JP2006102250A - Circulation index measurement device, circulation index measurement method, control program, and computer-readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a circulatory index measuring device that does not make a measurement subject feel uncomfortable.
A circulatory index measuring apparatus according to the present invention is a circulatory index measuring apparatus that calculates pulse wave propagation velocities at different sites, and detects a first pulse wave using the outer ear and its surroundings as measurement sites. Pulse wave detection means, a second pulse wave detection means for detecting a second pulse wave using a part other than the head as a measurement part, and a first pulse wave detected by the first pulse wave detection means The first pulse wave propagation time from the reference position is obtained, and the first pulse wave propagation speed calculation means for calculating the first pulse wave propagation speed based on the first pulse wave propagation time and the second pulse wave detection means are detected. A second pulse wave propagation speed calculating means for calculating a second pulse wave propagation speed based on the second pulse wave propagation time from the reference position for the second pulse wave; Presenting means for presenting the second pulse wave propagation velocity. The
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a circulation index measuring apparatus and method for measuring a pulse wave propagation time or a pulse wave propagation speed, and in particular, presents a difference in pulse wave propagation speed between a head and another part (appropriate place) to a measurer. The present invention relates to a circulation index measuring apparatus and method.

  The arterial pulse wave is a pressure wave generated when the heart (left ventricle) contracts and blood is ejected to the aorta. Unlike the blood flow, this is propagated along the wall of the aorta to the peripheral blood vessels. This speed is known to be several steps faster than blood flow.

  The speed at which the pressure wave propagates is referred to as a pulse wave propagation speed, and the degree of arterial calcification (arteriosclerosis) can be evaluated based on the pulse wave propagation speed. That is, the pulse wave propagation speed becomes faster as the calcification of the artery progresses.

  Using this property, there is a method to evaluate the possibility of arteriosclerosis in the blood vessel from the heart to a certain part by measuring the pulse wave velocity at different parts in the body and comparing them. is there. For example, in Patent Document 1, the pulse wave propagation speed to the ankle and the pulse wave propagation speed to the upper arm are obtained and displayed on a display unit, and the measurer can evaluate the possibility of arteriosclerosis by looking at them. It is disclosed that it will be possible.

On the other hand, conventionally, a method for obtaining the pulse wave velocity from the difference between the pulse wave propagation times of the carotid artery and the ankle is known.
JP 2003-230542 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, since only the pulse wave velocity of the ankle and the upper arm is measured, there is a drawback that the measurer can only evaluate arteriosclerosis in the trunk.

  Moreover, in the index measuring apparatus of Patent Document 1, the cuff must be worn on both the ankle and the upper arm, and the degree of invasiveness to the measurement subject is very high. Therefore, the measurement subject is very uncomfortable during the measurement. I have to think.

  Furthermore, when the carotid artery is used as the measurement site, plaque is easily generated in the carotid artery portion, and a thrombus is easily attached to the plaque. The thrombus may peel from the carotid artery and block the blood vessels of the brain, and this disease is called cerebral embolism. Thus, compressing the carotid artery in patients with a high likelihood of having plaque in the carotid artery, such as hyperlipidemia, increases the risk that the thrombus will detach from the carotid artery and is not always a desirable procedure.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can measure a pulse wave velocity for evaluating the possibility of arteriosclerosis in a blood vessel connected from the trunk to the head or a blood vessel in the head. A circulation index measuring device is provided.

  The present invention also provides a circulatory index measuring device that does not make the subject to feel uncomfortable during the measurement of pulse wave velocity.

  In order to achieve the above object, a circulatory index measuring apparatus according to the present invention is a circulatory index measuring apparatus that calculates pulse wave propagation velocities of different parts, and the outer ear and its peripheral part (the outer ear and its appropriate place) A first pulse wave detecting means for detecting a first pulse wave, a second pulse wave detecting means for detecting a second pulse wave using a part other than the head as a measurement part, and the first pulse wave A first pulse wave velocity calculating means for obtaining a first pulse wave propagation time from the reference position for the first pulse wave detected by the detector and calculating a first pulse wave velocity based on the first pulse wave propagation time; A second pulse wave that calculates a second pulse wave propagation speed based on the second pulse wave propagation time from the reference position for the second pulse wave detected by the second pulse wave detection means. Wave propagation velocity calculation means and the first and second pulse wave propagation velocity are provided. Characterized in that it comprises a presenting means for the.

  The outer ear and its peripheral part include the external auditory canal and / or pinna, tragus and / or its peripheral part, or superficial temporal artery or its branch blood vessel.

  The measurement site other than the head is the upper limb or the lower limb.

  The presenting means displays the first and second pulse wave propagation velocities on a display unit.

  Furthermore, an electrocardiogram detection means for detecting an electrocardiogram change accompanying the contraction of the heart is provided, and a marker position in the electrocardiogram change is set as a reference position for obtaining the first and second pulse wave propagation times.

  The circulation index measurement method according to the present invention is a circulation index measurement method for calculating the pulse wave velocity of different parts, and the first pulse wave is measured using the outer ear and its peripheral part (the outer ear and its appropriate part) as the measurement part. A first pulse wave detection step to detect, a second pulse wave detection step to detect a second pulse wave using a portion other than the head as a measurement portion, and the first pulse wave detection step detected in the first pulse wave detection step A first pulse wave propagation speed calculating step for calculating a first pulse wave propagation speed based on the first pulse wave propagation time from a reference position for one pulse wave; and the second pulse wave detection A second pulse wave velocity calculating step of obtaining a second pulse wave propagation time from the reference position for the second pulse wave detected in the step, and calculating a second pulse wave velocity based on the second pulse wave velocity; A presentation step of presenting the first and second pulse wave propagation velocities. To.

  Further, the control program according to the present invention is a control program for realizing a circulation index measurement method for calculating the pulse wave velocity of different parts, and the outer ear and its peripheral part (outer ear and its appropriate place) As a program code for realizing the first pulse wave detection step for detecting the first pulse wave, and a second pulse wave detection step for detecting the second pulse wave using a region other than the head as a measurement region A program code for realizing the first pulse wave propagation time from the reference position for the first pulse wave detected in the first pulse wave detection step is obtained, and based on the first pulse wave propagation speed, And a second pulse wave propagation from the reference position with respect to the second pulse wave detected in the second pulse wave detection step. Seeking time and based on it Program code for realizing the second pulse wave velocity calculation step for calculating the second pulse wave velocity, and a program for realizing the presentation step for presenting the first and second pulse wave velocity And a cord.

  Furthermore, the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing this control program.

  Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention and the accompanying drawings.

  According to the circulatory index measuring apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to measure the pulse wave velocity for evaluating the possibility of arteriosclerosis in the blood vessel connected from the trunk to the head or in the blood vessel in the head. The pulse wave velocity can be measured without making the operator feel uncomfortable.

  In the circulatory index measuring apparatus according to the present embodiment, at least two pulse wave sensors are attached to a living body (a person to be measured), one is attached to the outer ear and its peripheral part, and the other is attached to the upper arm part (upper limb). One must be the outer ear and its peripheral part, but the other does not necessarily need to be the upper arm, and may be, for example, the carotid artery, wrist, ankle (lower limb), or the like.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, the structure of an ear to which a pulse wave sensor is attached will be described to clarify the meaning of the outer ear and its peripheral portion. Then, the circuit configuration of the circulatory index measuring device and the outline of the usage state, the configuration of the ear pulse wave sensor, the configuration of the data processing unit that performs the pulse wave velocity detecting operation as the circulatory index, and the pulse wave velocity measuring operation will be described in order. To do.

<Auricular structure>
The blood pressure monitor according to this embodiment is attached to the outer ear and its peripheral part as described above, and the outer ear and its peripheral part include the tragus and its peripheral part, and the outer ear includes the ear canal and the pinna. It is a concept that also includes First, the structure of the pinna will be clarified.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing names of respective parts of the auricle (ear). In FIG. 1, 121 is a tragus, 122 is an antitragus, 123 is a concha, 124 is an antipod, 125 is an earring, and 126 is an antipodal.

  In this embodiment, as will be described later, the pair of cuffs 30 in the ear pulse wave sensor 11 are mounted so as to sandwich the tragus 121 and cover the outer ear and its peripheral part. The outer ear and its periphery include the ear canal and / or pinna, tragus and / or its periphery, superficial temporal artery 128 or a portion of its branch vessel.

<Outline of circuit configuration and usage state of circulation index measuring device>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a circuit configuration and a usage state of the circulation index measuring device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 2, 1 is a data processing unit, and 2 is a data input / output unit. 8 is a living body, 9 is a heart sound microphone, 10 is an upper arm pulse wave sensor attached to the upper arm, 11 is an ear pulse wave sensor attached to the outer ear and its peripheral part, and 12 to 14 are preamplifiers. Reference numeral 15 denotes an A / D converter, which includes a low-pass filter (LPF) 17 to 19, sample hold circuits (S / H) 20 to 22, an A / D converter (A / D) 23 to 25, and an interface unit (IF) 26. Are units constituting the A / D converter 15. The data input / output unit 2 includes a display unit 27 and an input unit 28.

  In this embodiment, using the similarity of the rising parts of the two waveforms of the short-distance pulse wave, the waveform is matched from the time movement of one pulse wave, and the time movement value at that time is set as the delay time of the pulse wave, That is, it is set as the pulse wave propagation time.

  The waveform matching is performed for several hundred milliseconds at the rising edge of the pulse wave, and the waveform matching processing is performed so that the square sum of the amplitude difference is minimized.

  In this case, as a way of capturing the rising portion of the pulse wave, first, the first sound of the heart sound is captured. Thereafter, two pulse wave data are extracted from this time phase.

  Next, waveform matching is performed as the amplitude minimum point, maximum point, and comparison reference point of each of the two pulse waves.

  When measuring the pulse wave and heart sound signal of the outer ear, its peripheral part, and the upper arm as in this embodiment, the pulse wave sensors 10 and 11 and the heart sound microphone 9 are attached to the living body 8 as shown in FIG. .

  Output signals from the heart sound microphone 9 and the two pulse wave sensors 10 and 11 are amplified by the preamplifiers 12, 13, and 14, and then input to the A / D converter 15. Further, the output of the A / D conversion unit 15 is sent to the data processing unit 1 for data processing, and the result is output by the data output unit 2.

  Since the pulse wave propagation time between two points is expected to be several milliseconds to several tens of milliseconds, measurement with a high time resolution is necessary to measure the time difference with high accuracy. In addition, in order to capture a good pulse wave signal, a pulse wave sensor must be attached to the optimum site directly above the artery while monitoring the measurement waveform in real time. Therefore, it is desirable to be real time.

  Therefore, the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 realizes real-time processing in which measurement, waveform monitoring, and PWV value calculation are performed and output within one heartbeat.

  In this embodiment, a photoelectric pulse wave sensor is used as the ear pulse wave sensor 11, but a sensor using the Korotkoff sound method or a minute fluctuation of the skin surface is received by the cuff, and the internal pressure fluctuation of the cuff is detected by the semiconductor. A sensor that is detected by a pressure sensor (especially effective for measurement at a short distance), a piezoelectric film sensor, or the like may be used. The same applies to the upper arm pulse wave sensor 10. However, the ear pulse wave sensor 11 is desirable because the photoelectric pulse wave sensor is excellent in miniaturization, quick response, and non-invasiveness.

  The A / D converter 15 inputs the analog signals of the heart sound signal and the two pulse wave signals, and converts them into digital signals.

  For this reason, low-pass filters (LPF) 17 to 19, sample hold circuits (S / H) 20 to 22, A / D converters (A / D) 23 to 25 are provided corresponding to the analog signals, and interfaces are provided. A portion (IF) 26 is provided.

  As the conversion processing in the A / D converter 15, for example, a 16-bit resolution is provided for an input voltage of 10 V positive and negative, and the sampling rate is 50 KHz.

  The data input / output unit 2 is provided with a display unit 27 and an input unit 28. The display unit 27 is for real-time display of heart sounds and pulse wave waveforms, output of numerical data of heart rate and pulse wave velocity, or plot and output data of heart rate and pulse wave velocity. .

  The input unit 28 is for inputting pulse measurement interval data from a keyboard.

<A state where the ear part pulse wave sensor 11 is attached to the tragus>
FIG. 3 shows a state in which the ear part pulse wave sensor 11 is attached to the tragus 121 and its peripheral part. A holding frame 40 that clamps the tragus 121 with the pressing force of the arms 38 and 39, cuffs 30a and 30b that are arranged inside the arms 38 and 39 to change the pressure applied to the tragus 121, and supply pressurized air to the cuff Air pipe 43, light emitting element 31a disposed near cuff 1, for irradiating light to tragus 121, and light receiving element 31b for receiving light reflected by blood vessels (arterioles).

<Circuit configuration of data processing unit>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the data processing unit 1.

  In the figure, 3 is an input processing unit, 4 is a heart sound detection unit, 5 is a comparison reference point detection unit, 6 is a pulse wave propagation time detection unit, and 7 is a pulse wave velocity detection unit.

  In FIG. 1, a first pulse wave signal (upstream pulse wave signal; for example, a pulse wave signal of the outer ear and its peripheral part), a second pulse wave signal (downstream pulse wave signal; When a pulse wave signal at a suitable place other than the heartbeat signal and the heart sound signal are input, first, the input processing unit 3 performs input processing such as data conversion.

  Among the data subjected to this input processing, the heart sound signal is taken into the heart sound detection unit 4 to detect the first heart sound and superimpose a marker.

  The comparison reference point detection unit 5 inputs a heart sound signal and two pulse wave signals, detects a marker superimposed on the first sound of the heart sound, and captures a pulse wave signal within a predetermined time from this detection time point.

  Thereafter, for the two captured pulse wave signals, the lowest point, the highest point, and the comparison reference point of the pulse wave amplitude are detected, and the time difference between the two comparison reference points is detected as the estimated pulse wave propagation time.

  Based on the detection data, the pulse wave propagation time detection unit 6 performs a waveform matching process by a least square method on a region within a predetermined range from the comparison reference point, and detects a pulse wave propagation time.

  When the pulse wave propagation time is detected, the pulse wave propagation velocity detection unit 7 calculates the distance between measurements (the length of the blood vessel from the heart to each measurement site) to detect the pulse wave propagation velocity.

  The detected pulse wave velocity is sent to the data input / output unit 2 and output.

  In this way, it is possible to increase the time resolution and perform high-accuracy measurement, even when measuring over a short distance or measuring a long section of an artery.

  Further, by performing data processing in the data processing unit by parallel processing, real-time processing synchronized with the heartbeat is also possible.

<Pulse wave velocity measurement operation>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in which the data processing unit 1 measures the pulse wave propagation velocity. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the detected pulse wave of the ear and the pulse wave of the upper arm.

  At the time of measurement, the analog signal of the sensor unit 16 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion unit 15 and then transferred to the data processing unit 1. The data processing unit 1 detects the pulse wave velocity (PWV) and sends it to the data input / output unit 2 for output.

  Data processing in the data processing unit 1 in this case is performed as shown in FIG. First, in step S101, the first heart sound is detected and a marker is superimposed.

  Next, in step S102, data of a predetermined portion of the two pulse wave signals is extracted based on the marker. In step S103, waveform matching processing by the least square method is performed based on the detection data, and the pulse wave propagation time is detected. FIG. 6 shows the pulse wave propagation time at each measurement site. That is, in FIG. 6, the propagation time T1 of the ear pulse wave is, for example, the time from the electrocardiogram marker to the peak P1 of the pulse wave, and the propagation time T2 of the upper arm pulse wave is from the marker to the peak P2 of the pulse wave. Is detected as a time.

  Further, in step S104, a calculation is performed with the distance between measurements (the length of the blood vessel between the heart and each measurement site) to obtain a pulse wave velocity, and in step S105, the pulse wave velocity is output. That is, the pulse wave propagation velocity PWV is obtained by PWV = (blood vessel length) / (pulse wave propagation time TK). The length of the blood vessel cannot be actually measured, but the length is determined to some extent by the height. Therefore, a table (conversion formula) for prescribing the height and the length of the blood vessel is prepared in advance, and the length of the blood vessel is determined based on the height of the person to be measured.

  In step S105, the obtained pulse wave propagation velocity is displayed on the display unit 27. An observer such as a doctor can evaluate whether or not arteriosclerosis has progressed to the blood vessels up to the respective sites by comparing the pulse wave propagation velocities at different measurement sites. In other words, a blood vessel that has become hard due to arteriosclerosis cannot swell and cannot sufficiently absorb pressure. Therefore, the blood directly receives the pressure from the heart, and the propagation speed increases. Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, comparing two pulse wave propagation velocities, it can be seen that there is a suspicion of arteriosclerosis in the faster blood vessel.

  In this embodiment, the ratio of PWV at two locations is calculated. For example, the PWV at the ear is calculated and compared with a reference value (for example, a value correlated with age) obtained statistically. The degree of arteriosclerosis may be evaluated.

<Others>
As described above, in the present embodiment, one pulse wave sensor is attached to the outer ear and its peripheral part (more specifically, the tragus and the peripheral part), and the pulse wave of that part is measured. This is because it is known that the tragus and its surrounding blood vessels (arterioles) are close to the blood vessels in the brain, and we can evaluate the possibility of arteriosclerosis originating in the brain. Because it is. At the same time, one of the reasons is that the area around the ear has less physical burden on the user than other parts of the body.

  In the present invention, a storage medium in which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the embodiments is recorded is provided to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. It is also achieved by reading and executing the program code. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying such a program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM Etc. can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code Includes a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is based on the instruction of the program code. This includes the case where the CPU of the expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Further, the program code of the software that realizes the functions of the above embodiments is distributed via a network, so that it can be stored in a storage means such as a hard disk or memory of a system or apparatus or a storage medium such as a CD-RW or CD-R Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the computer (or CPU or MPU) stored in the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the storage means or the storage medium.

It is a figure which shows the structure of an auricle. It is a figure which shows the structure of the circulation parameter | index measuring apparatus, and its usage condition. 3 is a diagram showing details of the configuration of an ear pulse wave sensor 11. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a data processing unit 1. FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating pulse wave velocity PWV detection operation. It is a figure which shows the relationship between an ear | edge part pulse wave and an upper arm part pulse wave.

Claims (28)

A circulatory index measuring device that calculates the pulse wave velocity of different parts,
First pulse wave detection means for detecting the first pulse wave using the outer ear and its peripheral part as a measurement site;
Second pulse wave detecting means for detecting a second pulse wave using a part other than the head as a measurement part;
A first pulse wave that calculates a first pulse wave propagation speed based on a first pulse wave propagation time from a reference position for the first pulse wave detected by the first pulse wave detection means. Propagation speed calculation means;
A second pulse wave that calculates a second pulse wave propagation speed based on the second pulse wave propagation time from the reference position for the second pulse wave detected by the second pulse wave detection means. Wave propagation velocity calculation means,
Presenting means for presenting the first and second pulse wave propagation speeds;
A circulation index measuring apparatus comprising:   The circulatory index measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part are an external auditory canal and / or an auricle.   The circulatory index measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part are a tragus and / or its peripheral part.   The circulatory index measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part include a superficial temporal artery or a branched blood vessel thereof.   The circulatory index measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the measurement site other than the head is an upper limb or a lower limb.   The circulation index measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presenting unit displays the first and second pulse wave propagation velocities on a display unit. Furthermore, it comprises an electrocardiogram detection means for detecting an electrocardiogram change accompanying the contraction of the heart,
The circulatory index measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a marker position in the electrocardiogram change is used as a reference position for obtaining the first and second pulse wave propagation times. A circulation index measurement method for calculating the pulse wave velocity of different parts,
A first pulse wave detection step of detecting a first pulse wave using the outer ear and its peripheral part as a measurement site;
A second pulse wave detection step of detecting a second pulse wave using a part other than the head as a measurement part;
A first pulse wave that obtains a first pulse wave propagation time from a reference position for the first pulse wave detected in the first pulse wave detection step and calculates a first pulse wave propagation velocity based on the first pulse wave propagation time. Propagation speed calculation step;
A second pulse wave that calculates a second pulse wave propagation velocity based on the second pulse wave propagation time from the reference position for the second pulse wave detected in the second pulse wave detection step. Wave propagation velocity calculation step,
A presentation step of presenting the first and second pulse wave propagation velocities;
A circulation index measurement method comprising:   The method for measuring a circulatory index according to claim 8, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part are an external auditory canal and / or an auricle.   The method for measuring a circulation index according to claim 8, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part are tragus and / or its peripheral part.   The circulatory index measurement method according to claim 8, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part include a superficial temporal artery or a branch blood vessel thereof.   The method for measuring a circulatory index according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the measurement site other than the head is an upper limb or a lower limb.   The circulation index measuring method according to claim 8, wherein the presenting step displays the first and second pulse wave propagation speeds on a display unit. Furthermore, an electrocardiogram detection step for detecting an electrocardiogram change accompanying the contraction of the heart is provided,
The method for measuring a circulation index according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein a marker position in the electrocardiogram change is set as a reference position for obtaining the first and second pulse wave propagation times. A control program for realizing a circulatory index measurement method for calculating the pulse wave velocity of different parts,
A program code for realizing a first pulse wave detection step of detecting a first pulse wave using the outer ear and its peripheral part as a measurement site;
A program code for realizing a second pulse wave detection step of detecting a second pulse wave using a part other than the head as a measurement part;
A first pulse wave that obtains a first pulse wave propagation time from a reference position for the first pulse wave detected in the first pulse wave detection step, and calculates a first pulse wave propagation velocity based on the first pulse wave propagation time. Program code for realizing the propagation velocity calculation process,
A second pulse wave that calculates a second pulse wave propagation speed based on a second pulse wave propagation time from the reference position for the second pulse wave detected in the second pulse wave detection step. Program code for realizing the wave propagation velocity calculation process;
Program code for realizing the presenting step of presenting the first and second pulse wave propagation speeds;
A control program comprising:   The control program according to claim 15, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part are an external auditory canal and / or an auricle.   16. The control program according to claim 15, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part are a tragus and / or its peripheral part.   The control program according to claim 15, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part include a superficial temporal artery or a branched blood vessel thereof.   The control program according to any one of claims 15 to 18, wherein the measurement site other than the head is an upper limb or a lower limb.   The control program according to any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein the presenting step displays the first and second pulse wave propagation velocities on a display unit. Furthermore, a program code for realizing an electrocardiogram detection process for detecting an electrocardiogram change accompanying the contraction of the heart is provided,
21. The control program according to claim 15, wherein a marker position in the electrocardiogram change is used as a reference position for obtaining the first and second pulse wave propagation times.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the control program according to any one of claims 15 to 21. A circulation index measuring device for calculating a pulse wave velocity of a predetermined part of a measurement subject,
A pulse wave detection means for detecting a pulse wave with the outer ear and its peripheral part as a measurement site;
Obtaining a pulse wave propagation time from a reference position for the pulse wave detected by the pulse wave detection means, and calculating a pulse wave propagation speed based on the pulse wave propagation speed calculating means;
Presenting means for presenting the pulse wave velocity calculation;
A circulation index measuring apparatus comprising:   The circulatory index measuring device according to claim 23, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part are an external auditory canal and / or an auricle.   The circulatory index measuring device according to claim 23, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part are tragus and / or its peripheral part.   The circulatory index measuring device according to claim 23, wherein the outer ear and its peripheral part include a superficial temporal artery or a branch blood vessel thereof.   27. The circulation index measuring apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the presenting means displays the pulse wave velocity on a display unit. Furthermore, it comprises an electrocardiogram detection means for detecting an electrocardiogram change accompanying the contraction of the heart,
The circulatory index measuring device according to any one of claims 23 to 27, wherein a marker position in the electrocardiogram change is used as a reference position for obtaining the pulse wave propagation time.

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