JP2004032068A - Apparatus for imaging entire face - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for imaging an entire face for diagnosing a state of the face by evenly emitting an ultraviolet ray to the entire face, observing and imaging an ultraviolet ray reacting substances or liver spots in an initial stage hardly visible in a visual light existing on the face and analyzing them as required. <P>SOLUTION: An ultraviolet ray phosphor of about a circumferential shape is placed in a hood body one side of which is open and capable of covering the entire face, and an imaging camera is provided to nearly the center of the ultraviolet ray phosphor of about the circumferential shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for imaging a whole face state. More specifically, by irradiating the entire face with UV light on average, UV-reactive substances present on the face or early-stage stains that are difficult to see with visible light are observed and imaged, and analyzed if necessary. Further, the present invention relates to an apparatus for imaging a whole face state which diagnoses the state of the face of a subject.
[0002]
[Prior art]
It is known that Propionibacterium acne (Acne fungi), which causes acne, produces porphyrin. Porphyrin on the skin of the face is detected, and the presence of acne bacteria and the condition of the skin are determined from this. It has also been reported to examine it (Journal of the Cosmetic Society, Vol. 19, No. 1, 1-6). The detection of porphyrin is carried out by observing the red-orange fluorescence emitted by porphyrin excited when irradiated with ultraviolet light.
[0003]
On the other hand, the skin condition of the subject can be diagnosed by photographing or analyzing the fluorescence of porphyrin excited by irradiation with ultraviolet light, or the initial stain that is difficult to see with visible light, and in particular, the subject can be exposed to the face. The whole is effective because it is possible to diagnose and evaluate the state and degree of distribution of acne and spots on the entire face. Conventionally, for photographing porphyrin fluorescence emission with the entire face as a subject, a device in which four straight tube-shaped black lights are arranged in a square inside a light-shielding box or the like that can cover the entire face was manufactured. By irradiating ultraviolet light from black light to the face of the porphyrin, the fluorescence of the excited porphyrin is taken by means such as photographing with a polaroid camera or the like, and by observing the image obtained by photographing visually, The subject's face condition was diagnosed.
[0004]
However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, it is difficult to uniformly irradiate the entire face with the ultraviolet light, so that unevenness in the illumination of the ultraviolet light or the like is likely to occur. In addition, increasing the output of ultraviolet light to increase the luminescence of porphyrin would cause pain to the subject, so that only low illuminance can be used.Under such conditions, a polaroid camera or the like can be used. There was a limit to the sharpness of the fluorescent state of the porphyrin in the photographed image. As described above, it is difficult for the conventional imaging means to accurately image the skin state of the entire face, perform image analysis based on the image, and diagnose a subject.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, the present invention can uniformly irradiate the entire face of the subject with the ultraviolet light without any problem such as uneven illumination when imaging the state of the entire face by irradiating the ultraviolet light. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means that can clearly capture the fluorescent state of porphyrin on the face, or the initial spot state that is difficult to see with visible light, even under low illuminance or short illumination time conditions. Things.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present inventors have made intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, the above-mentioned problems have been solved by installing the ultraviolet light emitters in a circumferential shape and using a high-performance imaging camera. We have found that we can do this and completed the present invention.
[0007]
That is, the present invention provides a substantially circumferential ultraviolet light emitter and a camera for imaging substantially at the center of the circumferential ultraviolet light emitter in a hood body that is open on one side and can cover the entire face. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for imaging a whole face state, which is provided.
[0008]
The present invention also provides an apparatus for imaging a full face state, wherein the ultraviolet light emitter is a ring-shaped black light or an ultraviolet light emitting diode arranged in a substantially circumferential shape.
[0009]
Further, the present invention provides an apparatus for capturing an image of a whole face in which the minimum illuminance of the subject at the aperture value F = 1.2 is 0.5 lux or less.
[0010]
Still further, the present invention provides an apparatus for imaging a whole face state in which the imaging camera is a CCD camera or a C-MOS camera.
[0011]
Still further, the present invention provides an apparatus for imaging a whole face state, in which a visible light emitter is further provided in a hood body in the above apparatus.
[0012]
In addition, the present invention provides an apparatus for imaging a whole face state in which the imaging camera is further combined with an image analysis means.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings showing embodiments of the present invention.
[0014]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing one embodiment of the apparatus for imaging a full face state of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view thereof. In the figure, 1 is an apparatus for imaging a whole face state, 2 is a hood, 3 is a light shield, 4 is an open portion, 5 is an ultraviolet light emitter (ring-shaped black light 5a), 6 is a visible light emitter (visible light emission). Diodes (visible LEDs) 6a) and 7 are imaging cameras, 8 is an ultraviolet cut filter, 9 is a changeover switch, 10 is camera control means, 11 is an outlet, 12 is a support, and 13 is a monitor.
[0015]
The whole-face state imaging apparatus 1 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “apparatus”) shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has, as a basic configuration, a hood body 2 having a shape capable of covering the entire face of a subject. An ultraviolet light emitter 5 and a visible light emitter 6 for irradiating the face with light are provided, and an imaging camera 7 for imaging the state of the face is provided. Further, an ultraviolet cut filter 8 is attached between the subject's face and the imaging camera 7 (the front surface of the imaging camera 7).
[0016]
Of these, the ultraviolet light emitter 5 emits ultraviolet or near-ultraviolet light efficiently without irradiating visible light, and causes a substance that emits fluorescence by ultraviolet light to emit light vividly. Accordingly, when the face of the subject is irradiated with the ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light emitter 5, the porphyrin emitted by the radiated ultraviolet light emits the fluorescence, and the presence of porphyrin and, thus, acne bacteria on the entire face can be easily determined. It is possible to detect, and it is also possible to observe an initial stain that is hardly visible with visible light. The emission region of the ultraviolet light emitter 5 is preferably from 250 to 450 nm, more preferably from 300 to 400 nm.
[0017]
In the device 1 of the present invention, the ultraviolet light emitter 5 needs to be installed in a substantially circumferential shape. By arranging the ultraviolet light emitter 5 in this way, the entire face of the subject can be uniformly and uniformly irradiated with the ultraviolet light, and problems such as uneven illumination can be solved. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a ring-shaped (circular) black light 5a or a semi-circular black light (shown in FIG. 2) can be used. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, about 4 to 50 (eight in FIG. 3) ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (ultraviolet LEDs) 5b may be arranged in a substantially circumferential shape. Although not shown, a means such as using about 6 to 16 straight pipe-shaped black lights arranged in a circle may be used. Furthermore, the circumferential arrangement of the ultraviolet light emitters may be concentric and may be double or triple multiplex.
[0018]
In the device 1 of the present invention, the installation range of the ultraviolet light emitter 5 inside the hood body 2 is not particularly limited as long as the ultraviolet light emitter 5 is installed in the above-described manner and can uniformly irradiate the entire face. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when a ring-shaped black light 5a is used, the ring diameter may be set to about 5 to 30 cmφ, and as shown in FIG. When arranged in a circle, the circumferential diameter may be about 5 to 30 cmφ. Furthermore, the emission power of the ultraviolet light emitter 5 may be set to about 5 to 30 W for the entire ultraviolet light emitter 5.
[0019]
In the apparatus 1 of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is preferable that a visible light emitter 6 be provided in the hood body 2 in addition to the ultraviolet light emitter 5 as a light emitter. As the visible light emitter 6, a visible LED 6a or a visible fluorescent lamp 6b can be used. By providing the visible light emitter 6 in the hood 2, for example, the visible light is first radiated to confirm the imaging position, observe the state of the skin of the entire face, and, if necessary, image the image. By irradiating ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light emitter 5 such as the like, and imaging the porphyrin-derived fluorescence, it is possible to see in which part of the skin the porphyrin is present, and thus where the acne bacteria are located, and furthermore, in visible light. It is easy to observe whether there are any difficult initial stage stains. Switching between irradiation of the visible light emitter (visible light) 6 and the irradiation of the ultraviolet light emitter 5 (ultraviolet light) can be performed by operating the changeover switch 9.
[0020]
When the visible LEDs 6a are used as the visible light emitters 6, the number and emission power thereof are not particularly limited, but the number is generally 1 to 32, preferably arranged in a circumferential shape. , And about 0.1 to 30 W. When a circular visible fluorescent lamp 6b as shown in FIG. 4 is used as the luminous body 6 for visible light, a ring having a ring diameter of 5 to 30 cmφ and a luminous power of about 5 to 30 W may be used. Just fine. By doing so, the same effect as when a plurality of visible LEDs 6a are arranged and used in a circumferential shape can be obtained.
[0021]
Next, the imaging camera 7 in the apparatus 1 of the present invention captures the state of the face of the subject, and the imaging camera 7 is small, can be viewed immediately after imaging, and It is preferable to use a CCD camera, a C-MOS camera, or the like in terms of ease of the subsequent image analysis processing.
[0022]
The performance of the imaging camera 7 is preferably high sensitivity. For example, it is preferable that the minimum subject illuminance at the aperture value F = 1.2 is 0.5 lux or less. In the device 1 of the present invention, by setting the imaging camera 7 to such performance, even in an environment where the illuminance of ultraviolet light is low or the illumination time is short, the color contrast and the fluorescent state of porphyrin are clearly imaged. This makes it possible to easily capture an image of a state, such as a face stain, which is difficult to catch with a normal imaging camera. As the imaging camera 7 that satisfies such conditions, a commercially available CCD camera such as STC-H630LII (manufactured by Sensor Technology Co., Ltd., with a minimum subject illuminance of 0.35 lux at F = 1.2) or the like is easily used. These may be used as they are available.
[0023]
The hood body 2 constituting the apparatus 1 of the present invention is made of a material that sufficiently covers the face to be observed and prevents external light from entering, such as an acrylic resin or a vinyl chloride resin painted in black or the like. If the light-shielding material described above is used, external light is almost completely blocked, so that fluorescence can be easily observed, which is preferable. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, if a light-shielding body 3 is provided around the hood body 2, it is more effective in blocking external light.
[0024]
The shape of the hood 2 is an example of a so-called face mask shape in which the hood 2 is used by the subject by sticking his or her head from an open portion in FIGS. 1 and 2. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the device may be of a so-called helmet shape in which the present device is worn over the head.
[0025]
In addition, an ultraviolet cut filter 8 is provided on the front surface of the imaging camera 7. When ultraviolet light is irradiated on the face, unnecessary ultraviolet light reaches the imaging camera 7, and the imaging camera 7 is turned off. This is to prevent any obstacles. However, when ultraviolet light which causes a problem in an observation device such as the imaging camera 7 does not occur, the cut filter 8 may be omitted. Further, the ultraviolet cut filter 8 may be integrated with the imaging camera 7.
[0026]
Furthermore, since the device 1 of the present invention is applied to the entire face and has a certain weight and size, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a support 12 capable of supporting and fixing the device 1 is provided. It is preferable to use it by attaching to it.
[0027]
In the above-described apparatus 1 of the present invention, if camera control means 10 for controlling the camera 7 is connected to the imaging camera 7, it is possible to control and adjust various imaging conditions such as the degree of image brightness, resolution, and white balance. Is preferred. Further, if the imaging camera 7 is connected to the monitor 13, an image can be directly observed on the monitor 13 and the result can be shown to the subject simultaneously with the imaging.
[0028]
Further, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 5, the apparatus 1 of the present invention performs various image analysis based on the image captured by the imaging camera 7 by connecting the image analysis means 14. Becomes possible.
[0029]
As an example of use of the image analysis means 14, for example, by incorporating the imaging data of the subject so far, standard imaging data of a healthy person, and the like into the image analysis means 14, and comparing the data with the data stored after imaging, Evaluating or diagnosing the facial condition of the subject is included. Further, the control means 10 and the monitor 13 can be incorporated in the image analysis means. In addition, by comparing the whole face image data at the time of visible light irradiation with the whole face image data at the time of ultraviolet light irradiation, various evaluations and judgments such as stains existing inside the skin surface that cannot be visually confirmed can be performed. Image analysis can be performed.
[0030]
Using the whole face state imaging apparatus 1 of the present invention having the above-described configuration, observation of the face state, for example, detection of acne bacteria from the presence or absence of porphyrin on the face, and detection of an early-stage stain that is difficult to be seen by visible light. Observation may be performed as follows.
[0031]
First, the subject's face is put into the hood body 2 through the opening 4, and after the outside light is prevented from entering by the light-shielding body 3, it is desired to observe the focus of the imaging camera 7 and the face state centering on the nose and the like. Match with the part. Then, the changeover switch 9 is operated to turn on the visible light emitter 6 to irradiate the visible light to the subject's face, thereby observing the skin appearance of the entire face and, if necessary, the visible light. An image is taken of the state.
[0032]
Next, the changeover switch 9 is operated again to turn on the ultraviolet light emitter 5, and the subject's face is irradiated with ultraviolet light. Thereafter, the imaging camera 7 images the porphyrin-derived fluorescence emitted from the irradiated portion or the initial stain that is difficult to see with visible light. As described above, in the present apparatus 1, by operating the changeover switch 9 of the ultraviolet light emitter 5 and the visible light emitter 6, the state of the face viewed with visible light, and the porphyrin-derived fluorescence emitted on the face by ultraviolet light Can be seen alternately, and each state can be imaged.
[0033]
FIG. 7 is a face photograph in a state where visible light is irradiated using the above-described means, and FIG. 8 is a face photograph in a state where excited porphyrin emits red-orange fluorescence as a result of irradiation with ultraviolet light. Are respectively shown. In this way, by imaging by comparing the state viewed with visible light with the fluorescent state of porphyrin by irradiating ultraviolet light, it is easy to determine which part of the face contains porphyrin and thus acne bacteria. be able to. In addition, it is possible to easily observe an initial spot which is difficult to see with visible light.
[0034]
In the above-described face observation, the irradiation time of the ultraviolet light by the ultraviolet light emitter 5 may be determined by appropriately determining the time at which the porphyrin-derived fluorescence is emitted on the face. The irradiation may be painful and the irradiation efficiency may be poor, so that the irradiation may be performed for about 0.1 to 10 seconds, preferably for about 0.1 to 5 seconds. The irradiation time may be controlled manually, but it is preferable to provide a separate automatic control unit for the irradiation time and to automatically turn off the light after a predetermined irradiation time has elapsed.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
The apparatus for observing the face state of the present invention is an apparatus that irradiates the face of the subject with ultraviolet light, thereby capturing fluorescence in the porphyrin present on the face, or an image of an early-stage stain that is difficult to see with visible light, The ultraviolet light can be uniformly and evenly applied to the entire face of the subject without problems such as uneven illumination. In addition, even in an environment where the illuminance of ultraviolet light is low or the illumination time is short, an excellent device that can clearly capture the fluorescent state of porphyrin on the face and the initial stain that is difficult to see with visible light. is there.
[0036]
When an ultraviolet light emitter such as a black light and a visible light emitter such as a visible LED or a fluorescent lamp are used in combination, an image can be taken by comparing the state viewed with visible light with the fluorescence emitted by porphyrin. It is possible to easily determine which part of the face contains the porphyrin and, consequently, the acne bacterium, and it is also possible to observe early-stage spots that are difficult to see with visible light. Further, if the image analysis means is provided in the present apparatus, various image analysis based on the captured image can be performed.
[0037]
Therefore, the entire face state imaging apparatus of the present invention can easily clarify the state of the entire face of the subject, that is, the presence of acne bacteria on the entire face, at a store or a department store, etc. Difficult initial stage spots can be easily observed and are useful for selecting cosmetics and external preparations.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of an apparatus for imaging a full face state according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of one embodiment of the apparatus for imaging a whole face according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing an embodiment in which the ultraviolet light emitter is an ultraviolet LED in FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a front view showing an embodiment in which the visible light emitter is a visible fluorescent lamp in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an apparatus for imaging a full face state according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another aspect of the face state imaging apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a photograph showing a state in which visible light is applied to the face of a subject by a visible LED.
FIG. 8 is a photograph taken by irradiating ultraviolet light to the face of a subject with black light and imaging a state in which porphyrin on the face has developed fluorescence.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Device for whole face state imaging 7 ... Camera for imaging 2 ... Hood body 8 ... UV cut filter 3 ... Light shielding body 9 ... Changeover switch 4 ... Open part 10 ... Camera control means 5 ... UV light emitter 11… Outlet 5a… Black light 12… Support 5b… UV LED 13… Monitor 6… Visible light emitter 14…… Image analysis means 6a…… Visible LED 15… Power supply 6b …… Visible fluorescent light and above

Claims (13)

One side is opened, and a substantially circumferential ultraviolet light emitter and an imaging camera are provided substantially at the center of the circumferential ultraviolet light emitter in a hood body capable of covering the entire face. Device for imaging a whole face. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultraviolet light emitter is a ring-shaped black light. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ultraviolet light emitter is an ultraviolet light emitting diode arranged in a substantially circumferential shape. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging camera has a minimum subject illuminance of 0.5 lux or less at an aperture value of F = 1.2. 5. The apparatus for imaging a whole face state according to claim 1, wherein the imaging camera is a CCD camera or a C-MOS camera. The apparatus for imaging a full face state according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a visible light emitter provided in the hood. The apparatus for imaging a whole face state according to claim 6, wherein the visible light emitter is a visible light emitting diode (visible LED). 7. The whole face state imaging device according to claim 6, wherein the visible light emitter is a fluorescent lamp. 9. The apparatus for imaging a whole face state according to claim 1, further comprising an imaging camera coupled to the image analysis means. 10. The apparatus for imaging a full face state according to claim 1, wherein a light emitting region of the ultraviolet light emitter is 250 nm to 450 nm. The apparatus for imaging a full face state according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein an ultraviolet cut filter is provided on a front surface of the imaging camera. The apparatus for imaging a whole face state according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the hood body is formed of a light-shielding material. The whole face state imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the apparatus captures fluorescence emitted by porphyrin derived from Propionibacterium acne.

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