Swallowing simulation apparatus and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10049602-B2
Application number	US-201314387531-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2013
Priority date	Mar 27, 2012
Publication date	Aug 14, 2018
Grant date	Aug 14, 2018

Abstract

A swallowing simulation apparatus that facilitate approximately reproducing an actual phenomenon of swallowing and allows quantifying a physical quantity related to a behavior and a physical property of an orally-ingested product is provided. The swallowing simulation apparatus 100 A comprises a head-and-neck modeling unit 10 configured to form a dynamic three-dimensional model of the head-and-neck 10 a that includes head-and-neck organs, an organ movement setting unit 30 configured to set movements of the respective head-and-neck organs in the dynamic three-dimensional model of the head-and-neck, an orally-ingested-product physical-property setting unit 40 configured to set an orally-ingested product as an analysis target and a physical property of the orally-ingested product, an input unit 81 configured to input a pseudo-orally-ingested product 20 formed by modeling the orally-ingested product to an oral cavity, a movement analysis unit 50 configured to analyze the movements of the respective head-and-neck organs in the dynamic three-dimensional model of the head-and-neck 10 a and a behavior of the pseudo-orally-ingested product 20 during swallowed in a three-dimensional space using a particle method, and a display unit 82 configured to display an analysis result of the movements of the respective head-and-neck organs and the behavior of the pseudo-orally-ingested product during swallowed that are analyzed by the movement analysis unit 50 on a movement screen.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A swallowing simulation apparatus, comprising:
an input unit;
a display unit;
a storage unit; and
a computer storing, in a non-transitory computer readable medium, a swallowing simulator software including instructions which, when executed by the computer, causes the computer to control a head-and-neck modeling unit, an organ movement setting unit, an orally-ingested-product physical-property setting unit, and a movement analysis unit, and causes the computer to control:
the head-and-neck modeling unit to form a dynamic three-dimensional model of a head-and-neck that includes head-and-neck organs;
the organ movement setting unit to set a movement of each of the head-and-neck organs in the dynamic three-dimensional model of the head-and-neck;
the orally-ingested-product physical-property setting unit to set an orally-ingested product as an analysis target and a physical property of the orally-ingested product;
the input unit to input a pseudo-orally-ingested product formed by modeling the orally-ingested product to an oral cavity;
the movement analysis unit to analyze the movement of each of the head-and-neck organs in the dynamic three-dimensional model of the head-and-neck and a behavior of the pseudo-orally-ingested product during swallowed, in a three-dimensional space using a particle method; and
the display unit to display an analysis result of the movement of each of the head-and-neck organs and the behavior of the pseudo-orally-ingested product during swallowed that are analyzed by the movement analysis unit, on a movement screen

wherein:
the storage unit stores, in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the dynamic three-dimensional model of the head-and-neck and the analysis result,
the computer controls the head-and-neck modeling unit to set the head-and-neck organ as a polygon or as a polygon and particles, and
the computer controls the movement analysis unit to treat the pseudo-orally-ingested product as particles,
the computer controls the head-and-neck modeling unit to set a model of a tongue as one of the head-and-neck organs to have a structure divided into n pieces of sector portions in a near-far direction, wherein n is an integer from 3 to 7, while a mental region of a mandible as an origin of a genioglossus is set to a pivot of sector, and
the computer controls the organ movement setting unit to set movements of organs such that each of the sector portions is configured to vibrate in cooperation with one another while vibrations of different sector portions have predetermined phase differences in a radial direction so as to perform a traveling wave movement by movements of organs to transport the pseudo-orally-ingested product toward a far-side direction.

2. The swallowing simulation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the head-and-neck modeling unit is configured to form the model of the tongue having a structure where dome shape portions of each of the sector portions overlaps with a dome shape portion of another such that a gap is not formed between the sector portions when each of the sector portions vibrates, the dome shape portion being for forming a surface of the tongue, further the head-and-neck modeling unit is configured to form the model of the tongue having the structure where a tongue surface portion that has both right and left sides extending in the radial direction and has a depression in a central portion between the right and left sides is overlapped with each of the sector portions, and each of the sector portions vibrates in a radial direction in the depression of the tongue surface portion in a static condition; and
the organ movement setting unit is configured to set movements of organs such that each of the sector portions rotates by a predetermined angle toward a far side in a circumferential direction during swallowing and then the pseudo-orally-ingested product is pushed toward a far side by the sector portion at a farthest side of the tongue at an end of swallowing.

3. The swallowing simulation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the head-and-neck modeling unit is configured to set the model of the head-and-neck having a structure where the head-and-neck includes a tongue, a palate, a pharynx, a larynx portion, a trachea and a gullet, the larynx portion is divided into an epiglottis and a larynx, an esophageal entrance of the gullet is configured to be closed before swallowing is started, and the esophageal entrance is configured to extend and the pharynx is configured to contract during swallowing; and
the organ movement setting unit is configured to set movements of organs such that the larynx is configured to be moved in a direction to the mental region of the mandible to open the esophageal entrance, the pharynx is configured to contract, and then the epiglottis is configured to be rotated by a predetermined angle toward the far side during swallowing so as to close an entrance of the larynx.

4. The swallowing simulation apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the orally-ingested-product physical-property setting unit is configured to set a plurality of pseudo-orally-ingested products of liquid, semisolid, or solid as the analysis target, the pseudo-orally-ingested products having different physical properties; and
the movement analysis unit is configured to determine free surfaces of the plurality of pseudo-orally-ingested products and boundaries between the plurality of pseudo-orally-ingested products so as to analyze an interlocking behavior of the plurality of pseudo-orally-ingested products.

5. The swallowing simulation apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
an evaluation/diagnosis unit configured to evaluate or diagnose easiness of eating and/or easiness of drinking of the orally-ingested product based on the behavior of the pseudo-orally-ingested product during swallowed on the movement screen, wherein
the movement screen is a virtual movement screen formed in a virtual space by the swallowing simulation apparatus to simulatively display the analysis result of the movement of each of the head-and-neck organs and the behavior of the pseudo-orally-ingested product during swallowed that are analyzed by the movement analysis unit, and
the evaluation/diagnosis unit is configured to make evaluation or diagnosis based on whether or not a behavior of the pseudo-orally-ingested product in the virtual movement screen satisfies a predetermined condition.

6. The swallowing simulation apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an evaluation/diagnosis-result recording unit configured to record an evaluation result or a diagnosis result related to easiness of eating and/or easiness of drinking of the orally-ingested product based on the analysis result of the behavior of the pseudo-orally-ingested product during swallowed; and
a physical property determiner configured to determine a physical property of the orally-ingested product regarded as appropriate based on the evaluation or diagnosis result recorded in the evaluation/diagnosis-result recording unit.

7. An orally-ingested-product development assistance apparatus, comprising:
the swallowing simulation apparatus according to claim 6 ;
an orally-ingested-product prototype result recording unit configured to record a result of an experimental production performed under an appropriately-set production condition to have the physical property determined as appropriate by the physical property determiner; and
a production condition determiner configured to determine a production condition that sets a physical property of the orally-ingested product to the physical property determined as appropriate by the physical property determiner based on a prototype result recorded in the orally-inge

Assignees

• Meiji Co Ltd
• Michiwaki Yukihiro
• Meiji Co Ltd

Inventors

• Michiwaki Yukihiro
• Hanyuu Keigo
• Kamiya Tetsu
• Toyama Yoshio
• Murakami Rika

Classifications

• A61B5/4205

  Evaluating swallowing · CPC title

• A61C19/045

  for recording mandibular movement, e.g. face bows · CPC title

• G09B23/28 Primary

  for medicine · CPC title

• G09B23/32 Primary

  with moving parts · CPC title

• A61C11/00

  Dental articulators, i.e. for simulating movement of the temporo-mandibular joints; Articulation forms or mouldings · CPC title