Optical measurement instrument for living body

• US 6,640,133 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2001
• Issued: 10/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamashita, Yuichi, Maki, Atsushi, Koizumi, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Lateef, Marvin M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): QADERI, RUNA S
• Application Number:
  US09/849,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20010018554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 600/310, 600/328, 600/407, 600/473, 600/475, 600/476, 600/477, 340/438, 340/439, 340/575, 340/576, 180/272, 356/320, 356/435, 356/477
• US Class Current: 600/476
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0233 Special features of optical sensors or probes classified in A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0242 for varying or adjusting the optical path length in the tissue
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/046 in a matrix array
• 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 5/14546 for measuring analytes not otherwise provided for, e.g. ions, cytochromes
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/35 using infrared light G01N21/39 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/4795 spatially resolved investigating of object in scattering medium in vivo A61B

Abstract

A control device for a living body including an input device having a launcher for launching light into the living body from at least one light incident position on a surface of the living body, a collector for collecting light obtained by causing the light incident from the light incident position to pass through the living body, at at least one light detection position on the surface of the living body, a detector for detecting an intensity of the transmitted light collected by the collector, an operator for determining a type of output signal, based on the intensity of the transmitted light, which has been detected by the detector and pre-stored reference data and for outputting a signal indicative thereof. External equipment is provided for using the signal outputted as an input signal and for executing a functional operation according to a type of the input signal.

Claims

1. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body, comprising:

light incident means for simultaneously applying lights of at least one wavelength in a visible-infrared region to a plurality of incident positions on the surface of the living body, which includes light modulation means for intensity-modulating the applied lights with modulation frequencies which are different for each of said incident positions;

light detection means for simultaneously detecting lights obtained by allowing said applied lights to pass through the living body at a plurality of detection positions on the surface of the living body, which includes selection and detection means for selecting and detecting transmitted light components corresponding to respective ones of said modulation frequencies at said respective detection positions from said applied lights relative to said plurality of detection positions;

operation means for determining a type of output signal, based on the intensity of said transmitted light and a pre-stored reference data, and for outputting a signal indicative thereof as the type of output signal;

memory means for storing the pre-stored reference data therein; and

an external equipment for executing a functional operation according to the type of output signal from said operation means.

2. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1:

wherein said transmitted light components correspond to an oxy-hemoglobin concentration change value, a deoxy-hemoglobin concentration change value or a total hemoglobin concentration change value in the living body.

3. A control device by a living body according to claim 2, wherein the oxy-hemoglobin concentration change value, the deoxy-hemoglobin concentration change value or the total hemoglobin concentration change value are changed to integrated values within an arbitrary measurement time, or means values thereof within an arbitrary measurement time, or arbitrary frequency components thereof within an arbitrary measurement time, or rates of change thereof within an arbitrary measurement time.

4. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1:

wherein said light incident means applies light into a brain of a human being at the living body; and

said light detection means detects light passing through the brain.

5. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1:

wherein said operation means determines the type of output signal, based on the Mahalanobis distances and/or neural network processing of intensity of said transmitted light and a pre-stored reference data, and for outputting the signal indicative thereof.

6. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 1:

wherein said light incident means transmits and applies the lights to said plurality of incident positions through light incident optical fibers respectively provided so as to correspond to said incident positions, and said light detection means transmits and detects the transmitted lights to be applied to said plurality of detection positions through light detection optical fibers respectively provided so as to correspond to said detection positions.

7. An optical measurement instrument for a living body, comprising:

light incident means for simultaneously applying lights of a plurality of wavelengths in a visible-infrared region to a plurality of incident positions on the surface of a subject as the living body, which comprises light modulation means for intensity-modulating the lights applied to said plurality of incident positions with modulation frequencies which are different for each of said incident positions;

light detection means for simultaneously detecting lights obtained by causing said incident lights to pass through the subject at a plurality of detection positions on the surface of the subject, which comprises selection and detection means for selecting and detecting transmitted light components corresponding to respective ones of said modulation frequencies at said respective detection positions from said applied lights relative to said plurality of detection positions;

operation means for determining a type of output signal, based on the intensity of said transmitted light and a pre-stored reference data, and for outputting a signal indicative thereof as the type of output signal;

memory means for storing the pre-stored reference data therein; and

an external equipment for executing a functional operation according to the type of output signal from said operation means.

8. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 7:

wherein said transmitted light components correspond to an oxy-hemoglobin concentration change value, a deoxy-hemoglobin concentration change value, or a total hemoglobin concentration change value in the living body.

9. A control device by a living body according to claim 8, wherein the oxy-hemoglobin concentration change value, the deoxy-hemoglobin concentration change value, or the total hemoglobin concentration change value are changed to integrated values within an arbitrary measurement time, or changed to mean values thereof within an arbitrary measurement time, or changed to arbitrary frequency components thereof within an arbitrary measurement time, or changed to rates of change thereof within an arbitrary measurement time.

10. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 7:

wherein said light incident means applies light into a brain of a human being as the living body; and

said light detection means detects light passing through the brain.

11. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 7:

wherein said operation means determines the type of output signal, based on the Mahalanobis distances and/or neural network processing of intensity of said transmitted light, and a pre-stored reference data and for outputting the signal indicative thereof.

12. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 7:

wherein said light incident means includes a plurality of light sources for outputting lights to said plurality of incident positions, and said light modulation means intensity-modulates the lights outputted from said plurality of light sources with modulation frequencies different from each other to thereby intensity-modulate the lights incident onto said plurality of incident positions with modulation frequencies different from each other.

13. An optical measurement instrument for a living body, comprising:

light incident means for simultaneously applying lights of a plurality of wavelengths in a visible infrared region to a plurality of incident positions on the surface of a subject as the living body, which comprises light modulation means for intensity-modulating the lights applied to said plurality of incident positions with modulation frequencies which are different for each of said incident positions and for each of said wavelengths;

light detection means for simultaneously detecting lights obtained by transmitting said applied lights through the subject at a plurality of detection positions on the surface of the subject, which comprises selection and detection means for selecting and detecting transmitted light components corresponding to respective ones of said modulation frequencies at said respective detection positions from said applied lights relative to said plurality of detection position; and

operation means for determining a type of output signal, based on the intensity of said transmitted light and a pre-stored reference data, and for outputting a signal indicative thereof as the type of output signal;

memory means for storing the pre-stored reference data therein; and

an external equipment for executing a functional operation according to the type of output signal from said operation means.

14. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 13:

wherein said transmitted light components correspond to an oxy-hemoglobin concentration change value, a deoxy-hemoglobin concentration change value, or a total hemoglobin concentration change value in the living body.

15. A control device by a living body according to claim 14, wherein the oxy-hemoglobin concentration change value, the deoxy-hemoglobin concentration change value or the total hemoglobin concentration change value are changed to integrated values within an arbitrary measurement time, or changed to mean values thereof within an arbitrary measurement time, or changed to arbitrary frequency components thereof within an arbitrary measurement time, or changed to rates of change thereof within an arbitrary measurement time.

16. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 13:

wherein said light incident means applies light into a brain of a human being as the living body; and

said light detection means detects light passing through the brain.

17. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 13:

wherein said operation means determines the type of output signal, based on the Mahalanobis distances and/or neural network processing of intensity of said transmitted light, and a pre-stored reference data and for outputting the signal indicative thereof.

18. A control device for a living body, using an optical measurement system for the living body according to claim 13:

wherein said light incident means includes a single light source for outputting light to said plurality of incident positions and a plurality of light transmission paths for distributing and transmitting the light outputted from said single light source as distributed lights to said plurality of incident positions, and said light modulation means intensity-modulates the distributed lights to said plurality of light transmission paths with modulation frequencies different from each other to thereby intensity-modulate the light incident onto said plurality of incident positions with modulation frequencies different from each other.