EP0912135A1

EP0912135A1 - Keratometric device

Info

Publication number: EP0912135A1
Application number: EP96921857A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gerd Ulbers; Jürg STUCKI
Original assignee: Haag Streit AG
Current assignee: Haag Streit AG
Priority date: 1996-07-17
Filing date: 1996-07-17
Publication date: 1999-05-06
Also published as: AU6296996A; WO1998003113A1

Abstract

The keratometric device has a beam splitter (9) that can be determinately pivoted about a pivoting axis (37). The beam splitter (9) serves to split and simultaneously to recombine partial beams. The pivoting axis (37) of the beam splitter (9) is set perpendicular to the optical axis (o) of the reflected radiation (5a) emanating from a curved region for measurement (K) of the cornea of the living eye (A) and perpendicular to the line joining the test objects (B, Q). By pivoting the beam splitter cube (9) the reproduction of the image height (h') of the reflection points (Y) can be doubled with determinate mutual displacement according to the selected pivot angle (α). The device is compact and can be operated simply and with precision.

Description

Device for keratometric measurements

The invention relates to a device for performing keratometric measurements. The curve radius r of a certain surface area K of the cornea on the living eye Λ must z. B. be determined when fitting contact lenses. This determination is called keratometry. Here, the surface area, which is approximately spherical here, acts as a convex mirror for the incident radiation. Based on Janet Stone, "Contact Lenε Practice", Montague Rüben and Michel Guillon, Chapman & Hall, London, ISBN 0 412 35120 X, 1994, chap. 16, pages 283-311, hereinafter identified with [1], follows according to FIG. 1 there:

B and Q are two luminous objects with a distance h, the so-called object height. The rays q and b, starting from these object points B and Q in the direction of

The center of the circle C of the surface area K is reflected back into itself. The rays b 'and q' towards the imaginary focal point F 'of the spherical surface area K are reflected parallel to the optical axis o as rays b ″ and q ″ from the reflection locations Y and Z on the surface area K. That is, a virtual image height h ′ of the image BQ with the virtual pixels B ′ and Q '. The distance from the apex of curve area K to focal point F' is the focal length f, which is half the radius r of curve area K. The distance of object BQ from focal point F 'is x. The angle YF 'Z and BF'Q are identical, so it follows that

h f h 'r

- = - with r = 2f - = - results. [F 1] h x h 2x

If the object BQ is now far enough from the surface area K, its virtual mapping B'Q 'takes place in the focus plane [F']. It applies now

2x h 2d h r = i.e. with the approximation r - = [F 2] h 'h'

where d is the image-object distance.

The radius r of the curve area K is therefore dependent on the three variables d, h and h '.

The reflecting pixels Y and Z move on the cornea, since the eye cannot be completely immobilized during the measurement. However, they always move together. For this reason, the two reflection points are now doubled in accordance with the prior art described in [1] with a prism arrangement, as shown in FIG. 2. Depending on the position of the prism, instead of the points Y and Z to be observed, the points Y ', Y ", Z' and Z" result. The prism can now be inclined so that the distances Y'Z 'and Y "Z" are spaced apart, overlap or are arranged adjacent to one another, as shown in FIG. 3. According to [1], Bausch and Lo b, page 288ff., Chap. 16.3.4, to generate a variable distance between the two doubled sections Y'Z 'and Y''Z ", a rotating pair with two radially opposite openings is shown The first pair of openings has oppositely arranged prisms, while the other pair has no prisms. The required adjoining change in distance is achieved by varying the distance of the rotating disc. Furthermore, pivotable flat glass plates [1], Rodenstock C-BES, Page 289 and reflecting prisms [1], Zeiεε, page 289 are used.

From GB-B 963 094 a keratometer is known which has a fixed beam splitter cube with a diamond-shaped cross section and two mirrors arranged at right angles to one another. With the two mirrors, the radiation split by the beam splitter was reflected back to it and superimposed there. The two mirrors were slidably arranged to create a coincidence of the two marks depicted on the eye.

Another device for carrying out keratometric measurements is known from a French patent application FR-A 2 345 978. The known device had a plane-parallel plate which could be pivoted about a pivot axis in order to generate a variable beam offset. The swivel axis of the plate was perpendicular to the optical axis of the radiation reflected from a curve region of the cornea to be measured from two reflection locations of the two test objects.

Another keratometer is known from GB-A 2 177 813. The well-known keratometer worked with a green and a red mark on the surface of the eye. It had two plane-parallel plates that were adjustable relative to one another by an adjustable, readable angle. The

Plates were used to displace rays from the two marks reflected on the surface of the eye. The red radiation was with one and the green with another plate.

Another keratometer is described in DE-C 43 16 782. The keratometer known from it had a fixed polarizing beam splitter cube with several deflecting prisms and a further beam splitter cube for superimposing the two split beams. A lens was arranged in each of the two separate beams. Both lenses were seated on a support with which the lenses could be displaced in a defined manner parallel to their main plane. By shifting the lenses, the optical axes of the partial beam paths tilted towards each other, and the observed partial images shifted against each other.

Instead of the two lenses, a pivotable mirror was also used in DE-C 43 16 782.

All of these optical structures have a complex construction and a lack of compactness in common.

The object of the invention is to create a compact and easy-to-use device for keratometric measurements.

The object is achieved by using a defined, pivotable, physical beam splitter with an adjustable pivoting angle, with which the image of the two reflection points of the two test objects (mires) on the eye is doubled and, analogously to the explanations relating to FIGS. 2 and 3, in an image plane as overlapping routes are shown.

According to H. Haferkorn, "Optics, physical-technical fundamentals and applications", VEB German Publishing House of the Sciences, Berlin 1980, page 480, a distinction is made in optics between a physical and a geometrical bundle division of a ray bundle. The physical bundle division is, as here in the invention, with partially permeable surfaces carried out. With the physical bundle division, the bundle cross-section and thus the light conductance in both sub-bundles remains as large as in the incident bundle. The luminous flux is divided, as a result of which the luminance in the sub-bundles changes.

In the case of geometric bundling, part of the bundle is branched off using a mirror or a prism (total reflection). With the geometric bundle division, the luminance in the sub-bundles remains constant, but the light conductance changes.

By using reflectors that interact with the physical beam splitter, in particular in a "Michelson" arrangement, a compact structure of the device can be achieved, which can also be achieved by the beam guidance described below, in which the incoming and outgoing beam bundles are preferably approximately aligned with one another, can be improved. Interference effects do not occur due to the so-called "Michelson" arrangement, since the coherence length of the radiation used is much too small.

A partially transparent mirror or the beam splitter cube described below, for example, can now be used as the beam splitter. The partial permeability can be generated by a corresponding coating which reflects approximately 50% of the radiation and transmits the other 50%. A polarizing beam splitter can also be used. If, in addition to the polarizing beam splitter, rotating elements (e.g. phase plates) corresponding to the polarization plane are placed in front of the reflectors, it is possible to work with significantly lower light levels for eye illumination. So-called lambda quarter plates are preferably used as the elements rotating the polarization plane.

It is now possible to generate a variable distance between the two doubled distances Y'Z 'and Y''Z'' here, too, a variable image spacing a is used. However, a fixed distance is preferably used in order not to have to readjust in the imaging conditions.

In order to optimally set up the keratometer and to determine the surface radii in several directions, this must be set up on the eye and also rotated about its horizontal optical axis. So that there is easy adjustment during this rotation of the keratometer, an image rotating element is inserted into the beam path after the beam splitter / combiner. As a result, the image is rotated analogously to the rotation of the keratometer and no longer is the GB-B 963 094 with the double rotation angle in the case of the keratometer listed above.

Examples of the device according to the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to drawings. Further advantages of the invention result from the following description. Show it:

1 shows the principle of keratometry according to [1] page 288, the caption identified with FIG. 16.9 being interchanged with that with FIG. 16.8 in this publication,

2 shows the doubling principle using a prism according to [1], FIG. 16.8, page 287, the swapping of the captions also having to be observed here,

3 shows a representation of the doubling principle of the image height in the case of a separate, adjoining and superimposed image height representation,

4 shows the sketched beam path in the device according to the invention with the beam part set to zero. lerε, the edge rays of the rays reflected from the cornea and the central rays of FIG. 1 being drawn here, as well as in FIG

5 with the beam splitter pivoted, only one single image point or reflection point being shown here in order to avoid overloading the representation,

6 shows a variant of the keratometer shown in FIGS. 4 and 5

7 shows a variant of the keratometer shown in FIG. 6, in which the focusing lens is on another

Place is arranged in the beam path.

The device 1 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 has a collimator 3 which collimates the beams 5a and 5b reflected by the reflection points Y and Z. The reflection points Y and Z lie on the surface area K of the cornea of a living eye A, whose radius of curvature r is to be determined with the device according to the invention. As described above, the reflection points Y and Z are illuminated from the object points (Mireε) B and Q with a mutual distance h. The lighting optics used for this purpose will not be discussed further.

The collimated beams 5a and 5b emanating from the reflection points Y and Z hit the anti-reflective entrance surface 7 of a beam splitter cube 9. The beam splitter cube 9 is a physical, polarizing beam splitter, the splitting area 11 of which is below 45 for the entrance surface 7 ° is inclined, for example the partial beams 13a and 13b of the input beams 5a and 5b reflected on the graduation surface 11 being a polarization plane parallel to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 4 and the transmitted partial beams 15a and 15b are perpendicular thereto.

A reflector 17a and 17b is arranged perpendicular to the exit surfaces 16a and 16b of the partial beams 13a, 13b, 15a and 15b, which are also anti-reflective. A phase plate 19a or 19b for rotating the polarization plane of the radiation penetrating it is arranged upstream of each reflector 17a and 17b. The plane of polarization of the partial beams 13a and 13b or 15a and 15b emerging from the anti-reflective exit surfaces 16a and 16b is now rotated by 45 ° by the phase plate 19a and 19b, undergoes a rotation of 180 ° and another on the reflector 17a or 17b Phase rotation by 45 ° when passing through the respective phase plate 19a or 19b. The polarization plane of the partial beams 13a and 13b and 15a and 15b has thus been rotated by 270 ° (identical to 90 °). I.e. the partial beams 13a and 13b reflected on the reflector 17a penetrate the graduation surface 11, while the partial beams 15a and 15b reflected on the reflector 17b are reflected on the graduation surface 11. The partial beams 13a and 15a as well as 13b and 15b leave the beam splitter cube 9 as beams 21 and 23 through its anti-reflective exit surface 25. The beams 21 and 23 are deflected by an arrangement of two prisms 27 and 29 after three times total reflection such that the optical axis o of the beam bundles 5a and 5b entering the beam splitter cube 9 are approximately aligned with the optical axis 31 of the beams 21 and 23 emerging from the prism arrangement 27/29. These emerging, collimated beams 21 and 23 are focused with a focusing lens 33 in an image plane 34. The images Y ', Y ", Z' and Z" of the reflection locations Y and Z on the eye A overlap in the image plane 34, provided that the beam splitter cube 9 is in the center position shown in FIG.

To determine the radius r of the corneal area K to be measured, according to the explanations for FIGS and 3 the illustrations Y ', Y ", Z' and Z" are duplicated and shown one above the other. In order to pull apart the images Y ', Y ", Z' and Z" which overlap when the beam splitter cube 9 is in the middle, it is rotated about its pivot axis 37, which is perpendicular to the optical axis o and perpendicular to the connecting line, as shown in FIG. 5 pivoted by the angle α. In order not to overload FIG. 5, only the beam path of a beam 5a is drawn, starting from the one Y of the two reflection points Y and Z on the eye A.

The pivoting of the beam splitter cube 9 by the angle a, analogous to the embodiment in FIG. 2, results in an adjustable magnification ratio P which is dependent on the angle α. The optical distance of the image plane 34 from the beam splitter cube 9, taking into account an optical path extension through the two prisms 27 and 29, corresponds to the above distance a.

To determine the image height, only the beam splitter cube 9 must be pivotable in the invention and its set swivel position must be determinable.

As already stated above, the phase plates 19a and 19b can be dispensed with, provided the two objects B and Q are used to apply a sufficient light intensity to the eye A. In this case, a polarizing beam splitter is then no longer used. Also, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the beam guidance does not have to take place via the two prisms 27 and 29. It is only important that the partial beams 13a, 13b, 15a and 15b are combined in the image plane 34 in the manner shown. However, another beam guidance must then be selected. However, the embodiment variant shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is characterized by its compactness and operating safety as well as the low illuminance required for it Eye A out.

A disadvantage of the above-mentioned embodiment variants, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, is that when the keratometer is rotated about its axis, which is essentially identical to the optical axis 31, the images of B projected onto the eye A are shown and Q rotate at twice the speed of rotation of the keratometer. I.e. the apparent angle of rotation is twice the actual one.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, this problem is solved by using an image rotating element in the beam path of the beams combined by beam splitters. A roof prism below 45 ° with a roof edge angle of 90 ° is used as the image rotating element. Other image rotation elements, such as corresponding mirror arrangements, can of course also be used.

An example of an arrangement of optical elements according to the above-mentioned requirements is shown in FIG. 6. The beam bundle collimated by a collimator lens that is no longer shown (analogous to 3 in FIGS. 4 and 5) analogous to beam bundles 5a and 5b is identified by reference number 41. Instead of the beam splitter cube 9, a coated plate 42 is used in the component arrangement in FIG. The plate 42 divides the incident radiation 41 approximately equally into two beams 44a and 44b. It can be pivoted about an axis 45, which is arranged analogously to axis 37. Two mirrors 47a and 47b are arranged parallel to the axis 45 at an angle of 90 ° to one another. In the rest position, the plate 42 is at 45 ° to the two mirrors 47a and 47b. Analogously to mirrors 17a and 17b, the two mirrors 47a and 47b reflect the rays 44a and 44b incident on them back to the plate 42 for superimposition. The rejoined rays 49 are focused analogously to the focusing lens 33 with a focusing line 50 in an image plane 51 analogously to the image plane 34. In the focusing cone 53, the beam passes through a roof prism 55 and a deflection prism 56. The two roof edge surfaces, only the one with the reference number 57 being shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, are arranged at 90 °. The roof edge is arranged at 45 ° to the incident beam 41 and perpendicular to the pivot axis 45. The roof prism 55 rotates the incoming and outgoing beams 53. The beam entry surface 59 of the roof prism 55 is parallel to the axis 45 and perpendicular to the beam 53 in its central position. The exit surface 60 of the roof edge prism 55 lies so snugly on the entrance surface 61 of the reversing prism 56 that no reflection takes place. The exit surface of the deflecting prism 56 is also perpendicular to the emerging beam in its normal position (with the plate 42 at 45 °). A double reflection of the beam 53 takes place in the deflection prism 56.

A reflection of the partial beams 44a and 44b at the two mirrors 47a and 47b and the subsequent superimposition by the plate 42 enables a space-saving optical structure. This also allows the swivel angle range of the beam to be halved.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the focusing lens can now be arranged as the last part of the optical arrangement. To reduce the space required for the optical arrangement, the focusing lens can be arranged directly after the beam splitter / combiner, as shown in FIG. 6. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the focusing lens can be arranged between the image reversing element and the deflecting prism. Which arrangement is chosen depends on the space requirement and the required focal length of the focusing lens. The roof prism used in FIGS. 6 and 7 as an image rotating element can also be used in the optical arrangements of FIGS. 4 and 5; other image rotation elements (Dove, Schmidt-Pechan, ...) can also be used here, as described, for example, in G. Schröder, "Technische Optik", ISBN 3-8023-0067-X, 1974, Vogel-Verlag, Würzburg, pages 37 to 41 are used.

Claims

Patent claims

1. Device for carrying out keratometric measurements, characterized by a radiation (5a, 5b; 41) of two reflection sites (Y, Z) of the two test objects (5a, 5b; 41) that is perpendicular to the optical axis (o) of the curve region (K) of the cornea that is to be measured. Mireε) (B, Q) and pivot axis (37; 45), pivotable, perpendicular to the connecting line of the test objects (B, Q), physical beam splitter (9; 42) that divides and reunites a beam into two beams by partial reflection Swiveling the image height map (h ') of the reflection points (Y, Z) can be doubled and can be displaced relative to one another in a defined manner according to the selected swiveling angle (α).

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized by at least one reflector (17a, 17b; 47a, 47b), the at least one of the two partial beam bundles (13a / b, 15a / b; 44a, divided by the beam splitter (9; 42), 44b) reflected back to these (9; 42).

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by a reflector (17a, 17b; 47a, 47b) for each of the partial beams (13a / b, 15a / b; 44a, 44b) divided by the beam splitter (9; 42), which preferably under are at a right angle to one another, the partial beam bundles (13a / b, 15a b; 44a, 44b) being able to be reflected back to the beam splitter (9; 42), in particular in the central position thereof, and extending such that in the central position of the pivotable beam splitter (9; 42) overlap both partial beams (13a / b, 15a / b; 44a, 44b) in the location of the image plane (34) of the reflection locations (Y, Z).

4. Device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized net that the Schwenkachεe (37; 45) runs parallel to at least one of the reflector surfaces.

5. Device according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized by an image-rotating element (55), in particular a roof prism (55) arranged at 45 ° to the beam path (49) and having a roof edge prism (55), which in the beam splitter ( 42) downstream optical beam path (49, 53) in which the beams superimposed by the beam splitter (42) run.

6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the physical beam splitter is designed as a polarizing beam splitter (9).

7. The device according to claim 6, characterized by a in front of each reflector (17a, 17b) arranged phase plate (19a, 19b) for 90 ° - (270 ° -) - rotation of the polarization plane of the respective emerging from the beam splitter (9) and by the relevant reflector (17a, 17b) in this retroreflected partial beams (13a / b, 15a / b).

8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the beam guide (23, 25) in connection with the beam splitter (9; 42) is designed such that the beam leaving the beam guide approximately with those in the beam splitter (9 ; 42) incoming alignments.