Pressure fingerstall for auxiliary diagnosis of Parkinson's disease

Abstract

The utility model discloses a pressure fingerstall for auxiliary diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, which comprises a wearable pressure sensing fingerstall, a wearable processor and an elastic stretchable watchband, the wearable processor comprises a central processor module and a wireless communication module, the central processor module is connected with the wearable pressure sensing fingerstall and the wireless communication module so as to be used for controlling the wearable pressure sensing fingerstall to collect pressure data and communicating the collected pressure data with an external upper computer through the wireless communication module. According to the utility model, the collected data comprises the change condition of finger pressure during each beating, the interval time between multiple beating and the beating times within specific time, so that a doctor can judge the beating action speed, whether the action is delayed or paused, the finger opening amplitude and the trend that the finger opening amplitude is smaller; and doctors can be helped to diagnose more accurately.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of auxiliary diagnosis, in particular to a pressure finger cuff for auxiliary diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Background Art

[0002] Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease that mainly affects the motor function of the central nervous system. The main characteristics of Parkinson's disease include bradykinesia, tremor, muscle rigidity and postural instability. The incidence of Parkinson's disease increases significantly with age and mainly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people. Globally, about 1% of people over 60 years old suffer from Parkinson's disease, and the incidence rate in men is slightly higher than that in women. Pathologically, the main characteristics of Parkinson's disease are the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain and the appearance of characteristic inclusions called Lewy bodies in neurons.

[0003] Currently, the clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is mainly based on the patient's clinical manifestations, medical history and physical examination. There are no specific biomarkers that can be used to confirm Parkinson's disease. In clinical diagnosis, doctors mainly use rating scales to judge the severity of PD patients' motor symptoms. The most commonly used rating scale is the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). Doctors score and diagnose the condition by observing how well the patient completes the specified movements. Among them, the finger tapping test is closely related to the bradykinesia and rhythm abnormalities of PD patients. It is an important way to evaluate the severity of PD patients' symptoms and an important indicator for the diagnosis of early Parkinson's disease. The complete process of scale assessment is very time-consuming and labor-intensive, which increases the mental burden of doctors. The results of doctors' manual observations are also affected by their mental state. The diagnostic results are greatly affected by subjective influences and are subject to errors.

[0004] Nanchang University disclosed a finger cuff for testing the finger pinching ability of Parkinson's patients in its patent application, "A device and method for measuring the finger pinching ability of Parkinson's patients" (patent application number CN201410416397.2, publication number CN 104207781A). The cuff can effectively test the number of effective finger pinching times a patient can achieve within a specific timeframe. Its disadvantage is that it cannot fully meet the assessment criteria for finger tapping in the MDS-UPDRS rating scale. Item 3.4 of the MDS-UPDRS rating scale describes the finger tapping instructions, which require assessment of not only the number of times, but also the speed of the movement, the amplitude of the finger opening, any hesitation or pause in the movement, and whether the amplitude of the finger opening tends to decrease. Based on the assessment requirements of the aforementioned scale, this disclosed method cannot effectively assist in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In response to the problems existing in the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a pressure cuff for assisting in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, which can help doctors complete the diagnostic evaluation of finger tapping movements more accurately, conveniently and efficiently, and help doctors and patients diagnose the disease as early as possible and treat it as early as possible.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions.

[0007] A pressure cuff for assisting in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease includes a wearable pressure sensing cuff and a wearable processor, which are connected by a wire. The wearable pressure sensing cuff is made of a soft, elastic material and can adapt to different finger sizes of the subject.

[0008] The wearable processor contains a central processing unit module, a power module, a storage module and a wireless communication module, and its external structure includes a USB-C data transmission interface, a power switch button and a wireless connection switch button (the wearable processor contains a central processing unit module, a power module, a storage module and a communication module, and its external structure includes a USB-C data transmission interface, a power switch button, a wireless connection switch button, a start test button, a stop test button and a power charging interface).

[0009] The power module is connected to the central processing unit module, and the central processing unit module is respectively connected to the storage module, the pressure sensor module and the wireless communication module. The wireless communication module can be wirelessly connected to the host computer (the communication module can be connected to the host computer via wireless transmission or wired USB connection).

[0010] The wearable pressure sensing finger cuff contains a pressure sensor module. The pressure sensor module has a built-in small, fast-response, highly sensitive, and highly adaptable flexible piezoelectric module that can accurately collect changes in finger pressure over time. The outside of the piezoelectric sensor is covered with soft elastic fabric.

[0011] The wearable processor module is equipped with elastic stretchable straps on both sides, and fixed buckles are installed at the ends of the straps (the ends of the straps are equipped with Velcro for fixing), which can adapt to the different wrist sizes of subjects and firmly fix the device on the subject's wrist.

[0012] The central processing unit module is used to control the pressure sensor module to collect pressure data, store the collected pressure data in the storage module, and control the wireless communication module to communicate with the host computer.

[0013] The wireless communication module uses Bluetooth or wired USB connection to communicate with the host computer. After the host computer receives the pressure data, it pre-processes the data and finally displays the data in the form of a waveform time domain graph.

[0014] The central processing unit module of this device has two built-in storage algorithm schemes. When a connection is established with the host computer, the test start and stop can be controlled by the host computer, and the data can be transmitted to the host computer in real time for processing and display. When the hardware device is not connected to the host computer, the start and stop of the test can be controlled by the button switch on the hardware device. The test result data will be saved in the storage module in the wearable processor module 2. After the connection is established with the host computer, the test result data in the storage module can be read by the host computer for processing and display.

[0015] Beneficial effects of the utility model

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are:

[0017] 1. High wearability: Traditional finger cuffs use covered finger cuffs, which are not adaptable to different finger sizes of different patients. This method uses soft elastic materials to fix non-covered sensors on the fingers, so that it can adapt to different finger sizes. The processor module is integrated into the wearable wristband, which improves the wearing efficiency and comfort of the subjects.

[0018] 2. Data richness: The data collected by the traditional method only includes the number of finger tapping within a specific time. The data collected by the present invention includes the changes in finger pressure each time of tapping, the interval time between multiple tappings, and the number of tappings within a specific time. This allows doctors to judge the speed of the tapping action, whether there is hesitation or pause in the action, the amplitude of the finger opening, and the trend of the finger opening amplitude becoming smaller and smaller, which can help doctors make more accurate diagnoses.

[0019] 3. Ease of use: This device has two built-in storage algorithms. The hardware of this device can be used in scenarios where it can be connected to the host computer or not. It is convenient for doctors to carry the device when they go out for diagnosis or for patients to carry it with them when they go out for testing. The data can be read and analyzed when the connection with the host computer is established.

[0020] 4. Data result visualization: After receiving the pressure sensor data, the upper computer uses a time domain waveform to visualize the pressure data. Through the time domain waveform, it is possible to clearly observe the changes in the patient's finger pressure each time they tap, the interval between multiple taps, and the number of taps within a specific time period, which can help doctors quickly analyze the patient's assessment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of the present utility model.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a principle block diagram of the utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention; it is obvious that the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] See Figure 1 , a pressure cuff for assisting in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, comprising:

[0025] The wearable pressure-sensing cuff 1 contains a flexible piezoelectric sensor 11, which is connected to the wearable processor 2 via a wire 8. The cuff 1 is made of a soft and elastic material in the shape of a cuff, making it easy for the subject to wear during testing and adaptable to subjects of various finger sizes. Elastic, stretchable straps 3 are attached to both sides of the wearable processor 2, with fasteners 4 (using Velcro) at the ends to secure the device to the subject's wrist.

[0026] The wearable processor 2 includes a central processing unit, a storage module and a wireless communication module, which is used to control the wearable pressure sensing cuff 1 to collect pressure data, control data storage and wireless data transmission. The connection method of each module is shown in Figure 2 .

[0027] Specifically, when using the present invention, first, the wearable processor 2 is fixed to the subject's wrist using an elastic stretchable strap 3 and a fixed buckle 4 (fixed with Velcro), and then the wearable pressure sensing finger cuff 1 is worn on the subject's thumb and index finger. When wearing, please pay attention to wearing the pressure sensor module facing the finger surface.

[0028] During detection, turn on the power switch 6 on the wearable processor 2 and the device starts working. In the scenario where a connection can be established with the host computer, the wireless connection switch 7 on the wearable processor 2 can be turned on to pair with the host computer or establish a wired connection with the host computer through the USB interface 5 on the wearable processor 2. After the connection is successful, the start and stop of the test can be controlled on the host computer, and the pressure data collected during the test can be uploaded to the host computer in real time for processing and display. In the scenario where the hardware device is used alone or it is temporarily impossible to connect to the host computer in real time, the start and stop of the test can be controlled by the start test button 8 and the stop test button 9 on the wearable processor 2. At this time, the test results will be stored in the storage module in the wearable processor 2. When the device can establish a connection with the host computer, the data in the storage module can be read by the host computer for processing and display.

[0029] The test is conducted on both hands. The subject is asked to spread their thumb and index finger as wide as possible and clap them together 10 times at maximum speed. Each hand is evaluated separately, including the speed of the movement, the amplitude of the finger opening, any hesitation or pauses, and whether the amplitude of the finger opening decreases as the movement progresses.

[0030] After the upper computer obtains the pressure data, it first filters the data to eliminate noise interference, and then plots the obtained data in the form of a time domain waveform. The graph will show the changes in finger pressure over time in the form of a waveform. The time interval between different peaks can be used to intuitively judge the speed of the finger tapping action and whether there is hesitation or pause. The size of the peak generated by each tap can be used to intuitively judge the amplitude of the finger opening and whether there is a trend of the finger opening amplitude becoming smaller.

[0031] The data collected by the device is free from observation errors caused by human subjective factors. Doctors can make unbiased diagnosis and assessment of the subject's condition through the time domain waveform generated by the data.

[0032] In actual applications, the model of the flexible piezoelectric sensor 11 is DF9-16@2kg, with a measuring range of 20g-2kg and a voltage of 3.3v; the storage module and the wireless communication module are both integrated on the central processing unit, the model of the central processing unit is STM32WB55REV6, and the communication protocols are Bluetooth v5.0, Thread, Zigbee (communication protocol: Bluetooth 5.0); the model of the power module is LIR2032, with a voltage of 3.6V and a capacity of 40mAh.

[0033] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention; however, the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who, within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, makes equivalent substitutions or modifications based on the technical solutions and improved concepts of the present invention shall be covered by the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A pressure cuff for assisting in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, characterized in that: The wearable pressure sensing finger cuff includes a wearable processor and an elastic stretchable strap. The wearable processor includes a central processing unit module and a wireless communication module. The central processing unit module is respectively connected to the wearable pressure sensing finger cuff and the wireless communication module to control the wearable pressure sensing finger cuff to collect pressure data, and the collected pressure data is communicated with an external host computer through the wireless communication module.

2. The pressure cuff for assisting in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wearable pressure sensing finger cuff is connected to the wearable processor via a wire.

3. The pressure cuff for assisting in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wearable pressure sensing finger cuff includes a pressure sensor module, which has a built-in small, fast-response, highly sensitive, and highly adaptable flexible piezoelectric module that can accurately collect changes in finger pressure over time. The outside of the piezoelectric sensor module is covered with soft elastic fabric.

4. The pressure cuff for assisting in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease according to claim 1, characterized in that: A fixing buckle is provided at the end of the elastic stretchable strap.

5. The pressure cuff for assisting in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wearable processor also includes a power module and a storage module.

Images