JP5083961B2 - Chewing ability measuring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a chewing ability measuring apparatus for measuring chewing ability using a food for measuring chewing ability.

  Mastication is an extremely important function in the oral cavity. As an objective evaluation method for the chewing ability, a fixed weight of food (peanut) that has been chewed is passed through a 10-mesh sieve, the dry weight of the remaining particles is measured, and the weight ratio between the remaining particles and the passed particles is evaluated. A determination method is known.

  Conventional foods for measuring chewing ability include raw rice, carrots, raisins, kamaboko, etc. in addition to peanuts, which have been used mainly in research fields. However, with these natural foods, quality control of the food is difficult, and peanuts etc. enter the denture base and cause pain, making it difficult to measure for the denture wearer, and the need to dry the bite piece It has many drawbacks such as extremely long measurement time of 1 hour or more.

  On the other hand, chewing gum, agar, wax and the like are used as substitute foods, and a method for evaluating the mixing ability has been devised. However, it is difficult to say that these methods reflect the physiological significance of chewing foods immediately before swallowing, which is an important function of the so-called stomatognathic system, in evaluating the most important chewing ability.

  In addition, with the current manual measurement method, it is difficult to accurately define the measurement conditions, and if the measurement environment and measurer are different, the accuracy and reproducibility of the measurement results are not necessarily high. There is a problem in generalization in society.

Therefore, the present inventors used gummy jelly as a food for measuring chewing ability, measured the concentration of gelatin or glucose eluted into the water from the surface of the bite fragment after mastication, and determined the surface area of the ground food after mastication from the concentration. Derived and developed a method for measuring masticatory ability using the surface area as an evaluation value of masticatory ability (Patent Document 1).
According to the method for measuring chewing ability, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate evaluation value of chewing ability by prescribing the washing time of the gummy jelly bite piece, the elution temperature of glucose, and the elution time.
WO2006 / 046377

  By the way, in the measurement of masticatory ability, group screening in various age groups from children to the elderly, from those with healthy teeth, to complete denture wearers, maxillofacial prosthetic patients, and postoperative jaw-and-mouth It is necessary to enable measurement according to the state of the teeth and the oral cavity for persons with movement disorders. To do so, change the content of gelatin, which is the component of gummy jelly that has been measured until now, to change the hardness and texture, or change the taste by changing the glucose content and sugar components. Will be needed.

  Under such circumstances, it is indispensable to develop a safe food for measuring chewing ability including any measurement object other than the gummy jelly component and to establish a measurement method using the food. At the same time, it is necessary to establish a system capable of minimizing the influence of technical errors on accuracy in addition to the purpose and environment of measurement.

  Therefore, as a result of intensive research, the present inventors have developed a gummy jelly to which a naturally derived pigment (for example, carotene) is added as a new chewing ability measurement food that can obtain higher measurement accuracy, and measuring the chewing ability of the gummy jelly. We have succeeded in establishing a method for measuring chewing ability for foods.

  The chewing ability measuring device according to the present invention is based on the chewing ability measuring method using the food for measuring chewing ability, washing the food for measuring chewing ability crushed by mastication, and the measurement target component (pigment) contained in the food ) And the work related to the concentration measurement of the eluted measurement target component is automated.

  The chewing ability measuring apparatus according to the present invention includes a washing means for washing the bite piece of the food for measuring mastication ability after mastication for a certain period of time, and a stirring means for stirring the bite piece after washing for a certain period of time in water at a constant temperature range. And a concentration measuring means for optically measuring the concentration of the pigment eluted from the bite fragment after stirring into the water, and chewing from the measured pigment concentration according to the relationship between the pigment concentration and the chewing ability evaluation value prepared in advance. Evaluation value deriving means for deriving a capability evaluation value.

For example, the cleaning means is constituted by a cleaning device that sprays cleaning water in a shower shape onto the bite piece of the food for measuring chewing ability after chewing.
The stirring means is composed of a light transmissive container, a water injection device for injecting a certain amount of water in a certain temperature range into the container, and a stirring device for stirring water and bite fragments in the container. The
The concentration measuring means comprises a light emitting element and a light receiving element that should be arranged on both sides of the container, and a voltage detecting means for detecting the output voltage of the light receiving element as a concentration.
Further, the evaluation value deriving means derives the surface area of the bite fragment from the output voltage of the light receiving element in accordance with the relationship between the voltage prepared in advance and the surface area of the bite fragment, and the derived surface area is used as a chewing ability evaluation value. To do.

According to the chewing ability measuring apparatus according to the present invention, it relates to the washing of the food for measuring chewing ability that has been crushed by chewing, the elution of the measurement target component (pigment) contained in the food, and the concentration measurement of the eluted measurement target component Work is automated. As a result, the surface area of the bite fragment after mastication can be derived accurately and simply in a short time (for example, within 2 minutes).
Therefore, the masticatory ability measuring apparatus according to the present invention enables accurate and highly reproducible measurement of masticatory ability anytime, anywhere, in various measurement environments and subject situations, and regardless of whether or not there is measurement experience. However, it can be easily performed, and has versatility that can be widely adapted to society.

  According to the chewing ability measuring apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to easily evaluate the chewing ability with high accuracy anytime, anywhere and to anyone. At present, in dental treatment, only the occlusal contact site is evaluated, but according to the chewing ability measuring device of the present invention, the chewing ability at each time point can be measured. It can also be used to evaluate the effects of dental treatment, and sharing information can be expected to increase patient understanding of dental treatment. It can also be used for group oral examinations of children and school children, and the developmental status of individual chewing ability can be evaluated with age. In addition, the ability to chew adults, elderly people, and outpatients and residents in nursing homes can be evaluated, and it can be used to provide meals according to individual chewing ability, and to provide eating, mastication, and swallowing guidance. As support for various social life, support for health management of the body and mouth for the enhancement of human life-long QOL and ADL can be expected.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
The chewing ability measuring apparatus according to the present invention employs a gummy jelly containing carotene derived from natural pigments, which has versatility that can be adapted to the measurement environment, and that is useful for future food development as a food for measuring chewing ability. The pigment concentration eluted from the surface of the gummy jelly bite fragment after mastication is optically measured, and the chewing ability evaluation value (the bite fragment surface) is derived from the measured pigment concentration.
Gummy jelly is a food containing gelatin that can be subdivided into a plurality of bite fragments by chewing.

  Gummy jelly containing carotene pigment, which is a food for measuring chewing ability, is sugar 25, starch syrup 15, maltose 25, sorbitol 6, hydrous glucose 10, gelatin 6, citric acid 1, orange transparent juice 6, orange flavor 0.2, water It has a composition of 5.3 and carotene pigment 0.5, and is molded into a block piece (5.5 g) of 20 mm × 20 mm × 10 mm. A gummy jelly that has been subjected to free mastication by the subject 30 times is defined as a chewing ability measurement target (gummy jelly bite fragment).

The chewing ability measuring apparatus according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, cleans the chewing gummi jelly bite piece for a certain period of time with tap water supplied to the measuring table (1) via the washing water supply hose (21). A cleaning device (2), a water injection device (3) in which tap water maintained in a constant temperature range by temperature control using a temperature sensor (31) is accommodated, and a water injection nozzle (32) of the water injection device (3) A stirrer (5) that stirs gummy jelly bite fragments for a certain period of time in tap water poured into a measuring container (not shown), and measures the concentration of the pigment eluted into the water from the surface of the gummy jelly bite fragments An optical sensor (4) and a control device (9) for deriving a gummy jelly surface area from the output voltage of the optical sensor (4) and outputting a measurement signal are provided. The measurement data output from the control device (9) is a cable. Then, it is supplied to a display device or a recording device (not shown).
The measurement part by the optical sensor (4) is covered with an external light shielding cover (40) so as to be opened and closed.

  The measurement table (1) includes a cleaning start switch (11) to be operated when cleaning by the cleaning device (2), water injection by the water injection device (3), stirring by the stirring device (5), and an optical sensor ( A measurement start switch (12) to be operated when the concentration measurement according to 4) is started, and a display (13) for displaying a measurement result (surface area of the gummy jelly bite fragment) are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning device (2) is pivotally supported on the measuring table (1) so that it can be opened and closed, and the water supplied from the cleaning water supply hose (21) to the cleaning water supply mechanism (not shown). Water is sprayed from the plurality of shower holes (22) toward the cleaning section (23) on the measurement table (1). A drainage part (24) is provided at the bottom of the washing part (23), and the tap water after washing is drained from the drainage part (24).

At the time of washing, as shown in FIG. 3, a filter (6) having a handle (61) is placed on the washing part (23), and the filter (6) is covered with gauze, and after mastication on the gauze Collect the gummy jelly bite fragment. Then, the cleaning device (2) is closed and the cleaning start switch (11) is turned on.
As a result, tap water is supplied from the cleaning water supply hose (21) to the cleaning device (2) for a certain period of time (30 seconds), whereby the plurality of shower holes (22) are transferred to the bite fragments on the filter (6). Tap water is jetted and the bite fragments are washed.

  The gummy jelly bite fragment after washing is transferred to the measurement container (7) shown in FIG. The measurement container (7) is made of transparent glass, and a stirrer (51) is installed at the bottom thereof. Then, the measurement container (7) containing the gummy jelly bite fragment is placed on the stirring device (5) shown in FIG. 1 (see FIG. 5).

The water injection device (3) includes a tank (not shown), a heater (not shown) for heating the tap water in the tank, a temperature sensor (31) for measuring the temperature of the tap water in the tank, and a water injection nozzle. (32), and the tap water in the tank is maintained in a certain temperature range (35 ± 1 ° C.) by the control of the control device (9).
When the measurement start switch (12) is turned on, a valve drive mechanism (not shown) operates, and a fixed amount (25 ml) of tap water is injected from the water injection nozzle (32) into the measurement container (7).

  The stirring device (5) drives the stirrer (51) in the measurement container (7), and a fixed amount (25 ml) of tap water is poured from the water injection nozzle (32) into the measurement container (7). It starts immediately after it is released, and automatically stops after a certain time (20 seconds).

As shown in FIG. 5, the optical sensor (4) has a U-shaped holder (43) with three types of light emitting diodes (41) emitting red, blue and green light and light from each diode. The light receiving element (42) which consists of three photodiodes which detect this is arranged oppositely.
The center wavelength and luminous intensity of each light emitting diode are as follows.
Red (R): 614-628 nm 87-122 mcd
Green (G): 520-525 nm 233-333 mcd
Blue (B): 465-470 nm 60-88 mcd
The light receiving wavelength of the photodiode is 190 nm to 1000 nm. The light receiving voltage is amplified by the light receiving circuit, and temperature compensation is performed by the temperature compensation circuit.

As shown in the drawing, with the measurement container (7) installed between the light emitting element (41) and the light receiving element (42), each light emitting diode of the light emitting element (41) has red (R), green (G ), Blue (B) light is emitted in a pulse form at a cycle of 50 times per second. The light emitted from each light emitting diode is transmitted through the measurement container (7) as shown in FIG. 6 and is incident on the light receiving element (42). The light receiving element (42) emits light for each of the red, green, and blue wavelengths. A voltage corresponding to the intensity of the light transmitted through the measurement container (7) is output.
From the light receiving element (42), 50 voltage data are obtained in one second for each wavelength of red, green and blue. These data are averaged to obtain an output voltage value.

As shown in FIG. 7, the controller (9) includes a timer (91) for measuring a predetermined time, the light emitting element (41), the light receiving element (42), the heater (34), and the temperature sensor (31). The washing water supply mechanism (25), the valve drive mechanism (33), and the stirring device (5) are connected.
The control device (9) converts the output voltage of the light receiving element (42) into the surface area of the gummy jelly bite for each of the red, green, and blue wavelengths, and a control program for executing a mastication ability measurement method described later. The conversion formula (regression formula) for this is stored.

In the measurement of the chewing ability using the above chewing ability measuring device, as shown in FIG. 8, first, in the first step S1, the gummy jelly bite piece is washed with water for 30 seconds by the washing device (2), and the bite piece surface is applied. Removes adhering saliva and blood.
Next, in the second step S2, after the water-washed bite piece is stored in the measurement container (7), tap water (35 ° C., 25 ml) is poured into the container (7), and the stirring device (5) Stir for 20 seconds. As a result, the dye to be measured is eluted in water and the concentration of the eluted dye is made uniform.

Subsequently, in the third step S3, the bite fragment after stirring is left in water for 1 second. As a result, the bite piece (8) in the measurement container (7) settles to the bottom as shown in FIG. In this state, light emitted from the light emitting element (41) passes through the measurement container (7) and enters the light emitting element (41). As a result, the dye concentration in the upper layer portion of the dye-eluting water (81) in the measurement container (7) is converted into a voltage by the light receiving element (42) and output.
Thereafter, in the fourth step S4, the surface area of the occlusal fragment is determined from the output voltage of the light receiving element (42) by using a regression equation (relationship between voltage and surface area) prepared in advance for each wavelength of red, green, and blue. The calculated result is displayed on the display (13) as a chewing ability evaluation value.

Next, the result of the examination with respect to each component configuration performed in the process of completing the mastication ability measuring apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
1. Effect of water washing time on output voltage The structure of the cleaning device (2) was originally designed to inject tap water from a single hole, but in order to enhance the cleaning effect, it was always changed to a shower structure. The system can obtain a certain cleaning effect, and has a structure that can appropriately discharge sewage after cleaning.

In addition, the effect of the washing time for washing off the dirt on the gummy jelly cut by chewing on the output voltage of the light receiving element was investigated. In FIG. 19, light of a specific wavelength from three types of light emitting diodes of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) passes through the dye-eluting water in the measurement container and is converted into a voltage by the photodiode. The output voltage is shown.
The gummy jelly was divided into 16 parts (surface area 4000 mm ² ), the washing temperature was 35 ° C., the washing time was 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 seconds, the elution temperature was 35 ° C., and the elution time was 20 seconds.

  As is clear from FIG. 9, in any of the light emitting elements, the voltage was significantly increased as the washing time was increased, but no significant difference was observed between the washing times of 30 seconds and 40 seconds. As a result, the washing time has a great influence on the voltage of the light receiving element, but it has become clear that a stable measurement result can be obtained by setting the washing time to 30 seconds.

2. Influence of water washing temperature on output voltage of light receiving element In order to investigate the influence of water washing temperature on the output voltage of light receiving element, the voltage of the light receiving element was measured at water washing temperatures of 26 ° C and 35 ° C. The gummy jelly was divided into 16 parts (surface area 4000 mm ² ), the washing temperature was 26 ° C. and 35 ° C., the washing time was 30 seconds, the elution temperature was 35 ° C., and the elution time was 20 seconds.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, no influence of the washing temperature was observed in any of the light emitting elements. Therefore, it is not necessary to adjust the temperature of the cleaning water supplied to the cleaning device (2) at room temperature, and tap water can be used as it is.

3. Conclusion in the water washing operation In the water washing operation to remove the dirt of the food that has been bitten, the water has been manually washed with tap water until now. The chewing ability measuring device of the invention adopts a shower type washing device (2), automates the washing operation, uniformizes the washing method and makes the washing time constant, thereby obtaining stable measurement data. It was possible.

4). Next, the effect of dye elution time on the output voltage of the light receiving element was examined. After automatic washing of gummy jelly bite pieces, place them in a measuring container, immediately inject 35 ° C. tap water, and stir for 20 seconds to elute the dye in water, and adjust the concentration of the eluted dye. Homogenized. Then, after leaving still for 1 second, the pigment | dye density | concentration of the upper layer part of pigment | dye elution water was converted into the voltage using the light emitting element and the light receiving element.
The gummy jelly was divided into 16 sections (surface area 4000 mm ² ), the washing temperature was 35 ° C., the washing time was 30 seconds, the elution temperature was 35 ° C., and the elution times were 10, 20, 30, and 40 seconds.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, in any of the three types of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) light emitting diodes, the output voltage decreases significantly as the elution time increases. It was found that the dye elution concentration increased with time in the light wavelength of each light emitting diode.
From this, in order to obtain high measurement accuracy, it is necessary to keep the measurement time of the dye elution concentration constant, and it can be seen that automatic concentration measurement is effective for this purpose.
However, when the elution time is longer than 40 seconds, the output voltage is greatly reduced, so that the measurement resolution when the mastication degree is high is lowered. On the other hand, if the elution time is shortened to 10 seconds or less, the maximum output voltage in the case of tap water containing no pigment is approached, so that the measurement resolution when the degree of mastication is low is lowered. Therefore, the elution time is preferably 20 seconds to 30 seconds. Here, 20 seconds was set in consideration of shortening of the measurement time.

5. Regarding the relationship between the output voltage of the light receiving element and the surface area of the bite fragment In the derivation of the regression equation for converting the output voltage of the light receiving element into the surface area of the bite fragment, the pigment-containing gummy jelly is equally divided into 2, 4 and 8 A plurality of samples having different surface areas were prepared by dividing into 16 and 32, and the elution concentration (output voltage of the light receiving element) was measured for each sample. The measurement conditions were set to the water washing time (30 seconds), elution temperature (35 ° C.), and elution time (20 seconds) that have been clarified as appropriate so far, and red (R), green (G), blue The output voltage of the light receiving element at each wavelength of (B) was detected, and regression analysis was performed on the relationship between these output voltages and the surface area of each sample. The result is shown in FIG.

In the regression analysis, a linear equation, a quadratic equation, a cubic equation, and a logarithmic equation were used as a regression equation. As a result, the following relational expression was obtained, where x was the gummy jelly surface area (mm ² ) and y was the output voltage (mV).
About red (R) y = -3E-08x ³ + 0.0003x ² -1.2089x + 2521
y = −667.95 Ln (x) +6218.5
y = −0.2279x + 1602.3
About green (G) y = -570.42Ln (x) +4871.5

As shown in FIG. 12, the correlation coefficient R ² shows a value of 0.9 or more in any regression equation, and an extremely high correlation is recognized between the output voltage of the light receiving element and the gummy jelly surface area. . This high correlation is obtained when mere tap water is used as water for eluting the dye, and it is not always necessary to use distilled water.

  For blue (B), the output voltage is significantly reduced due to the finer division of the gummy jelly and the higher dye concentration, and the light with the wavelength of blue (B) is difficult to pass through the dye-eluting water. I understand. Therefore, when the gummy jelly has a high degree of grinding, it can be said that measurement using red (R) or green (G) is desirable.

6). Conclusion on masticatory ability measuring device As is clear from the above examination results, according to the masticatory ability measuring device according to the present invention, the first step of washing the gummy jelly bite piece for 30 seconds and the predetermined bite piece after washing with water are predetermined. The second step of stirring for 20 seconds in water in the temperature range, and after leaving the bite piece after stirring for 1 second in water, measure the output voltage of the light receiving element at each wavelength of RGB multiple times, A third step of calculating the average value and a fourth step of converting the output voltage of the light receiving element into a bite fragment surface area using the above regression equation and using the value as a masticatory ability evaluation value are automatically performed. By carrying out, a highly accurate masticatory ability evaluation value can be obtained.

According to the masticatory ability measuring method using the masticatory ability measuring apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to easily measure the masticatory ability with high accuracy at any time, anywhere and in a short time.
Therefore, the masticatory ability measuring device of the present invention is provided to schools, medical institutions, care / welfare facilities, etc., and the results are objectively evaluated such as dietary guidance, dental treatment effect assessment, diagnosis of eating / swallowing disorders, and rehabilitation. It can contribute to public health promotion and QOL improvement.

  In addition, according to the chewing ability measuring apparatus of the present invention, gummy jelly, which is a daily food, is used for measurement, so that safety is high, and the physiological significance of chewing can be evaluated numerically faithfully. Therefore, it is possible to support body and mouth health management for the enhancement of QOL and ADL throughout human life.

  In addition, each part structure of this invention is not restricted to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the technical scope as described in a claim. For example, as a pigment to be added to gummy jelly, marigold pigment or paprika pigment can be used in addition to carotene.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the masticatory ability measuring apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows a washing | cleaning apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the state which installed the filter in the washing | cleaning apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the container for a measurement, and a stirrer. It is a perspective view which shows the positional relationship of an optical sensor and a measurement container. It is a figure which shows a mode that the light from a light emitting element permeate | transmits the container for a measurement, and injects into a light receiving element. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the masticatory ability measuring apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is process drawing which shows the masticatory ability measuring method using the masticatory ability measuring apparatus which concerns on invention. It is a graph which shows the influence which water washing time has on output voltage. It is a graph which shows the influence which washing temperature has on output voltage. It is a graph which shows the influence which elution time has on output voltage. It is a graph showing the relationship between a gummy jelly surface area and an output voltage.

Explanation of symbols

(1) Measuring table
(11) Cleaning start switch
(12) Measurement start switch
(13) Display
(2) Cleaning device
(21) Wash water supply hose
(22) Shower hole
(3) Water injection device
(31) Temperature sensor
(32) Injection nozzle
(4) Optical sensor
(40) External light shielding cover
(41) Light emitting device
(42) Light receiving element
(5) Stirrer
(51) Starr
(6) Filter
(7) Measuring container
(8) Bite fragment
(9) Control device

Claims (5)

On the measuring table,
A cleaning device for spraying cleaning water in a shower-like manner for a certain period of time on the bite piece of the food for measuring chewing ability after chewing ;
An installation part of a light transmissive container that should contain a bite fragment of a food for measuring chewing ability after mastication;
A water injection device for injecting a certain amount of water in a certain temperature range into the container on the installation unit;
A stirrer that stirs the water and the bite piece in the container for a certain period of time;
An optical sensor for optically measuring the concentration of the pigment eluted from the bite fragment after stirring into the water;
External light-blocking cover that covers the measuring part with an optical sensor so that it can be opened and closed
And are deployed,
The cleaning device, water injection device controls the stirrer and operation of the optical sensor according to the relationship between a prepared dye density and masticatory efficiency evaluation value, control to derive the chewing ability evaluation value from the measured dye concentration Comprising the device,
The optical sensor includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element arranged on both sides of the container installation part, and the light emitting element emits red, green, blue, red or green light. A masticatory ability measuring device, wherein the output voltage of the light receiving element is detected as a value corresponding to the pigment concentration . Wherein the control device, according to the relationship between the surface area of the previously prepared voltage and咬断piece, wherein deriving the surface area of咬断piece from the output voltage of the light receiving element, the derived surface area to claim 1, masticatory efficiency evaluation value The masticatory ability measuring device as described . The masticatory ability measuring device according to claim 2, wherein the control device defines a relationship between an output voltage of the light receiving element and a surface area of the bite piece according to a wavelength of light emitted from the light emitting element . The masticatory ability measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the food contains gelatin. The chewing ability measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the pigment is a carotene pigment.

Images