Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a heart sound of a living subject, including a pressure-pulse-wave sensor which is adapted to be worn on a body portion of the subject that is distant from a chest of the subject, detects a pressure pulse wave produced by an artery of the body portion, and generates a pressure-pulse-wave signal representing the detected pressure pulse wave; and a heart-sound extracting device for extracting, from the pressure-pulse-wave signal generated by the pressure-pulse-wave sensor, a heart-sound component representing the heart sound of the subject.

Abstract: Vascular endothelial function in terms of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of peripheral arteries can be assessed reliably by measuring beat-to-beat pulse-wave conduction time (PCT) simultaneously for two symmetric segments of arteries locating on the right and left sides of body. When reactive hyperemia is induced in the peripheral tissues on one side, the time dependent changes in PCT caused by FMD on that side can be detected as the beat-to-beat differences in PCT between two sides (?PCT). ?PCT would provide a sensitive and specific assessment of the FMD response, because the influences of the systemic changes in hemodynamic and neurohumoral factors common to both sides are subtracted out. In addition, measurement of PCT requires no skillful technique and is advantageous in that the apparatus is inexpensive.

Abstract: An ankle-blood-pressure measuring apparatus for measuring a blood pressure of an ankle of a living subject, including an inflatable cuff which is adapted to be worn on the ankle of the subject; a cuff-pressure changing device which decreases a pressure in the cuff from a pressure higher than a systolic blood pressure of the ankle; a distal-pulse-wave detecting device which is adapted to be worn on a distal portion of the subject that is located on a distal side of the ankle and detects a distal pulse wave produced from the distal portion; an increasing-point detecting device for detecting at least one increasing point where a magnitude of the distal pulse wave continuously detected by the distal-pulse-wave detecting device when the pressure of the cuff is decreased by the cuff-pressure changing device, significantly increases; and an ankle-blood-pressure determining device which determines a pressure of the cuff when the increasing-point detecting device detects the second increasing point, as a systolic bloo

Abstract: In each of the information processing apparatuses connected to each other via a network, there is arranged a quality of service (QOS) table to which functions and performance thereof are registered. When an information processing apparatus is additionally linked with the network, a QOS table thereof is automatically registered to a local directory of the network such that an agent converts the contents of the QOS table into service information to be supplied via a user interface to the user. Thanks to the operation, information of functions and performance of each information processing apparatus connected to the network is converted into service information for the user. Consequently, the user can much more directly receive necessary services.

Abstract: A blood pressure measuring apparatus having an inflatable cuff including a first inflatable bag adapted to be worn on a body portion of a living subject so as to exclude blood from an artery located in the body portion, and a second inflatable bag adapted to be worn on the body portion, on a distal side of a middle portion of the first inflatable bag, so as to detect a pulse wave produced from the artery, a first piping which is connected to the first inflatable bag, a second piping which is branched from the first piping and is connected to the second inflatable bag, a pump which supplies an inflating fluid to the first and second inflatable bags via the first and second pipings, respectively, a blood pressure determining device which determines a blood pressure of the subject based on the pulse wave detected through the second inflatable bag when a pressing pressure of the first inflatable bag is changed, and a switching device which is provided in the second piping and which selectively switches the second

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a heart sound of a living subject, including a pressure-pulse-wave sensor which is adapted to be worn on a body portion of the subject that is distant from a chest of the subject, detects a pressure pulse wave produced by an artery of the body portion, and generates a pressure-pulse-wave signal representing the detected pressure pulse wave; and a heart-sound extracting device for extracting, from the pressure-pulse-wave signal generated by the pressure-pulse-wave sensor, a heart-sound component representing the heart sound of the subject.

Abstract: A circulatory-organ evaluating apparatus for evaluating a circulatory organ of a living subject, including a display device, and a control device which controls the display device to simultaneously and graphically display a blood pressure, an augmentation index, and pulse-wave-velocity-related information of the subject.

Abstract: A blood-pressure estimating apparatus, including a pulse-wave detecting device which detects a pulse wave from a portion of a living subject, a blood-pressure measuring device which includes an inflatable cuff adapted to be worn on the portion of the subject and measures, with the cuff, a diastolic blood pressure and a systolic blood pressure of the portion of the subject, and a mean-blood-pressure estimating device which converts, based on a minimum magnitude and a maximum magnitude of the pulse wave detected by the pulse-wave detecting device and the diastolic and systolic blood pressure measured by the blood-pressure measuring device, a magnitude of a gravity center of an area defined by the pulse wave into an estimated mean blood pressure of the portion of the subject.

Abstract: In each of the information processing apparatuses connected to each other via a network, there is arranged a quality of service (QOS) table to which functions and performance thereof are registered. When an information processing apparatus is additionally linked with the network, a QOS table thereof is automatically registered to a local directory of the network such that an agent converts the contents of the QOS table into service information to be supplied via a user interface to the user. Thanks to the operation, information of functions and performance of each information processing apparatus connected to the network is converted into service information for the user. Consequently, the user can much more directly receive necessary services.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring an inferior-and-superior-limb blood-pressure index of a patient, including an inferior-limb blood-pressure measuring device, a superior-limb blood-pressure measuring device, an index determining device for determining the inferior-and-superior-limb blood-pressure index, based on a blood pressure of an inferior limb measured by the inferior-limb blood-pressure measuring device and a blood pressure of a superior limb measured by the superior-limb blood-pressure measuring device, an inferior-limb-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information, obtaining device which obtains inferior-limb-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, an upper-half-body-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related-information obtaining device which obtains upper-half-body-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information, and an evaluation-information obtaining device for obtaining, based on the inferior-limb-pulse-wave-propagation-velocity-related information and the upper-half-body-pulse-wave-

Abstract: A blood-pressure measuring apparatus including a cuff which is adapted to be worn on a portion of a living subject to press the portion, a waveform analyzing device for analyzing a form of a cuff pulse wave which is obtained from the cuff, and a cuff-pulse-wave obtaining device for obtaining, before the cuff presses the portion of the subject for measuring a blood pressure of the subject, the cuff pulse wave from the cuff so that the waveform analyzing device analyzes the form of the cuff pulse wave.

Abstract: A plurality of physical information obtaining devices 10 and a statistical medical information providing apparatus 16 are connected to each other via a communication line 18, so that a set of measurement information including a set of physical information obtained by each of the physical information obtaining devices 10 from a patient, a set of device-related information that is related to the each obtaining device, and a set of patient-related information that is related to the patient, is transmitted to the providing apparatus 16. The statistical medical information providing apparatus 16 accumulates, one by one, the sets of measurement information transmitted from the physical information obtaining devices 10, in a measurement-information data base 34 of a memory device 32, and produces a set of statistical medical information based on the sets of measurement information stored in the data base 34.

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a heart sound of a living subject, including a memory device which stores heart-sound characteristic information which is characteristic of a heart sound of the subject, a heart-sound sensor which is adapted to be worn on a body portion of the subject that is distant from a chest of the subject and which detects, from the body portion, a physical signal containing a heart-sound component and supplies the physical signal, and a heart-sound determining device for determining, based on the heart-sound characteristic information stored in the memory device, the heart-sound component contained in the physical signal.

Abstract: A first thermistor 8 and a second thermistor 9 are arranged forwardly and rearwardly of a thermopile sensor 5. A thermopile chip 55 is arranged and interposed between the first thermistor 8 and an integrated thermistor 57. A sensor cover is mounted in contact with front and side portions of a can portion 59 of a thermopile casing 56. A temperature or a radiant quantity of infrared rays on the front portion of the can portion is estimated from a temperature change of the integrated thermistor per second.

Abstract: A communication apparatus capable of being connected to networks of a plurality of types, comprising a network discrimination table for discriminating an incoming network of a call setup message, a routing table for selecting an outgoing network of the call setup message, and a control unit for rewriting the contents of an address field and a sub-address field of the received call setup message on the basis of the routing table and transmitting the resultant message to the outgoing network.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring a blood pressure of a living subject, including an inflatable cuff which has an inside surface adapted to contact a body surface of the subject and an outside surface exposed to an ambient air, and which is adapted to be wound around a portion of the subject to press the portion of the subject, a temperature sensor which is provided in the inside surface of the cuff and detects, in a state in which the cuff is wound around the portion of the subject, a temperature of the portion of the subject, and a display device which displays the temperature of the portion of the subject detected by the first temperature sensor.

Abstract: An ankle-blood-pressure measuring apparatus for measuring a blood pressure of an ankle of a living subject, including an inflatable cuff which is adapted to be worn on the ankle of the subject; a cuff-pressure changing device which decreases a pressure in the cuff from a pressure higher than a systolic blood pressure of the ankle; a distal-pulse-wave detecting device which is adapted to be worn on a distal portion of the subject that is located on a distal side of the ankle and detects a distal pulse wave produced from the distal portion; an increasing-point detecting device for detecting at least one increasing point where a magnitude of the distal pulse wave continuously detected by the distal-pulse-wave detecting device when the pressure of the cuff is decreased by the cuff-pressure changing device, significantly increases; and an ankle-blood-pressure determining device which determines a pressure of the cuff when the increasing-point detecting device detects the second increasing point, as a systolic bloo

Abstract: A blood-pressure measuring apparatus including a cuff which is adapted to be worn on a portion of a living subject to press the portion, an augmentation-index determining device for determining an augmentation index of the subject based on a cuff pulse wave obtained from the cuff, and a cuff-pulse-wave obtaining device for obtaining, during a pressing period in which the cuff presses the portion of the subject for measuring a blood pressure of the subject, the cuff pulse wave from the cuff so that the augmentation-index determining device determines the augmentation index based on the obtained cuff pulse wave.

Abstract: An augmentation-index measuring apparatus including a cuff which is adapted to be worn on a portion of a living subject to press the portion, an augmentation-index determining device for determining an augmentation index of the subject based on a cuff pulse wave obtained from the cuff, and a preliminary pressing device for preliminarily pressing, before the cuff pulse wave is obtained, for the determination of the augmentation index, from the cuff having a pulse-wave detection pressure, the portion of the subject using the cuff having a pressure higher than the pulse-wave detection pressure.

Abstract: A blood flow amount estimating apparatus 10 which determines a cervical systolic blood pressure CBP(SYS) of a living subject, based on a brachial systolic blood pressure BBP(SYS) and a cervical pulse wave wc of the subject; determines, based on the cervical pulse wave and a heart sound of the subject, a pulse wave propagation velocity PWV as information related to sclerosis or hardness of a carotid artery 46 of the subject; and displays, in a two-dimensional graph 106 which is defined by a first axis 102 indicative of pulse wave propagation velocity PWV and a second axis 104 indicative of cervical systolic blood pressure CBP(SYS) and which indicates that blood flow amount changes with respective changes of cervical systolic blood pressure CBP(SYS) and pulse wave propagation velocity PVV, a symbol 108 representing the actually determined cervical systolic blood pressure CBP(SYS) and the actually determined pulse wave propagation velocity PWV, so that an observer can estimate, from the position of the symbol 10