WO2024202902A1 - Biological signal measurement device, information processing device, and biological signal measurement system - Google Patents

Abstract

A biological signal measurement device according to the present technology is provided with a relative position identification unit, a signal quality determination unit, a reference information generation unit, and a mounting guide unit. The relative position identification unit identifies the relative position between: a sensor housing provided with a biological signal sensor for measuring a biological signal at a target site, which is a specific site in a living body; and the target site. The signal quality determination unit determines signal quality, which is the quality of the biological signal outputted from the biological signal sensor. The reference information generation unit generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality. The mounting guide unit guides how to move the sensor housing on the basis of the reference information and the position at which the sensor housing is mounted with respect to the target site.

Description

Biological signal measuring device, information processing device, and biological signal measuring system

This technology relates to a biosignal measuring device that is worn by a user and measures the user's biosignals, an information processing device, and a biosignal measuring system.

Biological signals such as pulse wave signals and brain waves are measured by sensors attached to the user, but the position at which the sensor is attached affects the signal quality, so the position must be adjusted. However, adjusting the position at which the sensor is attached by the user is a significant burden in terms of time and effort. For example, pulse wave signals can be measured by a sensor attached to the ear, but the shape of the ear is complex and there is a large degree of individual variability, and the user cannot visually confirm where the sensor is attached, so repeated trial and error is required before good signal quality can be achieved.

In response to this, technologies have also been developed to assist users in attaching sensors. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose systems that determine whether the sensor is attached correctly and the state of attachment based on features extracted from the acquired signal waveform, and notify the user. Patent Document 3 discloses a system that detects whether the sensor is attached or not based on sensor information such as pressure, ambient light, and temperature, and notifies the user. Furthermore, Patent Document 4 discloses a system that estimates the pressure applied by the sensor based on features extracted from the pulse wave waveform in a wristband-type device, and adjusts the tension of the band so that the amplitude of the pulse wave signal is maximized.

JP 2016-158943 A JP 2004-57667 A JP 2016-146994 A JP 2013-212320 A

However, the systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 determine whether a pulse wave signal has been acquired and notify the user, so this determination result alone does not tell the user how to specifically adjust the attachment, and adjustments take time and effort, increasing the burden. Also, the system described in Patent Document 3 determines whether the sensor is in contact with the skin and notifies the user, so it is difficult for the user to determine whether a pulse wave has actually been acquired from this information alone, and adjustments take time and effort, increasing the burden.

Furthermore, the system described in Patent Document 4 is a technology that can only be used for sensor housings that apply pressure to the living body, and optimization through pressure estimation is only possible when a certain level of signal quality is obtained. For this reason, it is not possible to instruct the user how to make adjustments when the pulse wave signal cannot be measured.

In light of the above circumstances, the objective of this technology is to provide a biosignal measuring device, an information processing device, and a biosignal measuring system that assist users in wearing sensors so as to improve the signal quality of the biosignal.

In order to achieve the above object, a biological signal measuring device according to an embodiment of the present technology includes a relative position specifying unit, a signal quality determining unit, a reference information generating unit, and a mounting guide unit.
The relative position specifying unit specifies the relative position between a sensor housing including a biosignal sensor that measures a biosignal at a target portion, which is a specific portion of a living body, and the target portion.
The signal quality determination unit determines a signal quality that is the quality of the biological signal output from the biological signal sensor.
The reference information generating unit generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality.
The mounting guide portion guides how to move the sensor housing based on the mounting position of the sensor housing with respect to the target site and the reference information.

The mounting guide unit may guide the movement of the sensor housing from the mounting position to a target position, which is a relative position between the sensor housing and the target part where the quality of the biosignal is improved compared to the mounting position.

The biological signal measuring device further includes a position difference determination unit that identifies the target position based on the reference information and determines a position difference that is a difference between the target position and the mounting position,
The mounting guide portion may guide a manner in which the sensor housing is moved based on the position difference.

The position difference determination unit may determine the target position as the position where the signal quality is highest among the relative positions between the sensor housing and the target part.

The relative position determination unit may determine the relative position based on the output of an acceleration sensor provided in the sensor housing, the output of an acceleration sensor provided in the external terminal, and an image captured by the external terminal.

The relative position identification unit may identify the relative position based on an image captured by an external terminal.

The relative position determination unit may determine the relative position based on the output of a distance sensor or an acoustic sensor provided in the sensor housing.

The relative position determination unit may further determine the relative position based on the output of a pressure sensor or a contact resistance sensor provided in the sensor housing.

The target area is an ear,
The sensor housing may be connected to a fixing member, and the fixing member may be inserted into an ear canal to be attached to the ear part.

The mounting guide portion may guide the angle of the sensor housing relative to the ear portion.

The mounting guide portion may further guide the insertion depth of the sensor housing into the ear portion.

the biological signal is a pulse wave signal,
The vital sign sensor may be a pulse wave signal sensor.

The mounting guide unit may present the user with guide information showing how to move the sensor housing to eliminate the position difference.

The guide information may be an image in which the attachment position is marked on a graph of the signal quality index versus the relative position.

The guide information may be an image or audio including text that describes how to move the sensor housing to eliminate the position difference.

The guide information may be vibrations that indicate how to move the sensor housing to eliminate the position difference.

The biosignal measuring device may further include a reference information storage unit that stores the reference information supplied from the reference information generation unit.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present technology includes a relative position specifying unit, a signal quality determining unit, a reference information generating unit, and a mounting guide unit.
The relative position specifying unit specifies the relative position between a sensor housing including a biosignal sensor that measures a biosignal at a target portion, which is a specific portion of a living body, and the target portion.
The signal quality determination unit determines a signal quality that is the quality of the biological signal output from the biological signal sensor.
The reference information generating unit generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality.
The mounting guide portion guides how to move the sensor housing based on the mounting position of the sensor housing with respect to the target site and the reference information.

The information processing device may include a storage unit that stores programs for operating the information processing device as the relative position identification unit, the signal quality determination unit, the reference information generation unit, and the mounting guide unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a biological signal measuring system according to an embodiment of the present technology includes a sensor housing, a relative position specifying unit, a signal quality determining unit, a reference information generating unit, and a mounting guide unit.
The sensor housing includes a biosignal sensor that measures a biosignal at a target site, which is a specific site in a living body.
The relative position specifying unit specifies the relative position between the sensor housing and the target site.
The signal quality determination unit determines a signal quality that is the quality of the biological signal output from the biological signal sensor.
The reference information generating unit generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality.
The mounting guide portion guides how to move the sensor housing based on the mounting position of the sensor housing with respect to the target site and the reference information.

1 is a schematic diagram of a biological signal measuring system according to an embodiment of the present technology. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the biosignal measuring system. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a method of identifying a biological posture by a biological posture identifying unit included in the biological signal measuring system. FIG. 11 is an example of a captured image of a user wearing a biosignal measuring device. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a method of identifying a biological body-sensor relative position by a relative position identifying unit provided in the biological signal measuring system. FIG. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a specific example of the relative position of a living body and a sensor. 4 is a specific example of reference information generated by a reference information generating unit included in the biological signal measuring system. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of biosignal measurement using the biosignal measurement system. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the biosignal measuring system. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a mounting position identified by a relative position identifying unit included in the biosignal measuring system. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a target position identified by a position difference determination unit included in the biosignal measurement system. FIG. 1 is a graph of signal quality index versus bio-sensor relative position showing target and mounting positions; 4 is a schematic diagram showing a guide for moving a sensor housing by a mounting guide unit provided in the biosignal measuring system. FIG. 11 is an example of guide information generated by a mounting guide unit included in the biosignal measuring system. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a method for identifying the relative position of a living body and a sensor by a biological signal measuring device according to a first modified example of the present technology. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a biological signal measuring system according to the first modification. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a method for identifying the relative position of a living body and a sensor by a biological signal measuring device according to a second modified example of the present technology. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a method for identifying the relative position of a living body and a sensor by a biological signal measuring device according to a third variant of the present technology. FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a biological signal measuring system according to the third modified example. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a method for identifying the relative position of a living body and a sensor by a biological signal measuring device according to a fourth variant of the present technology. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a biological signal measuring system according to an embodiment of the present technology.

This section describes a biosignal measurement system according to an embodiment of the present technology.

[Configuration of biosignal measurement system]
1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a biosignal measuring system 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the biosignal measuring system 100 includes a biosignal measuring device 110 and an information processing device 120. The biosignal measuring device 110 and the information processing device 120 are connected by wire or wirelessly, and may be connected via an information communication network.

The biosignal measuring device 110 is a device that is worn by the user and measures biosignals at a specific part of the user. Hereinafter, the part of the user that is the target of biosignal measurement by the biosignal measuring device 110 is referred to as the "target part". The target part is not particularly limited, but is, for example, the ear. The biosignal measured by the biosignal measuring device 110 is not particularly limited as long as it is a signal that is measured in a living body, but is, for example, a pulse wave, brain wave, myoelectric potential, skin potential, electrocardiogram, or vein pattern signal. Hereinafter, the ear will be used as an example of a target part, and a pulse wave signal will be described as an example of a biosignal.

As shown in FIG. 1, the biosignal measuring device 110 comprises a sensor housing 111, a biosignal sensor 112, an acceleration sensor 113, and a fixing member 114. The sensor housing 111 is a housing that houses the biosignal sensor 112 and the like, and its configuration is not particularly limited. The biosignal sensor 112 is housed in the sensor housing 111 and generates a biosignal. The biosignal sensor 112 is, for example, a pulse wave sensor that irradiates light onto the skin and generates a pulse wave signal based on the reflected light.

The acceleration sensor 113 is housed in the sensor housing 111 and is a sensor that detects acceleration, and its configuration is not particularly limited. The fixing member 114 is connected to the sensor housing 111 and fixes the sensor housing 111 to a body part. The fixing member 114 is, for example, an earpiece that is inserted into the user's ear canal. Note that the fixing member 114 may have a different configuration, and the sensor housing 111 may not have the fixing member 114. The biosignal measuring device 110 also has a hardware configuration for realizing the functional configuration described below.

The information processing device 120 is an information processing device such as a smartphone or a PC (personal computer), and is an external terminal for the biosignal measuring device 110. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 120 includes a camera 121, a display 122, and an acceleration sensor 123. The acceleration sensor 123 is a sensor that detects acceleration, and its configuration is not particularly limited. In addition, the information processing device 120 includes a hardware configuration for realizing the functional configuration described below.

[Functional configuration of biosignal measurement system]
The functional configuration of the biosignal measurement system 100 will be described. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the biosignal measurement system 100. As shown in the figure, the biosignal measurement system 100 includes a housing posture identification unit 151, a bioposition identification unit 152, a relative position identification unit 153, a signal quality determination unit 154, a reference information generation unit 155, a reference information storage unit 156, a position difference determination unit 157, and a mounting guide unit 158. These functional configurations are realized by cooperation between hardware and software.

The housing orientation determination unit 151 determines the orientation of the sensor housing 111 with respect to the ground (hereinafter, "housing orientation") based on the output of the acceleration sensor 113. The housing orientation determination unit 151 supplies the determined housing orientation to the relative position determination unit 153.

The biometric posture identification unit 152 identifies the posture of the target body part relative to the ground (hereinafter, "biometric posture") based on the image captured by the camera 121 (hereinafter, "captured image") and the output of the acceleration sensor 123. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a method for identifying the biometric posture by the biometric posture identification unit 152. As shown in the figure, the camera 121 captures an image of a user U wearing the sensor housing 111, and a captured image is generated. The user U wears the sensor housing 111 on the ear Y, which is the target body part.

Figure 4 shows an image of user U contained in captured image G. The biometric posture identification unit 152 detects the head H of user U by image processing of the captured image G, and can identify the relative position of the ear Y with respect to the information processing device 120 based on its position. The biometric posture identification unit 152 may also detect a biometric part other than the head H in the captured image G and identify the relative position of the ear Y with respect to the information processing device 120 based on its position, or may directly detect the ear Y and identify the relative position.

The biometric posture identification unit 152 also determines the posture of the information processing device 120 relative to the ground based on the output of the acceleration sensor 123. The biometric posture identification unit 152 identifies the biometric posture (the posture of the target part relative to the ground) based on the posture of the information processing device 120 relative to the ground and the above-mentioned relative position of the target part relative to the information processing device 120. The biometric posture identification unit 152 supplies the identified biometric posture to the relative position identification unit 153.

The relative position determination unit 153 determines the relative position between the sensor housing 111 and the target part (hereinafter, the "bio-sensor relative position"). Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing a method for determining the bio-sensor relative position. The relative position determination unit 153 determines the bio-sensor relative position based on the housing orientation supplied from the housing orientation determination unit 151 and the bio-position supplied from the bio-position determination unit 152. As both the housing orientation and the bio-position are orientations relative to the ground, it is possible to determine the bio-sensor relative position from these.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a specific example of the bio-sensor relative position. The coordinate system in the figure has the position of the ear canal as the origin, and has vertical (y-axis direction in the figure) and horizontal (x-axis direction in the figure) axes. As shown in the figure, the angle θ of the sensor housing 111 from the horizontal direction with respect to the ear Y can be taken as the bio-sensor relative position, and in the following explanation, the bio-sensor relative position is defined by the angle θ. Note that the bio-sensor relative position is not limited to the angle from the horizontal direction, and may be anything that indicates the relative position between the sensor housing 111 and the target area. The relative position identification unit 153 supplies the identified bio-sensor relative position to the reference information generation unit 155.

The signal quality determination unit 154 determines the quality of the biosignal generated by the biosignal sensor 112 and generates a "signal quality index." The signal quality index is, for example, an index representing the strength of the biosignal. The signal quality determination unit 154 supplies the generated signal quality index to the reference information generation unit 155.

The reference information generating unit 155 generates reference information by associating various bio-sensor relative positions with signal quality. Specifically, when the reference information generating unit 155 receives a bio-sensor relative position from the relative position identifying unit 153, it can generate reference information by associating the signal quality index supplied at the same time from the signal quality determining unit 154 with the bio-sensor relative position.

FIG. 7 shows a specific example of reference information. As shown in the figure, the reference information is information on signal quality indicators for the relative position between the organism and the sensor. In FIG. 7, the relative position between the organism and the sensor is defined by an angle θ (see FIG. 6). The reference information generating unit 155 supplies the generated reference information to the reference information holding unit 156.

The reference information holding unit 156 holds the reference information supplied from the reference information generation unit 155 and supplies it to the position difference determination unit 157. The configurations of the position difference determination unit 157 and the attachment guide unit 158 will be described later, but the position difference determination unit 157 determines the difference between the target position, which is the position where the quality of the biosignal is improved, and the attachment position of the sensor housing 111, and supplies the determination result to the attachment guide unit 158. Based on this determination result, the attachment guide unit 158 guides how to move the sensor housing 111 from the attachment position to the target position.

The biosignal measuring system 100 has the above-mentioned configuration. The functional configuration of the biosignal measuring system 100 described above may be mounted on either the biosignal measuring device 110 or the information processing device 120. For example, all of the functional configuration may be mounted on the biosignal measuring device 110, or all of the functional configuration may be mounted on the information processing device 120. Furthermore, some of the functional configuration may be mounted on the biosignal measuring device 110, and other functional configurations may be mounted on the information processing device 120. The biosignal measuring system 100 may be composed of one or more biosignal measuring devices 110 and one or more information processing devices 120.

In addition, although the biometric posture identification unit 152 identifies the biometric posture based on an image captured by the camera 121 provided in the information processing device 120, it is also possible to identify the biometric posture based on an image captured by a camera provided in an external terminal other than the information processing device 120. In this case, the biometric posture identification unit 152 can identify the biometric posture by acquiring the captured image and the output of the acceleration sensor from the terminal.

[Operation of biosignal measurement system]
The following describes the operation of the biosignal measurement system 100. Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of biosignal measurement using the biosignal measurement system 100. As shown in the figure, biosignal measurement using the biosignal measurement system 100 includes two phases: "calibration" and "wearing guiding".

The calibration phase is executed before the biosignal measurement by the biosignal measurement system 100. Specifically, when the user attaches the sensor housing 111 to the target area (St111), the bio-sensor relative position, which is the relative position between the sensor housing 111 and the target area, is identified (St112), and the quality of the biosignal generated by the biosignal sensor 112 is determined (St113). Next, reference information that associates the bio-sensor relative position with the signal quality is generated (St114).

Each of the above steps is performed for various bio-sensor relative positions. At this time, it is preferable for the biosignal measurement system 100 to notify the user, such as by "moving the sensor housing," to prompt the user to determine the quality of the biosignal at various bio-sensor relative positions.

The wearing guiding phase is executed when the biosignal measurement system 100 measures the biosignal. Specifically, when the user wears the sensor housing 111 on the target body part (St121), the user is guided on how to move the sensor housing 111 to the optimal wearing position (St122). Based on this guide, the user adjusts the position of the sensor housing 111 (St123), and the quality of the biosignal is judged as confirmation (St124), and the biosignal is measured (St125).

The calibration phase only needs to be performed once for each user when the biosignal measurement system 100 is introduced, and only the wearing guiding phase needs to be performed during subsequent measurements. Alternatively, the calibration phase may be performed periodically, such as once a month.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the biosignal measurement system 100, illustrating the operation of two phases: "calibration" and "wearing guiding." Note that the explanation of the above-mentioned contents of the operation of each functional configuration will be simplified.

In the "calibration" phase, the housing orientation identifying unit 151 identifies the "housing orientation", which is the orientation of the sensor housing 111 with respect to the ground, based on the output of the acceleration sensor 113, and supplies the housing orientation to the relative position identifying unit 153. In addition, the biological orientation identifying unit 152 identifies the "biological orientation", which is the orientation of the target part with respect to the ground, based on the captured image and the output of the acceleration sensor 123, and supplies the biological orientation to the relative position identifying unit 153.

Then, the relative position identification unit 153 identifies the "bio-sensor relative position", which is the relative position between the sensor housing 111 and the target part, based on the housing posture and the biological posture, and supplies the biological-sensor relative position to the reference information generation unit 155. The signal quality determination unit 154 determines the quality of the biological signal generated by the biological signal sensor 112, generates a "signal quality index", and supplies the signal quality index to the reference information generation unit 155.

The reference information generating unit 155 generates "reference information" by associating the relative position of the organism-sensor with the signal quality. In this case, the reference information generating unit 155 can generate the reference information by analyzing the relative position of the organism-sensor and the signal quality index using a method such as machine learning. The reference information generating unit 155 stores the generated reference information in the reference information storage unit 156.

In the "wearing guiding" phase, the housing orientation identifying unit 151 identifies the "housing orientation", which is the orientation of the sensor housing 111 with respect to the ground, based on the output of the acceleration sensor 113, and supplies the housing orientation to the relative position identifying unit 153. In addition, the biological orientation identifying unit 152 identifies the "biological orientation", which is the orientation of the target part with respect to the ground, based on the captured image and the output of the acceleration sensor 123, and supplies the biological orientation to the relative position identifying unit 153.

Next, the relative position specifying unit 153 specifies the "bio-sensor relative position", which is the relative position between the sensor housing 111 and the target part, based on the housing posture and the bio-posture. Hereinafter, this bio-sensor relative position in the wearing guiding phase will be referred to as the "wearing position". FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the wearing position, and shows the wearing position _θS . The relative position specifying unit 153 supplies the wearing position to the position difference determining unit 157.

The position difference determination unit 157 identifies a "target position" based on the reference information and determines the difference between the target position and the mounting position (hereinafter, "position difference"). The target position is a position among the bio-sensor relative positions where the quality of the biosignal is improved compared to the mounting position, and the position where the quality of the biosignal is the highest is preferable.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a target position, and shows a target position _θT . Fig. 12 shows a target position _θT and a mounting position _θS in a graph of a signal quality index versus a bio-sensor relative position. As shown in the figure, the target position _θT is a position where the signal quality index is improved compared to the mounting position _θS among the bio-sensor relative positions, and a position where the signal quality index is highest is preferable. Furthermore, the position difference determination unit 157 determines a position difference _θD between the target position _θT and the mounting position _θS as shown in the figure. The position difference determination unit 157 supplies the position difference to the mounting guide unit 158.

The mounting guide unit 158 guides the movement of the sensor housing 111 based on the mounting position and the reference information. Specifically, the mounting guide unit 158 can guide the movement of the sensor housing 111 from the mounting position to the target position based on the position difference. Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the movement of the sensor housing 111 from the mounting position _θS to the target position _θT . The mounting guide unit 158 can guide the sensor housing 111 to move by an amount that eliminates the position difference _θD . For example, in the example shown in Fig. 13, _θT < _θS , so the position difference _θD can be eliminated by rotating the sensor housing 111 forward by the position difference _θD .

Specifically, the mounting guide unit 158 can generate guide information showing how to move the sensor housing 111 to eliminate the position difference, and present it to the user. Fig. 14 is an example of guide information, and is an image of a graph of the signal quality index versus the biological body-sensor relative position generated from the reference information. As shown in the figure, the mounting guide unit 158 generates an image in which a marker M _S is added to the mounting position θ _S.

When the user adjusts the position of the sensor housing 111, the mounting position _θS moves, and the mounting guide unit 158 moves the indicator M _S to the signal quality index of the new mounting position θ _S in accordance with the movement of the mounting position θ _S. In the figure, the signal quality index at the initial mounting position θ _S1 is indicated by an indicator M _S1 , and the signal quality index at the moved mounting position θ _S2 is indicated by an indicator M _S2 . The mounting guide unit 158 may also attach an indicator M _T to the target position θ _T , or may attach a highlight H to a certain range centered on the target position θ _T.

The mounting guide unit 158 can present such an image as guide information to the user by displaying it on the display 122 or the like. The user can refer to this image and understand in real time how much adjustment is required to reach the target position _θT and what level of signal quality can be obtained at the current mounting position _θS .

In addition, the mounting guide unit 158 can also use as guide information a sentence that indicates how to move the sensor housing 111 to eliminate the position difference. For example, this sentence is "Rotate the sensor housing 30 degrees forward." The mounting guide unit 158 can display an image including such a sentence on the display 122 or the like. The mounting guide unit 158 can also generate a sound including the above-mentioned sentence from the information processing device 120, and if the sensor housing 111 has a speaker, the sound including the above-mentioned sentence can be generated from the biosignal measuring device 110.

Furthermore, the mounting guide unit 158 can use vibrations that indicate how to move the sensor housing 111 to eliminate the position difference as guide information. If the information processing device 120 or the sensor housing 111 is equipped with a vibration generating mechanism, the mounting guide unit 158 can present how to move the sensor housing 111 to eliminate the position difference using these vibration patterns. For example, when the user is moving the sensor housing 111 and the mounting position is approaching the target position, the mounting guide unit 158 can present how to move the sensor housing 111 to eliminate the position difference by gradually increasing the vibration, etc.

In addition, the mounting guide unit 158 can generate various types of guide information indicating how to move the sensor housing 111 to eliminate the position difference and present it to the user. Note that the mounting guide unit 158 may guide the movement of the sensor housing 111 until the position difference _θD becomes zero, or may stop the guidance when the position difference _θD becomes sufficiently small. Furthermore, the mounting guide unit 158 may generate guide information indicating that it is not necessary to move the sensor housing 111 when the signal quality index at the initial mounting position _θS is sufficiently high.

In this way, in the biosignal measurement system 100, the user is shown how to move the sensor housing 111 to eliminate the position difference, and after the user aligns the sensor housing 111 with the target position, the biosignal is measured. Because the user is shown a specific way to move the sensor housing 111, it is possible to reduce the burden on the user and ensure signal quality.

[Modification]
We will now explain modified examples of the biosignal measuring system 100. Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a method for identifying the relative position of the organism and the sensor by a biosignal measuring device 110 according to modified example 1. A plurality of distance sensors 171 are housed in the sensor housing 111. The distance sensors 171 are sensors that measure the distance between the sensor housing 111 and a target site, and detect the distance L between the sensor housing 111 and the ear Y as shown in the figure.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing the functional configuration of the biosignal measurement system 100 in this case. The relative position determination unit 153 can determine the bio-sensor relative position based on the output of the distance sensor 171, i.e., the distance L. Specifically, the relationship between the position of the sensor housing 111 with respect to the ear Y and the distance L is stored in advance in the relative position determination unit 153. This allows the relative position determination unit 153 to determine the bio-sensor relative position from the distance L in the calibration phase or the wearing guiding phase.

17 is a schematic diagram showing a method for identifying the relative position of the organism-sensor by the biosignal measuring device 110 according to the modified example 2. An acoustic sensor 172 is housed in the sensor housing 111. The acoustic sensor 172 is a sensor that measures the acoustic reflection characteristics of a target site, and as shown in the figure, it can detect the acoustic reflection characteristics by the ear Y by emitting a sound wave W _T and receiving a reflected wave W _R at the ear Y.

In this case, too, as shown in FIG. 16, the relative position determination unit 153 can determine the bio-sensor relative position based on the output of the acoustic sensor 172, i.e., the acoustic reflection characteristics. Specifically, the relationship between the position of the sensor housing 111 relative to the ear Y and the acoustic reflection characteristics is stored in advance in the relative position determination unit 153. This allows the relative position determination unit 153 to determine the bio-sensor relative position from the acoustic reflection characteristics in the calibration phase or the wearing guiding phase.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram showing a method for identifying the bio-sensor relative position using the biosignal measuring device 110 according to variant example 3, and shows a captured image G (see FIG. 3) of a user U wearing the biosignal measuring device 110 captured by the camera 121. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing the functional configuration of the biosignal measuring system 100 in this case. The relative position identification unit 153 can identify the bio-sensor relative position based only on the captured image G captured by the camera 121.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, the relative position identification unit 153 can detect the head H and sensor housing 111 of the user U by image processing of the captured image G, and identify the bio-sensor relative position. This allows the relative position identification unit 153 to identify the bio-sensor relative position from the captured image G in the calibration phase or the wearing guiding phase. The bio-posture identification unit 152 may also detect a bio-part other than the head H in the captured image G, and identify the bio-sensor relative position based on that position, or may directly detect the ear Y to identify the bio-sensor relative position.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a method for determining the relative position of the bio-sensor using a biosignal measuring device 110 according to variant example 4. The relative position of the bio-sensor may include not only the angle of the sensor housing 111 relative to the ear Y, but also the insertion depth of the sensor housing 111 relative to the ear Y. This insertion depth can be detected by a distance sensor 173 housed in the sensor housing 111, as shown in the figure.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 16, the relative position identification unit 153 can detect the insertion depth of the sensor housing 111 based on the output of the distance sensor 173. The relative position identification unit 153 may also detect the insertion depth of the sensor housing 111 using a pressure sensor or contact resistance sensor instead of the distance sensor 173. By detecting the angle of the sensor housing 111 using the various methods described above, the relative position identification unit 153 can identify the bio-sensor relative position based on both the angle and insertion depth of the sensor housing 111.

In this fourth variant, the reference information (see FIG. 7) includes the insertion depth information as well as the angle θ in the relative position between the living body and the sensor, so the attachment guide unit 158 can guide the movement of the sensor housing 111 from the attachment position to the target position with respect to the insertion depth as well as the angle θ.

[Hardware configuration]
A hardware configuration capable of realizing the functional configuration (see FIG. 2) of the biosignal measurement system 100 according to this embodiment will be described below. FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing this hardware configuration.

As shown in the figure, the biosignal measurement system 100 incorporates a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1001 and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) 1002. An input/output interface 1006 is connected to the CPU 1001 and GPU 1002 via a bus 1005. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 1003 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1004 are connected to the bus 1005.

Connected to the input/output interface 1006 are an input unit 1007 consisting of input devices such as a keyboard and mouse through which the user inputs operation commands, an output unit 1008 which outputs a processing operation screen and images of the processing results to a display device, a storage unit 1009 consisting of a hard disk drive or the like for storing programs and various data, and a communication unit 1010 consisting of a LAN (Local Area Network) adapter and the like for executing communication processing via a network such as the Internet. Also connected is a drive 1011 which reads and writes data to a removable storage medium 1012 such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, or semiconductor memory.

The CPU 1001 executes various processes according to a program stored in the ROM 1003, or a program read from a removable storage medium 1012 such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, or semiconductor memory and installed in the storage unit 1009, and loaded from the storage unit 1009 to the RAM 1004. The RAM 1004 also stores data necessary for the CPU 1001 to execute various processes, as appropriate. The GPU 1002 executes calculations necessary for image drawing under the control of the CPU 1001.

In the biosignal measurement system 100 configured as described above, the CPU 1001 loads a program stored in the storage unit 1009, for example, into the RAM 1004 via the input/output interface 1006 and the bus 1005, and executes the program, thereby performing the above-mentioned series of processes.

The program executed by the biosignal measurement system 100 can be provided by recording it on a removable storage medium 1012 such as a package medium, for example. The program can also be provided via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting.

In the biosignal measurement system 100, the program can be installed in the storage unit 1009 via the input/output interface 1006 by attaching the removable storage medium 1012 to the drive 1011. The program can also be received by the communication unit 1010 via a wired or wireless transmission medium and installed in the storage unit 1009. In addition, the program can be pre-installed in the ROM 1003 or storage unit 1009.

The programs executed by the biosignal measurement system 100 may be programs that are processed chronologically in the order described in this disclosure, or may be programs that are processed in parallel or at the required timing, such as when called. Furthermore, the entire hardware configuration of the biosignal measurement system 100 does not have to be mounted on a single device, and the biosignal measurement system 100 may be made up of multiple devices. Furthermore, part of the hardware configuration of the biosignal measurement system 100 may be mounted on multiple devices connected via a network.

[About this disclosure]
The effects described in this disclosure are merely examples and are not limited thereto, and other effects may be present. The description of multiple effects above does not mean that these effects are necessarily exhibited simultaneously. It means that at least one of the effects described above can be obtained depending on conditions, etc., and effects not described in this disclosure may also be exhibited. It is also possible to combine at least two of the characteristic parts described in this disclosure.

This technology can also be configured as follows:

(1)
a sensor housing including a biosignal sensor for measuring a biosignal at a target site that is a specific site of a living body, and a relative position identifying unit for identifying a relative position of the target site;
a signal quality determination unit that determines a signal quality, which is the quality of the biological signal output from the biological signal sensor;
a reference information generating unit that generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality;
a mounting guide section that guides a mounting position of the sensor housing relative to the target site and a manner of moving the sensor housing based on the reference information.
(2)
The information processing device according to (1),
A biosignal measuring device, wherein the attachment guide portion guides the movement of the sensor housing from the attachment position to a target position, which is a relative position between the sensor housing and the target part where the quality of the biosignal is improved compared to the attachment position.
(3)
The information processing device according to (2),
The biosignal measuring device further includes a position difference determination unit that identifies the target position based on the reference information and determines a position difference that is the difference between the target position and the mounting position, and the mounting guide unit guides how to move the sensor housing based on the position difference.
(4)
The information processing device according to (3),
The position difference determination unit determines, as the target position, a position where the signal quality is highest among the relative positions between the sensor housing and the target part.
(5)
The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (4),
The relative position specifying unit specifies the relative position based on an output of an acceleration sensor included in the sensor housing, an output of an acceleration sensor included in an external terminal, and an image captured by the external terminal.
(6)
The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (4),
The relative position specifying unit specifies the relative position based on an image captured by an external terminal.
(7)
The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (4),
The relative position specifying unit specifies the relative position based on an output of a distance sensor or an acoustic sensor included in the sensor housing.
(8)
The information processing device according to any one of (5) to (7),
The relative position specifying unit further specifies the relative position based on an output of a pressure sensor or a contact resistance sensor provided in the sensor housing.
(9)
The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (8),
The target area is an ear,
The sensor housing is connected to a fixing member, and the fixing member is inserted into an ear canal to thereby attach the biosignal measuring device to the ear.
(10)
The information processing device according to (9),
The mounting guide portion guides the angle of the sensor housing relative to the ear portion.
(11)
The information processing device according to (10),
The attachment guide portion further provides guidance regarding the insertion depth of the sensor housing into the ear portion.
(12)
The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (11),
the biological signal is a pulse wave signal,
The biosignal measuring device, wherein the biosignal sensor is a pulse wave signal sensor.
(13)
The information processing device according to (3),
The mounting guide section presents to a user guide information indicating how to move the sensor housing to eliminate the position difference.
(14)
The information processing device according to (13),
The guide information is an image in which the attachment position is marked in a graph of a signal quality index versus the relative position.
(15)
The information processing device according to (13),
The guide information is an image or sound including a sentence indicating how to move the sensor housing to eliminate the position difference.
(16)
The information processing device according to (13),
The guide information is vibration that represents a manner of moving the sensor housing to eliminate the position difference.
(17)
The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (16),
The biological signal measuring device further comprises a reference information storage unit that stores the reference information.
(18)
a sensor housing including a biosignal sensor for measuring a biosignal at a target site that is a specific site of a living body, and a relative position identifying unit for identifying a relative position of the target site;
a signal quality determination unit that determines a signal quality, which is the quality of the biological signal output from the biological signal sensor;
a reference information generating unit that generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality;
an attachment guide unit that guides a manner of moving the sensor housing based on an attachment position of the sensor housing with respect to the target site and the reference information.
(19)
The information processing device according to (18),
an information processing device comprising: a storage unit that stores a program for operating the information processing device as the relative position specifying unit, the signal quality determining unit, the reference information generating unit, and the mounting guide unit.
(20)
A sensor housing including a biosignal sensor for measuring a biosignal at a target site that is a specific site of a living body;
a relative position specification unit that specifies a relative position between the sensor housing and the target site;
a signal quality determination unit that determines a signal quality, which is the quality of the biological signal output from the biological signal sensor;
a reference information generating unit that generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality;
a mounting guide section that guides a mounting position of the sensor housing relative to the target site and a manner of moving the sensor housing based on the reference information.

Reference Signs List 100: Biosignal measurement system 110: Biosignal measurement device 111: Sensor housing 112: Biosignal sensor 113: Acceleration sensor 114: Fixing unit 120: Information processing device 121: Camera 122: Display 123: Acceleration sensor 151: Housing orientation identification unit 152: Bioposition identification unit 153: Relative position identification unit 154: Signal quality determination unit 155: Reference information generation unit 156: Reference information storage unit 157: Position difference determination unit 158: Mounting guide unit 171: Distance sensor 172: Acoustic sensor 173: Distance sensor

Claims (20)

a sensor housing including a biosignal sensor for measuring a biosignal at a target site that is a specific site of a living body, and a relative position specifying unit for specifying a relative position of the target site;
a signal quality determination unit that determines a signal quality, which is the quality of the biological signal output from the biological signal sensor;
a reference information generating unit that generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality;
a mounting guide section that guides a mounting position of the sensor housing relative to the target site and a manner of moving the sensor housing based on the reference information. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 1,
A biosignal measuring device, wherein the attachment guide portion guides the movement of the sensor housing from the attachment position to a target position, which is a relative position between the sensor housing and the target part where the quality of the biosignal is improved compared to the attachment position. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 2,
a position difference determination unit that determines the target position based on the reference information and determines a position difference between the target position and the mounting position;
The mounting guide section guides how to move the sensor housing based on the position difference. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 3,
The position difference determination unit determines, as the target position, a position where the signal quality is highest among the relative positions between the sensor housing and the target part. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 1,
The relative position specifying unit specifies the relative position based on an output of an acceleration sensor included in the sensor housing, an output of an acceleration sensor included in an external terminal, and an image captured by the external terminal. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 1,
The relative position specifying unit specifies the relative position based on an image captured by an external terminal. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 1,
The relative position specifying unit specifies the relative position based on an output of a distance sensor or an acoustic sensor included in the sensor housing. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 5,
The relative position specifying unit further specifies the relative position based on an output of a pressure sensor or a contact resistance sensor provided in the sensor housing. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 1,
The target area is an ear,
The sensor housing is connected to a fixing member, and the fixing member is inserted into an ear canal to thereby attach the biosignal measuring device to the ear. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 9,
The mounting guide portion guides the angle of the sensor housing relative to the ear portion. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 10,
The attachment guide portion further provides guidance regarding the insertion depth of the sensor housing into the ear portion. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 1,
the biological signal is a pulse wave signal,
The biosignal measuring device, wherein the biosignal sensor is a pulse wave signal sensor. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 3,
The mounting guide section presents to a user guide information indicating how to move the sensor housing to eliminate the position difference. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 13,
The guide information is an image in which the attachment position is marked in a graph of a signal quality index versus the relative position. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 13,
The guide information is an image or sound including text that indicates how to move the sensor housing to eliminate the position difference. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 13,
The guide information is vibration that represents a manner of moving the sensor housing to eliminate the position difference. The biological signal measuring device according to claim 1,
The biological signal measuring device further comprises a reference information storage unit that stores the reference information. a sensor housing including a biosignal sensor for measuring a biosignal at a target site that is a specific site of a living body, and a relative position specifying unit for specifying a relative position of the target site;
a signal quality determination unit that determines a signal quality, which is the quality of the biological signal output from the biological signal sensor;
a reference information generating unit that generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality;
an attachment guide unit that guides a manner of moving the sensor housing based on an attachment position of the sensor housing with respect to the target site and the reference information. 20. The information processing device according to claim 18,
an information processing device comprising: a storage unit that stores a program for operating the information processing device as the relative position specifying unit, the signal quality determining unit, the reference information generating unit, and the mounting guide unit. A sensor housing including a biosignal sensor for measuring a biosignal at a target site that is a specific site of a living body;
a relative position specification unit that specifies a relative position between the sensor housing and the target site;
a signal quality determination unit that determines a signal quality, which is the quality of the biological signal output from the biological signal sensor;
a reference information generating unit that generates reference information by associating the relative position with the signal quality;
a mounting guide section that guides a mounting position of the sensor housing relative to the target site and a manner of moving the sensor housing based on the reference information.

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