the reflectivity is 0.6%), and as a result, However, the amount of light emitted from the second surface 71 of the glass 85 toward the semi-transparent mirror 17 is reduced. On the other hand, uniform light is emitted from the first surface 7 where no water droplets W are formed. When the light is incident on the first surface 70, the amount of light reflected by the first surface 70 becomes larger than that of the first surface 70 on which the water droplet W is formed (the reflectivity is 4.3%). The amount of light emitted from the surface 71 toward the semi-transparent mirror 17 increases.

For this reason, the nose breath image I by the water droplet W is formed by the reflected light from the first surface 70 of the glass 85. The nose breath image I is reflected by the semi-transparent mirror 17 and then received by the CCD camera 18. In this way, the temporal change of the nose image I is captured by the CCD camera 18 receiving the reflected light from the first surface 70 in real time. The image output of the nasal breath image I captured by the CCD camera 18 is processed by the image processing device 19.

Here, the image processing step of calculating the shape, area, temporal change of the area, and the position coordinates of a characteristic end point of the nose breath image I from the nose breath image I captured by the CCD camera 18 by the ghost image processing device 19 will be described. 4, FIG. 5, FIG. 5A to FIG. 5E, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6F, and FIG. 7A to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5A or 5B, an image N ′ corresponding to the nose N of the subject P is displayed on the nose breath image I output from the CCD camera 18. This occurs because light incident from the second surface 71 of the glass 85 and guided to the first surface 70 enters the nose N, is reflected by the nose N, and enters the first surface 70 again. As a result, a part of the nasal breath image I, which should be originally dark, becomes particularly bright, and includes an image N 'corresponding to the nose N in the nasal breath image I, as shown in FIG. 5A or 5B. Therefore, in order to remove the image N ′ of the nose N, the following lii image processing needs to be performed. Note that the image processing is executed by the software loaded on the combination as described above.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, first, the image data output from the CCD camera 18 is A / D converted by the A / D converter 29 and binarized by the binarizer 30. At this time, in FIG. 5B, the white luminance level is represented by “1”, and the white luminance level is represented by “0”.

Then, this binarized image is recorded in the image memory 31 every 1/15 second, for example. At each frame, the nasal breath image I is inflated by the count value 33 through the dilator 32 by a predetermined count value (see FIG. 5C). Then, it is contracted by the same number of times as the counter value when inflated by inflation 2 (see Fig. 5D). As a result, the image N ′ corresponding to the nose N in the nose breath image I is removed, and the original shape of the nose breath image I is calculated. The data obtained here is sent to the area unit 35.

In the area unit 35, the area of the nose breath image I is calculated by the run coordinate measurement based on the nose breath image I obtained in this manner. In other words, as shown in FIG. 5E, for the binary image measured in the X direction, the adress count value (XI) when the value initially becomes “0” and the image that becomes “0 j” The address count value (X 2) that becomes “1” is stored in the table, the calculation of X 2 −X 1 is performed, and then the same calculation is sequentially performed in the Y direction to calculate the entire area.

In order to monitor the time-dependent change in the area of the snout image I, the output of the area scale 35 is sent to the graph scale 36, and the area value of each frame is represented by the time on the horizontal axis and the area on the vertical axis. Output to 7. FIG. 8 shows an example of a curve indicating a temporal change in the area of the nose breath image I monitored in this manner. In the figure, the black circles represent the area for the left nose, and the white circles represent the area for the right nose. As shown in FIG. 8, it can be seen that the left nose has a smaller area than the right nose, that is, the left nose has a smaller expiratory strength (expiratory capacity).

When monitoring the temporal change of the area value, when performing image compression to reduce the capacity stored in the image memory 31, the address value from the area unit 35 is calculated by Coordinate values are stored in the coordinate memory 39, and the nose breath image I from the run coordinate memory 39 is encoded by the encoder 40 and output to the monitor 37 as an image.

When calculating the time change of the area, that is, the area speed, the output from the area unit 35 is sent to the speed unit 38, and the speed unit 38 changes the area value for each frame, that is, the area. Calculate the speed. And this area velocity value is sent to the graph unit 36, The horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is area velocity, which is output to the monitor 37.

Furthermore, when calculating the position coordinates of characteristic end points of the nose breath image I, that is, the end point coordinates, the data obtained by the contractor 34 is sent to the end point detector 42. Then, the end point detector 42 scans the data obtained by the contractor 34 with the five types of 3 × 3 end point detection filters 41 shown in FIGS. Find the end point E of the image I. Then, when a portion where the pattern of the end point detection filter 41 matches is found, this portion is set as an end point E, and its coordinates are set as end point coordinates. At this time, the center value of the output pattern shown in FIG. 6F is changed to zero.

When monitoring the change over time of the position coordinates of the end point E, the end point coordinates of the nose breath image I are stored in the end point coordinate memory 43, and the speed of the end point E of the nose breath image I is calculated based on the end point coordinate values. And the direction of change of the end point E is vector-displayed by the vector display 44, and this vector display is outputted to the monitor 37.

In FIGS. 7A to 7C, two end points E (circled) are shown for the nose breath image I formed when the nose breath B is blown onto the glass 85, and 、 7A, [¾ 7B and FIG. 7C show that the nose breath image I gradually changes with time. As shown in FIG. 7D, the end point coordinates of the nasal breath image I are indicated by a, b, and c corresponding to FIGS. 7A to 7C, respectively. The magnitude of the vector in FIG. 7D indicates the speed of the end point E, and the direction indicates the direction of the change of the end point E.

In addition, in the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 9, a dew condensation prevention apparatus 46 using an air blower 45 is used instead of the dew condensation prevention apparatus 20 using the shutter 21 as shown in FIG. You may be. The air blower 45 is disposed obliquely above the first surface 70 of the glass 85. Then, when the nose N of the subject P is placed directly above the glass 85, if air is continuously sent out toward the first surface 70 of the glass 85, the first surface 70 Above, the condensation of nasal breath B is prevented. ON / OFF of the air blower 45 is controlled by a blower drive circuit 47. Further, the dew condensation prevention device 46 has a respiration detector 23 having the same configuration as the dew condensation prevention device 20, and the respiration detector 23 has a delay circuit 28. When the delay pulse signal is output from the controller, the blower driving circuit 47 is driven to stop the air blower 45.

Next, a second embodiment of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 10, the second embodiment of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that a fiber optic plate 49 is used as a light transmitting member. The fiber optical plate 49 has a bundle of a plurality of optical fibers 50 extending in parallel from the first surface 70 to the second surface 71.

In this case, the light emitted from the light source 16 passes through the semi-transparent mirror 17, the opening 14 and the antireflection film 15, and is incident on the second surface 71 of the fiber optic plate 49, and this light is The light propagates through the fiber 50 and is guided to the first surface 70. At this time, the light reflected by the first surface 70 passes through each optical fiber 50, exits from the second surface 71 of the fiber optic plate 49, and is reflected by the semi-transparent mirror 17. The light is received by the CCD camera 18. On the other hand, light that passes through the first surface 70 of the fiber optical plate 49 and enters the nose N of the subject P is reflected in various directions. Therefore, when the reflected light R is incident again on the first surface 70 of the fiber optical plate 49, the amount of light propagating through each optical fiber 50 and emitted from the second surface 71 is extremely small. The reflected light R from the nose N is finally hardly received by the CCD camera 18. As a result, a nose breath image I in which the image N ′ corresponding to the nose N is hardly displayed is captured, and a decrease in the contrast of the nose breath image I captured by the CCD camera 18 is prevented. Therefore, when performing the image processing, the step of removing the image N ′ corresponding to the nose N in the nasal breath image I, that is, the expansion and contraction steps are not required.

Next, a third embodiment of the nasal cavity air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 11, the third embodiment of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that a ground glass 52 is used as a light transmitting member. The first surface 70 of the ground glass 52 has a rough surface. The rough surface is constituted by, for example, a plurality of concave portions 86 microscopically alternately arranged. In this case, the light emitted from the light source 16 passes through the semi-transparent mirror 17, the opening 14 and the antireflection film 15, and is emitted from the second surface 71 of the ground glass 52, and this light is ground. The light propagates inside and is guided to the first surface 70. At this time, the light reflected on the first surface 70 passes through the ground glass 52, exits from the second surface 71, is reflected by the transmission mirror 17, and is received by the CCD camera 18.

On the other hand, light transmitted through the first surface 70 of the ground glass 52 and projected on the nose N of the subject P is reflected in various directions. Then, when the reflected light R enters the concave portion 86 of the first surface 70 of the ground glass 52, the light is scattered on the first surface 70. Therefore, the reflected light R from the nose N is hardly finally received by the CCD camera 18. As a result, the nose breath image I in which the image N corresponding to the nose N is hardly displayed is captured, and the contrast of the nose breath image I captured by the CCD camera 18 is prevented from being lowered. Therefore, when performing image processing, the step of removing the image N ′ corresponding to the nose N in the nose breath image I, that is, the dilation and contraction steps are not required.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the nasal cavity air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 12, the fourth embodiment of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention is different from the above-described embodiment in that a prism 55 is used as a light-transmitting member and only scattered light mainly due to water droplets W is received. Different from the first to third aspects. The prism 55 is a triangular prism. The triangular prism has a first surface 70, a second surface 71, and a third surface 58. The light reflected on the first surface 70 is emitted from the third surface 58. The light source 16 is arranged, for example, at a position facing the second surface 71, and the CCD camera 18 is arranged at a predetermined position capable of receiving light emitted from the third surface 58. The predetermined position of the CCD camera 18 is a position where the light incident from the first surface 70 and transmitted through the prism 55 and not emitted from the third surface 58 is not received. This position is as follows. Is determined.

That is, when the refractive index of the prism 55 is n, the vertex angle of the prism 55 is 2 and the incident angle of the reflected light from the nose N is 0 1, the exit angle of the light beam emitted from the second surface 58 0 3 is expressed by the following equation based on the first surface 70. Θ3 =

90 ° — 6> 2 + s in— ¹ (nsin (02-sin— ¹ (sin 6> 1 / n))) where, for example, the refractive index n of prism 55 is n = 1.5, the top of prism 55 If the angle 02 is 02 = 60 °, and the incident angle 01 at which the reflected light from the nose N is incident on the first surface 70 is 0 ° 01≤90 °, then 03≥58 °. This region is a region where the reflected light from the nose N is received by the CCD camera 18. Accordingly, the position of the CCD camera 18 is in the area of 6) 3 <58 ° on the second surface 58 side, that is, in the area H indicated by oblique lines in FIG.

In this case, the light emitted from the light source 16 is incident on the second surface 71 of the prism 55, passes through the prism 55, and is guided to the first surface 70. Light incident on the nose N is reflected in various directions. When the reflected light is incident on the first surface 70 again, even if the reflected light is transmitted through the prism 55 and emitted from the third surface 58, the reflected light is hardly received by the CCD camera 18. On the other hand, when light from the light source 16 is incident on the first surface 70 on which the water droplet W is attached, this light is transmitted through the first surface 70, is incident on the water droplet W, is scattered by the water droplet W, and then is The light passes through the prism 55 and exits from the third surface 58, and is received by the CCD camera 18 arranged in the region H.

Here, the principle that the light scattered by the water droplet W is imaged by the CCD camera 18 will be described.

Assuming that the scattering angle of the light scattered by the water droplet W is 04, the outgoing angle 6> 5 of the light beam emitted from the third surface 58 is expressed by the following equation with reference to the first surface 70.

05 = 90 ° — + s in- ¹ (ns i η (Θ2-Θ4)) If the scattering angle> 4 is 0 ° 6> 4≤90 °, then 18 ° 6> 5 ≦ 120 °, and the scattered light from the water droplet W is in the area H where the CCD camera 18 is arranged, that is, (3 <5 8 °, the scattered light from the water droplet W is received by the CCD camera 18. As a result, only the scattered light from the water droplet W is received by the CCD camera 18, so that the image corresponding to the nose N The nose breath image I in which N and are hardly displayed is captured, and the contrast of the nose breath image I captured by the CCD camera 18 is prevented from being reduced. The step of removing the image N ′ corresponding to the above, that is, the steps of expansion and contraction are not required.

At this time, light emitted from the light source 16 and directly reflected on the first surface 70 of the prism 55 is also mixed. Therefore, in order that the reflected light from the first surface 70 is hardly received by the CCD camera 18, a light source having a strong directivity is used as the light source 16 and the first light source 16 has an incident angle of 66 The surface 70 need only be illuminated. In this case, the output angle of the light reflected from the first surface 70 and emitted from the third surface 58 becomes 07 ≥ 58 ° with respect to the first surface 70, and the light from the light source 16 is directly reflected by the first metal 70. The CCD camera 18 hardly receives light.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the nasal cavity air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIG. 13, the fifth embodiment of the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention is a polarizer 59 that converts light from a light source into linearly polarized light and selectively transmits light that is polarized in a specific direction. The difference from the first embodiment is that an analyzer 60 is further provided. The polarizer 59 is arranged between the light source 16 and the glass 85, and the analyzer 60 is arranged between the CCD camera 18 and the mirror 17.

In this case, the light emitted from the light source 16 is converted into linearly polarized light by the polarizer 59, and this linearly polarized light enters from the second surface 71 of the glass 85, passes through the glass 85, and is emitted from the first surface 70. Then, this light is incident on the nose N of the subject P, and the polarized light is almost eliminated by the nose N. Therefore, this light is emitted from the first surface 70 of the glass 85 When the light exits from the second surface 71 and is no longer polarized in a specific direction, the amount of light passing through the analyzer 60 is considerably limited. Almost no light is received. On the other hand, the light that enters from the second surface 71 of the glass 85, transmits through the glass 85, and is reflected by the first surface 70 enters the semi-transparent mirror 17 while maintaining its polarization, and is analyzed by the analyzer. Pass through 60. As a result, the nose breath image I picked up by the CCD camera 18 hardly displays the image N 'corresponding to the nose.c As a result, the nose breath image I picked up by the CCD camera 18 is not displayed. Lowering of the rust is prevented. Therefore, when performing image processing, it becomes unnecessary to remove the image N ′ corresponding to the nose N in the nose breath image I.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described first to fifth aspects, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the first, third and fifth embodiments, the CCD camera 18 is arranged in the direction of light reflected by the first surface 70 of the light transmitting member 85 and reflected by the semi-transparent mirror 17. However, the CCD camera 18 may be arranged at a position where it can receive the scattered light passing through the first surface 70 and scattered from the water droplet W. For example, in FIG. 3, the semi-transparent mirror 17 may be removed, and in this case, the CCD camera 18 may be arranged at a position facing the first surface 70. Even in this case, it is possible to capture the nose breath image I.

Of course, since the light reflected by the first surface 70 may be positively received by the CCD camera 18, the light from the light source 16 is obliquely incident on the second surface 71, The CCD camera 18 may be arranged in the direction of the light reflected from the first surface 70 and emitted from the second surface 71. Even in this case, it is possible to sufficiently capture the nose breath image I. Industrial applicability

As described above, according to the nasal air permeability inspection apparatus of the present invention, when a subject blows a nose breath on the first surface of the light-transmitting member, the nose breath condenses on the first surface and a plurality of water droplets is formed. Is formed, and a nose breath image is formed by the plurality of water droplets. At this time, the first side A portion where a nose breath image is formed and a portion where no nose breath image is formed occur on the upper portion. At this time, when light is emitted from the light source and the light is incident on the second surface, the light is transmitted through the light-transmitting member and guided to the first surface, and is formed with a portion where a water droplet is formed. There is a difference in the amount of light reflected on the first surface between the non-irradiated portion and the nose breath image as a result. Then, the nose breath image is image-processed by the image processing device, and at least one nasal cavity air permeability related information of the shape, the area, the time change of the area, or the position coordinates of the characteristic end point is calculated. Become. As a result, changes in the nasal breath image over time can be reliably observed, and as a result, useful medical information should be provided for nasal diseases such as allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, and nasal septum curvature, mainly complaining of stomach obstruction. Can be.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A device for testing the air permeability of a subject's nasal cavity,

A first surface having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first surface is a flat surface, and light transmitted through the second surface can be transmitted and guided to the first surface. A light source capable of emitting light to be incident on the second surface of the light transmitting member;

An imaging device capable of capturing an image of a nose breath composed of water droplets attached to the first surface by the nose breath sprayed on the first surface by the subject; and

The nasal breath image picked up by the imaging device is image-processed to calculate at least one nasal cavity air permeability related information among the shape, area, time change of the area, and position coordinates of a characteristic end point of the nasal breath image. Image processing device for

A nasal air permeability inspection device comprising:

2. The nasal air permeability inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device is arranged at a position where the nasal breath image formed on the first surface can be imaged via the light transmitting member. .

3. The nasal air permeability inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning device for positioning the subject at a position where the nose breath image can be formed on the first surface.

4. The light transmissive member is a fiber optic plate, and the fiber optic plate has a bundle of a plurality of optical fibers extending in parallel from the first surface to the second surface. The nasal air permeability inspection device according to 1.

5. The nasal air permeability inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the light transmitting member is ground glass, and the first surface of the ground glass is a rough surface.

6. The light transmitting member is a prism, and the prism has the first surface, the second surface, and the third surface, and the prism is incident on the prism from the second surface. The light reflected by the first surface is emitted from the third surface. The nasal air permeability inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device is arranged at a predetermined position capable of receiving light emitted from the third surface.

7. The nasal air permeability test according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined position is a position that does not receive light that is incident from the first surface, passes through the light transmitting member, and is emitted from the third surface.

8. A polarizer that is disposed between the light source and the light transmissive member, and converts light from the light source into linearly polarized light, and

An analyzer disposed between the light transmissive member and the imaging device, for selectively passing light polarized in a specific direction;

The nasal air permeability inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising: