JP6088761B2 - Organ measurement device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic sensor that oscillates and receives ultrasonic waves from an organ, and an organ measuring apparatus that measures the size of an organ using the ultrasonic sensor.

  At present, there are some known products that are commercialized using a technique for measuring the amount of urine in the bladder using a sensor element or the like. However, these products are not widely used because they have the following problems. (1) The contact angle of the sensor changes due to changes in body movement, etc., resulting in unstable measurement values. (2) In a case other than a specific body posture, the bladder shape changes and the measurement value fluctuates, and due to this, the daily life during measurement is limited. (3) Although it is possible for a person with specialized knowledge to attach a sensor at a position where it can be measured with high accuracy, the attachment of the sensor is difficult for a person who does not.

  Based on these problems, several techniques for measuring urinary accumulation information in the bladder have been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). The technique shown in Patent Document 1 includes a transducer assembly that transmits a plurality of thin ultrasonic beams in different directions toward the bladder and receives the returned ultrasonic signal, a reception detector that processes the returned signal, and An apparatus and method comprising an AD converter and a memory for storing digitized data and a volume representation that allows determination of the optimal position of the transducer assembly, the apparatus comprising a bladder depth D and a height H Is automatically determined, and the volume of urine is calculated using an empirical formula corrected by a specific empirically evaluated correction factor depending on the degree of fullness.

  The technique shown in Patent Document 2 is detected by an ultrasonic acoustic transceiver unit capable of transmitting and receiving an acoustic signal into a patient's body, a frequency modulation circuit that drives the transceiver unit with a signal whose frequency changes with time, and a transceiver unit. And a processing circuit for extracting an indication of distance from the at least one signal, wherein the signal is a reflection of the transmission of the transceiver unit driven by the time-varying frequency signal, optionally The display is the distance between the bladder walls.

  The technique shown in Patent Document 3 includes an ultrasonic transmission / reception unit that is attached to the body surface of a patient and transmits / receives ultrasonic waves toward the patient's bladder, a pulser that outputs ultrasonic pulses to the ultrasonic transmission / reception unit, and ultrasonic transmission / reception A signal processing unit for extracting signals from the front wall portion and the rear wall portion of the bladder from the echo signal received at the portion and obtaining a difference between the reception times, and a patient when the difference between the reception times exceeds a predetermined set value. And an alarm means for outputting an alarm signal.

  Moreover, the technique shown to patent document 4 and 5 is disclosed as a technique in which inventors are deeply involved. The technique shown in Patent Document 4 uses an ultrasonic probe in which a plurality of sensors using ultrasonic transducers are arranged, and ultrasonic waves from each sensor are converted into a gap in the body, for example, in the case of bladder shape measurement, the peritoneum and the pubic bone. A system that measures the three-dimensional shape of the organ by transmitting through the gap between them, spreading in three-dimensional crossing, and receiving the ultrasonic waves reflected by the front and rear walls of the measured organ, and measuring the three-dimensional shape of the organ. Then, the amount of accumulated urine is measured from the three-dimensional shape of the bladder measured in this way to notify the necessity of urination.

  The technique shown in Patent Document 5 is a sensor group in which a non-invasive urine accumulation amount estimation sensor unit is composed of a plurality of sensors using ultrasonic transducers, and each sensor is set to an array and an ultrasonic emission angle so that a bladder shape can be detected. The non-invasive urine storage amount estimation device comprises a non-invasive urine storage amount estimation sensor unit and a reflected ultrasonic wave from the bladder wall of the ultrasonic wave oscillated from the sensor unit to detect the three-dimensional shape of the bladder. And a processing unit for measuring and estimating the amount of urine.

JP 2009-279435 A Special table 2007-508857 gazette JP-A-8-52133 International Publication No. 2006/115278 JP 2011-183142 A

  Patent Document 1 proposes mainly two types of bladder measurement methods. The first method uses a plurality of ultrasonic sensors to oscillate a thin ultrasonic beam toward the bladder of a patient in a supine position, and determines which beam has penetrated the bladder from ultrasonic echoes received by the sensor. The height and depth are measured, the width is estimated by the correction factor K introduced according to the physique, and the bladder volume is estimated. In the case of this method, there is a problem that the body position is limited and disadvantages such as unstable measurement occur.

  In the second method, the voltage of the fundamental ultrasonic frequency is continuously applied to a single ultrasonic transducer that generates an ultrasonic beam that covers the entire bladder, or that is equipped with an acoustic lens. The frequency spectrum of the received echo signal obtained in the vicinity region (region of interest) of the depth W or more (about 12 cm) expected for the maximum bladder is analyzed by the transducer, and the bladder urine volume is estimated by analyzing the harmonic component. ing. In the case of this method, since the same ultrasonic sensor is used for transmission and reception and ultrasonic waves are continuously generated, the measurement is not stable, and the amount of livestock urine is estimated based on the database based on the frequency spectrum. There is a problem that measurement cannot be performed with sufficient accuracy.

  Patent Document 2 is a system in which an ultrasonic acoustic transceiver unit that can transmit and receive is driven by a frequency signal that changes with time, and the shape of the bladder is measured by measuring the frequency difference. As the transceiver unit, a concave single ultrasonic element that generates a focused beam focused at a specific distance, or an ultrasonic transducer having a Fresnel structure that focuses between 20 mm and 200 mm is used. That is, since transmission and reception are performed by the same ultrasonic acoustic transceiver unit, the measurement is not stable, and the ultrasonic wave is not diffused and a wide ultrasonic beam is not used, so that the measurement accuracy may be insufficient. is there.

  Patent Document 3 is a pulse echo method, which obtains the bladder shape by obtaining the interval between the front and rear walls of the bladder from the time difference between the oscillation pulse of the ultrasonic transducer and the reception pulse of the same transducer, and is generally used. Is the method. The acoustic lens attached to the ultrasonic transducer has a concave shape, and the gap is filled with an echo gel in advance and covered with aluminum foil. Yes. In addition, it has been proposed to stimulate the bladder and promote urination by generating powerful ultrasonic waves in the oscillator. However, since a single ultrasonic transmitter / receiver is used and the bladder shape is not measured, there is a problem that accuracy is poor, body posture is limited, and measurement is unstable.

  In both Patent Documents 4 and 5, although the measurement accuracy and stability are improved to some extent, the apparatus itself is large and not convenient for implementation. Moreover, it is necessary to improve the measurement accuracy and stability.

  The present invention oscillates an ultrasonic wave with respect to a measurement target organ at a wide angle and receives the reflected wave in a wide region, so that an ultrasonic sensor having high accuracy and high stability and an organ using the ultrasonic sensor are provided. Provide a measuring device.

  An ultrasonic sensor according to the present invention oscillates an ultrasonic wave with respect to a measurement target organ in a body at a wide angle and receives an reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave from the measurement target organ; A plurality of receiving elements that are disposed around the acoustic probe and receive the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves to the peripheral region of the ultrasonic probe.

  As described above, in the ultrasonic sensor according to the present invention, the ultrasonic probe oscillates an ultrasonic wave with respect to the measurement target organ in the body at a wide angle and receives the reflected wave to the peripheral region of the ultrasonic probe. By arranging a plurality of receiving elements around the ultrasonic probe, the ultrasonic wave oscillated from the ultrasonic probe can be widely and reliably received not only by the ultrasonic probe but also by the receiving element. Since the size and shape of the measurement object can be specified in accordance with the received region, there is an effect that ultrasonic measurement can be performed stably with high accuracy regardless of the body position of the measurement object.

  The ultrasonic sensor according to the present invention is a sheet-like PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) in which the tip of the ultrasonic probe has a convex lens shape, and the receiving element is partitioned so as to be able to receive the reflected wave for each of a plurality of regions. ).

  Thus, in the ultrasonic sensor according to the present invention, the tip of the ultrasonic probe has a convex lens shape, so that the ultrasonic wave can be oscillated at a wide angle and the receiving element is partitioned into a plurality of regions. By forming the sheet-like PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride), it is possible to reduce the thickness of the sensor and increase the size while increasing the measurement accuracy.

  The organ measurement device according to the present invention is an organ measurement device capable of exchanging information with the ultrasonic sensor, and based on the measurement result of the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave received by the receiving element, the measurement target organ Is provided with size calculating means for calculating the size.

  As described above, in the organ measuring apparatus according to the present invention, the size of the measurement target organ is calculated based on the measurement result of the ultrasonic sensor, so that the size of the measurement target organ can be grasped. .

  In the organ measurement apparatus according to the present invention, the measurement target organ is a bladder, and the size calculating means reflects the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the front wall of the bladder and the supersonic wave reflected by the rear wall of the bladder. Based on the time difference from the reflected wave of the sound wave, the position of the front wall and the rear wall of the bladder is specified, and the size is calculated.

  As described above, in the organ measuring apparatus according to the present invention, based on the time difference between the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the front wall of the bladder and the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the rear wall of the bladder, Since the position of the wall and the rear wall is specified and the size is calculated, there is an effect that the size and shape of the bladder can be grasped more accurately.

  The organ measurement device according to the present invention requires urine accumulation calculating means for obtaining a urine accumulation amount based on the size of the bladder, urination determining means for determining the necessity of urination based on the urine accumulation amount, and urination. Output control means for outputting a message to that effect.

  As described above, in the organ measuring apparatus according to the present invention, the amount of accumulated urine is obtained based on the size of the bladder, the necessity of urination is determined, and when urination is necessary, the fact is output, thereby urinating. There is an effect that it is possible to support urination of the measurement subject having an abnormality.

  The organ measurement apparatus according to the present invention includes a urine storage unit that stores the urine storage amount calculated by the urine storage amount calculation unit over time in association with time, and urine storage information that outputs a relationship between the stored urine storage amount and time. Output control means.

  As described above, in the organ measurement device according to the present invention, the calculated urine accumulation amount is stored over time in association with time, and the relationship between the stored urine accumulation amount and time is output, so that a urination diary can be easily obtained. The effect is that it can be created and used for treatment.

  The organ measurement apparatus according to the present invention includes information input means for inputting event information indicating that the measurement subject has performed those operations at least immediately before and / or immediately after urination, and the input event information includes: It is associated with the information stored in the urination storage means and stored in the urination storage means.

  As described above, the organ measurement device according to the present invention has an effect that the measurement subject's urination timing is stored, and the measurement subject's urination can be managed and used for daily life and treatment.

  The organ measurement device according to the present invention comprises information input means for inputting the complaint information when the measurement subject has at least a sense of urgency and / or residual urine, and the inputted complaint information is: It is associated with the information stored in the urination storage means and stored in the urination storage means.

  As described above, in the organ measuring apparatus according to the present invention, by storing the timing when the measurement subject feels urgency or residual urine, the urination of the measurement subject can be managed for daily life and treatment. There is an effect that it can be useful.

It is a section image figure showing the composition of the ultrasonic sensor concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the computer of the organ measuring apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the ultrasonic sensor and organ measuring device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the ultrasonic sensor which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the result of the measurement information which the receiving element of the ultrasonic sensor which concerns on 1st Embodiment received. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the ultrasonic sensor and organ measurement apparatus which concern on 1st Embodiment. It is an image figure in the case of inputting event information and complaint information in the ultrasonic sensor and organ measurement device concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the measurement information when the event information and complaint information in the ultrasonic sensor and organ measurement apparatus which concern on 2nd Embodiment are input. It is a figure which shows the structure of a part of ultrasonic sensor which concerns on other embodiment.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Also, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements throughout the present embodiment.

(First embodiment of the present invention)
An ultrasonic sensor according to this embodiment and an organ measurement apparatus using the ultrasonic sensor will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. In the present embodiment, the measurement target organ to be measured is the bladder, and urination information and the treatment of the measurement subject are supported daily by acquiring and managing urination information by the organ measurement device. In addition to the bladder, for example, a gallbladder, heart, blood vessel, or the like that can be sensed by ultrasonic waves can be used as a measurement target organ.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional image diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic sensor according to the present embodiment. The ultrasonic sensor 1 is configured to include at least an ultrasonic probe 2 that oscillates and receives ultrasonic waves, and a receiving element 3 that receives a reflected wave reflected by the bladder. The ultrasonic probe 2 is formed of a ceramic vibrator and has a convex lens-like acoustic lens 2a at the tip. By the action of the acoustic lens 2a, the bladder 4 is irradiated with a wide angle (radially) to the bladder 4. By attaching the tip of the ultrasonic probe 2 to the skin of the measurement subject, ultrasonic energy can be reliably applied to the bladder 4 without being affected by changes in body movement such as breathing. . The ultrasonic probe 2 has a piezoelectric element inside and functions as a receiving element simultaneously with the ultrasonic oscillation element.

  The receiving element 3 is a sheet-like PVDF film sensor, and is attached to the skin surface in the peripheral region of the ultrasonic probe 2 with a thin film (1 mm or less). The receiving element 3 is divided into a plurality of areas, and is formed so that the divided areas for receiving the reflected waves differ according to the size and shape of the bladder 4. That is, the size and shape of the bladder 4 can be specified according to the region where the reflected wave is received. Since the receiving element 3 receives a wide range of reflected waves in the peripheral region of the ultrasonic probe 2, the measurement accuracy is extremely high and stable measurement can be performed.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a computer of the organ measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the organ measurement apparatus 10 includes a CPU 11, a RAM 12, a ROM 13, a hard disk (HD) 14, a communication I / F 15, and an input / output I / F 16. The ROM 13 and the HD 14 store an operating system and various programs, which are read into the RAM 12 as necessary, and each program is executed by the CPU 11.

  The communication I / F 15 is an interface for performing communication between other devices (for example, an ultrasonic sensor or the like). The input / output I / F 16 is an interface for receiving input from an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and outputting data to a printer, a monitor, and the like. The input / output I / F 16 can be connected to a drive corresponding to a magneto-optical disk, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a removable disk such as a CD-R, a DVD-R, or the like as necessary. Each processing unit is connected via a bus and exchanges information.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the ultrasonic sensor and the organ measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment. The ultrasonic sensor 1 includes an oscillating unit 21 that oscillates ultrasonic waves radially with respect to the bladder 4, a receiving unit 22 that receives ultrasonic waves reflected by the bladder 4, and the received measurement information of the reflected waves as the organ measuring device 10. And an information transmission unit 24 for transmitting to the network.

  The organ measurement apparatus 10 receives the measurement information transmitted from the information transmission unit 24 and stores it in the urine information storage unit 35 and the input measurement information and / or urine information storage unit 35. Based on the information, the size calculator 32 that calculates the size of the bladder 4, the urine storage amount calculator 33 that calculates the urine storage amount from the obtained size and stores it in the urine information storage unit 35, and the calculated urine storage amount And an output control unit 34 that outputs information indicating urination to an output medium 36 (for example, a display screen or a speaker) when the predetermined threshold is exceeded.

  Here, the function of the ultrasonic sensor 1 will be described in detail. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the ultrasonic sensor 1. 4A is a front view of the ultrasonic sensor 1, and FIG. 4B is a side view when the ultrasonic sensor 1 is attached to a measurement subject. In FIG. 4A, the ultrasonic probe 2 is fixedly disposed on the elastic portion 5. The elastic part 5 is made of a sheet-like elastic body, and when the ultrasonic probe 2 protruding toward the front side of the paper (the side on which the ultrasonic probe 2 is mounted) is in close contact with the skin of the measurement subject, The load on the human body is reduced by pressing the ultrasonic probe 2 to the rear side of the paper (the side where the ultrasonic probe 2 is not mounted) by elastic force.

  Around the elastic portion 5, a receiving element 3 is arranged in a concentric (elliptical) circular shape, and the receiving element 3 is sequentially expanded in the outward direction around the ultrasonic probe 2. It is divided like this. In each region, electrodes are disposed on the front and back sides of the dielectric, and the received reflected wave is detected for each region.

  In FIG. 4B, the ultrasonic sensor 1 is attached to the measurement subject's skin by pressing it. Since the ultrasonic probe 2 needs to oscillate ultrasonic waves radially from the space between the peritoneum 7 and the pubic bone 8 toward the bladder 4, the height of the ultrasonic probe 2 is the upper part of the pubic bone 8 and the horizontal direction is the center of the body. It is mounted at the position. By doing so, it is possible to reliably oscillate ultrasonic waves in the bladder 4.

  The ultrasonic probe 2 oscillates a half-wavelength ultrasonic wave at a frequency of 1 to 5 MHz, and the oscillated ultrasonic wave is diffused radially when passing through the acoustic lens 2a and passes through the skin and subcutaneous tissue to pass through the bladder. Reach the front wall. A part of the ultrasonic energy is reflected by the boundary surface between the inner surface of the front wall of the bladder 4 and urine and returns to the skin surface. The remaining ultrasound energy is similarly reflected at the posterior bladder wall back to the skin surface. The reflected wave returning to the skin surface is received by the receiving element 3 and transmitted to the organ measuring apparatus 10.

  An example of the result of the measurement information received by the receiving element 3 is shown in FIG. The reflected wave reflected by the anterior bladder wall and the reflected wave reflected by the posterior bladder wall are clearly distinguished and detected, and the position of the anterior bladder wall and the posterior bladder wall is identified by using this result. Is demonstrated to be possible.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, by adjusting the elastic force of the elastic part 5, the action of the cord 6 connecting the ultrasonic probe 2 and the organ measuring device 10 and the elastic action of the elastic part 5 Thus, the ultrasonic probe 2 can be appropriately tilted downward (opposite to the direction in which the cord 6 is wired) and can be properly oriented to the bladder 4 between the peritoneum 7 and the pubic bone 2. That is, on the side where the cord 6 is wired (the upper side of the ultrasonic probe 2), the elastic portion 5 is not extended by the cord 6, and the side where the cord 6 is not wired (the lower side of the ultrasonic probe 2). The inclination of the ultrasonic probe 2 is adjusted by adjusting the elastic force of the elastic part 5 by utilizing the fact that the elastic part 5 freely expands according to the degree of contact between the ultrasonic probe 2 and the measurement subject. It becomes possible to specify the corner.

  Next, functions of the organ measuring apparatus 10 in FIG. 3 will be described in detail. The organ measurement device 10 acquires measurement information measured by the ultrasonic sensor 1 and calculates a urine accumulation amount and functions as a urination support device. As shown in FIG. 5, the position coordinates of the front wall and the rear wall of the bladder 4 can be specified from the measurement information. The size calculator 32 estimates and calculates the volume of the bladder 4 from the position coordinates of the front wall and the rear wall of the bladder 4. The estimation calculation can be performed using, for example, the position coordinates of the front wall and the rear wall of the bladder 4 and coefficients in the height direction and the left-right direction that are determined in advance. In addition, a unique coefficient may be determined for each person to be measured.

  Based on the estimated volume of the bladder 4, the urine storage amount calculation unit 33 calculates the urine storage amount. The obtained urine accumulation amount is stored in association with the measurement information stored in the urine information storage unit 35 over time. That is, the urine information storage unit 35 stores the urine accumulation amount with respect to time for each measurement target person. This information can be output to the urination diary as it is, and the urination diary can be automatically generated.

  The output control unit 34 outputs information indicating that urination is promoted when the urine storage amount calculated by the urine storage amount calculation unit 33 exceeds a predetermined threshold for each measurement target person. That is, a measurement subject who has an abnormality in urination function (for example, insensitivity to urine etc.) can reliably prevent urinary incontinence if urinating according to the output information, and always wears a diaper or the like. There is no need.

  Information indicating the relationship between the amount of urine stored and time stored in the urine information storage unit 35 can be output as a urination diary by outputting it to a screen or a paper medium with a predetermined layout. At this time, the creation of the urination diary is performed by a management computer used by an administrator (for example, a doctor, a nurse, etc.) that manages the person to be measured. That is, the information stored in the urine information storage unit 35 is transmitted to the management computer, and based on the transmitted information in the urine information storage unit 35, the urine storage information output control means in the management computer follows a predetermined layout. Is output. The transmission of the information stored in the urine information storage unit 35 may be performed by wired or wireless communication, may be performed via an interface such as USB, or via a storage medium such as a memory stick. It may be done.

  Hereinafter, operations of the ultrasonic sensor and the organ measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing operations of the ultrasonic sensor 1 and the organ measuring apparatus 10. When the ultrasonic sensor 1 is attached to the measurement subject, the ultrasonic sensor 1 is driven to perform measurement (S61). As described above, in the measurement, the reception unit 22 receives the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves radiated from the oscillation unit 21, and the received information is transmitted to the organ measurement apparatus 10 by the information transmission unit 24 (S62). .

  The organ measurement apparatus 10 receives the measurement information transmitted from the ultrasonic sensor 1, and the received measurement information is stored in the urine information storage unit 35. Based on the stored measurement information, the size calculator 32 calculates the size of the bladder 4 (S63). The urine storage amount calculation unit 33 calculates the urine storage amount based on the size of the bladder 4 (S64), and stores it in the urine information storage unit 35 as urination information over time (S65). The output control unit 34 determines whether or not the urine accumulation amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value (S66). If not, the process returns to S61 and waits until the next measurement time comes. When the measurement time is reached, the processing so far is repeated. If it exceeds, an instruction to urinate the measurement subject is output (S67), and the process returns to S61 and waits until the next measurement time comes. When the measurement time is reached, the above processing is repeated.

  When instruction information is input from the administrator to the management computer, information indicating the relationship between the amount of urine stored and time stored in the urine information storage unit 35 is taken into the management computer, and the taken-in information Is output to a screen or a paper medium in a predetermined layout by the urine accumulation information output control means, and a urination diary is created. This urination diary may be created by taking in information at a predetermined time (for example, at 7 o'clock in the morning).

(Second embodiment of the present invention)
An ultrasonic sensor according to this embodiment and an organ measurement apparatus using the ultrasonic sensor will be described with reference to FIGS. The ultrasonic sensor and organ measurement device according to the present embodiment are obtained by extending the functions of the ultrasonic sensor and organ measurement device according to the first embodiment. In other words, event information indicating that the measurement subject has performed those operations immediately before and immediately after urination is input, and complaint information regarding urgency and residual urine feeling is input and stored in the urine storage means. The information is stored in association with the urination information.
In addition, in this embodiment, the description which overlaps with the said 1st Embodiment is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 7 is an image diagram when inputting event information and complaint information. FIG. 7A is an image diagram when event information and complaint information are connected to the organ measurement device 10 and input, and FIG. 7B is a case where event information and complaint information are directly transmitted to the management computer. It is an image figure. The event button 71 is pressed immediately before and after urination, and the information is stored in the urine information storage unit 35 and the management computer. The complaint button 72 is pressed when there is a sense of urgency or a feeling of residual urine, and the information is stored in the urine information storage unit 35 or the management computer.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of measurement information when event information and complaint information are input. 8A is a normal urination pattern, FIG. 8B is a urination pattern when urinary incontinence is present, and FIG. 8C is a urination pattern with a sense of urgency and residual urine.

  In FIG. 8A, the urine accumulation amount is measured at regular measurement time intervals as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, and the urine accumulation amount with respect to time is displayed in a graph. When the event button 71 is pressed, the amount of urine stored when the event button 71 is pressed is measured as a trigger and stored in the urine information storage unit 35 or the management computer together with the event information. In the case of FIG. 8A, since the urine accumulation amount is drastically reduced to the initial value level while the event button 71 is pressed, it is understood that the urination was normally performed by one's own intention.

  Similarly, in the case of FIG. 8B, when the event button 71 is pressed, the urine accumulation amount when the event button 71 is pressed is measured as a trigger, and the urine information storage unit 35 or the management computer is measured together with the event information. Remembered. In this case, when the event button 71 (immediately before urination) is pressed, it can be determined that urinary incontinence has occurred (corresponding to the graph a) if it is less than the urine accumulation amount immediately before that. In addition, it can be determined that urinary incontinence has occurred even when a decrease in the amount of urine stored is seen even though the event button 71 is not pressed (corresponding to graph b).

  In FIG. 8C, when the complaint button 72 is pressed, the complaint information is stored in the urine information storage unit 35 or the management computer. In this case, if the complaint button 72 is pressed before and after the event button 71 immediately before urination is pressed, it can be determined that there is a sense of urgency. Further, if the complaint button 72 is pressed after the event button 72 immediately after urination is pressed, it can be determined that there is a feeling of residual urine. The amount of accumulated urine when the event button 72 immediately after urination is pressed becomes the amount of residual urine.

  In this way, by recording complaints immediately before and after urination, the administrator can create a urination diary in more detail, accurately grasp the characteristics of the measurement subject's urination and take appropriate measures Is possible.

(Other embodiments)
The ultrasonic sensor according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, in this embodiment, the description which overlaps with each said embodiment is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a partial configuration of the ultrasonic sensor according to the present embodiment. FIG. 9A is an enlarged view of the elastic part 5 and the ultrasonic probe 2, and FIG. 9B is a front view of the ultrasonic sensor 1. 9A, similarly to the case of FIG. 4A, the ultrasonic probe 2 is fixedly disposed on the elastic portion 5, and the elastic portion 5 is made of a sheet-like elastic body. The difference from the case of FIG. 4 (A) is that the sheet-like elastic portion 5 is divided into two regions (upper elastic portion 5a and lower elastic portion 5b), and the respective elastic forces are different. is there. That is, in FIG. 4A, the inclination angle of the ultrasonic probe 2 is specified by utilizing the action of the cord 6, but here, the elastic force between the upper elastic portion 5a and the lower elastic portion 5b is determined. The inclination angle of the ultrasonic probe 2 is adjusted according to the difference. By doing so, the ultrasonic probe 2 can be arranged at an appropriate angle without being aware of the wiring position of the cord 6 and the like.

  In FIG. 9B, as compared with the case of FIG. 4A, a large number of receiving elements 3 are arranged around the ultrasonic probe 2. Since each receiving element 3 receives the reflected wave independently, the position of the reflected wave is specified more finely than in the case of FIG. That is, not only the size of the bladder 4 but also a three-dimensional shape can be specified.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic sensor 2 Ultrasonic probe 2a Acoustic lens 3 Receiving element 4 Bladder 5 Elastic part 6 Code 7 Peritoneum 8 Pubic bone 10 Organ measuring apparatus 11 CPU
12 RAM
13 ROM
14 HD
15 Communication I / F
16 Input / output I / F
21 Oscillator 22 Receiver 24 Information Transmitter 31 Input Unit 32 Size Calculator 33 Urine Accumulation Calculator 34 Output Control Unit 35 Urine Information Storage Unit 36 Output Medium 71 Event Button 72 Appeal Button

Claims (5)

A single ultrasonic probe that oscillates an ultrasonic wave at a wide angle with a tip as a convex lens shape with respect to the bladder , and receives a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave from the bladder ;
A sheet-like elastic body to which the ultrasonic probe is fixed to a substantially central portion;
A sheet that is disposed around the ultrasonic probe, receives a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave to a peripheral region of the ultrasonic probe, and is partitioned so that the reflected wave can be received for each of a plurality of regions and Jo of receiving elements,
Based on the time difference between the amplitude of the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the front wall of the bladder and the amplitude of the reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave reflected by the rear wall of the bladder, the front wall and the rear wall of the bladder An organ measuring apparatus comprising: a size calculating means for specifying a position and calculating the size . The organ measurement apparatus according to claim 1,
Urine accumulation amount calculating means for determining the urine accumulation amount based on the size of the bladder;
Urination determination means for determining the necessity of urination based on the urine storage amount;
An organ measurement apparatus comprising: output control means for outputting a message to the effect that urination is determined to be necessary . In organ measuring device according to claim 2,
Urine storage means for storing the urine storage amount calculated by the urine storage amount calculation means over time in association with time;
An organ measuring apparatus comprising: a stored urine information output control means for outputting a relationship between the stored urine storage amount and time . The organ measurement apparatus according to claim 3,
An information input means for inputting event information indicating that the measurement subject has performed those operations at least immediately before and / or immediately after urination,
The organ measurement apparatus , wherein the input event information is stored in the urination storage unit in association with information stored in the urination storage unit . In the organ measuring device according to claim 3 or 4,
When the subject to be measured has at least a sense of urgency and / or a feeling of residual urine, information input means for inputting the complaint information is provided,
The organ measurement apparatus characterized in that the input complaint information is stored in the urination storage means in association with the information stored in the urination storage means .