Living body inspection system, living body inspection apparatus, and living body inspection method

• US 8,246,554 B2
• Filed: 11/14/2008
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Consumer Electronics Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kandori, Akihiko, Miyashita, Tsuyoshi, Sano, Yuko
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoekstra, Jeffrey G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Henson, Devin
• Application Number:
  US12/271,016
• Publication Number:
  US 20090118648A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,376 Days
• Field of Search: 600/587, 600/595, 738/653, 738/654, 702/94, 702/104, 702/141, 702/142, 702/150, 702/152, 702/153
• US Class Current: 600/595
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/02 Details of sensors specially adapted for in-vivo measurements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0261 Strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1107 Measuring contraction of parts of the body, e.g. organ, muscle apparatus for measuring work or force in general G01L
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/225 of the fingers, e.g. by monitoring hand-grip force
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4082 Diagnosing or monitoring movement diseases, e.g. Parkinson, Huntington or Tourette
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4519 Muscles A61B5/389, A61B5/224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4523 Tendons
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6826 Finger
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6838 Clamps or clips

Abstract

Motion of fingers of a subject is dynamically analyzed to provide an estimation index in a hardness of a muscle used in the motion of the fingers. A processing part calculates a speed and acceleration of two fingers on the basis of the motion data of the fingers obtained by a tapping detecting unit, calculates a ratio between the speed and the acceleration, and calculates as an estimation index a mechanical impedance regarding extending force of the fingers and a mechanical impedance regarding opening and closing force of the fingers by applying the calculated ratio to a predetermined equation based on a muscle dynamic model.

Claims

1. A living body inspection system comprising:

a tapping detecting unit that detects motion data regarding at least one of a distance, a speed, and an acceleration, of two fingers of a hand of a subject, in tapping operation including open and closing motions of the fingers; and

a living body inspection apparatus that calculates an estimation index regarding finger motion of the subject on the basis of the motion data, including;

a storage; and

a processing part programmed to;

obtain a speed and an acceleration on the basis of the motion data from the tapping detecting unit,

calculate the estimation index by calculating at least one of

(a) a mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers, and

(b) a mechanical impedance regarding an opening and closing force of the fingers, by using the speed and acceleration in a predetermined equation based on a muscle dynamic model, that uses a ratio between the speed and the acceleration, and

convert into normalized values the at least one of (a) the mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers, and (b) the mechanical impedance regarding the opening and closing force of the fingers, by dividing the at least one of the mechanical impedances by a mass of the fingers, and

store the normalized values in the storage.

2. The living body inspection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing part converts the mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers, and the mechanical impedance regarding the opening and closing force of the fingers, into values normalized with average values and standard deviations as the calculated estimation index.

3. The living body inspection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing part calculates the mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers as a mechanical resistance, and calculates the opening and closing force of the fingers as a compliance or a spring constant.

4. The living body inspection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined equation comprises:

an equation that calculates a value obtained by adding a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding an opening motion of the fingers to a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding an closing motion of the fingers; and

an equation that calculates a value obtained by subtracting a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding a closing motion of the fingers from a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding an opening motion of the fingers.

5. The living body inspection system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing part is programmed by, and configured by, instructions stored in the storage.

6. A living body inspection apparatus that calculates an estimation index regarding finger motion of the subject on the basis of motion data obtained from a tapping detecting unit that detects the motion data regarding at least one of a distance, a speed, and an acceleration, of two fingers of a hand of a subject, in open and closing motion of the fingers, comprising:

a storage; and

a processing part programmed to;

obtain a speed and an acceleration on the basis of the motion data from the tapping detecting unit,

calculate the estimation index by calculating at least one of

(a) a mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers, and

(b) a mechanical impedance regarding an opening and closing force of the fingers, by using the speed and acceleration in a predetermined equation based on a muscle dynamic model, that uses a ratio between the speed and the acceleration, and

convert into normalized values the at least one of (a) the mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers, and (b) the mechanical impedance regarding the opening and closing force of the fingers, by dividing the at least one of the mechanical impedances by a mass of the fingers, and

store the normalized values in the storage.

7. The living body inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the processing part converts the mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers, and the mechanical impedance regarding the opening and closing force of the fingers, into values normalized with average values and standard deviations as the calculated estimation index.

8. The living body inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the processing part calculates the mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers as a mechanical resistance, and calculates the opening and closing force of the fingers as a compliance or a spring constant.

9. The living body inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the predetermined equation comprises:

an equation that calculates a value obtained by adding a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding an opening motion of the fingers to a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding an closing motion of the fingers; and

an equation that calculates a value obtained by subtracting a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding a closing motion of the fingers from a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding an opening motion of the fingers.

10. The living body inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the processing part is programmed by, and configured by, instructions stored in the storage.

11. A living body inspection method of calculating an estimation index regarding finger motion of the subject on the basis of motion data obtained from a tapping detecting unit that detects the motion data regarding at least one of a distance, a speed, and an acceleration, of two fingers of a hand of a subject, in open and closing motion of the fingers, by using a living body inspection apparatus comprising a storage and a processing part, wherein the processing part is configured by instructions stored in the storage, comprising the steps of:

obtaining the speed and the acceleration on the basis of the motion data from the tapping detecting unit; and

calculating the estimation index by calculating at least one of (a) a mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers, and (b) a mechanical impedance regarding an opening and closing force of the fingers, by using the speed and acceleration in a predetermined equation based on a muscle dynamic model, that uses a ratio between the speed and the acceleration, and

converting into normalized values the at least one of (a) the mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers, and (b) the mechanical impedance regarding the opening and closing force of the fingers, by dividing the at least one of the mechanical impedances by a mass of the fingers, and

storing the normalized values in the storage.

12. The living body inspection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processing part converts the mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers, and the mechanical impedance regarding the opening and closing force of the fingers, into values normalized with average values and standard deviations as the calculated estimation index.

13. The living body inspection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processing part calculates the mechanical impedance regarding the extending force of the fingers as a mechanical resistance, and calculates the opening and closing force of the fingers as a compliance or a spring constant.

14. The living body inspection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined equation comprises:

an equation that calculates a value obtained by adding a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding an opening motion of the fingers to a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding an closing motion of the fingers; and

an equation that calculates a value obtained by subtracting a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding a closing motion of the fingers from a value of the speed divided by the acceleration regarding an opening motion of the fingers.