Biological examination apparatus and biological information analysis method

Abstract

There are provided a biological examination device and a biological information analysis method that enable the two-dimensional movements of the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone in the vertical, horizontal, front, and rear directions along with swallowing sounds to be grasped at a glance as swallowing dynamics through non-invasive examinations. In the biological examination device of the present invention, an up-and-down movement component associated with the up-and-down movement of the thyroid cartilage and a front-and-rear movement component associated with the front-and-rear movement of the thyroid cartilage are extracted from a fitting result obtained by fitting a model function obtained by modeling a swallowing action to distance information based on detection data detected by a laryngeal position detection unit. Based on these extracted up-and-down movement components and front-and-rear movement components, two-dimensional trajectory data 901 representing the movement trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the vertical and front-and-rear directions is generated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a biological examination device for performing an examination related to swallowing of a living body, and a biological information analysis method for analyzing biological information obtained along with swallowing of the living body. Background Art

[0002] Pneumonia is known as one of the main causes of death. Among them, aspiration pneumonia caused by dysphagia, which means a disorder related to swallowing, accounts for more than about 60%.

[0003] The main causative disease of dysphagia is known to be stroke, and dysphagia occurs in 80% of patients in the acute phase. In addition, it is also known that even without a clear causative disease such as stroke, the proportion of people with dysphagia increases with age. In an aging society, it is expected that aspiration pneumonia and dysphagia will increase in the future.

[0004] Therefore, conventionally, various examinations for diagnosing dysphagia have been attempted. For example, as a method capable of correctly evaluating and grasping dysphagia, videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing (VF) is generally known. In this VF, a food bolus containing a contrast agent such as barium sulfate and an X-ray fluoroscopy device are used to monitor the movement of the food bolus and the movement of the hyoid bone / laryngeal head during swallowing of the subject. In this case, since the swallowing movement is a series of relatively fast activities, it is generally recorded as a video for evaluation. However, VF is an examination with a potential risk of aspiration, asphyxia, etc., so attention is required. In addition, an X-ray fluoroscopy device, which is a large device, is required, so there are also problems such as radiation exposure, time constraints, and high costs. In addition, videoendoscopic examination of swallowing (VE), which uses an endoscope to evaluate dysphagia, is also known, but it has the same problems as VF. Thus, clinical examinations such as VF and VE can correctly diagnose because they directly observe the movement of the larynx, but they are highly invasive and require dedicated equipment, so they cannot be simply performed anywhere.

[0005] In contrast, as a simple examination method for dysphagia, screening examinations such as palpation (repetitive saliva swallowing test (RSST)), auscultation (neck auscultation method), observation (drinking test and feeding test), or subjective evaluation using a questionnaire are also known, but there are problems such as difficulty in quantitative evaluation, lack of reproducibility, and objectivity although they can be implemented as daily examinations.

[0006] In view of the above problems, several methods of sharing / recording swallowing status have been proposed in recent years. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the following device: a microphone is worn on the neck, sound data equivalent to auscultation is saved as digital data, and swallowing is detected by waveform analysis. In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses the following biological examination device: in addition to the microphone, a magnetic coil is also worn on the neck, and in addition to the sound data, the movement data of the thyroid cartilage during swallowing equivalent to palpation is also saved as digital data, and an examination related to the swallowing of the biological body and the result is displayed. Specifically, the biological examination device is provided with a transmitting coil and a receiving coil in a manner of sandwiching the thyroid cartilage, and the displacement of the thyroid cartilage part in the left and right direction caused by the two-dimensional movement of the hyoid bone up and down and front and back during swallowing is measured as distance information between the coils. According to such an examination method, distance information and sound information equivalent to palpation and auscultation can be obtained simultaneously and non-invasively, thereby combining the distance information and sound information to evaluate the swallowing action.

[0007] Prior art literature

[0008] Patent Literature

[0009] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-017694

[0010] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-213592 Summary of the invention

[0011] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0012] However, in the biological examination device of the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, the distance information and the sound information are independently displayed as time series waveforms. Therefore, the evaluation of the swallowing state is made by comparing and observing two types of waveforms, namely, the action waveform based on the distance information and the swallowing sound waveform based on the sound information, based on the timing of the temporal changes. However, the action waveform based on the distance information is the result of indirectly observing the movement of the hyoid bone through the thyroid cartilage, and the two-dimensional movement of the thyroid cartilage up and down, front and back is indirectly regarded as a one-dimensional movement of the left and right. Therefore, it is difficult to interpret the actual swallowing dynamics based on the time series waveform, and the examiner can only infer the comprehensive swallowing action based on the waveform changes of the sound information and the distance information. In the evaluation method based on the display of two independent time series waveforms, there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the specific swallowing action at a glance.

[0013] The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned situation, and its purpose is to provide a biological examination device and a biological information analysis method that can grasp the two-dimensional up-down, front-back and back-forth movements of the thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone accompanied by swallowing sounds as swallowing dynamics at a glance through non-invasive examination.

[0014] Means for solving the problem

[0015] In order to solve the above problems, the biological examination apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that

[0016] it includes a processing unit that processes detection data from a laryngeal displacement detection unit, and the laryngeal displacement detection unit detects a change in the distance between two positions in the laryngeal region of the subject generated by the up-and-down direction and the front-and-back direction movement of the thyroid cartilage during swallowing

[0017] The processing unit extracts an up-and-down movement component associated with the up-and-down movement of the thyroid cartilage and a front-and-back movement component associated with the front-and-back movement of the thyroid cartilage from a fitting result obtained by fitting a model function obtained by modeling the swallowing motion to distance information based on the detection data detected by the laryngeal displacement detection unit, and generates two-dimensional trajectory data representing the movement trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the up-and-down direction and the front-and-back direction based on these extracted up-and-down movement components and front-and-back movement components

[0018] The present inventors, regarding the distance information based on the detection data, that is, the W-shaped distance waveform 701 (the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the distance between the two positions) showing the change over time of the distance between two positions in the laryngeal region of the subject generated by the up-and-down direction and the front-and-back direction movement of the thyroid cartilage during swallowing, which is shown as an example in Figure 11 recognized that due to the hammer shape of the thyroid cartilage, the two-dimensional movements (front-and-back movement and up-and-down movement) of the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone are embedded in a one-dimensional (left-right) space, and by modifying the capturing method of the components in the distance waveform 701 to an independent capturing method different from the conventional one, it was found that it is possible to grasp at a glance the two-dimensional up-and-down and front-and-back movements of the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone accompanying the swallowing sound as an unprecedented epoch-making information presentation method for swallowing dynamics. Specifically, in the distance waveform 701, a waveform component with a downward convexity is generated during the series of movements of the thyroid cartilage from rising to falling, and on the other hand, a waveform component with an upward convexity is generated during the series of movements of the thyroid cartilage from advancing to retreating. The present inventors discovered the following biological information analysis method: different from the conventional method of capturing the W-shaped distance waveform 701 as a combination of a downward convex waveform 710a, an upward convex waveform 720, and a downward convex waveform 710b as shown in Figure 11 (a) of Figure 11The capture shown in (b) is the overlap of a gently convex waveform 710 and a sharply convex waveform 720, obtaining a fitting result after fitting the model function obtained by modeling the swallowing motion to the distance waveform 701, and extracting from this fitting result the forward and backward motion components associated with the forward and backward motion of the thyroid cartilage corresponding to the convex waveform 720 and the up and down motion components associated with the up and down motion of the thyroid cartilage corresponding to the concave waveform 710. Based on these extracted up and down motion components and forward and backward motion components, two-dimensional trajectory data representing the action trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the up and down direction and the forward and backward direction is generated.

[0019] According to the above structure of the present invention, the model function obtained by modeling the swallowing motion is fitted to the distance information based on the detection data detected by the laryngeal displacement detection unit to obtain a fitting result. Therefore, it is possible to non-invasively reproduce the motion of the thyroid cartilage (hyoid bone) two-dimensionally (model the swallowing motion), and extract from the fitting result the motion components associated with all the motion directions of the thyroid cartilage during swallowing, that is, two forward and backward motion components and up and down motion components corresponding to the up and down and forward and backward motions respectively. Based on these two components, two-dimensional trajectory data representing the action trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the up and down direction and the forward and backward direction is generated. Therefore, it is also possible to grasp the two-dimensional motion of the thyroid cartilage (hyoid bone) in the up and down and forward and backward directions at a glance as swallowing dynamics (grasp at a glance how the swallowing motion is specifically) without making a comprehensive speculation on the swallowing action as in the aforementioned Patent Document 2. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to visualize swallowing dynamics through the modeling and component decomposition of the swallowing motion. As a result, it is possible to easily evaluate swallowing disorders without proficiency.

[0020] In addition, in the above structure, the laryngeal displacement detection unit can adopt any detection method as long as it can detect the change in the distance between two positions in the subject's laryngeal region that occurs with the up and down and forward and backward motions of the thyroid cartilage during swallowing. For example, the laryngeal displacement detection unit can be composed of a transmitting coil and a receiving coil that are arranged to sandwich the thyroid cartilage from both sides and transmit and receive high-frequency signals, or the change in the distance can also be detected by three-dimensionally photographing the laryngeal region (thyroid cartilage) using a stereo camera or the like and analyzing its image data.

[0021] In addition, in the above structure, the processing unit can also generate two-dimensional trajectory data representing the action trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the up and down direction and the forward and backward direction over time respectively based on the up and down motion components and the forward and backward motion components. Thereby, it is possible to separately grasp the trajectories of the up and down motion and the forward and backward motion of the thyroid cartilage, and it can also contribute to a detailed analysis of the swallowing motion.

[0022] In addition, in the above structure, the processing unit may also generate two-dimensional trajectory data that simultaneously represents the actions in the vertical and front-back directions of the thyroid cartilage in one trajectory graph based on the vertical movement component and the front-back movement component. Thereby, it is possible to integrate the swallowing dynamics composed of two physical information (the vertical movement information and the front-back movement information of the thyroid cartilage) into one trajectory graph for visualization, enabling a two-dimensional movement of the thyroid cartilage (hyoid bone) in the vertical, front, and back directions to be grasped at a glance. In this case, the two-dimensional trajectory data is preferably generated as coordinate data shown on a coordinate plane defined by two mutually orthogonal coordinate axes, where one coordinate axis corresponds to the trajectory data value of the front-back movement component, and the other coordinate axis corresponds to the trajectory data value of the vertical movement component. In fact, the present inventors have confirmed that the display method based on such trajectory data values roughly corresponds to the movement trajectory of the hyoid bone in the dynamic analysis of swallowing such as the hyoid bone movement based on videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VF).

[0023] In addition, in the above structure, the biological examination device may further include a swallowing sound detection unit that detects the swallowing sound of the subject during swallowing. The processing unit generates a swallowing sound waveform representing the change over time of the amplitude of the swallowing sound based on the detection data detected by the swallowing sound detection unit, and generates identification display data for identifying and displaying the plotting of each trajectory data value on the trajectory graph according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound so as to correspond the swallowing sound waveform and the trajectory graph in time.

[0024] Thereby, it is possible to integrate the actions of the laryngeal region and the changes in the swallowing sound into one trajectory graph for visualization based on the two physical information (distance information and sound information) obtained from the laryngeal region movement detection unit and the swallowing sound detection unit, so that the swallowing dynamics such as the swallowing action and the timing of the swallowing sound can be non-invasively grasped at a glance. In addition, besides this, the plotting of each trajectory data value on the trajectory graph is identified and displayed according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound, so that it is possible to visually know at what timing the swallowing sound is emitted at a glance, and it is possible to determine at what timing the substance in the entrance is sent from the esophagus into the stomach at a glance.

[0025] In addition, in the above structure, "identification display" means that as long as it is a display method that can distinguish the trajectory data values with different amplitudes of the swallowing sound by color-coding the plotting of each trajectory data value according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound, changing the size or shape of the plotting (mark) of each trajectory data value according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound, etc., it can be any display method.

[0026] In addition, in the above structure, the processing unit may also generate supplementary display data for overlapping and displaying on the trajectory graph supplementary information including predetermined feature points associated with the fitting result, predetermined feature points associated with the swallowing sound waveform, and the occurrence times of the trajectory data values plotted on the trajectory graph. Thereby, the trajectory graph display can be supplemented with supplementary information related to the movement of the laryngeal region and changes in the swallowing sound, and the amount of information read from the trajectory graph can be increased. Therefore, the evaluation of swallowing disorders can be performed more accurately and quickly. In addition, as "feature points", the upper and lower peak values of the fitting result (e.g., the fitted motion waveform) and the swallowing sound waveform or waveforms associated therewith, as well as specific points, inflection points, etc. in the waveform, can also be cited.

[0027] In addition, in the above structure, the processing unit may also generate reference display data for displaying together with the trajectory graph reference information including the transfer direction of the trajectory graph and a predetermined feature quantity calculated based on the trajectory graph. Thereby, information that is difficult to grasp only from the trajectory graph can be additionally displayed together with the trajectory graph, the comprehensibility of the trajectory graph can be improved, and it can contribute to a correct and rapid evaluation of swallowing disorders. In addition, as "feature quantities", for example, the maximum amount of displacement in the front-rear direction of the thyroid cartilage, the maximum amount of displacement in the up-down direction, the time difference between the times when the motion waveform and the swallowing sound waveform respectively take the maximum value, the ratio of the time difference to the variance value of the displacement in the front-rear direction of the thyroid cartilage, etc. can be cited.

[0028] In addition, the present invention also provides a biological information analysis method having the foregoing features. According to such a biological information analysis method, the same effects as those of the foregoing biological examination device can be obtained.

[0029] Effects of the Invention

[0030] According to the present invention, the up-and-down movement component associated with the up-and-down movement of the thyroid cartilage and the front-and-back movement component associated with the front-and-back movement of the thyroid cartilage are extracted from the result of fitting the distance information based on the detection data detected by the laryngeal region displacement detection unit to the model function obtained by modeling the swallowing action. Based on these extracted up-and-down movement components and front-and-back movement components, two-dimensional trajectory data representing the movement trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the up-down direction and the front-and-back direction is generated. Therefore, through non-invasive examination, the two-dimensional movements of the thyroid cartilage and the hyoid bone in the up-down and front-back directions accompanied by the swallowing sound can be grasped at a glance as swallowing dynamics. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of a biological examination device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 2 is to holdFigure 1 A schematic three-dimensional diagram of a flexible holding device of a laryngeal displacement detection portion of a biological examination device.

[0033] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 Functional block diagram of a computer of a biological examination device.

[0034] Figure 4 It is shown Figure 3 A flowchart of the process of processing by the action analysis unit of the processing unit of the computer.

[0035] Figure 5 It is shown Figure 3 A flowchart of the process of processing by the sound analysis unit of the processing unit of the computer.

[0036] Figure 6 It is shown Figure 3 A flowchart of the process of processing by the analysis unit of the processing unit of the computer.

[0037] Figure 7 is based on Figure 1 A distance waveform diagram of typical distance information detected by the laryngeal displacement detection unit of the living body inspection device.

[0038] Figure 8 (a) is based on Figure 1 (a) is the distance information of the detection data detected by the laryngeal displacement detection unit of the biological examination device and the fitted motion waveform (fitted waveform) obtained from the distance information, and (b) is the component waveform showing the movement trajectory of the thyroid cartilage in the up-down direction and the front-back direction over time.

[0039] Figure 9 It includes Figure 1 A swallowing sound waveform diagram showing an envelope of typical sound information detected by a swallowing sound detection unit of a biological examination device.

[0040] Figure 10 Shown by Figure 1 An example of a trajectory graph displayed by two-dimensional trajectory data obtained by a processing unit of a biological examination device.

[0041] Figure 11 (a) is a waveform diagram showing a conventional method of capturing components in a distance waveform, and (b) is a waveform diagram showing a method of capturing components in a distance waveform according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0043] Figure 1is a functional block diagram showing a structural example of a biological examination device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the biological examination device 100 includes: a transmitting coil 102 and a receiving coil 103 as a laryngeal displacement detection unit, which detects changes in the distance between two positions in the laryngeal region (the biological region around the thyroid cartilage) of the subject (the examinee) 101 caused by the up-and-down and front-and-back movements of the thyroid cartilage (commonly known as the Adam's apple) during swallowing of the subject 101; and a microphone 106 as a swallowing sound detection unit, which detects the swallowing sound of the subject 101 during swallowing. These coils 102, 103, and the microphone 106 are held by a flexible holding device 113 described later in association with Figure 2 the relevant part.

[0044] The transmitting coil 102 and the receiving coil 103 are arranged facing each other so as to sandwich the thyroid cartilage from both sides. The transmitting coil 102 is connected to a transmitter 104, and the receiving coil 103 is connected to a receiver 105. In addition, the microphone 106 is arranged near the thyroid cartilage of the subject 101, is electrically connected to a detection circuit 107 for detecting the swallowing sound captured by the microphone 106 during swallowing, and operates by receiving power supply and the like from the detection circuit 107. In addition, the microphone 106 is preferably a microphone using a pressure element (piezoelectric element) in such a way that it hardly picks up surrounding sounds other than the swallowing sound, but it can also be a capacitive microphone or the like.

[0045] In addition, the biological examination device 100 further includes a control device 108, a computer 109, a display device 110, an external storage device 111, and an input device 112. The control device 108 controls the operations of the transmitter 104, the receiver 105, the detection circuit 107, the computer 109, and the external storage device 111, and controls power supply, signal transmission and reception timing, etc. In addition, the computer 109 is an information processing device having a CPU, a memory, an internal storage device, etc., and performs various arithmetic processes. The control and arithmetic operations performed by the computer 109 are realized by the CPU executing a predetermined program. However, a part of the arithmetic operations can also be realized by hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programable Gate Array). In addition, the computer 109 is electrically connected to the display device 110, the external storage device 111, and the input device 112.

[0046] In addition, the display device 110 is an interface for displaying the measurement waveform and the analysis information of the computer 109 on the display. In addition, for specific functions, reports can also be made through LEDs, sounds, etc. Further, the external storage device 111, together with the internal storage device, holds data used in various arithmetic processes executed by the computer 109, data obtained through arithmetic processes, conditions, parameters, etc. input via the input device 112. In addition, the input device 112 is an interface for an operator to input conditions, etc. required for the measurement and arithmetic processes implemented in the present embodiment.

[0047] In such a configuration, a high-frequency magnetic field is irradiated from the transmission coil 102 by transmitting the high-frequency signal generated by the transmitter 104 to the transmission coil 102, and the signal received by the reception coil 103 accompanying this is received by the receiver 105. In addition, the signal received by the receiver 105 is sent to the computer 109 as an output voltage measurement value of the voltage between the coils. On the other hand, the swallowing sound captured by the microphone 106 is detected by the detection circuit 107 and converted into a voltage signal, and this is input to the computer 109 as an output voltage measurement value from the detection circuit 107.

[0048] In Figure 2 is shown a flexible holding device 113 that holds the transmission / reception coils 102, 103 and the microphone 106. The flexible holding device 113 is formed of an arbitrary flexible material such as various resins, and as shown in the figure, is composed of a substantially annular head-wearing member 202 that is worn on the head of the subject 101 using its open end, and a pair of arc-shaped sensor holding members 203a, 203b that are provided inside the head-wearing member 202 along substantially the same arc. The head-wearing member 202 is integrally joined in such a manner that it holds one ends of the pair of sensor holding members 203a, 203b on both sides inside it, and the other ends of the sensor holding members 203a, 203b are located near the laryngeal part of the subject 101 in an open manner. In addition, sensor portions 204a, 204b are arranged at the other ends of the pair of sensor holding members 203a, 203b respectively, and these sensor portions 204a, 204b abut against the laryngeal part of the subject 101 and can, together with the respective sensor holding members 203a, 203b that are arranged without contacting the head of the subject 101, independently track the swallowing movement (movement of the thyroid cartilage, etc.) with the head-wearing member 202.

[0049] The transmitting coil 102 is fixedly arranged inside one of the sensor parts 204a and 204b, and the receiving coil 103 is fixedly arranged inside the other, and the microphone 106 is fixedly arranged inside any one of the sensor parts 204a and 204b. In particular, in the present embodiment, the transmitting coil 102 and the receiving coil 103 are mounted on the sensor parts 204a and 204b in a manner that they are arranged in a direction that is easy to face each other (in a vertical direction close to the head surface of the subject 101), thereby enabling detection with a high signal-to-noise (SN) ratio. Therefore, the microphone 106 and the transmitting coil 102 or the receiving coil 103 can be arranged at a substantially orthogonal position, and the magnetic field noise generated by the microphone 106 can be reduced from mixing into the transmitting coil 102 and / or the receiving coil 103. However, the corresponding positions of the transmitting coil 102 and the receiving coil 103 and the orthogonal positions to the microphone are not limited to the described configurations, and any position can be used as long as it is a position that can achieve detection with a sufficiently high SN ratio.

[0050] In addition, at the opposing terminal portions (the portion of the head-mounted component 202 located on the back side of the head of the subject 101) forming the open end of the head-mounted component 202, pressing portions 205a, 205b that abut against the head of the subject 101 are formed in a cylindrical or spherical shape suitable for pressing. By using the four pressing points formed by these two pressing portions 205a, 205b and the above-mentioned two sensor portions 204a, 204b provided at the other end of the sensor holding components 203a, 203b, the flexible holding device 113 can be easily worn on the head regardless of the size of the head of the subject 101. In addition, the electrical wiring 201a, 201b extending from the transmitting coil 102, the receiving coil 103 and the microphone 106 built into the sensor portions 204a, 204b and Figure 1 The transmitter 104, the receiver 105, and the detection circuit 107 are shown to be electrically connected.

[0051] exist Figure 3 , a functional block diagram of the computer 109 is shown. As shown in the figure, the computer 109 includes a swallowing measurement unit 410, a processing unit 420, and a display unit 430. The swallowing measurement unit 410 uses Figure 1The associated transmission coil 102, reception coil 103, transmitter 104, receiver 105, microphone 106, detection circuit 107, and control device 108 measure a swallowing action and swallowing sound (thyroid cartilage displacement detection step and swallowing sound detection step). In addition, the processing unit 420 has a motion analysis unit 421 that analyzes distance information, a sound analysis unit 422 that analyzes the swallowing sound as sound information, and an analysis unit 423 that combines the distance information and the swallowing sound for analysis, and uses them to process the data measured by the swallowing measurement unit 410 (processing step). Specifically, as described later, the processing unit 420 obtains a model function obtained by modeling the swallowing action (in this embodiment, the following formula (1)) and distance information based on the detection data detected by the transmission coil 102 and the reception coil 103 (in this embodiment, data representing the change over time of the distance between the coils 102 and 103 arranged in such a manner as to sandwich the thyroid cartilage of the subject 101 therebetween (the distance waveform 701 shown later Figure 7 ), and the fitting result (in this embodiment, the fitted waveform 1103 shown in (a) later Figure 8 ), and extracts from this fitting result the anterior-posterior movement component associated with the anterior-posterior movement of the thyroid cartilage (in this embodiment, the anterior-posterior movement component waveform 1105 shown in (b) later Figure 8 or the data values forming the same) and the up-down movement component associated with the up-down movement of the thyroid cartilage (in this embodiment, the up-down movement component waveform 1106 shown in (b) later Figure 8 or the data values forming the same), and generates two-dimensional trajectory data representing the movement trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the up-down direction and the anterior-posterior direction (in this embodiment, data for forming the trajectory graph 901 shown later Figure 10 ). In addition, the processing unit 420 generates a swallowing sound waveform representing the change over time of the amplitude of the swallowing sound (in this embodiment, the swallowing sound waveform 801 shown later Figure 9 ) according to the detection data detected by the microphone 106, and generates identification display data for identifying and displaying the plotting of each trajectory data value on the trajectory graph according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound so as to correspond the swallowing sound waveform and the trajectory graph in time. In addition, the display unit 430 displays the information (data) measured and processed by the swallowing measurement unit 410 and the processing unit 420 on the display device 110 (display step). In addition, the swallowing measurement unit 410, the processing unit 420, and the display unit 430 operate independently.

[0052] In Figure 4 is shown Figure 3The processing flow of the motion analysis unit 421 of the processing unit 420 of the computer 109. The motion analysis unit 421 processes the detection data detected by the transmission coil 102 and the reception coil 103. Specifically, first, in step S501, the data measured by the swallowing measurement unit 410 is smoothed. In particular, in the present embodiment, smoothing is performed using piecewise polynomial approximation based on a Savitzky-Golay filter. The smoothing in this case is performed by setting the window number and the degree of the polynomial to 5, 51, etc., respectively. In addition, the smoothing method may be, for example, a simple moving average, etc., and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0053] Next, in step S502, the measurement signal smoothed in step S501 is fitted. Associated therewith, in Figure 7 FIG., a typical example of a distance waveform 701 showing the change over time of the distance between the transmission coil 102 and the reception coil 103, which represents the distance between two positions in the laryngeal part of the subject 101, is shown. Such a measured distance waveform 701 is the result of one-dimensionally (left and right) observing the two-dimensional motion (front-back movement and up-down movement) of the thyroid cartilage (hyoid bone). Since the thyroid cartilage has a hammer-like shape, it has a W-shaped waveform as shown. Specifically, starting from the start point (time T0) 702 of swallowing when the subject 101 starts to put the food bolus into the mouth and swallow, as the food bolus is sent into the esophagus, the thyroid cartilage is lifted, and thus the distance between the transmission coil 102 and the reception coil 103 narrows from D0 to D1, and the distance waveform 701 reaches the first valley part (the first lower limit peak; time T1) 703. In addition, during the process of sending the food bolus, the laryngeal cover of the subject 101 moves downward and the path from the nasal cavity to the airway is blocked. After that, when the food bolus passes through the esophagus, in order to open the esophagus, the thyroid cartilage moves forward (the direction facing the subject's face), and thus the distance between the transmission coil 102 and the reception coil 103 expands from D1 to D2, and the distance waveform 701 transfers from the first valley part 703 to the peak part (the upper limit peak; time T2) 704. Then, after the food bolus completely passes through the esophagus (laryngeal cover) and is sent into the stomach, along with the upward movement of the laryngeal cover, the thyroid cartilage also moves backward, and thus the distance between the transmission coil 102 and the reception coil 103 narrows from D2 to D3, and the distance waveform 701 transfers from the peak part 704 to the second valley part (the second lower limit peak; time T3) 705. After that, in order for the laryngeal cover and the thyroid cartilage to return to their original positions, the thyroid cartilage descends, and thus the distance between the transmission coil 102 and the reception coil 103 expands from D3 to D4, and the distance waveform 701 transfers from the second valley part 705 to the end point (time T4) 706.

[0054] As can be seen from the above, in such a distance waveform 701, during a series of actions of the thyroid cartilage from ascending to descending, a waveform component with a downward convexity is generated. On the other hand, during a series of actions of the thyroid cartilage from advancing to retreating, a waveform component with an upward convexity is generated. Therefore, accordingly, in the present embodiment, as shown by being distinguished by short dashed lines and long dashed lines in Figure 7 the W-shaped distance waveform 701 is captured as an overlapping of a gently downward convex waveform 710 (corresponding to the vertical movement component waveform 1106 shown in (b) of Figure 8 ) and a sharply upward convex waveform 720 (corresponding to the front-back movement component waveform 1105 shown in (b) of Figure 8 ), and is modeled as shown in the following formula (1).

[0055] [Formula 1]

[0056] y(t) = rAP(t) + rHF(t) + d(t) + e...(1)

[0057] Here, t represents time, y(t) represents the measured distance waveform, rAP(t) represents the component in the front-back direction, rHF(t) represents the component in the vertical direction, d(t) represents the trend component generated by body movement, etc. (such as the deviation from the initial value due to individual differences such as the thickness of the head), and e represents the measurement noise.

[0058] In addition, in the present embodiment, the components rAP and rHF in the front-back direction and the vertical direction are simulated using a normal distribution, and the trend component d(t) is modeled using a linear equation. However, these models can also be autoregressive models or non-linear models, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In such modeling in the present embodiment, each component is obtained by performing parameter fitting using a mathematical optimization method. In addition, in the present embodiment, non-linear least squares method is used to perform parameter fitting, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, when performing parameter fitting, for example, a constraint such that the variance value of rAP is smaller than the variance value of rHF can also be set.

[0059] Figure 8 The (a) of Figure 7 shows the result obtained by fitting the model function (formula (1)) using such a normal distribution. In the figure, the waveform 1102 formed by the data values represented by points corresponds to the distance waveform 701 shown in Figure 7 , and the waveform 1103 represented by a solid line is the motion waveform (fitted waveform) obtained by fitting the model function to the distance information forming the waveform 1102. Here, the horizontal axis is time, and the vertical axis is the amplitude normalized based on the distance between the coils shown in

[0060] After the signal fitting step S502 as described above ends, next, in step S503, parameters are extracted from the fitted model function. In the present embodiment, the movements in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction of the thyroid cartilage are modeled using independent normal distributions, so in this step S503, the "amplitude", "mean value", and "variance" of each of these movements are extracted. In addition, the "amplitude" corresponds to the magnitude of the movement of the thyroid cartilage, the "mean value" corresponds to the time when the movement occurs, and the "variance" corresponds to the duration of the movement.

[0061] Associated therewith, in Figure 8 (b) of, waveforms (the front-rear activity component waveform 1105 that is convex upward and the up-down activity component waveform 1106 that is convex downward) are shown which are obtained by extracting only the components in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction of the thyroid cartilage respectively from the movement waveform (fitted waveform) 1103 shown in (a) of Figure 8 . Thus, the processing unit 420 including the motion analysis unit 421 of the biological examination device 100 according to the present embodiment can generate two-dimensional trajectory data respectively representing the trajectories of the up-down direction and the front-rear direction of the thyroid cartilage over time based on the up-down activity component and the front-rear activity component.

[0062] After such a component extraction step S503 ends, next, in step S504, characteristic points of the W-shaped waveform, that is, characteristic points corresponding to the peak points 702 to 706 (data values of D0 to D4 and T0 to T4) on the distance waveform 701 of Figure 7 are extracted from the waveform reconstructed using the parameters extracted in step S503. Specifically, in the present embodiment, since the measurement signal is modeled and component separation is performed as shown in Equation (1), characteristic points can be simply extracted without adding noise and trend components. More specifically, as an example, T2 is obtained as the mean value of rAP, T1 and T3 are respectively obtained as the times representing the minimum values before and after T2, and T0 and T4 are respectively obtained as the times of the points after advancing the variance value in the negative direction and the positive direction from the mean value of rHF. In addition, D0 to D4 are respectively obtained as the values corresponding to the times T0 to T4.

[0063] After such a peak detection step S504 ends, next, in step S505, the waveforms, parameters, characteristic points, etc. calculated in the above steps S501 to S504 are saved in the internal storage device and / or the external storage device 111 of the computer 109. In addition, the above steps S501 to S505 can also be implemented during the process of measuring the swallowing motion and the swallowing sound by the swallowing measurement unit 410, and can also be implemented multiple times.

[0064] In Figure 5 , Figure 3The processing flow of the voice analysis unit 422 of the processing unit 420 of the computer 109. As shown in the figure, in step S601, rectification processing is performed on the voice information (generally a voice signal including positive and negative values) measured by the swallowing measurement unit 410 from the microphone 106. Here, the rectification processing refers to the processing of taking the absolute value and converting negative values into positive values. In Figure 9 shows a swallowing sound waveform 801 obtained by performing rectification processing on typical voice information.

[0065] In step S602, logarithmic transformation is performed on the signal after rectification processing obtained in step S601. Through this processing, the influence of spike-like signals mixed into the swallowing sound can be reduced.

[0066] In step S603, smoothing is performed on the signal after logarithmic transformation obtained in step S602. In particular, in this embodiment, moving average is used for smoothing processing, and the window width of the moving average is set to 400 points. In addition, the present invention is not limited to this smoothing method.

[0067] In step S604, exponential transformation is performed on the smoothed signal obtained in step S603. Thereby, a waveform representing the envelope of the originally measured voice information can be obtained. In Figure 9 is represented by a dotted line the envelope 802 obtained from such typical voice information (swallowing sound waveform 801).

[0068] In step S605, resampling is performed on the envelope signal obtained in step S604. Specifically, in this embodiment, Figure 3 the sampling frequencies of the voice information and the distance information in the swallowing measurement unit 410 shown are 4000 Hz and 100 Hz respectively, so processing is performed to resample the envelope signal at 1 / 40 to make it consistent with the sampling frequency of the distance information.

[0069] In step S606, the maximum value as a feature point is obtained for the resampled envelope signal obtained in step S605. The reason is that it is considered that the interval where the maximum amplitude is obtained in the swallowing sound signal (swallowing sound waveform 801) represents the flow of the ingested substance and is an important feature of the swallowing sound. Therefore, in this step 606, for Figure 9 the envelope 802 shown, the time S2 corresponding to the peak point 803 representing the maximum amplitude is obtained.

[0070] In step S607, the swallowing sound interval of the resampled envelope signal obtained in step S605 is obtained. That is, in the envelope 802, in order to obtain the time interval Ts when the swallowing sound is generated, the times at both ends of the swallowing sound interval are obtained. Specifically, it is set in Figure 9The amplitude threshold 804 represented by a single dotted line in the figure, and the times S1 and S3 corresponding to the point that crosses the threshold 804 below when observed from the maximum value (peak point 803) obtained in step S606, that is, the earlier start point 805 and the later end point 806 in time are obtained as characteristic points. In addition, in the present embodiment, as the threshold 804, a value obtained by adding the normalized central absolute deviation to the median value is used. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the setting method of the threshold 804, and a value obtained by adding the standard deviation to the mean value or the like may also be used.

[0071] Finally, in step S608, the waveforms and characteristic quantities calculated in the above steps S601 to S607 are stored in the internal storage device and / or external storage device 111 of the computer 109. In addition, the above steps S601 to S608 may also be implemented during the process of measuring the swallowing action and swallowing sound by the swallowing measurement unit 410, and may also be implemented multiple times.

[0072] In Figure 6 it shows Figure 3 the processing flow of the analysis unit 423 of the processing unit 420 of the computer 109 shown. As shown in the figure, in step S1001, the maximum displacements (maximum values) in the front-back direction and up-down direction of the action waveform 1103 (or distance waveform 701) as the fitted waveform are calculated.

[0073] In step S1002, the signed curvature of each point on the above-mentioned trajectory graph 901 described in detail below is calculated with reference to Figure 10 In this step S1002, the time progress direction (transfer direction) of the trajectory graph 901 is extracted, and in order to extract the point where the maximum displacement is taken, the signed curvature at each point on the trajectory graph 901 is calculated.

[0074] In step S1003, the sign is obtained from the signed curvature obtained in step S1002. Specifically, in the trajectory graph 901, the amplitude of the curvature becomes the largest at the point farthest from its coordinate origin, so after calculating the curvature of each point on the trajectory graph 901, the sign of the point where the maximum curvature is taken is obtained. As the coordinate system, the sign is determined in such a way that counterclockwise is positive and clockwise is negative, so as to uniquely obtain the time progress direction. In addition, the factor determining the positive and negative of the sign is the magnitude of the mean value of the front-back direction component rAP and the up-down direction component rHF. In the following Figure 10 trajectory graph 901 where the time progress direction is counterclockwise, the mean value representing the displacement in the front-back direction (that is, the time when the maximum value is taken) is earlier than the mean value of the displacement in the up-down direction.

[0075] In step S1004, obtain the geometric distance from the point where the maximum value of the signed curvature calculated in step S1002 is obtained to the origin of coordinates. In the trajectory graph 901, the amplitude of the curvature becomes maximum at the point farthest from the origin of coordinates, so calculate the geometric distance from the point where the amplitude of the curvature becomes maximum to the origin of coordinates. Thus, the time point (time) at which the displacement is maximum when the components in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction of the thyroid cartilage are combined can be obtained.

[0076] In step S1005, obtain the time difference between the time when the maximum value of the voice information is taken and the time when the maximum value in the front-rear direction of the distance information is taken. The reason is that, in particular, the time difference when taking the maximum value is an important parameter for characterizing the swallowing state. In the present embodiment, as can be seen from the display mode of the trajectory graph 901 described later, this parameter can be grasped not only visually but also displayed as a quantitative value. In addition, the present invention is not limited to these quantitative values. For example, the area of the region surrounded by the trajectory graph may be displayed as a feature quantity or the like.

[0077] In step S1006, obtain the ratio (the ratio of the time difference to the variance value) based on the variance value of the model ( Figure 8 shown in (b) of the front-rear movement component waveform 1105 representing the front-rear direction component of the distance information) of the time difference obtained in step S1005. In the healthy subject model, the swallowing sound occurs at the timing of the forward movement of the thyroid cartilage. Therefore, in this step S1006, the ratio is calculated in order to show the degree of deviation of the occurrence of the swallowing sound within an individual.

[0078] Finally, in step S1007, the waveforms and feature quantities calculated in the above steps S1001 to S1006 are stored in the internal storage device and / or the external storage device 111 of the computer 109. In addition, the above steps S1001 to S1007 may be implemented during the process of measuring the swallowing action and the swallowing sound by the swallowing measurement unit 410, and may also be implemented multiple times.

[0079] According to the above processing steps, the processing unit 420 further generates two-dimensional trajectory data representing the actions in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction of the thyroid cartilage simultaneously in one trajectory graph 901 (refer to Figure 10 ). Specifically, such two-dimensional trajectory data is generated as coordinate data shown in a coordinate plane defined by two mutually orthogonal coordinate axes, where one coordinate axis corresponds to the trajectory data value of the front-rear movement component and the other coordinate axis corresponds to the trajectory data value of the vertical movement component. More specifically, as Figure 10 shown, according to the signal fitting performed by the aforementioned motion analysis unit 421 ( Figure 4step S502) and component extraction ( Figure 4 step S503), the data values on the vertical movement component waveform 1106 and the data values on the front-back movement component waveform 1105 are time-corresponded, the horizontal axis is plotted with the trajectory data values of the front-back movement component (displacement in the front-back direction; normalized amplitude in the front-back movement component waveform 1105), and the vertical axis is plotted with the trajectory data values of the vertical movement component (displacement in the vertical direction; normalized amplitude in the vertical movement component waveform 1106). That is, the horizontal axis represents the value of the normal distribution of the parameter extracted for rAP in Equation (1) in Figure 4 step S503, and the vertical axis represents the value of the normal distribution of the parameter extracted for rHF in Equation (1).

[0080] Figure 10 The trajectory graph 901 as shown is displayed on the display device 110 via the display unit 430 of the computer 109. However, particularly in this embodiment, the plotting of each trajectory data value on the trajectory graph 901 is recognized and displayed according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound, for example, color-coded display. To achieve such recognition display, the processing unit 420 generates a swallowing sound waveform 801 and an envelope 802 representing the change over time of the amplitude of the swallowing sound based on the detection data detected by the microphone 106 as described above, and generates recognition display data for recognizing and displaying the plotting of each trajectory data value on the trajectory graph 901 according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound so as to time-correspond the swallowing sound waveform 801 or the envelope 802 and the trajectory graph 901. In addition, in this embodiment where color-coded display is associated with such recognition display, a reference strip graph 909 indicating how the color changes with the magnitude of the swallowing sound amplitude value along the vertical axis is displayed adjacent to the trajectory graph 901. For example, here, a recognition display method is formed such that the larger the amplitude of the swallowing sound, the more yellow it becomes, and the smaller the amplitude, the more blue it becomes. Or, it can also be a recognition display method such as color-coding in black and white and the larger the amplitude, the lighter the color. In addition, the recognition display method is not limited to this, and as long as it is a display method that can recognize different trajectory data values with different amplitudes of the swallowing sound by changing the size or shape of the plotting (mark) of each trajectory data value according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound, it can be any display method.

[0081] Such a trajectory graph 901 obtained by plotting trajectory data values as a scatter plot of a time series is a graph that separately displays the movements of the thyroid cartilage in the anteroposterior direction and the superior-inferior direction using two coordinate axes, and enables one to grasp at a glance the movement of the thyroid cartilage during swallowing. In addition, by displaying not only the movement of the swallowing action on one trajectory graph 901 but also the characteristics of the swallowing sound information on one trajectory graph 901 in this way, it is possible to visually confirm at which time point the swallowing sound occurs relative to the movement of the thyroid cartilage, quantitatively grasp the swallowing action, and also grasp at a glance the deviation of the swallowing sound from the normal state and the power of the swallowing sound.

[0082] In addition, various auxiliary information is additionally displayed in this trajectory graph 901. For this purpose, in the present embodiment, the processing unit 420 generates supplementary display data for overlapping and displaying on the trajectory graph 901 supplementary information including predetermined feature points associated with the motion waveform 1103 (or distance waveform 701), predetermined feature points associated with the swallowing sound waveform 801 (or envelope 802), and the occurrence time of the trajectory data values plotted on the trajectory graph 901, and also generates reference display data for displaying together with the trajectory graph 901 reference information including the transfer direction of the trajectory graph 901 and predetermined feature quantities calculated based on the trajectory graph 901.

[0083] Specifically, regarding such auxiliary display, in Figure 10 902 is an arrow indicating the direction in which the trajectory progresses (the transfer direction of the trajectory graph 901). In the present embodiment, it is shown that the trajectory starts from the coordinate origin, rotates counterclockwise, and then returns to the coordinate origin. In addition, 903 represents a feature quantity calculated based on the trajectory graph 901. Specifically, the maximum amount of displacement in the anteroposterior direction, the maximum amount of displacement in the superior-inferior direction, the maximum displacement from the coordinate origin represented by 904, the time difference (σ) between the times when the motion information and the sound information respectively take the maximum values, and the ratio of the time difference based on the variance value of the displacement in the anteroposterior direction (rAP) are respectively represented as feature quantities. These information are obtained through the processing by the aforementioned analysis unit 423. In addition, as a display method of this feature quantity, it may not be displayed above the coordinate area of the trajectory graph 901 as in the present embodiment, but may be displayed in the coordinate area of the trajectory graph 901 or in other graphs, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0084] In addition, in Figure 10 905 represents the occurrence time of the trajectory data values plotted on the trajectory graph 901, and is displayed every 0.1 second in the present embodiment. In addition, 906 represents the peak point in the distance information obtained through Figure 4 step S504. In addition, 907 represents through Figure 5The time point of the maximum value of the voice information obtained in step S606. Through this display, it is possible to confirm in the graph the time shift between the time point representing the maximum value of the voice information and the time point representing the maximum value of the component in the front-back direction of the thyroid cartilage in the distance information. In addition, 908 represents the start point 805 and the end point 806 of the voice information obtained through Figure 5 step S607 (refer to Figure 9 ).

[0085] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the model function obtained by modeling the swallowing action is fitted to the distance information based on the detection data detected by the transmitting coil 102 and the receiving coil 103 to obtain a fitting result. Therefore, it is possible to non-invasively reproduce the movement of the thyroid cartilage (hyoid bone) two-dimensionally (model the swallowing action), and extract from the fitting result the motion components associated with all the movement directions of the thyroid cartilage during swallowing, that is, two front-back motion components and up-down motion components corresponding to the up-down and front-back activities respectively. Based on these two components, two-dimensional trajectory data representing the up-down and front-back movement trajectories of the thyroid cartilage is generated. Therefore, it is also possible to grasp at a glance the two-dimensional movement of the thyroid cartilage (hyoid bone) in the up-down and front-back directions as swallowing dynamics without inferring the comprehensive swallowing action.

[0086] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the movement of the thyroid cartilage, but the present invention can also be applied to the inspection of the movement of biological parts other than the thyroid cartilage. That is, as long as it is a body part that performs the same activities (front-back and up-down activities) as the thyroid cartilage (hyoid bone), the present invention can also be applied to the analysis of the activities of parts other than the larynx. Specifically, as long as it is a body part that can decompose the change in distance detected by a predetermined detection unit into activities in multiple directions for analysis, the present invention can be applied. In addition, the biological inspection device of the present invention may not have the larynx displacement detection unit, the swallowing sound detection unit, and the display device as described above. That is, the biological inspection device, the larynx displacement detection unit, the swallowing sound detection unit, and the display device may be configured as an independent system. In addition, a part or all of the foregoing embodiments can be combined within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention, or a part of the structure can be omitted from one of the above-described embodiments.

[0087] Symbol Description

[0088] 100 Biological inspection device

[0089] 102 Transmitting coil (larynx displacement detection unit)

[0090] 103 Receiving coil (larynx displacement detection unit)

[0091] 106 Microphone (Swallowing Sound Detection Unit)

[0092] 420 Processing Unit

[0093] 430 Display Unit

Claims

1. A biological inspection device, characterized in that, It has a processing unit that processes detection data from a laryngeal movement detection unit which detects changes in the distance between two positions in the subject's larynx accompanying the up-and-down and front-and-back movements of the thyroid cartilage during swallowing. The processing unit extracts an up-and-down movement component accompanying the up-and-down movement of the thyroid cartilage and a front-and-back movement component accompanying the front-and-back movement of the thyroid cartilage from a fitting result obtained by fitting a model function obtained by modeling a swallowing motion to distance information based on the detection data detected by the laryngeal movement detection unit, and generates two-dimensional trajectory data representing the movement trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the up-and-down and front-and-back directions based on the extracted up-and-down movement component and front-and-back movement component. As the model function, it is modeled as shown in the following formula (1). Where t represents time, y(t) represents the measured distance waveform, rAP(t) represents the component in the front-and-back direction, rHF(t) represents the component in the up-and-down direction, d(t) represents the trend component caused by body movement, e represents measurement noise, and the component rAP in the front-and-back direction and the component rHF in the up-and-down direction are respectively modeled using independent normal distributions.

2. The biological examination device according to claim 1, characterized in that The processing unit generates two-dimensional trajectory data respectively representing the movement trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the up-and-down and front-and-back directions over time based on the up-and-down movement component and the front-and-back movement component.

3. The biological examination device according to claim 1, characterized in that The processing unit generates two-dimensional trajectory data that simultaneously represents the movements of the thyroid cartilage in the up-and-down and front-and-back directions in one trajectory graph.

4. The biological examination device according to claim 3, characterized in that The two-dimensional trajectory data is generated as coordinate data shown on a coordinate plane defined by two mutually orthogonal coordinate axes, where one coordinate axis corresponds to the trajectory data value of the front-and-back movement component and the other coordinate axis corresponds to the trajectory data value of the up-and-down movement component.

5. The biological examination device according to claim 3, characterized in that The processing unit generates a swallowing sound waveform representing the change over time of the amplitude of the swallowing sound based on detection data from a swallowing sound detection unit that detects the swallowing sound of the subject during swallowing, and generates identification display data for identifying and displaying the plotting of each trajectory data value on the trajectory graph according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound so as to correspond the swallowing sound waveform and the trajectory graph in time.

6. The biological examination device according to claim 4, characterized in that The processing unit generates a swallowing sound waveform representing the temporal change in the amplitude of the swallowing sound based on the detection data from the swallowing sound detection unit that detects the swallowing sound when the subject swallows, and generates recognition display data for recognizing and displaying the plotting of each trajectory data value on the trajectory graph according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound so as to correspond the swallowing sound waveform and the trajectory graph in terms of time.

7. The biological examination device according to claim 5, wherein the processing unit generates supplementary display data for overlapping and displaying on the trajectory graph supplementary information including at least one of a predetermined feature point associated with the fitting result, a predetermined feature point associated with the swallowing sound waveform, and the occurrence time of the trajectory data value plotted on the trajectory graph.

8. The biological examination device according to claim 6, wherein the processing unit generates supplementary display data for overlapping and displaying on the trajectory graph supplementary information including at least one of a predetermined feature point associated with the fitting result, a predetermined feature point associated with the swallowing sound waveform, and the occurrence time of the trajectory data value plotted on the trajectory graph.

9. The biological examination device according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the processing unit generates reference display data for displaying together with the trajectory graph reference information including at least one of the transfer direction of the trajectory graph and a predetermined feature quantity calculated based on the trajectory graph.

10. The biological examination device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the laryngeal displacement detection unit is composed of a transmitting coil and a receiving coil that are arranged to sandwich the thyroid cartilage from both sides and transmit and receive high-frequency signals.

11. The biological examination device according to claim 9, wherein the laryngeal displacement detection unit is composed of a transmitting coil and a receiving coil that are arranged to sandwich the thyroid cartilage from both sides and transmit and receive high-frequency signals.

12. A method for analyzing biological information, characterized in that, Comprising: a laryngeal displacement detection step of detecting, as biological information, a change in the distance between two positions in the larynx of the subject that occurs along with the up-and-down direction and the front-and-back direction movements of the thyroid cartilage during swallowing; a processing step of processing the detection data detected in the laryngeal displacement detection step; and a display step of displaying the data processed in the processing step, In the processing step, an up-and-down movement component associated with the up-and-down movement of the thyroid cartilage and a front-and-back movement component associated with the front-and-back movement of the thyroid cartilage are extracted from the fitting result obtained by fitting a model function obtained by modeling the swallowing action to the distance information based on the detection data detected in the laryngeal displacement detection step, and based on the extracted up-and-down movement component and front-and-back movement component, two-dimensional trajectory data representing the movement trajectories of the thyroid cartilage in the up-and-down direction and the front-and-back direction is generated. As the model function, it is modeled as shown in the following formula (1). Among them, t represents time, y(t) represents the measured distance waveform, rAP(t) represents the component in the front-back direction, rHF(t) represents the component in the up-down direction, d(t) represents the trend component generated by body movement, e represents measurement noise, and the component rAP in the front-back direction and the component rHF in the up-down direction are respectively modeled using independent normal distributions.

13. The method for analyzing biological information according to claim 12, wherein in the processing step, two-dimensional trajectory data respectively representing the trajectories over time of the up-down direction and the front-back direction of the thyroid cartilage are generated based on the up-down movement component and the front-back movement component.

14. The method for analyzing biological information according to claim 12, wherein in the processing step, two-dimensional trajectory data representing the movements in both the up-down direction and the front-back direction of the thyroid cartilage simultaneously in one trajectory graph are generated based on the up-down movement component and the front-back movement component.

15. The method for analyzing biological information according to claim 14, wherein the two-dimensional trajectory data is generated as coordinate data shown on a coordinate plane defined by two mutually orthogonal coordinate axes, with one coordinate axis corresponding to the trajectory data value of the front-back movement component and the other coordinate axis corresponding to the trajectory data value of the up-down movement component.

16. The method for analyzing biological information according to claim 14, wherein it further includes a swallowing sound detection step of detecting the swallowing sound when the subject swallows, and in the processing step, based on the detection data detected in the swallowing sound detection step, a swallowing sound waveform representing the change over time of the amplitude of the swallowing sound is generated, and identification display data for identifying and displaying the plotting of each trajectory data value on the trajectory graph according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound so as to temporally correspond the swallowing sound waveform and the trajectory graph is generated.

17. The method for analyzing biological information according to claim 15, wherein it further includes a swallowing sound detection step of detecting the swallowing sound when the subject swallows, and in the processing step, based on the detection data detected in the swallowing sound detection step, a swallowing sound waveform representing the change over time of the amplitude of the swallowing sound is generated, and identification display data for identifying and displaying the plotting of each trajectory data value on the trajectory graph according to the magnitude of the amplitude of the swallowing sound so as to temporally correspond the swallowing sound waveform and the trajectory graph is generated.

18. The method for analyzing biological information according to claim 16, wherein in the processing step, supplementary display data for overlapping and displaying on the trajectory graph supplementary information including at least one of a predetermined feature point associated with the fitting result, a predetermined feature point associated with the swallowing sound waveform, and the occurrence time of the trajectory data value plotted on the trajectory graph is generated.

19. The method for analyzing biological information according to claim 17, wherein In the processing step, supplementary display data is generated for overlapping and displaying on the trajectory graph supplementary information for generating at least one of the occurrence times of predetermined feature points associated with the fitting result, predetermined feature points associated with the swallowing sound waveform, and the trajectory data values plotted on the trajectory graph.

20. The biological information analysis method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that In the processing step, reference display data is generated for displaying together with the trajectory graph reference information including at least one of the transfer direction of the trajectory graph and a predetermined feature amount calculated based on the trajectory graph.

21. The biological information analysis method according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that In the laryngeal displacement detection step, the biological information is detected using a transmitting coil and a receiving coil that are arranged to sandwich the thyroid cartilage from both sides and transmit and receive high-frequency signals.

22. The biological information analysis method according to claim 20, characterized in that In the laryngeal displacement detection step, the biological information is detected using a transmitting coil and a receiving coil that are arranged to sandwich the thyroid cartilage from both sides and transmit and receive high-frequency signals.

Images