KR20120140442A - Chair type apparatus for body composition measurement and measuring method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A chair type apparatus for body composition measurement and a measuring method thereof are provided to measure the impedance of a human body by controlling a voltage and current path. CONSTITUTION: A man is seated on a plate(110). A right arm hanger(132) includes a first electrode. The first electrode touches the right hand of a man. A left arm hanger(134) includes a second electrode. The second electrode touches the left hand. A footstool(130) includes a third electrode and a fourth electrode. The third electrode touches the foot. The fourth electrode touches the left foot. User information is input to an input unit(180). A control unit(190) measures the impedance of the man. The control unit calculates the body composition of the man. An output unit(185) indicates the body composition.

Description

Chair-type device for measuring body composition and body composition measuring method using same {CHAIR TYPE APPARATUS FOR BODY COMPOSITION MEASUREMENT AND MEASURING METHOD THEREOF}

The following examples relate to methods and apparatus for measuring body composition.

Disclosed are a body composition measuring device having a chair shape and a body composition measuring method using such a body composition measuring device.

The human body is made up of water, protein, bone and fat. Thus, the sum of moisture, protein, bone and fat constitutes body weight.

Body composition measurement is to quantitatively measure the individual components constituting such a human body (or other living organism).

As health concerns, such as obesity and muscle mass, have increased, and the need for measuring body fat mass has increased, the development of various body fat analyzers has been activated.

For example, the amount of fat in the body is a major index for determining whether the subject is obese, and may be a cause of the development of an adult disease, and is closely related to beauty.

In addition, the amount of water in the body is closely related to the muscle mass that generates energy while being an important component of the body.

Muscle mass is an indicator of the nutritional status of a subject and has a wide range of medical applications.

In particular, for patients with diseases such as cancer patients or dialysis patients who have a correlation with disease progression and nutritional status, the rate of disease progression or the effect of treatment can be diagnosed by periodically measuring the muscle mass in the body.

In addition, by periodically measuring the muscle mass in the body, the growth or development status of children can be diagnosed, and the nutritional status of the elderly can also be diagnosed.

Therefore, grasping the components of the body composition has increased the necessity as the most basic examination of the human body.

As a method of analyzing the body composition, a method using bioelectrical impedance analysis may be used.

The body composition analysis method using bioelectrical impedance can be widely used because of its low cost and harmlessness to the human body.

The bioelectrical impedance method sends a weak alternating current into the body of a subject to measure the electrical resistance or electrical impedance of the human body. The bioelectrical impedance method may calculate the amount of body fluid, muscle mass, body fat amount, etc. of the subject using the measured electrical impedance (or electrical resistance) and information on the subject.

The information about the measurement may include height, weight, age and sex of the subject. Information about such a subject may be obtained through measurement or input.

For example, the age and gender of the subject may be input to the body composition measuring device through input, for example, using a keyboard.

In addition, the height and weight of the subject may be input to the body composition measuring device through measurement or input.

In general, when using a body composition meter, the subject has to stand on the scaffold with the power pole and hold the hand electrode for a predetermined time (for example, about 30 seconds to about 1 minute). In addition, in order to obtain accurate body composition measurement results, the subject must maintain the open arms for a certain time.

This measurement process can be inconvenient for the subject. In addition, maintaining a measurement posture for a certain time may be difficult for a particular subject, and the measurement posture may not be maintained, thereby reducing the accuracy of the measurement. In particular, when the subject is an elderly person, a disabled person, or an infant, such a problem may be more likely to occur.

One embodiment of the present invention can provide a body composition measuring method using a chair-type body composition measuring device and a chair-type body composition measuring device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the seat arm seated by the subject, the right armrest including a first electrode portion in contact with the right hand of the subject, the left armrest including a second electrode portion in contact with the left hand of the subject, A scaffold comprising a third electrode part in contact with the right foot of the subject and a fourth electrode part in contact with the left foot of the subject, an input part for receiving user information, the first electrode part, the second electrode part, and a third electrode part And a control unit measuring an impedance of the subject through a fourth electrode unit and calculating a body composition of the subject based on the user information and the measured impedance, and an output unit displaying the calculated body composition of the subject. A body composition meter is provided.

The first electrode part, the second electrode part, the third electrode part, and the fourth electrode part may each include a current electrode and a voltage electrode.

The controller measures an impedance of each participant of the subject by operating an electronic switch and sequentially manipulating a current and voltage measurement path on and off in a predetermined order between the controller, the current electrodes and the voltage electrodes. can do.

The body composition analyzer may further include a load sensor that measures the weight of the subject.

The controller may calculate the body composition based on the measured weight.

The body composition analyzer may further include two or more wheels to move the body composition analyzer.

The control unit may fix the two or more wheels to prevent movement while measuring the impedance and the body composition.

The input unit may wirelessly communicate with the control unit.

The output unit may be two, one output unit of the two output unit may be arranged in a direction that can be seen by the subject seated on the body composition measuring instrument when measuring the body composition, the other output unit is visible to the measurer It may be arranged in the direction.

The user information may include the height of the subject.

The user information may further include the age and gender of the subject.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the method for measuring the body composition of the subject using a chair-type body composition measuring step, the step of inputting the user information of the subject to the chair-type body composition measuring unit, the chair-type body composition Measuring the impedance of the subject by the controller of the measuring instrument, measuring the body composition based on the user information and the impedance by the controller, and outputting a result value of the body composition measurement by an output unit of the chair-type body composition measuring instrument The chair-type body composition measuring apparatus includes a seat plate on which the subject is seated, a right armrest including a first electrode portion in contact with the right hand of the subject, and a second electrode portion in contact with the left hand of the subject. A third electrode portion in contact with the left armrest and the right foot of the subject and the subject under test And a scaffold including a fourth electrode portion in contact with the left foot of the controller, wherein the controller measures the impedance of the subject through the first electrode portion, the second electrode portion, the third electrode portion, and the fourth electrode portion. A body composition measuring method is provided which calculates a body composition of the subject based on information and the measured impedance.

The body composition measuring method may further include the step of measuring the weight of the subject by the load sensor of the chair-type body composition measuring device.

The measuring of the body composition based on the user information and the impedance by the controller may include measuring the body composition based on the user information, the measured weight, and the impedance.

A body composition measuring method using a chair type body composition measuring instrument and a chair type body composition measuring apparatus is provided.

1 illustrates a body composition measuring apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 illustrates a chair-type body composition analyzer 200 with wheels according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 illustrates additional functions of the body composition analyzer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 illustrates a configuration of the body composition measuring apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of measuring body composition according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to or limited by the embodiments. Like reference symbols in the drawings denote like elements.

1 illustrates a body composition measuring apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The body composition measuring apparatus 100 is a chair-type body composition measuring instrument.

Accordingly, the body composition measuring apparatus 100 may include a seat plate 110 on which the subject may be seated.

In addition, the body composition measuring apparatus 100 may include a backrest 115, a support 120, an underlay 125, a footrest 130, a right armrest 132, and a left armrest 134.

The backrest 115 may support the subject's back.

The support 120 may support the seat plate 110 and allow the seat plate 110 to have a predetermined distance from the ground. The vertical length of the support 120 can be adjusted. Therefore, the height from the ground of the seat plate 110 can also be adjusted.

Support 120 may comprise one or more pillars.

The underlay 125 is in close contact with the ground to prevent the support 120 (or the body composition measuring apparatus 100) from shaking.

The scaffold 130 may support both feet of the subject.

The right armrest 132 may support the right arm of the subject.

The left armrest 134 may support the left arm of the subject.

The body composition analyzer 100 may include four electrode parts 140, 150, 160, and 170.

The four electrode portions 140, 150, 160, and 170 may each include a voltage electrode 144, 154, 162 or 172 to which a voltage is applied and a current electrode 142, 152, 164 or 174 to which a current is applied. have.

The footrest 130 may include a right foot electrode 140 and a left foot electrode 150.

The right foot electrode 140 may include a right foot voltage electrode 144 and a right foot current electrode 142 contacting the right foot (or the bottom of the right foot) of the subject.

The left foot electrode 150 may include a left foot current electrode 155 and a left foot voltage electrode 152 contacting the left foot (or the bottom of the left foot) of the subject.

The right armrest 132 may include a right hand electrode 160.

The right hand electrode unit 160 may include a right hand voltage electrode 162 and a right hand current electrode 164 in contact with the right hand of the subject.

The left armrest 134 may include a left hand electrode 170.

The left hand electrode unit 170 may include a left hand voltage electrode 167 and a left hand current electrode 174 in contact with the left hand of the subject.

Here, the positions of the voltage electrodes 144, 154, 162, and 172 and the current electrodes 142, 152, 164, and 174 in the electrode portions 140, 150, 160, and 170 are exemplary, and the voltage electrodes Positions 144, 154, 162, and 172 and current electrodes 142, 152, 164, and 174 may be interchanged.

For example, in FIG. 1, the right hand voltage electrode 162 is in contact with the right thumb, and the right hand current electrode 164 is shown in contact with the right palm, but on the contrary, the right hand voltage electrode 162 is in contact with the right palm and the right hand current Electrode 164 may be configured to contact the right thumb.

The input unit 180 receives user information of the subject. The input user information is used for impedance measurement and body composition analysis.

The user information may include the height of the subject and may include the age and gender of the subject.

The output unit 185 outputs the result of the body composition analysis.

The output unit 185 may be a display such as a liquid crystal, or may be a printing device such as a printer.

The controller 190 may measure the impedance of the subject through the electrode units 140, 150, 160, and 170, and calculate a body composition of the subject based on user information and the measured impedance.

The body composition analyzer 100 may include a load sensor 195.

The load sensor 195 may measure the weight of the subject.

The load sensor 195 may be attached at a location suitable for measuring the weight of the subject. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the load sensor may be located between the seat plate 110 and the support 120. In addition, the load sensor 195 may be located on the seat plate 110 or the underlay 125.

The controller 190 may calculate the body composition of the subject based on the measured body weight of the subject.

For example, when the load sensor is located between the seat plate 110 and the support 120, the load sensor 195 may support the seat plate 110, the armrests 132 and 134, the backrest 115, and the like. That is, such as the seat plate 110, the armrests 132 and 134, the backrest 115, and the like, which are located on the support 120 or connected to a component (eg, the seat plate 110) located on the support 120. The weight of the component may be applied to the load sensor 195 along with the weight of the subject. In this case, the weight measured by the load sensor 195 may include weights of the seat plate 110, the armrests 132 and 134, the backrest 115, and the like. The weight of the subject measured by the load sensor 195 may be inaccurate.

Accordingly, the controller 190 is controlled by the load sensor 195 in consideration of the weight of the body composition measuring device 100 that applies the load to the load sensor 195, such as the armrests 132 and 134 and the seat plate 110. The measured weight can be corrected.

Alternatively, the load sensor 195 may transmit the corrected weight to the controller 190 in consideration of the weight of the component of the body composition measuring apparatus 100 that applies the load to the load sensor 195.

2 illustrates a chair-type body composition analyzer 200 with wheels according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The chair-type body composition analyzer 200 (hereinafter, abbreviated to the body composition analyzer 200) with the wheel may be considered to be a modification of the body composition analyzer 100 described above with reference to FIG. 1. Therefore, the description of the body composition analyzer 100 described above with reference to FIG. 1 may be applied to the body composition analyzer of FIG. 2.

The body composition analyzer 200 may have an appearance of a wheelchair.

The body composition analyzer 200 may include two or more wheels 210, 215, 220, and 225. The two or more wheels 210, 215, 220 and 225 support the body composition meter 200, balance the body composition meter 200, and allow the body composition meter 200 to move through rotation.

One or more pairs of wheels 210, 215, 220, and 225 may be attached to support 120. In this case, the support 120 may have a shape suitable for coupling the seat plate 110 and two or more wheels 210, 215, 220, and 225.

The load sensor 195 may be located between the seat plate 110 and the support 120. The above position is exemplary, and the load sensor 195 may be attached at any position suitable for measuring the weight of the subject.

For example, the body composition analyzer 200 may include a pair of main wheels 210 and 215.

The main wheels 210 and 215 support the body composition meter 200 and allow the body composition meter 200 to move through rotation.

For example, the body composition analyzer 200 may include one or more auxiliary wheels 220 and 225. The auxiliary wheels 220 and 225 support the body composition meter 200 and allow the body composition meter 200 to move through rotation.

If the body composition analyzer 200 is moved while the body composition is being measured, the measurement result may be inaccurate. Therefore, the body composition analyzer 200 (or the controller 190) may fix the one or more pairs of wheels 210, 215, 220, and 225 without moving while measuring the impedance or the body composition of the subject. For example, the body composition analyzer 200 (or the controller 190) rotates the rotatable member that connects each of the pair of wheels 210, 215, 220, and 225 and the support 120 by an electronic control device. You can prevent it.

3 illustrates additional functions of the body composition analyzer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The input unit 180 and the output unit 190 may generally be attached to a position that is easy for the subject to operate, such as around the right armrest 132 or the left armrest 134.

The input unit 180 may be included in a separate device such as a remote controller.

That is, the input unit 180 may communicate wirelessly with the control unit 190.

The output unit 190 may be positioned so that the subject or the operator is easy to see.

For example, the output unit 190 may be located within the field of view when the subject is seated in the body composition measuring apparatus 100 and faces the front.

The body composition measuring apparatus 100 may include the connecting members 310 and 315 to fix the output unit 190 to this position or to move within this range. The connecting members 310 and 315 may connect the output unit 185 to the body composition analyzer 100, may fix the output unit 1850, and allow the output unit 1850 to move within a certain range. have.

The output unit 190 may be disposed on both surfaces. That is, the two output units 190 may be disposed in a direction in which one output unit 190 may be viewed by the subject, and the other output unit 190 may be disposed in a direction in which the measurer may see. have.

4 illustrates a configuration of the body composition measuring apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Impedance from the wrist of the right arm to the right shoulder joint Z _ra , Impedance from the wrist of the left arm to the left shoulder joint Z _la , Impedance from the right leg ankle to the right pelvic joint Z _rl , From the left leg ankle The impedance to the left pelvic joint is expressed as Z _ll and the upper body impedance as Z _t .

Impedance from the palm to the wrist, impedance from the thumb to the wrist, impedance from the front to the ankle, and impedance from the back to the ankle may not affect the measurement of the subject's impedance.

The controller 190 may transmit and receive signals 412, 414, 416, 418, 422, 424, 426, and 428 from the electrodes 162, 164, 172, 174, 142, 144, 152, and 154.

The controller 190 may include an impedance measuring unit 440 and a body composition measuring unit 445.

The impedance measuring unit 440 may measure the impedance of the subject through the electrodes 162, 164, 172, 174, 142, 144, 152, and 154.

The body composition measuring unit 445 may calculate the body composition of the subject based on the user information and the measured weight measured impedance.

The impedance measuring unit 440 or the controller 445 may include an electronic switch, an amplifier, and an A / D converter.

The electronic switch can modify the measurement path between the electrodes 162, 164, 172, 174, 142, 144, 152 and 154 through which the current and voltage are measured.

The amplifier may amplify the signals 412, 414, 416, 418, 422, 424, 426, and 428 received by the controller 190.

The A / D converter may convert the amplified signals 412, 414, 416, 418, 422, 424, 426, and 428 from an analog signal to a digital signal.

The impedance measuring unit 440 may measure the impedance of the subject by storing and using data represented by the digitally converted signals 412, 414, 416, 418, 422, 424, 426, and 428.

As described above, the electrodes 162, 164, 172, 174, 142, 144, 152, and 154 may contact both hands and feet, which are distal portions of the human body.

In the hand, the palm may contact the electrodes 164 and 174, respectively, and the thumb may contact the electrodes 162 and 172, respectively.

In the foot, the forefoot contacts the electrodes 142 and 152 respectively and the forefoot contact the electrodes 144 and 154 respectively.

In order to measure the impedance of each part, the controller 190 (or the impedance measuring unit 440) operates the electronic switch to control the controller 190 and the electrodes 162, 164, 172, 174, 142, 144, 152, and 154. ), The current and voltage measurement paths are sequentially turned on and off in a predetermined order. The control unit 190 (or the impedance measuring unit 440) automatically controls this operation.

Hereinafter, a method of measuring impedance for each part of the human body will be described.

The impedance measuring unit 440 may connect an electronic switch so that a low frequency sinusoidal alternating current flows between the right hand current electrode 164 in contact with the right palm and the right foot current electrode 142 in contact with the right forefoot. When is connected, the voltage between the right hand voltage electrode 162 in contact with the right thumb and the left hand voltage electrode 172 in contact with the left thumb can be measured.

The impedance measuring unit 440 may calculate the impedance Z _ra at a low frequency according to the ratio between the current passed and the measured voltage. In addition, using the same method, the impedance measuring unit 440 may calculate the impedance Z _ra at a high frequency.

In the present example, the palm electrode and the forefoot electrode form the current electrode, and the thumb electrode and the forefoot electrode are used as the voltage electrodes. On the contrary, the thumb electrode and the forefoot electrode can form the current electrode, and the palm electrode and the forefoot. An electrode can be used as the voltage electrode.

The impedance values Z _ra , Z _la , Z _t , Z _rl , and Z _ll measured by the impedance measuring unit 440 are provided to the body composition measuring unit 445.

The weight of the subject measured by the load sensor 195 is transmitted to the body composition measuring unit 445 as a signal 430.

When the subject is seated on the body composition measuring apparatus 100, the load applied to the load sensor 195 may be the sum of the weight of the subject, the weight of the seat plate 110, and the weight of instruments connected to the seat plate 110. . Therefore, the body composition measuring unit 445 (or the load sensor 195) can calculate the weight of the subject by subtracting the initial weight from the total added load.

The measured weight transmitted through the signal 430 may be transmitted to the body composition measuring unit 445 through the amplifier and the A / D converter.

The body composition measuring unit 445 may measure the body weight of the subject such as total body water (TBW), lean body mass (FFM), body fat (FAT), and body composition based on user's body based on user information and measured weight-measured impedance. Body composition can be calculated.

The amount of water contained in each part of the human body may be proportional to Ht / Z. Z is the impedance value of the part, and Ht is the height of the subject.

The amount of water (TBW) contained in the whole body is the sum of the amount of water for each part can be calculated based on Equation 1 below.

Here, C ₁ , C ₂ and C ₃ are constants satisfying Equation 1, and may be determined by regression analysis.

Equation 1 may be embedded in the body composition measuring unit 445 as a program.

Of the body's components, body fat contains very little water. Thus, the amount of water present in body fat can be neglected.

Since the component other than fat (FFM) contains about 73% water, the component other than fat (FFM) may be calculated based on Equation 2 below.

The amount of body fat (FAT) may be calculated based on Equation 3 below by subtracting a component other than fat (FFM) from body weight.

In addition, Percent Body Fat (% BF) may be calculated based on Equation 4 below.

The body composition measuring unit 445 may calculate the body water amount (Segmental Water; SW) for each part.

The amount of body water of the right arm may be calculated based on Equation 5 below.

Where SW _ra is the amount of water in the right arm, Z _hra is the impedance of the right arm measured at high frequency, and Z _lra is the impedance of the right arm measured at low frequency.

Similarly, the body quantities of the left arm, torso, right leg and left leg may also be measured based on Equation 6, Equation 7, Equation 8 or Equation 9 below.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of measuring body composition according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In operation 510, user information is input to the inputter 180.

In step 520, the controller 190 measures the impedance of the subject.

In step 530, the load sensor 195 measures the weight of the subject.

In operation 540, the controller 190 measures the body composition of the subject based on the user information, the measured weight, and the impedance.

Step 530 may be optional. Therefore, in operation 540, the controller 190 may measure the body composition of the subject based on user information and impedance.

In step 550, the output unit 185 outputs the body composition measurement result value.

Technical contents according to an embodiment of the present invention described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 may be applied to the present embodiment as it is. Therefore, more detailed description will be omitted below.

Method according to an embodiment of the present invention is implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means may be recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be those specially designed and constructed for the present invention or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

As described above, the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains various modifications and variations from such descriptions. This is possible.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined by the equivalents of the claims, as well as the claims.

100: body composition meter
110: seat
130: scaffold
200: body composition measuring instrument with wheels
220: right wheel
225: left wheel

Claims (11)

A seat on which the subject is seated;
A right armrest including a first electrode part in contact with the right hand of the subject;
A left armrest including a second electrode part in contact with the left hand of the subject;
A scaffold comprising a third electrode portion in contact with the right foot of the subject and a fourth electrode portion in contact with the left foot of the subject;
An input unit for receiving user information;
A control unit measuring an impedance of the subject through the first electrode unit, a second electrode unit, a third electrode unit, and a fourth electrode unit and calculating a body composition of the subject based on the user information and the measured impedance; And
Output unit for displaying the calculated body composition of the subject
Body composition measuring apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1,
And the first electrode portion, the second electrode portion, the third electrode portion, and the fourth electrode portion each include a current electrode and a voltage electrode. The method of claim 2,
The controller measures an impedance of each participant of the subject by operating an electronic switch and sequentially manipulating a current and voltage measurement path on and off in a predetermined order between the controller, the current electrodes and the voltage electrodes. Body composition measuring instrument to do. The method of claim 1,
A load sensor that measures the weight of the subject
Further comprising:
The controller calculates the body composition based on the measured weight. The method of claim 1,
Two or more wheels to allow movement of the body composition meter
Further comprising, a body composition measuring instrument. The method of claim 5,
And the controller is configured to fix the two or more wheels not to move while measuring the impedance and the body composition. The method of claim 1, wherein
The input unit wirelessly communicates with the control unit. The method of claim 1,
The output unit is two,
And an output of one of the two outputs is arranged in a direction visible to the subject measured when the body composition is measured, and another output is arranged in a direction visible to the measurer. In the method for measuring the body composition of the subject using a chair-type body composition measuring device,
Inputting user information of the subject through the input unit of the chair-type body composition analyzer;
Measuring an impedance of the subject by a control unit of the chair-type body composition analyzer;
Measuring, by the controller, a body composition based on the user information and the impedance; And
An output unit of the chair-type body composition measuring unit outputs a result value of the body composition measurement
Including, the chair-type body composition measuring device,
A seat plate on which the subject is seated;
A right armrest including a first electrode part in contact with the right hand of the subject;
A left armrest including a second electrode part in contact with the left hand of the subject; And
Footrest comprising a third electrode portion in contact with the right foot of the subject and a fourth electrode portion in contact with the left foot of the subject
Including,
The controller measures the impedance of the subject through the first electrode portion, the second electrode portion, the third electrode portion, and the fourth electrode portion, and calculates a body composition of the subject based on the user information and the measured impedance. Body composition measurement method. 10. The method of claim 9,
And the first electrode portion, the second electrode portion, the third electrode portion, and the fourth electrode portion each include a current electrode and a voltage electrode. 10. The method of claim 9,
Measuring a weight of the subject by a load sensor of the chair-type body composition analyzer
Further comprising:
Measuring the body composition based on the user information and the impedance of the control unit,
Measuring, by the controller, a body composition based on the user information, the measured weight, and the impedance;
Body composition measuring method comprising a.

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