US-12616388-B2 - Chinese pulse wave measuring device and use method thereof

US12616388B2US 12616388 B2US12616388 B2US 12616388B2US-12616388-B2

Abstract

A Chinese pulse wave measuring device is provided, which includes an airbag, a pressure control module, a displacement sensing module, a scanning position control module, and a computing device. The above-mentioned pressure control module, displacement sensing module, and scanning position control module are respectively communicationally connected to the computing device, and the pump of the pressure control module is connected to the airbag through gas tube and valve. A method of using the above-mentioned pulse wave measuring device is also provided.

Inventors

Ming-Cheng Shih

Assignees

Ming-Cheng Shih

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230119

Claims (14)

1 . A pulse wave measuring device for pulse diagnosis, configured to measure a vascular radial displacement pulse wave of an arterial blood vessel at a test area of a subject, the pulse wave measuring device comprising: an airbag having a transparent window and a contact part, wherein the contact part is used to contact a skin of the test area of the subject to be tested, at least one arterial vessel is under the test area; a pressure control module used to control an internal pressure of the airbag; a displacement sensing module used to measure a real-time distance from the skin of the test area of the subject to the displacement sensing module over a period of time, so as to obtain the vascular radial displacement pulse wave of the arterial blood vessel, and wherein a measurement resolution of the displacement sensing module is below 50 μm; and a computer communicating with the pressure control module and the displacement sensing module respectively, used to transmit control signals to the pressure control module and the displacement sensing module respectively, receiving information sent by the pressure control module and the displacement sensing module, and performing calculations, wherein the computer is configured to process signals from the displacement sensing module to determine the vascular radial displacement pulse wave of the arterial blood vessel.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the pressure control module comprises: a pressure sensor for sensing the internal pressure of the airbag; and a pump for increasing or decreasing the internal pressure of the airbag.
3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the displacement sensing module comprises a photoelectric displacement sensor configured to emit light through the transparent window of the airbag toward the contact part of the skin located under the contact part, and to receive reflected light so as to perform displacement measurement.
4 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the photoelectric displacement sensor comprises a distance measuring device of a laser displacement meter, a Fiber-Optic Sensor, a three-dimensional scanner, a time-of-flight distance measuring device, or a laser interferometer.
5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the displacement sensing module further comprises a filter configured to filter out low-frequency respiratory signals of the subject so as to analyze pulse signals of the arterial blood vessel, or to filter out pulse signals of the arterial blood vessel so as to analyze a pressing depth of the airbag against the test area.
6 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a scanning position control module, which is communicationally connected to the computer and used to control the position of the displacement sensing module in the test area to allow the displacement sensing module to perform distance-measurement scanning in the test area.
7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein computer is configured to: (1) control the pressure control module to gradually increase the internal pressure of the airbag to an initial pressure value, and then control the pressure control module to maintain the internal pressure of the airbag at the initial pressure value, so that the displacement sensing module performs a first distance-measurement scan in the test area to obtain first measurement depths of respective points in the test area; (2) control the pressure control module to gradually increase the internal pressure of the airbag to an end pressure value, and then control the pressure control module to maintain the internal pressure of the airbag at the end pressure value, so that the displacement sensing module performs a second distance-measurement scan in the test area to obtain second measurement depths of the respective points in the test area; (3) find a location of an arterial blood vessel embedded in soft tissue by calculating differences between the first measurement depths and the second measurement depths of the respective points in the test area, wherein the arterial blood vessel is determined to be located at a point where the difference in depths is greater than that of adjacent points; (4) control the pressure control module to gradually increase the internal pressure of the airbag from the initial pressure value to the end pressure value, while allowing the displacement sensing module to measure a radial displacement pulse wave of the arterial blood vessel, wherein when an amplitude of the radial displacement pulse wave is maximum, the internal pressure of the airbag is defined as a pulse-taking pressure, and a pressing depth of the airbag against the arterial blood vessel is defined as the pulse-taking depth; and (5) control the pressure control module to maintain the internal pressure of the airbag at the pulse-taking pressure to acquire a vascular radial displacement pulse waveform of the arterial blood vessel at the pulse-taking depth to obtain a pulse signal of the arterial blood vessel for pulse diagnosis.
8 . A method for performing pulse diagnosis of a subject using the device of claim 1 , the method comprising: (1) placing the airbag of the device against the skin of the test area of the subject, the test area being located above an arterial blood vessel; (2) controlling, by the computer, the pressure control module to gradually increase an internal pressure of the airbag to an initial pressure value and then maintain the internal pressure of the airbag at the initial pressure value, so that the displacement sensing module performs a first distance-measurement scan in the test area to obtain first measurement depths of the respective points in the test area; (3) controlling, by the computer, the pressure control module to gradually increase the internal pressure of the airbag to an end pressure value and then maintain the internal pressure of the airbag at the end pressure value, so that the displacement sensing module performs a second distance-measurement scan in the test area to obtain second measurement depths of the respective points in the test area; (4) determining, by the computer, a location of the arterial blood vessel embedded in soft tissue by calculating differences between the first measurement depths and the second measurement depths of the respective points in the test area, wherein the arterial blood vessel is determined to be located at a point where the difference in depths is greater than that of adjacent points; (5) controlling, by the computer, the pressure control module to gradually increase the internal pressure of the airbag from the initial pressure value to the end pressure value, while allowing the displacement sensing module to measure a vascular radial displacement pulse wave of the arterial blood vessel, wherein when an amplitude of the vascular radial displacement pulse wave is maximum, the internal pressure of the airbag is defined as a pulse-taking pressure and a pressing depth of the airbag against the arterial blood vessel is defined as a pulse-taking depth; and (6) controlling, by the computer, the pressure control module to maintain the internal pressure of the airbag at the pulse-taking pressure to acquire a vascular radial displacement pulse waveform of the arterial blood vessel at the pulse-taking depth, thereby obtaining a pulse signal of the arterial blood vessel for pulse diagnosis.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of controlling the internal pressure of the airbag comprises: sensing the internal pressure of the airbag by a pressure sensor; and adjusting the internal pressure of the airbag by a pump to increase or decrease the internal pressure of the airbag.
10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of measuring the distance by the displacement sensing module comprises emitting light from a photoelectric displacement sensor through the transparent window of the airbag toward the contact part or the skin located under the contact part, and receiving reflected light by the photoelectric displacement sensor so as to perform displacement measurement.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the photoelectric displacement sensor comprises a distance measuring device of a laser displacement meter, a Fiber-Optic Sensor, a three-dimensional scanner, a time-of-flight distance measuring device, or a laser interferometer.
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of acquiring the vascular radial displacement pulse waveform comprises filtering, by a filter of the displacement sensing module, low-frequency respiratory signals of the subject so as to analyze pulse signals of the arterial blood vessel.
13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of determining a pressing depth of the airbag comprises filtering, by a filter of the displacement sensing module, pulse signals of the arterial blood vessel so as to analyze a pressing depth of the airbag against the test area.
14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of measuring the distance comprises automatically moving the displacement sensing module by a scanning position control module communicationally connected to the computer so as to perform distance-measurement scanning in the test area.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/304,367 filed on Jan. 28, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. BACKGROUND Technical Field The disclosure relates to a physiological characteristic measurement system and its use method, especially related to a pulse wave measuring device and its use method. Description of Related Art At present, there are many different pulse diagnosis devices or instruments used to detect the physiological state of the people, and the current technology is almost all through the pressure film sensor. After a rough judgment of the pulse location by an operator, the pressure film sensor is aimed at one of the positions on the person's limbs, and with the help of an airbag and by adjusting the pressure of the airbag, the depth of the airbag pressing on the wrist is adjusted. Then, the pressure film sensor measures the dynamic pressure generated by the human body pulse and the static pressure of the depression depth to serve as a reference for the pulse signal and depression depth signal. However, due to different operating habits of the operator, the static pressure of the depression depth and the depth of depression do not exhibit a linear relationship, resulting in measurement errors in physiological states. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a measuring system to measure the pulse wave of pulse diagnosis, in order to accurately measure various physiological state information of the subject being tested. SUMMARY In order to accurately measure various physiological state information of a subject, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a pulse wave measuring device and a method for using the same. The above-mentioned pulse wave measuring device is adapted to the wrist of the subject. The pulse wave measuring device is in contact with the test area of the subject's wrist, and the test area comprises the position of the subject's artery to detect the relevant physiological characteristic information of the pulse wave of the subject's artery, such as pulse characteristic wave. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to further understand the techniques, means and effects of the present invention, reference may be made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, so that the purpose, features and concepts of the present invention may be thoroughly and specifically understood. However, the following detailed description and drawings are only for reference and illustration of the implementation of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a pulse wave measuring device for pulse diagnosis according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a first stage of a pulse wave measurement method using the pulse wave measuring device shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a second stage of the pulse wave measurement method using the pulse wave measuring device shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a third stage of the pulse wave measuring method using the pulse wave measuring device shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the wrist and a schematic diagram of the system when using linear displacement sensor. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the pulse wave at the Cun, Guan, and Chi pulse position measured by the linear laser displacement meter along the direction paralleling blood vessels according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the waveform of the pulse taking operation process and pulse characteristics obtained according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of using the pulse wave measuring device shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the pulse wave measuring device 100 does not have a scanning position control module 400, and the displacement sensing module 300 is a point-type photoelectric displacement sensor. FIGS. 9A-9B are flowcharts illustrating a method of using the pulse wave measuring device shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the pulse wave measuring device 100 does not have the scanning position control module 400, and the displacement sensing module 300 is a linear or area-type photoelectric displacement sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Definition: the XY plane is substantially parallel to the skin surface of a subject, wherein the X axis is substantially parallel to the direction of blood vessels of the subject, and the Y axis is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the blood vessels of the subject. Therefore, th