System for reducing physical load of ultrasonic inspection robot

Abstract

To reduce burden by a change of posture of a subject during an ultrasonic inspection with a seating-type ultrasonic inspection robot.SOLUTION: A body burden reduction system 12 is provided for an ultrasonic inspection robot 11 assisting an ultrasonic wave inspection of a subject H. The body burden reduction system 12 includes: a detector 20 detecting force information corresponding to body burden of the subject H during inspection; and a body auxiliary device 21 which operates in accordance with the level of body burden to be burden on the body while the subject H rotates according to a result of the detection of the detector 20. The body auxiliary device 21 includes: a contact operation part 26 operating so that it can contact the subject H while seated; and a control part 28 which controls the contact operation to the subject H with the contact operation part 26 so as to reduce the body burden.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for reducing the physical burden of an ultrasonic inspection robot that reduces the burden on a subject during an ultrasonic inspection in a seated ultrasonic inspection robot.

Background Art

[0002] As an ultrasonic inspection of the human body, an echocardiogram inspection for evaluating the form and movement of a subject's heart is known, in which ultrasonic waves are applied to the subject's heart, and the reflected sound waves are converted into electrical signals and depicted as images. In this echocardiogram inspection, since it requires advanced technology to grasp the three-dimensional structure of the heart and clearly depict echo images in detail, corresponding knowledge and experience are required of doctors and ultrasonic inspection technicians. However, the number of hospitals with experienced doctors and inspection technicians is limited, and currently, in many medical institutions, there is a shortage of doctors and inspection technicians for performing echocardiogram inspections. Furthermore, in ultrasonic inspections, since the ultrasonic probe held by an inspector such as a doctor or an inspection technician is applied to the subject's body surface at various angles, the subject is forced to maintain an unnatural posture, and the burden increases as the inspection time lengthens. Therefore, the present inventors have developed and already proposed an ultrasonic inspection robot that supports the echocardiogram inspection conventionally performed by doctors and inspection technicians manually operating an ultrasonic probe (see Patent Document 1). In this ultrasonic inspection robot, while the subject is in a seated posture, the seated posture of the subject is changed while performing rotational control in the body side direction and the front-rear direction. As a result, the ultrasonic probe comes into contact with the body surface portion near the subject's heart at an appropriate position and posture, and clear ultrasonic images can be obtained by simple operations of doctors and inspection technicians.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above-described seated ultrasonic inspection robot, when controlling the posture with the subject on board, the body of the subject is rotated in the body side direction, so a load is applied to the subject due to the body weight, and the subject during the inspection requires muscle strength to maintain the posture, etc., which can be an inhibitory factor for a comfortable inspection.

[0005] The present invention has been devised paying attention to such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a body load reduction system for an ultrasonic inspection robot that reduces the burden caused by changes in the posture of the subject during the inspection.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention mainly has a mechanism that operates to scan an ultrasonic probe along the body surface of a seated subject in a predetermined posture while rotating the seated subject in a predetermined direction, and is provided along with an ultrasonic inspection robot that supports the ultrasonic inspection of the subject, and is a body load reduction system that reduces the load on the subject during the inspection. The body load reduction system includes a detection device that detects force information corresponding to the body load of the subject during the inspection, and a body assistance device that operates according to the detection result of the detection device and according to the magnitude of the body load, which is the load on the body of the subject during rotation. The body assistance device includes a contact operation unit that operates to be able to contact the seated subject, and a control unit that controls the contact operation of the contact operation unit on the subject so as to reduce the body load.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, while measuring information corresponding to the body load of the subject during the inspection with a detection device, the body load of the subject can be reduced by the operation of the body assistance device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram representing the configuration of the main part of the robot system for ultrasonic inspection according to this embodiment. In this figure, the robot system 10 includes an ultrasonic inspection robot 11 that operates to assist in the echocardiogram inspection of the subject, and a body load reduction system 12 that is provided along with the ultrasonic inspection robot 11 to reduce the load on the subject during the inspection.

[0011] The ultrasonic inspection robot 11 has a mechanism that operates to scan an ultrasonic probe along the body surface of the subject in a predetermined posture while rotating the seated subject in the left - right direction (lateral direction of the body) and the front - rear direction. This ultrasonic inspection robot 11 is composed of a seated - type robot body 14 that operates to enable an echocardiogram inspection of the subject in a sitting posture, and a control device 15 that controls the operation of the robot body 14.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 2, the robot body 14 operates to rotate the posture of the seated subject H in the directions of the arrows in the figure, that is, in the body side direction (roll direction) and the front-rear direction (pitch direction) of the body, thereby adjusting the orientation of the subject H's body. It is equipped with a body posture adjustment mechanism 17 and a probe movement mechanism 18. The body posture adjustment mechanism 17 can rotate the posture of the seated subject H in the directions of the arrows in the figure, that is, in the body side direction (roll direction) and the front-rear direction (pitch direction) of the body, to adjust the orientation of the subject H's body. The probe movement mechanism 18 movably holds the ultrasonic probe P and scans the ultrasonic probe P in a predetermined posture on the body surface near the chest wall of the seated subject H. During the echocardiogram examination, the subject H seated on the seating surface 17A of the body posture adjustment mechanism 17 operates the body posture adjustment mechanism 17 while appropriately gripping the handrail-shaped gripping portion 17B located above with his / her own hand. By this operation, while changing the posture of the heart with respect to the gravitational direction of the subject H, and by scanning the ultrasonic probe P in an appropriate posture by the probe movement mechanism 18, a clear ultrasonic image of the heart of the subject H can be obtained.

[0013] The control device 15 is composed of a computer that controls the operation of the robot body 14 based on prior information input of the subject H and operation commands remotely or proximally by an operator such as a doctor or a medical technician.

[0014] The above ultrasonic examination robot 11 has already been proposed by the present inventors in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-70607. Since it is not an essential part of the present invention, the description of its detailed configuration and the like will be omitted.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, the body load reduction system 12 includes a detection device 20 that detects force information corresponding to the body load of the subject during the examination, and a body assistance device 21 that operates according to the magnitude of the body load, which is the load on the body during the rotation of the subject, based on the detection result of the detection device 20.

[0016] As also shown in Fig. 3, the detection device 20 includes a seating reaction force detection sensor 23 that measures the force acting on the seating surface 17A in contact with the buttocks of the subject, and a muscle force load detection sensor 24 that detects the force acting on the gripping portion 17B during the maintenance of the posture by the muscle force of the subject.

[0017] The sensor 23 for detecting the seating reaction force is a sheet-like pressure distribution sensor laid on the seating surface 17A. The reaction force in the normal direction of the seating surface 17A with respect to the subject H is detected for each subdivided section (measurement point), and the pressure distribution on the seating surface 17A can be measured. As a result, the total reaction force can be derived for each region obtained by dividing the buttocks of the subject H at the time of seating into left and right, and the left-right difference in the reaction force in the normal direction with respect to the seating surface 17A when the posture of the subject H changes can be grasped.

[0018] The sensor 24 for detecting the muscle force load can measure the force when the subject H uses the muscle force through the gripping portion 17B to maintain the posture when the posture changes due to the operation of the robot main body 14 while the subject H is gripping the gripping portion 17B. This sensor 24 for detecting the muscle force load is composed of a load cell (force sensor) arranged in the gripping portion 17B, and is arranged so as to be able to measure the loads acting in the vertical direction of the subject H when the subject H grips the gripping portion 17B.

[0019] In addition, as the detection device 20, as long as the above-described various types of information can be detected, in addition to the above sensors, various other sensors, devices, or systems can be applied. Further, as the detection device 20, sensors or devices for measuring the reaction force of the sole of the foot of the subject H grounded in the sitting posture can be used in place of or in combination with the sensor 23 for detecting the seating reaction force. In this case, the same processing as the processing described later using the measurement value of the sensor 23 for detecting the seating reaction force can also be performed on the measurement value.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the body assisting device 21 is composed of a balloon that expands and contracts variably in volume by a change in air pressure, a contact operation portion 26 that operates to be able to contact the subject at the time of seating, an air supply and discharge mechanism 27 that is connected to the contact operation portion 26 and includes a pump, a tube, a valve, etc. for supplying and discharging air to and from the internal space of the contact operation portion 26, and a control portion 28 that operates the air supply and discharge mechanism 27 so as to adjust the amount of air in the contact operation portion 26 and controls the contact operation to the subject by the contact operation portion 26.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the contact operation unit 26 stands up from one end side (left side of the body) of the seating surface 17A and is attached to two locations: the inner surface side of the seat side wall 17C of the robot body 14 facing the left hip side surface of the subject H during use, and the inner surface side of the upper side wall 17D of the robot body 14 facing the left chest side surface of the subject H during use.

[0022] Here, the robot body 14 of the present embodiment can rotate in the left - right direction between the initial posture shown in FIG. 4(A) and the left - inclined posture shown in FIG. 4(B). The contact operation unit 26 is non - contact with the subject H in the initial posture as shown in FIG. 4(A). During the inspection, when it rotates as shown in FIG. 4(B) and the subject H changes posture to the left, it expands and comes into contact with the left hip side surface and the arm side surface of the subject H. At this time, in the contact operation unit 26, the inflow amount of air from the air supply - discharge mechanism 27 changes so as to reduce the load due to the lateral inclination of the subject H, and the pressing force on the subject H is adjusted.

[0023] The control unit 28 is constituted by a computer provided integrally or separately with the ultrasonic inspection robot 11, and is configured to be able to adjust the reaction force of the contact operation unit 26, that is, the pressing force on the subject H in contact with the contact operation unit 26.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, this control unit 28 includes a left - right balance adjustment unit 30 that adjusts the expansion amount of the contact operation unit 26 so as to reduce the left - right difference in the reaction force acting in the normal direction of the hip based on the detection result of the seating reaction force detection sensor 23, and a body - internal load adjustment unit 31 that adjusts the expansion amount of the contact operation unit 26 so as to reduce the body - internal load, which is the internal force of the subject H, based on the detection results of the seating reaction force detection sensor 23 and the muscle - force load detection sensor 24, so that the subject H does not need to maintain the posture by his or her own muscle strength.

[0025] In the left - right balance adjustment unit 30, the following processing is performed when the subject does not hold the gripping part 17B during the inspection and does not maintain the posture by his or her own muscle strength.

[0026] First, from the pressure distribution in the normal direction of the reaction force at each measurement point where the buttocks of the subject H detected by the seating reaction force detection sensor 23 come into contact, the pressure is summed for each region divided into left and right, and the left - right pressure difference in the reaction force of the buttocks is calculated. Then, the expansion amount of the contact operation part 26 is adjusted so as to eliminate the pressure difference. For example, when the subject H rotates to the left side in Fig. 4(B) from the initial state in Fig. 4(A) during the inspection and the subject is in a tilted state, the reaction force of the buttocks on the left side in the tilted figure is larger than that on the right side. Therefore, the supply amount of air from the air supply and exhaust mechanism 27 to the contact operation part 26 is adjusted so that the pressing force from the left side in the figure acts on the subject H from the contact operation part to eliminate the left - right difference in the reaction force of the buttocks. At this time, while acquiring the detection results of the seating reaction force detection sensor 23 every predetermined time, the operation of the air supply and exhaust mechanism 27 is feedback - controlled, and when the left - right difference in the reaction force becomes less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the air supply from the air supply and exhaust mechanism 27 to the contact operation part 26 is stopped, and the air amount in the contact operation part 26 is maintained in a predetermined state.

[0027] Regarding the elimination of the left - right difference in the reaction force of the buttocks here, the following method can also be adopted. That is, first, based on the detection results of the seating reaction force detection sensor 23, for the reaction force in the normal direction at each measurement point on the seating surface 17A, the moments around the left - right center point of the seating surface 17A in the body left - right direction (around the frontal plane) along the frontal plane of the subject H are calculated respectively. Then, the air supply and exhaust mechanism 27 described above is feedback - controlled so as to cancel each moment, and when the total of each moment becomes less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the operation of the air supply and exhaust mechanism 27 is stopped.

[0028] In the body internal load adjustment part 24, when the subject H holds the holding part 17B with his / her own muscle strength to maintain the posture during the inspection, the following processing is performed.

[0029] First, based on the measurement results of the seating reaction force detection sensor 23 and the muscle force load detection sensor 24, a muscle force load, which is a load index indicating the degree of use of the subject's muscle force, is detected. This muscle force load is obtained by dividing the measured value of the muscle force load detection sensor 24 by the total value of the reaction forces of the buttocks measured by the seating reaction force detection sensor 23. Note that the muscle force load can also be obtained as follows. For example, in addition to obtaining the muscle force load from the measured value of the muscle force load detection sensor 24, the ratio (proportion) of the seating reaction force detection sensor 23 and the muscle force load detection sensor 24, or the value (proportion) obtained by dividing the measured value of the muscle force load detection sensor 24 by the sum of the measured values of these sensors 23 and 24 may be used as the muscle force load. Further, when the reaction force of the sole of the foot is measured by the detection device 20, the muscle force load can be obtained by performing the above-described calculation of the ratio or the like with respect to the measured value of the muscle force load detection sensor 24 after combining the measured value with the measured value of the seating reaction force detection sensor 23, or by selecting either one of them.

[0030] Then, the expansion amount of the contact operation unit 26 is adjusted so as to eliminate the muscle force load. That is, when the value of the muscle force load is large and the degree of involvement of the subject H's muscle force is high, the expansion amount of the contact operation unit 26 is adjusted so as to increase the pressing force from the contact operation unit 26 to the subject H. On the other hand, when the value of the muscle force load is small and the degree of involvement of the subject H's muscle force is low, the expansion amount of the contact operation unit 26 is adjusted so that the pressing force from the contact operation unit 26 to the subject H becomes smaller. At this time, while acquiring the detection results of the sensors 23 and 24 every predetermined time, the operation of the air supply and exhaust mechanism 27 is feedback-controlled, and when the muscle force load becomes equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, the operation of the air supply and exhaust mechanism 27 is stopped, and the air amount in the contact operation unit 26 is maintained in a predetermined state.

[0031] Therefore, according to such an embodiment, it is possible to detect the body load due to its own weight caused by the rotation of the subject H's body in the left - right direction. Based on the detection result, the reaction force from the contact operation unit 26 will act on the subject H. Here, by using a balloon for the contact operation unit 26, flexibility and strength to wrap around the human body are ensured, enabling body support according to the physique of the individual subject H. In the ultrasonic examination robot 11, in order to acquire an appropriate ultrasonic image, it is necessary to maintain a predetermined posture according to the physique of the individual subject H. However, regardless of such physique differences, an effect is obtained that the maintenance and adjustment of the relative relationship between the ultrasonic probe P and the subject H can be executed with a simple configuration.

[0032] Note that as the body assistance device 21, various configurations can be alternatively adopted as long as they exhibit the same operation as in this embodiment. For example, regarding the contact operation unit 26, the placement location and the number of placements can be appropriately increased or decreased. Also, not limited to the balloon, other members or mechanisms using other elastic structures, biasing members, etc. can be adopted.

[0033] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the ultrasonic examination robot 11 for acquiring echocardiogram images, and can also be applied to other seated ultrasonic examination robots that rotate the subject H in a predetermined direction to enable the acquisition of other ultrasonic images.

[0034] In addition, the configuration of each part of the device in the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configuration example, and various modifications are possible as long as they exhibit substantially the same operation.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0035] 10 Robot system 11 Ultrasonic examination robot 12 Body load reduction system 17 Body posture adjustment mechanism 18 Probe movement mechanism 17A Seating surface 17B Gripping part 20 Detection device 23 Sensor for detecting seating reaction force Sensor for detecting muscle strength load 21 Body assistance device 26 Contact operation part 28 Control unit 30 Left - right balance adjustment part 31 Body internal load adjustment part H Subject P Ultrasonic probe

Claims

1. A body load reduction system that is provided along with an ultrasonic examination robot that supports ultrasonic examination of a subject, and has a mechanism that operates to scan an ultrasonic probe along the body surface of the subject in a predetermined posture while rotating the seated subject in a predetermined direction, and reduces the load on the subject during the examination, comprising a detection device that detects force information corresponding to the body load of the subject during the examination, and a body assistance device that operates according to the magnitude of the body load, which is the load on the body of the subject during rotation, based on the detection result of the detection device, wherein the body assistance device includes a contact operation unit that operates to be able to contact the seated subject, and a control unit that controls the contact operation of the contact operation unit on the subject so as to reduce the body load, the detection device includes a seating reaction force detection sensor that measures the pressure distribution acting on the seating surface of the ultrasonic examination robot with which the buttocks of the subject come into contact, and the control unit is characterized by including a left-right balance adjustment unit that adjusts the operation of the contact operation unit so as to reduce the left-right difference in the reaction force acting in the normal direction of the buttocks from the measurement result of the seating reaction force detection sensor. A body load reduction system for an ultrasonic examination robot.

2. The body load reduction system for an ultrasonic examination robot according to claim 1, wherein in the left-right balance adjustment unit, the left-right difference in the reaction force in the normal direction of the buttocks is calculated, and the contact operation unit is operated so as to reduce the left-right difference.

3. The body load reduction system for an ultrasonic examination robot according to claim 1, wherein in the left-right balance adjustment unit, the moment around the center point of the seating surface in the direction along the frontal plane of the subject is calculated from the reaction force in the normal direction at each position of the seating surface, and the contact operation unit is operated so as to reduce the left-right difference due to the moment.

4. A body load reduction system that is provided along with an ultrasonic examination robot that supports ultrasonic examination of a subject, and has a mechanism that operates to scan an ultrasonic probe along the body surface of the subject in a predetermined posture while rotating the seated subject in a predetermined direction, and reduces the load on the subject during the examination, comprising a detection device that detects force information corresponding to the body load of the subject during the examination, and a body assistance device that operates according to the magnitude of the body load, which is the load on the body of the subject during rotation, based on the detection result of the detection device, The body assisting device includes a contact operation unit that operates to be able to contact the subject when seated, and a control unit that controls the contact operation of the contact operation unit to the subject so as to reduce the body load. The detection device includes a seating reaction force detection sensor that measures the force acting on the seating surface of the ultrasonic inspection robot with which the buttocks of the subject come into contact, and a muscle force load detection sensor that detects the force acting on the ultrasonic inspection robot when the subject maintains the posture by muscle force. The control unit is provided with a body internal load adjustment unit that reduces the body internal load, which is the internal force of the subject, based on the detection results of the seating reaction force detection sensor and the muscle force load detection sensor, and adjusts the operation of the contact operation unit so that the subject does not need to maintain the posture by its own muscle force. A body load reduction system for an ultrasonic inspection robot characterized by this.

5. In the body internal load adjustment unit, based on the measured value of the muscle force load detection sensor, or based on the measured value of the muscle force load detection sensor and the measured value of the seating reaction force detection sensor, a muscle force load, which is a load index indicating the usage of the muscle force of the subject, is calculated, and the contact operation unit is operated so as to reduce the muscle force load. A body load reduction system for an ultrasonic inspection robot according to claim 4, characterized by this.

6. The contact operation unit is constituted by a balloon that can expand and contract so as to change its volume. In the control unit, the pressing force to the subject is adjusted according to the amount of expansion of the contact operation unit. A body load reduction system for an ultrasonic inspection robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by this.

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