WO2015005538A1 - Auscultation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The auscultation apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a sound acquisition unit for acquiring bodily sounds; and an interface unit for visually displaying the bodily sounds, thus allowing an accurate analysis thereof by means of visual checks of the acquired bodily sounds.

Description

[Correction by rule 26.11.2013] Steering device

The present invention relates to a stethoscope device, and more particularly, to a stethoscope device for visually displaying the obtained biological sound.

In medical practice, doctors often use stethoscopes to diagnose patients. The diagnosis by a stethoscope can identify various pathologies by the patient's biological sounds such as alveolar breathing, bronchial breathing sound, low sound continuation, noise (squash squawk), and bullous sound. Biosound from the stethoscope identifies not only the heart and the respiratory system, but also the various pathologies of the other five viscera.

However, stethoscopes that rely only on auditory output have limitations in clearly determining the sound obtained.

The present invention is to provide a stethoscope device for visually displaying the obtained biological sound.

Technical problems to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned technical problems, and other technical problems not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. Could be.

The stethoscope device of the present invention may include a sound acquisition unit for acquiring a living body sound and an interface unit for visually displaying the living body sound.

The stethoscope device of the present invention includes an interface unit for visually displaying the acquired bio-sound, thereby enabling accurate analysis of the bio-sound through visual confirmation of the obtained bio-sound.

1 is a block diagram showing a stethoscope device of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the user interface displayed through the stethoscope device of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a language selection unit and a display unit displayed on the display unit in the stethoscope device of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the introduction portion displayed as a display unit in the stethoscope device of the present invention.

5 is a schematic diagram showing an update process of the ID shown in FIG.

6 is a schematic diagram showing an update process of the date shown in FIG.

7 is a schematic diagram showing an update process of the image shown in FIG. 4;

8 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the drive menu shown in FIG. 4 is selected.

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram showing the main portion displayed on the display unit in the stethoscope device of the present invention.

10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a player area of a main unit according to an exemplary embodiment.

11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an acoustic display area of a main part according to an exemplary embodiment.

12 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a fetal rhythm is displayed in an acoustic display region.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state made in the acoustic display region.

14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a time area of a main unit according to an exemplary embodiment.

15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a menu area of a main unit according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a 'File' operation state of the menu area.

Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram showing an 'Edit' operation state of a menu area.

18 is a schematic diagram showing a 'Save' operation state of a menu area.

19 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state where a memo area displayed on the main unit is selected.

20 is a schematic diagram showing a 'Mode' operating state of a menu area.

Fig. 21 is a schematic diagram showing a 'Mail' operation state of the menu area.

Fig. 22 is a schematic diagram showing a 'Sns' operation state of the menu area.

Figure 23 is a schematic diagram showing an example of implementing a stethoscope device including an optional unit of the present invention to a smartphone.

Fig. 24 is a block diagram showing a noise removing unit of the stethoscope device.

Fig. 25 is a schematic diagram showing a bioacoustic signal including noise by friction sound and a signal in which the noise is removed;

Fig. 26 is a block diagram showing a sound acquisition unit constituting the stethoscope device of the present invention.

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

1 is a block diagram showing a stethoscope device of the present invention.

The stethoscope device illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a sound acquisition unit 110 for acquiring a living body sound and an interface unit 130 for visually displaying the living body sound.

Biological sound is an analog signal. In order to visually display the bio-acoustic, first information, which is bio-acoustic, is collected, the collected first information is converted into electrical second information, and the second information is converted into third information output to the display unit 133. It must be processed.

The sound acquirer 110 collects first information and converts the collected first information into second information and outputs the second information. For example, the sound acquirer 110 may include a microphone (microphone), a vibration sensor, or the like.

The sound acquirer 110 may acquire the biological sound of the body while being in contact with the body. The state of contact with the body may be a state in which the sound acquisition unit 110 such as a microphone is directly in contact with the skin of the user or a state of being in close contact with the body of the user through clothing worn by the user.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating a sound acquisition unit configuring the stethoscope apparatus according to the present invention. FIG.

The sound acquiring unit 110 may include an amplifier 112 for amplifying the output signal of the microphone 111 and a filter 113 for removing noise included in the output signal of the microphone. In the drawing, an example is shown in which an amplifier is disposed at an output terminal of a microphone and a filter is disposed at an output terminal of an amplifier. However, the positions of the amplifier and the filter may be interchanged.

The sound acquiring unit 110 may be provided with a first communication unit which transmits a living body sound to the interface unit 130. In response to the first communication unit, the interface unit 130 may be provided with a second communication unit. The second communication unit may receive the biological sound transmitted from the sound acquisition unit.

The sound acquisition unit 110 is in contact with the user's body in order to reliably acquire the biological sound. Therefore, when the sound acquisition unit 110 and the interface unit 130 are provided together, it may be difficult for the user to visually identify the interface unit 130. For example, when the user is a pregnant mother, the sound acquisition unit 110 may be in contact with the user's belly in order to acquire a heartbeat sound of the fetus. At this time, if the interface unit 130 is configured integrally with the sound acquisition unit 110, the user is difficult to identify the interface unit 130.

In order to solve this inconvenience, the sound acquisition unit 110 may be provided separately from the interface unit 130. In this case, at least the transmission and reception of the bio-sound is required between the sound acquisition unit 110 and the interface unit 130, and the first communication unit and the second communication unit may be used to transmit and receive the bio-sound.

When provided separately from the interface unit 130, the sound acquisition unit 110 is accommodated in a separate case (not shown) separated from the interface unit 130, and the living body is connected to the interface unit 130 through wired or wireless communication. Sound can be transmitted.

When communicating with the interface unit 130 by wire through a data line such as a wire, the sound acquisition unit 110 converts the bio-sound as an analog signal into a digital signal and converts it into a digital signal (Analog-Digital converter). ) May be included. The wire may be integrally formed on the sound acquisition unit 110 and may be formed to be detachable from the interface unit 130. For example, when the stethoscope device of the present invention is installed in the form of software in a smartphone, the smartphone body may configure the interface unit 130. The smartphone is provided with a variety of connectors for connecting to an external device, the wire of the interface unit 130 may be detachable to the connector. In this case, a data line such as a wire may be a first communication unit, and a connector may be a second communication unit.

The sound acquirer 110 may transmit the bio-sound to the interface 130 through short range wireless communication such as Bluetooth or Zigbee. In this case, the first communication unit and the second communication unit may be a wireless communication module 115.

1 again, the interface unit 130 may include a generation unit 131 for generating third information and a display unit 133 for visually outputting the third information. In this case, the third information may constitute a so-called user interface 200.

The user interface 200 displayed on the third information, that is, the display unit 133 may have various configurations for displaying the bio-sound. In addition, the third information may be processed through the input unit 170. At this time, the input unit 170 is configured as an input means such as a touch screen, a mouse, a keyboard, for example.

In addition, a third communication unit 190 for transmitting the third information to the external device through the communication network. The third communication unit 190 may transmit the third information to an external device through a local area network such as Bluetooth, as well as a local area network such as CDMA.

2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the user interface 200 displayed through the stethoscope device of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a stethoscope device for acquiring a beating sound of a fetus is disclosed.

The generation unit 131 may generate the language selection unit 210, the notification unit 220, the introduction unit 230, the main unit 240, the option unit 250, and the like as the third information. Each third information may be independently displayed through the display unit 133 or a plurality of pieces of information may be displayed together on the display unit 133.

Each unit may be displayed in the order of the language selection unit 210, the notification unit 220, the introduction unit 230, and the main unit 240. The main unit 240 may return to the introduction unit 230 by selecting 'back'. The option unit 250 may be displayed as selecting 'option' in the language selection unit 210, the notification unit 220, the introduction unit 230, and the main unit 240. When the stethoscope device is a smartphone, the above 'back' may be replaced by the back button of the smartphone, and the 'option' may be replaced by the menu button 251.

The language selection unit 210 provides a menu for selecting one of a plurality of languages, and is displayed on the notice unit 220, the introduction unit 230, the main unit 240, and the option unit 250 in the selected language. Determine your language. The selectable language may be pre-stored or received from an external device through the third communication unit 190.

The notice unit 220 guides various notices necessary for using the user interface 200. At this time, the announcement may be previously stored or received through the third communication unit 190.

3 is a schematic diagram showing a language selector 210 and a notice unit 220 displayed on the display unit 133 in the stethoscope apparatus of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, a language selection unit 210 and a notice unit 220 are displayed together on one display screen in a stethoscope device implemented as a smartphone.

The language selector 210 displays 'English' and 'Korean' as an example. When 'English' is selected, the language included in the third information such as the notice unit 220, the introduction unit 230, the main unit 240, and the option unit 250 is displayed in English. Likewise, when 'Korean' is selected, the language included in the third information is displayed in Korean.

The notice unit 220 may include, for example, an information name 221 and a notice 223 that distinguish the third information related to the biological sound from other types of information.

In FIG. 3, 'Baby Voice' is illustrated as the information name 221. As a precaution 223, a headphone is used, a microphone is brought into contact with the skin, and an aviation mode is recommended.

The notice unit 220 does not need to be additionally displayed once recognized by the user. Accordingly, the notification unit 220 may include a check box 225 for determining whether to display the notification unit 220 from the next execution by selection. For example, if the check box 225 is not checked, the notice unit 220 is displayed at the next execution. If the check box 225 is checked, the notice unit 220 is not displayed from the next execution.

The introduction unit 230 includes a driving menu 237 for driving the main unit 240 to visually display the bio-sound. In addition, the introduction unit 230 may include an ID 231 (IDentity), a date 233, an image 235, and the like for the acquisition object of the bio-sound.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the introduction portion 230 displayed by the display unit 133 in the stethoscope device of the present invention.

In FIG. 4, 'BABY' is illustrated as the ID 231, and 'D-240 day of meeting' is illustrated as the date 233. The date 233 can be displayed in various ways. The current date 233 may be displayed or the acquisition date 233 of the image 235 displayed on the introduction unit 230 may be displayed. In addition, it may be displayed as the date of recounting from birth due date 233, the so-called date 233 on the basis of D-day.

A fetus picture is illustrated as the image 235 included in the introduction 230.

In addition, 'start' is displayed on the driving menu 237. In this case, an important key point 239 necessary for the execution of the driving menu 237 may be additionally displayed. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, it is assumed that the driving menu 237 is not executed unless the headphone is used, and a key point 239 for displaying the headphone is displayed. At this time, the core matters 239 may overlap with the precautions 223 of the notice unit 220.

The ID 231, the date 233, the image 235, and the like illustrated in FIG. 4 may be updated.

5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an update process of the ID 231 shown in FIG. 4.

First, ID 231 is selected. In the case of a smart phone including a touch screen, the selection of the ID 231 may be performed by touching the display area of the ID 231.

Selecting the ID 231 displays a user interface 200 including a text menu 232 for inputting an ID 231. Selecting a text menu 232 displays a keyboard for entering text. do. In the case of a stethoscope device without a touch screen, an input may be performed using a keyboard, a keypad, and the like.

For example, when a basic ID 231 or an ID 231 called 'BABY' is set, the set ID 231 is displayed in the text menu 232. After selecting the text menu 232 and deleting the set ID 231 and inputting 'Ilove', the text menu 232 displays 'Ilove'. In this state, when the 'save' provided in the corresponding user interface 200 is selected, the ID 231 of the introduction unit 230 is changed to 'Ilove'. If 'cancel' is selected, the text menu 232 displaying the preset ID 231 is displayed or returned to the introduction unit 230 without updating the ID 231.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an update process of the date 233 shown in FIG. 4.

When the date 233 is selected in the introduction unit 230, the user interface 200 including the numeric menu 234 for inputting the date 233 is displayed. The number menu 234 is a menu for inputting a number, a method of directly inputting a number, and a method of adding and subtracting numbers using + and − as shown in FIG. 6. As a method of directly inputting numbers, the keyboard of FIG. 5 may be used.

In FIG. 6, a state in which July 9, 2012 is selected by touching + and − displayed is illustrated. Specifically, when the number menu 234 is selected, an interface for selecting a date 233 is displayed using + and-, and a number menu is selected by selecting a desired date 233 using + and-. 234, July 9, 2012, the selected date 233 is displayed. If you select 'Cancel', the interface displaying + and-is closed.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an update process of the image 235 illustrated in FIG. 4.

When the image 235 is selected in the introduction unit 230, an image menu 236 for inputting the image 235 is displayed.

The identification of the image 235 consists of the image 235 itself, such as a thumbnail, or so-called file name assigned to each image 235.

Thus, the image menu 236 includes a 'Gallery' menu that allows you to view and select the image 235 itself and a 'Data image' menu that allows you to select the image 235 by the file name assigned to each image 235. can do. In FIG. 7, '20120102 winter' is set as a file name assigned to each image 235. Each file name may be input through the input unit 170 or automatically assigned by the stethoscope device. When the image 235 or the file name is selected, the image 235 may be enlarged and displayed on the screen of the display unit 133. The selected image 235 may or may not be reflected in the introduction unit 230 by using the 'save' menu and the 'cancel' menu.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the drive menu 237 shown in FIG. 4 is selected.

When the start menu '237' is selected in the introduction unit 230, the main unit 240 in which the bio-sound is visually displayed is driven.

The main unit 240 may be configured in various ways and includes at least a sound display area 241 in which a living body sound is visually displayed. The main unit 240 may also output the biological sound through the voice output unit 150. In this case, the voice output unit 150 may include a speaker, a headphone, and the like that outputs the third information audibly. When the function of the voice output unit 150 is important, if the operation of the voice output unit 150 is not performed, the generation unit 131 may not generate the user interface 200 on which at least the biological sound is displayed. That is, the interface unit 130 may be driven together with the driving of the voice output unit 150.

9 is a schematic view showing the main unit 240 displayed on the display unit 133 in the stethoscope device of the present invention.

The main unit 240 may include an acoustic display area 241 for displaying the biological sound acquired by the sound acquirer 110 by visual display means such as a graph. In some cases, it includes an additional area for controlling and providing information on the acoustic display area 241.

The additional area includes a player field 243 for driving the acoustic display area 241, a time area 245 related to play time, a menu field 247 for displaying a menu of additional functions, and the like. This includes.

The player area 243 may include a menu for storing the biological sound acquired by the sound acquirer 110 or reproducing the stored biological sound.

10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a player area 243 of the main unit 240 according to an embodiment.

In the player area 243 shown in Fig. 10, a playback menu ①, a recording menu ② and a stop menu ③ are displayed.

The menu change state at the time of recording is started in the figure at the upper right of FIG.

To record, operate the recording menu ②.

As a result, the playback menu 1 is not displayed as in the second menu configuration. In addition, when recording is performed by the operation of the recording menu ②, the recording menu ② may be changed to a pause menu.

When the pause menu is operated, the pause menu is changed to the recording menu ② as shown in the third menu.

If you operate the stop menu ③, the playback menu ① will be displayed again. At this time, the stop menu ③ may or may not be displayed.

The menu change state at the time of reproduction is started in the figure at the lower right of FIG.

Operate the playback menu ① during playback.

As a result, the playback menu ① disappears and the recording menu ② changes to the pause menu as in the second menu configuration. Manipulating the Pause Menu returns you to the first menu configuration.

In FIG. 10, the pause menu is configured to be displayed exclusively at the same position as the recording menu ②, but the pause menu may be displayed at the position of the playback menu ① or at a separate position.

11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an acoustic display area 241 of the main unit 240 according to an embodiment.

The biological sound is visually displayed in the acoustic display area 241. For example, the bio-sound may be displayed as a graph, in which the graph may have a time axis or a frequency axis on the x axis. The y-axis of the graph may be composed of various factors representing the amplitude of the living acoustic, such as an amplitude value and an RMS value.

In FIG. 11, the sound display area 241 is divided into two parts up and down, and in the upper area, an original source signal acquired by the sound acquisition unit 110 is displayed, and in the lower area, a signal from which noise included in the original source signal is removed is displayed. Doing. In this case, when the corresponding area is selected, the corresponding area may be enlarged and displayed on the entire sound display area 241. 11 shows an example in which the lower region is selected and the lower region is displayed on the entire acoustic display region 241.

On the other hand, the acoustic display area 241 may be displayed together with the reference sound comparable to the obtained biological sound.

When the biological sound is displayed by visual means such as a graph, it may be difficult to understand the meaning of the graph. Therefore, by storing the reference sound comparable to the biological sound and displaying the reference sound together when displaying the biological sound, it is easy to analyze the biological sound.

In Fig. 12, the pulsation of the fetus is displayed by living sound. In addition, the fetal rhythm obtained through the experimental experiment is displayed as the reference sound along with the biological sound. The lower graph of FIG. 12 is the fetal rhythm obtained through the sound acquisition unit 110 and the upper graph is the fetal rhythm corresponding to the reference sound.

As such, by displaying the reference sound together, it is possible to confirm whether or not the fetal heartbeat is present.

When the stethoscope device is implemented as a smartphone, the fetal pulsation may be obtained by contacting the belly of the microphone, which is the sound acquisition unit 110 provided in the smartphone.

When the display unit 133 includes a touch screen, manipulation of the graph displayed on the acoustic display area 241 may be directly performed in the acoustic display area 241. An example of such an operation is disclosed in FIG. 13.

13 is a schematic diagram showing an operation state performed in the acoustic display region 241.

The upper two views of FIG. 13 illustrate a state in which the left panning or right panning operation is input while the acoustic display area 241 is touched. In the graph displayed on the acoustic display area 241 by the left and right panning operation, the x-axis is moved left and right.

The lower two views of FIG. 13 show a state in which the graph is enlarged or reduced by spreading or narrowing the sound display area 241 with two fingers. For example, if two fingers are touched apart, the graph is enlarged, and when the fingers are narrowed, the graph is reduced.

When the graph is enlarged / reduced, it may be difficult to return the graph to its original size due to the finger opening / closing. Thus, the graph can be returned to its original size upon reduction after enlargement. That is, when a reduction operation is performed while the enlarged graph is displayed, the original size is returned.

In addition, if an enlargement operation is made in a state of being reduced to the original size or less, the original size can be returned.

14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a time area 245 of the main unit 240 according to an embodiment.

In the time area 245, information of the bio sound or information related to the bio sound may be displayed on the sound display area 241.

In this case, the information displayed in the time area 245 may include a recording progress time, a current heart rate, and an average heart rate.

The recording progress time is activated during the recording process and indicates the recording progress time. In FIG. 14, '4.0S' corresponds to a recording progress time.

The current beat rate may be recorded when the sound acquisition unit 110 is driven regardless of recording.

The average heart rate is a value obtained by dividing the heart rate by the time unit, and the time unit may be 1 second, 1 minute, or 1 hour.

15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a menu area 247 of the main unit 240 according to an embodiment.

The menu area 247 may include various menus. In FIG. 15, 'File', 'Edit', 'Save', 'Mode', 'Mail', and 'Sns' menus are illustrated. Each menu at this time may be displayed as an icon. In addition, each menu may be associated with a submenu.

For example, when 'File' is selected, submenus such as 'Open' and 'Delete' may be displayed. Likewise, when 'Edit' is selected, 'Flag' and 'Cut' submenus are displayed. When 'Mode' is selected, 'Amplitude' and 'RMS power' submenus can be displayed. When 'Sns' is selected, submenus of 'Facebook' and 'tweeter' may be displayed.

The menu area 247 will be described in detail. Various menus displayed in the menu area 247 may be deactivated to prevent reselection when selected. For example, when various menus are displayed in black, deactivation of the menus means that the menu selection is not performed. The deactivated menu may be displayed in a different color from the original menu, for example, gray.

16 is a schematic diagram showing a 'File' operation state of the menu area 247.

Selecting 'File' in the menu area 247 displays submenus of 'Open' and 'Delete'. The submenu may be displayed at various locations. In FIG. 16, an example in which a submenu is displayed in the time area 245 is disclosed.

If 'Open' is selected, a list of stored bioacoustic related graphs is displayed, and a specific graph selected from the list is displayed in the acoustic display area 241. The list of graphs may be displayed as the image 235 itself, such as in a thumbnail format, or as a file name assigned to the graph. FIG. 16 illustrates a case in which a list is displayed by a file name as in selecting the 'Data image' menu of FIG. 7.

If you select 'Delete', the graph list is displayed as if 'Open' is selected. In this state, you can select one or more graphs to delete.

17 is a schematic diagram showing an 'Edit' operation state of the menu area 247.

When the 'Edit' menu is selected in the menu area 247, the 'Flag' and 'Cut' submenus are displayed.

When 'Flag' is selected, various shapes of the flag ④ are displayed on the acoustic display area 241. Since the flag (4) is dragged and moved to the position desired by the user, there is no problem even if the display position of the flag (4) is various.

When 'Cut' is selected, a cut line having a border such as a rectangular shape is displayed on the acoustic display area 241, and the cut line may be dragged to align with a desired position and size, and then the graph in the cut line may be cut out. The graph thus cut may be stored in the storage unit.

18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a 'Save' operation state of the menu area 247.

If the 'Save' menu is selected, a menu for setting a file name of the bio-sound displayed in the sound display area 241 is displayed. In addition, a menu for writing a memo may be displayed together.

If there is content written in the memo, the memo menu may be displayed in the main unit 240 when the corresponding bio-sound is displayed in the sound display area 241. In FIG. 18, a case in which a menu area 247 displaying a memo menu is added to the main unit 240 is disclosed.

When the memo area 248 is selected in the main unit 240, memo items written in the 'Save' menu are displayed as shown in FIG. 19. In order to update the memo while the memo is displayed, a save menu and a cancel menu associated with the memo may be included. In addition, a keyboard menu for modifying notes may be provided.

20 is a schematic diagram showing a 'Mode' operating state of the menu area 247.

When the 'Mode' menu is selected, the 'Amplitude' and 'RMS power' submenus are displayed.

If 'Amplitude' is selected, the y-axis is displayed as the amplitude value in the bioacoustic graph, and if 'RMS power' is selected, the y-axis is displayed as the effective value. At this time, the selected sub-menu is inactivated to recognize the user that the inactive menu is selected.

21 is a schematic diagram showing a 'Mail' operation state of the menu area 247.

When the 'Mail' menu is selected, a mail list available through the third communication unit 190 is displayed. When a specific mail is selected in the mail list, a menu for entering mail, 'Send mail', 'Often add', 'Attached file', and 'delete' submenus may be provided with the keyboard. In this case, the mail content may include the bio-sound displayed on the current sound display area 241.

22 is a schematic diagram showing a 'Sns' operation state of the menu area 247.

When 'Sns' is selected in the menu area 247, a list of available Facebook and Twitter is displayed.

If Facebook is selected, Facebook may be used through the third communication unit 190, and if Twitter is selected, Twitter may be used through the third communication unit 190.

The 'Mail' menu of FIG. 21 and the 'Sns' menu of FIG. 22 may be activated when the third communication unit 190 exists.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a stethoscope device including the option unit 250 of the present invention.

23 illustrates an example in which the option unit 250 is driven by the operation of the menu button 251 provided in the smartphone.

When the menu button 251 is operated while the language selection unit 210, the notification unit 220, the introduction unit 230, and the main unit 240 are displayed on the display, the 'About' menu is displayed.

When the 'About' menu is selected, an introduction, usage, and contact information of the stethoscope device may be displayed.

As described above, the stethoscope apparatus of the present invention generates third information implemented by the user interface 200 through the generation unit 131 of the first signal acquired by the sound acquisition unit 110, and generates third information. By displaying on the display it can visually display the biological sound. In addition, the stethoscope device may also include a voice output unit 150 for audibly outputting the living body sound. If necessary, the third information may be generated only when the voice output unit 150 is driven or some third information may be output. May not be created.

In the above, the case in which the headphone 240 which is the voice output unit 150 is not connected does not generate the main unit 240 as the third information.

In order to make a reliable stethoscope, the first signal acquired by the sound acquisition unit 110 should be reliable. In other words, a first signal robust to negative influences such as noise should be obtained. In particular, in the case of a stethoscope device that is not provided with a sound acquisition unit 110 suitable for a stethoscope, such as a smart phone, the countermeasure against noise may be vulnerable.

The noise removing unit 120 may be interposed between the sound acquisition unit 110 and the interface unit 130 to process the noise. In this case, the interface unit 130 displays the biological sound from which the noise is removed.

The noise remover 120 removes noise included in the biological sound obtained by the sound acquirer 110. The noise removing target may be second information. If a filter is provided in the sound acquirer 110, the noise remover 120 may be omitted.

The noise removing unit 120 may remove the noise by using a statistical property in which the noise is relatively static in the short section than the biological sound.

24 is a block diagram illustrating the noise removing unit 120 of the stethoscope device.

The noise removing unit 120 illustrated in FIG. 24 includes a Fourier transform unit 121 for Fourier transforming the bio-acoustic sound acquired by the sound acquisition unit 110, and a filtering unit 123 for removing noise included in the Fourier-transformed bio-audio. Inverter Fourier transform unit 125 for inverse Fourier transform the noise is removed bio- sound may be included.

Applying the discrete Fourier transform formula of Equation 1 to the values of n input signals x ₀ , x ₁ , x ₂ , ..., x _N-1 , the frequency components X ₀ , X ₁ , X ₂ , ..., X is converted to _N-1 .

Equation 1

Where k = 0, 1, 2, ..., N-1.

N is a natural number.

For example, when the sampling frequency is 8KHz, 256 input signals can be converted into 256 frequency component values through discrete Fourier transform. In this case, each frequency component has a bandwidth of about 8000 Hz / 256 Hz 31 Hz.

In the case of fetal rhythm, it consists of components of less than 1000Hz, so the total size of 32 frequency components, k = 1, 2, ..., 32

May be displayed on the sound display area 241.

However, when the biological sound such as fetal rhythm is represented as x (t), the noise d (t) is added to x (t) to the biological sound obtained by the sound acquisition unit 110.

The Fourier transformer 121 performs Fourier transform on the input signal y (t) to which the noise d (t) is added to the bio-sound x (t) and outputs the frequency component Y (k, l).

The filtering unit 123 estimates the magnitude spectrum of the noise D (k, l) from the magnitude of the frequency component Y (k, l), and calculates the gain G (k, l) using a Wiener filter. The noise is then removed by multiplying the magnitude signal spectrum of the frequency component Y (k, l) by G (k, l).

The winner filter may be defined by Equation 2 below.

Equation 2

Where SNR = Y (k, l) / D (k, l).

The frequency band of Y (k, l) is analyzed or the amount of change is determined to determine whether the signal is a target signal, and then, in a section estimated as a noise section, the magnitude of X (k, l) is controlled and output by a gain adjuster.

The inverse Fourier transformer 125 converts and outputs a frequency component from which the noise is removed by the filtering unit 123 in a time domain. The biological sound thus output is transmitted to the interface unit 130 or the voice output unit 150.

Regardless of whether noise is introduced, the amount of change in the signal may be large according to the biological sound. In this case, since the graph displayed on the acoustic display area 241 is also complicated, there may be a problem such as eye fatigue in the process of recognizing this. Therefore, in some cases, a method of reducing the amount of change in the signal may be applied.

The RMS power menu of FIG. 20 relates to this.

When the RMS power menu is selected, the RMS value is started on the y-axis of the graph. The RMS value X _n at this time is expressed by the following equation.

Equation 3

Here, x _n is an output value of the noise remover 120 or the sound acquirer 110.

According to Equation 3, due to the effect of the low pass filter, the amount of change of the X _n signal is reduced compared to the original input signal xn.

The calculation of Equation 3 may be performed in the generator. Through the noise removing unit and the RMS value processing unit as described above, it is possible to provide a reliable biological sound to the user.

On the other hand, even if the noise is removed by the Wiener filter, and the RMS power calculation method is used, the noise of the microphone and the clothes, the noise of the microphone and the skin may be included in the output signal. Consideration may be given to a method for removing such unnecessary friction noise.

For example, considering that the heartbeat is mostly a signal of 500 Hz or less, a section in which the magnitude of the frequency signal of 500 Hz or less is less than or equal to the first threshold may be determined as the noise section. Since the magnitude of the signal related to the heartbeat in the band below 500 Hz is greater than the first threshold value, a signal having a magnitude less than the first threshold value may be processed as a noise signal.

In addition, the noise caused by the friction between the microphone and the skin and the friction between the microphone and the clothes are considered over the entire frequency band, so that the section in which the magnitude of the frequency signal of 500 Hz or more is greater than or equal to the second threshold may be determined as the noise interval. Can be.

The noise can be removed by attenuating the output gain through the gain adjuster for the noise section. A signal related to noise removal is shown in FIG. 25.

Fig. 25 is a schematic diagram showing a bio-acoustic signal including noise by friction sound and a signal in which the noise is removed.

In FIG. 25, a state in which the first threshold is set to 1 and the second threshold is set to 2 is started.

In more detail, as illustrated in FIG. 25A, the biological sound including noise is converted into a frequency domain. Then, the magnitude of the frequency component with respect to the noise section determined through the first threshold value and the second threshold value.

By attenuating the gain controller, a signal as shown in FIG. 25B can be obtained. By converting the obtained signal back into the time domain, a signal consisting of a heartbeat can be obtained as shown in FIG. 25C.

Noise removal by the friction noise or the like may be performed by the noise removing unit 120. In this case, the noise removing unit 120 is a first noise interval of less than the first threshold value and the frequency of the signal signal of the bio-sound in the frequency section of 500Hz or less and a second threshold value of 500Hz or more in the frequency range of 500Hz or less. At least one of the two noise sections may be attenuated.

The function of the noise removing unit 120 described above may be applied to the filter included in the sound acquisition unit.

On the other hand, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. Therefore, the above-described embodiments are to be understood as illustrative in all respects and not as restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown by the following claims rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

Claims (20)

1. A sound acquiring unit acquiring a living body sound; And

   An interface unit for visually displaying the biological sound;

   Stethoscope device comprising a.
2. The method of claim 1,

   The interface unit

   A display unit; And

   And a generator configured to generate information output to the display unit by using the information obtained by the sound acquirer.
3. The method of claim 1,

   The interface unit generates information output to the display unit,

   The information device includes at least one of a language selection unit, a notification unit, an introduction unit, a main unit, and an option unit.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein

   And the language selector provides a menu for selecting one of a plurality of languages, and the language displayed on the notice unit, the introduction unit, the main unit, and the option unit is determined as the selected specific language.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein

   The introduction unit includes a drive menu capable of driving the main unit for visually displaying the bio-sound, at least one of an identity (identity), a date, an image of the acquisition object of the bio-sound.
6. The method of claim 5,

   Includes; voice output unit for acoustically outputting the biological sound,

   And the drive menu is activated when the voice output unit is driven.
7. The method of claim 3, wherein

   The main unit includes a sound display area for displaying the biological sound obtained by the sound acquisition unit with a visual display means.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein

   And a reference sound that is comparable to the bio-sound acquired by the sound acquisition unit.
9. The method of claim 3, wherein

   The display unit includes a touch screen provided in the acoustic display area,

   The sound display area,

   An enlargement function of expanding a display content by spreading the sound display area with two fingers and a reduction function of reducing the display content by narrowing the sound display area with a two-finger touch;

   The stethoscope device returns to its original size when the reduction function is performed while the zooming function is performed, or returns to its original size when the zooming function is performed while the zooming function is performed.
10. The method of claim 1,

    Includes; voice output unit for acoustically outputting the biological sound,

    The stethoscope unit is driven in conjunction with the driving of the voice output unit.
11. The method of claim 1,

    And a communication unit for transmitting the bio-sound through a communication network.
12. The method of claim 1,

    And a noise removing unit for removing noise included in the biological sound.

    The stethoscope unit displays the biological sound from which the noise is removed.
13. The method of claim 12,

    The noise canceling unit is a stethoscope device for removing noise of statistical characteristics having a static distribution compared to the biological sound.
14. The method of claim 12,

    The noise removing unit,

    A Fourier transform unit for Fourier transforming the biological sound obtained by the sound acquisition unit;

    A filter unit to remove noise included in the Fourier-transformed bio-sound;

    And an inverse Fourier transform unit for inverse Fourier transform the bio-sound from which the noise is removed.
15. The method of claim 12,

    The noise removing unit,

    A Fourier transformer for Fourier transforming the input signal y (t) to which the noise d (t) is added to the bio-sound x (t) and outputting a frequency component Y (k, l);

    The magnitude spectrum of the noise D (k, l) is estimated from the magnitude of the frequency component Y (k, l), and the gain G (k, l) expressed by the following equation is calculated using a Wiener filter. A filter unit for removing noise by multiplying the magnitude signal spectrum of the frequency component Y (k, l) by G (k, l); And

    And an inverse Fourier transformer for outputting the frequency component Y (k, l) from which the noise is removed by the filter unit in a time domain.

    

    Where SNR = Y (k, l) / D (k, l).
16. The method of claim 12,

    The noise removing unit,

    Attenuating at least one of a first noise section in which the signal amplitude of the bio-acoustic sound is less than or equal to a first threshold in a frequency section of 500 Hz or less and a second noise section in which a signal size of the bio-acoustic sound is greater than or equal to a second threshold in a frequency section of 500 Hz or more Stethoscope device.
17. The method of claim 1,

    The sound acquiring unit is provided with a microphone for acquiring the biological sound of the body in contact with the body.
18. The method of claim 1,

    The sound acquiring unit includes an amplifier for amplifying the output signal of the microphone, a stethoscope device for removing a noise included in the output signal of the microphone.
19. The method of claim 1,

    The sound acquiring unit includes a first communication unit which transmits the biological sound to the interface unit.

    The interface unit comprises a second communication unit for receiving the biological sound transmitted from the sound acquisition unit.
20. The method of claim 1,

    The sound acquiring unit is accommodated in a separate case separate from the interface unit and a stethoscope device for transmitting the biological sound to the interface unit through a wired or wireless communication.

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