Device for measuring the phantom microvessels of nail folds of the elderly using photothermal effect
Patent Information
- Application Number
- TW114131866
- Authority / Receiving Office
- TW · TW
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-21
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-11
- Estimated Expiration
- 2045-08-20
Smart Images
Figure IMG-2_DRAW_114131866-A0305-14-0001-1 
Figure IMG-2_DRAW_114131866-A0305-14-0002-2 
Figure IMG-2_DRAW_114131866-A0305-14-0003-3
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to a device for measuring the phantom microvessels of the nail fold in the elderly using the photothermal effect. It targets the nail fold microcirculation of the fingers and palms of the elderly and patients near the nails, and measures the phantom microvessels of the nail fold by applying the photothermal effect to the palm, and observes various indicators of the nail fold microcirculation to obtain important physiological information from the human body.
[0002] Microcirculation comprises arterioles, capillary vessels, venules, and lymphatic capillaries. The fluid circulation system that passes through these vessels and their walls is called microcirculation.
[0003] Changes in human health also affect changes in microcirculation. Changes in the blood vessels and blood flow velocity in microcirculation correspond to the signs of certain diseases. By observing various indicators of microcirculation, we can learn about the physiological messages sent by the human body.
[0004] Except for hair, nails, and shed skin, every part of the human body is filled with blood circulation. Normal blood circulation can deliver nutrients to the parts of the body that need them and carry metabolic waste products to the excretory organs (pores, respiration, urine, feces, etc.) for excretion. Therefore, microcirculation is the site of exchange between nutrients and metabolic products. Whether microcirculation function is normal or not is an important standard for measuring human health.
[0005] Currently, in medicine, various physiological indicators of nailfold microcirculation are often observed to study the related effects on pathology and internal organs. Microcirculation in the human body can be observed in areas such as the nailfold, conjunctiva of the eye, and sublingual region. Among these, nailfold microcirculation is the easiest to observe. It is a skin fold located at the base of the nail, formerly known as the nail fold. The skin here is thin, and the observation method is relatively simple, making it a good area for direct observation of microcirculation. Domestic and international research on human microcirculation also tends to focus on observing nailfold microcirculation. In addition to diagnosing microvascular lesions, it is also helpful in the diagnosis and treatment observation of some other diseases.
[0006] The nail fold is a skin fold that covers the base of the nail. The surface of the nail fold is covered by squamous epithelium, which contains papillae formed by dermal protrusions. Each papilla area usually has a capillary loop, called a capillary loop. The capillary loop consists of a thinner afferent branch, a loop apex, and a thicker efferent branch, and normally it is mostly shaped like a "hairpin".
[0007] The general indicators for observing nailfold microcirculation are capillary morphology, capillary flow pattern, and pericapillary condition. Among these, capillary flow pattern often fluctuates due to differences in finger temperature between day and night and due to activity before the test, thus affecting the blood flow velocity of the capillary loop.
[0008] The observation method for nailfold microcirculation generally uses a semi-quantitative flow velocity assessment method, which divides the flow velocity into seven types: (1) linear flow: fast blood flow, smooth cord-like shape, no granular feeling; (2) linear-granular flow: fast blood flow, smooth cord-like shape, slightly granular feeling; (3) granular-linear flow: relatively fast blood flow, continuous in a line, with obvious granular feeling; (4) granular flow: relatively slow blood flow, axial flow, mixed peripheral flow, like mud and sand flow; (5) granular-slow flow: blood flow is mud and sand-like, continuously and slowly flowing; (6) granular-oscillating flow: blood flow is mud and sand-like, oscillating back and forth, but still able to flow forward; (7) stagnation: blood flow is stagnant.
[0009] When elderly people or patients have multiple diseases, changes can usually be seen in certain parameters of capillary microcirculation, and the degree of these changes is generally proportional to the severity of the disease. How to generate dynamic microcirculation in a non-invasive physical manner, and then compare its images with static microcirculation, to analyze the visible microcirculatory vascular flow status, will be of great value for understanding the microcirculation status and observing the therapeutic effect.
[0010] Studies have found that regularly measuring microcirculation for obstruction can prevent disease and enable effective treatment. Capillaries, with an inner diameter of only 5 micrometers, are responsible for delivering oxygen and nutrients to surrounding cells. As people age, their capillaries become thinner and sparser. Once they reach this state, capillaries become what are known as "ghost vessels," and the blood flow within them is significantly reduced compared to normal capillaries.
[0011] Reduced blood flow in capillaries prevents the delivery of oxygen and nutrients, resulting in gradual damage and functional decline of the cells and tissues surrounding these ghost vessels. Recent research has revealed a link between these ghost vessels and various diseases, including chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
[0012] Nailfold capillary microscopy is a non-invasive, low-cost, and well-established examination method that can be used to diagnose a variety of diseases and support necessary follow-up for the elderly and patients. Traditional nailfold capillary microscopy mainly involves two aspects of measurement and analysis: red blood cell flow velocity and capillary morphology. However, recent research has found that the number of nailfold capillaries in the elderly is an important quantitative parameter, which may be related to autoantibodies, physiological ulcers, hypertension, and heart disease. Therefore, research on ghost vessels resulting from the loss of nailfold capillaries may help prevent the onset of diseases at an early stage.
[0013] However, the identification of ghost capillaries using conventional optical nailfold capillary microscopy is challenging because both image acquisition and interpretation are difficult. This is because the blood flow in the capillaries is less than measurable, resulting in a barely perceptible image and making the measurement of ghost capillaries a persistent challenge.
[0014] Therefore, this invention proposes a device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of the elderly using the photothermal effect. It also proposes a measurement method based on accelerating capillary flow rate through the photothermal effect to facilitate the measurement of phantom microvessels in the nailfold of the elderly. Through this invention, the number of phantom microvessels in the body can be tracked and effective treatment can be implemented.
[0015] Studies have found that pulsed light with wavelengths between 630-960nm emitted by LEDs can produce a warming effect on human dermal tissue. Pulsed light has the characteristics of easily penetrating the skin without a medium and producing a thermal effect. This invention selects near-infrared pulsed light with a wavelength of 860nm to directly transmit energy to the skin surface of the hand and penetrate into the palm. After producing a photothermal effect, the dynamic microcirculation of the fingernail folds can be quickly observed.
[0016] By utilizing the photothermal effect of near-infrared pulsed light with a wavelength of 860nm on the human body, the microcirculation of the nailfold can be enhanced. Furthermore, by using a conjugate microscope to observe the static and dynamic (thermal effect) microcirculation of the nailfold, clear images can be acquired, allowing for the objective definition of dilated capillaries, ghost capillaries, and pericapillary bleeding. The images sensed by the conjugate microscope can even capture the skin's nutritional status, capillary density, and red blood cell flow rate.
[0017] The captured capillary and ghost vessel images were wirelessly transmitted to a mobile device, which was then used as the operating platform for analysis using Capillary.io. Capillary.io is a cloud-based collaborative project designed to provide medical professionals with tools for automatically analyzing capillary microscopic images. Its proposed method combines the speed of traditional computer vision algorithms with the accuracy of convolutional neural networks and can be used for clinical capillary analysis.
[0018] The results show that the Capillary.io system can fully automate capillary detection with accuracy exceeding that of trained analysts, and measures several new microvascular parameters that have been difficult to quantify until now, namely capillary hematocrit and capillary flow velocity heterogeneity, and can also analyze ghost microvessel parameters.
[0019] As shown in Figure 2, Figure 2(a) is a schematic diagram of the nail fold location, and Figure 2(b) is a diagram of the vascular distribution of the nail fold. The surface of the nail fold is covered by squamous epithelium, which contains papillae formed by dermal protrusions. Each papillary region generally has a capillary, which is loop-shaped, hence the name capillary loop. The blood vessels of the nail fold originate from the finger arteries. The finger arteries branch off into small arteries that enter the subcutaneous tissue of the nail fold. These arteries then branch into even smaller arteries, namely arterioles, which connect to form the subpapillary arterial plexus. These arterioles further branch into capillaries, which are the afferent branches of the capillaries. At the tip of the nipple, the capillaries abruptly reverse direction and run parallel to the afferent branches, forming the output branches of the capillaries. These output branches, either individually or in combination with two to three others, form fine veins that connect and drain into the subpapillary venous plexus. The subpapillary venous plexus intersects to form superficial and deep subpapillary venous plexuses, eventually forming small veins. The afferent and output branches of the nailfold capillaries are shaped like hairpins, which are the aforementioned capillary loops, or simply loops. The device of this invention, which uses photothermal effect to measure the ghost microvessels of the nailfold in the elderly, mainly observes the static and dynamic shape and number of these capillary loops. Prior Technology
[0020] Both wired and wireless imaging devices for nailfold microcirculation are very rare. This is because the electron microscopes currently in use are often limited by the difficulty of manufacturing miniaturized support structures. Secondly, it is difficult to increase the magnification of the image, and focusing at high magnification is also difficult, often requiring repeated adjustments due to small focal length errors. In addition, the traditional electron microscope's light projection device is difficult to set up, and the distance between the lens and the object being measured is often insufficient or uneven due to insufficient brightness or unevenness of the light on the object's surface, resulting in unclear images under high magnification electron microscopes.
[0021] Due to the above factors, most traditional microscopic imaging devices used for human microcirculation are expensive. Although high-magnification pen-type electron microscopes with clear images have been developed, they are expensive and generally not widely available. Furthermore, since traditional products are independent systems, they are inconvenient for image processing, analysis, and transmission. Only a few professionals use such products. Moreover, since traditional microscopic imaging devices for human microcirculation can only be observed and compared with the naked eye, it is both time-consuming and inefficient. Summary of the Invention
[0022] In view of this, the present invention utilizes the photothermal effect to measure the phantom microvessels of the nailfold in the elderly, and proposes a wireless nailfold microcirculation imaging observation device that is combined with a mobile device to improve the ease of use and effectiveness of observing and examining the microcirculation of the human nailfold.
[0023] This invention relates to a device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of elderly individuals using the photothermal effect. The device includes a nailfold microcirculation observation base, a fixed support, a microscopic imaging observer, a wireless transceiver module, and a mobile device APP computing software.
[0024] The nailfold microcirculation observation device base contains a finger fixator and a finger angle pad.
[0025] The finger fixation device is made of foam through stamping, with a hollowed-out middle section forming a finger fixation groove that allows the front half of the finger to be inserted into when lying flat. It can fix the position of the fingers for the elderly and patients, and can fix the X-axis and Y-axis directions of the fingers, as well as fix the finger angle pads.
[0026] The finger angle pad is an auxiliary pad, also made of foam in a triangular, sloping shape, which allows the user to adjust the angle of the nail fold detection. Since the angle of the nail fold surface is different for everyone, the finger angle pad is placed under the fingertip to slightly raise the angle of the fingertip, which can adjust an excessively large nail fold angle to a relatively flat one. Some patients may not be able to observe the microvascular image of the nail wall without using the finger angle pad.
[0027] The mounting bracket contains a vertical screw with gears, a handle with a knob that can be adjusted for height adjustment so that the user can adjust the microscope image observer up and down to fix the focal length of the microscope image observer in the Z-axis direction, and a mounting base containing a near-infrared LED. The mounting base is an auxiliary device for fixing the microscope image observer.
[0028] The grip arm of the fixed bracket is designed horizontally, with one end fitting around the vertical screw and the other end firmly gripping the microscopic imaging observer; manually rotating the knob on the grip arm can adjust the height of the grip arm and move the height of the microscopic imaging observer along the Z-axis.
[0029] The fixation bracket is a platform that allows the user to lie flat with their palms down. A certain number of near-infrared LEDs are installed at the user's palm. When the near-infrared LEDs are activated, near-infrared pulse light with a wavelength of 860nm can irradiate the palm, producing a photothermal effect on the palm, which then extends to the microcirculation of the nail folds. Subsequently, dynamic images of the nail fold microcirculation can be captured. Finally, the image data is transmitted wirelessly to a mobile device, and the Capillary.io computing software calculates the static and dynamic microcirculation images that produce the thermal effect. By comparing the two, the number of ghost capillaries can be determined.
[0030] The finger fixator of the nailfold microcirculation observation base is tightly attached to the fixing base of the fixing bracket. The lowest end of the vertical screw with gears inside the fixing bracket is firmly locked to the fixing base with screws. Before locking, the orientation of the finger fixing groove of the finger fixator is corrected to ensure that the orientation of the X-axis is correct when adjusting the position of the finger to be tested.
[0031] A microscopic imaging observer is a high-magnification pen-type electron microscope. It is a pen-type handheld housing with an upper and lower housing. The front end is covered with a silicone sleeve, which is the front objective lens cover. The upper and lower housings contain an electronic image acquisition device and an optomechanical structure.
[0032] The electronic image capturing device is a T-shaped circuit board assembly, which includes a vertical board and a horizontal board; the vertical board is the sensing board, which mainly contains a small-sized high-resolution image sensor that can capture the best high-magnification images; the horizontal board is the image processing board, which mainly contains an image processing IC.
[0033] The optomechanical structure is located at the very front of the microscopic imaging observer. To facilitate the observation of the object under test, namely the nailfold microcirculation, a front-mounted lens cover is placed at the very front of the microscopic imaging observer. The optomechanical structure contains optomechanical components such as a lens focal length adapter, a lens mount, an LED floodlight, a high-magnification lens, a light shield, and an optical magnifier.
[0034] The front objective lens cover is made of soft plastic, silicone, or rubber. It has a hollow design and can be used on various materials (soft skin or hard stone) of the test object. It allows the user to fix the distance between the optical magnifying glass and the test object, and at the same time, the user can fine-tune the focus to the desired image position. The user can also adjust the distance between the test object and the optical mechanism by adjusting the knob on the grip and slightly pressing the front objective lens cover according to the usage situation, thereby achieving the effect of fine-tuning the focus of a high-magnification imaging microscope.
[0035] The so-called nailfold location refers to the skin layer where the finger skin and nail meet. When the microscopic imaging observer of this invention is activated, the LED floodlight of its optomechanical structure is lit, and a cursor will appear on the side of the front objective lens cover. The effective and ideal adjustment method when observing the microcirculation of the nailfold is to make the cursor appear directly above the nailfold location, that is, to align the cursor vertically with the nailfold location. In other words, we can use the cursor to ensure the correct position of the nailfold on the Y-axis.
[0036] The optical-mechanical structure also includes a lens focal length adapter, which can be used with different lens focal lengths according to different magnifications, so that high-magnification pen-type electron microscopes can obtain clear images at different magnifications.
[0037] To achieve the best lighting effect, the invention further includes an LED floodlight located behind the high-magnification lens within the front lens housing, thus enabling the LED floodlight to achieve optimal lighting.
[0038] To prevent stray light from affecting the sensor image quality, a light shield is provided in front of the high-magnification lens to ensure image clarity, and light-absorbing material is coated inside the hollow front lens cover to allow the LED floodlight light to be evenly distributed.
[0039] The high-magnification lens barrel is designed to be miniaturized, reducing the size of the high-magnification lens to create a high-magnification pen-type electron microscope capable of capturing optimal high-magnification images.
[0040] In order to capture clear images of the nailfold microcirculation, the principle of conjugate focal length is applied to the pencil-shaped microscopic imaging device of this invention to form a conjugate focal microscope.
[0041] In a conjugate focal microscope, light reflected from the object being tested is focused onto a tiny pinhole in front of the detector after passing through the lens. Therefore, only light from the in-focus plane will be focused through the pinhole and received by the detector. Reflected light or background noise from other points cannot be accurately focused onto the pinhole and will be blocked.
[0042] In the microscopic image observer of the present invention, the light shield of its optical-mechanical structure can form a pinhole effect to filter out noise and unfocused light, allowing the nailfold to be focused and reflected back, which can then be effectively detected by the image sensor to obtain clear image information, thus demonstrating the characteristics of a conjugate focal microscope.
[0043] A wireless transceiver module, containing an electronic circuit board for wireless transmission and a power supply, outputs wireless digital image signals that can be combined with Android or iOS mobile devices. The image output signal is wirelessly connected to the mobile device, and analyzed and processed by the mobile device's APP software before being stored in memory. The purpose is to improve the quality of the captured image for easier human visual recognition or computer vision recognition. At the same time, the user's nail wall microvascular image can be displayed on the mobile device's screen, and the signal can be wirelessly connected to a remote cloud device for use in telemedicine and home care.
[0044] Other features and functions of the present invention will be further described in conjunction with the following drawings, so that the examiner may have a more detailed understanding. However, the following description is only for explaining the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. Simple Explanation of the Diagram
[0045] [Figure 1] is a schematic diagram of the overall wireless transceiver function of an embodiment of the device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of the elderly using the photothermal effect according to the present invention.
[0046] [Figure 2] is a schematic diagram of the location of the nail fold and the distribution of blood vessels in the nail fold.
[0047] [Figure 3] is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the device for measuring the phantom microvessels of the nailfold in the elderly using the photothermal effect according to the present invention.
[0048] [Figure 4] is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the fixation bracket of the device for measuring the phantom microvessels of the nailfold in the elderly using the photothermal effect according to the present invention.
[0049] [Figure 5] is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the microscopic imaging device for measuring the ghost microvessels of the nailfold in the elderly using the photothermal effect according to the present invention.
[0050] [Figure 6] is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the electronic image acquisition device and the components of the optomechanical structure of the device for measuring the ghost microvessels of the nail fold of the elderly using the photothermal effect according to the present invention.
[0051] [Figure 7] is a functional block diagram of the device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of the elderly using the photothermal effect according to the present invention. Implementation
[0052] As shown in Figure 1, according to the present invention, the device for measuring the phantom microvessels of the nailfold in the elderly by utilizing the photothermal effect generally includes a nailfold microcirculation observation base (1), a fixed support (2), a microscopic imaging observer (3), a wireless transceiver module (4), and a mobile device APP computing software (5).
[0053] Figure 3 shows the nailfold microcirculation observation base (1). As shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b), the nailfold microcirculation observation base (1) contains a finger fixator (11) and a finger angle pad (12). The middle part of the finger fixator (11) is hollowed out to form a finger fixation groove (111) that allows the front half of the finger to be inserted into the flat finger fixation groove (111). As shown in Figure 3(c), the finger to be tested and the finger angle pad (12) are placed in the finger fixation groove (111), and the fingertip is placed on the inclined surface of the finger angle pad (12).
[0054] As shown in Figure 4, the fixed bracket (2) contains a vertical screw (21) with gears, a handle (22) with a knob and adjustable height, and a fixed base (23) containing a near-infrared LED (231).
[0055] The grip arm (22) of the fixed bracket (2) is designed horizontally. One end of the grip arm (21) is fitted with a vertical screw, and the other end is tightly gripped by the microscopic image observer (3). The grip arm (22) can be raised and lowered by manually rotating the knob on the grip arm (22), and the height of the microscopic image observer (3) in the Z-axis direction can be adjusted.
[0056] The mounting base (23) is a platform that allows the user to lie flat with their palms down. It is made of transparent material so that the near-infrared pulse light emitted by the near-infrared LED (231) can irradiate the user's palm. A certain number of near-infrared LEDs (231) are set below the user's palm. These near-infrared LEDs (231) are controlled by a drive circuit and powered by a lithium battery. All of the above components are housed inside the mounting base (23). At the same time, a near-infrared indicator light (232) and a near-infrared light start switch (233) are set on the side of the mounting base (23).
[0057] When the user flips the near-infrared light start switch (233), the near-infrared light indicator (232) is lit, and the near-infrared light LED (231) is activated and emits near-infrared pulse light. After a preset 3 minutes, the near-infrared light LED (231) stops emitting near-infrared pulse light, and the user can flip the near-infrared light start switch (233) again to restart the near-infrared light LED (231).
[0058] As shown in Figure 5, a microscopic image observer (3) is a high-magnification pen-type electron microscope with a pen-type handheld housing structure. Its outer shell consists of an upper housing (34) and a lower housing (35). Its interior, as shown in Figure 6, includes an electronic image acquisition device (32) and an optomechanical structure (31).
[0059] As shown in Figure 6, the optomechanical structure (31) sequentially includes a lens focal length adapter (31a), a lens mount (31b), an LED floodlight (31c), a high-magnification lens (31d), a light shield (31e), and an optical magnifier (31f). The optomechanical structure (31) is located at the front end of the microscopic image observer (3). In order to facilitate the observation of the object under test, namely the nailfold microcirculation, a front-mounted lens cover (33) is placed on the front end of the microscopic image observer (3), as shown in Figure 5. As shown in Figure 6, the electronic image capturing device (32) is a T-shaped circuit board assembly, which includes a sensor vertical plate (321) and an image processing horizontal plate (322). The sensor vertical plate (321) includes an image sensor (321a), and the image processing horizontal plate (322) contains an image processing IC (322a), an LED floodlight switch (322b) for dimming and capable of adjusting to large, medium and small levels, and a Micro USB interface (322c) for image output and power input.
[0060] Figure 7 shows a functional block diagram of the device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of the elderly using the photothermal effect. The wireless transceiver module (4) can have a built-in lithium battery and an external rectifier as a power supply device. After the wireless transceiver module (4) is started, as shown in Figures 1 and 7, it is connected to the Type A USB of the wireless transceiver module (4) and the Microscopic image observer (3) via a USB cable. The USB interface (322c) and the wireless transceiver module (4) can provide power to the image processing horizontal plate (322) of the microscope image observer (3), and the image processing horizontal plate (322) can provide power to the LED floodlight (31c) of the optical engine structure (31), and switch between large, medium and small brightness by adjusting the LED floodlight switch (322b); when the LED floodlight (31c) is lit, as shown in Figure 5, a cursor (36) will appear on the side of the front objective lens cover (33). After visually aligning the fingernail fold position with the imaginary downward extension line of the cursor (36), the positioning of the fingernail fold observation area can be accelerated.
[0061] As shown in Figure 7, continuing from the previous section, after the LED floodlight (31c) is lit, it illuminates the object under test. The reflected light focused on the target area of the object under test is then returned to the image sensor (321a) in the image acquisition electronic device (32) through the optical magnifying glass (31f), high magnification lens (31d) and lens focal length adapter (31a) in the optomechanical structure (31). The image sensor (321a) can then sense a clear image of the nailfold microcirculation and transmit the image information to the image processing horizontal board (322). After being processed by the image processing IC (322a), it is transmitted to the wireless transceiver module (4) via the USB connection cable. The wireless transceiver module (4) then transmits the digital image signal wirelessly to the mobile device APP computing software (5) for analysis.
[0062] According to the design of this invention, the following operating method can effectively observe the nailfold microcirculation. It is assumed that the user's nailfold angle needs to be observed using a finger angle pad (12), i.e., an auxiliary pad.
[0063] As shown in Figure 1, start the wireless transceiver module (4), connect the Micro USB interface (322c) of the microscopic image observer (3) to the wireless transceiver module (4) via USB cable, and place any of your usual ring, middle, or index fingers into the finger fixing groove (111) with your palm facing down. Statistically, the nail fold angle of most people's ring finger is relatively flat compared to other fingers. Therefore, using the nail fold of the ring finger as the test object of the microscopic image observer (3) will be more beneficial for observing the nail fold microcirculation.
[0064] Push the finger angle pad (12), i.e. the auxiliary pad, into the finger fixing groove (111) to the appropriate position.
[0065] Place the ring finger or other commonly used finger into the finger fixing groove (111), with the fingertip placed on the finger angle pad (12), and adjust the finger position visually so that the fingernail fold is roughly aligned with the imaginary extension line downward from the cursor (36) on the side of the front object lens cover (33) at the foremost end of the microscope image observer (3).
[0066] Once the fingers are in the approximate position, the microscope imager (3) can be adjusted to the appropriate position using the knob on the grip (22).
[0067] First step: Lower the position of the microscope image observer (3) until the front objective lens cover (33) (i.e., silicone sleeve) can lightly touch the nail fold of the finger (similar to the concept of coarse adjustment).
[0068] If, at this time, the expected screen (referred to as Screen A) with a red area at the bottom and a partial green area at the top can be seen on the mobile device APP computing software (5), the distribution of nailfold microvessels should be within the red area at the bottom.
[0069] Step 2: After locating the nail fold capillaries, adjust the focus to make the image clear. Slowly rotate the arm grip (22) knob and gently adjust the pressure between the front lens cover (33) and the finger contact surface until the lens can be correctly focused and the capillaries can be clearly observed (similar to the concept of fine adjustment). This is the static microscopic magnified image of the nail wall microcirculation.
[0070] As described above, if the expected image A cannot be seen during the first step, it means that the position of the nail fold is not correctly aligned with the cursor (36) of the front lens cover (33). At this time, move your finger slightly forward or backward to change its position until the red area at the bottom of the screen of the mobile device APP software (5) appears. Then, proceed with the second step to observe a clear static image of the nail fold microvessels.
[0071] Turn on the near-infrared light start switch (233) of the fixing base (23), and the near-infrared light LED (231) will be activated and emit near-infrared pulse light; after a preset 3 minutes, observe the nail wall microvessels again, and at this time, dynamic microscopic magnified images of the nail wall microcirculation can be captured.
[0072]
[0073] 1: Nailfold Microcirculation Observation Base
[0074] 11: Finger fixation device
[0075] 111: Finger fixing groove
[0076] 12: Finger Angle Pad
[0077] 2: Fixed bracket
[0078] 21: Screw
[0079] 22: Arm grip
[0080] 23: Fixed base
[0081] 231: Near-infrared LED
[0082] 232: Near-infrared light indicator
[0083] 233: Near-infrared light start switch
[0084] 3: Microscopic image observer
[0085] 31: Optomechanical Structure
[0086] 31a: Lens focal length adapter
[0087] 31b: Lens mount
[0088] 31c: LED Floodlight
[0089] 31D: High-magnification lens
[0090] 31e: Sunshade
[0091] 31f: Optical magnifying glass
[0092] 32: Electronic image acquisition device
[0093] 321: Sensor Vertical Plate
[0094] 321a: Image sensor
[0095] 322: Image Processing Horizontal Panel
[0096] 322a: Image Processing IC
[0097] 322b: LED floodlight switch
[0098] 322c: Micro USB interface
[0099] 33: Front objective lens cover
[0100] 34: Upper cover body
[0101] 35: Lower cover body
[0102] 36: Cursor
[0103] 4: Wireless transceiver module
[0104] 5: Mobile App Computing Software
Claims
1. A device for measuring phantom capillaries in the nailfold of an elderly person using the photothermal effect, comprising: The device comprises a nailfold microcirculation observation base, a mounting bracket, a microscopic imaging device, a wireless transceiver module, and a mobile device APP processing software. The nailfold microcirculation observation base includes a finger stabilizer and a finger angle pad. The mounting bracket includes a vertical screw with gears, a lever with a knob for adjustable height of the microscopic imaging device, and a mounting base containing a near-infrared LED. This mounting base is an auxiliary hardware mechanism for fixing the microscopic imaging device. When the palm is placed flat on the mounting base of the mounting bracket with the palm facing down, the near-infrared LED is activated, and near-infrared pulsed light with a wavelength of 860nm illuminates the palm, producing a photothermal effect that extends to the nailfold microcirculation of the fingers. The finger stabilizer within the nailfold microcirculation observation base fixes the X and Y axes of the fingers. By adjusting the height of the grip arm of the fixed bracket, the focal length of the microscopic imaging device in the Z-axis direction can be confirmed. The microscopic imaging device can then accurately observe the shape and flow velocity of microvessels in the nailfold microcirculation of the patient. When the patient uses this invention for the first time, there is no need to turn on the near-infrared LED. After the static microscopic image is captured, the near-infrared LED is turned on and a preset 3-minute time is waited for the second observation of the nail wall microvessels. At this time, a magnified microscopic image of the dynamic nail wall microcirculation that generates thermal effects can be captured. The high-magnification microscopic image signals captured by these two times are transmitted from the microscopic imaging device to the wireless transceiver module via a USB connection cable. The wireless transceiver module then transmits the image signals wirelessly to the mobile device, and the mobile device APP software performs image processing and analysis. By comparing the static and dynamic images, the number of ghost microvessels can be determined.
2. The device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of the elderly using photothermal effect as described in claim 1, wherein the nailfold microcirculation observation base contains a finger fixator and a finger angle pad; the finger fixator is tightly attached to the fixation base of the fixation bracket, and is made of foam stamping, with a hollowed-out middle part forming a finger fixation groove that allows the front half of the finger to be inserted into a flat finger, which can fix the position of the finger and fix the X-axis and Y-axis direction of the finger, and can also fix the finger angle pad; the finger angle pad is also a triangular ramp-shaped pad made of foam stamping, which can allow the patient to adjust the angle of the finger being tested; since the surface angle of the nailfold is different for each person, with the assistance of the finger angle pad, it is placed below the fingertip, and the position of the finger angle pad is finely adjusted to raise the angle of the fingertip, so that an excessively large nailfold angle can be adjusted to a relatively flat one.
3. The device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of the elderly using photothermal effect as described in claim 1, wherein the microscopic image observer is a high-magnification pen-type electron microscope, which is a pen-type handheld housing structure, with an upper and lower housing, and a silicone sleeve at the front end, i.e., the front objective lens cover, and the upper and lower housings contain an electronic image acquisition device and an optomechanical structure.
4. As requested in item 3, the device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of an elderly person using photothermal effect, wherein the front objective lens cover of the microscopic imaging observer is a hollow shape, covering the frontmost optical mechanism structure. The optical mechanism structure contains optical mechanism components such as a lens focal length adapter, lens mount, LED floodlight, high-magnification lens, light shield, and optical magnifier. Different lens focal length adapters can be used according to different magnification lenses and their focusing focal lengths, so that the high-magnification pen-type electron microscope can obtain clear images at different magnifications. When the microscopic imaging observer is activated, the LED floodlight of its optical mechanism structure is lit, and a cursor appears on the side of the front objective lens cover. The effective and ideal adjustment method for observing the nailfold microcirculation is to place the cursor directly above the nailfold position, that is, align the fingernail fold position with the imaginary extension line downward from the cursor. We can then use the cursor to more quickly confirm the correct position of the nailfold on the Y-axis.
5. As in claim 3, the device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of an elderly person using photothermal effect, wherein the front objective lens cover of the microscope image observer is made of soft plastic, silicone or rubber, which can be used on the surface of the test object of various materials (soft skin or hard stone), allowing the user to fix the distance between the optical magnifying glass and the test object, and at the same time allow the user to fine adjust the focus to the position of the desired image, and the user can easily press the front objective lens cover according to the usage situation to fine adjust the image clarity, thereby obtaining the best focal length of the test object, and thus achieving the effect of finely adjusting the focal length of a high magnification image microscope.
6. The device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of an elderly person using photothermal effect as described in claim 3, wherein an LED floodlight is provided after the high-magnification lens in the optomechanical structure of the microscope image observer, thereby enabling the LED floodlight to achieve optimal illumination. In order to prevent stray light from affecting the image quality of the sensor, a light shield is provided in front of the high-magnification lens to ensure image clarity. A light-absorbing material is coated inside the hollow front objective lens cover to ensure uniform distribution of the LED floodlight light. At the same time, the high-magnification lens barrel is designed to be miniaturized, thereby reducing the size of the high-magnification lens and creating a high-magnification pen-type electron microscope that can capture the best high-magnification images.
7. The device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of the elderly using photothermal effect as described in claim 3, wherein the electronic image acquisition device of the microscopic image observer includes a T-shaped circuit board assembly, which includes a vertical plate and a horizontal plate; the vertical plate is the sensing plate, which mainly includes a small-sized high-resolution image sensor that can capture the best high-magnification image; the horizontal plate is the image processing plate, which mainly includes an image processing IC.
8. As in Request 3, the device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of an elderly person using photothermal effect, the light shield of the optomechanical structure of the microscopic image observer can form a pinhole effect to filter out noise and unfocused light, allowing the focused area of the nailfold to be measured to reflect back, which can ultimately be effectively detected by the image sensor to acquire clear image information, demonstrating the characteristics of a conjugate focal microscope.
9. The device for measuring phantom microvessels in the nailfold of an elderly person using photothermal effect as described in claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver module contains an electronic circuit board for wireless transmission and a power supply device, capable of wirelessly transmitting digital image signals from a microscopic imaging observer to a remote mobile device.
10. As in Request 1, the device for measuring the phantom microvessels of the nailfold in the elderly using the photothermal effect, wherein the mobile device APP software receives digital image signals transmitted from the wireless transceiver module and can perform analysis and image processing, processing existing images or photos through the software, and allowing for observation, reference and comparison of microcirculation through the screen of the mobile device. At the same time, the mobile device can store images of nailfold microcirculation and wirelessly connect the signals to a remote cloud device for use in remote home medical care.