Measurement device, measurement method, and program

Abstract

To provide an apparatus capable of accurately measuring carotenoid level of a person to be measured.SOLUTION: A measuring apparatus 1 includes: a measurement part 30 which is provided with an LED 34 irradiating measuring beam of wavelength in a carotenoid absorption band to the skin of a person to be measured, an LED 35 irradiating light whose wavelength is similar to the measuring beam as a reference light and a light-receiving sensor 36 receiving reflection light of the measuring light and the reference light on the skin of the person to be measured; a calculation part 14 which corrects intensity of the received measurement light with the received reference light and calculates data related to carotenoid level of the person to be measured; and a touch panel monitor 12 displaying to a screen data related to the carotenoid level obtained by the calculation part 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a measuring device, a measuring method, and a program for measuring a carotenoid level in a subject. [Background technology]

[0002] Carotenoids, which are abundant in vegetables, have a wide range of physiological effects, and in addition to being a precursor to vitamin A, an essential nutrient, they have also been reported in recent years to have preventive effects against cancer and heart disease. In this way, consuming carotenoids is thought to contribute greatly to health, and consuming vegetables is thought to play a major role in raising health awareness. Focusing on carotenoids and being able to objectively grasp the amount of intake is thought to contribute greatly to raising people's health awareness. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5574246 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a device that is non-invasive and can easily estimate the amount of carotenoids in the body. The method involves irradiating a localized area of ​​tissue with a light source containing blue and red light, and quantitatively measuring the level of carotenoids using reflectance spectroscopy. Specifically, blue light is used as the absorption band of carotenoids, and red light is used to identify the tissue state. The carotenoid level in the localized area is then measured as the difference between absorption in the blue and red spectral regions.

[0005] However, the use of red light to identify tissue conditions may result in a decrease in accuracy.The present invention provides an apparatus that can accurately measure the carotenoid level of a subject. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The measuring device of the present invention comprises a measuring unit having a first light source that irradiates the skin of the subject with measurement light of a wavelength in the absorption band of carotenoids, a second light source that irradiates reference light of a wavelength corresponding to green to yellow, and a light receiving unit that receives the measurement light and the reference light reflected from the skin of the subject, a calculation unit that corrects the intensity of the received measurement light with the intensity of the received reference light and calculates data regarding the carotenoid value of the subject, and a screen display unit that displays the data regarding the carotenoid value obtained by the calculation unit on a screen.

[0007] According to the present invention, by using light having a wavelength corresponding to a range from green to yellow as the reference light, it is possible to avoid wavelengths having a large absorption spectrum of hemoglobin and perform appropriate correction. Note that, as an example of the wavelengths of the measurement light and the reference light, the measurement light has a blue wavelength and the reference light has a green wavelength. As another example, the measurement light has a blue-green wavelength and the reference light has a yellow wavelength.

[0008] In the measuring device of the present invention, the measuring unit may include a first measuring unit and a second measuring unit, the first light source of the first measuring unit may output blue light, the second light source may output green light, and the first light source of the second measuring unit may output blue-green light, and the second light source may output yellow light. With this configuration, it is possible to estimate the values ​​of a wide variety of carotenoids and measure the vegetable intake level.

[0009] The measuring device of the present invention may include a table storage unit storing a table showing the relationship between carotenoid values ​​and index values ​​of vegetable intake, the calculation unit may calculate an index value of vegetable intake corresponding to the carotenoid value calculated by the calculation unit, and the screen display unit may display the index of vegetable intake as data related to the carotenoid value. By displaying the index value of vegetable intake in this manner, the subject can easily know whether their vegetable intake is sufficient or insufficient, and if so, the degree of insufficiency.

[0010] In the measuring device of the present invention, the table may be a table showing the relationship between the age of the subject, the carotenoid level, and the index value of the vegetable intake, thereby making it possible to accurately determine the index value of the vegetable intake.

[0011] In the measuring device of the present invention, the screen display unit may display advice for the subject together with the index of vegetable intake. With this configuration, the subject can receive advice corresponding to his or her own carotenoid level.

[0012] The measuring device of the present invention may further include a printing unit that prints out the data displayed on the screen display unit.

[0013] The measuring device of the present invention is provided with a measurement result memory unit that stores data regarding the carotenoid values ​​calculated by the calculation unit in correspondence with the subject's identification information, and the screen display unit may read out data regarding the subject's past carotenoid values ​​from the measurement result memory unit and display it.

[0014] The measurement method of the present invention is a method of measuring data regarding the carotenoid value of a subject using a measurement device, and includes the steps of: irradiating the skin of the subject with measurement light of a wavelength in the absorption band of carotenoids and receiving the light reflected from the skin of the subject; irradiating the skin of the subject with reference light of a wavelength corresponding to green to yellow and receiving the light reflected from the skin of the subject; correcting the intensity of the received measurement light with the intensity of the received reference light and calculating data regarding the carotenoid value of the subject; and displaying the data regarding the carotenoid value on a screen.

[0015] The program of the present invention is a program for measuring data regarding the carotenoid value of a subject, and causes a computer to execute the steps of irradiating the skin of the subject with measurement light of a wavelength in the absorption band of carotenoids and receiving the light reflected from the skin of the subject, irradiating the skin of the subject with reference light of a wavelength corresponding to green to yellow and receiving the light reflected from the skin of the subject, correcting the intensity of the received measurement light with the intensity of the received reference light, calculating data regarding the carotenoid value of the subject, and displaying the data regarding the carotenoid value on a screen. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, data regarding carotenoid values ​​can be measured with high accuracy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is an external view of a measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1A is a top view showing the configuration of a finger sensor according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing the configuration of the finger sensor according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the function of the measurement device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a touch panel monitor. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a print result. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing a measurement procedure according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] 11 is a graph showing experimental results using the measurement device of the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below shows an example of a case where the present invention is implemented, and the present invention is not limited to the specific configuration described below. In implementing the present invention, a specific configuration according to the embodiment may be appropriately adopted.

[0019] The measuring device according to the embodiment of the present invention is a device for non-invasively measuring the carotenoid level of a subject. It is assumed that the measuring device will be installed in various facilities such as beauty salons, relaxation rooms, hot spring facilities, fitness clubs, and pharmacy counters, and will increase the health awareness of visitors and, in turn, increase the sales promotion effect of products and services handled at each facility.

[0020] (First embodiment) 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of a measurement device 1 according to the present embodiment. The measurement device 1 includes a main body 10 of the measurement device 1 and a measurement unit 30 on which the palm of the subject's hand is placed to perform measurement. The main body 10 and the measurement unit 30 are capable of communicating with each other. The measurement unit 30 receives a measurement start signal from the main body 10 and transmits measurement data to the main body 10.

[0021] The main body 10 comprises a housing 11, a touch panel monitor 12, and a printing unit 13. A calculation unit and a memory unit that perform processing of the measuring device 1 are provided inside the housing 11. The touch panel monitor 12 displays buttons for starting and ending measurement, outputting, etc., and the person being measured can give instructions to the measuring device 1 by touching them. A result sheet showing the measurement results is output from the printing unit 13. The paper used for the result sheet may be thermal roll paper.

[0022] The measurement unit 30 includes a sensor body 31 on which the subject places the palm, and two sensor units 32. The sensor body 31 is a base for stabilizing the palm when the subject places the fingertips in the sensor unit 32, and is preferably about the size of a human palm. A palm pattern 33 is drawn on the sensor body 31. It is assumed that the subject is right-handed, and the palm pattern 33 is of a left hand. The subject places the hand in line with the pattern 33, so that the fingers can be appropriately placed in the sensor unit 32. As shown in the pattern 33, it is assumed that the index finger and ring finger are placed in the two sensor units 32, but the sensor units 32 can also perform measurement with other fingers.

[0023] FIG. 2(a) is a cross-sectional view of the configuration of the sensor unit 32 seen from above, and FIG. 2(b) is a cross-sectional view seen from the horizontal direction. The configurations of the two sensor units 32 are the same except for the wavelength of the LED used. The sensor unit 32 includes two LEDs 34 and 35 that irradiate light toward the finger pad of the subject on the underside of the sensor body 31, and a light receiving sensor 36 that receives reflected light from the finger pad. Specifically, the LEDs 34 and 35 are installed at an angle so that they can irradiate the finger pad through an opening 37 provided in the sensor body 31, and the light receiving sensor 36 is installed at an angle so that the irradiated light is reflected by the finger pad and the reflected light can be received. The LEDs 34 and 35 are arranged adjacent to each other and are directed toward a predetermined target position of the subject. As a result, the reflected light of the measurement light and the reference light enter the light receiving sensor 36 through approximately the same path.

[0024] The LED 34 of the sensor unit 32 for the index finger outputs light having a wavelength corresponding to blue as the measurement light, and the LED 35 outputs light having a wavelength corresponding to green as the reference light. Specifically, the LED 34 outputs light having a wavelength peaking at 460 nm, and the LED 35 outputs light having a wavelength peaking at 520 nm. The light having a wavelength peaking at 460 nm is a wavelength that corresponds to the absorbance of β-carotene.

[0025] The LED 34 of the sensor unit 32 for the ring finger outputs light having a wavelength corresponding to blue-green as the measurement light, and the LED 35 outputs light having a wavelength corresponding to yellow as the reference light. Specifically, the LED 34 outputs light having a wavelength with a peak at 505 nm, and the LED 35 outputs light having a wavelength with a peak at 590 nm. The light having a wavelength with a peak at 505 nm is a wavelength that corresponds to the absorbance of lycopene.

[0026] 3 is a diagram for explaining the functions of the measuring device 1 of this embodiment. The main body 10 includes a touch panel monitor 12, a printing unit 13, a calculation unit 14, a storage unit 15, and a communication unit 16. The measuring unit 30 includes an LED 34, an LED 35, and a light receiving sensor 36 that configure a sensor unit 32, and a communication unit 38. The communication unit 38 may perform communication via a wired or wireless connection.

[0027] The calculation unit 14 calculates the carotenoid value of the subject based on the measurement result data transmitted from the measurement unit 30. Specifically, the calculation unit 14 obtains the received light intensity of the measurement light relative to the received light intensity of the reference light to calculate the carotenoid value. The reason for obtaining the intensity relative to the reference light is to eliminate the influence of the way the measurement light hits the subject's finger, which may change depending on how the finger is placed, and thus affect the intensity of the reflected light.

[0028] The calculation unit 14 also determines an index value of the vegetable intake level based on the carotenoid value. In this embodiment, the index value of the vegetable intake level is called the "veggie mill value." The veggie mill value is an index value expressed in the range of 0 to 100, with 60 being the case where 350 g of vegetables, the amount required per day, is consumed. The storage unit 15 stores a table that stores in advance the relationship between the carotenoid value and the veggie mill value. The calculation unit 14 reads out the table from the storage unit 15 and determines the veggie mill value that corresponds to the carotenoid value of the subject.

[0029] The touch panel monitor 12 displays guidance for the measurement method and the measurement results to the person being measured. Guidance for the measurement method includes prompting the person to start the measurement, placing the fingertip on the sensor unit 32, waiting for a predetermined time, etc. The touch panel monitor 12 also displays the Bezier Mill value obtained by the calculation unit 14. At this time, advice for the person being measured may be displayed.

[0030] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the display on the touch panel monitor 12. In a standby state before the start of measurement, as shown in the upper part of Fig. 4, the touch panel monitor 12 displays "We will measure your vegetable intake" at the top, along with a start button. The person being measured inserts his or her finger into the sensor section 32 and selects the start button to start the measurement. The screen is a touch sensor, and the person measuring can start the measurement by touching the part displaying "start."

[0031] When the measurement starts, as shown in the middle of FIG. 4, the touch panel monitor 12 displays "Measurement in progress" and asks the subject to wait in that state. When the measurement ends, the touch panel monitor 12 displays the screen shown in the lower part of FIG. 4. "Your measurement result" is displayed at the top of the screen, and the measurement result of the person being measured is displayed on the screen. The screen displays the subject's veggie mill value and the rank of the veggie mill value. This measurement device 1 calls this rank "veggie health level." There are five ranks of veggie health level, A to E. In the example shown in FIG. 4, ranks C to E are colored. This indicates that the subject's veggie mill value is rank C. The lower area of ​​the result display screen displays that details will be printed and output.

[0032] The printing unit 13 outputs data on the measurement results of the person being measured. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the printout. As shown in FIG. 5, the printout displays the date of measurement, the veggie-mil value, and the rank of the veggie-mil value. The printout also includes an overall evaluation comment 41 and advice 42 from a registered dietitian. This configuration allows the person being measured to objectively grasp their own data, and also allows them to set goals for taking measures or maintaining future eating habits, etc.

[0033] 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of measurement by the measurement device 1 of this embodiment. Measurement begins when the person measuring presses the start button. When the start button is pressed, the main body 10 transmits a signal to the measurement unit 30 to instruct the measurement unit 30 to start measurement.

[0034] The measurement unit 30 irradiates blue measurement light from the LED 34 onto the fingertip of the person inserted into the sensor unit 32 of the index finger (S10). The reflected light of the irradiated light is received by the light receiving sensor 36 (S11). Next, green reference light is irradiated from the LED 35 (S10), and the reflected light is received by the light receiving sensor 36 (S11). Similarly, the sensor unit 32 of the ring finger repeats the emission and reception of measurement light and reference light. The sensor unit 32 of the ring finger irradiates blue-green light as the measurement light and yellow light as the reference light. The two sensor units 32 use light corresponding to wavelengths from green to yellow as the reference light, and are therefore less susceptible to the influence of hemoglobin in the blood.

[0035] The measurement unit 30 transmits the measurement result data received by the light receiving sensor to the main unit 10. The calculation unit 14 of the main unit 10 measures the carotenoid level of the subject based on the measurement result data (S12). The calculation unit 14 further calculates the Vegimil value based on the obtained carotenoid value (S13). The main unit 10 displays the Vegimil value obtained by calculation on the touch panel monitor 12 (S14) and prints it from the printing unit 13 (S15). This completes the measurement process.

[0036] The measurement device 1 and the measurement method of this embodiment have been described above, but the calculation unit 14 of the measurement device 1 may be realized by storing a program having modules for realizing the above-mentioned functions in RAM or ROM and executing the program by a CPU. Such a program is also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0037] In the measurement device 1 of this embodiment, the sensor unit 32 of the index finger uses light of a blue wavelength (460 nm) as the measurement light to be measured, and light of a green wavelength (520 nm) as the reference light. The difference between them is 60 nm, and since the wavelengths are close, the paths from the light emitted by the LEDs 34 and 35 to the light received by the light receiving sensor 36 are similar. The sensor unit 32 of the ring finger uses light of a blue-green wavelength (505 nm) as the measurement light to be measured, and light of a yellow wavelength (590 nm) as the reference light. The difference between them is 85 nm, and since the wavelengths are close, the paths from the light emitted by the LEDs 34 and 35 to the light received by the light receiving sensor 36 are similar. By using the reference light of a wavelength close to the measurement light in this way, the accuracy of correcting the data of the intensity of the measurement light is increased.

[0038] Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, light with a red wavelength was used as the reference light. However, when red light (700 nm) is used, the difference in wavelength with the measurement light for carotenoids is approximately 200 nm, and the path taken when refracted in human biological tissue is significantly different, which is thought to affect accuracy.

[0039] Carotenoids are said to accumulate in the human epidermis. Therefore, in order to measure carotenoids, it is sufficient to measure the human epidermis, and it is thought that there is no need to examine the inside of blood vessels. Conventional technology measures carotenoids by using red light (Patent Document 1), but red light penetrates the dermis and inside blood vessels and reflects red wavelengths. However, if the focus is on carotenoids, red light is not necessary.

[0040] The measuring device 1 of this embodiment uses light with wavelengths from blue (460 nm) to yellow (590 nm), so it is hardly affected by blood and there is no need to restrict blood flow by compressing blood vessels during measurement. In the measuring device 1 of this embodiment, the sensor unit 32 comes into contact with the finger with natural pressure, so there is no burden on the person being measured.

[0041] Although the measuring device of the present invention has been described in detail above by way of an embodiment, the measuring device of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. In the above embodiment, an example was described in which a table showing the relationship between the carotenoid value and the Vegimil value was stored, but this table may also include an age parameter. In this case, the age is input from the touch panel monitor 12 of the measuring device 1, and the Vegimil value is calculated based on the input age data. The thickness of the stratum corneum varies depending on age, which may affect the measurement of the carotenoid value of the fingertip. By using a table including the age parameter, the Vegimil value can be calculated with high accuracy.

[0042] The measuring device 1 may store the measurement data in the memory unit 15. When the measuring device 1 is used by multiple subjects, the measurement data is stored in association with the identification numbers of the subjects. This allows, for example, a subject who uses the measuring device for the first time to improve his / her diet to increase the amount of vegetable intake for a certain period after the measurement. When the measuring device is used again after a period has passed, the previous result stored in the memory unit can be compared with the current measurement result to objectively grasp the degree to which the vegetable mill value has changed. This configuration is expected to increase the health consciousness of the subject.

[0043] The measurement unit 30 may be provided with a pulse wave sensor capable of measuring a pulse wave, and may display the pulse wave data measured by the pulse wave sensor together with the bezimir value. EXAMPLES

[0044] Next, the results of an experiment using the measuring device of this embodiment are shown. In the experiment, 10 subjects of different ages and genders were asked to measure their Vegimil values ​​using the measuring device of this embodiment, and blood tests were also conducted to measure the blood concentration of carotenoid values. The carotenoid value is the total value of α-carotene, β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, and β-cryptoxanthin.

[0045] Fig. 7 is a graph plotting the measurement results with the horizontal axis representing blood concentration and the vertical axis representing veggie-mil value. As shown in Fig. 7, a correlation was observed between the blood concentration of veggie-mil value and the blood concentration of carotenoid value. Therefore, the measurement device and the measurement method of this embodiment can measure data related to carotenoid value with high accuracy. [Industrial Applicability]

[0046] According to the present invention, the vegetable intake level of a subject can be easily measured. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1. Measuring equipment 10 Main unit 11. Cabinet 12 Touch panel monitor 13 Printing Department 14 Arithmetic section 15 Storage section 16 Communications Department 30 Measuring part 31 Sensor body 32 Sensor section 33 Design 34,35 LED 36 Light receiving sensor 37 Aperture 38 Communications Department 41 Comments 42 Advice

Claims

1. A measurement unit including a first light source that irradiates the skin of the subject with measurement light having a wavelength in the absorption band of carotenoids, a second light source that irradiates reference light having a wavelength corresponding to green to yellow, and a light receiving unit that receives the measurement light and the reference light reflected by the skin of the subject; a calculation unit that corrects the intensity of the received measurement light with the intensity of the received reference light and calculates data related to the carotenoid value of the subject; a screen display unit that displays data on the carotenoid value obtained by the calculation unit; Equipped with The first light source and the second light source are adjacent to each other and are installed so as to irradiate a predetermined target position on the skin of the person being measured, and the path of the measurement light from the first light source to the light receiving unit is similar to the path of the measurement light from the second light source to the light receiving unit.

2. The measurement unit includes a sensor body on which the subject places his / her hand, 2. The measurement device of claim 1, wherein the sensor body includes an opening for passing light from the first light source and the second light source disposed on an underside of the sensor body to the predetermined target location on the subject's skin.

3. The measurement device of claim 1 , wherein the first light source outputs blue light and the second light source outputs green light.

4. The measurement device of claim 1 , wherein the first light source outputs blue-green light and the second light source outputs yellow light.

5. The measurement unit includes a first measurement unit and a second measurement unit, The first light source of the first measurement unit outputs blue light, and the second light source outputs green light; The measurement device of claim 1 , wherein the first light source of the second measurement unit outputs blue-green light and the second light source outputs yellow light.

6. A table storage unit is provided that stores a table showing the relationship between the carotenoid value and the index value of the vegetable intake level, the calculation unit calculates an index value of vegetable intake corresponding to the carotenoid value calculated by the calculation unit based on the table in the table storage unit; The measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the screen display unit displays an index value of vegetable intake level calculated by the calculation unit as data relating to the carotenoid value.

7. 7. The measuring device according to claim 6, wherein the table is a table showing the relationship between the age of the subject, the carotenoid value, and the index value of the vegetable intake level.

8. The measuring device according to claim 6 , wherein the screen display unit displays advice to the subject together with the index value of the vegetable intake level.

9. The measurement device according to claim 6 , further comprising a printing unit that prints the data displayed on the screen display unit.

10. a measurement result storage unit that stores data on the carotenoid value calculated by the calculation unit in association with identification information of the subject; 2. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the screen display unit reads out data relating to the subject's past carotenoid levels from the measurement result storage unit and displays the data.

11. A method for measuring data on a carotenoid level of a subject using a measuring device, comprising: The measurement device includes a step of irradiating a predetermined target position on the skin of a subject with measurement light having a wavelength in an absorption band of carotenoid from a first light source, and receiving reflected light at the predetermined target position with a light receiving unit; The measurement device includes a step of irradiating a predetermined target position on the skin of the subject with reference light having a wavelength corresponding to green to yellow from a second light source located adjacent to the output position of the measurement light, and receiving the reflected light at the predetermined target position with the light receiving unit; the measuring device corrects the intensity of the received measurement light with the intensity of the received reference light, and calculates data on the carotenoid level of the subject; The measuring device displays data regarding the carotenoid value on a screen; Equipped with A measurement method in which a path of the measurement light from the first light source to the light receiving unit and a path of the measurement light from the second light source to the light receiving unit are similar to each other.

12. A program for measuring data on a carotenoid level of a subject, the program comprising: A step of irradiating a predetermined target position on the skin of a subject with measurement light having a wavelength in an absorption band of carotenoid from a first light source and receiving reflected light from the predetermined target position with a light receiving unit; A step of irradiating a predetermined target position on the skin of the subject with reference light having a wavelength ranging from green to yellow from a second light source located adjacent to the output position of the measurement light, and receiving the reflected light at the predetermined target position with the light receiving unit; correcting the intensity of the received measurement light with the intensity of the received reference light to calculate data relating to the carotenoid level of the subject; displaying the data on the carotenoid levels; Run the command, A program in which a path of measurement light from the first light source to the light receiving unit is similar to a path of measurement light from the second light source to the light receiving unit.

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