US-12622641-B2 - Electrocardiogramic measurement apparatus

US12622641B2US 12622641 B2US12622641 B2US 12622641B2US-12622641-B2

Abstract

To provide an electrocardiographic measurement apparatus that can prevent a variety of subjects from having discomfort when the apparatus is attached to the subjects. The electrocardiographic measurement apparatus includes: a plurality of electrodes that has a length along a circumferential direction of an upper arm, the length being variable in accordance with a length in the circumferential direction of the upper arm, and detects an electric potential from the upper arm that is brought into contact with the electrodes; and a device body that generates electrocardiographic information based on the electric potential detected by the plurality of electrodes.

Inventors

Akito Ito
Reiji Fujita
Yasuhiro Kawabata

Assignees

OMRON HEALTHCARE CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220923
Priority Date: 20200331

Claims (4)

1 . An electrocardiographic measurement apparatus, comprising: a plurality of electrodes having a length adapted to be configured along a circumferential direction of a living body, the length being variable in accordance with a length in the circumferential direction of the living body, the plurality of electrodes being configured to detect an electric potential from the living body that is brought into contact with the plurality of electrodes; and a device body configured to generate electrocardiographic information based on the electric potential detected by the plurality of electrodes, wherein a projecting length from a reference position of each of the plurality of electrodes is variable, the reference position being a surface of a connecting portion to which the electrodes are fixed, wherein connecting portions are provided with a plurality of apertures or openings between connecting portions, and each of the plurality of electrodes projects from a respective one of the apertures or openings in the fixing member such that the projecting length of each electrode from the surface of the connecting portion is variable independent of any stretching of the connecting portion, and thus the length of the plurality of electrodes along the circumferential direction of the living body is variable.
2 . The electrocardiographic measurement apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein an outer circumferential surface side of each electrode of said plurality of electrodes is formed of an insulating portion.
3 . The electrocardiographic measurement apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of electrodes is connected to an insulator, the device body, or a sub-device body to be configured in a circular pattern, and the sub-device body generates electrocardiographic information based on the electrical potential of the electrode connected to the sub-device body.
4 . The electrocardiographic measurement apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the plurality of electrodes and the insulator, or the sub-device body to which each of the plurality of electrodes is connected, are configured to fix the device body to the living body.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is the U.S. national stage application filed pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 365(c) and 120 as a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2021/007616, filed Mar. 1, 2021, which application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-062860, filed Mar. 31, 2020, which applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electrocardiographic measurement apparatus used in measurement of a biological signal in accordance with an electric potential generated due to cardiac motion on the surface of a living body. BACKGROUND ART An electrocardiographic measurement apparatus is known that detects, as one of biological signals, an electrocardiographic signal, which is an electric potential generated due to cardiac motion on the surface of a living body, and generates an electrocardiographic waveform of a subject. As such an electrocardiographic measurement apparatus, a heartbeat measurement device is known that uses a belt including a belt body to be wound around the chest region of the subject and a plurality of electrodes fixed to an inner surface of the belt body in a longitudinal direction (for example, see Patent Document 1). When the heartbeat measurement device is disposed in a circular pattern, a strap having stretchability and a non-stretchable belt in which the electrodes are disposed are connected with a fitting in a circumferential direction of a band. The electrodes are disposed with the heart sandwiched in detecting an electrocardiographic signal on the chest region, and thus a large potential difference can be obtained. Therefore, an interval between the electrodes on the non-stretchable belt may be relatively short. As a result, a relatively long stretchable portion can be disposed, and the length of the strap can be easily adjusted. CITATION LIST Patent Literature Patent Document 1: JP 5441977 B SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem The aforementioned electrocardiographic measurement apparatus may be attached to various limbs (upper limb or lower limb) of the subject by using the band. In this case, it may be troublesome to adjust the length of the band before attaching. Also, when the number of electrodes disposed in the band is increased or the area of each of the electrodes is increased in order to detect a smaller potential difference, it may be difficult to incorporate a portion having stretchability in the circumferential direction of the band. In such a case, after a living body wearable device is attached to a user by the band, the length of the band does not follow an increase in diameter (circumferential length) of a portion on which the living body wearable device is attached, and thus the user may feel discomfort. An object of the present invention is thus to provide an electrocardiographic measurement apparatus that can prevent a variety of subjects from having discomfort when the apparatus is attached to the subjects. Solution to Problem According to an aspect of the present invention, an electrocardiographic measurement apparatus is provided that includes: a plurality of electrodes having a length along a circumferential direction of a living body, the length being variable in accordance with a length in the circumferential direction of the living body, the plurality of electrodes being configured to detect an electric potential from the living body that is brought into contact with the plurality of electrodes; and a device body configured to generate electrocardiographic information based on the electric potential detected by the plurality of electrodes. Here, the living body is, for example, an upper arm, a wrist, a chest, a leg, or the like. According to this aspect, since the length of the plurality of electrodes along the circumferential direction of the living body is variable, the electrocardiographic measurement apparatus can be attached to a variety of subjects, and the various subjects can be prevented from having discomfort when the apparatus is attached to the subjects. In the electrocardiographic measurement apparatus of the aspect described above, the electrocardiographic measurement apparatus is provided in which the plurality of electrodes are stretched to vary the length along the circumferential direction of the living body. According to this aspect, the plurality of electrodes can be formed, for example, in a coil shape or a bellows shape. Further, the plurality of electrodes can be configured such that a plurality of members are movably connected. Furthermore, the plurality of electrodes can include a link mechanism. In the electrocardiographic measurement apparatus of the aspect described above, the electrocardiographic measurement apparatus is provided in which a projecting length from a reference position of the plurality of electrodes is variable, and thus the length along the circumferential direction of the living