Finger tapping measurement processing device, method and computer program

Abstract

Provided are a finger tapping measurement processing device, method, and computer program with which it is possible to quantitatively evaluate finger fatigue in a finger tapping exercise.　This finger tapping measurement processing device 1 has: a measurement unit 10 having a tapping sensor that magnetically detects a finger tapping exercise in which two fingers are opened and closed; and a processor 30 for processing measurement data measured by the measurement unit 10. The processor 30 has: a feature value extraction circuit 33 that extracts, as quantitative data, a feature value relating to the degree of fatigue of fingers, from detection information detected by the tapping sensor 2; and a time-series data generation circuit 34 that generates time-series data for the feature value extracted by the feature value extraction circuit 33.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a finger tapping measurement processing device, method, and computer program for measuring finger tapping movements and processing the measurement results. [Background technology]

[0002] As the aging of society progresses, the number of Alzheimer's disease patients is increasing year by year, and if it is detected early, the progression of the disease can be slowed down with medication. However, it can be difficult to distinguish between symptoms of aging, such as forgetfulness, and the disease itself, and in many cases, patients only visit a hospital once their condition has progressed to a severe stage.

[0003] In this situation, screening tests for early detection of Alzheimer's dementia have traditionally been performed using blood tests, olfactory tests, and tests that reproduce a doctor's interview on a tablet device, but these tests have problems with the burden on the subject, such as the pain of blood sampling and the long test time. On the other hand, cognitive function evaluations using button pressing or one-handed finger movement measurement using a tablet device have also been performed as tests that place less of a burden on the subject (see, for example, Patent Document 1), but they have the drawback of not being able to obtain sufficient test accuracy. If a simple screening test could be performed with high accuracy and less burden on the subject, it would lead to early detection of Alzheimer's dementia, and contribute to improving the quality of life of patients and reducing medical and nursing care costs.

[0004] In recent years, it has become clear that a movement pattern specific to Alzheimer's dementia can be extracted from the opening and closing movement of two fingers (finger tapping movement) using the thumb and index finger of both hands, and it has been confirmed that there is a high correlation with finger movement measurement and dementia tests by general interview. It is said that these are the results of capturing the decline in rhythmic motor function of the fingers of both hands caused by brain atrophy in Alzheimer's dementia by finger tapping movement measurement. In addition, the fingers are said to be the second brain, and many areas of the brain are related to the function of the fingers, and it is said that finger movements are related not only to Alzheimer's dementia, but also to dementia such as cerebrovascular and Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's disease, and developmental coordination disorder (such as being unable to skip or jump rope). In other words, it is possible to know the state of the brain from finger tapping movement. Furthermore, finger tapping movement can be used as a "ruler" that indicates the health state of the brain, making it possible to quantify the fine motor function of the fingers, and therefore it can be used in various fields such as healthcare, rehabilitation, and life support. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-259634 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, in finger tapping exercise, which is an opening and closing movement of two fingers using the thumb and index finger, the degree of fatigue of the fingers during the exercise can be an important indicator for evaluating the progress of disorders including dementia and the degree of recovery of motor function. In some cases, the assessment is based on sensation, such as by a doctor or other examiner visually checking the number of times the fingers are opened and closed or the degree to which the fingers are spread apart. In such cases, the degree of finger fatigue cannot be assessed quantitatively.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a finger tapping measurement processing device, method, and computer program capable of quantitatively evaluating the degree of fatigue of fingers during finger tapping exercise. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the finger tapping measurement processing device of the present invention comprises a measurement unit having a tapping sensor that magnetically detects finger tapping motion, which is the opening and closing movement of two fingers, and a processor that processes measurement data measured by the measurement unit, and the processor is characterized in having a feature extraction circuit that extracts feature amounts related to the degree of finger fatigue as quantitative data from detection information detected by the tapping sensor, and a time series data generation circuit that generates time series data of the feature amounts extracted by the feature extraction circuit.

[0009] According to the above-mentioned configuration of the present invention, since the feature quantity related to the degree of fatigue of the fingers is extracted as quantitative data from the detection information detected by the tapping sensor to generate time-series data, it becomes possible to quantitatively and clearly grasp the fatigue degree of the subject (the person who is measured by this device; the same applies below) that changes over time. Therefore, it becomes possible to obtain important indicators for evaluating the progress of disorders including dementia and the degree of recovery of motor functions.

[0010] In the above configuration, the feature quantity extracted by the feature quantity extraction circuit preferably includes at least one of the following: the phase difference between the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands in the finger tapping motion that is periodically opened and closed, the total movement distance associated with the opening and closing of the fingers, the tapping period (opening and closing time) in the finger tapping motion, and the maximum distance between the two fingers (maximum point). These feature quantities are parameters that directly indicate the fatigue level over time in the finger tapping motion of the subject, and therefore enable a direct and clear understanding (evaluation) of the fatigue level of the finger tapping motion. In this case, as the fatigue level of the finger tapping motion increases, it becomes difficult to open and close the fingers at a constant timing, and therefore the variation in the phase difference (phase shift) between the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands in the finger tapping motion that is periodically opened and closed increases. In addition, as the fatigue level of the finger tapping motion increases, the opening and closing of the fingers slows down, so the tapping period (opening and closing time) in the finger tapping motion becomes longer and the total movement distance associated with the opening and closing of the fingers also tends to decrease. Furthermore, as the degree of fatigue in finger tapping increases, the movement of the fingers also decreases, and the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between the two fingers also decreases. Thus, these parameters are directly related to the degree of fatigue of the fingers (direct indicators of the degree of fatigue), and therefore, by quantitatively grasping these, it becomes possible to reliably grasp the degree of progression of disorders including dementia and the degree of recovery of motor function. The phase difference (phase shift) in the periodically opening and closing finger tapping motion can be obtained, for example, by extracting the shift of the tapping waveform of the left hand relative to the right hand when one cycle of the tapping waveform of the right hand is 360 degrees.

[0011] In the above configuration, the time series data generating circuit preferably generates graphed time series data. Graphing the time series data in this manner allows a quantitative evaluation to be performed at a glance.

[0012] In the above configuration, the finger tapping measurement processing device preferably further comprises a display for displaying the time series data generated by the time series data generation circuit, in which case the processor preferably further comprises an average data generation circuit for generating average data for each feature of a plurality of subjects whose finger tapping movements are measured by the measurement unit, and the time series data generation circuit preferably generates display data for displaying a reference line indicating the average data superimposed on the time series data on the display. For example, such average data can be calculated by age, so that it is possible to relatively evaluate whether the subject has a health condition appropriate for his / her age based on a comparison with the subject's current actual measurement value, and by displaying the reference line indicating such average data superimposed on the time series data, it is possible to easily visually grasp the relative health condition of the subject at a glance.

[0013] In the above configuration having a display, the time-series data generating circuit preferably generates display data for displaying past history data of the time-series data of the same feature amount side by side on the display, which allows the progress of a disability including dementia and the degree of recovery of motor function to be grasped at a glance.

[0014] In the above configuration having a display, it is preferable that the time series data generating circuit divides the time axis of the feature time series data into a plurality of time periods of equal elapsed time, generates section data which is time series data corresponding to each time period, and generates display data for displaying the section data on the display in a chronological order that is continuous and distinguishable from one another. This makes it possible to grasp at a glance the degree of gradual change in fatigue level in a series of time series as a change over time in the slope of a straight line. become.

[0015] In the above configuration having a display, it is preferable that the time series data generating circuit divides the time axis of the feature time series data into a plurality of time periods of equal elapsed time, generates section data which is time series data corresponding to each time period, and generates display data for displaying the section data on the display in a time series for each time period so that the section data can be distinguished from one another. This makes it possible to grasp at a glance the degree of gradual change in fatigue level in a series of time series as the difference in the slope of a straight line. do.

[0016] In addition to the above configuration, the processor may evaluate, for example, the brain function and cognitive function of the subject based on the feature amount (for example, by comparing with data of healthy individuals). Such evaluation can be effective as an early stage screening for dementia and can help detect dementia. Furthermore, the use of a measurement processing device with such a processor is not limited to the clinical field, and can also contribute to the assessment of judgment in driving a car, and can be applied to brain training games, and has a wide range of applications.

[0017] In addition to the finger tapping measurement and processing device described above, the present invention also provides a finger tapping measurement and processing method and computer program for measuring finger tapping movements and processing the measurement results. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the finger tapping measurement and processing device of the present invention, feature amounts related to the degree of fatigue of the fingers are extracted as quantitative data from the detection information detected by the tapping sensor and time series data is generated, making it possible to clearly grasp the subject's degree of fatigue, which changes over time, in a quantitative manner. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a finger tapping measurement and processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing both hands of a subject with tapping sensors attached to the thumbs and index fingers. [Diagram 3] 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the finger tapping measurement and processing device of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 shows an example of display data for the left and right hands of a subject alternately tapping fingers, in which graphed time series data of a feature that is the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between two fingers is displayed side by side with graphed time series data of a feature that is the tapping period (opening and closing time) in the finger tapping movement, where (a) shows the display data for the right hand and (b) shows the display data for the left hand. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of graphed time-series data of a feature amount, which is the phase difference (simultaneous phase difference) between tapping waveforms of the right and left hands in finger tapping motion in which the right and left hands are opened and closed simultaneously and periodically. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of graphed time-series data of a feature amount, which is the phase difference (alternating phase difference) between tapping waveforms of the right and left hands in finger tapping motion in which the right and left hands are opened and closed alternately and periodically. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of display data in which the time axis of graphed time series data of a feature amount, which is the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between two fingers, is divided into a plurality of time periods of equal elapsed time, and the section data, which is time series data corresponding to each time period, is arranged in a continuous time series and displayed. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of display data in which the time axis of graphed time series data of a feature, which is the total distance traveled by opening and closing the fingers, of the left and right hands of a subject alternately tapping the fingers is divided into a number of time periods of equal elapsed time, and the section data, which are time series data corresponding to each time period, are displayed along a consecutive time series in a manner that makes them identifiable from one another. [Figure 9]FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of display data in which the time axis of graphed time series data of features, which is the total distance traveled by opening and closing the fingers, is divided into a plurality of time periods of equal elapsed time, for the left and right hands of a subject (similar to the subject in FIG. 8) who alternates between finger tapping, and the sectioned data, which is time series data corresponding to each time period, is arranged in the respective time series for each time period so that they are distinguishable from one another. [Figure 10] Regarding the left hand of another subject alternately tapping his fingers, (a) shows an example of display data in which the time axis of graphed time series data of features, which is the total distance traveled with opening and closing of the fingers, is divided into multiple time periods of equal elapsed time, and sectioned data, which is time series data corresponding to each time period, is displayed along a continuous time series in which each is distinguishable from the others, and (b) shows an example of display data in which the sectioned data is displayed arranged in the respective chronological order for each time period in a manner that makes each of the sections distinguishable from the others. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, by providing the following technologies, highly advanced technology contributes to the development of medical care and the realization of a healthy society. The realization of this measurement processing device (method) contributes to "9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and innovation" of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocated by the United Nations.

[0021] In addition, in the following embodiments, a finger tapping measurement processing device and method will be described, but the present invention may be configured as a computer program that enables the measurement processing executed by the finger tapping measurement processing device (method) to be performed by a computer.

[0022] 1 shows a schematic configuration of a finger tapping measurement and processing device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the device is equipped with a measurement unit 10 having a tapping sensor 2 that magnetically detects finger tapping motion, which is the opening and closing movement of two fingers, and a processor 30 that processes measurement data measured by the measurement unit 10.

[0023] The measuring unit 10 calculates finger movement data based on the relative distance between a pair of a transmitter coil and a receiver coil attached to a living finger (or other movable part), and, for example, detects information on the subject's finger movement in a time series, and can acquire the subject's movement information relating to at least one of distance, speed, acceleration, and jerk (acceleration differentiated with respect to time) as time series data (waveform data).

[0024] The measurement unit 10 includes a tapping sensor 2, first and second switching circuits 4, 5, an AC generator 6 for generating AC, an amplifier / filter circuit 7, an A / D converter 8, a detector 9, a downsampler 10 for performing downsampling, and a controller 11 for controlling the operation of these components.

[0025] The tapping sensor 2 is composed of a pair of a transmitter coil 2A (2A') and a receiver coil 2B (2B') (or may be a plurality of rows of pairs of coils), and is attached to the fingers (e.g., nails) of the subject's hand 100, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, by using, for example, double-sided tape or a fixing band. Specifically, in FIG. 2, a pair of a transmitter coil 2A and a receiver coil 2B is attached to the thumb 100a and index finger 100b of the subject's right hand 100A, respectively, and a pair of a transmitter coil 2A' and a receiver coil 2B' is attached to the thumb 100a and index finger 100b of the subject's left hand 100A', respectively (the fingers to which the coils are attached may be reversed, or other fingers may be used). In this case, the transmitter coil 2A (2A') emits a magnetic field, and the receiver coil 2B (2B') receives (detects) the magnetic field emitted by the transmitter coil 2A (2A').

[0026] One AC generator 6 is connected to the transmitting coil 2A (2A') via a first switching circuit 4. By the switching operation of the first switching circuit 4, an AC current (e.g., a current of 20 kHz) from the AC generator 6 flows sequentially to the transmitting coil 2A (2A'), and the transmitting coil 2A (2A') through which the AC current flows generates an AC magnetic field. The AC generator 6 generates an AC current of a predetermined frequency, and the timing at which the current flows is controlled by the controller 11. The signal generated by the AC generator 6 is used as a reference signal for the detection operation of the detector 9.

[0027] The controller 11 generates a synchronization signal for controlling the first and second switching circuits 4 and 5. This synchronization signal enables the first switching circuit 4 and the second switching circuit 5 to be switched simultaneously, and to operate sequentially for each pair of the transmitting coil 2A (2A') and the receiving coil 2B (2B').

[0028] The receiving coil 2B (2B') is connected to an amplifier / filter circuit 7 via a second switching circuit 5, and the output signal from the amplifier / filter circuit 7 is converted to a digital signal by an A / D converter 8, which is then transmitted to a detector 9. The conversion of analog data into digital data by the A / D converter 8 facilitates subsequent processing (such as downsampling). The detector 9 also performs processing to delete a predetermined period of the AC magnetic field waveform (noise portion) immediately after switching by the second switching circuit 5 from the AC magnetic field waveform detected by the receiving coil 2B (2B').

[0029] In addition, the time of the deletion process in the AC magnetic field waveform of each receiving coil 2B (2B') is accurately controlled by the controller 11. After this deletion process, the detector 9 performs full-wave rectification and filtering (mainly processing by a low-pass filter (LPF)) using the above-mentioned reference signal. Finally, the digital signal processed by the detector 9 is converted (downsampled) by the downsampler 10 into coarse data with a sampling frequency (e.g., 200 Hz) that is about 1 / 1000 (a predetermined ratio) of the sampling frequency (e.g., 200 kHz) in the A / D converter 8. This makes it possible to reduce the overall data capacity. Therefore, the output signal can be transmitted at high speed as data of multiple receiving coils even with limited communication capacity. In other words, since the communication interface 12 of the measurement unit 10 receives a small amount of data from the downsampler 10, the finger motion data related to multiple receiving coils can be transferred to the processor 30 (via the communication interface 31 of the processor 30) at once by wireless or wired communication.

[0030] The processor 30, which processes the measurement data measured by the measurement unit 10, includes a feature extraction circuit 33 that extracts a feature associated with the degree of fatigue of the fingers as quantitative data from the detection information detected by the tapping sensor 2 (hence, the output data output from the measurement unit 10), a time-series data generation circuit 34 that generates time-series data of the feature extracted by the feature extraction circuit 33, an average data generation circuit 32 that receives the feature from the feature extraction circuit 33 and generates (calculates) average data on each feature of a plurality of subjects whose finger tapping movements are measured by the measurement unit 10 (for example, calculates an average value by age of the subjects), and a comparison circuit 35 that compares the actual measurement value data of the feature received from the feature extraction circuit 33 with the average value data received from the average data generation circuit 32 and outputs the comparison result. In particular, in this embodiment, the time-series data generation circuit 34 is configured to generate graphed time-series data of the feature. As will be described later, the features extracted by the feature extraction circuit 33 include at least one of the phase difference (phase shift) between the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands in the periodically opening and closing finger tapping motion, the total movement distance associated with opening and closing of the fingers, the tapping period (opening and closing time) in the finger tapping motion, and the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between the two fingers.

[0031] In addition, the finger tapping measurement and processing device 1 further includes a display 37 that displays the time series data generated by the time series data generating circuit 34 of the processor 30 and the comparison result output from the comparison circuit 35 of the processor 30, a memory 36 that stores various data including the time series data generated by the time series data generating circuit 34 of the processor 30 and the average value data generated by the average value data generating circuit 32 of the processor 30, and an operation input interface 38 that can input necessary data and commands to the processor 30 by operation.

[0032] In the above configuration, the processor 30 is composed of a CPU etc., and executes programs such as an operating system (OS) and various operation control applications stored in memory 36, thereby performing operation control processing of the various circuits 32, 33, 34, 35 mentioned above, and controlling the startup operation of various applications.

[0033] Memory 36 is composed of a flash memory or the like, and stores programs such as an operating system and applications for controlling the operation of various processes such as images, audio, documents, display, measurement, etc. Memory 36 also stores information data such as base data required for basic operations by the operating system and file data used by various applications.

[0034] The processing by the processor 30 may be stored as one application, and the measurement processing of finger movements and the calculation and analysis of various feature quantities may be performed by starting the application. Also, an external server device with high computing performance and large capacity may receive the measurement results from the information processing terminal and calculate and analyze the feature quantities.

[0035] Furthermore, the operation input interface 38 generally uses input means such as a keyboard, key buttons, touch keys, etc., but may also use, for example, gesture operation or voice input, and is used to set and input the information that the subject should input.

[0036] The communication interface 31 may not only receive the measurement results from the measurement unit 10, but may also wirelessly communicate with a server device or the like located in another location by short-distance wireless communication, wireless LAN, or base station communication. In this case, during wireless communication, measurement data and analyzed and calculated features may be transmitted and received from the server device or the like via the transmission and reception antenna 39. The short-distance wireless communication may be performed using, for example, an electronic tag, but is not limited to this, and may be performed using a wireless LAN such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), IrDA (Infrared Data Association, registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), HomeRF (Home Radio Frequency, registered trademark), or Wi-Fi (registered trademark), as long as it is capable of at least wireless communication when it is near another information terminal. For base station communication, long-distance wireless communication such as W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) or GSM (Registered trademark) may be used. It is also possible to detect the positional relationship and orientation between terminals using an ultra-wide band (UWB) wireless system. Although not shown, the communication interface 31 may use other methods such as optical communication or acoustic communication as a means of wireless communication. In that case, a light emitting / receiving unit and an acoustic wave output / sound wave input interface are used instead of the transmitting / receiving antenna 39.

[0037] In this embodiment, the measurement unit 10 and the processor 30 each have the aforementioned components individually, but may also be provided with a functional unit that integrates at least some or all of these components. In short, as long as the functionality of each of these components is ensured, any configuration form is acceptable.

[0038] In this embodiment, the time series data generating circuit 34 of the processor 30 described above also has a function of generating various display data for displaying the generated time series data on the display 37 in various display modes. Specifically, the time series data generating circuit 34 can generate display data for displaying on the display 37 a reference line indicating the average value data generated by the average value data generating circuit 32 superimposed on the time series data, and can also generate display data for displaying on the display 37 past history data of the time series data of the same feature amount side by side. The time series data generating circuit 34 can also divide the time axis of the time series data of the feature amount into a plurality of time periods having equal elapsed times, generate section data which is time series data corresponding to each time period, and generate display data for displaying on the display 37 the section data in a continuous time series that is distinguishable from one another, or display data for displaying on the display 37 the section data in a time series in each time period that is distinguishable from one another.

[0039] Next, an example of the operation of the finger tapping measurement and processing device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 3 and FIGS. 4 to 10, including the display modes based on these display data.

[0040] FIG. 3 shows an example of processing steps executed by the processor 30. As shown in the figure, in the finger tapping measurement processing device 1 of this embodiment, first, the finger tapping movement performed by the subject is detected (step S1). In this case, the measurement unit 10 magnetically detects the finger tapping movement of the subject using the tapping sensor 2 (detection step), and the processor 30 acquires detection data from the tapping sensor 2 (tapping data acquisition step). In this way, when the finger tapping movement of the subject is detected by the measurement unit 10 and the detection information is received by the processor 30, the processor 30 subsequently extracts feature amounts related to the degree of fatigue of the fingers from the detection information as quantitative data by the feature amount extraction circuit 33 (step S2; feature amount extraction step), and generates time series data of the extracted feature amounts (in this embodiment, particularly graphed time series data) by the time series data generation circuit 34 (step S3; time series data generation step). In parallel with this or thereafter, the processor 30 The average value data generating circuit 32 generates average value data regarding each feature amount of the subject (step S4; average value data generating step).

[0041] Thereafter, for example, when a display mode is selected (or instructed) through the operation input interface 38 (step S5), the display data (time series data) of the corresponding display mode selected (instructed) is output from the time series data generating circuit 34 and displayed on the display 37 (step S6; display step).

[0042] Fig. 4 shows an example of a display mode (display data) in which time series data of a feature amount, which is the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between two fingers, and time series data of a feature amount, which is the tapping period (opening and closing time) in a finger tapping movement, are displayed side by side. Specifically, in (a) of Fig. 4, for the right hand of a subject n who alternately performs finger tapping movements with his right and left hands, the time series data of the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between two fingers is shown as a scatter plot with circular dots at the bottom, and a solid straight line (approximate straight line) L1 (y = -0.0006x + 42.907) showing the approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data, is shown. In this case, the horizontal axis is time (x 10 ms) and the vertical axis (vertical axis on the left) is distance (mm). On the other hand, in the upper part of FIG. 4(a), the time series data of the tapping period (opening and closing time) is shown as a scatter plot with square dots for the right hand of the same subject n who alternately performs finger tapping movements with his right and left hands, and a dashed straight line (approximate straight line) L2 (y=0.009x+207.68) showing the approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data, is shown. In this case, the horizontal axis is time (×10 ms), and the vertical axis (vertical axis on the right side) is the tapping period (ms). On the other hand, in the lower part of FIG. 4(b), the time series data of the maximum separation distance (local maximum point) between two fingers is shown as a scatter plot with circle dots for the left hand of the same subject n who alternately performs finger tapping movements with his right and left hands, and a solid straight line (approximate straight line) L1 (y=0.0002x+23.963) showing the approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data, is shown. In this case, the horizontal axis is time (×10 ms) and the vertical axis (vertical axis on the left side) is distance (mm). On the other hand, in the upper part of Fig. 4(b), for the left hand of the same subject n who alternately performs finger tapping movements with his right and left hands, time series data of tapping period (opening and closing time) is shown as a scatter plot using square dots, and a dashed straight line (approximate straight line) L2 (y=0.0094x+240.23) showing the approximate average value of the data, that is, the graphed time series data, is shown. In this case, the horizontal axis is time (×10 ms) and the vertical axis (vertical axis on the right side) is tapping period (ms).As can be seen from these display data, as the degree of fatigue in the finger tapping movement increases, the finger movement also decreases, and therefore the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between the two fingers also decreases. In addition, as the degree of fatigue in the finger tapping movement increases, the opening and closing movement of the fingers slows down, and therefore the tapping period (opening and closing time) in the finger tapping movement becomes longer. Note that here, the graphed time series data of the feature amount that is the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between the two fingers and the graphed time series data of the feature amount that is the tapping period (opening and closing time) in the finger tapping movement are distinguished by the shape of the dots or the type of straight line, but they may also be distinguished by other identification forms such as differences in color.

[0043] In such a display mode (as well as other display modes shown below), for example, by selection (instruction) from the operation input interface 38, the time-series data generating circuit 34 may superimpose a reference line (e.g., a reference line R1 relating to the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between two fingers and a reference line R2 relating to the tapping period (opening and closing time)) indicating the average value data generated by the average value data generating circuit 32 on the time-series data (the straight lines L1, L2 and their corresponding dots) and display them as display data on the display 37. The reference lines R1, R2 based on such average value data (e.g., the average value by age of all the subjects measured) allow a relative evaluation of whether or not the subject has a health condition appropriate for his / her age based on a comparison with the current actual measurement value of the subject, and also allows the subject's relative health condition to be easily grasped at a glance. In addition to or instead of displaying such reference lines R1, R2, a comparison result from a comparison circuit 35 which compares the actual measurement value data of the features received from the feature extraction circuit 33 with the average value data received from the average value data generation circuit 32 may be displayed on the display 37 in the form of, for example, text data.

[0044] FIG. 5 shows an example of a display mode (display data) that displays time series data of a feature that is the phase difference (simultaneous phase difference) between the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands in a finger tapping motion in which the right and left hands are simultaneously opened and closed periodically. Specifically, FIG. 5(a) shows the time series data of the phase difference between the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands in a finger tapping motion that is periodically opened and closed periodically for one subject kt who simultaneously performs finger tapping motion with his right and left hands, as a scatter plot using circular dots, and also shows a solid straight line (approximate straight line) L3 (y=0.014x-21.445) that shows the approximate average value of the data, that is, the graphed time series data. In this case, the horizontal axis is time (×10 ms) and the vertical axis is phase difference (°). On the other hand, in (b) of FIG. 5, for another subject kr who simultaneously performs finger tapping movements with his right and left hands, the time series data of the phase difference between the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands of the subject kr who performs finger tapping movements with periodic opening and closing are shown as a scatter plot with circular dots, and a solid line (approximate line) L3 (y=-0.0021x+12.756) showing the approximate average value of the data, that is, the graphed time series data, is shown. In this case, the horizontal axis is time (×10 ms) and the vertical axis is phase difference (°). Also, FIG. 6 shows an example of a display mode (display data) that displays time series data of a feature that is the phase difference (alternating phase difference) between the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands of the subject kr who performs finger tapping movements with periodic opening and closing of the right and left hands alternately. Specifically, in (a) of FIG. 6, for the same subject kt as in (a) of FIG. 5, the time series data of the phase difference between the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands of the periodically opening and closing finger tapping motion is shown as a scatter diagram with dots in circles, and the solid line (approximate line) L3 (y=-0.0145x+191.1) showing the approximate average value thereof, i.e., the graphed time series data is shown. In this case, the horizontal axis is time (×10 ms) and the vertical axis is phase difference (°). On the other hand, in (b) of FIG. 6, for the same subject kr as in (b) of FIG. 5, the time series data of the phase difference between the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands of the periodically opening and closing finger tapping motion is shown as a scatter diagram with dots in circles, and the solid line (approximate line) L3 (y=-0.0026x+212.19) showing the approximate average value thereof, i.e., the graphed time series data is shown.Again, the horizontal axis represents time (×10 ms) and the vertical axis represents phase difference (°).

[0045] As can be seen from these display data, depending on the degree of recovery from the disorder, as shown in Figure 5(a) and Figure 6(a), when the degree of fatigue in the finger tapping movement increases, it becomes difficult to open and close the fingers at a constant timing, and the phase difference (phase shift) of the tapping waveforms of the right and left hands in the finger tapping movement that opens and closes periodically increases. However, in healthy subjects, as shown in Figure 5(b) and Figure 6(b), the phase difference is small, and the phase difference is maintained at approximately 0° in the finger tapping movement that opens and closes the right and left hands simultaneously and periodically, and the phase difference is maintained at approximately 180° in the finger tapping movement that opens and closes the right and left hands alternately.

[0046] In such a display mode (the same applies to other display modes described below or above), for example, by selection (instruction) from the operation input interface 38, the time-series data generating circuit 34 may cause the display 37 to display, as display data, an arrangement of past history data H (here, a plurality of past graphed linear history data) for time-series data of the same feature (here, time-series data of phase difference), as shown in, for example, (a) of FIG. 5 .

[0047] 7 shows another example of a display mode (display data) that displays time series data of a feature that is the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between two fingers (the horizontal axis is time (×10 ms) and the vertical axis is distance (mm)). Here, the time axis of the time series data is divided into a plurality of time periods of equal elapsed time, specifically, a total measurement time of 60 seconds is divided into four time periods T1, T2, T3, and T4 at 15 second intervals, and the section data D1, D2, D3, and D4, which are time series data corresponding to each time period T1, T2, T3, and T4, are displayed arranged in a continuous time series. More specifically, in FIG. 7A, for the left hand of a subject h who alternately performs finger tapping movements with his right and left hands, in a time period T1 from 0 to 15 seconds, time series data of the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between two fingers is shown as section data D1 using circular dots as a scatter plot, and a solid line (approximate line) L4 (y=-0.0026x+71.201) showing an approximate average value of the data is shown, that is, the graphed time series data. In addition, in a time period T2 from 16 to 30 seconds, time series data of the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between two fingers is shown as section data D2 using circular dots as a scatter plot, and a solid line (approximate line) L5 ​​(y=-0.0022x+93.629) showing an approximate average value of the data is shown, that is, the graphed time series data. That is, graphed time series data is shown, and in time period T3 from 31 seconds to 45 seconds, as section data D3, time series data of the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between the two fingers is shown as a scatter plot using circular dots, and a solid line (approximate line) L6 (y=-0.0004x+48.43) indicating their approximate average value, that is, graphed time series data is shown, and in time period T4 from 46 seconds to 60 seconds, as section data D4, time series data of the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between the two fingers is shown as a scatter plot using circular dots, and a solid line (approximate line) L7 (y=-0.0004x+50.586) indicating their approximate average value, that is, graphed time series data is shown.

[0048] In FIG. 7(b), for the right hand of the same subject h who alternately performs finger tapping movements with his right and left hands, in a time period T1 from 0 to 15 seconds, time series data of the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between the two fingers is shown as section data D1 using circular dots as a scatter plot, and a solid line (approximate line) L4 (y=-0.0021x+67.875) showing an approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data, is shown. In addition, in a time period T2 from 16 to 30 seconds, time series data of the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between the two fingers is shown as section data D2 using circular dots as a scatter plot, and a solid line (approximate line) L5 ​​(y=-0.0007x+57.319) showing an approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data is shown. In addition, in a time period T3 from 31 seconds to 45 seconds, as section data D3, time series data of the maximum separation distance between the two fingers (maximum point) is shown as a scatter plot using circular dots, and a solid straight line (approximate straight line) L6 (y = -0.0008x + 67.154) indicating their approximate average value, i.e., the graphed time series data, is shown. In addition, in a time period T4 from 46 seconds to 60 seconds, as section data D4, time series data of the maximum separation distance between the two fingers (maximum point) is shown as a scatter plot using circular dots, and a solid straight line (approximate straight line) L7 (y = -0.0002x + 44.68) indicating their approximate average value, i.e., the graphed time series data is shown.

[0049] As can be seen from these display data, as the degree of fatigue in the finger tapping motion increases, the finger movements also become smaller, so the maximum separation distance (maximum point) between the two fingers becomes smaller in the later time periods, and the slopes of the lines L4 to L7 also become gradually smaller. Note that in this display mode, the line type of the lines or the colors of the dots may be changed to distinguish and display each time period.

[0050] 8 shows an example of a display mode (display data) that displays time-series data of a feature amount, which is a total moving distance accompanying opening and closing of a finger (the horizontal axis is time (×10 ms), and the vertical axis is distance (mm)). Here, the time axis of the time-series data is divided into a plurality of time periods of equal elapsed time, specifically, a total measurement time of 60 seconds is divided into four time periods T1, T2, T3, and T4 at 15-second intervals, and the section data D1, D2, D3, and D4, which are time-series data corresponding to each time period T1, T2, T3, and T4, are displayed in a chronological order that is consecutive and distinguishable from one another. More specifically, in (a) of FIG. 8, for the right hand of a subject h who alternates between performing finger tapping movements with his right and left hands, in a time period T1 from 0 to 15 seconds, time series data of the total movement distance with opening and closing of the fingers is shown as section data D1 using circular dots as a scatter plot, and a solid line (approximate line) L8 (y=0.9821x+500.37) showing the approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data, and in a time period T2 from 16 to 30 seconds, time series data of the total movement distance with opening and closing of the fingers is shown as section data D2 using circular dots as a scatter plot, and a solid dotted line (approximate line) L9 (y=0.8403+2210.3) showing the approximate average value of the data, i.e., Graphed time series data is shown, and in time period T3 from 31 seconds to 45 seconds, as section data D3, time series data of the total moving distance associated with opening and closing of fingers is shown as a scatter plot with round dots, and a dashed straight line (approximate straight line) L10 (y=0.716x+5995.6) indicating the approximate average value of those values, i.e., graphed time series data, is shown, and in time period T4 from 46 seconds to 60 seconds, as section data D4, time series data of the total moving distance associated with opening and closing of fingers is shown as a scatter plot with round dots, and a dashed straight line (approximate straight line) L11 (y=0.6023x+10926) indicating the approximate average value of those values, i.e., graphed time series data is shown.

[0051] In FIG. 8(b), for the left hand of the same subject h who alternately performs finger tapping movements with his right and left hands, in a time period T1 from 0 to 15 seconds, time series data of the total movement distance with opening and closing of the fingers is shown as section data D1 with circular dots as a scatter plot, and a solid line (approximate line) L8 (y=0.9747x+806.24) showing the approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data, and in a time period T2 from 16 to 30 seconds, time series data of the total movement distance with opening and closing of the fingers is shown as section data D2 with circular dots as a scatter plot, and a dotted line (approximate line) L9 (y=0.7981+3381.4) showing the approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data, are shown. In addition, in a time period T3 from 31 seconds to 45 seconds, as section data D3, time series data of the total moving distance associated with opening and closing of the finger is shown as a scatter plot using circular dots, and a dashed straight line (approximate straight line) L10 (y=0.6398x+7835.9) showing the approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data, is shown. In addition, in a time period T4 from 46 seconds to 60 seconds, as section data D4, time series data of the total moving distance associated with opening and closing of the finger is shown as a scatter plot using circular dots, and a dashed straight line (approximate straight line) L11 (y=0.5894x+10313) showing the approximate average value of the data, i.e., the graphed time series data is shown.

[0052] As can be seen from these display data, as the degree of fatigue in the finger tapping movement increases, the opening and closing of the fingers slows down, so the total movement distance associated with the opening and closing of the fingers tends to decrease in the later time periods, and therefore the slope of the straight line becomes smaller. However, in the case of the healthy subject s, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the slopes of the straight lines L8 (y=1.0794x+140.44), L9 (y=1.1723x+1102.8), L10 (y=1.2069x+2485.5), and L11 (y=1.2232x+3146.9) remain almost constant regardless of the time period. In this display mode, the time periods may be distinguished by changing not only the line type but also the color, etc.

[0053] 9 shows another example of a display mode (display data) that displays time-series data of a feature amount, which is a total moving distance accompanying opening and closing of a finger (the horizontal axis is time (×10 ms) and the vertical axis is distance (mm)). Here, the time axis of the time-series data is divided into a plurality of time periods of equal elapsed time, specifically, the total measurement time of 60 seconds is divided into four time periods at 15-second intervals, and the section data D1, D2, D3, and D4, which are time-series data corresponding to each time period, are arranged in the respective time series for each time period in a manner that makes them distinguishable from one another (the origins of the time series are aligned) and displayed. More specifically, (a) of Figure 9 shows, for the left hand of the same subject h as in Figure 8, who is performing finger tapping movements alternately with his right and left hands, within a time period of 15 seconds, a solid line (approximate line) L8 in (b) of Figure 8 as section data D1, a dotted line (approximate line) L9 in (b) of Figure 8 as section data D2, a dashed line (approximate line) L10 in (b) of Figure 8 as section data D3, and a two-dot chain line (approximate line) L11 in (b) of Figure 8 as section data D4, all lined up with their origins. In addition, (b) of Figure 9 shows the right hand of the same subject h as in Figure 8, who is performing finger tapping movements alternately with his right and left hands, within a time period of 15 seconds, with the solid line (approximate line) L8 in (a) of Figure 8 as section data D1, the dotted line (approximate line) L9 in (a) of Figure 8 as section data D2, the dashed line (approximate line) L10 in (a) of Figure 8 as section data D3, and the two-dot chain line (approximate line) L11 in (a) of Figure 8 as section data D4 lined up with their origins aligned.

[0054] As can be seen from these display data, as the degree of fatigue in the finger tapping movement increases, the opening and closing of the fingers slows down, so the total distance traveled by the opening and closing of the fingers tends to decrease in the later time periods, and therefore the slope of the straight line becomes smaller. The greater the degree of fatigue, the greater the difference in slope between the straight lines. In contrast, in the case of the healthy subject s, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the difference in slope between the straight lines L8 (y=1.0794x+140.44), L9 (y=1.1723x+181.31), L10 (y=1.2069x+319.4), and L11 (y=1.2232x+250.55) is also small. Note that even in this display mode, the time periods may be distinguished by changing not only the line type but also the color, etc.

[0055] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can include various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and is not necessarily limited to the embodiment having all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

[0056] In addition, the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in part or in whole by hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. In addition, the above-mentioned configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as a program, table, file, etc. that realizes each function may be stored in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk or SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, DVD, etc., or may be stored in a device on a communication network.

[0057] In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all control lines and information lines in the product are necessarily shown. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 2 Tapping Sensor 10. Measurement section 30 processors 32 Average value data generation circuit 33 Feature Extraction Path 34 Time series data generation circuit 37 Display

Claims

1. The device includes a measuring unit having a tapping sensor that magnetically detects finger tapping motion, which is an opening and closing motion of two fingers, a processor that processes measurement data measured by the measuring unit, and a display. The processor, a feature extraction circuit for extracting a feature associated with a degree of fatigue of fingers as quantitative data from the detection information detected by the tapping sensor; a time-series data generating circuit that generates time-series data of the feature amount extracted by the feature amount extracting circuit, and an approximation line with a slope of the time-series data and a mathematical expression for the line; having the display displays the time series data generated by the time series data generating circuit in a graph together with the approximation line, and also displays a mathematical expression for the approximation line.

2. 2. The finger tapping measurement and processing device according to claim 1, wherein the processor further comprises an average data generation circuit that generates average data regarding each feature amount of a plurality of subjects whose finger tapping movements are measured by the measurement unit, and the time series data generation circuit generates display data for displaying on the display a reference line indicating the average data by superimposing it on the time series data.

3. the time series data generation circuit divides a time axis of the time series data of the feature into a plurality of time periods having equal elapsed times, generates section data which is time series data corresponding to each time period, generates an approximation line with a slope of each section data and a mathematical expression thereof, and generates display data for displaying the section data on the display in a chronological order that is continuous and distinguishable from one another; 3. The finger tapping measurement and processing device according to claim 1, wherein the display data is data that displays a scatter diagram of each of the divided data together with the corresponding approximation line in a graph, and also displays a mathematical expression of the approximation line.

4. the time series data generation circuit divides a time axis of the time series data of the feature into a plurality of time periods having equal elapsed times, generates section data which is time series data corresponding to each time period, generates an approximation line with a slope of each section data and a mathematical expression thereof, and generates display data for displaying the section data on the display in a time series for each time period so that the section data can be distinguished from one another; 3. The finger tapping measurement and processing device according to claim 1, wherein the display data is data that displays a scatter diagram of each of the divided data together with the corresponding approximation line in a graph, and also displays a mathematical expression of the approximation line.

5. A finger tapping measurement and processing method for measuring finger tapping motion, which is an opening and closing movement of two fingers, and processing the measurement results, comprising: a detecting step of magnetically detecting the finger tapping motion; a feature extraction step of extracting a feature associated with a degree of fatigue of fingers as quantitative data from the detection information detected in the detection step; a time-series data generating step of generating time-series data of the feature amounts extracted in the feature amount extracting step, and an approximation line with a slope of the time-series data and a mathematical expression for the line; a display step of displaying the time series data generated by the time series data generating step in a form of a graph together with the approximation line on a display, and also displaying a mathematical formula of the approximation line on the display; A finger tapping measurement processing method comprising:

6. 6. The finger tapping measurement processing method according to claim 5, further comprising an average data generating step of generating average data regarding each feature amount of a plurality of subjects whose finger tapping movements are detected in the detecting step, wherein the time series data generating step generates display data for displaying on the display a reference line indicating the average data by superimposing the reference line on the time series data.

7. the time-series data generating step divides a time axis of the time-series data of the feature into a plurality of time periods having equal elapsed times, generates section data which is time-series data corresponding to each time period, generates an approximation line with a slope of each section data and a mathematical expression thereof, and generates display data for displaying the section data on the display in a chronological order that is continuous and distinguishable from one another; 7. The finger tapping measurement processing method according to claim 5, wherein the display data is data that displays a scatter plot of each of the section data together with the corresponding approximation line in a graph, and also displays a mathematical expression of the approximation line.

8. the time-series data generating step divides a time axis of the time-series data of the feature into a plurality of time periods having equal elapsed times, generates section data which is time-series data corresponding to each time period, generates an approximation line with a slope of each section data and a mathematical expression thereof, and generates display data for displaying the section data on the display in a time series for each time period so that the section data can be distinguished from one another; 7. The finger tapping measurement processing method according to claim 5, wherein the display data is data that displays a scatter plot of each of the section data together with the corresponding approximation line in a graph, and also displays a mathematical expression of the approximation line.

9. A computer program for processing measurement results of finger tapping movement, which is an opening and closing movement of two fingers, a tapping data acquisition step of acquiring detection data from a tapping sensor that magnetically detects the finger tapping motion; a feature extraction step of extracting a feature associated with a degree of fatigue of fingers as quantitative data from the detection data acquired by the tapping data acquisition step; a time-series data generating step of generating time-series data of the feature amounts extracted in the feature amount extracting step, and an approximation line with a slope of the time-series data and a mathematical expression for the line; a display step of displaying the time series data generated by the time series data generating step in a form of a graph together with the approximation line on a display, and also displaying a mathematical formula of the approximation line on the display; A computer program characterized by causing a computer to execute the above.

10. 10. The computer program according to claim 9, further comprising: an average data generating step of generating average data regarding each of the feature amounts of a plurality of subjects whose finger tapping movements are detected by the tapping sensor; and the time series data generating step of generating display data for displaying on the display a reference line indicating the average data by superimposing the reference line on the time series data.

11. the time-series data generating step divides a time axis of the time-series data of the feature into a plurality of time periods having equal elapsed times, generates section data which is time-series data corresponding to each time period, generates an approximation line with a slope of each section data and a mathematical expression thereof, and generates display data for displaying the section data on the display in a chronological order that is continuous and distinguishable from one another; 11. The computer program according to claim 9, wherein the display data is data for displaying a scatter plot of each of the section data together with the corresponding approximation line in a graph, and also displaying a mathematical expression of the approximation line.

12. the time-series data generating step divides a time axis of the time-series data of the feature into a plurality of time periods having equal elapsed times, generates section data which is time-series data corresponding to each time period, generates an approximation line with a slope of each section data and a mathematical expression thereof, and generates display data for displaying the section data on the display in a time series for each time period so that the section data can be distinguished from one another; 11. The computer program according to claim 9, wherein the display data is data for displaying a scatter plot of each of the section data together with the corresponding approximation line in a graph, and also displaying a mathematical expression of the approximation line.

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