Arteriosclerosis-degree evaluating apparatus

• US 6,726,632 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2002
• Issued: 04/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Omron Healthcare Company Limited (Omron Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Colin Corporation (Fukuda Denshi Company Limited)
• Inventors: Ogura, Toshihiko, Narimatsu, Kiyoyuki, Tampo, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Nasser, Robert L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MALLARI, PATRICIA C
• Application Number:
  US10/155,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20030083580A1
• Time in Patent Office: 699 Days
• Field of Search: 600/300, 600/481, 600/485, 600/490, 600/500, 600/504, 600/508, 600/520
• US Class Current: 600/481
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02125 of pulse wave propagation time
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0285 Measuring or recording phase velocity of blood waves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7445 Display arrangements, e.g. multiple display units

Abstract

An apparatus for evaluating a degree of arteriosclerosis of a living subject, the apparatus including a blood-pressure measuring device which measures a systolic and a diastolic blood pressure of the subject, a pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device which obtains pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information that is related to a velocity at which a pulse wave propagates through an artery of the subject, a display device, and a control device which controls the display device to display, in a two-dimensional graph defined by a first axis indicative of blood pressure and a second axis indicative of pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, at least one symbol indicating two positions one of which corresponds to the systolic blood pressure measured by the blood-pressure measuring device and the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information obtained by the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device, and the other of which corresponds to the diastolic blood pressure measured by the blood-pressure measuring device and the obtained pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information.

Claims

1. An apparatus for evaluating a degree of arteriosclerosis of a living subject, the apparatus comprising:

a blood-pressure measuring device which measures a systolic and a diastolic blood pressure of the subject;

a pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device which obtains pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information that is related to a velocity at which a pulse wave propagates through an artery of the subject;

a display device; and

a control device which controls the display device to display, in a first two-dimensional graph defined by a first axis indicative of blood pressure and a second axis indicative of pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, at least one symbol indicating two positions, one of which corresponds to the systolic blood pressure measured by the blood-pressure measuring device and the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information obtained by the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device, and the other of which corresponds to the diastolic blood pressure measured by the blood-pressure measuring device and said obtained pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information;

wherein the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device obtains a piece of pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information from the subject, at a substantially same time as a time when the blood-pressure measuring device measures systolic and diastolic blood pressure values of the subject in each of a plurality of measuring operations, wherein the apparatus further comprises a memory device which accumulatively stores a set of subject information including the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values measured, and the piece of pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information obtained, in said each of the measuring operations, and wherein the control device comprises a time-wise-change displaying device for controlling the display device to display, in a second two-dimensional graph defined by a third axis indicative of blood pressure and a fourth axis indicative of pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, respective symbols at respective positions which respectively correspond to the sets of subject information accumulatively stored by the memory device.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the blood-pressure measuring device comprises:

an inflatable cuff which is adapted to be worn on a portion of the subject;

a pressure changing device that changes a pressure in the cuff; and

a blood-pressure determining device that determines the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values of the subject based on change of respective amplitudes of a plurality of heartbeat-synchronous pulses obtained from the cuff when the pressure of the cuff is changed by the pressure changing device.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device comprises:

a first heartbeat-synchronous-signal detecting device which detects a first heartbeat-synchronous-signal from a first portion of the subject;

a second heartbeat-synchronous-signal detecting device which detects a second heartbeat-synchronous-signal from a second portion of the subject; and

a propagation-time determining device that determines, as a pulse-wave-propagation time as a sort of the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, a time difference between a time of detection of a prescribed point of the first heartbeat-synchronous-signal detected by the first heartbeat-synchronous-signal detecting device and a time of detection of a prescribed point of the second heartbeat-synchronous-signal detected by the second heartbeat-synchronous-signal detecting device.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device further comprises a velocity determining device that determines, as the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, the pulse-wave propagation velocity based on the pulse-wave propagation time determined by the propagation-time determining device.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device further comprises:

an input device which is operable for inputting a height of the subject;

a memory which stores a predetermined relationship between subject'"'"'s height and a propagation distance, the propagation distance being equal to a difference between a first distance between the heart and the first portion of the subject and a second distance between the heart and the second portion of the subject; and

a propagation-distance determining device that determines a propagation distance based on the height of the subject input through the input device, according to the predetermined relationship between the subject'"'"'s height and propagation distance, stored in the memory,

wherein the velocity determining device determines the pulse-wave propagation velocity based on the propagation time determined by the propagation-time determining device and the propagation distance determined by the propagation-distance determining device.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control device controls the display device to display, in the first two-dimensional graph, a straight segment whose opposite ends provide two of said at least one symbol.

7. An apparatus for evaluating a degree of arteriosclerosis of a living subject, the apparatus comprising:

a blood-pressure measuring device which measures a systolic and a diastolic blood pressure of the subject;

a pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device which obtains pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information that is related to a velocity at which a pulse wave propagates through an artery of the subject;

a display device; and

a control device which controls the display device to display, in a first two-dimensional graph defined by a first axis indicative of blood pressure and a second axis indicative of pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, at least one symbol indicating two positions, one of which corresponds to the systolic blood pressure measured by the blood-pressure measuring device and the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information obtained by the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device, and the other of which corresponds to the diastolic blood pressure measured by the blood-pressure measuring device and said obtained pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information;

wherein the control device controls the display device to display, in the first two-dimensional graph, a pre-set normal area corresponding to a normal blood-pressure range and a normal pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information range, a pre-set alert area corresponding to at least one of an alert blood-pressure range and an alert pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information range, and a pre-set danger area corresponding to at least one of a danger blood-pressure range and a danger pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information range.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the control device controls the display device to display, in the first two-dimensional graph, a straight segment whose opposite ends provide two of said at least one symbol.

9. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the blood-pressure measuring device comprises:

an inflatable cuff which is adapted to be worn on a portion of the subject;

a pressure changing device that changes a pressure in the cuff; and

a blood-pressure determining device that determines the systolic and diastolic blood pressure values of the subject based on change of respective amplitudes of a plurality of heartbeat-synchronous pulses obtained from the cuff when the pressure of the cuff is changed by the pressure changing device.

10. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device comprises:

a first heartbeat-synchronous-signal detecting device which detects a first heartbeat-synchronous-signal from a first portion of the subject;

a second heartbeat-synchronous-signal detecting device which detects a second heartbeat-synchronous-signal from a second portion of the subject; and

a propagation-time determining device that determines, as a pulse-wave propagation time as a sort of the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, a time difference between a time of detection of a prescribed point of the first heartbeat-synchronous-signal detected by the first heartbeat-synchronous-signal detecting device and a time of detection of a prescribed point of the second heartbeat-synchronous-signal detected by the second heartbeat-synchronous-signal detecting device.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device further comprises a velocity determining device that determines, as the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, the pulse-wave propagation velocity based on the pulse-wave propagation time determined by the propagation-time determining device.

12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device further comprises:

an input device which is operable for inputting a height of the subject;

a memory which stores a predetermined relationship between the subject'"'"'s height and a propagation distance, the propagation distance being equal to a difference between a first distance between the heart and the first portion of the subject and a second distance between the heart and the second portion of the subject; and

a propagation-distance determining device that determines a propagation distance based on the height of the subject input through the input device, according to the predetermined relationship between the subject'"'"'s height and propagation distance, stored in the memory,

wherein the velocity determining device determines the pulse-wave propagation velocity based on the propagation time determined by the propagation-time determining device and the propagation distance determined by the propagation-distance determining device.