Biological information measuring instrument and biological information measuring method

• US 20030158501A1
• Filed: 03/17/2003
• Published: 08/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Uchida, Shinji, Kondo, Kazuya
• Granted Patent: US 7,172,560 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/587
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/05 Detecting, measuring or recording for diagnosis by means of electric currents or magnetic fields; Measuring using microwaves or radio waves impedance plethysmography A61B5/0295; measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof A61B5/11; detecting, measuring or recording bioelectric or biomagnetic signals of the body or parts thereof A61B5/24
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1075 for measuring dimensions by non-invasive methods, e.g. for determining thickness of tissue layer A61B8/0858 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1079 using optical or photographic means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1455 using optical sensors, e.g. spectral photometrical oximeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4872 Body fat
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6823 Trunk, e.g., chest, back, abdomen, hip

Abstract

A conventional living body information acquiring apparatus for measuring a skinfold thickness of a living body could not fix a relative position of skinfold thickness measuring means to the living body. Thus, the present invention comprises skinfold thickness measuring means of measuring a skinfold thickness of a living body 9 composed of a light source 1 and a sphotodetector 2, a protruding part 3 as relative position fixing means of fixing a relative position of living body information acquiring means to the living body 9 substantially constant, and holding means 4 of holding the light source 1, the photodetector 2, and the protruding part 3.

Claims

1. A living body information acquiring apparatus comprising living body information acquiring means of acquiring living body information of a living body, relative position fixing means of fixing a relative position of said living body information acquiring means to said living body substantially constant, and holding means of holding said living body information acquiring means and said relative position fixing means.

2. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1 comprising waist measuring means of measuring a circumference of waist of said living body, wherein said living body information is a skinfold thickness at a waist position of said living body, and said relative position fixing means is means of fixing a distance between an umbilicus of said living body and said living body information acquiring means substantially constant.

3. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 wherein said relative position fixing means has a protruding part.

4. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3 wherein said living body information acquiring means has a light source for measuring a skinfold thickness of a living body and a photodetector for detecting light which is outgoing from the light source and is diffusely scattered through an interior of said living body.

5. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein:

said relative position fixing means has a first protruding part while said holding means has a second protruding part;

a body of said holding means, said first protruding part, and said second protruding part form a space; and

said living body information acquiring means is secured to the body of said holding means within said space.

6. A living body information acquiring apparatus comprising:

waist measuring means of measuring a circumference of waist of a living body;

skinfold thickness information capturing means of capturing information of a skinfold thickness at a waist position of said living body; and

obesity type specifying means in which an obesity type of the living body whose circumference of waist is measured by said waist measuring means is specified based on said circumference of waist measured by said waist measuring means and information about said skinfold thickness captured by said skinfold thickness information capturing means.

7. A living body information acquiring apparatus comprising body weight measuring means of measuring a body weight of a living body and distance measuring means of measuring a distance between an umbilicus height of the living body and a height of said body weight measuring means when the living body gets on said body weight measuring means.

8. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to claim 7 comprising electric resistance measuring means which is held by both hands of the living body getting on said body weight measuring means and which measures an electric resistance value of the living body.

9. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to claim 8 comprising:

body height estimating means of estimating a body height of a living body getting on said body weight measuring means, based on the distance between an umbilicus height of the living body and a height of said body weight measuring means when the living body gets on said body weight measuring means; and

body fat percentage calculating means of calculating a body fat percentage of said living body, based on said body weight measured by said body weight measuring means, said body height estimated by said body height estimating means, and said electric resistance value measured by said electric resistance measuring means.

10. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to any of claims 7 to 9 comprising skinfold thickness measuring means composed of a light source for measuring a skinfold thickness of a living body and a photodetector for detecting light which is outgoing from the light source and is diffusely scattered through an interior of said living body.

11. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to claim 10 comprising:

relative position fixing means of fixing a relative position of said skinfold thickness measuring means to said living body substantially constant; and

holding means of holding a portion of said distance measuring means, said electric resistance measuring means, said skinfold thickness measuring means, and said relative position fixing means.

12. A living body information acquiring apparatus comprising electric resistance measuring means of measuring an electric resistance value of a pathway crossing an interior of an living body and skinfold thickness measuring means of measuring a skinfold thickness of said living body.

13. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to claim 12 comprising:

total fat amount calculating means of calculating a total fat amount at said pathway crossing an interior of said living body, based on said electric resistance value measured by said electric resistance measuring means; and

offal fat amount calculating means of calculating an offal fat amount of said living body at said pathway, based on said skinfold thickness measured by said skinfold thickness measuring means and said total fat amount calculated by said total fat amount calculating means.

14. The living body information acquiring apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said offal fat amount calculating means calculates said offal fat amount by eliminating an influence of a subcutaneous fat amount which is estimated from said skinfold thickness measured by said skinfold thickness measuring means from said total fat amount which is calculated by said total fat amount calculating means.

15. A living body information acquiring method comprising:

a first step of measuring a skinfold thickness at a waist position of a living body;

a second step of measuring a circumference of waist of said living body; and

a third step of calculating an offal fat amount of said living body based on said skinfold thickness obtained in said first step and said circumference of waist obtained in said second step.

16. A living body information acquiring method comprising:

a first step of measuring a skinfold thickness at a waist position of a living body;

a second step of measuring a circumference of waist of said living body; and

a third step of specifying an obesity type of said living body based on said skinfold thickness obtained in said first step and said circumference of waist obtained in said second step.

17. A living body information acquiring method comprising:

a first step of measuring a body weight of a living body;

a second step of measuring a distance between an umbilicus height of the living body and a height of body weight measuring means when said living body gets on said weight measuring means;

a third step of estimating a body height of said living body based on said distance obtained in the second step;

a fourth step of measuring an electric resistance value of said living body; and

a fifth step of calculating a body fat percentage of said living body, based on said body weight obtained in said first step, said body height obtained in said third step, and said electric resistance value obtained in said fourth step.

18. A living body information acquiring method comprising:

a first step of measuring an electric resistance value of a pathway crossing an interior of a living body;

a second step of calculating a total fat amount at said pathway crossing an interior of said living body based on said electric resistance value obtained in the first step;

a third step of measuring a skinfold thickness of said living body; and

a fourth step of calculating an offal fat amount of said living body at said pathway, based on said total fat amount obtained in said second step and said skinfold thickness obtained in said third step.