WO2012132967A1

WO2012132967A1 - Vital sign-measuring instrument

Info

Publication number: WO2012132967A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/056897
Authority: WO
Inventors: 広介西尾; 敬亮吉野
Original assignee: テルモ株式会社
Priority date: 2011-03-29
Filing date: 2012-03-16
Publication date: 2012-10-04
Also published as: JP2014113169A

Abstract

Provided is a vital sign-measuring instrument designed to improve user-friendliness by being capable of detecting respiratory oscillations well in spite of the size of the instrument being reduced. The vital sign-measuring instrument (10) comprises: a liquid sac (50) with a liquid sealed therein and on which a living body is placed; a sensor (40), which detects the fluctuations in pressure inside the liquid sac that are associated with respiratory oscillations of the body and converts same into an electric signal; a support member (71), which is disposed on the back surface (53) of the liquid sac opposite to the front surface (51) that is disposed on the side of the body, and which elastically supports the liquid sac when the body is placed on the liquid sac; and an expansion and contraction-limiting member (73) that is disposed between the back surface of the liquid sac and the support member and is formed to expand and contract less easily in the planar direction than the front surface of the liquid sac.

Description

Vital measuring instruments

The present invention relates to a vital measuring instrument used for measuring a respiratory rate of a living body.

Infectious diseases such as pneumonia and urinary tract infections are currently the top causes of death among the elderly. In general, there are many cases of infectious diseases of elderly people who have few symptoms such as fever, and there are not a few cases of seriousness and death due to delay in coping. For this reason, it is important to start treatment by early detection. Normally, pneumonia can be determined by a doctor listening to the sound of the chest with a stethoscope, and can be reliably diagnosed by performing a chest X-ray examination. Urinary tract infections can be diagnosed by performing blood tests, urine culture, abdominal CT tests, abdominal echo tests, and the like. In other words, an infectious disease can be said to be a disease that can be prevented from becoming serious if it is diagnosed by a doctor or the like under an appropriate examination facility. However, in the case of a hospital or a specific nursing facility where doctors are stationed with the above inspection facilities, early diagnosis is possible. In the first place, it is difficult to receive such a diagnosis early in the case of an elderly person or the like in a nursing facility or a medical depopulated area.

For this reason, for example, in the situation where there is no testing equipment and there is no doctor to judge, caregivers, etc., distinguish pneumonia or urinary tract infections from daily vital fluctuations and determine that there is a suspicion of infectious disease It is necessary to take measures such as transporting to a hospital at an early stage.

However, it is not easy for caregivers to make such a determination. Even if it is determined that there is a suspicion of an infectious disease, since it is not possible to make a sufficient judgment regarding the severity, it is common to deal with it after looking at the situation for a while. For this reason, as a result, the case where it is conveyed to a hospital in the state which became serious does not end. For this reason, it is indispensable to provide equipment that can be easily measured by caregivers, etc., and that can determine the deterioration of the condition at an early stage in the above-mentioned nursing care sites and medical depopulated areas. It is.

In early detection of infectious diseases such as pneumonia and urinary tract infection, diagnostic methods focusing on respiratory function evaluation have been attempted. In the respiratory function, the respiratory rate is counted as a basic vital together with the body temperature, blood pressure, and pulse, and is regarded as an extremely important item in judging the patient's condition.

Known techniques for measuring respiratory rate include those that measure changes in temperature due to breathing by fixing a thermistor to the nose, and those that measure changes in impedance due to breathing between ECG electrodes attached to the chest and abdomen. . However, in any case, it takes time to install the sensor, and it is mainly used in ICU or the like for particularly serious patients. In addition, since there are a large number of electrodes, lead wires, and the like, there is an inherent problem that the degree of freedom of movement of the patient is reduced. In addition, a device that measures respiratory motion by wrapping an elastic band around the chest has been developed for sleep evaluation of patients such as sleep apnea syndrome although it is used for different purposes. There is a problem that it takes time and effort. Therefore, as described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, it is possible to place a patient on an air bag in which a sensor is embedded, and to measure the respiration rate based on body vibration caused by the patient's breathing. A mattress type respiratory rate measuring device has been proposed.

JP 2001-145605 A JP 2001-276019 A

However, in the respiratory rate measuring device described in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2, the patient is placed on an air bag having a relatively large area in order to detect the patient's respiratory vibration more accurately. The air bag is permanently installed in the bed. With the increase in the size of the air bag, the convenience of the user who uses the respiration rate measuring device is reduced. Specifically, it can be said that it is not suitable for applications in which the respiratory rate is routinely managed as a basic vital for inpatients or the respiratory rate is simply measured when a patient's symptoms suddenly change. Also, as a technical issue, bedridden elderly people who are the main target of respiratory rate measurement are often lying on a slow-pressure mat or air bed for the purpose of distributing body pressure. Even if it is installed on a gradual pressure mat or an air bed, it is difficult to accurately detect respiratory vibrations. In particular, when the size of the air bag is reduced, the respiratory vibration detected by the air bag is relatively reduced, and diffusion of the respiratory vibration to the body pressure dispersion mat or bed is facilitated. Becomes even more difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a vital measuring instrument that can suitably detect respiratory vibrations regardless of the downsizing of the device, thereby improving user convenience. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, a vital measuring instrument of the present invention encloses a fluid therein, detects a fluid bag on which a living body is placed, and changes in pressure in the fluid bag due to respiratory vibration of the living body. A sensor for converting to an electrical signal; and a diffusion preventing unit disposed on the back surface opposite to the surface disposed on the living body side of the fluid bag and preventing diffusion of respiratory vibrations transmitted to the fluid bag. Yes.

According to the vital measuring instrument of the present invention, it is possible to prevent diffusion of respiratory vibrations transmitted to the fluid bag by the diffusion preventing unit disposed on the back surface of the fluid bag. Therefore, it is possible to provide a miniaturized vital measuring device capable of suitably detecting respiratory vibrations, and to improve the convenience of the user who uses the vital measuring device.

1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a usage state of a vital measuring device according to the embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 1B is a side view. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a vital measuring instrument, FIG. 2A is a plan view of the vital measuring instrument, and FIG. 2B is a side view of the vital measuring instrument. It is a schematic sectional drawing of a fluid bag and a diffusion prevention part. It is a block diagram which simplifies and shows the whole structure of a vital measuring device. It is a figure which shows the display and each operation switch of a vital measuring device. FIGS. 6A to 6C are schematic cross-sectional views of a fluid bag and a diffusion prevention unit according to modifications. It is a figure at the time of providing the slide type cover in the detection part of the vital measuring device, FIG. 7 (A) is a top view of a detection part, FIG.7 (B) is a side view of a detection part. FIGS. 8A to 8D are diagrams for explaining the first embodiment, and FIGS. 8A to 8D are diagrams showing comparison of respiratory vibration measurement data when using a detection unit including a fluid bag and a diffusion prevention unit, respectively. It is. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a fluid bag used in Example 2. FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a measurement target part of a living body in Example 2. It is a figure which shows the measurement result of Example 2, and is a figure which shows the relationship between the respiratory output for every subject, and the dimension of a fluid bag. It is a figure which shows the measurement result of Example 2, and is a figure which shows the non-detection frequency by which the respiratory output was not observed. It is a figure which shows the measurement result of Example 2, and is a figure which shows the output ratio of respiration output. It is a figure which shows the measurement result of Example 3, and is a figure which shows the relationship between the respiratory output for every subject, and the thickness of an expansion-contraction restriction member.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. The dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation, and may differ from actual ratios.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vital measuring device 10 according to the present invention is used in a state where a subject is laid on a bed 80, a mattress or the like, and measures a respiratory rate as a basic vital of the subject. It makes it possible. The subject to be used is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include an elderly person receiving home care, and a supine patient suffering from an infection such as pneumonia or urinary tract infection. Moreover, the vital measuring device 10 which concerns on this invention can be used not only for a supine patient but for a sitting patient. In this case, the measurement can be performed by inserting the vital measuring instrument 10 under the subject's thigh or butt, or by sandwiching the vital measuring instrument 10 between the back and the back of the chair or the wall. Moreover, it can also measure by putting it in the belt part of trousers.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the outline of the vital measuring instrument 10 according to the embodiment is, as outlined, a fluid bag 50 in which a fluid is sealed and a living body 90 of a subject is placed, and respiratory vibration of the living body 90. The sensor 40 detects the pressure fluctuation in the fluid bag 50 and converts it into an electrical signal, and is disposed on the back surface 53 opposite to the surface 51 disposed on the living body 90 side of the fluid bag 50, and the living body 90 is disposed in the fluid bag. The support member 71 elastically supports the fluid bag 50 when placed on the fluid bag 50, and is disposed between the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 and the support member 71, and in a plane direction with respect to the surface 51 of the fluid bag 50. And an expansion / contraction restricting member 73 formed to be difficult to expand and contract. The support member 71 and the expansion / contraction restriction member 73 disposed on the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 form a diffusion prevention unit 70 that prevents the respiratory vibration transmitted from the living body 90 to the fluid bag 50 from diffusing to the bed 80 or the mattress. (See FIG. 3). In addition, the broken line part shown in FIG. 1 illustrates the periphery of the installation area of the fluid bag 50 that functions as a sensing part.

In the description of the embodiment, the “front surface” of the fluid bag 50 is a surface on the side disposed facing the living body 90 when using the vital measuring instrument, and the “back surface” of the fluid bag 50 is the living body. 90 is a surface on the side facing the bed 80 and the mattress on which 90 is laid. In FIG. 3, the front surface 51 is shown on the upper side in the drawing, and the back surface 53 is shown on the lower side in the drawing.

Referring to FIG. 2, the vital measuring instrument 10 includes a detection unit 20 for detecting respiratory vibration of the living body 90 and a main body unit 30 including a display 31 for displaying measurement data detected by the detection unit 20. Have.

The detection unit 20 is derived from the fluid bag 50 provided so that its volume can be changed in accordance with the respiratory vibration of the living body 90, the sensor 40 installed in the fluid bag 50, and the fluid bag 50. 30 and a lead wire 61 that is electrically connected to the control circuit in the circuit 30.

The fluid bag 50 is composed of a sheet-like member that can enclose a fluid therein. The material of the fluid bag 50 is not particularly limited. For example, flexible rubber, plastic, cloth material, etc. having airtightness can be used. The fluid bag 50 is formed in a relatively small size, and can be formed so that one side of the outer peripheral portion is about 1 to 10 cm and about 1 to 20 cm, respectively, and the thickness at the time of maximum expansion is about 1 cm. Can do.

The sensor 40 is used for measuring respiratory vibration (body vibration) caused by the respiratory motion of the living body 90.

The sensor 40 detects a change in pressure (fluid pressure) in the fluid bag 50, and transmits an electric signal based on the detection result to a control circuit or the like via the lead wire 61 (see FIG. 4). The sensor 40 uses a known omnidirectional microphone used for air pressure detection, but is not limited to this, and is not limited to this. Various piezoelectric elements represented by condenser microphones, pressure sensors, piezoelectric films, A gauge, a capacitive surface pressure sensor, an FSR sensor, or the like can be used as appropriate in accordance with the characteristics of the fluid. As the fluid, air, water, oil, polymer gel, or the like can be used.

The location of the sensor 40 is not limited to the inside of the fluid bag 50, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, it is possible to employ a form in which a fluid passage communicating with the inside of the fluid bag 50 is provided, and the sensor 40 is installed in the middle of the fluid passage. In addition, the sensor 40 can be installed inside the main body 30. Transmission / reception of detection data performed between the sensor 40 and the control unit 63 to be described later is not limited to the form using the lead wire 61, but by a transmission / reception method using a general electric cable or a wireless method. It is also possible to adopt a transmission / reception method.

Referring to FIG. 3, the support member 71 disposed on the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 supports the fluid bag 50 so as to push it up from the bed 80 side, and stabilizes the contact between the fluid bag 50 and the living body 90. To demonstrate. Since the fluid bag 50 is stably held with respect to the living body 90, the fluid bag 50 can be prevented from being displaced even when the living body 90 is turned over. In addition, since the support member 71 also functions as a cushioning material between the living body 90 and the bed 80, the respiratory vibration transmitted from the living body 90 is prevented from diffusing into the bed 80. As shown in the figure, the support member 71 is provided with a side wall 72 disposed so as to surround the outer peripheral side surface of the fluid bag 50. By providing the side wall 72, the fluid bag 50 can be supported more stably.

The support member 71 uses a latex balloon, but is not limited to this. For example, a material made of a material that can elastically support the fluid bag 50, such as a sponge or a gel, is appropriately used. It is possible to use. When the balloon is used, a fluid such as air or water is injected into the balloon through a fluid inlet (not shown) and inflated. Further, after use, the fluid injected into the balloon is discharged and stored in a case or the like together with the fluid bag 50 in a deflated state.

The expansion / contraction restriction member (backing material) 73 disposed between the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 and the support member 71 functions as a cushioning material together with the support member 71, and respiratory vibration is transmitted through the outer surface 51 of the fluid bag 50. It is prevented from reaching the bed 80 and being diffused. In the embodiment, the non-stretchable plastic film is inserted and disposed between the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 and the support member 71. For example, the non-stretchable plastic film is adhered to the fluid bag 50 or the support member 71. It is also possible to adopt an integrated form.

The stretch regulating member 73 is made of a non-stretchable plastic film, but is not limited to this. For example, a metallic thin plate, a film, or the like can be used. As the plastic film, for example, a resin plate or film made of PET resin, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polyester resin, acrylic resin, nylon resin, urethane resin, vinyl chloride resin, or the like can be used. Also, copolymers of various vinyl monomers such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer can be used. The thickness of the expansion / contraction regulating member 73 is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use a material having a thickness of about 0.1 mm to 5 mm from the viewpoint of miniaturization.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, the main body 30 displays a control unit 63 that comprehensively controls the operation of the vital measuring instrument 10 and the respiratory rate measured based on the respiratory vibration detected by the sensor 40. A display unit, a sound output unit that emits a predetermined sound according to the detection result, an operation switch for selectively operating various functions, and a power supply unit that supplies power to the vital measuring instrument 10 Yes.

The main body 30 is a housing in which a control unit 63 is disposed inside, and a display 31 and an operation switch as a display unit are provided outside. As the material of the housing, a hard plastic material generally used for a hard cover of electronic equipment is used.

The control unit 63 included in the main body 30 includes an arithmetic processing unit that performs various arithmetic processing based on an electrical signal transmitted from the sensor 40 when the pressure in the fluid bag 50 fluctuates, and a content displayed on the display unit. It has a display control circuit for controlling, and a control circuit for controlling each of the sensor 40, the arithmetic processing unit, and the display control unit 63 (see FIG. 4).

The arithmetic processing unit processes the electrical signal transmitted from the sensor 40, calculates respiratory vibration data, and stores a program storing a program for predicting and calculating the respiratory rate based on the temporal change of the calculated respiratory vibration data; It has a RAM for storing the calculated respiratory vibration data in time series, and an EEPROM that stores predetermined audio data and the like. The arithmetic processing unit controls operations such as displaying the measured respiration rate on the display unit and issuing a warning alarm from the audio output unit.

Referring to FIG. 5, the power switch 33 is for operating the power of the vital measuring instrument 10 on / off. The mode switch 35 is used to switch between the real-time measurement mode and the memory data browsing mode. When using the real-time measurement mode, for example, a warning alarm function is used together. When the respiratory rate exceeding the setting is measured, a warning sound is emitted to notify the user of the occurrence of vital abnormality at an early stage. The warning alarm is preferably set so that a warning sound is emitted when the respiratory rate reaches 30 times / min or more, or when it reaches 8 times / min or less, for example. This is because the respiration rate of a healthy person is about 15 to 20 times / min, and if it exceeds 25 times / min, it is judged as tachypnea.

The waveform confirmation switch 37 is for confirming the waveform data of the respiratory vibration stored in the RAM. By pressing the left and right waveform confirmation switches 37 in the memory data browsing mode, it is possible to display the waveform at the end of measurement from the waveform at the start of measurement on the display 31 in time series.

The respiratory rate calculated based on the waveform data can be displayed on the right end of the display 31. As illustrated, for example, a respiratory rate (RR) for one minute is displayed. The respiration rate is calculated based on data sampled at a predetermined time on the waveform measurement start side (knitted portion in the figure. For example, about 15 seconds), and can be displayed in real time on the right end of the display unit. It has become.

Next, a method for using the vital measuring instrument according to the embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, a fluid bag 50 that functions as a sensing unit is inserted into the gap between the body 90 of the supine patient and the bed 80. Since the fluid bag 50 is formed in a small size, it can be easily inserted between the body 90 and the bed 80.

When the patient is placed on the fluid bag 50, the support member 71 supports the fluid bag 50 so as to push it up. At this time, since the support member 71 presses the fluid bag 50 against the living body 90 to improve the adhesion, generation of noise due to a change in the measurement environment due to body movement or the like is suppressed. Further, since the support member 71 is elastically deformed by the patient's own weight, the load on the patient suffering from pressure ulcer and the like and the elderly is small. The support member 71 and the expansion / contraction restriction member 73 prevent the respiratory vibration transmitted from the patient from diffusing into the bed 80. For this reason, the sensitivity is not lowered due to the diffusion of the respiratory vibration, and the respiratory vibration can be suitably detected despite the downsizing of the fluid bag 50 that functions as the sensing unit.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the diffusion preventing unit 70 disposed on the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 prevents the respiratory vibration transmitted to the fluid bag 50 from diffusing to the bed 80. Therefore, it is possible to provide a miniaturized vital measuring instrument 10 capable of suitably detecting respiratory vibration, and to improve the convenience of the user who uses the vital measuring instrument 10.

(Modification example of the diffusion prevention unit)
In the embodiment described above, the vital measuring instrument 10 including the diffusion prevention unit 70 having the two-layer structure composed of the support member 71 and the expansion / contraction restriction member 73 has been described. However, the diffusion prevention unit 70 according to the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is not limited to such a two-layer structure. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, only the support member 71 or the expansion / contraction restriction member 73 is disposed on the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50, and each of them functions individually as the diffusion preventing unit 70. Is possible.

As shown in FIG. 6A, for example, a configuration in which only the support member 71 is bonded to the fluid bag 50 can be employed. Air is used as the fluid, a latex balloon is used as the elastic body forming the support member 71, and an omnidirectional microphone is used as the sensor 40 for detecting respiratory vibration. Although not shown in the drawing, the omnidirectional microphone is arranged at the end of the fluid bag 50, detects a change in air pressure transmitted from the detection unit 20, and transmits an electric signal to the control unit 63 via a cable. ing.

At the time of use, after inserting the fluid bag 50 on the back side of the subject in the lying position, the balloon is expanded to bring the fluid bag 50 into close contact with the living body 90. By closely contacting the fluid bag 50, it is possible to efficiently detect respiratory vibrations.

As shown in FIG. 6B, for example, a configuration in which only the non-stretchable polymer film is bonded to the fluid bag 50 can be employed. As the fluid, purified water is used, and as the polymer film, for example, a PET resin having a thickness of about 0.1 mm can be used. A pressure sensor is used as the sensor 40 for detecting respiratory vibration. Although not shown in the figure, the pressure sensor is not disposed inside the fluid bag 50 but is disposed in the control unit 63 to detect a change in pressure transmitted from the detection unit 20.

When using, the fluid bag 50 is inserted on the back side of the subject in the lying position. Since the expansion / contraction restriction member 73 disposed on the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 suppresses expansion / contraction deformation of the entire fluid bag 50, it is possible to prevent diffusion of respiratory vibrations transmitted to the fluid bag 50. Therefore, when the expansion / contraction restriction member 73 is used as the diffusion preventing unit 70, the sensitivity may be lowered even if a relatively flexible pressure-reducing bed or the like is used as the bed 80 in which the living body 90 is disposed. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently detect respiratory vibration.

As shown in FIG. 6C, for example, the expansion / contraction restriction member 73 formed integrally with the fluid bag 50 and forming the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 can function as the diffusion preventing unit 70. In the illustrated example, mineral oil is used as the fluid, the surface 51 of the fluid bag 50 is made of a highly stretchable material rich in stretch, and the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 is made of a low stretch material. The asymmetric structure is adopted.

Since the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 functions as a vibration diffusion preventing surface that prevents vibration diffusion, a relatively flexible pressure relief is applied to the bed 80 on which the body is placed, as in the case where a plate-shaped expansion / contraction restriction member is provided. Even if a bed or the like is used, it is possible to efficiently detect respiratory vibration without causing a decrease in sensitivity. In addition, since the diffusion preventing unit 70 is manufactured by being integrated with the fluid bag 50 in advance, it is possible to simplify the manufacturing operation as compared with the case where a separate plate or the like is used for the expansion / contraction restriction unit. Yes. In addition, since an increase in the thickness of the fluid bag 50 that can be caused by providing a plate-shaped expansion / contraction restriction member can be suppressed, it is possible to provide a more compact vital measuring instrument 10.

As the highly stretchable material forming the surface 51 of the fluid bag 50, for example, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, elastomer, or the like can be used. As the fluid, air, water, oil, polymer gel, or the like can be used. As the low stretchable material forming the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50, for example, PET resin, polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, polyester resin, acrylic resin, urethane resin, nylon resin, vinyl chloride resin, or the like can be used. . Copolymers of various vinyl monomers such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer can also be used. Moreover, as a method of forming the non-target structure on the front surface 51 and the back surface 53, for example, the material of the front surface 51 and the material of the back surface 53 are made of the same material, and the contents of the plasticizer are made different. It is also possible to employ a method of adjusting the stretchability of 53.

As shown in the figure, for example, an elastic member 75 such as a sponge or a spring is inserted into the fluid bag 50, and one of the front surface 51 and the rear surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 is expanded wider than the other surface. Thus, it is also possible to adopt a method of mechanically adjusting the stretchability in the surface direction.

Although the arrangement of the sensor 40 and the like is omitted in the drawing, the omnidirectional microphone is arranged at the end of the fluid bag 50, detects a change in fluid pressure transmitted from the detection unit 20, and controls the measurement data by a wireless communication method. The data is transmitted to 63.

The embodiment described above can be changed as appropriate.

From the viewpoint of improving the contact area with the living body 90, the installation location of the fluid bag 50 is preferably arranged near the center of the back of the living body 90 as illustrated, but is not particularly limited thereto. As long as the respiratory vibration transmitted from the living body 90 can be detected, it can be changed as appropriate.

In the modified example, the asymmetric structure in which the back surface 53 of the fluid bag 50 is made of a low-stretch material has been described. For example, the fluid bag 50 is made of a material that elastically supports the fluid bag 50 such as the support member 71. It is also possible to adopt an asymmetric structure in which the back surface 53 is configured.

In addition, the detection unit 20 including the fluid bag 50 and the diffusion prevention unit 70 becomes easier to install in the lower part of the living body 90 as it is thinner. Based on this, when installing the detection unit 20, after the detection unit 20 is stored in a thin storage cover 76 as shown in FIG. The storage cover 76 can be slid as shown in the figure, and the support member 71 can be automatically expanded so that the fluid bag 50 is crimped to the living body 90. In the case where a balloon is used as the support member 71, a mechanism capable of automatically controlling intake and exhaust so as to obtain an appropriate pressure may be provided.

The number and location of the sensors 40 to be installed are not particularly limited, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the detection accuracy can be improved by dividing the inside of the fluid bag 50 into a plurality of rooms and arranging the sensor 40 in each room. The outer shape and the like of the fluid bag 50 can be changed as appropriate. For example, by using the bellows-shaped fluid bag 50 in which folds are formed in advance, the fluid bag 50 when not in use is downsized. It is possible.

<Example 1>
In FIG. 8, the measurement data of the respiratory vibration measured on the air bed using the vital measuring device 10 which concerns on embodiment mentioned above are shown. (A) shows the measurement data by the detection part provided only with the fluid bag 50. FIG. (B) shows the measurement data by the detection part which provided the supporting member 71 in the fluid bag 50. FIG. (C) shows the measurement data by the detection part which provided the fluid bag 50 with the expansion-contraction restriction member 73. FIG. (D) shows the measurement data by the detection part provided with both the support member 71 and the expansion-contraction restriction member 73. FIG. In addition, the vertical axis | shaft in a figure has shown the change of the pressure by the voltage value, and the horizontal axis has shown measurement time. In the measurement by the detection unit including only the fluid bag 50, the respiratory vibration waveform is buried in noise, but in the measurement by the detection unit including the support member 71 and the expansion / contraction restriction member 73, a clear respiratory vibration waveform is obtained. I was able to confirm.

<Example 2>
Next, the Example performed for the design of the suitable external dimension of the fluid bag 50 with which the vital measuring device 10 is provided is described. In addition, the dimension of each part of the vital measuring device based on this invention, a shape, etc. are not limited to the form shown in the following description.

Since there are back muscles and spine that protrude from the body surface on the back of the living body, the back of the living body has an uneven surface shape although there are individual differences. For this reason, when a living body is placed on a bed or the like, a gap is formed between the back of the living body and the floor surface of the bed. Briefly, the back of a living body has a spine extending in the vertical direction at a substantially central portion, and there is a spine extending in the vertical direction at a position that is substantially symmetrical from the spine, and a concave body surface is formed between the spines. It is formed. Therefore, when the back of the living body is placed on the floor surface or the like, a gap is formed between the concave body surface and the floor surface.

In measurement using a vital measuring instrument, for example, if the fluid bag 50 is designed to be too small, the fluid bag 50 may enter the gap and the fluid bag 50 may not contact the living body. If measurement is performed in such a state, the respiratory vibration is not sufficiently transmitted to the fluid bag 50, and the subject's respiratory vibration cannot be detected.

On the other hand, if the fluid bag 50 is designed to be excessively large in order to prevent the fluid bag 50 from entering the gap as described above, the fluid bag 50 is moved to a portion that does not contact the body (such as the inner wall surface of the fluid bag 50). The pressure dispersion is noticeable, and due to such pressure dispersion, the measurement results vary due to the displacement of the installation location of the fluid bag 50. As a result, regardless of changes in the health condition or medical condition of the subject, variations in measurement results due to deviations in the installation location that occur each time use occurs, so quantitative evaluation of respiratory rate data by the vital measuring instrument 10 is possible. It becomes difficult to do. Further, in order to prevent such a variation in the measurement results, if the user is required to strictly position the installation location of the fluid bag 50, an excessive burden is placed on the user, and a device that is not easy to use is obtained. Will be provided. Therefore, in this embodiment, the respiration rate is measured using a plurality of types of fluid bags having different external dimensions, and based on the measurement result, variations in respiration rate data due to the influence of the installation location and a decrease in detection sensitivity are suppressed. An attempt was made to design a suitable fluid bag capable of. Below, the measurement conditions and measurement results of the present embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 9, six fluid bags a to f having a rectangular outer shape are used for the fluid bag 50. The length L in FIG. 9 is the length of the fluid bag 50 in the longitudinal direction, and the width W is the length of the fluid bag 50 in the short direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the longitudinal direction of the fluid bag 50 is arranged in a direction along the body axis A of the living body, and the short side direction is arranged in a direction intersecting with the body axis A of the living body.

The respiration rate was measured by arranging each fluid bag a to f at three measurement points (insertion positions) C point, M point, and E point shown in FIG. Point C is the central part of the subject's spine, point M is a position shifted by 50 mm in the direction intersecting body axis A from point C, and point E is shifted by 100 mm in the direction intersecting body axis A from point C. Position. The installation position in the body axis direction is around the navel at points C, M, and E. The measurement was performed on four subjects A to D.

Measured at a plurality of locations shifted by a predetermined distance along the direction intersecting the body axis as described above is as follows. In a normal usage mode, the user who installs the vital measuring instrument 10 stands on the side of the subject, and as shown by the arrows in FIG. 10, the living body and the floor surface (bed or mat placement surface) are seen from the side. It is assumed that the operation of inserting the fluid bag 50 in between is performed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the position of the insertion position in the direction intersecting with the body axis A is considered in consideration that the displacement of the installation location of the fluid bag 50 that occurs every time it is used tends to occur in the direction intersecting with the body axis A. In order to examine how the influence of the deviation is reflected in the measurement result, measurement was performed at three points of C point, M point, and E point.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the relationship between the external dimensions and insertion positions of the fluid bags a to f and the measured respiratory output. In this figure, the respiratory outputs of subjects A to D and the average value of the respiratory outputs are shown.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the number of respiratory rate non-detections in which the respiratory rate was not detected during measurement together with the average value. The measurement is performed 35 times per fluid bag, and the number of non-detections is a numerical value indicating the number of times the respiratory rate was not measured among the 35 measurements.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the output ratio of respiratory output at each insertion position C point, M point, and E point. Each of C, M, and E in FIG. 13 is an average value of the respiratory output of each of the subjects A to D at points C, M, and E shown in FIG. 10, and each of M / C and E / C Is a numerical value indicating the output ratio of the respiratory output based on the output at point C.

As shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, it can be confirmed that the maximum value of the respiratory output that can be detected by the fluid bag 50 increases in proportion to the increase in the size of the fluid bag 50. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 12, in the measurement using the fluid bag a and the fluid bag b, it can be seen that a non-detected state of the respiratory rate in which the respiratory rate could not be detected was observed. This is because the fluid bag a and the fluid bag b are formed with a relatively small width W, and therefore the measurement is performed with the fluid bag entering the gap formed between the back and the floor of the living body. Therefore, it can be considered that the fluid bag could not detect the respiratory vibration, or the detected respiratory vibration was weak and the respiratory rate data could not be output.

From the measurement results shown in FIGS. 11 and 13, it can be seen that in the measurement using a relatively large fluid bag, the respiratory output varies depending on the insertion position. This is due to the following reason.

As shown in FIG. 11, the average value of the measurement results at the insertion positions C, M, and E of the fluid bag a having a relatively small outer dimension, and the fluid bag b having an outer dimension larger than the fluid bag a. When the average values of the measurement results at each of the insertion positions C, M, and E are compared, the fluid bag b shows a large difference in the respiratory output between the points M and E, but the fluid bag a There is no difference in respiratory output as seen in the measurement result of b. As described above, when the size of the fluid bag is increased, pressure dispersion in the fluid bag 50 is easily generated as the size of the fluid bag is increased. In addition, when the insertion position of the fluid bag is separated from the center of the back of the living body along the insertion direction, the area of the portion that does not function as a detection unit that captures respiratory vibrations in the fluid bag is increased in proportion to the distance away, Along with the increase in the size of the fluid bag, the detection sensitivity significantly decreases due to the displacement of the insertion position. This is the reason why the breathing output varies when the fluid bag b is used.

As shown in FIG. 13, from the output ratio of the breathing output at the insertion position M point and the insertion position E point to the breathing output at the center position C point, the variation in detection sensitivity due to the displacement of the insertion position is the fluid bag b, the fluid It can be confirmed that the measurement using the bag d and the fluid bag f remarkably occurs. As a result, when the width W of the fluid bag is formed to be about 10 mm to 30 mm and the length L of the fluid bag is about 100 mm, or the length L is formed to be 100 mm or more, it is caused by the displacement of the insertion position. It can be seen that variations in respiratory output are likely to occur.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the width W of the fluid bag is designed with the same size as the fluid bag a and the fluid bag b, the fluid bag enters the gap between the back of the living body and the floor surface. In such a case, it has been found that the breathing vibration cannot be captured by the fluid bag, and as a result, the respiratory rate cannot be measured. In addition, when the fluid bag is designed with the same size as the fluid bag b, the fluid bag d, and the fluid bag f, the variation in the measurement result due to the displacement of the insertion position becomes large. It was found that it was difficult to evaluate the quantitative respiratory rate data used, resulting in a decrease in user convenience.

On the other hand, in the measurement using the fluid bag c and the fluid bag e, none of the above problems occurred, and a good measurement result could be obtained. That is, the fluid bag 50 included in the vital measuring instrument 10 is preferably formed with a width W of about 20 mm to 30 mm, and a length L of about 30 mm to 90 mm (length shorter than 100 mm). It was found that it is more preferable that W is formed to be 20 mm or more and 30 mm or less and the length L is 30 to 70 mm.

<Example 3>
Next, an embodiment performed for designing a suitable thickness dimension of the expansion / contraction regulating member (backing material) 73 installed on the back surface of the fluid bag 50 provided in the vital measuring instrument 10 will be described.

In the present embodiment, the lining material 73 having different thicknesses is installed in the fluid bags a to f used in the above-described second embodiment, and the respiration rate is measured, and the thickness of the lining material 73 and the detection of the breathing vibration are detected. The relationship with sensitivity was examined.

For the backing material 73, five non-stretchable PET resin plates having thicknesses of 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm, and 5 mm were prepared. The measurement was performed on seven subjects, subjects A to G.

FIG. 14 shows the measurement result of the respiratory output. This result shows that the detection sensitivity of the fluid bag 50 tends to improve as the thickness of the backing material 73 increases. In particular, for the fluid bag c and the fluid bag e that have been confirmed to be suitable dimensions in the above-described embodiments, the detection sensitivity increases in proportion to the increase in the thickness of the backing material 73 from 1 mm to 5 mm. It can confirm that it has improved. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the thickness of the backing material 73 used in the vital measuring instrument 10 is designed to be, for example, 5 mm, thereby suppressing the significant increase in the thickness of the fluid bag 50 and detecting the sensitivity of the fluid bag 50. It was confirmed that the improvement of

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-072527 filed on March 29, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

10 vital measuring instruments,
20 detector,
30 body part,
40 sensors,
50 fluid bags,
51 surface,
53 Back side,
70 Diffusion prevention part,
71 support members,
73 Expansion / contraction regulating member,
75 elastic members,
80 beds,
90 Living organisms.

Claims

A vital measuring instrument for measuring the respiration rate of a living body,
A fluid bag in which a fluid is sealed and a living body is placed;
A sensor that detects a change in pressure in the fluid bag accompanying a respiratory vibration of a living body and converts it into an electrical signal;
A vital measuring instrument, comprising: a diffusion preventing unit disposed on a back surface opposite to the surface disposed on the living body side of the fluid bag, and preventing diffusion of respiratory vibrations transmitted to the fluid bag.
2. The vital measuring instrument according to claim 1, wherein the diffusion preventing unit includes a support member that elastically supports the fluid bag when a living body is placed on the fluid bag.
3. The vital measuring instrument according to claim 1, wherein the diffusion preventing part includes an expansion / contraction regulating member formed to be less likely to expand and contract in a plane direction than the surface of the fluid bag.
The vital measuring instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the diffusion preventing part is formed integrally with the fluid bag and forms the back surface of the fluid bag.
A vital measuring instrument for measuring the respiration rate of a living body,
A fluid bag in which a fluid is sealed and a living body is placed;
A sensor that detects a change in pressure in the fluid bag accompanying a respiratory vibration of a living body and converts it into an electrical signal;
A support member disposed on the back surface opposite to the surface disposed on the living body side of the fluid bag, and elastically supporting the fluid bag when the living body is placed on the fluid bag;
A vital measuring instrument, comprising: an expansion / contraction regulating member disposed between the back surface of the fluid bag and the support member and formed to be less elastic to deform in a plane direction than the surface of the fluid bag.
The fluid bag has a rectangular shape in which the length of the long side arranged along the body axis direction of the living body is L and the length of the short side arranged along the direction intersecting the body axis is W. When formed,
6. The vital according to claim 1, wherein the length L of the long side is 30 mm or more and 90 mm or less, and the length W of the short side is 20 mm or more and 30 mm or less. Measuring instrument.