JPH0442946B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention makes it possible to accurately and quickly confirm the location of a vein with a simple operation, and also makes it possible to reliably insert a needle, etc. into the confirmed vein. This invention relates to a vein exploration device that can perform

(Prior Art) In order for a doctor or nurse to administer an intravenous injection or drip to a patient, they must first be able to confirm the exact position of the patient's vein where they will puncture the injection needle or catheter. The fat layer near the inner arm joint is relatively thin, making it relatively easy to identify veins.
Therefore, the upper arm is usually strangled with a rubber band or the like to stop the blood circulation in the veins, and the veins are expanded by blood pressure to confirm the position more accurately.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) Incidentally, the thicker the fat layer, the more difficult it is to confirm the position of the vein, and it may not be possible to confirm the position even if the above-mentioned rubber band or the like is used. When the location of the vein cannot be confirmed by simply squeezing the upper arm with a rubber band, the conventional methods of warming the arm or probing the vein with the tip of a needle are used, but this requires skill and requires a lot of effort from the patient. There was a problem that caused great pain. Furthermore, routine procedures performed on hospitalized patients at night are made more difficult by performing them in the dim light. Furthermore, it is difficult to perform emergency treatment.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances regarding confirmation of the position of a vein, and allows the position of a vein to be confirmed accurately and quickly with a simple operation, and also to ensure that an injection needle or the like is inserted into the confirmed vein. The purpose is to provide a vein exploration device that can be pierced.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the vein exploration device of the present invention is configured as follows.

First, in the vein exploration device of the present invention, a cursor that can move laterally while contacting the skin is provided on a gripping fixed part that can grip the vicinity of the inner arm joint, and the cursor penetrates the skin and uses blood in the veins. A light emitting means for irradiating a narrow range with light of a wavelength that is absorbed by the light emitting means, and two light receiving means disposed on both sides of the light emitting means for receiving reflected light are provided. Comparing means for comparing outputs according to the amounts of light received by the light receiving means, and display means for displaying which of the two light receiving means has the weaker or the same amount of light received according to the output of the comparing means. ing.

The gripping and fixing portion may be C-shaped, and both ends thereof may be elastic.

Furthermore, elasticity at both ends of the gripping and fixing member may be set so that when the gripping and fixing part grips the area around the inner arm joint, the area around the inner arm joint is squeezed.

(Function) First, the light emitted from the light emitting means passes through the skin and is absorbed by the blood in the veins. Further, the light that is not irradiated to the veins is reflected by human tissues such as fat layers, and this reflected light passes through the skin again and is received by the light receiving means. The amount of reflected light changes depending on the position of the two light receiving means with respect to the vein,
The amounts of light received by the two light receiving means are different. That is,
The position of the vein can be confirmed by the difference in the amount of reflected light due to the difference in light absorption characteristics between the vein and other tissues. Therefore, a gripping and fixing part is gripped and fixed near the inner arm joint, and the cursor is moved laterally. Then, if the amounts of light received by the two light receiving means are different, the display means corresponding to the light receiving means receiving the weaker amount of light is displayed to indicate that the cursor is misaligned with respect to the position of the vein.
Further, if the amounts of light received by the two light receiving means are the same, this is displayed on the display means to indicate that the cursor is aligned with the position of the vein. Therefore, with the position of the vein indicated by the cursor, it is possible to reliably insert an injection needle or the like into the confirmed vein.

If the gripping and fixing part is made into a C-shape and has elasticity at both ends, the opening size can be widened against the elasticity, and the gripping and fixing part can be easily placed over the vicinity of the inner arm joint.

Furthermore, if the elasticity of both ends of the gripping and fixing part is used to squeeze the area around the inner arm joint, blood circulation in the veins will stop and the veins will expand due to blood pressure, making confirmation easier.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of one embodiment of the vein exploration device of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cursor of the vein exploration device in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cursor in FIG. This is a circuit diagram, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are diagrams showing that the display differs depending on the position of the cursor with respect to the vein.

First, in FIGS. 1 to 3, a cursor 12 is provided on a gripping/fixing part 10 which is C-shaped and has elasticity at both ends 10a, 10a, so as to be able to move laterally while contacting the skin. This gripping and fixing part 10 has a size that allows it to grip the vicinity of the inner arm joint, and the elasticity of both ends 10a, 10a slightly constricts the vicinity of the inner arm joint when gripped, thereby stopping the venous blood circulation.

A light emitting element 14 such as an LED or a lamp as a light emitting means that emits wavelength light in the red or infrared region (700 nm to 2000 nm) is placed in the center of the cursor 12 so as to illuminate the skin spot-wise in a narrow range. be done. Moreover, this light emitting element 14
Light receiving means 16, 16 such as a phototransistor or a photodiode are arranged on both sides parallel to the direction of movement, as light receiving means for receiving wavelength light in the red to infrared range. The light-receiving elements 16, 16 are arranged with their optical axes at a slight angle so as to intersect with the irradiation direction of the light-emitting element 14, and are designed to receive only reflected light from a predetermined direction. There is.

Further, a display means 18 indicating the positional relationship between the cursor 12 and the vein and a power operation switch 20 are provided on the outer circumferential wall of the casing 10b of the gripping and fixing part 10, and a battery and a circuit (not shown) for the driving power source are installed inside the casing 10b. is stored in.

Next, the circuit of this device will be explained with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 4, LED 3 as the light emitting element 14
0 and the collectors of the phototransistors 32 and 34 as the light receiving elements 16 and 16 are at a voltage of +V.
It is connected to the. The cathode of the LED 30 is grounded via a resistor. Further, the emitters of phototransistors 32 and 34 are connected to the bases of transistors 36 and 38, respectively. The collectors of these transistors 36, 38 are at voltage +
Connected to V. The emitter of one transistor 36 is grounded through a resistor and connected to the negative input terminal of a differential amplifier 40 through another resistor. Further, the emitter of the other transistor 38 is grounded via a resistor and connected to the +input terminal of the differential amplifier 40 via another resistor. The positive input terminal of the differential amplifier 40 is connected to a slider of a variable resistor for offset adjustment to which voltages +V and -V are connected at both ends. Further, the − input terminal and output terminal of the differential amplifier 40 are connected via a feedback resistor. Note that the LED 30, phototransistors 32, 34, and transistor 3
6 and 38 constitute a photointerrupter means 42, and a differential amplifier 40 constitutes a comparison means 44.

Further, the output terminal of the differential amplifier 40 is connected to a first low-pass filter 46 having a cutoff frequency of 5 Hz. And this low pass filter 46
The output terminals of are connected in antiparallel through a resistor.
Connected to one end of LED 48, 50, these
The other ends of the LEDs 48 and 50 are grounded.

Furthermore, the output terminal of the low-pass filter 46 is 2
It is connected to the − input terminal and the + input terminal of two differential amplifiers 52 and 54, respectively. The other + input terminal and - input terminal of these differential amplifiers 52 and 54 are
A slider of a variable resistor for detecting width adjustment having voltages +V and -V connected to both ends thereof is connected to each of the sliders. The output terminals of the two differential amplifiers 52 and 54 are connected in the forward direction through diodes 56 and 58, respectively, and the connection point thereof is further connected to the base of a transistor 60 through a resistor. The base of this transistor 60 is grounded via a resistor, the emitter is also grounded, and the collector is connected to the voltage +V via a resistor and to the anode of the LED 62 via another resistor. this
The cathode of LED 62 is grounded. Note that a window comparator 64 includes the differential amplifiers 52 and 54, diodes 56 and 58, and a transistor 60. Further, LEDs 48 and 50 are arranged on both sides of the LED 62 to form the display means 18. And in Figure 4,
66 shows the skin, and 68 is a cross section of a vein.

The operation of the vein exploration device of the present invention having such a configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

First, both ends 10a, 10a of the gripping and fixing part 10
The opening size is expanded against the elasticity and the area is placed around the inner arm joint. Then, the gripping and fixing part 10 grips the vicinity of the inner arm joint due to the elasticity of both end portions 10a, 10a, and is fixedly attached. Here, the area around the inner arm joint is slightly constricted by the elasticity of the grip, stopping blood circulation in the vein 68, and the vein 68 expands due to blood pressure. At this point, the power operation switch 20 is turned on.
Then, the LED 30 serving as the light emitting element 14 irradiates the skin 66 with wavelength light in the red to infrared region in a spot-like manner, transmits through the skin 66, and irradiates the vein 68 or other tissue. Here, the irradiated light is absorbed by deoxyhemoglobin contained in the blood flowing in the vein 68. In addition, the irradiated light irradiated to other tissues is reflected and returned to the skin 66.
The light passes through and is received by phototransistors 32 and 34 as light receiving elements 16 and 16.

By the way, the properties of the light irradiated to the skin 66, which is transmitted through the skin 66, absorbed by the skin 66, and further reflected by the surface, are significantly different depending on the wavelength. Near-ultraviolet light is largely absorbed by the stratum corneum, and visible light is largely reflected on the surface of the skin 66. Furthermore, wavelength light in the red or infrared region (700nm ~
2000 nm) is relatively less absorbed and reflected by the skin 66 and easily passes through the dermis. And when the wavelength becomes relatively large infrared rays (3000nm),
Absorption in the stratum corneum increases again. Furthermore, while other human tissues such as fat layers have reflective properties for light with wavelengths in the red to infrared range, the blood within the veins 68 has unique light absorption properties. For this purpose, by irradiating light with wavelengths in the red or infrared region,
The difference in the amount of light reflected from the vein 68 and other tissues becomes the largest.

Therefore, if the cursor 12 of this device is slightly shifted to the left from the vein 68 as shown in FIG. 5a,
When the amount of light received by the right phototransistor 32 is significantly smaller than the amount of light received by the left phototransistor 34, a large positive voltage is output from the differential amplifier 40, and is applied to the window comparator 64 and the LEDs 48, 50 via the low-pass filter 46. Given. Here, since the absolute value of the output voltage is large, the collector of the transistor 60 of the window comparator 64 is at "L" level, and the LED 62 does not light up. Further, since the output of the low-pass filter 46 is a positive voltage, only the one LED 50 disposed on the right side to which the forward voltage is applied is lit, as shown in FIG. 5b. Then, it can be confirmed that the cursor 12 of this device is slightly shifted from the vein 68 by lighting the LED 50 arranged on the right side.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6a, when the cursor 12 of this device is moved slightly to the right and matches the position of the vein 68, the amount of light received by the two phototransistors 32 and 34 is equal and weak, and the amount of light received by the differential amplifier 40 is Zero or very small output voltage is output. For this reason, the low-pass filter 46 also outputs zero or extremely small output voltage. The LEDs 48 and 50 do not light up because the applied voltage is zero or too small. Further, the collector of the transistor 60 of the window comparator 64 becomes "H" level, and the LED 60 arranged in the center
When a forward voltage is applied to , as shown in Fig. 6b,
Light. By lighting up the LED 62 located at the center, it can be easily confirmed that the cursor 12 of the present device is located on the vein 68.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7a, if the cursor 12 of the present device is moved slightly to the right from the vein 68, the amount of light received by the phototransistor 34 on the left side becomes significantly smaller than the amount of light received by the phototransistor 32 on the right side. For this reason, a large negative voltage is output from the differential amplifier 40, and the low-pass filter 46
Window comparator 64 and LED 48 through
given to 50. Here, since the absolute value of the output voltage is large, the collector of the transistor 60 of the window comparator 64 is at "L" level and the LED
62 does not light up. In addition, a low pass filter 46
Since the output of is a negative voltage, only the other LED 48 located on the left side to which the forward voltage is applied is lit, as shown in FIG. 7b. and,
By lighting the LED 48 placed on the left side,
It can be seen that the cursor 12 of this device is slightly shifted to the right from the vein 68.

In this way, move the cursor 12 of this device across the vein 68 near the medial arm joint, and turn on the LED.
By stopping the cursor 12 at the position where 62 lights up, the presence of the vein 68 under the arrow marked at the center of the cursor 12 can be accurately and quickly confirmed with a simple operation. Then, by puncturing the skin 66 under the arrow of the cursor 12 with the needle or catheter while the LED 62 is lit, the vein 6
8 can be inserted with a syringe needle.

Note that the low-pass filter 46 functions to prevent external light such as an indoor lighting lamp that is turned on using a commercial frequency voltage from being output as noise. and,
In the above embodiment, it has been explained that the battery as the driving power source is housed in the housing 10b of the gripping and fixing part 10, but the invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the commercial frequency voltage may be used as the driving power source. . Also,
The gripping and fixing part 10 is not limited to the C-shape, but may be an elastic ring shape. Furthermore, a circumferential protrusion may be provided on the inner periphery of the gripping/fixing part 10 to more reliably stop the blood circulation in the vein 68 near the inner arm joint. Furthermore, the gripping and fixing part 10
The elasticity at both ends does not have to stop the blood circulation in the vein 68, just to securely attach the device near the inner arm joint.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the vein exploration device of the present invention is configured as described above, it exhibits excellent effects as described below.

First, by gripping and wearing this device near the inner arm joint and moving the cursor laterally, the position of the vein can be confirmed accurately and quickly based on the display state of the display means. Then, you can accurately insert a needle or catheter into a vein while pointing the cursor to the location of the vein.

If the gripping and fixing part is made C-shaped and has elasticity at both ends, the opening size can be widened against the elasticity of both ends, and the device can be easily fixed near the inner arm joint. be able to.

Furthermore, if the elasticity of the grip and fixation part is used to squeeze the area around the inner arm joint and stop the blood circulation in the veins, the veins will expand due to blood pressure, similar to when the upper arm is squeezed with a conventional rubber band, and the veins can be checked. becomes easier.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of one embodiment of the vein exploration device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cursor of the vein exploration device of FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of the cursor in the figure.
This figure is a circuit diagram of the vein exploration device of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are diagrams showing that the display differs depending on the position of the cursor with respect to the vein. 10: Grip fixing part, 10a: Both ends, 12: Cursor, 14: Light emitting element, 16: Light receiving element, 1
8: Display means, 44: Comparison means, 64: Window comparator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A cursor that can move laterally while in contact with the skin is provided on the gripping fixed part that can grip the vicinity of the inner arm joint, and the cursor has a cursor that transmits light through the skin and is absorbed by blood in the veins. A light emitting means for irradiating a narrow range with wavelength light of a certain wavelength, and two light receiving means disposed on both sides of the light emitting means to receive reflected light are provided. It is characterized in that it is configured by providing a comparison means for comparing outputs according to the amount of received light, and a display means for displaying which of the two light receiving means has a weaker or the same amount of light received according to the output of the comparison means. Vein exploration device. 2. The vein exploration device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping and fixing part has a C-shape and has elastic structure at both ends thereof. 3. The vein according to claim 2, wherein the elasticity of both ends of the grasping and fixing part is set so that when the vicinity of the inner arm joint is grasped by the grasping and fixing part, the vicinity of the inner arm joint is squeezed. Exploration equipment.