JPH0364127B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a device for detecting pain sensation for treating a living body by applying electrical or mechanical stimulation to the living body.

(Prior art) Conventionally, there have been therapeutic devices that provide electrical stimulation to a living body to alleviate or treat pain, stiff shoulders, and other discomfort, or mechanical stimulation to a living body using rollers or the like. Treatment devices that relieve or treat pain, stiff shoulders, and other discomforts are in practical use. All of these treatment devices are equipped with a control unit composed of a computer or the like to apply electrical or mechanical stimulation to the affected area of the patient, and this control unit applies appropriate electrical stimulation signals to the affected area from the electrodes. Alternatively, a method is adopted in which the control unit drives the roller at an appropriate intensity to apply mechanical stimulation to the affected area.

In this way, even with conventional methods, it is possible to appropriately apply electrical or mechanical stimulation to the affected area, adjusting the intensity as the case may be.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional method, when a patient feels pain or other discomfort, it is difficult to appropriately apply a stimulation signal to the location where the pain or discomfort occurs, that is, the affected area. The patient selects the affected area using the stimulus selection button or dial and gives a command to the control unit to specify the affected area. Because it was necessary to give a stimulus of a certain size, it was difficult for the patient.
Correctly selecting and specifying the affected area is a very troublesome operation.

Therefore, the inventor of this application conducted various research and found that when pain etc. occurs, action potentials, or myoelectricity, are generated in the nerve muscles, and the body also moves in response to this pain. However, it has been discovered that by detecting pain sensation, it is possible to automatically detect areas where pain, stiffness, and/or other discomfort is felt.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to automatically select the location where discomfort such as pain occurs instead of manual selection by the patient.
An object of the present invention is to provide a pain detection device.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve this object, a pain detection device according to the present invention includes a myoelectric detection electrode, a myoelectric detection circuit, and a myoelectric comparator. an acceleration detection section including an acceleration sensor, an acceleration detection circuit, and an acceleration comparator; The present invention is characterized in that it includes a logic operation circuit that outputs a pain detection signal for giving an physical or mechanical stimulation signal.

(Function) According to the device of the present invention, since myoelectricity is generated when pain occurs in a living body, a myoelectricity detection section is provided to detect the generated myoelectricity and obtain a myoelectricity detection signal. On the other hand, when pain occurs, the body usually moves and acceleration is generated, so an acceleration detection section is provided to detect the acceleration of the body movement and obtain an acceleration signal. Since the configuration is such that the logical operation circuit detects that the timings of both signals match, it is possible to reliably detect the occurrence of pain sensation in the affected area. By installing myoelectricity detection electrodes and acceleration sensors at required locations on the body, it is possible to specify the location of the affected area where the sensation of pain is detected.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the pain detection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of the pain detection device of the present invention for performing pain detection.

First, in this invention, a myoelectricity detection section 100 for detecting the occurrence of myoelectricity, an acceleration detection section 200 for detecting body movement, and a logic for outputting a pain detection signal based on the coincidence of both detection signals. An arithmetic circuit 300 is provided.

In this embodiment, the myoelectricity detecting section 100 includes a myoelectricity producing electrode 110, a myoelectricity detection circuit 120, and a myoelectricity comparator 130. Myoelectric detection electrode 110
is attached to a predetermined affected area and detects myoelectric currents, that is, neuromuscular action potentials, as voltage signals. In this embodiment, the myoelectric detection circuit 120 includes a preamplifier 122 that amplifies the myoelectric signal from the electrode 110, and a preamplifier 122 that amplifies the myoelectric signal from the electrode 110.
A filter 124 for removing signals of 50 and 60 Hz and signals of 100 Hz or higher as noise, and an absolute value amplifier that amplifies the absolute value of the myoelectric signal obtained through the filter 124 and outputs it to the myoelectric comparator 130. 1
26. The myoelectric comparator 130 is
The detected myoelectric signal is supplied as one input, and the myoelectric reference voltage is supplied as the other input, and when the myoelectric signal is greater than the myoelectric reference voltage, the myoelectric signal is detected. Myoelectric output is output as detected. This myoelectric reference voltage can be determined in advance through experience, and can be stored in an appropriate reference voltage setting means _E1 or in a memory (not shown) provided in the control unit of the treatment device, and then read out. It can be configured to give

The myoelectric detection electrode 110, preamplifier 122, filter 124, absolute amplifier 126,
Each of the components of the myoelectric comparator 130 and the reference voltage setting means _E1 can be constructed easily and simply using conventional techniques, and the circuit configuration can be any suitable configuration depending on the design. It can be done.

By the way, this myoelectric signal may be generated not only when a person is feeling neuromuscular pain but also when the person is not feeling neuromuscular pain, that is, even when the person is unconscious. It is necessary to remove such myoelectric signals generated during unconsciousness.

Therefore, in this invention, we focus on the fact that movement occurs in the body when we feel pain, and detect the acceleration caused by this movement of the body. For example, it can be concluded that this is pain sensation based on action potentials caused by discomfort such as neuromuscular pain.

Therefore, in this invention, an acceleration detection section 200 is provided. In this embodiment, the acceleration detection section 20
0 to the acceleration sensor 210 and the acceleration detection circuit 22
0 and an acceleration comparator 230.

The acceleration sensor 210 is attached to a predetermined affected area, preferably between or near the myoelectric detection electrodes 110, and detects body movements caused by neuromuscular pain, stiff shoulders, or other discomfort. It detects and outputs an acceleration signal as a voltage signal.

In this embodiment, the acceleration detection circuit 220 includes a preamplifier 222 that amplifies the acceleration signal from the electrode 210, and converts the amplified acceleration signal from the preamplifier 222 into mainly commercial 50 and 60Hz signals and 100Hz or higher signals. The acceleration signal is composed of a filter 224 for removing the signal as noise, and an absolute value amplifier 226 that amplifies the absolute value of the acceleration signal obtained through the filter 224 and outputs it to the acceleration comparator 230. The acceleration comparator 230 is supplied with this detected acceleration signal as one input thereof, and is supplied with an acceleration reference voltage as its other input, and when the acceleration signal is greater than this acceleration reference voltage, Outputs acceleration output as if acceleration has been detected. This acceleration reference voltage can be determined in advance through experience, and is stored in advance in an appropriate reference voltage setting means E ₂ or in a memory (not shown) provided in the control unit of the treatment device, and then read out and given. It can be configured as follows.

The acceleration detection electrode 210, preamplifier 222, filter 224, and absolute value amplifier 22 described here
6. Acceleration comparator 230 and reference voltage setting means
Each of the constituent components of E ₂ itself can be constructed easily and easily using conventional techniques, and its circuit configuration can be any suitable configuration depending on the design.

Further, in this embodiment, the myoelectric output from the myoelectric comparator 130 of the myoelectric detection unit 100 and the acceleration output from the acceleration comparator 230 of the acceleration detection unit 200 are sent to the logic operation circuit 300. 3
00, the AND signal of these two signals is output as a pain detection signal for giving an electrical or mechanical stimulation signal. Therefore, only when the timings of both myoelectric output and acceleration output signals match, it is determined that myoelectricity and body movement due to pain is occurring, and the pain detection signal is used to control the treatment device. (not shown). This logic operation circuit 3
00 can be simply and easily configured using conventional techniques, and its circuit configuration can be any suitable configuration depending on the design.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the pain detection device of the present invention detects myoelectricity and body movement acceleration caused by neuromuscular pain, stiff shoulders, and other discomforts. Since the structure is such that a pain detection signal is output only when the timings of both the myoelectric output and the acceleration output match, the pain detection signal at the affected area can be reliably and automatically detected. Therefore,
According to this invention, this pain detection signal can be sent to the control unit of the treatment device and used to control the stimulation signal, so that the patient does not have to manually select the location where the pain sensation occurs, unlike in conventional treatment devices. Zuni,
The advantage is that it is possible to automatically select the location where a pain sensation occurs using the pain detection signal, and also to control the magnitude of the stimulus as required.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a preferred embodiment of the pain detection device of the present invention. 100... Myoelectric detection unit, 110... Myoelectric detection electrode, 120... Myoelectric detection circuit, 122, 222...
...Preamplifier, 124,224...Filter, 1
26, 226... Absolute value amplifier, 130... Myoelectric comparator, 210... Acceleration sensor, 220... Acceleration detection circuit, 230... Acceleration comparator, 300
...Logic operation circuit, E ₁ , E ₂ ...Reference voltage setting means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A myoelectric detection unit comprising a myoelectric detection electrode, a myoelectric detection circuit, and a myoelectric comparator; An acceleration detection comprising an acceleration sensor, an acceleration detection circuit, and an acceleration comparator. and a logical operation for outputting an AND signal of the myoelectric output from the myoelectric comparator and the acceleration output from the acceleration comparator as a pain detection signal for providing an electrical or mechanical stimulation signal. A pain detection device characterized by comprising a circuit.