WO2019225241A1

WO2019225241A1 - Swallowing function evaluation method, program, swallowing function evaluation device, and swallowing function evaluation system

Info

Publication number: WO2019225241A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/016771
Authority: WO
Inventors: 絢子中嶋; 健一入江; 松村　吉浩
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2018-05-23
Filing date: 2019-04-19
Publication date: 2019-11-28
Also published as: JPWO2019225241A1

Abstract

A swallowing function evaluation method that includes: an acquisition step (step S101) for contactlessly acquiring at least two of audio data that is obtained by contactlessly collecting the audio produced when an evaluee speaks a prescribed syllable or a prescribed sentence, a first image that is contactlessly captured of the face or neck of the evaluee, and a second image that is contactlessly captured of the inside of the oral cavity of the evaluee; a calculation step (step S102) for calculating a feature value from each of the acquired at least two of the audio data, first image, and second image; and an evaluation step (step S103) for evaluating the swallowing function of the evaluee from the calculated feature values.

Description

Swallowing function evaluation method, program, swallowing function evaluation device, and swallowing function evaluation system

The present invention relates to a swallowing function evaluation method, a program, a swallowing function evaluation device, and a swallowing function evaluation system, which can evaluate a subject's swallowing function.

Eating dysphagia has risks such as aspiration, malnutrition, loss of eating pleasure, dehydration, weakness in physical strength and immunity, oral contamination and aspiration pneumonia, and prevent dysphagia Is required. Conventionally, by evaluating the swallowing function, for example, eating a meal with an appropriate dietary form, rehabilitation to recovering an appropriate function, etc. has been handled, There are various evaluation methods. For example, a device for evaluating the swallowing function is attached to the neck of the person to be evaluated, the pharyngeal movement feature quantity is acquired as a swallowing function evaluation index (marker), and the person's swallowing function is evaluated. A method for evaluation is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2017-23676

However, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to attach an instrument to the person to be evaluated, which may give the person to be evaluated uncomfortable. In addition, the swallowing function can be evaluated by visual inspection, interview, or palpation by a specialist such as a dentist, dental hygienist, speech auditor, or internal medicine doctor. Diagnosis by experts after dysphagia becomes serious, such as when paralysis occurs or when a dysphagia is caused by surgery on an organ related to dysphagia (eg, tongue, soft palate or pharynx) There are many cases to do. However, due to the effects of aging, elderly people may be overlooked or spilled, but they may overlook a decline in swallowing function as a natural symptom because they are old. . By overlooking the lowering of swallowing, for example, undernutrition resulting from a decrease in the amount of meal is caused, and undernutrition causes a decrease in immunity. In addition, aspiration is easy, and aspiration and reduced immunity result in a vicious circle that can lead to aspiration pneumonia.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for evaluating a swallowing function that can easily evaluate the swallowing function of a person to be evaluated.

The method for evaluating a swallowing function according to one aspect of the present invention includes: audio data obtained by collecting sound by a non-contact of a person who utters a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence; and the face of the person to be evaluated Or an acquisition step of acquiring at least two of a first image obtained by imaging the neck in a non-contact manner and a second image obtained by imaging the oral cavity of the evaluated person in a non-contact manner; A calculation step of calculating each feature amount from at least two of the audio data, the first image, and the second image, and an evaluation for evaluating a swallowing function of the evaluated person from the calculated feature amount Steps.

Also, a program according to an aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described swallowing function evaluation method.

In addition, the device for evaluating a swallowing function according to one aspect of the present invention includes: audio data obtained by collecting, in a non-contact manner, a voice in which an evaluated person utters a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence; An acquisition unit that acquires at least two of a first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the subject without contact and a second image obtained by imaging the oral cavity of the evaluation subject without contact; From the audio data acquired by the acquisition unit, the first image, and the second image, a calculation unit that calculates each feature amount, and the feature amount calculated by the calculation unit, the evaluation target The evaluation part which evaluates a person's ingestion swallowing function, and the output part which outputs the evaluation result which the said evaluation part evaluated are provided.

In addition, a swallowing function evaluation system according to an aspect of the present invention is the above-described swallowing function evaluation device, and images the face, neck, or oral cavity of the evaluator, or the evaluator A device that collects a predetermined syllable or a voice that utters the predetermined sentence in a non-contact manner, and the acquisition unit of the swallowing function evaluation device receives the predetermined syllable or the predetermined sentence. Voice data obtained when the device collects the spoken voice without contact, a first image obtained when the device images the face or neck of the person to be evaluated without contact, and the evaluated At least two of the second images obtained by imaging the inside of a person's mouth without contact with the device are acquired.

According to the method for evaluating the swallowing function of the present invention, it is possible to easily evaluate the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a swallowing function evaluation system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a characteristic functional configuration of the swallowing function evaluation system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for evaluating a person to be swallowed by the swallowing function evaluation method according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a method for acquiring a speech of an evaluated person by the method for evaluating a swallowing function according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a method for acquiring a first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the person to be evaluated by the swallowing function evaluation method according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a method for acquiring a second image obtained by imaging of the evaluation subject in the oral cavity by the swallowing function evaluation method according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of voice data indicating voice uttered by the person to be evaluated. FIG. 8 is a frequency spectrum diagram for explaining the formant frequency. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a temporal change in formant frequency. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating the tongue color as a feature amount. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the swallowing function in the preparation period, the oral period, and the pharyngeal period, and symptoms when each function decreases. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the evaluation result. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the evaluation result. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of the evaluation result. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of the evaluation result. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the evaluation result.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that each of the embodiments described below shows a comprehensive or specific example. Numerical values, shapes, materials, constituent elements, arrangement positions and connection forms of constituent elements, steps, order of steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in the independent claims indicating the highest concept are described as optional constituent elements.

Each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily shown strictly. Moreover, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the substantially same structure, and the overlapping description may be abbreviate | omitted or simplified.

(Embodiment)
[Swallowing function]
The present invention relates to a method for evaluating a swallowing function and the like. First, the swallowing function will be described.

The swallowing function is a function of the human body that is necessary for recognizing food, taking it into the mouth, and achieving a series of processes from the stomach to the stomach. The swallowing function consists of five stages: the early phase, the preparation phase, the oral phase, the pharyngeal phase, and the esophageal phase.

In the preceding period (also called the cognitive period) of swallowing, the shape, hardness, temperature, etc. of food are determined. The swallowing function in the preceding period is, for example, an eye viewing function. In the preceding period, the nature and condition of the food are recognized and the necessary preparations for eating such as how to eat, salivation and posture are made.

During the preparatory period for swallowing (also called chewing), food taken into the oral cavity is chewed with teeth, crushed (ie chewed), and the chewed food is mixed with saliva by the tongue And put together into a bolus. The swallowing function during the preparation period, for example, recognizes the motor function of facial muscles (such as lip muscles and cheek muscles) that take food into the oral cavity without spilling it, recognizes the taste of food, and recognizes hardness. Tongue recognition function, or tongue movement function to push food to teeth or mix finely mixed food with saliva, occlusal state of teeth to chew and crush food, tooth and The cheek movement function that prevents food from entering between the cheeks, the movement function of the masticatory muscles (such as the masseter and temporal muscles), which is the generic name of the muscles used for mastication, and the fine food For example, the saliva secretion function. The masticatory function is affected by the occlusal state of the teeth, the function of the masticatory muscles, the function of the tongue, and the like. Due to these swallowing functions during the preparation period, the bolus has physical properties that make it easy to swallow (size, lump, viscosity), and the bolus easily moves from the oral cavity through the pharynx to the stomach.

During the oral phase of swallowing, the tongue (tip of the tongue) is lifted and the bolus is moved from the oral cavity to the pharynx. The swallowing function in the oral phase includes, for example, a tongue movement function for moving the bolus to the pharynx, a soft palate raising function for closing the space between the pharynx and the nasal cavity, and the like.

In the pharyngeal phase during swallowing, when the bolus reaches the pharynx, a swallowing reflex occurs and the bolus is sent to the esophagus within a short time (about 1 second). Specifically, the soft palate is raised and the space between the nasal cavity and the pharynx is closed, the base of the tongue (specifically the hyoid bone that supports the base of the tongue) and the larynx are raised, and the bolus becomes the pharynx In that case, the epiglottis is inverted downward, the trachea entrance is blocked, and the bolus is sent to the esophagus so that aspiration does not occur. The swallowing function in the pharyngeal phase includes, for example, a pharyngeal motor function (specifically, a motor function that raises the soft palate) to close the space between the nasal cavity and the pharynx, and a tongue ( Specifically, when the bolus moves from the pharynx to the esophagus, or when the bolus flows into the pharynx, the glottis closes and closes the trachea, and the epiglottis from above reaches the entrance to the trachea It is a motor function of the larynx that is covered by hanging down.

In the esophageal phase of swallowing, peristaltic movement of the esophageal wall is induced, and the bolus is sent from the esophagus to the stomach. The swallowing function in the esophageal stage is, for example, a peristaltic function of the esophagus for moving the bolus to the stomach.

For example, as a person ages, he goes from a healthy state to a state requiring care through a pre-frail period and a flail period. Decreased swallowing function (also called oral flail) is said to begin to appear during the prefrail period. Decreased swallowing function can be a factor that accelerates the progression from the flail phase to the state of need for care. For this reason, we notice how the swallowing function has declined at the pre-frail stage, and by performing prevention and improvement in advance, it becomes difficult to fall into the nursing care state that continues from the flail stage, and a healthy and independent life You can keep it long.

According to the present invention, a voice uttered by the evaluator, a first image (still image or moving image) obtained by imaging the face or neck of the evaluator, or an image of the evaluator's oral cavity It is possible to evaluate the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated from the second image (still image or moving image) obtained in the above. Voice spoken by the subject with reduced swallowing function, movement of the subject's face with poor swallowing function, or position of the laryngeal protuberance (throat Buddha) in the neck, and swallowing Specific features are found in the teeth or tongue in the oral cavity of the subject whose function is reduced, and by calculating these as feature quantities, the subject's eating and swallowing function can be evaluated It is. In the following, the evaluation of the swallowing function in the preparation period, the oral period and the pharyngeal period will be described. The present invention relates to a method for evaluating a swallowing function, a program for causing a computer to execute the method, a swallowing function evaluating device that is an example of the computer, and a swallowing function evaluating system including the swallowing function evaluating device. Realized. Below, the swallowing function evaluation method etc. are demonstrated, showing the swallowing function evaluation system.

[Configuration of the swallowing function evaluation system]
The configuration of the swallowing function evaluation system according to the embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a swallowing function evaluation system 200 according to an embodiment.

The swallowing function evaluation system 200 is obtained by imaging the voice of the person being evaluated U, the first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the person being evaluated U, and the oral cavity of the person being evaluated U. 1 is a system for evaluating the swallowing function of the evaluation subject U by analyzing at least two of the second images, and as shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. A portable terminal 300. In addition, the swallowing function evaluation system 200 may evaluate the eating / swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U by analyzing not only a still image but also a moving image. Hereinafter, one still image and a plurality of continuous images (moving images) may be simply referred to as a first image or a second image.

The eating and swallowing function evaluation device 100 uses the mobile terminal 300 to generate voice data indicating a voice uttered by the evaluated person U, a first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the evaluated person U, and the evaluated The user U obtains at least two of the second images obtained by imaging the oral cavity, and the subject U's eating swallowing function from at least two of the acquired voice data, the first image, and the second image It is a device that evaluates.

The portable terminal 300 is a device that picks up the voice, the neck, or the mouth of the person to be evaluated U, or collects the sound of the person to be evaluated U speaking a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence in a non-contact manner. Audio data indicating the sound that has been sounded, and the first image or the second image obtained by imaging are output to the swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100. In the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 300 is an imaging device that performs the above imaging and a sound collecting device that performs the above sound collection. Specifically, the mobile terminal 300 is a smartphone or tablet having an imaging function (camera) and a microphone. Etc. Since it is necessary to perform flash photography when imaging the oral cavity of the person to be evaluated U, the mobile terminal 300 also has a flash function (light source). Note that the mobile terminal 300 is not limited to a smartphone or a tablet as long as the device has an imaging function, a flash function, and a sound collection function, and may be a notebook PC, for example. Moreover, the swallowing function evaluation system 200 may include a sound collection device (microphone), an imaging device (camera), and a light source provided separately from each other, instead of the mobile terminal 300. Moreover, although the swallowing function evaluation system 200 is mentioned later, you may be provided with the input interface for acquiring the to-be-evaluated person's U personal information. The input interface is not particularly limited as long as it has an input function such as a keyboard and a touch panel.

Further, the mobile terminal 300 may be a display device that has a display and displays an image or the like based on image data output from the swallowing function evaluation device 100. The display device may not be the portable terminal 300 but may be a monitor device configured by a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL panel. That is, the mobile terminal 300 and the display device may be provided separately. Furthermore, when the portable terminal 300 is not used, the imaging device (camera), the sound collection device (microphone), the light source, the input interface, and the display device may be provided separately.

The swallowing function evaluation device 100 and the portable terminal 300 only need to be able to transmit and receive audio data, an image obtained by imaging, or image data for displaying an image indicating an evaluation result to be described later. It may be connected or may be connected wirelessly.

The eating and swallowing function evaluation device 100 analyzes the voice of the person to be evaluated U based on the voice data collected by the mobile terminal 300, and based on the first image obtained by imaging by the mobile terminal 300, the person to be evaluated U Or the position of the laryngeal protuberance in the neck, or the state of the teeth or tongue in the oral cavity of the evaluation subject U based on the second image obtained by imaging with the portable terminal 300 From the result, the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U is evaluated, and the evaluation result is output. For example, the swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100 uses image data for displaying an image indicating the evaluation result, or data for making a proposal regarding swallowing for the person to be evaluated U generated based on the evaluation result. Output to the mobile terminal 300. In this way, the swallowing function evaluation device 100 can notify the person to be evaluated U of the degree of the swallowing function and the proposal for preventing the deterioration of the swallowing function. Can prevent or improve the deterioration of swallowing function.

Note that the swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100 is, for example, a personal computer, but may be a server apparatus. In addition, the swallowing function evaluation device 100 may be a portable terminal 300. That is, the portable terminal 300 may have the function of the swallowing function evaluation device 100 described below.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a characteristic functional configuration of the swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. The swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100 includes an acquisition unit 110, a calculation unit 120, an evaluation unit 130, an output unit 140, a suggestion unit 150, and a storage unit 160.

The acquisition unit 110 captures voice data obtained by non-contacting sound collection by the evaluated person U uttering a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence, and images the face or neck of the evaluated person U without contact. At least two of the first image obtained by the above and the second image obtained by imaging the inside of the oral cavity of the person to be evaluated U without contact are acquired. In the present embodiment, acquisition unit 110 acquires all of the audio data, the first image, and the second image. Note that the acquisition unit 110 may acquire only two of the audio data and the first image, may acquire only the audio data and the second image, or may acquire the first image and the second image. Only two of these may be acquired. Further, the acquisition unit 110 may further acquire personal information of the person to be evaluated U. For example, personal information is information input to the mobile terminal 300, such as age, weight, height, sex, BMI (Body Mass Index), dental information (for example, number of teeth, presence of dentures, location of occlusal support, etc.) Serum albumin level or eating rate. The personal information may be acquired by a swallowing screening tool called EAT-10 (Eat Ten), a sacramental swallowing questionnaire or an interview. The acquisition unit 110 is, for example, a communication interface that performs wired communication or wireless communication.

The calculation unit 120 is a processing unit that analyzes the voice data, the first image, or the second image of the evaluated person U acquired by the acquisition unit 110. Specifically, the calculating unit 120 is realized by a processor, a microcomputer, or a dedicated circuit.

The calculation unit 120 calculates each feature amount from at least two of the audio data, the first image, and the second image acquired by the acquisition unit 110. In the present embodiment, the calculation unit 120 calculates each feature amount from all of the audio data, the first image, and the second image. Note that the calculating unit 120 may calculate each feature amount from only two of the audio data and the first image, or may calculate each feature amount from only two of the audio data and the second image. Alternatively, the respective feature amounts may be calculated from only two of the first image and the second image. The feature amount calculated from the voice data is a numerical value indicating the voice feature of the evaluated person U calculated from the voice data used by the evaluation unit 130 to evaluate the eating and swallowing function of the evaluated person U. The feature amount calculated from the first image is the movement of the face of the evaluated person U calculated from the first image used by the evaluating unit 130 to evaluate the eating and swallowing function of the evaluated person U, or the like It is a numerical value indicating characteristics such as the position of the laryngeal protuberance in the neck. The feature amount calculated from the second image refers to the state of the teeth or tongue in the oral cavity of the evaluated person U calculated from the image used by the evaluating unit 130 to evaluate the eating and swallowing function of the evaluated person U It is a numerical value indicating the characteristics of. Details of the calculation unit 120 will be described later.

The evaluation unit 130 compares the feature amount calculated by the calculation unit 120 with the reference data 161 stored in the storage unit 160, and evaluates the eating / swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U. For example, the evaluation unit 130 may evaluate the subject U's swallowing function after distinguishing whether it is a swallowing function in the preparation period, the oral period, or the pharyngeal stage. Specifically, the evaluation unit 130 is realized by a processor, a microcomputer, or a dedicated circuit. Details of the evaluation unit 130 will be described later.

The output unit 140 outputs the evaluation result of the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U evaluated by the evaluation unit 130 to the suggestion unit 150. Further, the output unit 140 outputs the evaluation result to the storage unit 160, and the evaluation result is stored in the storage unit 160. Specifically, the output unit 140 is realized by a processor, a microcomputer, or a dedicated circuit.

The proposing unit 150 makes a proposal regarding swallowing to the person to be evaluated U by collating the evaluation result output by the output unit 140 with predetermined proposal data 162. In addition, the suggestion unit 150 may collate the personal information acquired by the acquisition unit 110 with the proposal data 162 and make a proposal regarding swallowing to the evaluated person U. Proposal unit 150 outputs the proposal to portable terminal 300. The proposing unit 150 is realized by, for example, a processor, a microcomputer or a dedicated circuit, and a communication interface that performs wired communication or wireless communication. Details of the proposal unit 150 will be described later.

The storage unit 160 includes reference data 161 that indicates the relationship between the feature amount and the person's swallowing function, proposal data 162 that indicates the relationship between the evaluation result of the swallowing function and the proposed content, The storage device stores personal information data 163 indicating personal information. The reference data 161 is referred to by the evaluation unit 130 when the degree of the swallowing function of the evaluation subject U is evaluated. The proposal data 162 is referred to by the suggestion unit 150 when a proposal related to swallowing for the person to be evaluated U is made. The personal information data 163 is data acquired via the acquisition unit 110, for example. The personal information data 163 may be stored in the storage unit 160 in advance. The storage unit 160 is realized by, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a semiconductor memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like.

In addition, the storage unit 160 stores the program executed by the calculation unit 120, the evaluation unit 130, the output unit 140, and the suggestion unit 150, and the evaluation result used when the evaluation result of the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U is output. And data such as an image, a moving image, a voice or a text indicating the proposal content are also stored. The storage unit 160 may also store instruction images and audio data described below.

Although not shown, the eating and swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100 allows the evaluated person U to pronounce a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence and to image the face, neck and oral cavity of the evaluated person U. You may provide the instruction | indication part for instruct | indicating. Specifically, the instruction unit instructs to sound a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence stored in the storage unit 160 and to image the face or neck and the oral cavity of the person to be evaluated U. The image data of the instruction image and the audio data are acquired, and the image data and the audio data are output to the portable terminal 300.

[Processing procedure for evaluating swallowing function]
Then, the specific process sequence in the swallowing function evaluation method which the swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100 performs is demonstrated.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for evaluating the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U by the swallowing function evaluation method according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of a method for acquiring the voice of the person to be evaluated U by the method for evaluating the swallowing function. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an overview of a method for acquiring a first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the person U to be evaluated by the method for evaluating the swallowing function. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an overview of a method for acquiring a second image obtained by imaging the intra-oral cavity of the person to be evaluated U by the swallowing function evaluation method.

First, the instruction unit instructs to sound a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence (a sentence including a specific sound) and to image the face or neck and the oral cavity of the person to be evaluated U (step S100).

For example, in step S <b> 100, the instruction unit acquires image data of an image for instruction to the person to be evaluated U stored in the storage unit 160, and outputs the image data to the mobile terminal 300. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, an image for instructing the person to be evaluated U is displayed on the mobile terminal 300. In FIG. 4 (a), the specified sentence to be instructed is “Katakata Totaiyo”, “Kitakaze Totaiyo”, “Aiueo”, “Papapapapa ·,” It may be “slaps”, “high heels”, “la la la la”, “patters”, etc. The pronunciation instruction does not have to be given in a predetermined sentence, but is performed in a predetermined syllable of one character such as “ki”, “ta”, “ka”, “ra”, “ze” or “pa”. It may be broken. The pronunciation instruction may be an instruction to utter a meaningless phrase of two or more syllables including only vowels such as “Eo” and “Iea”. The pronunciation instruction may be an instruction to repeatedly utter such meaningless phrases.

In addition, the instruction unit obtains voice data of voice for instruction to the person to be evaluated U stored in the storage unit 160 and outputs the voice data to the mobile terminal 300 to instruct to pronounce the voice data. The instruction may be performed using an instruction voice for instructing sound generation without using an instruction image. Further, an evaluator (family, doctor, etc.) who wants to evaluate the eating and swallowing function of the evaluated person U without using the instruction image and the sound for instructing the sound to the evaluated person U with his own voice Instructions may be given.

Also, for example, in step S100, the instruction unit acquires the audio data of the audio for instructing the person to be evaluated U stored in the storage unit 160, and outputs the audio data to the mobile terminal 300. Then, as shown in (a) of FIG. 5 and (a) of FIG. 6, a voice for instructing the person to be evaluated U is output to the portable terminal 300. In addition, in (a) of FIG. 5, the instructed contents are “Please open your mouth to shoot a movie”, but “Please shoot a movie while moving your mouth”, “Open your mouth. Shoot video while moving tongue "," shoot video while closing mouth and inflating cheeks "," shoot with biting teeth "," shoot with mouth angle raised " "Please shoot the throat Buddha", "Please open your mouth wide and shoot with flash", etc. Further, imaging may be performed by the person to be evaluated U himself or by an evaluator (family, doctor, etc.) who wants to evaluate the person to be evaluated U's swallowing function. Further, the instruction unit obtains image data of an image for instructing the person to be evaluated U stored in the storage unit 160 and outputs the image data to the portable terminal 300 to instruct imaging. The instruction may be given using an instruction image for instructing imaging without using the instruction voice. Furthermore, the evaluator (family, doctor, etc.) may give an instruction to the person to be evaluated U with his / her own voice, without using an instruction image and sound for instructing to take an image.

For example, the predetermined syllable may be composed of a consonant and a vowel following the consonant. For example, in Japanese, such predetermined syllables are “ki”, “ta”, “ka”, “ze”, and the like. “Ki” is composed of a consonant “k” and a vowel “i” following the consonant. “Ta” is composed of a consonant “t” and a vowel “a” following the consonant. “Ka” is composed of a consonant “k” and a vowel “a” following the consonant. “Ze” is composed of a consonant “z” and a vowel “e” following the consonant.

Also, for example, the predetermined sentence may include a syllable portion including a consonant, a vowel following the consonant, and a consonant following the vowel. For example, in Japanese, such a syllable part is a “kaz” part in “Kaze”. Specifically, the syllable part includes a consonant “k”, a vowel “a” following the consonant, and a consonant “z” following the vowel.

Further, for example, the predetermined sentence may include a character string in which syllables including vowels are continuous. For example, in Japanese, such a character string is “Aiueo” or the like.

Further, for example, the predetermined sentence may include a predetermined word. For example, in Japanese, such words are “Taiyo: Taiyo”, “Kitakaze: North wind”, and the like.

Further, for example, the predetermined sentence may include a phrase in which a syllable composed of a consonant and a vowel following the consonant is repeated. For example, in Japanese, such phrases are “papapapapa ··”, “tatatata ··”, “kakakaka ··”, “la la la la ··”, and the like. “Pa” is composed of a consonant “p” and a vowel “a” following the consonant. “Ta” is composed of a consonant “t” and a vowel “a” following the consonant. “Ka” is composed of a consonant “k” and a vowel “a” following the consonant. “Ra” is composed of a consonant “r” and a vowel “a” following the consonant.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the acquisition unit 110 receives the voice data of the evaluated person U who received the instruction in step S100, the first image of the face or neck of the evaluated person U, and the oral cavity of the evaluated person U. The second image is acquired via the portable terminal 300 (step S101). As illustrated in FIG. 4B, in step S <b> 101, for example, the person to be evaluated U issues a predetermined sentence or the like such as “Singing from the side” to the mobile terminal 300. The acquisition unit 110 acquires a predetermined sentence or a predetermined syllable issued by the evaluated person U as voice data. As shown in FIG. 5B, in step S <b> 101, for example, the person to be evaluated U photographs his / her face with his mouth open using the mobile terminal 300. Thereby, the acquisition unit 110 acquires a first image obtained by imaging the face of the person to be evaluated U. As shown in FIG. 6B, in step S <b> 101, for example, the evaluated person U takes an image of his / her oral cavity using the mobile terminal 300 (flash photography). Thereby, the acquisition part 110 acquires the 2nd image obtained by imaging the to-be-evaluated person U's intraoral area.

Next, the calculation unit 120 calculates each feature amount from the audio data, the first image, and the second image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 (step S102), and the evaluation unit 130 calculates the feature amount calculated by the calculation unit 120. From this, the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U is evaluated (step S103).

For example, when the voice data acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is voice data obtained from a voice uttered by a predetermined syllable composed of a consonant and a vowel following the consonant, the calculation unit 120 calculates the consonant and the vowel. Is calculated as a feature amount. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of voice data indicating the voice uttered by the evaluator U. Specifically, FIG. 7 is a graph showing voice data when the person to be evaluated U utters “Singing from the side”. The horizontal axis of the graph shown in FIG. 7 is time, and the vertical axis is power (sound pressure). The unit of power shown on the vertical axis of the graph of FIG. 7 is decibel (dB).

The graph shown in FIG. 7 includes “ki”, “ta”, “ka”, “ra”, “ki”, “ta”, “ka”, “ta”, “ta”, “ta”, “ki” ”, A change in sound pressure corresponding to“ ki ”is confirmed. The acquisition unit 110 acquires the data shown in FIG. 7 as voice data from the person to be evaluated U in step S101 shown in FIG. For example, in step S102 shown in FIG. 3, the calculation unit 120 uses the known method to calculate the sound pressures “k” and “i” of “ki” included in the audio data shown in FIG. The sound pressures “t” and “a” in (ta) ”are calculated. When the person to be evaluated U utters “Kitakaze to Taiyo”, the calculation unit 120 calculates the sound pressures of “z” and “e” in “ze”. The calculation unit 120 calculates the sound pressure difference ΔP1 between “t” and “a” as a feature amount from the calculated sound pressures “t” and “a”. Similarly, the calculation unit 120 calculates the sound pressure difference ΔP3 between “k” and “i” and the sound pressure difference (not shown) between “z” and “e” as feature amounts.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold corresponding to each sound pressure difference, and the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the swallowing function according to whether each sound pressure difference is equal to or greater than the threshold, for example.

For example, in order to emit “ki”, it is necessary to bring the base of the tongue into contact with the soft palate. By evaluating the function of bringing the base of the tongue into contact with the soft palate (the difference in sound pressure between “k” and “i”), the motor function of the tongue (including tongue pressure and the like) in the pharyngeal stage can be evaluated.

For example, in order to emit “ta”, it is necessary to bring the tip of the tongue into contact with the upper jaw behind the front teeth. By evaluating the function of bringing the tip of the tongue into contact with the upper jaw behind the front teeth (the difference in sound pressure between “t” and “a”), the motor function of the tongue in the preparation period can be evaluated.

For example, in order to emit a “ze”, the tip of the tongue needs to contact or approach the upper front teeth. The presence of teeth is important, such as supporting the side of the tongue with dentition. Estimating the presence of the dentition including the upper front teeth (sound pressure difference between “z” and “e”), estimating whether there are more or fewer remaining teeth, and affecting the masticatory ability if there are fewer teeth The occlusal state of the teeth can be evaluated.

Further, for example, in the case where the voice data acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is voice data obtained from a voice that utters a predetermined sentence including a consonant, a vowel following the consonant, and a syllable part following the consonant, The calculation unit 120 calculates the time required to emit the syllable part as a feature amount.

For example, when the person to be evaluated U utters a predetermined sentence including “cold”, the predetermined sentence includes the consonant “k”, the vowel “a” following the consonant, and the consonant “z” following the vowel. It contains a syllable part consisting of The calculation unit 120 calculates the time required to generate such a syllable part composed of “kaz” as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the time required to emit the syllable part. For example, the evaluation unit 130 determines whether the time required to issue the syllable part is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Evaluate swallowing function according to whether or not.

For example, the time required to generate a syllable part consisting of “consonant-vowel-consonant” varies depending on the tongue's motor function (such as tongue sophistication or tongue pressure). By evaluating the time required to emit the syllable part, the tongue motor function in the preparation period, the tongue motor function in the oral period, and the tongue motor function in the pharyngeal period can be evaluated.

For example, in the case where the voice data acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is voice data obtained from a voice that utters a predetermined sentence including a character string including syllables including vowels, the calculation unit 120 calculates the spectrum from the vowel part. The amount of change such as the first formant frequency or the second formant frequency obtained is calculated as the feature amount, and the variation of the first formant frequency or the second formant frequency obtained from the spectrum of the vowel part is calculated as the feature amount.

The first formant frequency is the peak frequency of the amplitude first seen from the low frequency side of the human voice, and it is known that characteristics relating to tongue movement (particularly vertical movement) are easily reflected. In addition, it is also known that characteristics related to jaw opening are easily reflected.

The second formant frequency is the peak frequency of the amplitude seen second from the low frequency side of human speech. Of the resonance generated by the vocal cord sound source in the vocal tract, oral cavity such as lips and tongue, nasal cavity, etc. It is known that the influence on the position (especially the front-rear position) is easily reflected. Further, for example, it is considered that the occlusal state (the number of teeth) of the teeth in the preparation period has an influence on the second formant frequency because the utterance cannot be correctly performed when there are no teeth. For example, since saliva cannot be correctly spoken when saliva is low, the saliva secretion function in the preparation period is considered to have an influence on the second formant frequency. In addition, the motor function of the tongue, the saliva secretion function, or the occlusal state of the teeth (the number of teeth) is obtained from any one of the feature values obtained from the first formant frequency and the feature values obtained from the second formant frequency. It may be calculated.

FIG. 8 is a frequency spectrum diagram for explaining the formant frequency. The horizontal axis of the graph shown in FIG. 8 is the frequency [Hz], and the vertical axis is the amplitude.

As shown by a broken line in FIG. 8, a plurality of peaks are confirmed in the data obtained by converting the horizontal axis of the audio data into the frequency. The frequency of the lowest peak among the plurality of peaks is the first formant frequency F1. Further, the second lowest formant frequency F2 is a peak frequency having the second lowest frequency after the first formant frequency F1. The peak frequency having the second lowest frequency after the second formant frequency F2 is the third formant frequency F3. As described above, the calculation unit 120 extracts a vowel part from the voice data acquired by the acquisition unit 110 by a known method, and converts the extracted voice data of the vowel part into an amplitude with respect to the frequency, thereby converting the vowel part. The formant frequency obtained from the spectrum of the vowel part is calculated.

The graph shown in FIG. 8 is calculated by converting voice data obtained from the person to be evaluated U into amplitude data with respect to frequency and obtaining an envelope thereof. For the calculation of the envelope, for example, cepstrum analysis, linear predictive coding (LPC), or the like is employed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the time change of the formant frequency. Specifically, FIG. 9 is a graph for explaining an example of a temporal change in frequency of the first formant frequency F1, the second formant frequency F2, and the third formant frequency F3.

For example, let the evaluated person U utter a syllable including a plurality of continuous vowels such as “Aiueo”. The calculating unit 120 calculates the first formant frequency F1 and the second formant frequency F2 of each of the plurality of vowels from the sound data indicating the sound uttered by the person to be evaluated U. Furthermore, the calculation unit 120 calculates the amount of change (time change amount) of the first formant frequency F1 and the amount of change (time change amount) of the second formant frequency F2 of the character string including continuous vowels as the feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold corresponding to the amount of change, and the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the swallowing function according to, for example, whether the amount of change is equal to or greater than the threshold.

Looking at the first formant frequency F1, for example, the jaw opening is shown. Looking at the second formant frequency F2, there is an influence on the position of the front and back of the tongue, which indicates that the movement of the tongue in the preparation period and the pharyngeal stage where the movement affects is reduced. Looking at the second formant frequency F2, for example, it indicates that there is no tooth and cannot speak correctly, that is, the occlusal state of the tooth in the preparation period is deteriorated. Further, the second formant frequency F2 shows that, for example, there is little saliva and speech cannot be correctly performed, that is, the secretory function of saliva in the preparation period is lowered. That is, by evaluating the amount of change in the second formant frequency F2, the salivary secretion function in the preparation period can be evaluated.

Also, the calculation unit 120 calculates the variation of the first formant frequency F1 of the character string in which the vowels are continuous as the feature amount. For example, if the voice data includes n vowels (n is a natural number), n first formant frequencies F1 are obtained, and the variation of the first formant frequency F1 is calculated using all or part of them. Is done. The degree of variation calculated as the feature amount is, for example, standard deviation.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the variation, and the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the swallowing function according to, for example, whether the variation is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

A large variation in the first formant frequency F1 (being greater than or equal to the threshold value) indicates, for example, that the vertical movement of the tongue is dull. In other words, in the oral phase, the tip of the tongue is pressed against the upper jaw and eaten. Indicates that the motor function of the tongue that sends the mass to the pharynx is reduced. That is, by evaluating the variation of the first formant frequency F1, the motor function of the tongue in the oral cavity can be evaluated.

Also, for example, the calculation unit 120 calculates the pitch (height) of the voice in which the evaluated person U utters a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold corresponding to the pitch, and the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the swallowing function depending on whether the pitch is equal to or greater than the threshold, for example.

Further, for example, when the voice data acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is voice data obtained from a voice that utters a predetermined sentence including a predetermined word, the calculation unit 120 calculates the time required to utter the predetermined word. Calculated as a feature quantity.

For example, when the person to be evaluated U utters a predetermined sentence including “Taiyo”, the person to be evaluated U says “Taiyo” after recognizing the character string “Taiyo” as the word “Sun”. Say a string. If it takes time to utter a predetermined word, the evaluated person U may have dementia. Here, the number of teeth is said to affect dementia. The number of teeth affects the brain activity, and the decrease in the number of teeth reduces the stimulation to the brain and increases the risk of developing dementia. That is, that the person to be evaluated U may have dementia corresponds to the number of teeth, and further corresponds to the occlusal state of the teeth for chewing and crushing food in the preparation period. Therefore, if the time required for uttering a predetermined word is large (being the threshold value or more), the evaluated person U may have dementia, in other words, the occlusal state of the teeth in the preparation period deteriorates. Indicates that That is, the occlusal state of the teeth in the preparation period can be evaluated by evaluating the time required for the evaluated person U to issue the predetermined word.

Note that the calculation unit 120 may calculate the time required for issuing the entire predetermined sentence as a feature amount. Even in this case, the occlusal state of the teeth in the preparation period can be evaluated in the same manner by evaluating the time required for the person to be evaluated U to issue the entire predetermined sentence.

In addition, for example, when the voice data acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is voice data obtained from a voice that utters a predetermined sentence including a consonant and a syllable composed of vowels following the consonant, the calculation is performed. The unit 120 calculates the number of times a repeated syllable is emitted within a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds) as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the number of times, and the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the swallowing function according to, for example, whether the number of times is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

For example, the to-be-evaluated U follows a consonant such as “papapapapa ··”, “tatatata ··”, “high heels ··” or “la la la la ··”, and the consonant. A predetermined sentence including a phrase in which a syllable composed of vowels is repeated is uttered.

For example, in order to emit “pa”, it is necessary to open and close the mouth (lips) up and down. When the function of opening and closing the lips up and down is reduced, “Pa” cannot be spoken more quickly than a predetermined number of times (threshold) within a predetermined time. The action of opening and closing the lips up and down is similar to the action of taking food into the oral cavity without spilling food during the preparation period. For this reason, the function of quickly producing “pa”, that is, the function of opening and closing the lips quickly and repeatedly, corresponds to the movement function of facial muscles for taking food into the oral cavity without spilling food during the preparation period. Yes. That is, by evaluating the number of times “pa” is issued within a predetermined time, the motor function of the facial muscles during the preparation period can be evaluated.

For example, in order to emit “ta”, it is necessary to bring the tip of the tongue into contact with the upper jaw behind the front teeth as described above. The action of bringing the tip of the tongue into contact with the upper jaw behind the front teeth is the action performed when pressing the food in the preparation period against the teeth or mixing the fine food with saliva and the tongue in the oral period ( This is similar to the action performed when lifting the tip of the tongue) and moving the bolus from the mouth to the pharynx. For this reason, the function of quickly producing “ta”, that is, the function of rapidly bringing the tip of the tongue into contact with the upper jaw behind the front teeth, presses the food in the preparation period against the teeth or mixes fine food with saliva. It corresponds to the motor function of the tongue for gathering together and the motor function of the tongue to move the bolus to the pharynx in the oral phase. That is, by evaluating the number of times that “ta (ta)” is issued within a predetermined time, the motor function of the tongue in the preparation period and the motor function of the tongue in the oral period can be evaluated.

For example, in order to emit “ka”, it is necessary to bring the base of the tongue into contact with the soft palate in the same manner as “ki” described above. The action of bringing the base of the tongue into contact with the soft palate is similar to the action performed when the bolus passes (swallows) the bolus in the pharynx. Furthermore, when food or drink is included in the mouth (preparation period) and when food is chewed in the mouth and food reforming (oral period), the base of the tongue touches the soft palate and the pharynx The action of preventing inflow and the action of preventing tearing are carried out, which is similar to the action of the tongue when emitting “k”. For this reason, the function of quickly producing “ka”, that is, the function of rapidly and repeatedly contacting the base of the tongue with the soft palate is the tongue for passing the bolus in the pharyngeal phase through the pharynx (specifically, the base of the tongue) Corresponds to the motor function. That is, by evaluating the number of times that “ka (ka)” is issued within a predetermined time, the motor function of the tongue in the preparation period, the oral period, and the pharyngeal period can be evaluated. In addition, the motor function of the tongue corresponds to the function of preventing food from flowing into the pharynx and the function of preventing mumps.

For example, in order to issue “ra”, it is necessary to warp the tongue. The action of bending the tongue is similar to the action of mixing food with saliva in the preparation period to form a bolus. For this reason, the function of quickly issuing “ra”, that is, the function of quickly and repeatedly warping the tongue, corresponds to the function of the tongue for mixing food with saliva in the preparation period to form a bolus. That is, by evaluating the number of times “ra” is issued within a predetermined time, the motor function of the tongue in the preparation period can be evaluated.

For example, when the first image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is a plurality of continuous images obtained by imaging the mouth when the person to be evaluated U is moving his / her mouth, the calculation unit 120 performs the continuous Mouth movement in an image (moving image) is calculated as a feature amount. Specifically, the calculation unit 120 calculates a difference between the movement amount on the left side of the mouth and the movement amount on the right side (referred to as a mouth left / right difference) as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the left-right difference of the mouth, and the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the swallowing function according to, for example, whether the left-right difference of the mouth is equal to or greater than the threshold value. .

A large difference between the left and right mouths (greater than or equal to the threshold value) indicates, for example, that there is paralysis on the left or right side of the mouth, that is, an expression for taking food into the oral cavity without spilling food during the preparation period. Indicates that the motor function of the muscles has declined. That is, by evaluating the movement of the mouth of the person to be evaluated U, it is possible to evaluate the motor function of the facial muscles during the preparation period.

In addition, for example, when the first image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by imaging the mouth when the person to be evaluated U opens the mouth, the calculation unit 120 determines whether the mouth is open in the image. Is calculated as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold corresponding to the degree of opening of the mouth, and the evaluation unit 130 performs, for example, a swallowing function depending on whether the degree of opening of the mouth is equal to or greater than the threshold. evaluate.

Small mouth openness (below the threshold), that is, not opening the mouth wide, for example, during the preparation period, the facial muscle function and masseter muscles for taking food into the mouth without spilling It shows that the occlusal function of temporal muscles (masticatory muscles) is reduced. That is, by evaluating the degree of opening of the person to be evaluated U, the motor function of the facial muscles and the motor function of the masticatory muscles in the preparation period can be evaluated.

In addition, for example, when the first image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is a plurality of continuous images obtained by imaging the tongue when the person to be evaluated U moves the tongue while opening his mouth, the calculation unit 120 The movement of the tongue in the continuous image (moving image) is calculated as a feature amount. Specifically, the calculation unit 120 calculates the length that allows the tongue to be put out from the mouth as the feature amount. In addition, the calculation unit 120 calculates a difference between the amount of movement of the tongue on the left side and the amount of movement on the right side (referred to as tongue left-right difference) as a feature amount. Further, the calculation unit 120 calculates the approach amount of the tip of the tongue to the upper jaw behind the front teeth as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the length of the tongue that can be taken out of the mouth, and the evaluation unit 130, for example, determines whether or not the length is greater than or equal to the threshold value. To evaluate. The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the left-right difference of the tongue. For example, the evaluation unit 130 performs a swallowing function depending on whether the left-right difference of the tongue is equal to or greater than the threshold value. evaluate. The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the approach amount, and the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the swallowing function according to, for example, whether the approach amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value. .

When the length of the tongue that can be taken out from the mouth is short (below the threshold), for example, the motor function of the tongue (specifically, the root of the tongue, more specifically, the suprahyoid muscle group) in the oral cavity is reduced. Indicates that In addition, a large difference between the left and right tongues (above a threshold value) indicates, for example, that the tongue is paralyzed. In other words, food in the preparation period is pressed against the teeth or fine food is saliva. It shows that the motor function of the tongue for mixing together is reduced. Moreover, that the said approach amount is small (being less than a threshold value) shows that the motor function of the tongue (superhyoid muscle group) in the oral cavity period is falling, for example. That is, the tongue movement function in the preparation period and the tongue movement function in the oral period can be evaluated by evaluating the movement of the tongue of the evaluation subject U.

In addition, for example, when the first image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is a plurality of continuous images obtained by imaging the cheek when the person to be evaluated U expands the cheek while closing his mouth, the calculation unit 120 The movement of the cheek in the continuous image (moving image) is calculated as a feature amount. Specifically, the calculation unit 120 calculates whether or not the cheek bulge can be maintained as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the maintenance degree of the cheek bulge, and the evaluation unit 130, for example, ingestion swallowing according to whether the cheek bulge degree is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Evaluate functionality.

Inability to maintain the swelling of the cheeks (below the threshold) indicates, for example, that the lips cannot be closed and that air is leaking from the inside of the mouth to the outside of the mouth (lip closure failure). It shows that the motor function of the facial muscles for taking the food into the oral cavity without spilling is reduced. In addition, the fact that the cheeks do not swell (below the threshold value) indicates that, for example, the space between the nasal cavity and the pharynx cannot be blocked, and air is leaking from the pharynx to the nasal cavity (nasal pharyngeal insufficiency) That is, the motor function of the pharynx (specifically, soft palate) for closing the space between the nasal cavity and the pharynx in the pharyngeal stage is reduced. That is, by evaluating the movement of the cheek of the person to be evaluated U, it is possible to evaluate the facial muscle function in the preparation period and the pharyngeal movement function in the pharynx stage.

For example, when the first image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by imaging the cheek of the person to be evaluated U when the person to be evaluated U is biting a tooth, the calculation unit 120 includes The bulge of the cheek muscles caused by the teeth is calculated as a feature value. For example, when the image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by imaging the cheek of the person to be evaluated U when the person to be evaluated U raises the mouth angle, the calculation unit 120 calculates the mouth angle in the image. The elevation of the muscles of the cheeks caused by raising is calculated as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold corresponding to the uplift, and the evaluation unit 130 evaluates the swallowing function depending on whether the uplift is equal to or higher than the threshold, for example.

The fact that the muscles of the cheeks do not rise (below the threshold value) indicates, for example, that the motor function (muscle strength) of the masticatory muscles during the preparation period is reduced. That is, by evaluating the bulge of the cheek muscles of the person to be evaluated U, the motor function of the masticatory muscles in the preparation period can be evaluated.

For example, when the first image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by imaging the neck of the person to be evaluated U, the calculation unit 120 calculates the position of the laryngeal protuberance of the person to be evaluated U in the image as a feature amount. Calculate as

The reference data 161 includes a threshold corresponding to the position of the laryngeal bump (for example, the distance from the face), and the evaluation unit 130 determines whether the position of the laryngeal bump is equal to or greater than the threshold, for example. Evaluate the swallowing function as appropriate.

The fact that the laryngeal protuberance is far from the face (beyond the threshold) indicates, for example, a state that requires extra effort to raise the laryngeal protuberance when swallowing a bolus, that is, the larynx in the pharyngeal phase (specifically, Indicates that the motor function of the subhyoid muscle group is reduced (in other words, the laryngeal state is deteriorated). When the state of the larynx deteriorates in this way, a person with poor swallowing function often has insufficient muscular strength, but the elevation of the laryngeal protuberance is further insufficient, and it can be avoided. By evaluating the position of the laryngeal protuberance of the subject U, the motor function during swallowing can be evaluated.

For example, when the second image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by imaging the teeth of the person to be evaluated U, the calculation unit 120 calculates the number of teeth in the image as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold corresponding to the number of teeth, and the evaluation unit 130, for example, eats depending on whether the number of teeth is equal to or greater than the threshold (for example, 20). Evaluate swallowing function.

A small number of teeth (below the threshold value) indicates, for example, that the occlusal state of the teeth for chewing and crushing food in the preparation period is deteriorated. That is, by evaluating the number of teeth of the person to be evaluated U, the occlusal state of the teeth in the preparation period can be evaluated.

For example, when the second image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by imaging the teeth of the person to be evaluated U, the calculation unit 120 uses the position of the remaining tooth (residual tooth) in the image as a feature amount. Calculate as

The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the position of the remaining tooth, and the evaluation unit 130 performs, for example, a swallowing function depending on whether or not the position of the remaining tooth is equal to or greater than the threshold value. evaluate.

If the remaining teeth are below the threshold, that is, the front teeth remain and the molars do not remain, it indicates that it is difficult to crush food, for example, the teeth for chewing and crushing food during preparation Indicates that the occlusal state has deteriorated. That is, by evaluating the position of the remaining teeth of the person to be evaluated U, the occlusal state of the teeth in the preparation period can be evaluated.

For example, when the second image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by imaging the tongue of the person to be evaluated U, the calculation unit 120 calculates the color of the tongue in the image as a feature amount.

The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the color of the tongue (for example, whiteness of the tongue), and the evaluation unit 130 determines whether the whiteness of the tongue is equal to or greater than the threshold value, for example. To evaluate the swallowing function. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating the tongue color as a feature amount.

For example, TCI (Tongue Coating Index) is used as a method of calculating the color of the tongue as a feature amount. As shown in FIG. 10, scores are recorded for nine portions from the A portion to the I portion of the tongue according to the adhesion state of tongue coating. For example, if tongue coating is not recognized for each part, the score is 0. If tongue coating is thin enough to recognize the tongue papillae, the score is 1. If the tongue papillae are not recognized, thick tongue coating is attached. If so, score 2 is recorded. The evaluation unit 130 evaluates the swallowing function according to whether or not the total score (for example, 0 to 18).

A white tongue (beyond the threshold), that is, thick tongue coating on the tongue, indicates that the oral cavity is unclean, for example, recognizing the taste of food during the preparation period or recognizing hardness It shows that the recognition function of the tongue for doing so has declined. That is, by evaluating the color of the tongue of the person to be evaluated U, the recognition function of the tongue in the preparation period can be evaluated.

For example, when the second image acquired by the acquisition unit 110 is an image obtained by imaging the tongue of the person to be evaluated U, the calculation unit 120 calculates the degree of reflection of the tongue light in the image as a feature amount. .

The reference data 161 includes a threshold value corresponding to the degree of light reflection of the tongue, and the evaluation unit 130, for example, takes a value according to whether or not the degree of light reflection of the tongue is equal to or greater than the threshold value. Evaluate swallowing function.

When the light is applied to the tongue, the light does not reflect and does not shine (below the threshold value), indicating that the tongue is dry, for example, saliva secretion to gather fine food during preparation Indicates that the function is degraded. That is, the saliva secretion function in the preparation period can be evaluated by evaluating the degree of reflection of light on the tongue of the person to be evaluated U.

In this way, the evaluation unit 130 may provide the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U, such as the tongue movement function in the “preparation period” or the tongue movement function in the “oral period”, We evaluate after distinguishing whether it is swallowing function in oral cavity stage or pharyngeal stage. For example, the reference data 161 includes a correspondence relationship between the type of feature quantity and the swallowing function in at least one stage of the preparation period, the oral period, and the pharyngeal period. For example, when focusing on the sound pressure difference between “k” and “i” as the feature quantity, the sound pressure difference between “k” and “i” is associated with the motor function of the tongue in the pharyngeal period. For this reason, the evaluation part 130 can evaluate the to-be-evaluated person's U swallowing function, after distinguishing whether it is a swallowing function in a preparation period, an oral cavity period, and a pharyngeal period. What kind of symptom is given to the subject U by evaluating the subject's U swallowing function after distinguishing whether it is a swallowing function in the preparation phase, oral phase or pharyngeal phase You can see if there is a risk of occurrence. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a specific example of the swallowing function in the preparation period, the oral period and the pharyngeal period, and symptoms when each function is lowered.

運動 Since the motor function of facial muscles declines during the preparation period, the symptoms of spilled food appear during swallowing. Decreased recognition of the tongue during the preparatory period may lead to a loss of appetite due to swallowing and symptoms of loss of appetite, and it will not be possible to accurately recognize the hardness of food and chew correctly (chewing food) Or cannot be crushed). When the motor function of the tongue, the occlusal state of the teeth, and the motor function of the masticatory muscles decrease during the preparation period, symptoms such that mastication cannot be properly performed during swallowing are observed. When the secretory function of saliva is reduced in the preparation period, there is a symptom that the food remains scattered during swallowing and cannot form a bolus. In addition, the movement function of the tongue in the oral and pharyngeal stages and the movement function of the pharynx and larynx in the pharyngeal stage, resulting in symptoms that the swallowing swallows the bolus correctly and cannot be swallowed into the pharynx and esophagus. Can be seen.

Since it is known that such a symptom is observed when the swallowing function in each stage is lowered, the swallowing function of the subject U can be set in any stage of the preparation stage, the oral stage and the pharyngeal stage. It is possible to make detailed countermeasures for each corresponding symptom by evaluating after distinguishing whether or not it is a swallowing function. Moreover, although mentioned later for details, the proposal part 150 can propose the countermeasure according to evaluation result to the to-be-evaluated person U. FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the output unit 140 outputs the evaluation result of the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U evaluated by the evaluation unit 130 (step S104). The output unit 140 outputs the evaluation result of the swallowing function of the evaluated person U evaluated by the evaluation unit 130 to the suggestion unit 150. Note that the output unit 140 may output the evaluation result to the mobile terminal 300. In this case, the output unit 140 may include a communication interface that performs wired communication or wireless communication, for example. In this case, for example, the output unit 140 acquires image data of an image corresponding to the evaluation result from the storage unit 160 and transmits the acquired image data to the mobile terminal 300. An example of the image data (evaluation result) is shown in FIGS.

12 to 16 are diagrams showing an example of the evaluation results. For example, the evaluation result is a two-stage evaluation result of OK or NG. OK means normal and NG means abnormal. The evaluation result is not limited to a two-stage evaluation result, and may be a fine evaluation result in which the degree of evaluation is divided into three or more stages. That is, the threshold value corresponding to each feature amount included in the reference data 161 stored in the storage unit 160 is not limited to one threshold value, and may be a plurality of threshold values. Specifically, for a certain feature amount, the evaluation result is normal when it is equal to or greater than the first threshold, and the evaluation result is slightly abnormal when it is smaller than the first threshold and greater than the second threshold, and is equal to or less than the second threshold. In this case, the evaluation result may be abnormal. Further, a circle mark or the like may be shown instead of OK (normal), a triangle mark or the like may be shown instead of slightly abnormal, and a cross mark or the like may be shown instead of NG (abnormal). Also, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 16, normality and abnormality may not be shown for each swallowing function, and for example, only items that are suspected of lowering the swallowing function may be shown.

The image data of the image corresponding to the evaluation result is, for example, a table as shown in FIGS. The person to be evaluated U can confirm such a table showing the evaluation results after distinguishing whether the function is the swallowing function in the preparation stage, the oral stage or the pharyngeal stage. For example, if the person to be evaluated U knows in advance what measures should be taken when the function decreases for each of the swallowing functions in the preparation period, oral period and pharyngeal period, U can make detailed countermeasures by confirming such a table.

However, the to-be-evaluated U may not know in advance what countermeasures should be taken regarding swallowing when the swallowing function in each stage is reduced. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the proposing unit 150 makes a proposal regarding swallowing to the person to be evaluated U by collating the evaluation result output by the output unit 140 with predetermined proposal data 162. . (Step S105). For example, the proposal data 162 includes proposal contents regarding swallowing for the person to be evaluated U corresponding to each combination of evaluation results for the swallowing function in the preparation period, the oral period, and the pharyngeal period. In addition, the storage unit 160 includes data (for example, an image, a moving image, sound, text, etc.) indicating the proposal content. The suggestion unit 150 makes a proposal regarding swallowing to the person to be evaluated U using such data.

Below, the evaluation result evaluated after distinguishing whether the to-be-evaluated person's U swallowing function is the swallowing function in the preparation stage, the oral cavity stage, or the pharyngeal stage is shown in FIGS. The contents of the proposal in the case where the result is shown in FIG.

In the evaluation results shown in FIG. 12, the motor function of the tongue in the preparation period, the motor function of the tongue in the oral and pharyngeal stages, and the pharyngeal motor function and the laryngeal motor function in the pharyngeal stage are NG. The swallowing function is OK. In this case, there is a possibility that there is a problem in the chewing ability because the motor function of the tongue in the preparation period is NG. As a result, avoiding hard-to-eat foods can result in unbalanced nutrition and take time to eat. In addition, the swallowing of the bolus may be problematic because the motility function of the tongue in the oral and pharyngeal phases and the pharyngeal and laryngeal motor functions in the pharyngeal phase are NG. As a result, it takes time to swallow or swallow.

In contrast, the proposal unit 150 collates the combination of the evaluation results with the proposal data 162 to make a proposal corresponding to the combination. Specifically, the suggestion unit 150 proposes to reduce the amount of food that is put into the mouth at a time, such as softening a hard object. This is because by reducing the amount of food put into the mouth at a time, it becomes possible to chew without difficulty, and the bolus becomes smaller and it becomes easier to swallow the bolus. For example, the suggestion unit 150 may use the mobile terminal 300 by an image, text or voice, etc. “Reducing the amount to put into the mouth and eat slowly. Propose a content such as In addition, the suggestion unit 150 proposes to thicken the liquid contained in the food. By thickening the liquid, it becomes easy to chew food, and it is possible to prevent the liquid from flowing slowly in the pharynx. For example, the suggestion unit 150 proposes a content such as “Let's eat a soup or a liquid such as a soup” via an image, text, or voice via the mobile terminal 300.

In the evaluation results shown in FIG. 13, the saliva secretion function in the preparation period is NG, and the other swallowing functions are OK. In this case, there is a possibility that there is a problem of dry mouth in the preparation period because the saliva secretion function is NG. As a result, the bolus cannot be formed correctly, and it becomes difficult to swallow the dried food. By avoiding the dried food, the nutrition is biased or it takes time to eat.

In contrast, the proposal unit 150 collates the combination of the evaluation results with the proposal data 162 to make a proposal corresponding to the combination. Specifically, when eating food (bread, cake, grilled fish, rice cracker, etc.) that absorbs moisture in the oral cavity, it is proposed to eat while taking moisture. This is because it becomes easy to form a bolus with water taken instead of saliva, and the difficulty of swallowing can be eliminated. For example, the suggestion unit 150 uses the mobile terminal 300 to display content such as “Let's take water together when eating bread” or “Yaki fish etc. It may be a good idea to make a trick. ”

In the evaluation results shown in FIG. 14, the occlusal state of the teeth and the motor function of the masticatory muscles in the preparation period are NG, and the other swallowing functions are OK. In this case, there is a possibility that there is a problem in the masticatory ability and the occlusal ability because the occlusal state of the teeth and the movement function of the masticatory muscles in the preparation period are NG. As a result, avoiding hard food can result in unbalanced nutrition and take time to eat.

In contrast, the proposal unit 150 collates the combination of the evaluation results with the proposal data 162 to make a proposal corresponding to the combination. Specifically, when eating hard food (vegetables, meat, etc.), it is proposed to make it fine or soft before eating. This is because even if there is a problem with the chewing ability and the occlusal ability, it becomes possible to eat hard food. For example, the suggestion unit 150 uses the mobile terminal 300 to display a content such as “let's chop it small if it is hard and difficult to eat”, or “because it is difficult to eat leafy vegetables. We recommend that you take it aggressively by softening, chopping, etc. so that you do n’t avoid eating, but rather nutrition.

In the evaluation results shown in FIG. 15, the recognition function of the tongue and the secretory function of saliva in the preparation period are NG, and the other swallowing functions are OK. In this case, there is a possibility that the oral cavity is in an unclean state because the tongue recognition function and saliva secretion function in the preparation period are NG. As a result, the appetite is lost due to a decrease in taste, which may lead to aspiration pneumonia due to a malnutrition state.

In contrast, the proposal unit 150 collates the combination of the evaluation results with the proposal data 162 to make a proposal corresponding to the combination. Specifically, oral care is proposed. This is because oral hygiene can eliminate oral hygiene and restore the recognition function of the tongue. At this time, the suggestion unit 150 may use personal information (for example, an address) of the evaluated person U acquired by the acquisition unit 110. For example, the suggestion unit 150 can visit a medical institution through an image, text, voice, or the like via the mobile terminal 300, and can check the dentist or the swallowing function in the vicinity of the person U to be evaluated. Present a map showing the institution.

In the evaluation results shown in FIG. 16, the tongue recognition function and saliva secretion function in the preparation period are OK, and the other swallowing functions are NG. In this case, the swallowing function may be reduced in the preparation period, the oral period, and the pharyngeal period. For example, the muscular strength of the lips declines due to a decline in the facial muscle function during the preparation period, the masseter muscle declines due to the deterioration of the occlusal state of the teeth during the preparation period, and the tongue movement function declines during the preparation period, oral period and pharyngeal period Muscular strength is expected to decline, suggesting the risk of sarcopenia.

In contrast, the proposal unit 150 collates the combination of the evaluation results with the proposal data 162 to make a proposal corresponding to the combination. Specifically, we suggest taking protein and rehabilitating. This is because the decrease in muscle strength can be eliminated. At this time, the suggestion unit 150 may use personal information (for example, age, weight) of the evaluated person U acquired by the acquisition unit 110. For example, the suggestion unit 150 uses an image, text or voice via the mobile terminal 300, “Let's take protein. Since the current weight is 60 kg, the protein is 20 g to 24 g per serving, 3 meals total. “Let ’s take 60g to 72g.” In order to avoid losing it when eating, let ’s eat with a thick liquid soup and soup. In addition, the proposal unit 150 proposes specific training content related to rehabilitation. For example, the suggestion unit 150 uses the mobile terminal 300 to perform muscle strength training for the whole body according to the age of the person to be evaluated U (such as training that repeats standing and sitting) and lip muscle strength recovery training (such as training that repeats standing and sitting). Examples such as training that repeats breath blowing and inhalation), recovery training of tongue muscle strength (training that moves the tongue in and out, movement up and down, left and right, etc.) are shown. For example, installation of an application for such rehabilitation may be proposed. In addition, details of training actually performed during rehabilitation may be recorded. Thereby, it is possible to reflect the recorded contents in rehabilitation by the specialists by confirming the recorded contents by a specialist (such as a doctor, a dentist, a speech therapist, or a nurse).

Note that the evaluation unit 130 does not need to evaluate the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U after distinguishing whether the swallowing function is in the preparation period, the oral cavity period, or the pharyngeal period. That is, the evaluation unit 130 may evaluate what kind of swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U is deteriorated.

Other than that, although not shown, the suggestion unit 150 may make a proposal described below according to a combination of evaluation results for each swallowing function.

For example, when the suggestion unit 150 proposes meal contents, the suggestion unit 150 may present a code indicating a food form such as a code of “swallowing adjusted meal classification 2013” of the Japanese Society for Swallowing Rehabilitation. For example, when the person to be evaluated U purchases a product corresponding to a dysphagia, it is difficult to describe the “meal form” in words, but the code is used in a one-to-one correspondence with the code. Meals can be easily purchased. Moreover, the proposal part 150 may present the site for purchasing such goods, and may enable it to purchase using the internet. For example, after evaluating the swallowing function via the mobile terminal 300, the mobile terminal 300 may be used for purchase. Further, the suggestion unit 150 may present other products that supplement the nutrition so that the nutrition of the evaluated person U is not biased. At that time, the proposing unit 150 uses the personal information (for example, body weight, BMI (Body Mass Index), serum albumin value, eating rate, etc.) of the evaluated person U acquired by the acquiring unit 110, so that the evaluated person U After determining the nutritional status of the product, a product supplementing nutrition may be presented.

Further, for example, the suggestion unit 150 may propose a posture at the time of eating. This is because the ease of swallowing food varies depending on the posture. For example, the proposing unit 150 proposes to eat with a leaning posture in which the angle from the pharynx to the trachea is not likely to be a straight line.

Also, for example, the suggestion unit 150 may present a menu in consideration of nutritional bias due to a decrease in the swallowing function (present a menu site describing such a menu). A menu site is a site where ingredients and cooking procedures necessary for completing a menu are described. In that case, the proposal part 150 may present the menu which considered the bias | inclination of nutrition, considering the menu which the to-be-evaluated person U input by the to-be-evaluated person U and which the acquisition part 110 acquired. Further, the suggestion unit 150 may present a menu that is nutritionally balanced in a specific period over a specific period such as one week.

Also, for example, the suggestion unit 150 may transmit information indicating the degree to which food is fined or softened to a cooker that has been converted to IoT (Internet of Things). Thereby, food can be finely and softened correctly. In addition, it is possible to save time and effort for the person to be evaluated U to make food fine or soft.

[Effects]
As described above, in the method for evaluating swallowing function according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the person to be evaluated U collects a voice that utters a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence without contact. Audio data obtained by doing this, a first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the person to be evaluated U without contact, and a first image obtained by imaging the mouth of the person to be evaluated U without contact. An acquisition step (step S101) for acquiring at least two of the two images, a calculation step (step S102) for calculating respective feature amounts from at least two of the acquired audio data, the first image, and the second image; And an evaluation step (step S103) for evaluating the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U from the feature amount.

According to this, the voice data suitable for the evaluation of the swallowing function collected by non-contact, the first image or the second image suitable for the evaluation of the swallowing function obtained by imaging without contact By acquiring, it becomes possible to easily evaluate the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U. That is, the person to be evaluated U speaks a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence toward the sound collecting device such as the portable terminal 300, or the face, neck, or mouth of the person to be evaluated U using the imaging device such as the portable terminal 300. It is possible to evaluate the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U simply by imaging the inside. Moreover, in this invention, since the to-be-evaluated person's U swallowing function is evaluated using at least 2 of audio | voice data, a 1st image, and a 2nd image, evaluation with higher precision is attained.

Also, in the evaluation step, the facial swallowing function includes the facial muscle function, tongue function, tongue recognition function, saliva secretion function, tooth occlusion, masticatory muscle function, pharyngeal function and larynx. At least one of the motor functions may be evaluated.

According to this, for example, the facial muscle function in the preparation period, the tongue recognition function in the preparation period, the tongue movement function in the preparation period, the occlusal state of the teeth in the preparation period, the masticatory muscle movement function in the preparation period, and the preparation The salivary secretion function in the period, the tongue movement function in the oral period, the tongue movement function in the pharyngeal period, the pharyngeal movement function in the pharyngeal period, or the laryngeal movement function in the pharyngeal period can be evaluated.

Moreover, the swallowing function evaluation method may further include an output step (step S104) for outputting an evaluation result.

According to this, the evaluation result can be confirmed.

In addition, the swallowing function evaluation method further includes a proposing step (step S105) of making a proposal regarding swallowing to the evaluated person U by collating the output evaluation result with predetermined data. May be.

According to this, the to-be-evaluated person U can receive a proposal as to what countermeasures should be taken regarding swallowing when the swallowing function decreases. For example, it is possible to prevent aspiration pneumonia by suppressing aspiration by allowing the evaluated person U to perform rehabilitation based on the proposal or to take a diet based on the proposal. Can reduce malnutrition due to decline.

Further, in the suggestion step, at least one of a proposal related to a meal corresponding to the evaluation result of the swallowing function and a proposal related to exercise corresponding to the evaluation result of the swallowing function may be performed.

According to this, the to-be-evaluated person U can receive a suggestion of what kind of meal should be performed or what kind of exercise should be performed when the swallowing function is lowered.

In the acquisition step, personal information of the person to be evaluated U may be acquired.

According to this, for example, in a proposal related to swallowing, a more effective proposal can be made to the evaluated person U by combining the evaluation result of the swallowing function of the evaluated person U and personal information. Can do.

In addition, the swallowing function evaluation device 100 according to the present embodiment is configured to collect voice data obtained by non-contact collecting voices of the evaluated person U uttering predetermined syllables or predetermined sentences, the evaluated person U The acquisition unit 110 acquires at least two of a first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the subject without contact and a second image obtained by imaging the oral cavity of the evaluation subject U without contact. From the audio data acquired by the acquisition unit 110, the first image and the second image, the calculation unit 120 that calculates the respective feature amounts, and the feature amount calculated by the calculation unit 120, the evaluation target U's An evaluation unit 130 that evaluates the swallowing function and an output unit 140 that outputs an evaluation result evaluated by the evaluation unit 130 are provided.

According to this, it is possible to provide the swallowing function evaluation device 100 that can easily evaluate the swallowing function of the person U to be evaluated.

Moreover, the swallowing function evaluation system 200 according to the present embodiment images the swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100 and the face, neck, or oral cavity of the person to be evaluated U, or the person to be evaluated U has a predetermined value. And a device (in this embodiment, a portable terminal 300) that collects syllables or voices uttering a predetermined sentence in a non-contact manner. The acquisition unit 110 of the swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100 is configured to collect voice data obtained when the apparatus U collects a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence without contact, and the apparatus U At least two of a first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the subject in a non-contact manner and a second image obtained by imaging the subject's U in the oral cavity of the subject U in a non-contact manner To get.

According to this, it is possible to provide the swallowing function evaluation system 200 that enables the evaluation of the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U easily.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although the swallowing function evaluation method etc. which concern on embodiment were demonstrated, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

For example, the reference data 161 is predetermined data, but may be updated based on an evaluation result obtained when an expert actually diagnoses the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated U. Thereby, the evaluation precision of a swallowing function can be improved. Note that machine learning may be used to improve the evaluation accuracy of the swallowing function.

Further, for example, the proposal data 162 is predetermined data, but the evaluated person U may evaluate the proposal content and may be updated based on the evaluation result. That is, for example, when a proposal corresponding to the fact that the person to be evaluated U cannot chew based on a certain feature amount even though the person to be evaluated U can chew without problems, It is evaluated that it is wrong. Then, by updating the proposal data 162 based on the evaluation result, the erroneous proposal as described above is not made based on the same feature amount. Thus, the proposal content regarding swallowing for the person to be evaluated U can be made more effective. Note that machine learning may be used to make proposals related to swallowing more effective.

Also, for example, the evaluation result of the swallowing function may be stored as big data together with personal information and used for machine learning. Moreover, the proposal content regarding swallowing may be accumulated as big data together with personal information and used for machine learning.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, the mobile terminal 300 is an imaging device and a sound collection device, but is not limited thereto. For example, in the acquisition step (acquisition unit 110), if the evaluator U does not acquire voice data obtained by collecting sounds uttering a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence without contact, the mobile terminal 300 is The sound collector may not be used. In other words, in this case, the swallowing function evaluation system 200 may not include the sound collection device.

Also, for example, in the above embodiment, the eating and swallowing function evaluation method includes the suggestion step (step S105) for making a suggestion regarding swallowing, but it may not be included. In other words, the swallowing function evaluation device 100 may not include the suggestion unit 150.

Also, for example, in the above embodiment, in the acquisition step (step S101), the personal information of the person to be evaluated U is acquired, but it is not necessary to acquire it. In other words, the acquisition unit 110 may not acquire the personal information of the evaluated person U.

In addition, for example, in the above-described embodiment, description has been made assuming that the evaluated person U speaks in Japanese, but the evaluated person U may speak in a language other than Japanese such as English. That is, it is not indispensable that the Japanese speech data is subject to signal processing, and speech data in a language other than Japanese may be subject to signal processing.

Also, for example, the steps in the swallowing function evaluation method may be executed by a computer (computer system). The present invention can be realized as a program for causing a computer to execute the steps included in these methods. Furthermore, the present invention can be realized as a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM on which the program is recorded.

For example, when the present invention is realized by a program (software), each step is executed by executing the program using hardware resources such as a CPU, a memory, and an input / output circuit of a computer. . That is, each step is executed by the CPU obtaining data from a memory or an input / output circuit or the like, and outputting the calculation result to the memory or the input / output circuit or the like.

In addition, each component included in the swallowing function evaluation device 100 and the swallowing function evaluation system 200 of the above embodiment may be realized as a dedicated or general-purpose circuit.

In addition, each component included in the swallowing function evaluation apparatus 100 and the swallowing function evaluation system 200 of the above embodiment is realized as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) that is an integrated circuit (IC). Also good.

Further, the integrated circuit is not limited to an LSI, and may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. A programmable FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or a reconfigurable processor in which connection and setting of circuit cells inside the LSI can be reconfigured may be used.

Furthermore, if integrated circuit technology that replaces LSI emerges as a result of advances in semiconductor technology or other derived technology, it is naturally included in the swallowing function evaluation device 100 and the swallowing function evaluation system 200 using that technology. Each component may be integrated into an integrated circuit.

Other forms obtained by subjecting the embodiments to various modifications conceived by those skilled in the art, and forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions in the embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Are also included in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Swallowing function evaluation apparatus 110 Acquisition part 120 Calculation part 130 Evaluation part 140 Output part 161 Reference data 162 Proposal data (data)
200 Eating and swallowing function evaluation system 300 Mobile terminal (device)
F1 First formant frequency F2 Second formant frequency U Evaluated

Claims

Voice data obtained by collecting non-contact voice of speech uttered by the evaluator with a predetermined syllable or predetermined sentence, and a first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the evaluator without contact And an acquisition step of acquiring at least two of the second images obtained by imaging the oral cavity of the subject to be evaluated in a non-contact manner;
A calculation step of calculating respective feature amounts from at least two of the acquired audio data, the first image, and the second image;
An evaluation step for evaluating the swallowing function of the person to be evaluated from the calculated feature amount,
Method for evaluating swallowing function.
In the evaluation step, as the swallowing function, the facial muscle function, the tongue function, the tongue recognition function, saliva secretion function, the occlusal state of the teeth, the masticatory muscle function, the pharyngeal function and the larynx Assess at least one of the motor functions of
The method for evaluating a swallowing function according to claim 1.
The swallowing function evaluation method further includes an output step of outputting an evaluation result,
The method for evaluating a swallowing function according to claim 1 or 2.
The method for evaluating swallowing function further includes a proposing step for making a proposal regarding swallowing for the person to be evaluated by collating the output evaluation result with predetermined data.
The method for evaluating a swallowing function according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
In the acquisition step, the personal information of the evaluated person is further acquired.
The method for evaluating a swallowing function according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
A program for causing a computer to execute the swallowing function evaluation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
Voice data obtained by collecting non-contact voice of speech uttered by the evaluator with a predetermined syllable or predetermined sentence, and a first image obtained by imaging the face or neck of the evaluator without contact And an acquisition unit that acquires at least two of the second images obtained by imaging the oral cavity of the evaluation subject in a non-contact manner,
A calculation unit that calculates each feature amount from at least two of the audio data, the first image, and the second image acquired by the acquisition unit;
From the feature amount calculated by the calculation unit, an evaluation unit that evaluates the swallowing function of the evaluated person,
An output unit that outputs an evaluation result evaluated by the evaluation unit,
Ingestion swallowing function evaluation device.
The device for evaluating swallowing function according to claim 7;
A device for capturing the face, neck or oral cavity of the person being evaluated, or collecting the sound of the person being uttered the predetermined syllable or the predetermined sentence in a non-contact manner;
The acquisition unit of the swallowing function evaluation device is configured to collect voice data obtained by the device collecting non-contact sounds obtained when the evaluated person utters a predetermined syllable or a predetermined sentence; At least two of a first image obtained when the device images the face or neck without contact and a second image obtained when the device images the oral cavity of the evaluated person without contact get,
A swallowing function evaluation system.