Optical biological information measuring apparatus, optical biological information measuring method, biological information decision apparatus, program and recording medium

• US 20050075549A1
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Published: 04/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Uchida, Shinji, Kondoh, Kazuya
• Granted Patent: US 8,135,447 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/323
• 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

1. An optical biological information measuring apparatus comprising:

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

a mark display section which displays a mark in a region to be measured on the surface of the living body;

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

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

2. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mark display section comprises a visible light source which irradiates visible light for illuminating said region to be measured.

3. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said visible light source is placed at an end of said measuring surface.

4. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a contact detection section which detects that said measuring surface has contacted the surface of said living body, wherein after said contact detection section detects that said measuring surface has contacted the surface of said living body, irradiation of visible light from said visible light source is stopped.

5. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said contact detection section decides that said measuring surface has contacted the surface of said living body based on a variation in an amount of light received by said light-receiving section and/or by detecting attachment between said measuring surface and said living body.

6. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the color of said visible light irradiated by said visible light source is red.

7. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein part of the surface of said measuring surface reflects part or the whole of the visible light.

8. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said measuring surface provides a mirrored surface.

9. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a calculation section which calculates the thickness of local fat based on an amount of said light which has propagated through said living body received by said light-receiving section.

10. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said light-receiving section comprises two light-receiving elements arranged at different distances from said light-emitting section for receiving said light, and

said calculation section calculates said thickness of local fat from the ratio of two amounts of light received by said two light-receiving elements based on the following expression:

T=A·

X1/X2+B

(A, B denote coefficients, X1, X2 denote amounts of light received by first and second light-receiving elements)

11. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light-emitting section can emit light of two types of wavelength,

said light-receiving section can receive said light of two types of wavelength, and

said optical biological information measuring apparatus further comprises a calculation section which calculates local tissue oxygen concentration from the ratio of the respective amounts of light having said two types of wavelengths received by said light-receiving section.

12. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said light of two types of wavelength is light having a wavelength including substantially 650 nm and light having a wavelength including substantially 850 nm.

13. The biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said light-receiving section can receive visible light output from said visible light source and light having said predetermined wavelength, and

said biological information measuring apparatus further comprises a calculation section which calculates local tissue oxygen concentration from the ratio of amounts of said visible light received by said light-receiving section and light having said predetermined wavelength.

14. A program for causing a computer to function as a calculation section which calculates said thickness of local fat based on an amount of light received by said light-receiving section of the optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 10.

15. A computer-processable recording medium which stores the program according to claim 14.

16. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mark display section is a mark creation section which forms a mark at a predetermined position on said surface of the living body, and

said mark creation section comprises one or more through holes formed on said measuring surface.

17. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said through hole is placed at a position at which said light-receiving section receives no influence from outside light through said through hole.

18. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said mark display section is a mark creation section which forms a mark at the position to be measured on said surface of the living body,

an alignment section which aligns said measuring surface with the position to be measured of said surface of the living body is formed on said measuring surface,

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

the absorption factor or reflection factor of the light of said mark is different from the absorption factor or reflection factor of the light in the area of said surface of the living body in which said mark is not formed, and

the state of alignment of said measuring surface with said mark is decided based on light-receiving intensity at said alignment light-receiving section.

19. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 18, 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.

20. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 18, wherein at least two of said alignment sections and said mark creation sections are formed on said measuring surface, respectively.

21. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 18, 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 the 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.

22. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 21, 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 said alignment status should be set when said calculation section decides said non-alignment status.

24. 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 21 based on light-receiving intensity at said alignment light-receiving section.

25. A computer-processable recording medium which stores the program according to claim 24.

26. A biological information decision apparatus comprising:

the optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 1;

an input section which inputs information on said 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.

27. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light irradiated from said light-emitting section is near-infrared light.

28. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 27, wherein at least part of said measuring surface absorbs near-infrared light irradiated from said light-emitting section.

29. The optical biological information measuring apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said measuring surface is convex-shaped.

23. An optical biological information measuring method of measuring information on a living body based on received light, comprising:

a step of displaying a mark at a predetermined position on a surface of the living body;

a step of aligning a measuring surface with the mark displayed on said surface of the living body;

a step of irradiating said surface of the living body with light having a predetermined wavelength; and

a step of receiving light irradiated onto said surface of the living body and returned from the living body.

30. The optical biological information measuring method according to claim 23, wherein the step of aligning the measuring surface with the mark displayed on said surface of the living body comprises a step of aligning the measuring surface which reflects part or the whole of visible light while watching said surface of the living body reflected on said measuring surface.