JPH0224136B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a spasticity measuring device that can safely and accurately measure the degree of spasticity.

[Conventional technology]

A spasticity measurement method is known in which the degree of spastic rigidity (hereinafter referred to as spasticity) of a subject is measured by forcibly moving the subject's limb to be measured and measuring the resistance force generated at that time. In the conventional method of measuring spasticity, the examiner places his/her hand on the test subject's upper or lower limb, rotates it around the joint, and subjectively measures the rotational resistance received from the test subject's limb. Since the degree of spasticity is determined by judgment, there are disadvantages such as not only the rotational speed of the measuring limb being inconsistent but also only subjective data being obtained.

On the other hand, in order to improve the objectivity of spasticity measurement,
A spasticity measuring device 1 shown in FIG. 4 has been proposed,
A measuring limb is connected in parallel to a rotating arm 4 connected to a torque shaft 3 of a dynamometer 2 via an attachment 6 with a strain sensor 5, and the rotating arm 4 is forcibly rotated by mechanical force. Based on the rotational resistance of the measuring limb detected by the strain sensor 5 at that time,
I was trying to measure spasticity.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The conventional spasticity measuring device 1 described above forcibly rotates the rotating arm 4 by the power of the dynamometer 2,
Spasticity is measured based on the subject's resistance to rotation of the measurement limb at that time, which has the advantage of being able to rotate the measurement limb at a nearly constant speed, unlike manual measurement. Since the rotating arm 4 rotates regardless of the adaptation status of the limb, if you want to interrupt the measurement work mid-rotation, you may want to rotate the measuring limb that cannot respond immediately or that cannot adapt to the set rotation speed. There were problems such as causing the test subject to move the measuring limb, rotating the rotating arm beyond the range of motion of the measuring limb, and risking putting strain on the subject's measuring limb, making it practically unusable. .

Further, the conventional spasticity device 1 described above has a rotating arm 4.
Since the attachment 6 attached to the strain sensor 5 is fixed to the rotating arm 4, torsional force is inevitably applied to the strain sensor 5 as the measuring limb rotates, resulting in problems such as easy measurement errors.

[Means for solving problems]

This invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and includes a speed-limiting type load device that limits the rotation of a torque shaft exceeding a preset speed, and a speed-limiting type load device that is connected to the torque shaft and that causes strain on the measurement limb of the subject. A rotating arm that is connected in parallel via a sensor, and a rod that is integrally connected to this rotating arm and is pushed and moved by the examiner to rotate the rotating arm. The main points are as follows.

[Effect]

In this invention, a rotating arm connected to the torque shaft of a speed-limiting load device is connected in parallel to the test subject's measuring limb via a strain sensor, and the tester moves a rod that is integrally connected to the rotating arm. As a result, the rotating arm is driven to rotate at a constant speed, and the subject's spasticity is measured from the subject's rotational resistance force detected by the strain sensor during the rotation period.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Figures 1 to 3
The figures are a schematic perspective view, a front view of main parts, and a side view of main parts, respectively, showing an embodiment of the spasticity measuring device of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the spasticity measuring device 11 uses a speed-limiting load device 12 that limits rotation of the torque shaft 13 exceeding a preset speed.
A U-shaped rod 15 is connected to the rotating arm 14 at the tip of the torque shaft 13, and a bearing 18 is provided at the connection between the strain sensor 16 and the attachment 17.
The attachment 17 is configured to be able to freely rotate around its axis relative to the rotation arm 14. The strain sensor 16 is connected to a dynamic strain meter amplifier device 19, and this dynamic strain meter amplifier device 19 is connected to an indicator recorder 21 along with an angle amplifier device 20 that amplifies the rotation angle output of the rotating arm 14. It has been done.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a grip 15a is formed at the tip of the U-shaped rod 15, and the attachment 17 includes a pad 17a that softens the contact with the ankle and an ankle fixation pad 17a. A band 17b for use is provided.

When measuring spasticity, speed-limiting loading device 1
Attach the rotating arm 14 to the torque shaft 13 of No. 2,
An attachment 17 is attached to this rotating arm 14. The torque axis 13 of the speed-limiting type loading device 12 and the joint center of the subject's limb to be measured are aligned, and the limb to be measured, which is applied to the pad 17a at the ankle, is connected to the band 17b.
At the same time, fix the thigh to a bed or stool to prevent the center of the joint of the limb to be measured from shifting during the measurement.

Next, a speed adjustment knob (not shown) of the speed-limited load device 12 is operated to set the measured speed to a desired value. When the measurement preparations are completed in this way, the examiner grasps the grip 15a of the U-shaped rod 15 and moves the rod 15 with force, aiming for a speed faster than the set speed. At this time, the speed limiting type load device 12 limits the speed so that the rotational speed of the rotating arm 14 becomes equal to the set speed.

Therefore, the rotating arm 14 rotates at a constant speed that is the same as the set speed due to the subject's arm strength, but if the subject has spasticity, a resistance force will be generated in the opposite direction to the rotating direction of the rotating arm 14. occurs. This resistance force is detected by the strain sensor 16 and sent to the indicator recorder 21 via the dynamic strain meter amplifier device 19.

The indicator recorder 21 records both the strain detected by the strain sensor 16 and the rotation angle of the rotation arm 14, so that the correlation between the bending angle of the subject's leg and the degree of spasticity can be grasped at a glance. .

Note that when the rotating arm 14 rotates, the attachment 17 rotates together with the inner ring of the bearing 18, so no torsional force or the like acts on the strain sensor 16, and therefore there is no true rotational resistance force. Only spasticity expressed as can be measured.

In addition, since the rotating arm 14 rotates only when the examiner uses his/her arm strength to move it, there is little danger compared to the conventional spasticity measuring device 1 that rotates the rotating arm 14 using mechanical force. Moreover, since the structure is such that the force applied by the tester to the rod 15 does not interfere with the strain sensor 5, the accuracy of the measured values obtained is extremely high.

In this manner, the spasticity measuring device 11 connects the rotating arm 14 connected to the torque shaft 13 of the speed-limited loading device in parallel to the measurement limb of the subject via the strain sensor 5, and By moving the rod 15 integrally connected to the tester 14, the rotating arm 14 is driven to rotate at a constant speed, and from the rotation resistance force of the subject detected by the strain sensor 16 during the rotation period, Since the configuration measures the spasticity of
is moved solely by the tester's physical strength, so it is easy to adjust the hand when it seems dangerous.Moreover, since the rotating arm 14 is driven accurately at a constant speed, highly accurate measurements are possible. .

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the rotating arm connected to the torque shaft of the speed-limiting load device is connected in parallel to the measurement limb of the subject via the strain sensor, and is integrated with the rotating arm. The subject's spasticity is measured from the subject's rotational resistance force detected by the strain sensor during the rotation period by rotating the rotating arm at a constant speed by the experimenter moving a rod connected to the Therefore, unlike conventional spasticity measurement devices in which the rotating arm is moved by mechanical rotating torque transmitted from the torque shaft, the rotating arm is moved solely by the arm strength of the examiner, and therefore, it is considered dangerous. Since it is easy to adjust the amount of rotation when moving, and the rotating arm is accurately driven at a constant speed, it has excellent effects such as being able to perform highly accurate measurements.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 are a schematic perspective view, a front view and a side view of essential parts, respectively, showing an embodiment of the spasticity measuring device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an example of a conventional spasticity measuring device. It is a schematic perspective view. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Spasticity measuring device, 12... Speed-limiting type loading device, 13... Torque shaft, 14... Rotating arm, 15... Rod.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A speed-limiting load device that limits rotation of the torque shaft exceeding a preset speed, and a rotating arm that is connected to the torque shaft and that connects the test subject's limb to be measured in parallel via a strain sensor. and a rod that is integrally connected to the rotating arm and is pushed and moved by the examiner to rotate the rotating arm.