JP6035278B2 - Chewing ability measuring device and chewing ability measuring method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a chewing ability measuring device and a chewing ability measuring method for measuring chewing ability.

  Conventionally, as a method for objective evaluation of chewing ability, peanuts, which are chewable foods for measuring a constant weight, are passed through a 10-mesh sieve, the dry weight of the remaining particles is measured, and the weight ratio of the remaining particles to the passed particles There is known a measuring method using as an evaluation value.

  However, when peanuts are used as a food for measurement, the bite fragments need to be dried, so that the measurement time is significantly increased to 1 hour or more, and the measurement is not accurate. In addition, in a denture wearer, the bite piece of peanut enters the denture base, causing pain and making measurement difficult. In the research field, raw rice, carrots, raisins and kamaboko are used in addition to peanuts as food for measurement, but there is a problem that quality control is difficult.

  In order to eliminate such problems, there is a correlation between the concentration of glucose, which is a monosaccharide, and the chewing ability, and it is conceivable to utilize this. That is, chewing ability is evaluated by, for example, chewing a measurement food such as gummy for a certain period of time and measuring the concentration of glucose in the gummy dissolved in saliva.

  Incidentally, as a method for measuring the glucose concentration, a method for measuring the glucose concentration in blood disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. This measurement method uses a blood component measurement sensor having a working electrode, a counter electrode, and a reagent part, and oxidizes and reduces the blood component with an oxidoreductase in the reagent part, and the redox current generated at that time is expressed as The detected value is converted into a glucose concentration.

JP-A-2005-114359

  In the glucose concentration measurement method of Patent Document 1 described above, the values detected by the working electrode and the counter electrode are converted to the glucose concentration, so that not only the measurement time is short but also accurate measurement can be performed. Yes.

  However, the blood component measurement sensor used in such a measurement method has a configuration in which blood as a sample is sucked into the flow path of the blood component measurement sensor by capillary action and guided to the reagent unit. Therefore, when such a blood component measurement sensor is applied to the above-described sensor for measuring masticatory ability, saliva, which is a specimen, is higher in viscosity than blood, so that it cannot be reliably guided to the reagent part by capillary action. There was a problem that accurate test results could not be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a masticatory ability measuring device and a masticatory ability measuring method capable of easily and reliably measuring chewing ability.

  The chewing ability measuring apparatus of the present invention is a chewing ability measuring apparatus for measuring chewing ability based on the concentration of glucose dissolved in saliva as a specimen by chewing, the measuring instrument for measuring the glucose concentration, A detection sensor for detecting the glucose concentration, the detection sensor comprising a substrate on which reaction electrode wires are arranged in parallel by printed wiring, and a part of each of the reaction electrode wires And an insulating member having a reaction area of a predetermined shape on which the specimen and the reagent are spotted, and the measuring device is obtained via the reaction electrode wire, and the glucose is oxidized and reduced by the reagent. And detecting the oxidation-reduction current at the time of detection, and obtaining the glucose based on the voltage correlated with the glucose concentration obtained from the detected oxidation-reduction current value and the load resistance value. And measuring the concentration.

  In addition, the reaction area is configured to be blocked from outside air by a peelable adhesive tape after the reagent is spotted.

  Further, the measuring device has calibration data correlated with the glucose concentration, and the glucose concentration is obtained by converting a voltage correlated with the glucose concentration based on the calibration data. And

  Further, a printer is connected to the measuring device, and the result of the glucose concentration measured by the measuring device is output by the printer.

  The reaction area is circular.

  The masticatory ability measuring method of the present invention is a masticatory ability measuring method for measuring masticatory ability based on the concentration of glucose dissolved in saliva as a specimen by mastication, comprising the step of measuring the glucose concentration with a measuring instrument, A sensor for detection, which is mounted on the measuring device and in which a part of reaction electrode wires arranged in parallel by an insulating member having a reaction area of a predetermined shape on which a sample and a reagent are spotted on a substrate is exposed Detecting the concentration of the glucose by the method, and the measurement device detects the oxidation-reduction current obtained when the glucose is oxidized / reduced by the reagent, which is obtained via the reaction electrode wire. The glucose concentration is measured based on a voltage correlated with the glucose concentration obtained from the value of the redox current and the load resistance.

  In addition, the reaction area is configured to be blocked from outside air by a peelable adhesive tape after the reagent is spotted.

  Further, the measuring device has calibration data correlated with the glucose concentration, and the glucose concentration is obtained by converting a voltage correlated with the glucose concentration based on the calibration data. And

  The reaction area is circular.

  In the chewing ability measuring apparatus and the chewing ability measuring method of the present invention, a redox current when glucose is redoxed by a reagent, which is obtained via a reaction electrode line of a sensor for detection, is detected by a measuring instrument. The glucose concentration is measured based on the voltage correlated with the glucose concentration obtained from the redox current value and the load resistance value.

  In addition, since a part of the reaction electrode line on the detection sensor substrate is exposed by the reaction area of a predetermined shape of the insulating member, for example, the sample and the reagent can be easily and reliably spotted on the reaction area by a pipette. Is called. In addition, since the sample and reagent spotted in the reaction area directly contact the reaction electrode wire on the detection sensor substrate, the oxidation-reduction current when glucose is oxidized and reduced by the reagent passes through the reaction electrode wire. Is reliably detected.

  According to the chewing ability measuring apparatus and the chewing ability measuring method of the present invention, the sample and the reagent are spotted on the reaction area easily and reliably, and the oxidation-reduction current when glucose is oxidized and reduced by the reagent is reacted. Since the detection is reliably performed through the electrode wire, the masticatory ability can be easily and reliably measured.

It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the chewing ability measuring apparatus of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the sensor for a detection of FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the detection sensor of FIG. 2. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the film tape for plugging up the reaction area of the sensor for a detection of FIG. FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the effect of the presence or absence of the film tape in FIG. 4. FIG. 5A shows the case without the film tape, and FIG. 5B shows the case with the film tape. To describe cyclic voltammetry, which is a technique for measuring the response current of ferrocenecarboxylic acid (FCA) in an aqueous solution in the presence of glucose and a reagent attached to the reaction area of the detection sensor of FIGS. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the calibration data used when converting the voltage correlated with the density | concentration of glucose with the measuring device of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the chewing ability measuring apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 shows an example of a chewing ability measuring apparatus. The masticatory ability measuring apparatus shown in the figure includes a measuring instrument 10, a printer 20, and a detection sensor 30. The measuring instrument 10 and the printer 20 are connected by a connection cord 40. Reference numeral 41 denotes a power cord of the printer 20.

  On the upper surface side of the measuring instrument main body 11 of the measuring instrument 10, a power button 12, a display unit 13, and various operation buttons 14 are arranged. Further, the insertion port 15 of the detection sensor 30 for detecting the glucose concentration is provided on the front side of the measuring instrument main body 11. The printer main body 21 of the printer 20 is provided with a display unit 22, a power button 23, and a discharge port 24 for recording paper 42.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the detection sensor 30 includes a glass epoxy resin substrate 31 having two reaction electrode wires 32 arranged in parallel by printed wiring. A terminal portion 32 a is provided at the tip portion of each reaction electrode wire 32. When the detection sensor 30 is inserted into the insertion port 15 of the measuring device main body 11, these terminal portions 32 a are connected to terminals in a connector (not shown) inside the measuring device main body 11.

  A lower cover 33 made of vinyl chloride is disposed on the lower surface side of the substrate 31. A resist film 34 and an upper cover 35 made of vinyl chloride are disposed on the upper surface side of the substrate 31. The resist film 34 and the upper cover 35 are formed with circular reaction areas 34a, 35a on which reagents and specimens are spotted. Further, the portion surrounded by the reaction area 34a of the resist film 34 is a reaction electrode portion 32b exposed to the outside.

  As a result, the reagent and specimen spotted on the reaction areas 34a and 35a come into direct contact with the reaction electrode line 32 of the reaction electrode portion 32b. Further, the resist film 34 is insulative, and the reaction electrode wire 32 only in the portion surrounded by the reaction area 34a is made conductive by the spotting of the reagent and the specimen. Reference numeral 36 denotes a low-adhesive peelable film tape for covering the reaction areas 34a and 35a after the reagent is spotted on the reaction areas 34a and 35a.

  The reaction areas 34a and 35a are not limited to a circle but may be an ellipse, a square such as a square, a triangle, or a rhombus. In order to make it mix, it is preferable to make it circular.

  Here, the detection sensor 30 is manufactured as follows. That is, a reagent is spotted using a pipette on the reaction area 34 a formed on the resist film 34 on the upper surface side of the substrate 31, and the upper cover 35 is mounted on the resist film 34. At this time, the reaction area 35 a of the upper cover 35 is matched with the reaction area 34 a of the resist film 34.

  Next, the lower cover 33 is attached to the lower surface side of the substrate 31. Finally, the reaction areas 34 a and 35 a are covered with the film tape 36. The film tape 36 blocks the reagent from the outside air, so that the reagent in the reaction areas 34a and 35a can be prevented from drying. When actually measuring the chewing ability, the film tape 36 is peeled off, and a specimen is spotted using a pipette in the reaction areas 34a and 35a.

  Next, the operation of the film tape 36 will be described with reference to FIG. First, FIG. 4A shows a case where the film tape 36 is not present, and FIG. 4B shows a case where the film tape 36 is present. Also, (a) and (b) in FIG. 4 use reagents when the measurement volume is 100 mg, 200 mg, 300 mg, 400 mg, and 500 mg. For example, the reaction of reagents having different volumes for each week from 1 to 12 weeks. The result of measuring the characteristic (V) is shown.

  First, in the absence of the film tape 36, as can be seen from FIG. 5A, the reaction characteristics (V) of the reagents having different measurement capacities gradually increase with the passage of storage days. This is clear even if the average value of the reaction characteristic (V) up to the 12th week is compared with the value of the reaction characteristic (V) of the first week.

  On the other hand, when the film tape 36 is provided, as can be seen from FIG. 5B, the reaction characteristics (V) of the reagents having different measurement capacities do not change greatly even after the storage days. This is clear even if the average value of the reaction characteristic (V) up to the 12th week is compared with the value of the reaction characteristic (V) of the first week.

  For this reason, even if the reagent is spotted in advance in the reaction areas 34a and 35a by closing the reaction areas 34a and 35a of the detection sensor 30 described above with the film tape 36. Stable inspection results can be obtained.

Next, a procedure for producing an enzyme solution as a reagent will be described.
(1) A cellulose solution is prepared and mixed with an aliquot solution (one solution),
(2) Prepare a buffer solution (potassium ferricyanide) (2 solutions),
(3) Mix 1st liquid and 2nd liquid,
(4) Finally, add the enzyme, put it in a brown glass bottle, and store it for one day.

  Here, when the minimum amount that can be stirred is, for example, 20 cc, and the liquid of 40 cc is the finished amount, the cellulose liquid in (1) above is prepared so that the concentration is, for example, 0.2%. Cellulose (250M PHARM) 0.08 g (= 0.2% by weight) is dissolved in 20 cc of purified water.

  Next, 20 cc of purified water is taken into a 200 ml beaker, and cellulose is slowly put into the center of the beaker. In this case, care is taken so that the cellulose does not adhere around the beaker. Next, it stirs for 60 minutes or more by 250 RPM using a turbine stirrer.

  While gradually adding 0.5 g of polyethylene to the above mixture, stir at 300 RPM for 45 minutes or more. Since this polyethylene is hardly dissolved, it takes time to make a homogeneous solution.

  Next, when preparing the buffer solution in the above (2) with a finished amount of 40 cc, for example, 20 cc of purified water is taken into a 200 ml beaker, and 0.6 g of potassium dihydrogen phosphate is dissolved in the purified water. In this case, stir slowly so that no solids remain. When adding potassium dihydrogen phosphate, be careful not to stick it around the beaker. Next, 3 g of potassium ferricyanide is weighed away from light and dissolved in purified water. Again, avoid light. Finally, 0.3 g of sodium succinate is added and stirred slowly.

  Next, when mixing the 1st liquid and the 2nd liquid in the above (3), the buffer solution prepared in the above (2) is slowly added to the solution after the stirring in the above (1). Further, 3.4 g (= 8.5% by weight) of trehalose is added and stirred at 200 RPM for 20 minutes. After the stirring is completed, 0.06 g (= 0.3% by weight) of surfactant (X-100) is added and stirred for 10 minutes.

  Thereby, the liquid mixture of 1 liquid for measurement and 2 liquids is created. Store this mixture in a brown glass bottle.

  Next, when preparing the enzyme solution in the above (4), the mixed solution and the enzyme in the above (3) are mixed. In this case, the enzyme FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide) is measured in a necessary amount (for example, 20 mg) using a balance and put into a brown 20 cc glass bottle container for storage. In this case, care should be taken so that the enzyme FAD does not adhere around the glass bottle container.

  Next, 2.5 cc of the mixed solution in (3) above is sucked up with a syringe and added to the container containing the enzyme. At this time, the container is slowly shaken and stirred until the enzyme is sufficiently dissolved. After stirring, store in a cool dark place for 1 day.

  In the case of a + 1K solution, 1cc of enzyme is 5600 units, so 20 mg is 14000 units. Since the activity of 1 mg of FAD used in this embodiment is 700 units, 5600 × 2.5 = 14000 = 20 mg of enzyme is required to make 2.5 cc.

  Next, referring to FIG. 6, it is a method for measuring the response current of ferrocenecarboxylic acid (FCA) in an aqueous solution in the presence of glucose (glucose) as a monosaccharide and glucose oxidase (GOx) as an enzyme. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) will be described. In addition, the signal of a dotted line has shown the result when glucose exists.

  That is, generally, when glucose is electrochemically oxidized, Fe (III) is produced in FCA +. In addition, FCA + is always regenerated by the electrode under oxidizing conditions. Further, the amount of current at the anode varies depending on the concentrations of GOx and glucose.

  As can be seen from the figure, when the electrode potential is swept in the positive direction from 0 V to +0.7 V, for example, the current value (μA) is almost 0 when the electrode potential is smaller than about +0.25 V. On the other hand, when the electrode potential is in the range of about 0.25 V to 0.4 V, electrons suddenly flow out from the electrode, and when the electrode potential becomes larger than 0.4 V, the current value (μA) settles to a constant value. Therefore, by applying a bias voltage in the range of 0.25 to 0.4 (preferably 0.3 V) to the reaction electrode line 32 described above, the glucose concentration can be measured.

  Next, measurement of masticatory ability using the masticatory ability measuring device will be described. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a bias voltage of, for example, 0.3 V is applied between the two reaction electrode lines 32 so that the oxidation-reduction current is maximized.

  First, at the time of measurement, the terminal portion 32 a of the detection sensor 30 is directed toward the measuring instrument main body 11, and the detection sensor 30 is inserted into the insertion port 15 of the measuring instrument main body 11. At this time, the terminal portion 32 a of the detection sensor 30 is connected to a terminal in a connector (not shown) inside the measuring device main body 11.

  Next, the film tape 36 shown in FIG. 4 is peeled off from the upper cover 35 to expose the resist film 34 and the reaction areas 34 a and 35 a of the upper cover 35. Then, a sample is spotted using a pipette in the reaction areas 34a and 35a. In addition, as mentioned above, the sample here is saliva when chewing a measurement food such as gummi for a certain period of time. At this time, the above-mentioned reagent already deposited on the reaction areas 34a and 35a and the sample are mixed. In addition, since the reaction areas 34a and 35a have a circular shape as described above, the spotted reagent and specimen are uniformly diffused and mixed uniformly.

  Here, when a bias voltage of 0.3 V is applied between the terminal portions 32a of the detection sensor 30 by a constant voltage circuit (not shown) inside the measuring instrument 10, the reaction electrode wire 32 in the reaction electrode portion 32b described above. Conduction between is taken. At this time, the glucose of the specimen is oxidized and reduced by the reagent described above. Then, the oxidation-reduction current flowing between the reaction electrode wires 32 flows to a load resistor (not shown) inside the measuring device main body 11. Here, a voltage correlated with the glucose concentration is detected from the value of the oxidation-reduction current and the value of the load resistance.

  Since the voltage correlated with the detected glucose concentration is weak, it is amplified by an operational amplifier (not shown) in the measuring instrument main body 11. Next, using the calibration data correlated with the glucose concentration as shown in FIG. 7, the detected voltage is converted to obtain the glucose concentration of the sample. When the glucose concentration of the specimen is obtained, the obtained glucose concentration is printed on the recording paper 42 by the printer 20 described above, so that the glucose concentration can be easily confirmed and the chewing ability is evaluated. be able to.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the measuring device 10 detects the redox current obtained when the glucose is oxidized / reduced by the reagent, which is obtained via the reaction electrode wire 32 of the detection sensor 30, and detects the detected oxidation. The glucose concentration was measured based on the voltage correlated with the glucose concentration obtained from the reduction current value and the load resistance value.

  Here, since a part of the reaction electrode line 32 on the substrate 31 of the detection sensor 30 is exposed in the reaction area 34a of the resist film 34 which is an insulating member, for example, the specimen and the reagent to the reaction area 34a by a pipette are used. This is easy and reliable. In addition, since the specimen and the reagent spotted in the reaction area directly contact the reaction electrode wire 32 on the substrate 31 of the detection sensor 30, the oxidation-reduction current when glucose is oxidized and reduced by the reagent reacts. It is reliably detected via the electrode wire 32.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the sample and the reagent are spotted on the reaction area 34a easily and reliably, and the oxidation-reduction current when glucose is oxidized and reduced by the reagent is passed through the reaction electrode line 32. Since the detection is reliably performed, the masticatory ability can be easily and reliably measured.

  Further, the reaction area 34a in the present embodiment is shielded from the outside air by a film tape 36, which is a low-adhesive, releasable adhesive tape after the reagent is spotted. Therefore, the reagent previously spotted on the reaction area 34a is stably held so that the reaction characteristics do not change. As a result, a stable test result can be obtained even if a reagent is spotted in advance in the reaction area 34a and stored for a long time. Further, when the chewing ability is measured, since the reagent is spotted in the reaction area 34a in advance, the chewing ability can be measured only by spotting the specimen.

  In the present embodiment, since the voltage that correlates with the glucose concentration is converted by the measuring instrument 10 using the calibration data that correlates with the glucose concentration, objective evaluation of the masticatory ability is appropriately and reliably performed. Can be done.

  In the present embodiment, the printer 20 is connected to the measuring device 10, and the result of the glucose concentration measured by the measuring device 10 is output by the printer 20. It becomes easy to confirm.

  In the present embodiment, since the reaction area 34a of the detection sensor 30 is circular, the sample spotted on the reaction area 34a can be uniformly diffused and mixed with the reagent uniformly. Thus, the redox of glucose can be reliably performed.

  In the present embodiment, the glucose concentration measured by the measuring device 10 has been described as being printed on the recording paper 42 by the printer 20, but the present invention is not limited to this example, and the measurement result is displayed on the display unit 13 of the measuring device 10. It may be displayed. Further, a value indicating the glucose concentration measured by the measuring device 10 may be taken into a personal computer using a USB cable or the like.

  In the present embodiment, the reagent is spotted in advance on the reaction areas 34a and 35a of the detection sensor 30, and the reaction areas 34a and 35a are covered with the film tape 36, and the film tape 36 is used for measuring the chewing ability. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the reagent and the sample are spotted at the same time when measuring the chewing ability. Also good. In this case, use of the film tape 36 becomes unnecessary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Measuring instrument 11 Measuring instrument main body 12 Power button 13 Display part 14 Various operation buttons 15 Plug-in port 20 Printer 21 Printer main body 22 Display part 23 Power button 24 Outlet 30 Detection sensor 31 Substrate 32 Reaction electrode line 32a Terminal part 32b Reaction Electrode section 33 Lower cover 34 Resist film 34a Reaction area 35 Upper cover 35a Reaction area 36 Film tape 40 Connection code 41 Power cord 42 Recording paper

Claims (7)

A chewing ability measuring device that measures chewing ability based on the concentration of glucose dissolved in saliva as a specimen by chewing,
A measuring instrument for measuring the glucose concentration;
A sensor for detection that is attached to the measuring device and detects the glucose concentration;
The detection sensor includes a base on which reaction electrode wires are arranged in parallel by printed wiring, and
An insulating member that exposes a part of each of the reaction electrode wires and has a reaction area of a predetermined shape on which the specimen and the reagent are spotted;
A releasable adhesive tape that is coated so that the reaction area on which the reagent is spotted is shielded from outside air;
The measuring device detects an oxidation-reduction current obtained when the glucose is oxidized / reduced by the reagent, which is obtained via the reaction electrode wire, and is obtained from the detected oxidation-reduction current value and load resistance value. And measuring the glucose concentration based on the voltage correlated with the glucose concentration. The measuring device has calibration data correlated with the glucose concentration, and the glucose concentration is obtained by converting a voltage correlated with the glucose concentration based on the calibration data. The masticatory ability measuring device according to claim 1 . The masticatory ability measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein a printer is connected to the measuring device, and the result of the glucose concentration measured by the measuring device is output by the printer. The chewing ability measuring device according to claim 1 , wherein the reaction area is circular. A chewing ability measuring method for measuring chewing ability based on the concentration of glucose dissolved in saliva as a specimen by chewing,
The detection sensor includes a base on which reaction electrode wires are arranged in parallel by printed wiring, and a reaction area having a predetermined shape in which a part of each of the reaction electrode wires is exposed and the specimen and the reagent are spotted. With a member, a reagent is spotted on the reaction area and covered with a peelable adhesive tape so as to be shielded from outside air;
Peeling the adhesive tape and spotting the specimen on the reaction area;
The detection sensor is mounted on the measuring instrument,
The measuring device detects the redox current obtained when the glucose is redoxed by the reagent, which is obtained via the reaction electrode wire, and is obtained from the detected redox current value and load resistance value. The method for measuring chewing ability, wherein the glucose concentration is measured based on a voltage correlated with the glucose concentration. The measuring device has calibration data correlated with the glucose concentration, and the glucose concentration is obtained by converting a voltage correlated with the glucose concentration based on the calibration data. The masticatory ability measuring method according to claim 5 . The masticatory ability measuring method according to claim 5 , wherein the reaction area is circular.

Images