Apparatus for inspecting allergic reaction

• US 20040176701A1
• Filed: 09/02/2003
• Published: 09/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyushu Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Kyushu Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Fujii, Hitoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,351,209 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/556
• 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 5/0261 using optical means, e.g. infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/411 Detecting or monitoring allergy or intolerance reactions to an allergenic agent or substance
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/445 Evaluating skin irritation or skin trauma, e.g. rash, eczema, wound, bed sore

Abstract

Disclosed are an apparatus for inspecting an allergic reaction comprising

a light-projecting device for projecting a laser light upon an object having a bloodstream;

a light-receiving device for receiving laser beams scattered by blood cells;

a memory device for storing output signals;

a calculating device for calculating from the output signals stored in the memory device; and

a display device for displaying the information in a map state,

wherein the calculating means comprises calculating relative values of the respective bloodstreams at measured portions to be tested the allergic reaction or subjected to a patch test based on an average value of the bloodstreams measured at portions other than the portion to be tested or subjected to the patch test and not affected by the patch test as a standard value, and

the display device comprises plotting the relative values obtained in the calculating device,

and a method of inspecting an allergic reaction of a skin after subjected to a patch test for checking an allergen(s).

Claims

1. An apparatus for inspecting an allergic reaction comprising

a light-projecting means for projecting a laser light upon an object having a bloodstream;

a light-receiving means for receiving a plurality of laser beams scattered by blood cells at the plurality of points on a surface of the object;

a memory means for storing output signals read out of the light receiving elements;

a calculating means for calculating from the output signals stored in the memory means to derive information about the bloodstream; and

a display means for displaying the information in a map state,

wherein the calculating means comprises calculating relative values of the respective bloodstreams at measured portions to be tested the allergic reaction or subjected to a patch test based on an average value of the bloodstreams measured at portions other than the portion to be tested or subjected to the patch test and not affected by the patch test as a standard value, and

the display means comprises plotting the relative values obtained by the calculating means.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means displays the relative valises of the bloodstream with different color codes or gray scales in a two- or three-dimensional map, or it displays linearly extracted data along a specific direction in a line chart.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculating means has a memory in which a standard value of the bloodstream measured at a portion sufficiently apart from a portion to be tested or measured at the same portion as the portion to be tested before the test is carried out is stored, and has a function of calculating the relative value of the bloodstream at the portion subjected to the test based on the standard value.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculating means has a function that can calculate an average bloodstream value Av₁ at the portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting the allergic reaction(s) and convert the average bloodstream value Av₁ to a relative value Av₂ based on an average bloodstream value Av₃ measured at a portion other than the portion to be inspected or subjected to the patch test.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculating means has a function that can obtain an average bloodstream value Av₃ measured at portions other than the portion to be inspected or subjected to the patch test, can take in measured values V_n at the portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting an allergic reaction(s), can calculate a new map of bloodstreams with relative values R_n by dividing the measured values V_n by the average bloodstream value Av₃ and can calculate an average value Av₄ by averaging over the values R_n within the portion to be inspected or subjected to the patch test.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculating means has a function that can calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₁ at the portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting an allergic reaction(s) by the laser, identify a region at which a bloodstream value is higher than the average value Bv₁, calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₂ measured at the region at which a bloodstream value is higher than the average value Bv₁, calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₃ measured at a region other than the region at which a bloodstream value is higher than the average value Bv₁, and divide the average bloodstream value Bv₂ by the average bloodstream value Bv₃.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means has a function that can display change in bloodstream at the portion to be inspected with relative values with a lapse of time or that can set a time at which a factor which changes the bloodstream occur, and a function that can display the difference between the above time and the present time.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means has a function that can calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₄ measured at a portion other than a portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting an allergic reaction(s) and calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₁ at the portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting an allergic reaction(s) both of the average values Bv₁ and Bv₄ excludes the value measured at a portion peripheral to the portion to be inspected or subjected to the patch test, and divide the average bloodstream value Bv₁ by the average bloodstream value Bv₄ as a standard value.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means has a function that can display past measurement history based on factors which cause change in bloodstream with regard to respective specimen to be inspected.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculating means calculates correlation of the relative value of the bloodstream at the portion to be inspected and an amount of stimulus causing the change in bloodstream, and identifies a stimulus, or a combination of stimuli having the highest correlation as a cause for changing the bloodstream value.

11. A method of inspecting an allergic reaction of a skin after subjected to a patch test for checking an allergen(s), which comprises the steps of:

projecting a laser light upon an object having a bloodstream subjected to the patch test by a light-projecting means;

receiving a plurality of laser beams scattered by blood cells at the plurality of points on a surface of the object subjected to the patch test by a light-receiving means;

storing output signals read out of the light receiving elements by a memory means;

calculating from the output signals stored in the memory means to derive information about the bloodstream by a calculating means; and

displaying the information in a map state by a display means;

wherein relative values of the respective bloodstreams at measured portions to be tested the allergic reaction or subjected to a patch test are calculated by the calculating means based on an average value of the bloodstreams measured at portions of the skin other than the portion subjected to the patch test and not affected by the patch test as a standard value, and

the relative values obtained by the calculating means are plotted by the display means as a two- or three-dimensional map.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the display means displays the relative values of the bloodstream with different color codes or gray scales in a two- or three-dimensional map, or it displays linearly extracted data along a specific direction in a line chart.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the calculating means has a memory in which a standard value of the bloodstream measured at a portion sufficiently apart from a portion to be tested or measured at the same portion as the portion to be tested before the test is carried out is stored, and has a function of calculating the relative value of the bloodstream at the portion subjected to the test based on the standard value.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the calculating means has a function that can calculate an average bloodstream value Av₁ at the portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting the allergic reaction(s) and convert the average bloodstream value Av₁ to a relative value Av₂ based on an average bloodstream value Av₃ measured at a portion other than the portion to be inspected or subjected to the patch test.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the calculating means has a function that can obtain an average bloodstream value Av₃ measured as portions other than the portion to be inspected or subjected to the patch test, can take in measured values V_n at the portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting an allergic reaction(s), can calculate a new map of bloodstream with relative values R_n by dividing the measured values V_n by the average bloodstream value Av₃ and can calculate an average value Av₄ by averaging over the values (R_n) within the portion to be inspected or subjected to the patch test.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the calculating means has a function that can calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₁ at the portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting an allergic reaction(s) by the laser, identify a region at which a bloodstream value is higher than the average value Bv₁, calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₂ at the region at which a bloodstream value is higher than the average value Bv₁, calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₃ at a region other than the region at which a bloodstream value is higher than the average value Bv₁, and divide the average bloodstream value Bv₂ by the average bloodstream value Bv₃.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the display means has a function that can display change in bloodstream at the portion to be inspected with relative values with a lapse of time or that can set a time at which a factor which changes the bloodstream occur, and a function that can display the difference between the above time and the present time.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein the display means has a function that can calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₄ measured at a portion other than a portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting an allergic reaction(s) and calculate an average bloodstream value Bv₁ at the portion to be inspected or subjected to a patch test for inspecting an allergic reaction(s) both of the average values Bv₁ and Bv₄ excludes the value measured at a portion peripheral to the portion to be inspected or subjected to the patch test, and divide the average bloodstream value Bv₁ by the average bloodstream value Bv₄ as a standard value.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein the display means has a function that can display past measurement history based on factors which cause change in bloodstream with regard to respective specimen to be inspected.

20. The method according to claim 11, wherein the calculating means calculates correlation of the relative value of the bloodstream at the portion to be inspected and an amount of stimulus causing the change in bloodstream, and identifies a stimulus, or a combination of stimuli having the highest correlation as a cause for changing the bloodstream value.