PROJECTS

[Reference /引用はこちら]
Sarii Yamamoto, Kaori Ikematsu, Kunihiro Kato, Yuta Sugiura, Pinch Force Measurement Using a Geomagnetic Sensor, SII2024, IEEE/SICE. [DOI]

手指の筋力は手の疾患や治療、リハビリテーション方法の判断において重要な指標となる。しかし、手指の筋力測定の中でもピンチ測定の機器は医療用の高額なものが主で一般への普及が進んでいない。そこで本研究では磁石を埋め込んだ測定器具をスマートフォンのみを用いたピンチ測定の手法を提案する。力を加えることで磁石の位置が変化する測定器具を作成し、スマートフォン内蔵の磁気センサを用いて磁石とスマートフォンの距離による磁界の変化量からピンチ力の推定を行った。これにより、従来のピンチ測定器を用いずに安価な測定器具で日常的にピンチ力を測定することが可能となる。

Hand muscle strength, such as grip strength, pinch strength, and holding strength is an important indicator when determining hand diseases, treatment, and rehabilitation methods. However, pinch measurement devices for one type of hand muscle strength are expensive and primarily for medical purposes, so the general public does not typically use them. In this study, we propose a pinch measurement method that uses only a smartphone and a measurement device with an embedded magnet. We created a measurement device in which the magnet position changes when force is applied. We also used a magnetic sensor built into a smartphone to estimate pinch force based on the amount of change in the magnetic field from the distance between the magnet and the smartphone. Magnetic fields can be easily obtained from existing applications. This makes it possible to routinely measure pinch force using an inexpensive measuring device rather than a conventional pinch measuring device.