JP2969288B2 - Stress physiological response type estimation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention measures a physiological response type (hereinafter referred to as a stress physiological response type) at the time of stress load, which is determined by measuring a physiological response. Using only numerical answers to the question items, and simply estimating devices, such as medical fields such as psychiatry, neurology, and psychosomatic medicine,
It can be used in the stress and health / sports related industries such as stress management, as well as in drug stores and health related facilities.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional methods for measuring and evaluating human stress and health include questionnaire-based methods, determination by analyzing biochemicals in blood and urine, and physiological indexes such as EEG, electromyogram, skin temperature, and blood pressure. There are methods. Of these, the objective evaluation method is not a non-invasive measurement for blood, and the measurement is not easy and the measurement over time is difficult. There were drawbacks. The physiological index has the advantage that measurement over time can be performed relatively easily by noninvasive measurement.

However, in the conventional evaluation of stress and health using physiological indices, a small number of indices indicate the magnitude of the result, and the stress and health of people who easily fall in skin temperature and blood pressure tend to rise. There was a lack of perspective on the individual differences in the indicators reflecting the risk of overestimation and underestimation of the degree of stress. In addition, there was no method in which the degree of stress was determined as a response pattern of a plurality of physiological indices.

Therefore, in the applicant's other device (Japanese Patent Application No. 2-109416), measures were taken to solve the problems described above.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the embodiment. In FIG. 4, 1 is a physiological index measuring section for measuring a plurality of physiological indices, 2 is an input section, 3 is a representative value determining section for obtaining a representative value such as an average value from each measurement data, and 4 is made from a representative value. A determination unit that compares the pattern and the reference pattern to determine the degree of stress and outputs a determination result, 5 is an output unit that displays the determination result, and 6 is a control unit.

 Next, the operation will be described.

The subject gives a start signal from the input unit, and the physiological index measuring unit 1 measures physiological index data such as electroencephalograms and electromyograms. Further, an answer to the question item presented on the output unit 5 is taken in from the input unit 2.

Next, a representative value such as an average value is obtained from these data in the representative value determination unit 3 and is taken into the determination unit 4.

Further, the judging means 46 of the judging unit 4 obtains a judgment value by performing a level division operation of each representative value, compares and compares the pattern created by the judgment value with each reference pattern of the reference pattern group of the reference value file 3453. Then, the response type of stress (stress physiological response type by physiological index, stress item response type by questionnaire, and total stress response type combining both) is determined, and the determination result is output from the output unit 5.

As described above, the applicant's other device uses physiological indices, and covers a variety of individual indices that are likely to fluctuate using a plurality of physiological indices and question items selected in consideration of physiological and psychological mechanisms. By classifying as a pattern using information of a plurality of indices, it was possible to solve the above-described problems and accurately determine a stress response type. However, it is necessary to measure the physiological index in determining the stress response type using the physiological index.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The technical problem of the present invention is further simple, anyone, using only the answer to the question item that can be used anywhere, without measuring the physiological index, to almost certainly estimate the stress physiological response type of the subject. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for estimating the type of stress physiological reaction that can be performed.

In other words, the determination of the type of stress physiological response, which was conventionally available only by measuring the physiological response, is as follows: 1. Numerical values for question items related to stress or “YE
Using the fact that the answer value in the form of "S" or "NO" is correlated with the stress physiological response type, 2.A coefficient corresponding to the relevance is used for the answer value for each question item. Multiply and sum them, and 3. match the value with the standard value of the stress physiological response type to estimate the individual stress physiological response type of each individual subject. By giving a stress load to the person to be measured, such as by giving a presentation, it is possible to perform measurement under the control of the measurement conditions, and 6. It is possible to make an estimation that takes into account attribute information such as age, gender, etc.

This makes it possible to easily and easily estimate the type of stress physiological response. In addition, the stress physiological response type is a pattern of a physiological response at the time of a stress load obtained by a plurality of physiological indices, and a certain person easily raises blood pressure and a skin temperature hardly decreases. It becomes a characteristic pattern depending on the person, for example, the temperature is easily lowered.

[Means for solving the problem]

The technical measures taken to solve the technical problem include: 1.Question acquisition means for obtaining the answer to the question about stress, and arithmetic means for calculating the composite variable using this answer and a prepared coefficient. A stress provided with a means for comparing a synthetic variable with a standard value of a stress physiological response type prepared in advance and estimating an individual stress physiological response type based on the comparison result, and an output means for outputting the estimated stress physiological response type. That is, a physiological reaction type estimation device is used.

2. The subject is provided with a stress task loading means for loading a stress task, and the question and answer obtaining means, when obtaining a question-related answer to the subject, applies the stress task to the subject by the stress task loading means. The present invention uses the stress physiological response type estimating apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the apparatus is configured to obtain an answer to a question about stress while controlling the answer condition under a load.

3. The apparatus according to 1 or 2 above, further comprising an attribute information acquiring unit for obtaining information on an attribute of the person to be measured, wherein the arithmetic unit is configured to obtain a composite variable using information on the attribute acquired by the attribute information acquiring unit. That is, a stress physiological response type estimation device is used.

(Operation)

In the apparatus for estimating the type of stress physiological response according to the present invention, a question and answer related to stress is obtained without measuring a physiological index using a coefficient obtained in advance by obtaining a correlation amount between a plurality of physiological indices and a question answer value. By simply performing an operation such as multiplying the coefficient obtained by the means on the answer value obtained by the means, the estimated values of a plurality of physiological indices are obtained, and the standard values of the stress physiological response type prepared in advance and the By performing the comparison, the type of physiological response during stress load can be estimated, and the result can be output by the output unit.

In addition, when presenting a question, the task is loaded by stress task loading means that loads tasks such as quizzes, mental arithmetic, video games, etc. You can do it.

In addition, by providing attribute information acquiring means, a coefficient storage unit prepares a coefficient for multiplying the question and answer for each attribute, or a stress physiological response type standard value storage unit uses a question and answer related to stress for each attribute for calculation, etc. It is also possible to perform more appropriate estimation in consideration of the attribute of the measurer.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments of the drawings. FIG. 1 is a display example of an estimation result obtained by the present invention device, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a method using the present invention device, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method used. In FIG. 2, 1. First, a method of operating an electronic device used in the apparatus of the present invention by a display unit 71, a method of answering a question 82a regarding an attribute presented later, and a method of answering a question 83a regarding a stress to a subject to be measured. Of the action 81a is performed. The display unit 71 includes, for example, a CRT screen, a liquid crystal display, and the like, and the subject acts according to the instruction.

This instruction is stored in the storage section 75 of the subject's action instruction information storage section 81.
stored in e.

2. According to the action instruction 81a of the display unit 71, first, the subject is
In response to a question about the attribute sent from the attribute question storage unit 82e of the storage unit 75, attribute information such as age, gender, and lifestyle is input from the input unit 72 including a keyboard or the like (this attribute information is referred to as A1). The input method at this time is, for example, one of several options, and a simple method of inputting a corresponding number is assumed. In addition, input of numerical values without using options,
Characters may be input.

3. Further, the display section 71 presents x items (for example, 10 <x <50) on the stress question 83a sent from the stress question storage section 83e prepared in the storage section 75.
The person to be measured determines the extent to which the content of the question is applicable, and inputs, for example, a numeric value, a character, or the like as an answer to the question related to stress from the options shown on the display unit 71. In addition, the corresponding degree is input by placing a design indicating the range of the degree on the display unit 71 and positionally supporting the degree by moving a cursor or the like within the range, operating the lever, or using a dedicated switch. May be used.

The data of the answer to the question for estimating the stress physiological response type is A2 (A2 consists of x).

4. The data A1 and A2 input by the input unit 72 are sequential calculation units
Sent to 73. If the data A1 and A2 are given as non-numeric inputs, they are replaced with numerical data according to the degree in order to perform later calculations. The arithmetic unit 73 multiplies each of the numerical data A2 by a specific coefficient sent from the coefficient storage unit 84e, obtains the sum, and adds a constant. The number of synthetic variables S, which are estimated values, is calculated (n is the number of physiological responses to be estimated). It should be noted that the number of answer sets C corresponds to the number of answers of a specific coefficient, and is composed of x. That is, x coefficients x
It consists of n pieces.

Ie Are calculated (where i = 1 to n, j = 1 to x, n
Is the number of physiological responses to be estimated, x is the number of questions and answers, Si is the i-th physiological response estimated value, Cij is the j-th question and answer in the coefficient set for i-th physiological response estimation, and αi is the i-th physiological response Constant for estimation).

5. Since this synthetic variable S takes a characteristic value according to each stress physiological response type, it is compared with the standard value of each stress physiological response type stored in advance in the stress physiological response type standard value storage of the memory 75. , The stress physiological response type having the closest value is searched. Note that the synthetic variable S is plural when the estimated stress physiological response types are plural. For example, when the estimated stress physiological response types are three types of EEG, electromyogram, and skin temperature, S1, S2, The value S3 is calculated and collated. At this time, a plurality of combined variables S such as S1, S2, and S3 are calculated by using a plurality of coefficient sets C for the data A2, and the combined variables calculated using A2 and C1, respectively, are S1, The composite variable calculated using A2 and C2 is S2, and the composite variable calculated using A2 and A3 is S3.
Further, in the case of estimating a plurality of conditions, for example, at rest, during stress, and the amount of change from rest to stress, a number of coefficient sets C corresponding to the conditions are required.
In this case, C is composed of x (the number of question items) × n (the sum of the number of indices for each condition; for example, 3 when the blood pressure is stable and when the heart rate is at rest and during stress). In this way, the individual answer value data A2 can calculate a plurality (n) of composite variables S by multiplying a plurality of coefficient sets C, and can calculate a stress physiological response type constituted by a combination of a plurality of physiological responses. Can be estimated. On this occasion,
There are several ways to make a better estimate.

One is that the standardity may be slightly displaced due to attributes such as age, gender, lifestyle, etc., so a standard value according to the attribute of the subject is prepared in advance in the stress physiological response type standard value storage unit 84e2, This is to match the information of A1 with the corresponding standard value.

Another is that when multiplying each of the numerical data A2 in the above 4 by a specific coefficient of the coefficient storage unit 84e, a specific coefficient corresponding to attributes such as age, gender, lifestyle, etc. is previously determined. How to prepare.

Still another method is to add attribute information to the data A2 as a question and answer regarding stress. Still another is a method in which a correction coefficient is stored in the coefficient storage unit 84e, and the combined variable S is corrected using a correction coefficient corresponding to the attribute information.

The estimated stress physiological response type determines the degree of stress of an individual using a clear physiological index of a background mechanism, and follows a separately prepared classification standard.

Here, an example of how to prepare the stress physiological response type standard value prepared in advance can be obtained by the following experiment. That is, by measuring a plurality of physiological indices of a plurality of subjects, an evaluation value of each index for determining the type of stress physiological response is obtained. This evaluation value is a target to be estimated in the apparatus of the present invention, and a pattern constituted by a combination of the plurality of evaluation values is also possible.

At the same time, by obtaining the answer value of the question about stress by the individual subject at the same time, the correlation amount between the evaluation value of each index and the answer value of the question can be obtained, and the correlation between them can be clarified. Thus, a correspondence table between the two can be created, and a coefficient and a constant to be multiplied by the question answer value regarding stress become clear.

In this analysis, stress-related questions and answers are explained as explanatory variables,
Multiple regression analysis using physiological index data as reference variables, Mathematical analysis based on other variable analysis such as quantification type II, which classifies physiological stress levels based on question answer values and physiological index data as categorical values and question answer values It can be done by procedure. Depending on the question answer value and the nature of the physiological stress level as an interval scale, a categorical scale, or how many steps are taken when the category scale is used, other analysis methods may be used. Discriminant analysis, multiple discriminant analysis, quantification class I, etc. are applicable.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the results of analysis by quantification type II using the experimental data actually performed.

In FIG. 5, among the physiological indices, the brain wave α-band power and the frontal electromyogram (both of which are categorical scales indicating the magnitudes of the powers of HL) are used as external criteria (criterion variables) and questions regarding stress (reference variables). Here, the result when the question of the physical symptom, which was performed as an alternative of YES or NO) is used as an explanatory variable is shown. In FIG. 5, Vp indicates the subject, Seq indicates the number of experiments, and M indicates the number of all question items used in the analysis. Here, only items having high correlation are increased together with Range, which is one type of parameter indicating the degree of the association. For example, a person with a large brain wave α-band power tends to answer YES to the question “I think he is too thin indeed.” Can be estimated.

Through these analyses, individual coefficients and constants to be multiplied by individual question answer values, such as multiple regression coefficients in multiple regression analysis, can be obtained. In this way, individual physiological responses are estimated only by the question and answer, and by determining a plurality of physiological responses, a pattern of physiological responses under stress, that is, a stress physiological response type can be estimated.

6. The stress physiological response types estimated in this way are S and A
1 and A2 are stored in the individual result storage unit 85e in the storage unit 75.

7. The subject ends the use of the apparatus of the present invention by operating the input unit 72 in accordance with the instructions shown on the CRT screen or the like of the display unit 71, or his / her own from the individual result storage unit 85e of the storage unit 75. Necessary information, such as the type of stress physiological response to which it belongs, is obtained from the CRT screen of the display unit 71 or a printer. Note that past data can also be displayed on the display unit. FIG. 1 shows an example of a result output. In FIG.
2 shows an example in which the estimation result and attribute information stored in the individual result storage unit 85e of the storage unit 75 of FIG. Name, gender, age, lifestyle, etc. are indicated, and the stress of EEG, EMG, and skin temperature at rest, during stress, and during change (determined by the difference and ratio of data at rest and during stress) The physiological response type is estimated in three stages (LMH). Type 1 to estimate using three more indicators
(A, B), type 3 estimated using conditions for each index
(Α · β), and their comprehensive types 2 and 4
(X, Y) is estimated.

8. All of these function controls are performed by the control unit 74.

9. In response to the question 3 above, immediately before or during the question, a stress task presentation 89a is made from the display unit 71, and an answer such as a stress load by inputting the answer 89b to the stress task into the input unit 72 is input. By controlling the control, the stress physiological response type can be more appropriately estimated. Also, the performance of the stress task at this time can be used as data for estimating the type of stress physiological response.

This is because, by using the same stress task for each person, the response condition of the person to be measured is controlled, and the possibility of reflecting the stress response type of each individual is improved.

Examples of the stress task include quiz presentation and answer request, video game execution, mental arithmetic task, error (error) detection, letter cancellation (detect a specific character such as e), Stroop task (color character) Presentation), reaction time issues, etc.

The steps of the above operation are shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, an operation instruction P1 is issued on the display unit 71, and the subject starts operating the apparatus of the present invention in accordance with the instruction.

Next, a question presentation P2 regarding the attribute is made, and an answer A1 to this is obtained from the input unit 72.

Next, a question presentation P3 regarding stress is made, and the input unit 72
The answer A2 to this is obtained. The answer A2 is multiplied by the coefficient C obtained from the coefficient storage unit 84c in the storage unit 75, and an operation P4 for obtaining S is performed. Next, S is compared with the data in the stress type reference value storage unit 84e2, and a stress physiological response type estimation P5 is performed based on the result. This result is stored in the individual result storage unit 85e together with P1, A2, and S. Next, as a result of P5, A1, A2, and Sn are displayed on the display unit 71, and the operation ends.

〔The invention's effect〕

Therefore, according to the present invention, without measuring the physiological response, according to the instruction of the display unit such as the CRT screen, by answering the questions of dozens of items related to attribute information and stress, by answering the input unit such as a keyboard, It is possible to easily estimate the type of stress physiological response regardless of the location.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a display example of an estimation result obtained by the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a method of using the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of using the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the invented apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a table of experimental results. 71 display unit, 72 input unit 73 arithmetic unit 74 control unit 75 storage unit 81 operating method instruction unit 82 attribute information acquisition unit 83 stress question acquisition unit 84... Calculation means, 85... Result presenting means 89... Stress task loading means Note that subscripts such as a, b, c, d, e, and e2 indicate the distinction of functions in the same means.

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Futomi Shimono 8-1-1 Tsukaguchi Honcho, Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture Inside the Central Research Laboratory of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (72) Inventor Tsuneyuki Abe 3-9-1 Nishigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo No. Shiseido Gotanda Building Shiseido Beauty Science Research Institute Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Mutsume Keiko 3-9-1, Nishigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Shiseido Gotanda Building Co., Ltd. Shiseido Beauty Science Research Institute Co., Ltd. Mitsue Shiseido Gotanda Building 3-9-1 Nishi Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Shiseido Beauty Science Laboratory Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A 1-113026 (JP, A) JP-A 50-55188 (JP, A) JP-A-4-28338 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) A61B 5/16 A61B 5/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A question content obtaining means for obtaining an answer to a question relating to stress, an arithmetic means for obtaining a composite variable using the answer and a previously prepared coefficient, a stress physiological response type prepared in advance An apparatus for estimating a stress physiological response type, comprising: means for comparing with a standard value and estimating an individual stress physiological response type based on the comparison result; and output means for outputting the estimated stress physiological response type. 2. A stress task loading means for loading a subject with a stress task, wherein the question answer acquiring means, when obtaining a question-related answer to the subject, gives the subject a stress by the stress task loading means. 2. The stress physiological response type estimating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a stress task is loaded, and an answer to a question related to stress is obtained in a state where answer conditions are controlled. 3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: attribute information acquiring means for acquiring information on an attribute of the person to be measured, wherein the computing means is configured to determine a composite variable using information on the attribute acquired by the attribute information acquiring means. The stress physiological response type estimating device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the stress physiological response type is estimated.