Seiko Instruments Inc

Seiko Instruments R & D Center Inc.

Hiroyuki Muramatsu

Masataka Shinogi

Hiroshi Odagiri

Takahiko Nakamura

Kouji Kawaguchi

Tatsuru Sato

Tokuya Akase

Seiji Kuwahara

Minao Yamamoto

Shunichi Tanaka

Takashi Nakamura

Tatsuro Sato

Seiji Kuwabara

Takashi Kamimoto

Koji Kawaguchi

Atsuya Akase

A blood rheology measuring apparatus has a measuring portion for measuring a flow velocity of the blood flowing in a blood vessel of a person in a mode of a Doppler shift signal by transmitting and receiving a wave to and from a surface of the person's skin. An information processing portion calculates an intensity at each of frequency components of the Doppler shift signal, extracts a maximum frequency in a signal at an intensity level equal to or larger than a threshold in the histogram or a maximum frequency when an integrated value from a low frequency component reaches a predetermined rate of a total thereof in the histogram, and provides a temporal change waveform of the extracted frequency. The blood rheology is analyzed by an area value of a portion at and above a line connecting a minimum value of one pulse waveform and a minimum value of a successive pulse waveform of the frequency waveform.

Blood rheology measuring apparatus

A blood rheology measuring apparatus has a measuring portion for measuring a flow velocity of the blood flowing in a blood vessel of a person in a mode of a Doppler shift signal by transmitting and receiving a wave to and from a surface of the person's skin. An information processing portion calculates an intensity at each of frequency components of the Doppler shift signal, extracts a maximum frequency in a signal at an intensity level equal to or larger than a threshold in the histogram or a maximum frequency when an integrated value from a low frequency component reaches a predetermined rate of a total thereof in the histogram, and provides a temporal change waveform of the extracted frequency. The blood rheology is analyzed based on the maximum frequency in the frequency waveform.

There is provided a pulse detecting device which resists fluctuations in the quality by locating an ultrasound transmitting piezoelectric element and an ultrasound receiving piezoelectric element with high precision. In the pulse detecting device, a detection sensitivity of the pulse is improved. A transmitting piezoelectric element and a receiving piezoelectric element are fixed onto a substrate by electrodes. The transmitting piezoelectric element is excited in response to an inputted drive voltage signal to generate an ultrasound and transmits the generated ultrasound to a living body. The receiving piezoelectric element receives an echo produced by reflecting the ultrasound transmitted into the living body by a blood flow of the living body and converts it into a voltage signal. A processing arithmetic unit compares the frequency of the ultrasound generated by the transmitting piezoelectric element with that of the echo received in the receiving piezoelectric element to thereby detect a pulse.

Pulse detecting device and ultrasound diagnostic apparatus

In a method of calculating circulation dynamics of a living body, a resistance component corresponding to a shape of a blood vessel in the living body is derived using previously obtained values of viscosity, pressure and flow rate of blood flowing in the blood vessel. Information corresponding to the viscosity of the blood is calculated using the derived resistance component.

Method of calculating circulation dynamics of a living body

A piezoelectric transducer comprises: a substrate having first and second substrate electrodes forming input and output terminals, and one or more piezoelectric elements for transmitting a supersonic wave to an object to be measured and receiving a reflected wave from the object. The piezoelectric elements are arranged on the substrate and have a first surface electrode connected to the first substrate electrode and a second surface electrode connected to the second substrate electrode via a conductive member. An acoustic matching layer is superposed on the piezoelectric elements for efficiently propagating the supersonic wave on the second surface electrode. The conductive member has a thickness not more than that of the acoustic matching layer and is embedded in the acoustic matching layer.

Piezoelectric transducer, manufacturing method of piezoelectric transducer and pulse wave detector

A pulse detection device has a base plate having a first main surface disposable against a part of a living body during use of the pulse detection device, a second main surface disposed opposite the first main surface, and a channel formed in the second main surface. A first piezoelectric element is disposed in the channel of the base plate for transmitting an ultrasonic signal toward an artery in the living body. A second piezoelectric element is disposed in the channel of the base plate for receiving the ultrasonic signal transmitted by the first piezoelectric element and reflected by the artery.

Pulse detection device and method of manufacturing the same

An ultrasonic diagnostic device has an ultrasonic sensor having a substrate, a piezoelectric element mounted on the substrate for generating an ultrasonic wave to be transmitted into a living body in accordance with an input drive signal, and an intimate contact layer having a first main surface disposed in contact with the piezoelectric element and a second main surface opposite the first main surface for contacting a part of the living body. The intimate contact layer is formed of a flexible material such that the second main surface of the intimate contact layer is brought into close contact with the part of the living body so that no air gaps exist between the second main surface of the intimate contact layer and the part of the living body. A driver circuit generates an input drive signal to drive the piezoelectric element. A biological information detection portion detects biological information relating to the interior of the living body in accordance with the ultrasonic wave transmitted into the living body and an ultrasonic wave reflected from the interior of the living body. A display portion displays the biological information detected by the biological information detection portion.

Ultrasonic sensor, method of fabricating same, and ultrasonic diagnostic device using an ultrasonic sensor

An ultrasonograph capable of diagnosing a region with high sensitivity has a sensor provided with an ultrasound sending unit for sending ultrasound to the region and an ultrasound receiving unit for receiving ultrasound waves reflected from the region, a band for holding the sensor from a back side thereof relative to the diagnosed region and positioning a front side of the sensor against the diagnosed region, an information acquisition unit for acquiring information about the diagnosed region based on the reflected waves received by the ultrasound receiving unit, and an ultrasound-attenuating portion interposed between the sensor and the band for attenuating propagation of external noise from the band to the sensor and attenuating propagation of ultrasound signals through the band.

Ultrasonograph

A print head has a reduced power size or increased print speed that can be operated at a lower voltage or higher speed and can maintain high-quality output printing free from thinned portions. During intervals between printing operations while a print paper is being fed, pulses are applied to all print electrodes to maintain a uniform potential difference between each of the print electrodes and a counter electrode so that an electric charge is supplied to the ink meniscus. Consequently, a sufficient Coulomb force to permit ink droplets to be ejected is obtained. Therefore, during printing operations, the supplied energy can be reduced and electric charge on the ink surface can be retained. Hence, ink droplets can be ejected stably without nonuniformities.

Ink printer

In an electrostatic acceleration type ink jet recording apparatus, when a voltage is preliminarily applied to ink to adjust the width of ink raises, a dedicated drive circuit has been necessary or dedicated electrodes have been necessary for forming the ink raises. According to a recording apparatus of the present invention, machining such as chamfering or steps is provided to a support body having a slit-like opening portion or, alternatively, a surface treatment such as coating an oil repellent solvent to a portion to be machined. Due to such a constitution, the width of the ink raises in the lateral direction of the opening portions can be made constant without using a method such as an electric driving so that a stable printing of dots is ensured. Further, by increasing the ink raise width in the vicinity of a central portion of the opening portion than at end portions of the opening portion, it becomes possible to prevent the diameter of dots to be printed from becoming non-uniform in the longitudinal direction of the opening portion.

Recording head and image recording apparatus utilizing said recording head

A recording head has a head portion having a common electrode, an ink chamber for storing ink, and an ink ejection port. A counter electrode is disposed opposite to and spaced-apart from the common electrode and proximate the ink ejection port of the head portion to form a gap between the counter electrode and the ink ejection port for receiving a recording medium. The counter electrode has recording electrodes extending generally perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the common electrode. A power source applies a voltage between the common electrode and the counter electrode to generate an electric field therebetween. A control circuit independently controls the voltage applied to each of the recording electrodes to generate an electrostatic force for electrically charging the ink disposed in the ink chamber so that the electrically charged ink flows from the ink chamber, is ejected through the ejection port, and is outputted onto the recording medium.

Recording head and image recording apparatus utilizing the recording head

There is provided a recording apparatus capable of outputting an image which is not provided with nonuniformity of printing, stable and provided with high quality by realizing a recording head for maintaining a shape of a meniscus of ink always in a proper state without carrying out highly accurate back pressure control. Hence, a shape of front ends of base plates forming a slit-like opening portion is constituted by a shape of a wedge directing a sharpened front portion thereof to a recorded medium. Further, an inclined face portion in the shape of the wedge is subjected to a water repellant or an oil repellant processing. Or, there is constructed a constitution of providing an ink discharge mechanism for discharging extra ink at an end face portion at outside of a printing area of the base plate constituting the slit-like opening portion.

In an ink jet recording head for an ink jet recording apparatus, insulating members are arranged between adjacent ones of a plurality of recording electrodes so that electric discharge is made less likely to occur across the recording electrodes. Thus, even where the density of the recording electrodes in the head is set high in order to achieve high resolution, ink can be stably jetted. Further, the ink can be supplied to the front end of the head without increasing a static pressure which acts on the ink in such a manner that the insulating members are disposed only in the vicinities of the front ends of the recording electrodes while the discharge withstand voltage across the adjacent recording electrodes is increased.

Ink jet recording head, and ink jet recording apparatus employing the same

In a pulse wave detecting device for detecting a pulse wave by use of an ultrasonic wave, in order to prevent attenuation of the ultrasonic wave caused by a gap formed between the pulse wave detecting device and the user's skin, a transmitter for generating an ultrasonic wave and a receiver are formed on a support substrate so as to protrude therefrom. Consequently, the transmitter and receiver contact a surface of the skin and no gap is formed between the surface of the skin and the pulse wave detecting device. A pulse wave detecting device high in detection accuracy is thus realized without the need for applying a gel between the skin and a detecting surface of the device.

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Chiba, Japan

Hiroyuki Muramatsu