体脂肪・筋肉量測定を目的としたヘルスケア用超音波エコーの開発

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Body composition is one of the basic indices to evaluate a health condition. Therefore, we have developed a personal ultrasound imaging device, which is called Ubiquitous Echo, to measure the human body composition in the non-medical fields such as health care and sports science. The principal purpose of Ubiquitous Echo is to measure the thicknesses of fat and muscular layers in order to evaluate the human body composition. For this purpose, the specifications were determined while production costs reduced. The image size and resolution were regulated just enough to observe subcutaneous fat and muscular layers. The appropriate B-mode images are measured from a 64-element linear array transducer with a frequency of 6 MHz, and the acquired images are displayed on the screen of the personal computer. The spatial resolution of the image is approx. 3 [pixel/mm]. Practical guidance and sample images for 20 measurement points are provided in the system for supporting the operator. The minimum reading scale of tissue thickness is 1 [mm]. Ubiquitous Echo can be regarded as a monitoring device in our daily living although the specifications are inferior to the medical ultrasound imaging devices. We hope that the benefits of ultrasound imaging technology will be widely used, stimulating new proposals for academic studies and social services.
日本医療機器学会の論文
2008-03-01