Earphone-Type Occlusal Force Estimation Device Development

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K12828
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 90130:Medical systems-related
• Research Institution: Yasuda Women's University (2020-2021); Hiroshima City University (2019)
• Principal Investigator: Taniguchi Kazuhiro 安田女子大学, 家政学部, 教授 (30448047)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 西川 敦 大阪大学, 基礎工学研究科, 教授 (20283731)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 咬合力計測 / イヤホン型センサ / 外耳道 / 光学式計測

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We intend to develop earphone-type wearable devices to measure occlusal force by measuring ear canal movement using an ear sensor that we developed. The proposed device can measure occlusal force during eating. In this work, we simultaneously measured the ear canal movement (ear sensor value), the surface electromyography (EMG) of the masseter muscle and the occlusal force six times from five subjects as a basic study toward occlusal force meter development. Using the results, we investigated the correlation coefficient between the ear sensor value and the occlusal force, and the partial correlation coefficient between ear sensor values. Additionally, we investigated the average of the partial correlation coefficient and the absolute value of the average for each subject. The absolute value results indicated strong correlation, with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.94 for all subjects.

Free Research Field

ウェアラブル機器

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

従来の咬合力計測装置は、口の中に圧力センサを入れて行うものや顎や頬に電極を張り付け筋電位を計測しその値から咬合力を推定するものであった。前者は口の中にセンサを入れるため食事中の計測が不可能であり、後者は機器の取り扱いに専門知識が必要であり、さらに咀嚼筋や頬の動きを電極が拘束している。
我々の研究成果は、従来研究とは異なり特別な専門知識を持たない一般のユーザ自身が簡便な装置を用いて食事中の咬合・咀嚼のモニタリングができる装置の開発につながる。