Optical measurement instrument for living body

• US 20060184047A1
• Filed: 03/10/2006
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1995
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Atsushi Maki, Hideaki Koizumi, Yuichi Yamashita
• Original Assignee: Atsushi Maki, Hideaki Koizumi, Yuichi Yamashita
• Inventors: Yamashita, Yuichi, Maki, Atsushi, Koizumi, Hideaki
• Application Number:
  US11/371,919
• Publication Number:
  US 20060184047A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/476
• 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 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14552 Details of sensors specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14553 specially adapted for cerebral tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6814 Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/03 Computed tomography [CT] echo-tomography A61B8/14

Abstract

An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body, includes first and second light incident units arranged on a head of a living body, and first and second light detectors which are paired with the first and the second light incident units respectively, and which are provided to collect light which passes through the living body based on the light irradiated onto the head of the living body by the light incident means. Measurement signals are obtained by measuring a plurality of regions of the living body by the first and the second light incident units, the first and the second light detectors, and characteristic parameters of the signals of an arbitrary time interval of the measured signals are calculated.

Claims

1. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body, comprising:

first and second light incident means arranged on a head of a living body;

first and second light detection means which are paired with the first and the second light incident means respectively, and which are provided to collect light which passes through the living body based on the light irradiated onto the head of the living body by the light incident means;

means for obtaining measurement signals by measuring a plurality of regions of the living body by the first and the second light incident means, the first and the second light detection means, and for calculating the characteristic parameters of the signals of an arbitrary time interval of the measured signals;

memory means for memorizing standard deviations and mean values of the characteristic parameters corresponding to a mind of the living body as reference data; and

means for calculating indexes to determine whether the measured signals belong to a distribution of the reference data by using the standard deviations and the mean values of the characteristic parameters of the signals of the arbitrary time interval and the reference data, and means for determining a type of an output signal;

wherein the first light incident means and the first light detection means is used to measure a first measurement region and the second light incident means and the second light detection means is used to measure a second measurement region.

2. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic parameters of the measurement signals and the characteristic parameters of the reference data are stored in said memory means for every measurement position.

3. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1, further comprising means for learning the mind of the living body to store the reference data.

4. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1, wherein the determining means determines the type of output signal using neural a network from the indexes.

5. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1, wherein the determining means determines the type of output signal from the indexes.

6. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1, wherein a microcomputer is provided as an external equipment, the light incident means and light detection means are arranged on the head of a driver of a vehicle as the living body, wherein a dozing-state of the driver is detected in the input instrument for the living body, and a warning is outputted or a braking system is operated.

7. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1, wherein a microcomputer is provided as external equipment, the light incident means and light detection means are arranged on the head of the living body, and a position of a pointer on a screen or composite images on the screen are changed or voice is outputted in response to a mind of the living body.

8. An input instrument for a living body, using optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1, wherein a microcomputer is provided as external equipment, the light incident means and light detection means are arranged on the head of the living body, and when a disorder of consciousness is detected, a warning is produced.

9. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1, characterized in that a microcomputer is provided as external equipment, the light incident means and light detection means are arranged on the head of the living body as a patient or a pilot, and when a disorder of consciousness of the patient or pilot is detected, a warning is produced.

14. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 5, wherein a microcomputer is provided as external equipment, the light incident means and light detection means are arranged on the head of the living body, and when a disorder of consciousness is detected, a warning is produced.

10. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body, comprising:

at least one light incident means arranged on a head of a living body;

at least one light detection means arranged on the head of the living body and provided so as to collect light which passes through the living body based on light irradiated onto the head of the living body by the light incident means;

means which obtain measurement signals by measuring a plurality of regions of the living body by the light incident means and the light detection means, and which calculate characteristic parameters of the signals of an arbitrary time interval of the measured signals for every region of the living body; and

memory means to memorize the measurement signals and a threshold range of the characteristic parameters for every measurement position;

wherein output signals are determined by comparison of the characteristic parameters of the arbitrary time interval and the threshold range of the characteristic parameters according to measurement position, and the type of the output signal is determined by the combination of the output signals for every measurement position.

11. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 10, wherein the light incident means and the light detection means are arranged such that a particular region of the living body is irradiated in correspondence with the type of output signals.

12. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 10, wherein a microcomputer is provided as an external equipment, the light incident means and light detection means are arranged on the head of a driver of a vehicle as the living body, wherein a dozing-state of the driver is detected in the input instrument for the living body, and a warning is outputted or a braking system is operated.

13. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 10, wherein a microcomputer is provided as external equipment, the light incident means and light detection means are arranged on the head of the living body, and a position of a pointer on a screen or composite images on the screen are changed or voice is outputted in response to a mind of the living body.

15. An input instrument for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 10, characterized in that a microcomputer is provided as external equipment, the light incident means and light detection means are arranged on the head of the living body as a patient or a pilot, and when a disorder of consciousness of the patient or pilot is detected, a warning is produced.