Apparatus for evaluating biological function, a method for evaluating biological function, a living body probe, a living body probe mounting device, a living body probe support device and a living body probe mounting accessory

• US 20080262327A1
• Filed: 01/22/2007
• Published: 10/23/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshinori Kato
• Original Assignee: Toshinori Kato
• Inventors: Kato, Toshinori
• Granted Patent: US 8,406,838 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/324
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0233 Special features of optical sensors or probes classified in A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0042 for the brain
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/024 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse rate or heart rate A61B5/0205, A61B5/021 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0261 using optical means, e.g. infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14553 specially adapted for cerebral tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7285 for synchronising or triggering a physiological measurement or image acquisition with a physiological event or waveform, e.g. an ECG signal A61B6/5205, A61B6/541, A61B8/5207, A61B8/543 take precedence

Abstract

The apparatus for evaluating biological function of the present invention has living body probes 1, a behavioral information measuring part 2 and an apparatus body 3, and it utilizes near-infrared spectroscopy to evaluate biological function; apparatus body 3 has a controller 8 for calculating (based on light information from living body probes 1) a variety of parameters derived from two-dimensional diagrams showing relationships between changes in oxyhemoglobin and changes in deoxyhemoglobin and two-dimensional diagrams showing relationships between absolute amounts of oxyhemoglobin and absolute amounts of deoxyhemoglobin, a behavioral information input part for entering behavioral information measured by means of behavioral information measuring part 12, and a display part 10 for performing various types of image displays based on various parameters calculated by means of controller 8 and/or behavioral information entered in the behavioral information input part.

Claims

1. :

An apparatus for evaluating biological function having a plurality of living body probes provided with light-emitting elements for irradiating light to specified sites of a living body and light-receiving elements for receiving and detecting light exiting the living body, a behavioral information measuring part for measuring behavioral information of said living body, and an apparatus body for entering light information detected by said living body probe and behavioral information measured by said behavioral information measuring part and performing calculation, control and memory operations, and utilizing near-infrared spectroscopy to evaluate biological function, said apparatus body comprising;

a controller for calculating, based on light information from said living body probe, a variety of parameters derived from two-dimensional diagrams showing relationships between amounts of change in oxyhemoglobin and amounts of change in deoxyhemoglobin, and two-dimensional diagrams showing relationships between absolute amounts of oxyhemoglobin and absolute amounts of deoxyhemoglobin;

a behavioral information input part for entering behavioral information measured by means of said behavioral information measuring part; and

a display part for performing various types of image displays based on various parameters calculated by means of said controller and/or behavioral information entered in said behavioral information input part.

2. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller calculates a variety of parameters derived from two-dimensional diagrams in which a two-dimensional diagram showing the relationship between amounts of change in oxyhemoglobin and amounts of change in deoxyhemoglobin is inclined 45 degrees to show the relationship between amounts of change in oxygen saturation and amounts of change in total hemoglobin concentration, and/or from two-dimensional diagrams in which a two-dimensional diagram showing the relationship between absolute amounts of oxyhemoglobin and absolute amounts of deoxyhemoglobin is inclined 45 degrees to show the relationship between absolute oxygen saturation and absolute total hemoglobin concentration.

3. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller calculates a variety of parameters derived from three-dimensional diagrams, in which a time axis is added to said two-dimensional diagrams, and said display part performs three-dimensional displays based on various parameters calculated by means of said controller.

4. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller calculates a variety of parameters establishing a relationship between hemoglobin and oxygen exchange in a formula of rotational motion or wave dynamics, by considering oxygen exchange in the hemodynamics as rotational motion or wave motion.

5. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller calculates integral values, corresponding to behavior time, for light information detected by means of living body probes, and, based on the calculated integral values, acquires living body site information that is dependent on said behavior time and/or information on network interdependence between sites of the living body; and

this is displayed in image form on said display part.

6. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller calculates a qualitative K-ratio, calculated by the formula (change in the absorption coefficient of the wavelength of predominantly deoxyhemoglobin)/(change in the absorption coefficient of the wavelength of predominantly oxyhemoglobin), and its slope.

7. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller calculates the length of the light path of light irradiated from a light-emitting element of a living body probe until it is received by a light-receiving element.

8. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller measures the phase difference between changes in oxyhemoglobin and changes in deoxyhemoglobin.

9. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, characterized in that said controller detects fluctuation for each voxel.

10. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller calculates respiratory synchronization, synchronous with the respiratory cycle, and/or heartbeat synchronization, synchronous with the heartbeat period.

11. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller calculates the extent of oxygen consumption and oxygen supply of the brain corresponding to the percentage of correct answers of each problem, by cumulative addition.

12. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller has a means for determining comfort and discomfort of the living body based on specified criteria.

13. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said controller has a means for determining the type of left/right thought pattern of the brain based on specified criteria.

14. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said display part displays sites or regions showing an oxygen consumption response and an oxygen supply response in the capillaries.

15. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said display part displays independence and interconnectedness between the voxels of each channel.

16. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus body has a selector-adjustor for determining the need to select for validation/invalidation or adjust said living body probes, based on said parameters, and for adjusting the measurement sensitivity of said light-receiving elements.

17. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus body has a sampling speed adjustor for adjusting the sampling speed of measurements by said behavioral information measuring part.

18. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said living body probes are provided with a plurality of light-emitting elements and a plurality of light-receiving elements, and said selector-adjuster determines the need to select for validation/invalidation or adjust the light-emitting element/light-receiving element combinations within each channel formed by the living body probe, based on said parameters; and

determines the need to select for validation/invalidation or adjust combinations between said channels, based on said parameters.

19. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein said living body probes are placed in such a way that they are positioned on a gyrus, avoiding the sulci, by taking into consideration the shape and size of sulci and gyri at each site of the brain of the living body.

20. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 19, wherein said living body probes are placed at roughly right angles to the centerline of a gyrus between sulci.

21. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 19, wherein said living body probes are placed along the centerline of a gyrus between sulci.

22. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein the angle formed by the direction of living body probes placed at a plurality of sites of the brain surface and the direction of a gyrus is displayed on said display part.

23. :

The apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1, wherein it is connected to a pressure application device for applying stimulus to the brain.

25. :

A living body probe used in said apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 1.

26. :

The living body probe used in the apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 25, wherein said living body probe is made of a material containing, at least, moisture.

27. :

The living body probe used in the apparatus for evaluating biological function according to claim 25, wherein said living body probe is supported by a material containing, at least, moisture.

28. :

The living body probe according to claim 25, wherein a protective cover made of a soft material is installed on the tip of said living body probe.

29. :

A living body probe mounting device wherein said living body probes according to claim 25 are installed on and retained by a mesh-like stretchable retaining material.

30. :

A living body probe support device wherein it has retaining rings for holding said living body probes according to claim 25, and a ring support frame for movably supporting those retaining rings.

31. :

A living body probe accessory that is a living body probe mounting accessory for aiding in mounting said living body probes according to claim 25 on the head, wherein it is made from a net-like material formed spaced at fixed intervals along lines parallel to the line connecting the outer eyelid and the outer ear canal and the line connecting the outer ear canal and the parietal line, respectively, and measuring marks are displayed on the surface of said net-like material.

24. :

A method for evaluating biological function in which near-infrared spectroscopy is utilized to evaluate biological function, using an apparatus for evaluating biological function that has a plurality of living body probes provided with light-emitting elements for irradiating light to specified sites of a living body and light-receiving elements for receiving and detecting light exiting the living body, a behavioral information measuring part for measuring behavioral information of said living body, and an apparatus body for entering light information detected by means of said living body probe and behavioral information measured by means of said behavioral information measuring part, and performing calculation, control and memory operations; and

utilizes near-infrared spectroscopy to evaluate biological function, said method comprising;

(1) a step whereby light-emitting elements and light-receiving elements of living body probes are placed on a living body;

(2) a step whereby light from said light-emitting elements of the living body probes is irradiated to a living body;

(3) a step whereby, based on light information detected by means of said light-receiving elements of the living body probes, selection or adjustment is made among light-emitting element/light-receiving element combinations within each of the channels formed by said living body probes, based on specified criteria;

(4) a step whereby, based on light information detected by means of said living body probes, selection or adjustment is made among combinations among said channels, based on specified criteria;

(5) a step whereby baseline data is measured from light information detected by means of said living body probes with a living body at rest, and data analysis and data display are performed; and

(6) a step whereby task presentation data is measured from light information detected by means of said living body probes at the time when a task is presented to a living body, and data analysis and data display are performed.