OPTICAL BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION MEASURING APPARATUS, OPTICAL BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION MEASURING METHOD, BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION DECISION APPARATUS, PROGRAM AND RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20100063369A1
• Filed: 11/17/2009
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Uchida, Shinji, Kondoh, Kazuya
• Application Number:
  US12/620,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20100063369A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/310
• 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 5/1455 using optical sensors, e.g. spectral photometrical oximeters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/444 Evaluating skin marks, e.g. mole, nevi, tumour, scar
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4872 Body fat
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6844 Monitoring or controlling distance between sensor and tissue

Abstract

An optical biological information measuring apparatus includes a measuring surface to be placed on the surface of a living body, a mark display section which displays a mark at a region to be measured on the surface of the living body, a light-emitting section which irradiates the living body with light of a predetermined wavelength and a light-receiving section which receives light irradiated onto the living body and returned from the living body, and measures information on the living body based on the received light. The optical biological information measuring apparatus is capable of measuring biological information with improved alignment accuracy.

Claims

8. An optical biological information measuring apparatus comprising:

a measuring surface to be placed on a surface of a living body;

a mark creation section which forms a mark at a position to be measured on the surface of the living body;

a light-emitting section which irradiates the surface of the living body with light of a predetermined wavelength;

a light-receiving section which receives the light irradiated onto the surface of the living body and returned from the living body; and

an alignment section which aligns said measuring surface with the position to be measured of said surface of the living body at which the mark is formed;

said alignment section comprises an alignment light source which irradiates light onto the surface of the living body on which the mark is formed and at least one alignment light-receiving section which receives light irradiated from said alignment light source onto the surface of the living body and receives light reflected from the surface of the living body;

wherein the absorption factor or reflection factor of the light of the mark is different from the absorption factor or reflection factor of the light in the area of the surface of the living body in which the mark is decided based on light-receiving intensity at said alignment light-receiving section.

1. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a driving mechanism which can move the position of said alignment section to the position of the mark which said mark creation section created on said surface of the living body.

2. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 8, wherein at least two of said alignment sections and said mark creation sections are formed on said measuring surface, respectively.

3. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising

a calculation section which decides an alignment status based on the light-receiving intensity at said alignment light-receiving section, wherein said alignment light source is placed in a center of said alignment section, said alignment light-receiving section comprises a plurality of light-receiving bodies arranged at uniform intervals around said alignment light source;

and

said calculation section decides an alignment status when intensities of light received by said respective light-receiving bodies are substantially equal and decides a non-alignment status when intensities of light received by said respective light-receiving bodies are substantially different from one another.

4. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a display section which displays said alignment status or said non-alignment status, wherein said calculation section causes said display section to display the direction in which the alignment status should be set when said calculation section decides the non-alignment status.

5. A program for causing a computer to function as a calculation section which decides an alignment status of the optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 3 based on light-receiving intensity at said alignment light-receiving section.

6. A computer-processable recording medium which stores the program according to claim 5.

7. A biological information decision apparatus comprising:

the optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 8;

an input section which inputs information on the living body;

a calculation section which performs calculations based on information input from said input section and information output from said optical biological information measuring apparatus;

a storage section which prestores biological information corresponding to the information input to said input section; and

a comparison section which compares biological information prestored in said storage section and the result of the calculation performed by said calculation section, wherein said biological information decision apparatus decides the information measured by said biological information measuring apparatus.