JP6338043B2 - Ophthalmic laser surgery device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus for treating a patient's eye by condensing pulsed laser light onto a patient's eye tissue.

  Conventionally, various techniques have been proposed to focus pulse laser light on a three-dimensional target position in a patient's eye. For example, an ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes an XY scanning unit (optical scanner) and an optical path length changing unit. The XY scanning unit scans the pulse laser beam on the XY plane. The optical path length changing means is provided on the upstream side of the optical path of the pulse laser beam with respect to the XY scanning unit. The optical path length changing means changes the optical path length between the lens unit and the objective lens by moving the optical member (reflection unit). As a result, the focused position of the pulse laser beam is scanned in the Z direction.

JP 2013-78398 A

  When the condensing position is scanned in the Z direction by moving the optical member, the scanning amount in the Z direction of the condensing position with respect to the moving amount of the optical member is an optical system arranged downstream of the optical member to be moved. Affected by. Therefore, when the optical member is moved in the optical axis direction on the upstream side of the XY scanning unit, the scanning amount in the Z direction of the light collecting position cannot be sufficiently secured unless the optical member is moved largely. was there.

  A typical object of the present invention is to provide an ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus capable of appropriately scanning the focused position of pulsed laser light.

A first ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus of the present invention is an ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus for treating a patient's anterior ocular segment by condensing a pulsed laser beam in a tissue of the patient's anterior segment, from a laser light source. An XY scanning unit that has at least one deflection device that deflects the emitted pulsed laser light, and scans the pulsed laser beam in a direction intersecting an optical axis by the deflection device; and at least one of the deflection devices of the XY scanning unit A light guide optical element that is provided on the downstream side of the optical path of the pulsed laser light, has a refractive power, and guides the pulsed laser light to the downstream side of the optical path, and is disposed in front of the eye of the eye to be examined; An objective lens for condensing the pulse laser beam that has passed through the XY scanning unit and the light guide optical element in the tissue, and the position of the objective lens in the optical path is fixed. By changing the optical path length between the optical element and the objective lens, the condensing position of the pulsed laser beam, and a Z scan unit for scanning the Z direction along the optical axis,
The light guide optical element is located upstream of the deflection device, and between the upstream relay lens and the objective lens. A relay lens optical system having a downstream relay lens, wherein the upstream relay lens is disposed such that an object-side focal point of the upstream relay lens is located at a pivot point in the deflection device; The unit moves the optical unit including the deflection device and the upstream relay lens along the optical axis in a state where the positions of the objective lens and the downstream relay lens are fixed, so that the upstream relay wherein the changing the optical path length between the lens and the objective lens.
A second ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus according to the present invention is an ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus for treating a patient's anterior ocular segment by condensing a pulsed laser beam in a tissue of the patient's anterior segment, from a laser light source. An XY scanning unit that has at least one deflection device that deflects the emitted pulsed laser light, and scans the pulsed laser beam in a direction intersecting an optical axis by the deflection device; and at least one of the deflection devices of the XY scanning unit A light guide optical element that is provided on the downstream side of the optical path of the pulsed laser light, has a refractive power, and guides the pulsed laser light to the downstream side of the optical path, and is disposed in front of the eye of the eye to be examined; An objective lens for condensing the pulse laser beam that has passed through the XY scanning unit and the light guide optical element in the tissue, and the position of the objective lens in the optical path is fixed. An ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus comprising: a Z scanning unit configured to scan a condensing position of the pulsed laser light in a Z direction along the optical axis by changing an optical path length between an optical element and the objective lens. The light guide optical element includes an upstream relay lens positioned downstream of the deflection device, and a relay lens including a downstream relay lens positioned between the upstream relay lens and the objective lens. The upstream relay lens is disposed so that the object-side focal point of the upstream relay lens is located at a pivot point in the deflection device, and the Z scanning unit includes the objective lens, downstream relay lens, and in a state of fixing the position of the upstream relay lens, moving the reflecting portion is disposed on the optical path for reflecting the pulsed laser beam It is to be characterized by changing the optical path length between the upstream relay lens and the objective lens.

  The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus of the present invention can appropriately scan the condensing position of the pulse laser beam.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the ophthalmic laser surgery apparatus 1 of 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the XY scanning part 25 in 1st embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the structure of the Y scanning part 27 and upstream relay optical element 31 in 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the ophthalmic laser surgery apparatus 2 of 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the ophthalmic laser surgery apparatus 3 of 3rd embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the ophthalmic laser surgery apparatus 4 of 4th embodiment.

<First embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment which is one of typical embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In this embodiment, an ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 capable of treating both the cornea and the lens of the patient's eye E is illustrated. “Treatment” indicates that the tissue of the patient's eye E is cut or broken. Hereinafter, for each configuration of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, from the laser light source 10 side (that is, the upstream side of the optical path of the pulse laser beam) to the patient eye E side (that is, downstream of the optical path of the pulse laser beam). Side).

  The laser light source 10 emits pulsed laser light. In the present embodiment, when the pulsed laser light emitted from the laser light source 10 is condensed in the tissue of the patient's eye E, plasma is generated at the condensing position, and the tissue is cut and fractured. The above phenomenon is sometimes referred to as photodisruption. As the laser light source 10, for example, a device that emits pulsed laser light having a pulse width on the order of femtoseconds to picoseconds can be used. Hereinafter, the direction along the optical axis of the pulsed laser light emitted from the laser light source 10 is defined as the Z direction. One of the directions intersecting the Z direction (vertically intersecting in the present embodiment) is defined as the X direction. A direction that intersects both the Z direction and the X direction (vertically intersects in this embodiment) is defined as a Y direction. The X, Y, and Z directions may be set as appropriate. For example, when the direction is defined based on the patient's vertical and horizontal directions, the X direction may be the patient's horizontal direction, the Y direction may be the patient's vertical direction, the X direction is the patient's vertical direction, and the Y direction is the patient's horizontal direction. It is good.

  The aiming light source 11 emits aiming light indicating a position to which the pulse laser light is irradiated. In the present embodiment, a light source that emits visible laser light is used as the aiming light source 11. The aiming light source 11 may be omitted.

  The dichroic mirror 12 is provided between a laser light source 10 and a zoom expander 13 (described later) in an optical path of pulsed laser light (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “optical path”). The dichroic mirror 12 combines the laser light emitted from the laser light source 10 and the aiming light emitted from the aiming light source 11. Specifically, the dichroic mirror 12 according to the present embodiment transmits most of the laser light emitted from the laser light source 10 and reflects most of the aiming light emitted from the aiming light source 11, thereby 2 Two lights are combined.

  The zoom expander 13 is provided between the laser light source 10 and the XY scanning unit 25 (described later) in the optical path. Specifically, in this embodiment, a beam expander 13 is provided between the laser light source 10 and the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 (described later). The zoom expander 13 can change the beam diameter of the pulsed laser light emitted from the laser light source 10. The control unit (not shown) of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 drives the zoom expander 13 to change the beam diameter of the pulsed laser light, so that the objective lens 35 (described later) is directed toward the patient's eye E. The numerical aperture NA of the emitted pulsed laser beam can be adjusted. The numerical aperture NA increases as the beam diameter increases, and the numerical aperture NA decreases as the beam diameter decreases.

  The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can improve the treatment capability when the patient's eye E is processed by adjusting the numerical aperture NA. For example, the larger the numerical aperture NA, the smaller the spot size at the focused position of the pulse laser beam. In corneal surgery, it is often required to perform a precise treatment by increasing the accuracy of the focused position of pulsed laser light. On the other hand, in crystalline lens surgery, it may be required to increase the spot size to shorten the operation time. Therefore, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment may increase the numerical aperture NA and reduce the spot size in the corneal surgery mode compared to the lens surgery mode. In the mode in which the lens operation is performed, the numerical aperture NA may be decreased to increase the spot size. In this case, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can perform more appropriate treatment according to the site of the patient's eye E. In addition, the adjustment method of numerical aperture NA can be changed suitably. For example, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 may change the numerical aperture NA continuously or intermittently according to scanning in the Z direction of the condensing position. In this case, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can cause an appropriate optical destruction in the tissue in accordance with the depth of the condensing position in the Z direction.

  The high-speed Z scanning unit 15 (second Z scanning unit: an expander in the present embodiment) is disposed between the laser light source 10 and the XY scanning unit 25 in the optical path (specifically, the zoom expander 13 and the XY scanning in the first embodiment). Between the portions 25). The high-speed Z scanning unit 15 of this embodiment includes an optical element 16 having negative refractive power and a high-speed Z scanning drive unit 17 that moves the optical element 16 along the optical axis. A lens 21 is provided between the optical element 16 and the XY scanning unit 25. The lens 21 guides the laser light that has passed through the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 to the XY scanning unit 25.

  When the optical element 16 disposed on the optical path moves along the optical axis, the focused position of the pulsed laser light moves in the Z direction. Therefore, the control unit of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can scan the condensing position in the Z direction by driving and controlling the high-speed Z scanning driving unit 17 to move the optical element 16. In addition, the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 of the present embodiment can scan the condensing position in the Z direction at a higher speed than the Z scanning unit 44 (described later). Therefore, the control unit can finely adjust the light collection position in the Z direction by using the high-speed Z scanning unit 15. For example, the control unit may improve the light collection accuracy by driving the high-speed Z control unit 15 according to the inclination of the patient's eye E. Further, by driving the high-speed Z control unit 15 in accordance with the scanning in the XY direction by the XY scanning unit 25, an error in the condensing position in the Z direction caused by the scanning in the XY direction may be reduced. .

  The XY scanning unit 25 scans the pulse laser beam on the XY plane intersecting the optical axis. In the present embodiment, the XY scanning unit 25 includes an X deflection device 26 and a Y deflection device 27. The X deflection device 26 scans the pulse laser beam emitted from the laser light source 10 in the X direction. The Y deflection device 27 further scans the pulse laser beam scanned in the X direction by the X deflection device 26 in the Y direction. In this embodiment, galvanometer mirrors are employed for both the X deflection device 26 and the Y deflection device 27. However, another device that scans light (for example, a scanner such as a polygon mirror or an acoustooptic device (AOM)) may be employed in at least one of the X deflection device 26 and the Y deflection device 27.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the structure of the XY scanning part 25 in 1st embodiment is demonstrated in detail. In the first embodiment, as an example, an XY scanning unit 25 using three galvanometer mirrors is employed. Specifically, the X deflection device 26 of the first embodiment includes a first X deflection device 28 and a second X deflection device 29. The first X deflection device 28 scans the pulse laser beam incident from the upstream side of the optical path (the lens 21 in this embodiment) in the X direction. The rotation axis of the second X deflection device 29 is parallel to the rotation axis of the first X deflection device 28. The second X deflection device 29 further scans the pulse laser beam scanned in the X direction by the first X deflection device 28 in the X direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit controls the scanning amount of the second X deflection device 29 in accordance with the scanning amount of the first X deflection device 28, so that a predetermined portion of the Y deflection device 27 (in this embodiment, A pulse laser beam is made incident on the center of the scanning surface of the mirror. That is, the principal ray of the pulsed laser light is incident on a predetermined portion of the Y deflection device 27 regardless of the scanning amount in the X direction. Therefore, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can eliminate various effects caused by the change in the incident position of the pulse laser beam in the Y deflection device 27. In the first embodiment, the center of the scanning surface of the Y deflection device 27 is a pivot point through which the principal rays of all the pulsed laser beams scanned by the XY scanning unit 25 pass.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the relay unit 30 is provided between the XY scanning unit 25 and the objective lens 35. The relay unit 30 of this embodiment is a Keplerian relay optical system. Even when the Kepler-type relay optical system is constituted by three or more optical members, the function can be expressed by two lenses. Therefore, in FIG. 1, the relay part 30 is shown by two lenses. The Kepler-type relay optical system described below is also illustrated with two lenses. The relay unit 30 includes a pivot point in the XY scanning unit 25 (in the first embodiment, a pivot point P at the center of the scanning plane in the Y deflection device 27) by the upstream relay optical element 31 and the downstream relay optical element 32. An object side focal point of an objective lens 35 (described later) is connected in a conjugate relationship.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the positional relationship between the upstream relay optical element 31 and the XY scanning unit 25 so that the object-side focal point of the upstream relay optical element 31 coincides with the pivot point P in the XY scanning unit 25. Is maintained. That is, the distance between the upstream relay optical element 31 and the pivot point P matches the focal length f31 of the upstream relay optical element 31. Therefore, the telecentric performance of the pulse laser beam emitted from the upstream relay optical element 31 is maintained.

  The objective lens 35 is disposed on the downstream side of the optical path from the downstream relay optical element 32 of the relay unit 30. In other words, the main plane of the objective lens 35 is located downstream of the main plane of the downstream relay optical element 32 in the optical path. The pulsed laser light that has passed through the objective lens 35 is focused on the tissue of the patient's eye E through the eyeball fixing interface 37. Although not shown in detail, the eyeball fixing interface 37 has a suction ring and a cup. A negative pressure is applied to the suction ring by a suction pump or the like. As a result, the anterior segment of the patient's eye E is sucked and fixed by the suction ring. The cup covers the anterior eye area. At the time of surgery, the cup is filled with a liquid having a refractive index comparable to that of the cornea. Therefore, the refraction of the pulse laser beam by the cornea or the like is weakened, and the accuracy of the condensing position is improved. Needless to say, the configuration of the eyeball fixing interface 37 may be changed as appropriate. A contact lens or the like may be attached to the patient's eye E. Surgery by the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can be performed without using the eyeball fixing interface 37 or the like.

  A dichroic mirror 38 is provided between the objective lens 35 and the downstream relay optical element 32 in the optical path. In the present embodiment, the dichroic mirror 38 reflects most of the pulsed laser light from the laser light source 10 and the aiming light from the aiming light source 12, and large amounts of light from the observation unit 40 and the OCT unit 41 described later. Transparent part. As a result, the optical axes of the plurality of lights are coaxial. In addition, when making the optical axis of the light of the observation unit 40 and the OCT unit 41 coaxial with the optical axis of pulsed laser light, it is also possible to change the coaxial position.

  In the first embodiment, among the optical elements positioned on the upstream side of the objective lens 35 in the optical path, the optical element closest to the objective lens 35 and having a refractive power (hereinafter referred to as “upstream element of the objective lens 35”). ) Is a downstream relay optical element 32 of the relay unit 30. In the first embodiment, the distance between the main plane in the upstream element of the objective lens 35 and the main plane in the objective lens 35 is the focal length of the upstream element of the objective lens 35 and the focal length of the objective lens 35. Is equal to the sum of That is, the image side focal point of the downstream relay optical element 32 coincides with the object side focal point of the objective lens 35. In the present embodiment, the positions of the downstream relay optical element 32 and the objective lens 35 on the optical path are fixed.

  Further, as described above, in the first embodiment, the pivot point P in the XY scanning unit 25 and the object side focal point of the objective lens 35 are in a conjugate relationship by the relay unit 30. Accordingly, the principal rays of all the pulsed laser beams scanned by the XY scanning unit 25 pass through the object side focal point of the objective lens 35. In the present embodiment, the dichroic mirror 38 is provided at the object-side focal position of the objective lens 35 (that is, the image-side focal position of the downstream relay optical element 32).

  The focal length for defining the object side focal point of the objective lens 35 may be the focal length of only the objective lens 35, or the focal length of an optical element including the objective lens 35 and the eyeball fixing interface 37. It may be. The same applies to the case where the main plane of the objective lens 35 is considered. That is, the expression “objective lens” in the present invention may refer to an optical element including the eyeball fixing interface 37.

  The observation unit 40 acquires a front image of the patient's eye E. The observation unit 40 of the present embodiment can capture the patient's eye E illuminated by visible light or infrared light and display it on a monitor (not shown). The surgeon can observe the patient's eye E from the front by looking at the monitor.

  The OCT unit 41 acquires a tomographic image of the tissue of the patient eye E. As an example, the OCT unit 41 of the present embodiment includes a light source, a light splitter, a reference optical system, a scanning unit, and a detector. The light source emits light for acquiring a tomographic image. The light splitter divides the light emitted from the light source into reference light and measurement light. The reference light enters the reference optical system, and the measurement light enters the scanning unit. The reference optical system has a configuration that changes the optical path length difference between the measurement light and the reference light. The scanning unit scans the measurement light in a two-dimensional direction on the tissue. The detector detects an interference state between the measurement light reflected by the tissue and the reference light that has passed through the reference optical system. The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 scans the measurement light and detects the interference state between the reflected measurement light and the interference light to acquire information in the depth direction of the tissue. A tomographic image of the tissue is acquired based on the acquired information in the depth direction. The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment associates a target position on which pulsed laser light is collected with a tomographic image of the patient's eye E. As a result, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can create data for controlling the operation of irradiating and scanning the pulsed laser beam using the tomographic image. Various configurations can be used for the OCT unit 41. For example, any of SS-OCT, SD-OCT, TD-OCT, etc. may be adopted as the OCT unit 41. The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 may capture a tomographic image using a technique other than optical interference. When the target position can be determined without using the tomographic image (for example, when only the applanated cornea is treated), the OCT unit 41 may be omitted.

  The dichroic mirror 42 is coaxial with the optical axis of the observation unit 40 and the optical axis of the OCT unit 41. The light that has passed through the dichroic mirror 42 is made coaxial with the pulse laser light from the laser light source 10 by the dichroic mirror 38 described above.

  The Z scanning unit 44 scans the focused position of the pulse laser beam in the Z direction. In the first embodiment, the upstream relay optical element 31 is provided on the downstream side of the optical path from the X deflection device 26 and the Y deflection device 27 of the XY scanning unit 25, has a refractive power, and has a pulse on the downstream side of the optical path. A light guide optical element for guiding laser light. The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 changes the optical path length between the upstream relay optical element 31 that is a light guide optical element and the objective lens 35 in a state where the position of the objective lens 35 in the optical path is fixed. The condensing position is scanned in the Z direction. In other words, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 changes the distance on the optical path between the main plane of the upstream relay optical element 31 and the main plane of the objective lens 35 to scan the condensing position in the Z direction.

  Specifically, the Z scanning unit 44 in the first embodiment moves the optical unit including the XY scanning unit 25 and the upstream relay optical element 31 along the optical axis, so that the upstream relay optical element 31 and the objective are moved. The optical path length between the lens 35 is changed. More specifically, the Z scanning unit 44 of the first embodiment moves the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 and the lens 21 along the optical axis together with the XY scanning unit 25 and the upstream relay optical element 31.

  As described above, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is provided on the downstream side of the optical path with respect to at least one of the deflection devices 26 and 27 (all of the deflection devices 26 and 27 in the first embodiment). The optical path length between the light guide optical element and the objective lens 35 is changed in a state where the position of the objective lens 35 on the optical path is fixed. In other words, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 changes the optical path length between the main plane of the light guide optical element and the main plane of the objective lens 35. Thereby, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can appropriately scan the condensing position of the pulse laser beam. Hereinafter, the details of the advantages when the optical system of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is employed will be described with several examples.

  For example, instead of using the Z scanning unit 44 in the first embodiment, it is conceivable to move the optical member on the upstream side of the XY scanning unit 25 in the optical axis direction to scan the condensing position in the Z direction. Specifically, a method of moving the expander on the upstream side of the XY scanning unit 25 can be considered. It is also conceivable that a mirror (optical path length changing means) that reflects the pulse laser beam is provided in the optical path upstream of the XY scanning unit 25, and this mirror is moved to perform scanning in the Z direction. In this case, the amount of movement of the condensing position in the Z direction with respect to the amount of movement of the optical member is affected by the optical system disposed downstream of the optical member to be moved. As a result, if the optical member is not moved greatly, there may be a case where a sufficient amount of movement of the condensing position cannot be ensured.

  The above problem will be described based on an example in which FIG. 1 is modified. In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that scanning in all Z directions is executed only by the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 without using the Z scanning unit 44. First, when the focal length of the upstream relay optical element 31 is f31 and the focal length of the downstream relay optical element 32 is f32, the lateral magnification of the relay unit 30 on the downstream side of the XY scanning unit 25 is “f32 / f31”. expressed. Here, in general, in order to set the numerical aperture NA of the pulsed laser light emitted from the objective lens 35 to an appropriate value and to keep the distance between the objective lens 35 and the patient's eye E at an appropriate distance, the objective lens 35 is used. It is necessary to increase the focal length to some extent. On the other hand, since the XY scanning unit 25 needs to be driven at high speed, the mirror diameter of the galvanometer mirror used in the XY scanning unit 25 is often very small compared to the entrance pupil diameter of the objective lens 35. As a result, the lateral magnification “f32 / f31” of the relay unit 30 tends to be a large value. When scanning in all Z directions is performed only by the high speed Z scanning unit 15, the amount of movement of the high speed Z scanning unit 15 required to move the focal position in the Z direction by a unit distance is the vertical magnification ( Proportional to the square of the lateral magnification). Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the amount of movement of the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 due to restrictions on the relay unit 30. Similarly, the restriction of the optical element upstream of the XY scanning unit 25 can also affect the reduction of the movement amount of the high-speed Z scanning unit 15. Further, when scanning in the Z direction upstream from the XY scanning unit 25, the XY scanning unit 25 needs to scan the pulsed laser light that has passed through the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 in the XY direction. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the size of the XY scanning unit 25. The above problem may also occur when scanning in the Z direction is performed by moving the mirror.

  It is also conceivable to reduce the amount of movement of the optical member by moving the objective lens 35 along the optical axis. However, in this case, the aberration tends to increase with scanning in the Z direction. As a result, problems such as complicated design of the optical system may occur. Further, when the objective lens 35 is moved, it is necessary to design the eyeball fixing interface 37 so that the objective lens 35 can be moved.

  On the other hand, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 of the first embodiment has an optical path between the light guide optical element provided on the downstream side of at least one of the deflection devices 26 and 27 and the objective lens 35. The length is changed while the position of the objective lens 35 on the optical path is fixed. Therefore, the influence of the optical system positioned downstream of the Z scanning unit 44 is reduced as compared with the case where scanning in the Z direction is performed upstream of the XY scanning unit 25. It is easy to reduce the size of the XY scanning unit 25. Further, it is not necessary to consider the influence when the objective lens 35 is moved. Therefore, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can appropriately scan the condensing position of the pulse laser beam.

  In the first embodiment, the positions of the optical elements (specifically, the downstream relay optical element 32, the dichroic mirror 38, and the objective lens 35) arranged on the downstream side of the optical path from the Z scanning unit 44 are as follows. It is constant regardless of the driving of the Z scanning unit 44. In the first embodiment, the positional relationship between the XY scanning unit 25 and the upstream relay optical element 31 is fixed even when scanning in the Z direction at least while the tissue is irradiated with pulsed laser light. Has been. Further, the object-side focal point of the upstream relay optical element 31 that is a light guide optical element coincides with the pivot point in the XY scanning unit 25. In this case, even if the focal position is scanned in the Z direction by the Z scanning unit 44, the telecentric performance of the pulsed laser light emitted from the light guide optical element is maintained. As a result, the emission angle of the pulsed laser light from the objective lens 35 can be made constant regardless of the scanning in the Z direction. In other words, when scanning in the Z direction is performed downstream of the deflection devices 26 and 27, the conjugate relationship changes with the scanning in the Z direction, and the emission angle of the pulsed laser light may vary. On the other hand, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 of the first embodiment appropriately sets the condensing position downstream of the deflection devices 26 and 27 while maintaining the conjugate relationship and fixing the emission angle of the pulse laser beam. It is possible to scan in the Z direction. Therefore, the scanning control of the condensing position becomes easy. For example, the control when the pulse laser beam is scanned off-axis becomes easy. Control of the irradiation position of pulsed laser light based on the OCT image (for example, creation of control data for controlling the XY scanning unit 25 and the Z scanning unit 44) is also facilitated.

  Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the principal rays of all the pulsed laser beams scanned by the XY scanning unit 25 pass through the object side focal point of the objective lens 35. In this case, the image-side telecentric performance of the objective lens 35 is maintained even when the condensing position is scanned in the Z direction. In other words, the emission angle of the pulse laser beam emitted from the objective lens 35 toward the patient's eye E is kept parallel. Therefore, the scanning control of the condensing position is further facilitated.

  In the first embodiment, the distance on the optical path between the main plane of the downstream relay optical element 32 and the main plane of the objective lens 35 in the relay unit 30 is equal to the sum of the focal lengths. In this case, the numerical aperture NA of the pulsed laser light emitted from the objective lens 35 is maintained regardless of the Z scanning performed by the Z scanning unit 44. Therefore, the scanning control of the condensing position is further facilitated. For example, ignoring the influence of aberration, by making the numerical aperture NA constant, the spot size becomes constant regardless of the scanning amount in the Z direction.

  The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment moves an optical unit including the XY scanning unit 25 and the upstream relay optical element 31 in the relay unit 30 along the optical axis. In this case, it is possible to realize the XY scanning unit 25 without providing a relay unit between the X deflection device 26 and the Y deflection device 27. If the relay unit is not provided between the X deflection device 26 and the Y deflection device 27, the configuration is simplified and the influence of aberration is reduced as compared with the case where the relay unit is provided. In addition, it is not necessary to design for appropriately scanning the laser scanned in the XY directions in the Z direction.

  In the first embodiment, the XY scanning unit 25 includes a first X deflection device 28, a second X deflection device 29, and a Y deflection device 27. The pulse laser beam scanned in the X direction by the first X deflection device 28 and the second X deflection device 29 is incident on a predetermined portion of the Y deflection device 27. In this case, scanning in the Y direction is performed at a predetermined position of the Y deflection device 27 regardless of the scanning amount in the X direction. Therefore, the scanning accuracy of the condensing position is further improved.

  In the first embodiment, a high-speed Z scanning unit (second Z scanning unit) 15 is provided between the laser light source 10 and the XY scanning unit 25 in the optical path. By providing a plurality of Z scanning units, the accuracy of treatment is improved. As an example, the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 of the present embodiment scans the focused position of the pulse laser light in the Z direction at a higher speed than the Z scanning unit 44. In this case, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 performs various elements (for example, at least one of inclination of the eyeball, curvature of field due to scanning in the XY directions, and the like) while the treatment with the pulse laser beam is performed. Accordingly, the condensing position can be scanned in the Z direction at high speed.

  In the first embodiment, the zoom expander 13 is provided between the laser light source 10 and the XY scanning unit 25 in the optical path. The zoom expander 13 changes the beam diameter of the pulse laser beam. In this case, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 can adjust the numerical aperture NA of the pulsed laser light emitted from the objective lens 35 by changing the beam diameter with the zoom expander 13. Since the zoom expander 13 of this embodiment is disposed upstream of the XY scanning unit 25, it is not necessary to deal with pulsed laser light scanned off-axis.

<Second embodiment>
A second embodiment which is one of typical embodiments different from the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, the configurations of the XY scanning unit 55 and the Z scanning unit 66 are different from those of the first embodiment, but there are also configurations that are common to the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following, the same configurations as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified. Similarly to the first embodiment, the second embodiment exemplifies an ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 2 that can treat both the cornea and the crystalline lens of the patient's eye E.

  The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment includes a laser light source 10, an aiming light source 11, a dichroic mirror 12, a zoom expander 13, a high-speed Z scanning unit 15, and a lens 21. The configuration exemplified in the first embodiment can be adopted as the configuration from the laser light source 10 to the lens 21 described above.

  The XY scanning unit 55 of the second embodiment includes an X deflection device 56, a Y deflection device 57, and an XY relay unit 60. The X deflection device 56 scans the pulse laser beam incident from the lens 21 in the X direction. The Y deflection device 57 scans the pulse laser beam incident from the X deflection device 56 in the Y direction. As an example, in the second embodiment, each of the X deflection device 56 and the Y deflection device 57 is one galvanometer mirror. However, other devices that scan light may be employed. A plurality of devices (for example, two galvanometer mirrors) may be employed in at least one of the X deflection device 56 and the Y deflection device 57.

  The XY relay unit 60 is provided between the X deflection device 56 and the Y deflection device 57. The XY relay unit 60 includes an upstream XY relay optical element 61 and a downstream XY relay optical element 62 provided on the downstream side of the upstream XY relay optical element 61. The XY relay unit 60 is a Keplerian relay optical system, and relays the X deflection device 56 to the Y deflection device 57. That is, the scanning center of the X deflection device 56 and the scanning center of the Y deflection device 57 are in a conjugate relationship by the XY relay unit 60. The positional relationship between the upstream XY relay optical element 61 and the X deflection device 56 is maintained such that the object side (front) focal point of the upstream XY relay optical element 61 coincides with the scanning center of the X deflection device 56. . Therefore, the telecentric performance of the pulse laser beam emitted from the upstream XY relay optical element 61 is maintained. In the second embodiment, the positional relationship between the downstream XY relay optical element 62 and the Y deflection device 57 is fixed. Specifically, the positional relationship between the downstream XY relay optical element 62 and the Y deflection device 57 so that the image side (rear) focal point of the downstream XY relay optical element 62 coincides with the scanning center of the Y deflection device 57. Is maintained.

  A relay unit 30, a dichroic mirror 38, and an objective lens 35 are provided in this order on the downstream side of the optical path from the XY scanning unit 55. For the relay unit 30, the dichroic mirror 38, and the objective lens 35, the same configuration as that exemplified in the first embodiment can be adopted. Specifically, also in the second embodiment, the positional relationship between the upstream relay optical element 31 and the Y deflection device 57 so that the object-side focal point of the upstream relay optical element 31 coincides with the pivot point of the Y deflection device 57. Is maintained. The distance on the optical path between the main plane of the upstream element of the objective lens 35 (the downstream relay optical element 32 in the second embodiment) and the main plane of the objective lens 35 is the upstream element of the objective lens 35. Is equal to the sum of the focal length of the objective lens 35 and the focal length of the objective lens 35. Further, the principal rays of all the pulsed laser beams scanned by the XY scanning unit 55 pass through the object side focal point of the objective lens 35. However, in the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the upstream relay optical system 31 in the relay unit 30 does not move along the optical axis (details will be described later).

  In the second embodiment, the distance on the optical path between the main plane of the upstream relay optical element 31 and the main plane of the downstream relay optical element 32 in the relay unit 30 is the focal length of the upstream relay optical element 31. , Equal to the sum of the focal lengths of the downstream relay optical elements 32. The distance on the optical path between the main plane of the upstream relay optical element 31 and the main plane of the downstream XY relay optical element 62 is the focal length of the upstream relay optical element 31 and the downstream XY relay optical element. Equal to the sum of 62 focal lengths. In this case, the numerical aperture NA of the pulsed laser light emitted from the objective lens 35 is maintained even when scanning by a Z scanning unit 66 described later is performed.

  In the second embodiment, the observation unit 40 and the OCT unit 41 may be mounted. The configuration of the observation unit 40, the OCT unit 41, the dichroic mirrors 38 and 42, etc. may be the same as or different from the first embodiment.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the Z scanning unit 66 changes the optical path length between the light guide optical element and the objective lens 35 in a state where the position of the objective lens 35 in the optical path is fixed. Is scanned in the Z direction. However, in the second embodiment, the upstream XY relay optical element 61 is a light guide optical element. The Z scanning unit 66 of the second embodiment changes the optical path length by moving an optical unit including the X deflection device 56 and the XY relay optical element 61 upstream of the XY relay unit 60 along the optical axis. Let The downstream XY relay optical element 62, the Y deflection device 57, the relay unit 30, and the objective lens 35 are not moved by the Z scanning unit 66. The Z scanning unit 66 of the second embodiment moves the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 and the lens 21 along the optical axis together with the X deflection device 56 and the upstream XY relay optical element 61.

  As described above, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 2 according to the second embodiment is similar to the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment in that at least one of the deflection devices 56 and 57 (in the second embodiment, X The optical path length between the light guide optical element provided downstream of the deflecting device 56) and the objective lens 35 is changed in a state where the position of the objective lens 35 on the optical path is fixed. Accordingly, the influence of the optical system positioned downstream of the Z scanning unit 66 is reduced as compared with the case where scanning in the Z direction is performed upstream of the XY scanning unit 55. It is easy to reduce the size of the XY scanning unit 55. Further, it is not necessary to consider the influence when the objective lens 35 is moved. Therefore, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 2 can appropriately scan the condensing position of the pulse laser beam.

  Specifically, the Z scanning unit 66 of the second embodiment moves an optical unit including the X deflection device 56 and the upstream XY relay optical element 61 that is a light guide optical element along the optical axis, The optical path length between the upstream XY relay optical element 61 and the objective lens 35 is changed. In this case, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 2 can perform scanning in the Z direction without moving the Y deflection device 57. Further, the focal length of the lens 21 immediately before the X deflection device 56 may be the distance to the X deflection device 56. Therefore, it is easy to shorten the focal length of the lens 21.

  In the second embodiment, optical elements (in detail, the downstream XY relay optical element 62, the Y deflection device 57, the relay unit 30, and the objective lens 35) disposed on the downstream side of the optical path from the Z scanning unit 66. The position on the optical path is constant regardless of the driving of the Z scanning unit 66. In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the positional relationship between the X deflection device 56 and the upstream XY relay optical element 61 is fixed even when scanning in the Z direction is performed. Further, the object-side focal point of the upstream XY relay optical element 61 that is a light guide optical element coincides with the pivot point in the X deflection device 56. In this case, the telecentric performance of the pulse laser beam emitted from the light guide optical element is maintained. Regardless of scanning in the Z direction, the conjugate relationship on the downstream side of the Z scanning unit 66 is maintained, and the emission angle of the pulsed laser light from the objective lens 35 is fixed. Therefore, the scanning control of the condensing position becomes easy. Furthermore, a part of the configuration of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 2 in the second embodiment is common to the part of the configuration of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 in the first embodiment. Therefore, at least a part of the effects in the first embodiment described above can be similarly achieved in the second embodiment.

<Third embodiment>
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the reflection unit 71 is moved to perform scanning in the Z direction, but there is also a configuration common to the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following, the same configurations as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified.

  The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 3 according to the third embodiment includes a laser light source 10, an aiming light source 11, a dichroic mirror 12, a zoom expander 13, a high-speed Z scanning unit 15, a lens 21, and an XY scanning unit 25. The configuration illustrated in the first embodiment can be adopted as the configuration from the laser light source 10 to the XY scanning unit 25 described above.

  A Kepler-type relay unit 30 is provided downstream of the XY scanning unit 25 in the optical path. The relay unit 30 includes an upstream relay optical element 31 and a downstream relay optical element 32. The object-side focal point of the upstream relay optical element 31 coincides with the pivot point in the XY scanning unit 25. Therefore, the telecentric performance of the pulse laser beam emitted from the upstream relay optical element 31 is maintained. An objective lens 35 is disposed downstream of the downstream relay optical element 32 in the optical path. The pivot point in the XY scanning unit 25 and the object side focal point of the objective lens 35 are in a conjugate relationship by the relay unit 30. Accordingly, the principal rays of all the pulsed laser beams scanned by the XY scanning unit 25 pass through the object side focal point of the objective lens 35. Further, the distance between the main plane of the downstream relay optical element 32 and the main plane of the objective lens 35 is equal to the sum of the focal lengths. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the observation unit 40 and the OCT unit 41 may be mounted in the third embodiment. The configuration of the observation unit 40, the OCT unit 41, the dichroic mirrors 38 and 42, etc. may be the same as or different from the first embodiment.

  In the third embodiment, a Z scanning unit 70 is provided between the upstream relay optical element 31 and the downstream relay optical element 32 of the relay unit 30. The Z scanning unit 70 of the third embodiment includes a reflection unit 71 and a Z scanning drive unit 74.

  The reflector 71 is provided in the optical path between the upstream relay optical element 31 and the downstream relay optical element 32. As an example, a mirror that reflects the pulse laser beam that has passed through the upstream relay optical element 31 and guides it to the downstream relay optical element 32 is employed in the reflecting unit 71 of the third embodiment. More specifically, the reflecting portion 71 of this embodiment includes two reflecting members 72 and 73. The reflection member 72 reflects the pulsed laser light incident from the upstream relay optical element 31 toward the reflection member 73. The reflection member 73 reflects the pulsed laser light incident from the reflection member 72 toward the downstream relay optical element 32. Therefore, the pulsed laser light that has passed through the upstream relay optical element 31 enters the downstream relay optical element 32 in a state in which the traveling direction is changed by 180 degrees. In this case, the number of reflecting members included in the reflecting portion 71 can be reduced as much as possible.

  The Z scanning drive unit 74 moves the reflecting unit 71 to change the optical path length between the light guide optical element (the upstream relay optical element 31 in the third embodiment) and the objective lens 35. As a result, the focused position of the pulse laser beam is scanned in the Z direction. Specifically, the Z scanning drive unit 74 of the third embodiment moves the reflecting unit 71 in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the pulsed laser light emitted from the upstream relay optical element 31 (up and down direction in FIG. 5). Let

  As described above, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 3 according to the third embodiment is similar to the first and second embodiments in that the light guide provided at the downstream side of the optical path with respect to at least one of the deflection devices 26 and 27. The optical path length between the optical optical element (the upstream relay optical element 31 in the third embodiment) and the objective lens 35 is changed in a state where the position of the objective lens 35 on the optical path is fixed. Therefore, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 3 can appropriately scan the condensing position of the pulse laser beam.

  Specifically, the Z scanning unit 70 in the third embodiment includes a reflection unit 71 and a Z scanning drive unit 74. The reflection unit 71 is disposed on the optical path and reflects the pulse laser beam. The Z scan drive unit 74 changes the optical path length by moving the reflection unit 71. In this case, the number of members to be moved is reduced as compared to the case where the XY scanning unit 25 itself is moved to perform scanning in the Z direction. Therefore, it is easy to simplify the mechanism for scanning in the Z direction. More specifically, in the third embodiment, the reflecting portion 71 is provided in the optical path between the upstream relay optical element 31 and the downstream relay optical element 32. In this case, scanning in the Z direction of the condensing position using the reflection unit 71 can be appropriately executed. A part of the configuration of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 3 in the third embodiment is common to the part of the configuration of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 in the first embodiment. Therefore, at least a part of the effects in the first embodiment described above can be similarly achieved in the third embodiment.

<Fourth embodiment>
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The fourth embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the reflecting unit 81 is moved to perform scanning in the Z direction, but there is a configuration common to the second embodiment. Therefore, in the following, the same configurations as those of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the second embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified.

  The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 4 according to the fourth embodiment includes a laser light source 10, an aiming light source 11, a dichroic mirror 12, a zoom expander 13, a high-speed Z scanning unit 15, a lens 21, and an X deflection device 56. The configuration exemplified in the second embodiment can be adopted as the configuration from the laser light source 10 to the X deflection device 56 described above. The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 4 includes a Y deflection device 57, a relay unit 30, a dichroic mirror 38, and an objective lens 35. The configuration from the Y deflection device 57 to the objective lens 35 can also employ the configuration exemplified in the second embodiment. The observation unit 40 and the OCT unit 41 are not shown. It goes without saying that a configuration different from the configuration of the second embodiment may be adopted in the fourth embodiment.

  An XY relay unit 60 is provided between the X deflection device 56 and the Y deflection device 57. In the fourth embodiment, the XY relay unit 60 includes an upstream XY relay optical element 61 and a downstream XY relay optical element 62 located on the downstream side of the upstream relay optical element 61. The object side focal point of the upstream XY relay optical element 6 coincides with the scanning center of the X deflection device 56. Therefore, the telecentric performance of the pulse laser beam emitted from the upstream XY relay optical element 61 is maintained. In the fourth embodiment, the image-side focal point of the downstream XY relay optical element 62 coincides with the scanning center (pivot point) in the Y deflection device 57.

  In the fourth embodiment, the object-side focal point of the upstream relay optical element 31 coincides with the pivot point in the Y changing device 57 as in the second embodiment. The distance on the optical path between the main plane of the downstream relay optical element 32 and the main plane of the objective lens 35 is equal to the sum of the focal length of the downstream relay optical element 32 and the focal length of the objective lens 35. . Further, the principal rays of all the pulsed laser beams scanned by the XY scanning unit 55 pass through the object side focal point of the objective lens 35.

  In the fourth embodiment, a Z scanning unit 80 is provided between the upstream XY relay optical element 61 and the downstream XY relay optical element 62 of the XY relay unit 60. The Z scanning unit 80 of the fourth embodiment includes a reflection unit 81 and a Z scanning drive unit 84.

  The reflecting portion 81 is provided in the optical path between the upstream XY relay optical element 61 and the downstream XY relay optical element 62. As an example, a mirror having the same configuration as that of the reflection unit 71 of the third embodiment is employed in the reflection unit 81 of the fourth embodiment. In other words, the reflecting portion 81 of the fourth embodiment changes the traveling direction of the pulsed laser light that has passed through the upstream XY relay optical element 61 by 180 degrees by the two reflecting members 82 and 83. The pulsed laser light that has passed through the reflecting portion 81 enters the downstream XY relay optical element 62.

  The Z scanning drive unit 84 moves the reflecting unit 81 to change the optical path length between the light guide optical element (the upstream XY relay optical element 61 in the fourth embodiment) and the objective lens 35. As a result, the focused position of the pulse laser beam is scanned in the Z direction. Specifically, the Z scanning drive unit 84 of the fourth embodiment moves the reflection unit 81 in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the pulse laser beam emitted from the upstream XY relay optical element 61.

  As described above, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 4 according to the fourth embodiment is similar to the first to third embodiments in that the light guide is provided on the downstream side of the optical path with respect to at least one of the deflection devices 56 and 57. The optical path length between the optical optical element (the upstream XY relay optical element 61 in the third embodiment) and the objective lens 35 is changed. Therefore, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 4 can appropriately scan the condensing position of the pulse laser beam.

  Specifically, the Z scanning unit 80 in the fourth embodiment includes a reflection unit 81 and a Z scanning drive unit 84. The reflection unit 81 is disposed on the optical path and reflects the pulse laser beam. The Z scanning drive unit 84 changes the optical path length by moving the reflecting unit 81. In this case, compared with the case where the XY scanning unit 55 itself is moved to perform scanning in the Z direction, the number of members to be moved is reduced.

  More specifically, in the fourth embodiment, the reflecting portion 81 is provided in the optical path between the upstream XY relay optical element 61 and the downstream relay optical element 62. In this case, by adjusting the focal length of the upstream XY relay optical element 61 and the focal length of the downstream XY relay optical element 62, the longitudinal magnification of the optical system positioned downstream of the X deflection device 56 is adjusted. can do. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the amount of movement of the reflecting portion 81 required to move the focal position by a unit distance by adjusting the vertical magnification. In addition, since the pulse laser beam before being scanned in the Y direction passes through the reflecting portion 81, the reflecting portion 81 is smaller than the case where the reflecting portion 81 is provided on the downstream side of the X deflection device 56 and the Y deflection device 57. It is easy to make.

  A part of the configuration of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 4 in the fourth embodiment is common to the part of the configuration of the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus 1 to 3 in the first to third embodiments. Therefore, at least a part of the effects in the first to third embodiments described above can be similarly achieved in the fourth embodiment.

  Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. First, in FIGS. 1 to 6, each optical element (for example, 16, 21, 31, 32, 35, 61, 62) is illustrated by one optical member (for example, a lens or the like). However, as a matter of course, each optical element may be constituted by one optical member or a plurality of optical members. In the description of the above embodiment, the expression “the optical element A is positioned downstream of the optical element B” means that the main plane of the optical element A is positioned downstream of the main plane of the optical element B. Indicates. Therefore, in the above example, a part of the optical member constituting the optical element A may be located upstream from at least a part of the optical member constituting the optical element B.

  Moreover, in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, a simplified configuration than the actual configuration is shown in order to simplify the description. Accordingly, an optical member (not shown) (for example, an optical member for bending the optical path) may be included in the configuration. In addition, various optical members such as a convex lens, a concave lens, a concave mirror, and a plane mirror and combinations thereof can be adopted as the optical element.

  It is also possible to change the configuration of the relay unit 30 and the like. For example, in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4 and the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the upstream relay optical element 31 and the downstream relay optical element 32 are provided between the Y deflection device 57 and the objective lens 35. It has been. However, in the second and fourth embodiments, for example, by adjusting the focal length of the downstream XY relay optical element 62 or the like, the pulse laser beam emitted from the Y deflection device 57 is made non-parallel light, and the relay unit 30 The upstream relay optical element 31 can be omitted. In this case, specifically, the object-side focal point of the upstream XY relay optical element 61 is made coincident with the scanning center of the X deflection device 56. The image-side focal point of the downstream XY relay optical element 62 is matched with the scanning center of the Y deflection device 57. Further, the scanning center of the Y deflection device 57 and the object side focal point of the objective lens 35 are conjugate. Even in this case, the condensing position is determined as in the second and fourth embodiments. Similarly, the upstream relay optical element 31 in the first and third embodiments and the upstream XY relay optical element 61 in the second and fourth embodiments can be omitted. The downstream relay optical element 32 and the downstream XY relay optical element 62 may be omitted.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, various configurations including the laser light source 10 and the optical system for irradiating the patient's eye E with the laser are integrally incorporated in the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatuses 1 to 4. Exemplified the case. However, the configuration including the optical system can be modularized and incorporated into the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatuses 1 to 4. In this case, the modularized optical system can be expressed as follows, for example. A deflection device for deflecting pulsed laser light emitted from a laser light source, which is an optical system used in an ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus for treating the patient's eye by condensing pulsed laser light in a tissue of a patient's eye XY scanning unit that scans the pulse laser beam in a direction intersecting the optical axis by the deflection device, and downstream of the optical path of the pulse laser beam than at least one of the deflection devices of the XY scanning unit A light guide optical element that is provided on the side and has a refractive power and guides the pulse laser light downstream of the optical path; and the pulse laser light that has passed through the XY scanning unit and the light guide optical element is introduced into the tissue. By changing the optical path length between the light guide optical element and the objective lens in a state where the objective lens to be condensed and the position of the objective lens in the optical path are fixed The pulsed light condensing position of the laser beam, an optical system characterized in that a Z scan unit for scanning the Z direction along the optical axis.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatuses 1 to 4 capable of treating both the cornea and the crystalline lens are exemplified. However, the configuration exemplified in the above embodiment can also be applied to an ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus that treats a specific part of the patient's eye E (for example, only the cornea or only the lens). Note that it is necessary to increase the scanning amount in the Z direction when treating the crystalline lens, compared with when treating only the cornea. Furthermore, it is necessary to increase the scanning amount in the Z direction when treating both the cornea and the crystalline lens, compared to treating only the crystalline lens. It is more difficult to perform appropriate Z-direction scanning with a simple configuration as the amount of scanning in the Z-direction increases. However, by using the techniques exemplified in the first to fourth embodiments, scanning in the Z direction can be performed appropriately. Therefore, the techniques exemplified in the first to fourth embodiments exhibit a greater advantage when treating the lens and when treating both the lens and the cornea. In the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatuses 1 to 4, even when both the crystalline lens and the cornea are treated, a configuration for switching the optical path for corneal treatment and the optical path for crystalline lens treatment is not essential.

  In the first embodiment, the Z scanning unit 44 moves the high-speed Z scanning unit 15, the lens 21, the XY scanning unit 25, and the upstream relay optical element 31 in the optical axis direction. In the second embodiment, the Z scanning unit 66 moves the high-speed Z scanning unit 15, the lens 21, the X deflection device 56, and the upstream XY relay optical element 61 in the optical axis direction. However, the configuration moved by the Z scanning units 44 and 66 can be changed. For example, in the first and second embodiments, the high speed Z scanning unit 15 and the lens 21 can be excluded from the configuration moved by the Z scanning units 44 and 46. The Z scanning units 44 and 46 may also move other members such as the zoom expander 13 in the Z direction.

  The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatuses 1 to 4 according to the first to fourth embodiments can cause the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 to scan the condensing position in the Z direction at high speed according to various elements. However, the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 can be omitted. In contrast to the first to fourth embodiments, the scanning speed of the Z scanning units 44, 66, 70, and 80 can be made higher than the scanning speed of the Z scanning unit 15. Even in this case, the accuracy of treatment can be easily improved as compared with the case of using one Z scanning unit. In addition, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatuses 1 to 4 according to the first to fourth embodiments can adjust the numerical aperture NA of the pulsed laser light by changing the beam diameter using the zoom expander 13. However, the zoom expander 13 can be omitted. Further, the positions of the high-speed Z scanning unit 15 and the zoom expander 13 may be interchanged.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the emission angle of the pulse laser light from the objective lens 35 is fixed (specifically, telecentric performance is maintained). Therefore, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatuses 1 to 4 can easily perform high-precision scanning of the condensing position. However, the emission angle may vary. In this case, the condensing position may be scanned with high accuracy by driving control of the XY scanning units 25 and 55 or the like.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the numerical aperture NA of the pulsed laser light emitted from the objective lens 35 is maintained regardless of scanning in the Z direction. However, the numerical aperture NA may change according to scanning in the Z direction. Further, the numerical aperture NA may be changed by driving the beam expander 13 or the like in accordance with various parameters (for example, the condensing position of the pulsed laser beam in the Z direction).

  In addition to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, it is possible to provide a configuration for correcting aberration that occurs due to scanning of pulsed laser light. For example, the aberration may be corrected by providing a device for changing the wavefront of the pulsed laser light upstream of the XY scanning units 25 and 55. Further, there is no need to separately provide a deflection device for scanning the pulse laser beam in the X direction and a deflection device for scanning in the Y direction. That is, the ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus may scan the pulse laser beam in the XY directions with one deflection device.

  In the third and fourth embodiments, the traveling direction of the pulsed laser beam is changed by 180 degrees by the reflecting portions 71 and 81 having two reflecting members. As the reflecting portions 71 and 81 move, the condensing position is scanned in the Z direction. However, it is possible to change the configuration of the reflecting portions 71 and 81. For example, the number of reflecting members provided in the reflecting portions 71 and 81 is not limited to two. A prism or the like may be used as the reflecting portions 71 and 81.

1-4 Ophthalmic Laser Surgery Device 10 Laser Light Source 13 Zoom Expander 15 High Speed Z Scanning Unit 25, 55 XY Scanning Unit 26, 56 X Deflection Device 27, 57 Y Deflection Device 30 Relay Unit 31 Upstream Relay Optical Element 32 Downstream Relay optical element 35 Objective lens 44, 66, 70, 80 Z scanning part 60 XY relay part 61 Upstream XY relay optical element 62 Downstream XY relay optical element 71, 81 Reflecting part 74, 84 Z scanning drive part

Claims (4)

An ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus for treating the patient's anterior eye by focusing pulsed laser light in the tissue of the patient's anterior eye,
An XY scanning unit having at least one deflection device for deflecting pulsed laser light emitted from a laser light source, and scanning the pulsed laser light in a direction intersecting the optical axis by the deflection device;
A light guide optical element that is provided on the downstream side of the optical path of the pulse laser beam with respect to at least one of the deflection devices of the XY scanning unit, has a refractive power, and guides the pulse laser beam downstream of the optical path; ,
An objective lens that is disposed in front of the eye to be examined and focuses the pulsed laser light that has passed through the XY scanning unit and the light guide optical element into the tissue;
By changing the optical path length between the light guide optical element and the objective lens in a state where the position of the objective lens in the optical path is fixed, the condensing position of the pulse laser light is along the optical axis. A Z scanning section for scanning in the Z direction;
An ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus comprising:
The light guide optical element includes a relay lens optical system including an upstream relay lens positioned downstream of the deflection device, and a downstream relay lens positioned between the upstream relay lens and the objective lens. In addition,
The upstream relay lens is arranged so that the object-side focal point of the upstream relay lens is positioned as a pivot point in the deflection device,
The Z scanning unit moves the optical unit including the deflection device and the upstream relay lens along the optical axis in a state where the positions of the objective lens and the downstream relay lens are fixed, An ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus, wherein an optical path length between an upstream relay lens and the objective lens is changed. An ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus for treating the patient's anterior eye by focusing pulsed laser light in the tissue of the patient's anterior eye,
An XY scanning unit having at least one deflection device for deflecting pulsed laser light emitted from a laser light source, and scanning the pulsed laser light in a direction intersecting the optical axis by the deflection device;
A light guide optical element that is provided on the downstream side of the optical path of the pulse laser beam with respect to at least one of the deflection devices of the XY scanning unit, has a refractive power, and guides the pulse laser beam downstream of the optical path; ,
An objective lens that is disposed in front of the eye to be examined and focuses the pulsed laser light that has passed through the XY scanning unit and the light guide optical element into the tissue;
By changing the optical path length between the light guide optical element and the objective lens in a state where the position of the objective lens in the optical path is fixed, the condensing position of the pulse laser light is along the optical axis. A Z scanning section for scanning in the Z direction;
An ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus comprising:
The light guide optical element includes a relay lens optical system including an upstream relay lens positioned downstream of the deflection device, and a downstream relay lens positioned between the upstream relay lens and the objective lens. In addition,
The upstream relay lens is arranged so that the object-side focal point of the upstream relay lens is positioned as a pivot point in the deflection device,
The Z scanning unit moves a reflecting unit that is arranged in the optical path and reflects the pulsed laser light in a state where the positions of the objective lens, the downstream relay lens , and the upstream relay lens are fixed. An ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus, wherein an optical path length between the upstream relay lens and the objective lens is changed. The ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
An ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus, wherein chief rays of all pulsed laser beams scanned by the XY scanning unit pass through an object side focal point of the objective lens. An ophthalmic laser surgical apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Of the optical elements located upstream of the objective lens in the optical path, the distance between the principal plane of the optical element closest to the objective lens and having a refractive power and the principal plane of the objective lens is the focal point of each other. An ophthalmic laser surgical device characterized by being equal to the sum of distances.