Biometric device, system, biometric method, and program

Abstract

A biometric measuring device according to the present invention removes, from sensor data, body movement noise caused by movement of a living body. A sensor data acquisition unit (11) acquires a plurality of pieces of sensor data from an array sensor attached to a living body. A selection unit (12) selects, from among a plurality of light-receiving elements constituting the array sensor, a first light-receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light-receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body. A noise-removing unit (13) uses second sensor data obtained from the second light-receiving element to remove, from first sensor data obtained from the first light-receiving element, the body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body. An output unit (14) outputs, as measurement data, a frequency component of a specific range included in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a biometric device, a biometric method, and a program, and more particularly to a biometric device, a biometric method, and a program for measuring biometric information using an array sensor. [Background technology]

[0002] In related technology, the state of a living body, such as health or emotions, is analyzed based on measurements of activity of the autonomic nervous system (called bioinformation). For example, in the related technology described in Patent Document 1, a biometric device measures the pulse rate of a living body. Then, an emotion analysis device uses a machine-learned model to estimate the emotion of a person based on changes in the pulse rate measured by the biometric device.

[0003] In one example, a pulse wave sensor that detects changes in the volume of blood vessels is used in a biometric device to measure the pulse. In recent years, an array sensor has been developed in which a number of light receiving elements (photodiodes) are arranged in a matrix on a flexible substrate. In a related technology described in Non-Patent Document 1, the array sensor is attached to the skin of a living body. By using this array sensor, the multiple light receiving elements can simultaneously and individually detect the pulse wave. It is expected that the biometric device will be able to measure the pulse with higher accuracy based on multiple sensor data output from the multiple light receiving elements that make up the array sensor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2018-504188 [Patent Document 2] JP 2015-039542 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2015-142666 A [Patent Document 4] Special Publication No. 2018-534031 [Patent Document 5] International Publication No. 2015 / 129843 [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] Yokota, T., Nakamura, T., Kato, H. et al. “A conformable imager for biometric authentication and vital sign measurement.”, Nat Electron (2020). nature research Internet site address URL(https: / / doi.org / 10.1038 / s41928-019-0354-7)(Retrieved November 26, 2020) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the related technology described in Non-Patent Document 1, noise due to the movement of the living body (body movement noise) is superimposed on multiple sensor data output from multiple light receiving elements that make up the array sensor. In the related technology described in Non-Patent Document 1, the shot noise is cancelled by averaging the sensor data from the multiple light receiving elements. However, body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body cannot be removed by this method.

[0007] In the related technology described in Patent Document 2, multiple detection signals are classified into those having a pulse component and body movement noise based on the strength of pressure applied by the array sensor to the living body. Then, the body movement noise is removed by subtracting the detection signal of the body movement noise from the detection signal having the pulse component. However, if the array sensor does not have a pressure application mechanism, the related technology described in Patent Document 2 cannot be used to remove the body movement noise.

[0008] On the other hand, in the related technology described in Patent Document 5, multiple detection signals are classified into those having a pulse component and body movement noise based on whether or not they have periodic fluctuations due to pulse waves. In reality, all detection signals have a pulse component to a greater or lesser extent, so it is difficult to accurately classify multiple detection signals based on the presence or absence of periodicity.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to remove body movement noise caused by the movement of a living body from sensor data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A biometric measurement device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a sensor data acquisition means for acquiring multiple sensor data from an array sensor attached to a living body, a selection means for selecting from multiple light receiving elements constituting the array sensor a first light receiving element for measuring biometric information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body, a noise removal means for removing body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from first sensor data from the first light receiving element using second sensor data from the second light receiving element, and an output means for outputting frequency components within a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed as measurement data.

[0011] A biometric measurement method according to one embodiment of the present invention acquires multiple sensor data from an array sensor attached to a living body, selects a first light receiving element for measuring biometric information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from among the multiple light receiving elements constituting the array sensor, uses second sensor data from the second light receiving element to remove body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from first sensor data from the first light receiving element, and outputs frequency components within a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed as measurement data.

[0012] A program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute the following processes: acquiring multiple sensor data from an array sensor attached to a living body; selecting a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from among the multiple light receiving elements constituting the array sensor; using second sensor data from the second light receiving element to remove body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from first sensor data from the first light receiving element; and outputting frequency components within a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed as measurement data. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, body movement noise caused by the movement of a living body can be removed from sensor data. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a system including a biometric device according to any one of first to third embodiments. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an array sensor provided in the system shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of an array sensor provided in the system shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the array sensor shown in FIG. 2 attached to the skin of a living body. [Diagram 5] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a biometric device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the biometric device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of details of a selection process according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] 11 is a graph showing an example of sensor data. [Figure 9]FIG. 9 is a diagram showing spectrum data obtained by Fourier transforming the sensor data shown in FIG. 8 into the frequency domain. [Figure 10] 9 is a graph showing the difference between the sensor data shown in FIG. 8. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a biometric device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 12] 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the biometric device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of details of the selection process in step S2 shown in FIG. 12. [Figure 14] 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of how a plurality of light receiving elements constituting an array sensor are selected in the selection process shown in FIG. 13. FIG. [Figure 15] 14 is a diagram for explaining another example of how a plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor are selected in the selection process shown in FIG. 13. FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a biometric device according to any one of the first to third embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] (System 1) An example of the configuration of a system 1 including a biometric device according to any one of embodiments 1 to 3 described below will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the system 1.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the system 1 includes a biometric device 10 or a biometric device 30 (hereinafter referred to as “biometric device 10 (30)”), an array sensor 100, and a data analysis device 200.

[0017] The biometric device 10 (30) transmits a control signal to the array sensor 100. In response to this, the biometric device 10 (30) operates the array sensor 100 as described below.

[0018] The array sensor 100 includes a light emitting unit 110 and a plurality of light receiving elements 120. The light emitting unit 110 emits an optical signal into a living body (not shown in the figure, for example, a human body). The optical signal passes through the skin of the living body and is partially scattered and partially absorbed by tissue within the living body. The scattered or reflected light is then emitted from the living body to the outside. The plurality of light receiving elements 120 detect the light emitted from the living body to the outside.

[0019] The array sensor 100 transmits to the biometric device 10 (30) a plurality of sensor data based on light detected by each of a plurality of light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100. An example of the configuration of the array sensor 100 will be described later.

[0020] The biometric device 10 (30) receives a plurality of sensor data from the array sensor 100. The biometric device 10 (30) derives measurement data including bioinformation based on the plurality of sensor data, and outputs the derived measurement data. A specific example of a method in which the biometric device 10 (30) derives measurement data based on the plurality of sensor data will be described in the first embodiment and onward. The biometric device 10 (30) transmits the measurement data to the data analysis device 200. Alternatively, the biometric device 10 (30) may output the measurement data derived in this manner to an external device (e.g., a display).

[0021] Biometric information is information related to the mind and body of a living body, and is particularly a measurable index related to the health and emotions of the living body. For example, the biological information is pulse rate, blood flow rate, blood oxygen concentration, brain waves, blood pressure, or sweat rate. In the following first to third embodiments, the case where the measurement target is pulse rate will be described.

[0022] The data analysis device 200 receives measurement data from the biometric device 10 (30). The data analysis device 200 estimates the state of the living body, such as health and emotions, by analyzing the measurement data.

[0023] (Array Sensor 100) The above-mentioned array sensor 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0024] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the above-mentioned array sensor 100. As shown in Fig. 2, the array sensor 100 is composed of a light-emitting unit 110 and a plurality of light-receiving elements 120 (n elements in Fig. 12) (n is an integer of 2 or more).

[0025] The light emitting unit 110 is, for example, a near infrared light emitting diode (NIR-LED). The light emitting unit 110 emits light of a fixed wavelength or wavelength range in the near infrared band. In general, the pulse is measured from changes in the volume of blood vessels, changes in components such as blood cells, or changes in the expansion and contraction of blood vessels. Therefore, when the measurement target is the pulse, it is necessary to select a wavelength that can sense these.

[0026] Each of the light receiving elements 120 receives light reflected from the living body. For example, the light receiving elements 120 are photoconductive cells, photovoltaic cells, photoresistors, photodiodes, or phototransistors. Each of the light receiving elements 120 transmits a plurality of sensor data based on the reflected light received by the light receiving elements 120 to the biometric device 10 (30).

[0027] 3 and 4 show an example of the configuration of the array sensor 100. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the array sensor 100. As shown in FIG. 3, in the array sensor 100, a plurality of light receiving elements 120 fixed to one side of a substrate 130 are arranged in a two-dimensional direction, for example, in a matrix. An adhesive layer 140 surrounding the plurality of light receiving elements 120 is used to attach the array sensor 100 to a living body. The number and arrangement of the plurality of light receiving elements 120 are not particularly limited. Note that the light emitting unit 110 is omitted in FIG. 3.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the array sensor 100 and a cross section of a living body. In FIG. 4, the array sensor 100 is attached to the skin of the living body. Blood vessels run under the skin of the living body. The light emitting unit 110 (FIG. 2) of the array sensor 100 emits near-infrared light. The near-infrared light passes through the skin of the living body and is partially absorbed by blood components in the blood vessels. The near-infrared light that is not absorbed is reflected by the inner membrane or outer membrane of the blood vessel or the bones of the living body. The multiple light receiving elements 120 of the array sensor 100 each receive the reflected light emitted from the skin of the living body. The microcomputer 150 of the array sensor 100 generates sensor data, which is a digital signal, by A / D converting the analog signal detected by the light receiving elements 120.

[0029] [Embodiment 1] The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0030] (Biometric device 10) Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the biometric device 10 according to the present embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 5, the biometric device 10 includes a sensor data acquisition unit 11, a selection unit 12, a noise removal unit 13, and an output unit 14.

[0031] The sensor data acquiring unit 11 acquires a plurality of sensor data from the array sensor 100 attached to a living body. The sensor data acquiring unit 11 is an example of a sensor data acquiring means.

[0032] The selection unit 12 selects a first light receiving element for measuring biological information (pulse in the first embodiment) and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by biological movement from the array sensor 100. The selection unit 12 is an example of a selection means.

[0033] In one example, the selection unit 12 detects pulse components from a plurality of sensor data and compares the magnitude of the pulse components among the plurality of sensor data. Then, the selection unit 12 selects a light receiving element that outputs sensor data with a relatively large pulse component as a first light receiving element. Also, the selection unit 12 selects a light receiving element that outputs sensor data with a relatively large pulse component as a second light receiving element (embodiment 2).

[0034] Here, the pulse component in the sensor data is a frequency component in a specific range that indicates a period that is characteristic of a pulse wave. In one example, the pulse component is a frequency component from 40 Hz to 200 Hz.

[0035] In another example, the selection unit 12 compares the distances from blood vessels between a plurality of light receiving elements based on blood vessel map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in a living body. The selection unit 12 selects a light receiving element located directly above or in the vicinity of a blood vessel as a first light receiving element. The selection unit 12 also selects a light receiving element located away from the blood vessel as a second light receiving element (Embodiment 3).

[0036] The noise removal unit 13 removes body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from the first sensor data from the first light receiving element by using the second sensor data from the second light receiving element. The noise removal unit 13 is an example of a noise removal means.

[0037] In one example, the noise removal unit 13 subtracts the second sensor data output from the second light receiving element from the first sensor data output from the first light receiving element. This removes body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from the first sensor data. The reason is that if the living body moves, body movement noise of approximately the same degree occurs simultaneously in both the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element. Therefore, by subtracting the second sensor data from the first sensor data, the body movement noise included in the first sensor data can be canceled out by the body movement noise included in the second sensor data.

[0038] The output unit 14 outputs, as measurement data, frequency components in a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which body movement noise has been removed. The output unit 14 is an example of an output means. In one example, the output unit 14 outputs the measurement data to the data analysis device 200 (FIG. 1) of the above-mentioned system 1. Alternatively, the output unit 14 may output the measurement data to an external device (e.g., a display) not shown.

[0039] (Operation of biometric device 10) The operation of the biometric device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processes executed by each unit of the biometric device 10.

[0040] 6, the sensor data acquiring unit 11 acquires a plurality of sensor data from the array sensor 100 attached to a living body (S1). The sensor data acquiring unit 11 outputs the plurality of sensor data to the selecting unit 12.

[0041] The selection unit 12 selects a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by biological movement from the array sensor 100 (S2). The selection unit 12 outputs sensor data from the selected first light receiving element and sensor data from the second light receiving element to the noise removal unit 13. In step S2, the selection unit 12 may select the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element in consideration of the influence of fluctuations in the bit rate and power of the sensor data received by the biometric device 10 from the array sensor 100. For example, when the bit rate or power is reduced, the selection unit 12 narrows down the light receiving elements to be selected from the array sensor 100 in advance before performing the process of step S2. This allows the selection unit 12 to select the first light receiving element more suitable for measuring biological information and the second light receiving element more suitable for detecting body movement noise from the narrowed down light receiving elements.

[0042] The noise elimination unit 13 uses the second sensor data from the second light receiving element to eliminate body movement noise from the first sensor data from the first light receiving element (S3). The noise elimination unit 13 outputs the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been eliminated to the output unit 14.

[0043] The output unit 14 outputs, as measurement data, frequency components in a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed (S4). In one example, the output unit 14 outputs the measurement data to the data analysis device 200 (FIG. 1) of the above-mentioned system 1.

[0044] The operation of the biometric device 10 is now complete.

[0045] (Effects of this embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, the sensor data acquisition unit 11 acquires a plurality of sensor data from the array sensor 100 attached to a living body. The selection unit 12 selects a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from among the plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor 100. The noise removal unit 13 removes body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from the first sensor data from the first light receiving element by using the second sensor data from the second light receiving element. The output unit 14 outputs, as measurement data, frequency components in a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed.

[0046] As described above, some of the light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100 are selected for measurement, and the other part of the light receiving elements 120 are selected for detecting body movement noise. By using two types of light receiving elements 120 with different roles in this way, body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body can be removed from the sensor data.

[0047] [Embodiment 2] A second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7 to Fig. 10. In the second embodiment, an example of the procedure of the sorting process (S2 in Fig. 6) executed by the sorting unit 12 of the biometric device 10 will be described. Note that the configuration and operation of the biometric device 10 will be described with reference to the description of the first embodiment, and will not be described in the second embodiment.

[0048] (Sorting process (S2)) 7, first, the selection unit 12 performs Fourier transform processing on a plurality of sensor data outputted within a certain time from the array sensor 100 (FIG. 1) (S21). As a result, the plurality of sensor data are transformed from the time domain to the frequency domain.

[0049] Fig. 8 shows two pieces of sensor data S1 and S2 in the time domain, while Fig. 9 shows data FS1 and FS2 in the frequency domain obtained by Fourier transforming these two pieces of sensor data S1 and S2, respectively.

[0050] Returning to the flow of FIG. 7, next, the selection unit 12 compares the magnitude of the pulse components in the frequency domain data FS1 and FS2 (S22).

[0051] As a result of the comparison in step S22, the selection unit 12 determines that the pulse component of the frequency domain data FS1 is relatively large (A in S23) and that the pulse component of the frequency domain data FS2 is relatively small (B in S23).

[0052] Then, the selection unit 12 selects the light receiving element 120 corresponding to the data FS1 having the larger pulse component as the first light receiving element (S24X).The selection unit 12 also selects the light receiving element 120 corresponding to the data FS2 having the smaller pulse component as the second light receiving element (S24Y).

[0053] This is the end of the selection process (S2) according to the second embodiment.

[0054] For the sake of simplicity, a case has been described in which the sorting unit 12 sorts the two light receiving elements 120 into a first light receiving element and a second light receiving element.

[0055] In reality, the number of sensor data output is the same as the number of light receiving elements 120 included in the array sensor 100. Therefore, there are cases where the array sensor 100 outputs three or more sensor data.

[0056] In this case, the sorting unit 12 calculates the difference (Δ shown in FIG. 9) between the peaks of the pulse components in the frequency domain data for any two combinations of sensor data. The sorting unit 12 extracts a predetermined number of combinations of sensor data in descending order of the calculated difference. Then, following the procedure shown in steps S22 to S24X or S24Y in FIG. 7, the sorting unit 12 sorts the light receiving elements corresponding to the extracted sensor data into a first light receiving element and a second light receiving element.

[0057] In this manner, the selection unit 12 can select the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element regardless of the number of light receiving elements 120 that constitute the array sensor 100.

[0058] In one example, as described in the first embodiment, the noise removal unit 13 of the biometric device 10 removes body movement noise from the first sensor data by subtracting the second sensor data from the first sensor data.

[0059] Fig. 10 shows an example of the first sensor data S (=S1-S2) from which the body movement noise has been removed, obtained in this manner. Comparing the first sensor data S shown in Fig. 10 with the first sensor data S1 shown in Fig. 8, it can be seen that the first sensor data S from which the body movement noise has been removed has a shape that more clearly shows the periodicity of the pulse wave.

[0060] (Effects of this embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, the sensor data acquisition unit 11 acquires a plurality of sensor data from the array sensor 100 attached to a living body. The selection unit 12 selects a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from among the plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor 100. The noise removal unit 13 removes body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from the first sensor data from the first light receiving element by using the second sensor data from the second light receiving element. The output unit 14 outputs, as measurement data, frequency components in a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed.

[0061] As described above, some of the light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100 are selected for measurement, and the other part of the light receiving elements 120 are selected for detecting body movement noise. By using two types of light receiving elements 120 with different roles in this way, body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body can be removed from the sensor data.

[0062] Furthermore, according to the configuration of this embodiment, the selection unit 12 selects the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element from the multiple light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100 based on the magnitude relationship of the pulse components included in the sensor data. This allows the selection unit 12 to select the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element regardless of the number of light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100.

[0063] [Embodiment 3] A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0064] (Biometric device 30) Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a biometric device 30 according to the present embodiment 3. As shown in Fig. 11, the biometric device 30 includes a sensor data acquisition unit 11, a selection unit 12, a noise removal unit 13, and an output unit 14. The biometric device 30 further includes a vascular map generation unit 35.

[0065] The blood vessel map generating unit 35 acquires blood vessel map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in a living body. The blood vessel map generating unit 35 is an example of a blood vessel map generating means.

[0066] In one example, the blood vessel map generating unit 35 generates blood vessel map data based on a plurality of sensor data output from the array sensor 100 and information indicating the positional relationship of a plurality of light receiving elements 120, which is stored in advance in a storage unit (not shown). As shown in Fig. 3, in the array sensor 100, a plurality of light receiving elements 120 are arranged in a matrix. Since the near-infrared light from the light emitting unit 110 is partially absorbed by blood components, the reflection received by the light receiving elements 120 located directly above or in the vicinity of the blood vessels is dark (i.e., has low intensity), and the reflection received by the light receiving elements 120 located away from the blood vessels is strong (i.e., has high intensity).

[0067] Therefore, a small amplitude of the sensor data output by the light receiving element 120 indicates that a blood vessel is present at or near the position corresponding to the light receiving element 120. Conversely, a large amplitude of the sensor data output by the light receiving element 120 indicates that the light receiving element 120 is far from the blood vessel.

[0068] The blood vessel map generating unit 35 receives sensor data output from each of the multiple light receiving elements 120 from the array sensor 100. The blood vessel map generating unit 35 also receives information indicating the positional relationship of the multiple light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100 from a storage unit (e.g., a memory) not shown.

[0069] The blood vessel map generating unit 35 judges the presence or absence of blood vessels at the positions corresponding to the respective light receiving elements 120 based on the amplitude of the sensor data from the respective light receiving elements 120. Then, the blood vessel map generating unit 35 generates blood vessel map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in the living body, using the judgment result of the presence or absence of blood vessels and information indicating the positional relationship of the plurality of light receiving elements 120. In this blood vessel map data, regions with blood vessels and regions without blood vessels are distinguished.

[0070] In this way, the vascular map generating unit 35 generates vascular map data of the living body by using the array sensor 100 like a camera sensor. The vascular map generating unit 35 outputs the acquired vascular map data of the living body to the selecting unit 12.

[0071] The selection unit 12 receives blood vessel map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in a living body from the blood vessel map generating unit 35. In the third embodiment, the selection unit 12 selects, from among the plurality of light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100, light receiving elements 120 corresponding to regions in which blood vessels are present in the blood vessel map data as first light receiving elements. In addition, the selection unit 12 selects, from among the plurality of light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100, light receiving elements 120 corresponding to regions in which blood vessels are not present as second light receiving elements. The selection unit 12 outputs sensor data output by the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element selected from among the plurality of light receiving elements 120 to the noise removing unit 13.

[0072] The processes executed by the noise removal unit 13 and the output unit 14 are the same as those in the first and second embodiments, and therefore will not be described in the third embodiment.

[0073] (Operation of biometric device 30) The operation of the biometric device 30 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processes executed by each unit of the biometric device 30.

[0074] 12, the sensor data acquiring unit 11 acquires a plurality of sensor data from the array sensor 100 attached to a living body (S1). The sensor data acquiring unit 11 outputs the plurality of sensor data to the selecting unit 12.

[0075] The vascular map generating unit 35 generates vascular map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in a living body (S15). In one example, the vascular map generating unit 35 generates vascular map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in a living body, as described above, based on a plurality of sensor data received from the array sensor 100. The vascular map generating unit 35 outputs the acquired vascular map data to the selecting unit 12.

[0076] The selection unit 12 selects a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by biological movement from the array sensor 100 (S2). In this embodiment 12, the selection unit 12 uses blood vessel map data received from the blood vessel map generation unit 35 to select a first light receiving element and a second light receiving element from the multiple light receiving elements 120 (FIG. 3) constituting the array sensor 100. The selection unit 12 outputs the sensor data from the selected first light receiving element and the sensor data from the selected second light receiving element to the noise removal unit 13.

[0077] The noise elimination unit 13 uses the second sensor data from the second light receiving element to eliminate body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from the first sensor data from the first light receiving element (S3). The noise elimination unit 13 outputs the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been eliminated to the output unit 14.

[0078] The output unit 14 outputs, as measurement data, frequency components in a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed (S4). In one example, the output unit 14 outputs the measurement data to the data analysis device 200 (FIG. 1) of the above-mentioned system 1.

[0079] The operation of the biometric device 10 is now complete.

[0080] (Sorting process (S2)) An example of the sorting process (S2 in FIG. 12) executed by the sorting unit 12 of the biometric device 30 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 13, first, the selection unit 12 receives the blood vessel map data from the blood vessel map generating unit 35 (S221).

[0082] Next, the selection unit 12 judges the presence or absence of blood vessels for each region of the received blood vessel map data corresponding to each light receiving element 120 (S222). Specifically, the selection unit 12 judges the region with blood vessels and the region without blood vessels in the blood vessel map data obtained from the blood vessel map generating unit 35.

[0083] Fig. 14 shows an example of vascular map data that the selection unit 12 receives from the vascular map generation unit 35. In the vascular map data shown in Fig. 14, thick solid lines represent simulated blood vessels. In addition, two dashed rectangles arranged vertically in the vascular map data each represent an area corresponding to a different light receiving element 120. The upper rectangle is an area that does not include blood vessels. On the other hand, the lower rectangle is an area that includes blood vessels.

[0084] 13, based on the result of the determination in step S222, if there is a blood vessel in the region corresponding to the light receiving element 120 (Yes in S223), the selection unit 12 selects the light receiving element 120 as the first light receiving element (S224X). On the other hand, if there is no blood vessel in the region corresponding to the light receiving element 120 (No in SS3), the selection unit 12 selects the light receiving element 120 as the second light receiving element (S224Y).

[0085] In the example shown in FIG. 14 again, of two vertically arranged rectangles enclosed by dashed lines, the lower one corresponds to the first light receiving element, and the upper one corresponds to the second light receiving element.

[0086] This is the end of the selection process (S2) according to the third embodiment.

[0087] (Modification) A modified example of the above-mentioned selection process (S2) will be described with reference to Fig. 15. In this modified example, the selection unit 12 may execute the selection process (S2) using not the vascular map data received from the vascular map generating unit 35 itself but a part of the data.

[0088] In this modified example, prior to the above-mentioned step S222 (FIG. 13), the selection unit 12 extracts from the vascular map data a block of an m×m area that includes blood vessels and corresponds to m×m (m is an integer greater than or equal to 1) light receiving elements 120.

[0089] Fig. 15 shows an example of a block that includes blood vessels and corresponds to m x m light receiving elements 120. Fig. 15 illustrates the case where m = 2. In this case, the block corresponds to four light receiving elements 120.

[0090] The selection unit 12 executes the processes from step S222 (FIG. 13) of the selection process (S2) described above on the blocks of the m×m area thus extracted. In this modification, the description of the processes from step S222 onward is omitted.

[0091] According to the configuration of this modification, the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element can be selected from the light receiving elements 120 corresponding to the block. Furthermore, the processing amount (i.e., the load) of the selection unit 12 can be reduced compared to performing the selection process (S2) on the entire blood vessel map data.

[0092] (Effects of this embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, the sensor data acquisition unit 11 acquires a plurality of sensor data from the array sensor 100 attached to the living body. The selection unit 12 selects a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from among the plurality of light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100. The noise removal unit 13 removes body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from the first sensor data from the first light receiving element by using the second sensor data from the second light receiving element. The output unit 14 outputs, as measurement data, frequency components in a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed.

[0093] As described above, some of the light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100 are selected for measurement, and the other part of the light receiving elements 120 are selected for detecting body movement noise. By using two types of light receiving elements 120 with different roles in this way, body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body can be removed from the sensor data.

[0094] Furthermore, according to the configuration of this embodiment, the vascular map generating unit 35 generates vascular map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in a living body. The selecting unit 12 selects, from among the multiple light receiving elements 120 constituting the array sensor 100, the light receiving elements 120 corresponding to areas where blood vessels are present in the vascular map data as first light receiving elements, and also selects the light receiving elements 120 corresponding to areas where no blood vessels are present as second light receiving elements.

[0095] In this way, regions with blood vessels and regions without blood vessels are accurately distinguished based on the blood vessel map data. Therefore, based on the presence or absence of blood vessels in each region corresponding to the light receiving element 120, it is possible to select a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body.

[0096] [Hardware configuration] Each component of the biometric device 10 (30) described in the first to third embodiments is shown as a functional block. Some or all of these components are realized by an information processing device 900 as shown in Fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 900.

[0097] As shown in FIG. 16, an information processing device 900 includes, as an example, the following configuration.

[0098] ·CPU(Central Processing Unit)901 ROM (Read Only Memory) 902 ·RAM(Random Access Memory)903 Program 904 loaded into RAM 903 A storage device 905 for storing a program 904 A drive device 907 for reading and writing data from the recording medium 906 A communication interface 908 for connecting to a communication network 909 An input / output interface 910 for inputting and outputting data Bus 911 connecting each component Each of the components of the biometric device 10 (30) described in the first to third embodiments is realized by the CPU 901 reading and executing a program 904 that realizes these functions. The program 904 that realizes the functions of each component is stored, for example, in advance in the storage device 905 or the ROM 902, and is loaded into the RAM 903 by the CPU 901 and executed as necessary. The program 904 may be supplied to the CPU 901 via the communication network 909, or may be stored in advance in the recording medium 906, and the drive device 907 may read out the program and supply it to the CPU 901.

[0099] According to the above configuration, the biometric device 10 (30) described in the first to third embodiments is realized as hardware, and therefore the same effects as those described in the first to third embodiments can be achieved.

[0100] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments (and examples), the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments (and examples). Various modifications that can be understood by a person skilled in the art can be made to the configurations and details of the above-mentioned embodiments (and examples) within the scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0101] The present invention can be used, for example, in a biometric device that measures biometric information such as pulse rate, and an emotion analysis device that estimates the state of a living organism, such as its health or emotions, based on measurement data including biometric information. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 1 System 10 Biometric devices 11 Sensor data acquisition unit 12 Sorting Department 13 Noise Reduction Section 14 Output section 30 Biometric devices 35 Vascular map generator 100 Array Sensor 120 Photodetector

Claims

1. a sensor data acquiring means for acquiring a plurality of sensor data from an array sensor attached to a living body; a selection means for selecting a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the biological body from among a plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor; a noise removing means for removing body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from the first sensor data from the first light receiving element by using the second sensor data from the second light receiving element; an output means for outputting, as measurement data, frequency components in a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed; Equipped with The selection means detects a frequency component in a specific range as a pulse component for a combination of any two of the plurality of sensor data, calculates a difference between peaks of the pulse component in the frequency domain, extracts a predetermined number of combinations of sensor data in descending order of the calculated difference, and compares the magnitude of the detected pulse component between each of the combinations of sensor data to select a light receiving element corresponding to the sensor data with a larger pulse component as the first light receiving element, and selects a light receiving element corresponding to the sensor data with a smaller pulse component as the second light receiving element. Biometric devices.

2. a blood vessel map generating unit for generating blood vessel map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in the living body, The selecting means selects, from among the plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor, light receiving elements corresponding to an area in which blood vessels of the living body are present in the blood vessel map data as the first light receiving elements, and selects light receiving elements corresponding to an area in which no blood vessels are present as the second light receiving elements.

2. The biometric device according to claim 1.

3. The selecting means is Dividing the blood vessel map data into unit blood vessel map data corresponding to each individual sensor constituting the array sensor; A plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor are selected based on whether or not the unit blood vessel map data includes blood vessels of the living body.

3. The biometric device according to claim 2.

4. The selecting means selects a plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor by comparing the magnitude of the frequency components in the specific range among the plurality of sensor data.

2. The biometric device according to claim 1.

5. The method further includes a measurement means for measuring a pulse rate of the living body using the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed.

5. The biometric device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second electrodes are arranged in a first direction.

6. A biometric measurement device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, an array sensor including the array sensor attached to the living body; a data analysis device that analyzes a state of the living body based on the first sensor data output from the biometric device; A system equipped with.

7. Multiple sensor data are acquired from an array sensor attached to a living body, selecting a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the biological body from among the plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor; removing body movement noise caused by movement of the living body from first sensor data from the first light receiving element by using second sensor data from the second light receiving element; A frequency component in a specific range included in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed is output as measurement data. A biometric measurement method, comprising: When selecting the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element from the plurality of light receiving elements, a frequency component in a specific range is detected as a pulse component for a combination of any two sensor data from the plurality of sensor data, a difference between peaks of the pulse component in the frequency domain is calculated, a predetermined number of combinations of sensor data are extracted in descending order of the calculated difference, and the magnitude of the detected pulse component is compared between the combinations of sensor data to select the light receiving element corresponding to the sensor data with the larger pulse component as the first light receiving element, and the light receiving element corresponding to the sensor data with the smaller pulse component as the second light receiving element. Biometric methods.

8. generating vascular map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in the living body; Among the plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor, light receiving elements corresponding to an area where blood vessels of the living body are present in the blood vessel map data are selected as the first light receiving elements, and light receiving elements corresponding to an area where no blood vessels are present are selected as the second light receiving elements.

8. The biometric measurement method according to claim 7.

9. A process of acquiring a plurality of sensor data from an array sensor attached to a living body; A process of selecting a first light receiving element for measuring biological information and a second light receiving element for detecting body movement noise caused by the movement of the biological body from among a plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor; a process of removing body movement noise caused by the movement of the living body from the first sensor data from the first light receiving element by using the second sensor data from the second light receiving element; outputting, as measurement data, frequency components in a specific range contained in the first sensor data from which the body movement noise has been removed; A program for causing a computer to execute the above, In the process in which the computer selects the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element from the plurality of light receiving elements, the computer detects a frequency component in a specific range as a pulse component for a combination of any two sensor data from the plurality of sensor data, calculates a difference in peaks of the pulse component in the frequency domain, extracts a predetermined number of combinations of sensor data in descending order of the calculated difference, and compares the magnitude of the detected pulse component between the combinations of sensor data to select a light receiving element corresponding to sensor data with a larger pulse component as the first light receiving element, and selects a light receiving element corresponding to sensor data with a smaller pulse component as the second light receiving element. program.

10. further causing the computer to execute a process of generating vascular map data indicating the running positions of blood vessels in the living body; In the selecting process, among the plurality of light receiving elements constituting the array sensor, light receiving elements corresponding to an area where blood vessels of the living body are present in the blood vessel map data are selected as the first light receiving elements, and light receiving elements corresponding to an area where no blood vessels are present are selected as the second light receiving elements.

10. The program according to claim 9 .

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